President Obama pauses while addressing the nation from the White House briefing room the afternoon of the shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. (Dec. 14, 2012) Below is the sermon I preached on December 16, 2012 at University Presbyterian Church, the third Sunday in Advent, in response to the shooting massacre … Continue reading “The Promise of Joy: A Response to the Massacre in Connecticut”
Category: hope
A Church with Passion
I did an experiment this past Sunday. I shared in the sermon the idea of seizing each moment by trying to be intentional about paying to what God might be doing in that moment. It’s a delicate balance of seeing the past, learning from it, but not getting stuck in it, and looking to the … Continue reading “A Church with Passion”
Death-Throes of a Denomination #pcusa
I read a lot—not as much as I want, but a lot. I love reading as much as I love being in conversation with people. The conversations I have been having lately seem to revolve around a few common threads: our church is not what it used to be the world is not what it … Continue reading “Death-Throes of a Denomination #pcusa”
Listening Ears and Open Eyes
Tomorrow around this time I will be heading Sky Harbor Airport here in Phoenix on my way to Pittsburgh, PA, to join thousands of others to witness the coming together of the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). I have been reading up on all the news on pc-biz.org (the tool used for … Continue reading “Listening Ears and Open Eyes”
Schismata in the Body of Christ
As many are aware, my denomination, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), is embroiled in an ongoing division over ordination standards and biblical interpretation as it pertains to LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgendered) people and their place (or lack of) in the life of the Church. With the recent passage of Amendment 10-A, which amended our denomination’s … Continue reading “Schismata in the Body of Christ”