Jesus was not what most folks expected. When you think about God, adjectives like powerful, majestic, and almighty tend to come to mind. But Jesus did not come to the earth with any air of worldly wealth or majestic power. On the contrary, everything about Jesus’ life stood in stark contrast to worldly priorities and
The church should be safe space from the “-isms” of racism, sexism, ageism, and classism that foster everything from fear to hate crimes. But too often we faithful church attenders can be as divisive in our actions and attitudes as an unchurched neighbor with a Confederate flag decal on his car window. We allow fear
LIVING GENEROUSLY Following Jesus means being God’s hands, feet, voice, and bank account for the oppressed and undeserved. How do we start to live out of the abundance of God’s kingdom versus adopting the fearful and selfish scarcity mentality of the unjust economies surrounding us – economies where the rich do get richer as the
Was America great to begin with? -Mike Slaughter It’s hard for folks to engage in conversation about what is or isn’t true when it comes to the founding fathers or American history. – Rachel Billups One of my favorite images is that of people who follow the Rabbi so closely that they are covered by the
Christians of all stripes or denominations would generally agree that the authority of Scripture is the basis for our faith, lifestyle, and missional calling. Yet we become complacent at best, or stone-throwers at worst, when we worship the Bible rather than the Living Word through whom all things were made. After all, Jesus didn’t leave
People are looking for something different! I am convinced that we are living in a time of seismic spiritual transition in the church. God is doing a new thing! Old institutional religious systems of governance are passing away. Denominational walls are falling down. Christ will be seen in the midst of a counterculture community, emptied
The church has often been held captive to the political cultural values of the times (justification of slavery, antisemitism, segregation, along with other “isms”) rather than to the revolutionary movement of Jesus. Many “believe” in Jesus, but very few follow. In the Gospels, Jesus said 87 times “follow me,” two times “believe in me,” and
Jesus’ first century followers lived in prophetic tension with the politics of state. The book of Acts describes how some of the early church’s opponents in Thessalonica turned the church’s faithfulness to God into a political accusation. “These people who have been disturbing the peace throughout the empire have also come here. …Every one of them does what
Terry DeMio published an excellent article in the Cincinnati Enquirer last month pointing to the inequities resulting in higher hospitalizations for Black children. Our daughter has spent most of her twenty years as a clinical dietician working in children’s hospitals. Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center wanted to know why so many Black children were readmitted to
I have been spending these days reflecting on life’s seasons as I approach my 70th birthday this month. How do we arrive at this life stage so quickly? It seems like only yesterday that we were in our 40’s and dropping our kids off at college. Now they are in their 40’s. Forty-five years were
Mike Slaughter