The Kind of Society Built by Bystanders
16 unintended but inescapable consequences for a society caught in the riptide of complicity
Latest
Stand Up for Jesus
Dudley Atkins Tyng was an Episcopal priest who had been deposed from his rectorship in Philadelphia for being an abolitionist. At a YMCA revival in March 1858, Tyng preached on Exodus 10.11 which in the King James Version is rendered: “Go now ye that are men, and serve the
Whence a Fur Coat
Of speechless seconds, lipstick, and becoming a bystander.
10 Quick Notes About Advent
1. What does the word advent mean? The English word advent derives from the Latin ad “toward” + venīre “come”. So, advent indicates something coming (or approaching or proceeding) toward us. Most often, advent refers to the Messiah (Jesus Christ) coming to us. 2. When does the Messiah come to us?
Rebecca, Resurrection, and Seeing the Face of God — Luke 20.27–38
A sermon preached November 9, 2025. Rebecca Nancy and I will be at the funeral of Nancy’s 29 year-old niece Rebecca who died of heartbreak 6 weeks after a tractor trailer killed her husband riding his bicycle. Gospel Now, in today’s assigned Gospel reading, some rich people who
A Thanksgiving Prayer
How awesome to be in your presence, Lord; to sit at your feet; to nestle ’neath your wings. How fearfully and wonderfully the Potter is molding me. How abundant the indwelling Holy Spirit: igniting my broken heart, strengthening my feeble spirit, purifying my sin-sick soul. How privileged to glorify the
3 Drownings & 3 Faiths in Luke 16.19 to 17.10
He designed a tree that would serve Jesus not as a strawman that is easily blown down, but as a formidable target — not unlike God’s creation of Goliath.
What Baptism IS and is NOT
6 things baptism IS & 8 things baptism is NOT
A Hymn for Immigration
I was really convicted this week when I came across these lines from an old-fashion hymn: "Thy voice calls me home, saying, 'There is room. There is room at my side for thee!'”
8 Stations toward the Humility to See
"For what you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing: it also depends on what sort of person you are." —C. S. Lewis, The Magician's Nephew chapter X on Uncle Andrew's misperception 💡"For what you see and hear
Prayers for Easter Sunday
Let us pray like we actually want the resurrected Messiah's reign and agenda -- which of course is submitted to God the Father's kingdom and will.
Yahweh & Yeshua in Psalm 118
Reading both Yahweh (or Yah where the abbreviated form is used) when the Divine name appears in Hebrew, and Yeshua where this Hebrew word for salvation appears brings Palm 118 alive for Palm Sunday and Easter Resurrection Sunday. Verse 25 hits us with new impact when we hear the opening
Translation
Opposite Version of Philippians 3.8–15
8 Knowing Messiah Jesus as my Lord is worth far less than everything else put together! In fact because of the Messiah, I’ve suffered the loss of everything. And I now calculate that loss as something worth grieving over. The Messiah is my loss. 9 And I would be
intertextual
Prodigal Texts: Psalm 34 & 2 Corinthians 5
The lens of Jesus's wisdom story about the Lost Son in Luke 15 illuminates Psalm 34 and 2 Corinthians 5 — these three scriptures are assigned readings in for Year C Lent 4 lectionary of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). Here are two reinterpretations of Psalm 34
More Like Jesus
Crossing: Apologetics of the King
From Rose (the anonymous anointer in the Pharisee’s home) to a choir from first-century Philippi to John Donne's iambic pentameter — does making the sign-of-the-cross mean anything?
music
Ne Irascaris Domine & Civitas Sancti Tui
-my rough translation
Lyrics
Jordan River Is Flowing By — a new hymn
In the old-fashioned style of the camp meeting revival songs in the late 1800s and early 1900s, here's my adaptation of a 1910 lyric by Ada Blenkhorn — find out a bit more about her here: https://hymnary.org/person/Blenkhorn_Ada. Ada's text followed a meter
Theological Politics
Narcissism + Power = Autocracy
When you give a narcissist power . . . you get autocracy. Narcissism + Power = Autocracy. Autocracy is the institutionalized manifestation of narcissism. The more narcissistic and the more power, the worse the autocracy. Narcissists care about only one thing: the Self. Self-actualization is the name of the game. The unfettered desires of the
Confession
A Confession from the Seoul Statement
Despite our claim to be followers of our crucified Lord . . .
Aligning with God's Truth
Lausanne's Seoul Statement — a creed
Here's a 275-word abridgment of Section V of The Seoul Statement from the Fourth Lausanne Congress convened in Korea in 2024 which is over 1,100 words long (see lausanne.org/statement/the-seoul-statement), intended for use as a creed or affirmation of faith in a worship service: We
Biblical Theology
32 Insights about Yahweh from 10 Verses in Psalm 119
Law (torah) appears 10 times in the latter portion of Psalm 119 (verses 105 to 176) — here are 32 theological implications about Yahweh from those verses. As I tease out these theological implications, I will employ my preferred translation of torah (tôrâ) as "code of conduct": Psalm 119.
Bible
The Big Idea from 30 Psalms
Here are the big ideas from 30 psalms from a preaching series in 2024, as our congregation read through the 150 psalms in 30 Sundays: 3 — When your own flesh & blood want you dead. 9 — I can praise Yahweh even when suffering disrupts the basic alphabet of my life.
Theological Politics
Getting What We Deserve
nostrils pinched as we attempt to console ourselves with the reminder that we are not beatifying or canonizing them . . . God has allowed our virtue or lack thereof to be magnified in two particularly dismal nominees
Jesus-centered Intercessions
These congregational call-and-response supplications are based on Common Worship’s Eastertide prayers of the people. Jesus, our exalted Lord, has been given all authority. Let us seek His intercession that our prayers may be perfected by His prayer. Jesus, great high priest, living for ever to intercede for us: Pray