I live in a poor neighborhood. A lot of people smoke marijuana in my neighborhood. By “a lot” I mean I can smell it pretty much whenever I’m out for a walk, and I often see it being smoked openly at the park where I play basketball. Smoked, rolled, dealt, etc. Everyone I know who […]
So the pastor asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
The Bible is a thick book. Always has been. In the first century, an expert in the Old Testament Scriptures asked Jesus to summarize all of the commands in the Bible into the greatest commandment, to slim down that thick book into something easy to remember. Jesus tells him the greatest commandment is to love […]
A Lament for a Church that Preaches Jesus
A lament My heart is heavy from a Bible that says defend the oppressed and a Church that says just preach Jesus. Just preach Jesus, but don’t preach anything he stood for or taught. I will leave your church if you do. Don’t preach about touching lepers or loving the poor or proclaiming liberty to […]
Gently Addressing 4 Misconceptions About Immigration & Refugees
I didn’t grow up around immigrants or refugees. When undocumented immigrants started coming across my news radar a few years ago, I was confused. I figured a person could just go to the Secretary of State’s office and apply for citizenship and be on their way, so why weren’t these immigrants doing just that? I […]
Apology: Trying to figure out how to be zealous without being prideful
This past Sunday night in our small group, we came upon the following verse from 2 Timothy 2:25: Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth It hit me pretty clearly that I have not been doing this in the past […]
Are we to “be subject to the governing authorities” when their laws go against God’s?
Romans 13:1-2, 4-5 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves… For […]