The "Right Way" as a Righteous Vocabulary A few days ago, I wrote about the story we tell when we're afraid — the one that points at immigrants as the cause of our scarcity rather than at the systems that created it — and about Jesus's refusal, in Matthew 20, to accept empire's logic of domination: "Not so among you." I want to pick that thread back up here, because there's a phrase I hear constantly in these conversations that deserves a closer look. "I don't have a problem

Who the Story Asks Us to Blame I'm sitting with two things today. Every summer, from June through September, my new church becomes a food bank site for our neighbors on the East Side of Clark County. We see a wide range of people — different ages, different immigration statuses, different housing situations. No one is turned away. There's never a lot on the tables, and yet, somehow, there is always enough for everyone who walks through the parking lot. We say our welcoming st

I recently fell down an internet rabbit hole because of an influencer. Specifically, I follow That Midwestern Mom on social media, and she recently posted about a trip to what a lot of us grew up calling "the Middle East." Except she didn't call it that. She called it SWANA — South West Asia North Africa. I stared at my phone for a solid ten seconds, blinked, and thought, wait, when did that happen? So naturally, I did what any reasonably curious person does at 9 pm: I went a

Civility, Community, and the Church I belong to several local parenting groups online. Most days, they're exactly what you'd hope for — a place to ask which pediatric dentist takes walk-ins, to swap hand-me-downs, to find out if anyone else's kid also refuses to wear socks. There's real kindness in these spaces. Someone posts that they're overwhelmed, and three strangers show up with casserole offers and encouragement. But I've noticed something else, too, and it happens more

It's that time of year again. Backpacks have been purchased. New shoes are being broken in. School supplies are disappearing in stores leaving shelves empty. Teachers are preparing classrooms, lesson plans, bulletin boards, and approximately 700 other things that nobody outside education fully understands. School starts today for our district! Wahoo! With all of this, a first for me: after years of serving churches that rented space to preschools — where every one of those sm

An altar display with a Woman, her child, a loaf of bread, and a toy dog. There's a portion of a sermon I've preached at every church I've pastored. Sorry, not sorry. I wrote it in seminary for a New Testament class who asked us to look at this story from a different perspective. I got a B, but only because there was too much colloquial language and not enough proper seminary style writing. This sermon has followed me from pulpit to pulpit ever since. Every time I read Matthe

There are moments when I miss children's books. Not because I want to go back to diapers or midnight feedings or stepping on LEGOs in the dark. Absolutely not. I miss them because children's books have a remarkable confidence that love, patience, and a well-timed hug can solve almost anything. The other day, while unpacking boxes from our move, I found myself flipping through a stack of old favorites: Llama Llama Red Pajama; I Took the Moon for a Walk; Martin's Big Words. Eac