Category: Culture
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What (or Who) is Normal?
There’s not another you, or me, in the entire world. We have different DNA. We have different finger prints. We have different personalities, dispositions, temperaments, capabilities, tastes, struggles and varying strengths and weaknesses. We certainly have different life experiences. There’s never been another you or me in the history of…
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How’s the water?
We exist in God, and God in us. God is as close as the air we breath. Every step we take is on holy ground, as every step we take is with God. God is everywhere we go, and there’s nowhere God isn’t.
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Stop the Unsanity! Can We?
There was once a time we could respectfully “agree to disagree” on many things. Not any more. And, that’s a problem. A big problem.
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Advent 2020: Who or what are we waiting for?
The word “advent” literally means “arrival.” Thus, the Advent season is about the coming of the Christ Child, and the less emphasized subject of his eventual return in glory. Advent is a time for planning, preparing, and anticipating a particularly important arrival. It is a season of looking and longing…
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“Tower of Babel” – a sermon preached on August 30, 2020, at The First United Methodist Church of Orlando
The Tower of Babel, as well as recent events, serve as reminders of our deep brokenness, especially along racial lines, and of just how far we’ve traveled away from the Garden of Eden, and the resulting conflict between humans. This story is our story too.
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“Connecting Through Acceptance”: a sermon preached on July 19, 2020, at the First United Methodist Church of Orlando, part of a sermon-series called “Connectability.”
Different is just different – not wrong, not immoral. Difference doesn’t have to divide or threaten us. In fact, connecting with people who are different might actual make us better humans, and better Christians. It might make us more like Jesus.
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God Isn’t Colorblind
When someone claims to be colorblind, they’re devaluing the full humanity of the other, which is essentially a racist stance.
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“Connecting with the Mind” (A sermon preached on June 28, 2020 for the First United Methodist Church of Orlando, Part II of a series called, “ConnectAbility”)
Loving God with our minds is actively seeking the mind of Christ. Loving God with our minds is actively, purposefully seeking God’s wisdom and knowledge. Loving God with our minds is submitting our thoughts and ideas to God, and asking God to reveal God’s thoughts and ideas.
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Discovering and Overcoming Unconscious Bias
Though I’ve never been overtly racist (to the best of my knowledge), I’m ashamed to say it’s taken most of my life to overcome conscious and unconscious biases, stereotypes, prejudices, and even fears.
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When anger reaches the boiling point.
As Christians, our job is not to sit back, judge “those people,” and offer commentary on the world’s ills, many of which are currently on graphic display. Our job is to BE the Church: to roll up our sleeves, to serve, to speak, to sacrifice, to activate, to do whatever…
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