In the sorrowful wake of two MORE shooting deaths involving police and African American men, I am re-posting this essay that I wrote as part of my contribution to a book called Heal Us, Emmanuel, a collaboration of several pastors and laypeople desiring to see the gospel heal all forms of racial injustice, inequality, ignorance and callousness. […]

I love how Jesus brought outsiders into his circle. I love how he kept company with people we would least expect. Don’t you? Jesus was always welcoming pagans and prostitutes and ‘sinners’ into his company…wooing us all to belong with him even before we believed in him. Meanwhile, the Pharisees and scribes muttered, “This man welcomes […]

  In my role as a “public Christian” who values spirited discourse about the issues of our time, I want to nurture environments where people can openly wrestle with their beliefs—but without the fear of being caricatured, labeled or demonized. In other words, I am for disagreeing in an agreeable way. I guess you could […]

  The Apostle Paul warned that in the Christian church, some would have “an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in malicious talk and evil suspicions” (1 Timothy 6:4). So, when we decided to invite Stephen Moss, a seminary student who experiences same-sex attraction, and who is also living chaste, celibate, and faithful for […]