My parents took me to church every Sunday for the first eighteen years of my life. It wasn’t an option in our family. My parents gave me a lot of things (more than I could ever repay), but as I approach my twilight years, I have come to the realization that the discipline of going […]
Words are important. It should be no surprise that when God created the universe, he used words. Nor should it be a surprise that when Jesus came to earth, he was labled, “The Word.” The entire Gospel message breathes through fragile human words. The greatest theological debates often hang on simple words — words like […]
What came first? The Chicken or the egg? Most scientists will answer that at some point in evolutionary history when there were no chickens, two birds that were almost-but-not-quite chickens mated and laid an egg that hatched into the first chicken. If you are prepared to call that egg a chicken’s egg, then the egg […]
I remember quite vividly my Mom giving her testimony on a Sunday morning. It was a moving narration of her journey to Christ with a spattering of Scripture references. My church would never have allowed a woman to preach. However, everyone supported my Mom in “sharing” that morning. My father was in attendance, sitting in […]
In Seminary, my Ministry 101 professor had the class debate several relevant issues over the course of the semester. One day he announced that the next debate would be on “Women as Pastors.” He asked who would like to be on the “against” side. Twenty hands shot up and he chose four. When he asked […]
My formative experiences in the church (both as a child and minister) were in small Spanish-speaking congregations. The worship began whenever enough family members arrived. Sometimes we had to wait because it was so-and-so’s birthday and we were going to sing happy birthday to them at the “welcome time,” and they were running late. It […]
Simone Biles, the most lauded U.S. gymnast in history, unexpectedly pulled out of the women’s team competition at the Tokyo Olympics, citing concerns about her mental health. Good for her. It has been encouraging to watch the Olympic community of athletes rally to support her decision. Good for them. It has been refreshing to read […]
Have you ever put your foot in your mouth? Our words can betray us, and don’t always reflect who we are. Based on his own words, the Apostle Paul, at times, has been labeled a misogynist and an antisemite. Two labels he doesn’t deserve, but also a reminder of how easy it is for us […]
The thing I love about Jesus is that he treated everyone with equal respect and value, and didn’t see any of the limitations society places on certain groups. He came to set us free from the chains that keep us in our assigned boxes. As a father and grandfather to some beautiful and brilliant young […]
I have shown that Jesus’ teachings elevated women. Jesus also held women in the highest regard in the way he interacted with them. [198] In fact, his treatment of women was so antithetical to the patriarchal culture of his day that he could only be characterized as egalitarian. [199] There are four specific cases […]
