Author's Note: Some months ago, I wrote about Joseph, and in some respects, I think I may have been too harsh concerning his becoming "Egyptian." After some more study and reflection, it prompted me to consider something I had not before: that, of course, Joseph would embrace Egyptianization given how good Pharaoh had been to … Continue reading Out of Dodge and Back Again!
Author's Note: A version of this article appeared in the Winter 2022 issue of Lutheran Forum Magazine. For those non-Lutheran readers, I apologize for the Lutheran nomenclature in some places. Also, with it being 4 years later, it is interesting to consider that Deshaun Watson's career with the Browns will arguably go down as one … Continue reading “But He’s Done So Much Good”: On Spiritual Abuse in the Church
A couple of weeks someone I know asked me with a very concerned look on their face how I was doing. Initially, I thought this was because of the recent LA fires. However, after some brief back and forth, I soon realized that their concern had to do with all the recent actions of the … Continue reading I don’t know what to believe fatigue
For the past two years, I have taught a course at LMU on the narrative of the scriptures during the spring semester. Part of the curriculum includes watching the 2014 movie Noah after examining Genesis 1-6. Because I have taught multiple sections of the course each semester, I have now gotten to watch Noah multiple … Continue reading Damned if I don’t take what I want!
Over the past four years, my anxiety has gotten the better of me more than I would like to admit. When we left New York close to four years ago, we left with many unknowns before us. We had two clear goals in mind when we came to California: the first was for Becca to … Continue reading It’s not me, it’s my amygdala! Luke 12:22-34 in anxious perspective
One of the more entertaining parts about working maintenance for Concordia-New York during the summers was that you never knew what you might come across on any given day. Given that the campus was quite old, with a myriad of old buildings as well as properties off the main campus, you could find yourself on … Continue reading When I grow up I want to be a bully!
To this day, I can still remember walking home after an incredibly awkward and strange meeting with a person of importance and feeling incredibly uncomfortable with the way it went. If I might hearken to the great Maya Angelou, over that hour, that person showed me who they truly were, and I believed them that … Continue reading Matthew 18: why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room?
Some years ago, I received a phone call from a funeral home director asking me if I could do a funeral for a family that claimed to be members of the church I served. When he shared the name of the deceased, I did not recognize it, so I respectfully told him so. Still, the … Continue reading “I’m sorry, who?”
Some years ago, I had the uncomfortable experience of listening to a prayer concerning racial justice led by a white, wealthy, suburban woman. It was an odd experience listening to such a woman speak of “doing the work” while residing in a wealthy and homogenous neighborhood. I should hasten to add that she also had … Continue reading The Strange Paradox of the Privileged
These are familiar words of Jesus, said in response to his disciples’ shock at both the rejection of the wealthy man and his words about it being easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for a wealthy person to enter the kingdom. Given the context, the force of the … Continue reading “What is impossible with human beings, is possible with God…” or “trying to put a square peg in a round hole.”
A Foolish Way 