Race, a black president, and the gospel

As I read, tears came to my eyes, my heart broke a little, and a sense of (what I pray was) righteous anger began to rise. I was reading Ta-Nehisi Coates’ latest piece in The Atlantic magazine, entitled “Fear of a Black President,” which looked at race, racism, and how both had thus far impacted Barack …

My thoughts on the Chick-fil-A situation …

Now, I love Chick-fil-A’s service, hospitality and college scholarship program; the Spicy Chicken Deluxe and Chick-fil-A sauce are favorites; and I appreciate their mission–“To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A”–which includes keeping the sabbath and …

Freedom

[Adapted from yesterday’s message at The District Church: “Freedom.”] Freedom’s something we hear a lot about here in the US. America is, after all, “the land of the free.” The First Amendment of our Constitution grants us various freedoms, including the freedom of religion—and we are thankful for the freedom to worship that we have …

Isaiah 58: the chapter that changed my life

(Well, one of the chapters that changed my life–see also “The day God broke my heart.”) I pretty much underlined the whole chapter … A reminder, Isaiah 58:6-14: Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? …

Matthew 18 and Church Discipline

Great post over at Slacktivist on Matthew 18 and church discipline–“Jesus did not shun tax-collectors”, articulating the thoughts I’ve had every time I’ve read that passage. If this passage describes “church discipline,” then it doesn’t mean “church” the way we mean that word, and it doesn’t mean “discipline” the way we mean it either. And …