#WomensMarch and “Politics” in Church

Christianity has a powerful tradition of naming truth to power and holding our elected leaders accountable. Unfortunately, we’ve put aside much of that tradition in recent decades in the interest of not getting too controversial. The past year has revealed to me the growing need of the Church in our public discourse, and for Christians of all walks of life to be unafraid to demand more from our leaders of all political parties. Jesus would expect it of us, no matter whom we voted for. I repent for the ways I’ve been negligent and afraid and commit to being braver, putting my faith only in Christ.

I recorded a video after I marched in Boston to express some of this and wanted to share it with you.

2016 Lenten Devotional: Nazareth and Neighborhoods

“Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law andalso the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’” –John 1:45-46

I remember when I first moved back to Boston after living in Washington, DC; I found a nice apartment in the Ashmont neighborhood of Dorchester.

“Ashmont? Oh, you don’t want to live there. Isn’t it dangerous? Nothing good comes out of Ashmont.”

Prayer

“Did you learn to pray growing up? I did. I learned to fold my hands, close my eyes, and bow my head. When it was time to say some words, I’d either recite a prayer I was taught, or go through my list of joys and concerns. Maybe you experienced something similar?

When I decided to practice my faith more intentionally as an adult, I assumed that meant way more time spent with my head bowed and eyes closed.

After all, that was the “right” way to pray.

Lent: You’ve Probably Been Doing it All Wrong

Please don’t do this during Lent.

Ah, Lent. Those 40 days stuck in-between Mardi Gras and one of those Sundays lots of people go to church. It can be a confusing time.

“Why are people walking around with dirty foreheads?”
“How do I figure out what I’m supposed to give up?”

and my personal favorite

“Why is it so depressing?”

It seems that for many, Lent often serves as a reminder of depressing times and self-serving attempts to fast. And sometimes, these things are more true than I would like them to be. So let’s get right to it. Here’s what Lent isn’t:

Clearance Rack Happiness

Okay, I’ll admit it: I’m not an (American) football fan. While I’ll watch the Super Bowl this year because I like a good competition, I find myself interested in another contest that evening. No, not the Puppy Bowl – the “ad war.”

The ad war is the timeless American tradition of super-rich multinationals spending ridiculous amounts of money to not only buy air time during the Super Bowl, but also to win the hearts and minds of every American by creating the best commercial. While we’ve come to expect a hypersensitivity to commercials on Super Bowl Sunday, it seems the vast majority of the rest just pass us by the other 364 days of the year. Normally that’s true for me, but one caught my ear and eye just this past week:

Love Outside Eden

I don’t believe the Garden of Eden was an actual historic place.

This isn’t to say I have a problem with people who do think it actually existed, I just find that the Bible contains more truth when it isn’t true.

Have you ever seen the movie Signs? The movie unfolds around a town of mid-westerners searching for answers regarding a series of ominous crop circles. As an audience member, you quickly discover aliens are responsible for the designs but you never get to see them; you spend the whole movie just missing them. The result? Your imagination runs wild. Who are they? What do they look like? They could be anything; nothing is more terrifying than our own imagination.

Sometimes I think that’s how the Bible works.

The Men Who Go To Strip Clubs

I’ve never been to a strip club.

Seriously.

I’ve seen them in movies so I have an idea of what they’re like, but I don’t really know.