15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C, RCL)

While struggling with this question as a church songwriter, I came up with six guidelines.

Christians struggle to be prophetic in the world. Amos could help.

The prophets God sends among us are often vilified, distorted, and silenced.

White Americans aren’t the Israelites; we’re the Egyptians. Maybe we should follow their lead.

Advent must respond in some consequential way to the widening uncertainty of the living of our days.

My five-year-old parishioner spent the summer going door to door.

We are trained to see ourselves as the hero.  

Can we behave ourselves into love?

“If to get a good message you need to make Judaism look bad, then you don’t have a good message.”

Our political discourse features strong convictions about moral obligations—and widespread uncertainty about where they come from.

Until Christians can all share the Lord’s Supper, the rift continues. But there is no denying how massively the ground has shifted.

Deuteronomy is a book of words, a book of preaching and exhortation offered as the word of God. It is made up of words given by leaders to the people before they are to form a new nation, establish homes, plant vineyards, dig wells. 

How do we respond to the issues that trouble people deeply? Jesus and the lawyer have a proper debate, but the lawyer continues to wrestle and cannot let go.

Past efforts at "character education" have operated with a shallow understanding of character. The Expeditionary Learning model goes deeper.

Betsy had always worked across interfaith lines. She didn’t expect there would be any problems with her message in the congregation.

It's easy to love Mr. C. It's not as easy to love Mrs. M., and it’s stone-cold not easy to love that guy down the street.