A Theology of Loitering

My friend Tim Ignacio (pictured above) moved into a slum community in the Philippines in his quest to follow Jesus. In the process, he discovered Jesus did a lot of loitering. I asked Tim to jot down his thoughts for my blog. Thanks Tim! What comes to mind when you hear the word “loitering”? In…

Another World is Possible

The number of poor has narrowed while the gap between them and the rich has widened. We’ve purchased more guns for protection yet witnessed more homicides. Freedom is our highest value yet we incarcerate more people than anyone else. We have better information yet promote more outlandish conspiracies. We have more friends and followers yet…

The Fault in our Discipleship

Hate crimes perpetrated by fellow Christians. The recent attacks in Atlanta committed by a young Evangelical. Christian insurrectionists storming the capitol. These incidents and others have stirred me to evaluate my own ministry as a full time Christian worker. How has my theology, my discipleship or my service to Christians allowed these things to exist…

Owning a Share in Communal Sin

Why should I repent of sins committed against Native Americans more than 100 years ago? I wasn’t there. I’ve never stolen anyone’s land. Many of us who grew up in western culture see ourselves as an individual thread rather than as part of a communal fabric. We fail to recognize that we are woven together…

I Think I’m A Pharisee (but that’s OK, Jesus was too)

I suspect Jesus was a Pharisee. Not in the figurative way we use the word, as in telling someone who says one thing and does the opposite “you’re such a Pharisee.” But I think Jesus literally belonged to the first century Jewish sect of the Pharisees. Think about it. The synagogue was a structure that…