Life of Faith
Faith formation in my world religions classroom
Each year a Hindu priest asks my students to “worship our own, but respect all.” They find the second part easier.
Rachael Denhollander’s account of standing up against sexual abuse
The gymnast who brought down Larry Nassar tells her story.
February 16, Epiphany 6A (Matthew 5:21–37, Deuteronomy 30:15–20)
Idolatry is the desire to manipulate God.
Making a habit out of Epiphany
Epiphanies flare up and fade. How can we keep them in our everyday vision?
Our problem isn’t just loneliness—it’s species loneliness
How human isolation from the rest of the world keeps us from thriving.
The dirty work of ministry
What two drastically different messages from parishioners taught me
Kindness, kinship, and the boundaries of justice
The virtue of kindness depends on who we see as kin.
Examining whiteness through “reparative writing”
Jess Row asks what happens when alienation turns to rage.
Shaping a place where people can become more like Christ
Scot McKnight looks to Paul to define the pastoral task.
My Muslim friend Ali and my Christian commitment to his life of faith
How American hostility toward Muslims has shaped my pastoral vocation
The sexual harasser in the church soup kitchen
When a culture of abuse thrives within a congregation
When liturgy embraces difference
Rebecca Spurrier’s study of a “disabled church” and its lessons for all Christians
What if we treated all of creation—plants and stars, soil and rivers—as our kin?
Biblical scholar Mari Joerstad and indigenous activist Nick Estes challenge our human-centered worldview.
A congregation’s commitment to live out “We do”
We say these words a lot. Lately I’ve noticed what it looks like when we follow through.
January 12, Baptism of the Lord (Matthew 3:13–17)
Jesus knows he’s part of a history, a people’s longing and dreams.
When a father and husband walked out, grace called him home
I preached a word of judgment. The stranger in the back row heard grace.
A lapsed Catholic’s unexpected devotion
Searching for the Mary statue from her childhood, Sonja Livingston found much more.