“The cross has been transformed into a harmless, non-offensive ornament that Christians wear around their necks. Rather than reminding us of the ‘cost of discipleship,’ it has become a form of ‘cheap grace,’ an easy way to salvation that doesn’t force us to confront the power of Christ’s message and mission. Until we can see […]
Tag: church
Quarantine, Day 79
I went for a walk–a real one, not a virtual one–with my friend Andrew, the two of us maintaining healthy social distancing and wearing our masks. Though I’ve gone on long drives, waltzes into the cemetery, and made runs to a grocery store packed with people, this marks the first time in over two months […]
Quarantine, Day 37
Coming out of the Great Depression, one of the Civil Works Administration projects of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal was the construction of a small stretch of road through Bergen County, New Jersey and into lower New York State. It’s maybe one of the most beautiful drives you can take in this part of the […]
The Republican Promise of a Negligent Homicide against America
America believes, perhaps because of our history, that freedom is our most cherished quality. Maybe because of violent beginnings, our independence has long been interpreted to mean “freedom from tyranny,” as opposed to “freedom from want.” That is, when we obsess over the need to be free, we assume ourselves victims of some fast-approaching enemy […]
Reflections on Holy Week
Someone told me today this is “Holy Week,” that Easter is this Sunday, and it caught me off-guard. There was a time very recently when, not only would that have been incredibly pertinent to my life, but my work would have revolved around the whole week in some way or another. Nowadays, it couldn’t be […]
On the Road to Racial [and other types of] Reconciliation
On my ride aboard the Long Island Rail Road returning from a trip to New Jersey this weekend, I thought a lot about a course I took at Vanderbilt Divinity where we were discussing racial reconciliation, and on the table was a really tough question about whether black congregations and white congregations should be worshiping […]
When Surface-Level Religion Meets a Psychology of Depth, or Why Camp (or Something Like It) Could Replace Church
Tomorrow morning, thousands of families will pack into their cars – some wearing their Sunday best, others in jeans and a t-shirt – and head once again to a church service like the one they went to last week. For some, there’ll be a choir decked in robes, lighting of the advent candle, a scripture, […]
The Curious Case of the Toilet Seat Picture Frame
A few years ago, when I was working at a church near Nashville, I took my youth group on a trip to do service work in the Appalachian Mountains at a summer camp there. It was a week filled with hack saws, lots of paint, and conversation with poor or elderly folks of the Grundy […]
From Forgiven Murderers to an Unforgiving World
After holding onto a lot of grief and hurt, I recently made an effort to forgive someone I’ve despised for months who holds an authoritative position in the church. Ever since then, I’ve been thinking about the absurdity of a 21st century corporation operating on the ideals that grace and forgiveness should be the cornerstone […]
Why a Generation Runs Away from Organized Religion
Being friends with so many pastors, it’s not uncommon to be in dialogue with them about the “state of the church.” Something from Pew or some other study about how millennials are abandoning religion. Some articles will then try to explain that the church’s stance on homosexuality is usually the chief reason millennials have forgone religion. I don’t buy it. […]
