“A Booklet of uncommon prayer: Collects for the #BlackLivesMatter Movement – and Beyond” by Kenji Kuramitsu is a collection of prayers that belongs right next to your poster board and permanent marker collection. It is a gripping collection of prayers that come from Kuramitsu’s own activism and a welcome addition to your self-care rituals, community … Continue reading Prayers, Protest, & the Dangerous Justice of Jesus – Interview with Kenji Kuramitsu
They Had High Risk Pools in the Bible – They Called Them Leper Colonies
Jesus taught us to “love our neighbors as ourselves” or the modern equivalent – “Put your neighbor in the risk pool you would like to be put in.”
If We Treated Rape & Domestic Abuse Threats Like Terrorist Threats
It’s Sexual Violence Awareness Month and I can’t help but wonder if we are really putting our all into solving sexual violence. Thousands of rape threats go un-checked on social media, women’s accusations are dismissed on college campuses, and celebrities and politicians are allowed to keep their jobs.
Jesus Lived During a Totalitarian Regime – and He Chose to Resist with Love
Knowing that Jesus commanded us to love our enemies this during a totalitarian regime gives me hope. I don’t know how to love Trump, his billionaire cabinet, and the religious people who supported him. When I am marching in the streets, I do it out of love for my neighbors, but I don’t feel much love for the administration. I guess that’s what so hard about Jesus’ call. He doesn’t let us just resist. We have to resist and love the person we are resisting. We have to find someway to love the people who are destroying our country.
Why I Stopped Preaching & Started Talking about Politics at Church
My conservative friends give me hope in a time when I really need some hope. They help me re-frame my liberal rants into something conservative people could hear. They engage with my ideas and don’t make it personal in a time where its so easy to get personal. And our faith is not on the line. We don’t accuse one another of being bad Christians. I’m not willing to trade these relationships that mean so much to me for a 12 minute political rant. Especially when the best part of talking about politics with my congregation is hearing from them.
I Have to Keep Telling Myself ‘Heroes Go to Therapy’
It had been a long time since I last went to therapy. Six years. Long enough that I had started talking about therapy in the past tense. Telling people “I went to therapy for 5 years…” as if I had earned a degree in my own mental health. But then I got stuck again. Stuck is the medical term for Nathan not being able to move past a certain situation or issue.