Theology

In the days following Easter Jesus’ disciples gathered on a hill above the Sea of Galilee. Much of their ministry with Jesus had occurred in these hills, but this encounter was like no other. This time the resurrected Jesus appeared and commissioned them to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything Jesus had commanded them” (Matthew 28:16-20). And then he was gone.

In this blog, I’ve written a great deal about the embodiment of equity within the Church for believers with disabilities. I’ve written about some of my experiences of physical and intellectual disability, my relationships to work and housing, healing, oppression, and inclusive language, and how Scripture can help us relate as a community to all those topics. These are good things!

On the beach in Pacific Grove, CA, eight middle and high school students bend over the wet sand, digging as the wave water recedes to catch sand crabs. Blue Theology fellow Gabrielle Poli leads the group to catch the crabs (Pacific mole crab, to be specific), measure them, write down the data on a clipboard, and release them back into their sandy home. The students are part of a church youth group, one of many who will visit the Blue Theology Mission Station for a week over the summer.

Since 2002, I have been intimately involved with Spirit and Truth Fellowship, a CRCNA church in the North Philadelphia neighborhood of Hunting Park.  Our late Pastor, Dr Manuel Ortiz, was a professor of Urban Mission at my alma mater, Westminster Seminary, and he often spoke to me and the other pastors in our community about his dear friend and mentor, Harvey Conn, who was also a professor of missions at Westminster.  In 1992, Dr Conn published a book called “Eternal Word and Changing Worlds,” and in this book he argued for the need to reevaluate our Western-centric approaches to

A question for you: Do you value having the right opinion over doing right by your neighbours?  Or, to use the language of the ancient Hebrew prophets, do you value being right over being righteous – that is, being in right relationship with others?  

The Southern Baptist Convention just booted several prominent churches from their denomination because of their allowance of women pastors and preachers. “Shiny Happy People”, the documentary giving an inside look into the Duggar Family and the harmful practices of the Institute in Basic Life Principles, is streaming on Amazon Prime and it currently has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. More churches and worship leaders are rethinking singing music from Hillsong and Bethel because of scandals and controversy surrounding their ministries. 

47 years ago I had the privilege of teaching typing (do you remember what that is?) to a class of grade nine students in Toronto. To my great dismay, Sandra, one of the brightest students in the class, failed the course. Her mother said to me, “She refused to hand in any work that is not perfect, and finally she completely gave up and chose to fail the course.” I had a little heart-to-heart with Sandra. I encouraged her to try to give up the need for perfection and re-do the course during the summer. She did re-do it, and though her work was not perfect, she earned an “A.”

Lately I’ve been wondering if Mary, mother of Jesus, would have been installed as a deacon if there was a CRC church at that time? I’m a big fan of how thought experiments can help us be more curious and explore the mysteries of our faith.  At the heart of my wondering, I would not focus on issues of Mary’s  place in the culture but focus more on her heart and her actions.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

I’ve had the Last Dance on my Netflix docket since late 2020 but with the arrival of Air Jordan movie in theaters, I circled back and started watching it. The Last Dance examines the Chicago Bulls rise to the top, led by Michael Jordan.  I like biopics, and have always been drawn to people’s stories and their why. But because of my range of thoughts on Jordan and his legacy I wasn’t really compelled to tune in.