Blessed Maundy Thursday… …God’s invitation to, “wash up before dinner!” Imagine a God who doesn’t demand your worship, mindless obedience, or tithes but actually serves you out of love, simply because that’s who God is… Imagine a God, so located
March is Women’s History Month. Women’s History Month is an annual declared month set aside to highlight the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. What we now know as the month long observation in the USA, began
I’ve been reading, rereading, and listening to others’ reading many of Meister Eckhart’s works over the past year. I have come to sense that reading – especially out loud – is itself a great hermeneutical act. I love hearing other
GOD WOULD KNEEL DOWN by St. Francis of Assisi I think God might be a little prejudiced. For once He asked me to join Him on a walk through this world,and we gazed into every heart on this earth, and
I’m getting ready to teach a new class: “Spirituality & Sabbath.” I’m having a blast reading, mediating, praying, sketching, and thinking in preparation. As you may know, I’ve spent the better part of my adult life opening to faithful presence
God is _______! As a child I heard many responses meant to fill in this blank . . . just, holy, righteous, perfect, omnipresent, omnipotent, savior, love, and the list went on. I heard many names for God, mostly rooted
In 1962 Malvina Reynolds released her song “Little Boxes” – used as the theme for the Showtime series “Weeds” – and it’s a song capturing the fear of being ordinary, at least in part. The fear of having a ticky-tacky
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is
I received an email from a dear friend who is an executive director of a Latin American mission collective. As I responded to the email I thought I’d take some of what I offered, modify it slightly, and post it
This message from Michael Curry, the current Presiding Bishop and Primate of the The Episcopal Church, feels like an important one to attend to at this time in America. Exactly a week ago today the Capitol Building was under a
Sunday we light the third candle of Advent… its the pink or rose colored Gaudete candle; from the Latin word meaning, “rejoice.” Advent is a season of anticipation. Anticipation can be imagined as the necessary, if not complex blending of
Last week The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology hosted the 8th annual Stanley Grenz Lecture series. The lecture was scheduled for November 2, 2020 . . . yes, that’s right! On the eve of 2020 Presidential election. Dr. Brian
Immediately following the release of The New Parish, Paul Sparks, Tim Soerens, myself, and a number of artists who joined us for legs of the tour hit the road. Our travels – which were a purposeful blending of on the
Pope Francis released his sixth his encyclical letter today after visiting the Umbrian town of Assisi. In fact, he officially signed the letter at the Basilica of St Francis of Assisi after celebrating Mass at the tomb of the poverello
The ongoing collaboration between the Parliament of World Religions together with the UN-Environment Programme, has set forth a “Faith for Earth: A Call for Action.” This beautifully compiled document describes the essential, unshakeable reverence that all religions have for creation
Today my school posted a short blog post I wrote as part of a summer long conversation amongst our core faculty regarding race, systemic and personal black-body racism, and white privilege. The post can be found Here. I titled the
Vale University philosopher and theologian, Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff in conversation at Biola’s Center for Christian Thought offers a very helpful critique a shallow evangelical interpretation of the Gospel as only “getting to heaven,” and discusses the implications of the Gospel
This week I’m finishing up assessing end of term papers in which my students articulate their theological anthropology through the question ” What is a human being fully alive?” Which as you may hear is drawing from Irenaeus’ famous quotes, “the
I find the metaphor of a gardener to be a fertile one in helping me feel and think my way into my work as a formational educator. Rather than tending to fruits, vegetables, and flowers, I picture my formational role
I’m actively facilitating the online course “Toward a Spirituality of Contextual Listening Amidst COVID19” that I’m teaching through The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. Part of loving our neighbors is anticipating the changes that may affect them tomorrow. While we
“What Love Tells Us About God Love, which might be called the attraction of all things toward all things, is a universal language and underlying energy that keeps showing itself despite our best efforts to resist it. It is so
Christ is risen! _ _! “Death and taxes,” well… after the resurrection of Christ, I suppose taxes are the only inevitable thing remaining. Death doesn’t win! The grave isn’t the last word. Thanks be to God! It’s often said because
If I can speak candidly for a moment, I’ve never understood why we call Good Friday “good.” Don’t get me wrong, I understand the historical and theological rationales, and yet… I hate Good Friday, and I see nothing about it
Dr. Chelle Stearns was the 2019 Stanley Grenz Lecture Series presenter. It’s a lecture offered in honor of former Professor Stanley Grenz, a prolific Christian scholar with a pastoral heart and deep intellectual presence. In his memory, each year The
Dr. Esther Lightcap Meek delivered The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology’s 2018 Stanley Grenz Lecture. This annual event happens the first Monday of November. Although I have never been a matriculated student of Dr. Meek, she has nonetheless been
Just finished up a wonderful few days as the keynote speaker at the annual Canadian Baptists of Ontario & Quebec “Reignite” leadership conference. All the Bapist leaders and their partners are invited to pause their regular day-to-day work, and gather
“The gospel of Jesus is not a rational concept to be explained in a theory of salvation, but a story about God’s presence in Jesus’ solidarity with the oppressed, which led to his death on the cross. What is redemptive
On November 6, The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology hosted its 5th annual Stanley Grenz Lecture Series. This year, we were grateful to have as our featured speaker, Reverend Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, a professor, pastor and dynamic author whose
During a recent prospective student “Preview Event” Dr. Angela Parker delivered a lecture titled “Reading Texts, Reading Cultures.” I was thrilled to discover that someone at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology recorded it. I wanted to share it
A few months ago – September 25, 2015 to be exact – the 193 countries of the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Development Agenda titled “Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” I can only imagine the
