The UmBlog

Pope Francis writes this week a letter to the People of God in response to the horrific abuse unsealed by the Pennsylvania Attorney General. It is essential that we, as a Church, be able to acknowledge and condemn, with sorrow and shame, the atrocities perpetrated by consecrated persons, clerics, and all those entrusted with the mission of watching over and caring for those most vulnerable. Let us beg forgiveness for our own sins and the sins of others. An awareness of sin helps us to acknowledge the errors, the crimes and the wounds caused in the past and allows us, in the present, to be more open and committed along a journey of renewed conversion. I think this is a good example for other churches to follow as Evangelical churches are facing it's own #metoo and #churchtoo scandals, e.g. Bill Hybels and Willow Creek. If only churches would get ahead of these before they become public scandals. If only the church could proclaim, "we heard complaints, we believed the vic...

That freshman frat boy from a Jesuit prep school caught on tape leading an obnoxiously racist chant? I know him. Not literally. But I was a good kid with black friends who spoke stupid obnoxious racist words around some of my white friends. It's on tape as well. A literal tape from 27 years ago when we made mix tapes and played them on our boom boxes. Why did I say that stuff? Because doing something shocking, for humor in my case, made me feel brave and cool. Yep, I felt brave saying racial slurs around a few white friends. The bravery was displayed in violating a social contract. I did it and lightning did not strike me dead. I don't know how serious the social contract of racism is down in Texas or Oklahoma. I am sure alcohol brought it even less so in the eyes of the beer goggler. Social contracts are powerful things, even in the church. They are neutral, so can be part of great good and great evil. The kid on that frat bus who filmed the sing along and shared the...

Good Friday is so good because it shows that no matter how bad we screw it up, even in his name, Jesus still wins. Jesus threatened the religious leaders of his nation, and in their narcissistic views, he was threatening God himself and his chosen nation. I call them narcissists because that's how Jesus describes them. Matthew 23:4-7 "Instead of giving you God's Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn't think of lifting a finger to help.  Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next.  They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions,  preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called 'Doctor' and 'Reverend.' The Message After Jesus raised a...