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Was Jesus Polarizing?

Was Jesus a polarizing figure? My church will do a worship series on polarization during Lent.   Wish us luck!   People are already asking me, “Are you really going to ask me to interact with others whose views are so off course that they would become violent?”   That response is incredibly telling of the dynamics at play within our society—that people automatically go to the extreme without seeing the rest.   The goal of this series is to investigate whether the life of Jesus teaches us anything about polarization. I’ve been doing some scriptural research.   And I got to tell you: it’s been a tough day.   You know when you are reading a novel and you prescribe a personality, tone of voice, and temperament to a character?   It’s almost like you can hear their voice in your head as you are reading dialogue.   The author of the story, of course, plants all the seeds through their character development, but ultimately the reader’s own lens gives the character life.   (This is why p
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PRIDE week communion

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It's PRIDE month.  For the last three years, June has been a really strange time in ministry for me.  People often refer friends, relatives, and colleagues to talk through issues around identity and gender diversity.  I get calls from people dissatisfied with their own church's stance who are trying to figure out steps to allyship.  I get calls from parents trying to do the right things.  But the most holy calls I get are from people from the LGBTQIA community, folks looking for hope after church rejection, spiritual trauma, and family rejection.   These folks are brave:  brave to recount the pain, brave to dare to accept themselves, brave to let themselves sense a glimmer of healing grace.  Their stories are sacred, and I feel nothing but gratitude that I'm let into this sacredness.   Recently I was asked by a group to provide a two-minute speech about the power of story-telling during a time of holy conferencing (the nice version of debate) at the gathering of Minnesota U
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Walking the Fence

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 I’m responsible for four humans who are between the ages of 16-21 years old (three are offspring and one is niece).  About a year ago, all three were playing a game in the dining room while I was lounging in the living room.  I heard one say, “It just occurred to me.  I’m the only straight cis person in this room!” Sure enough, I’m not sure how it happened, but I’m blessed to get to parent a bunch of rainbow umbrella kids.  They are proud of who they are.  And I’m proud they have discovered, or are discovering, their identities.  So it’s no secret around here.  We’re all out… and figuring it out.  I’m also a United Methodist pastor.   And for anyone who follows along with denominational things, this is a tough week.   We have a lot of “tough weeks” as a denomination because we are anything but united.   This particular week is tough because a significant part of the denomination is leaving to form a new denomination.   Why? Because they believe a big portion of the United Methodist C
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Worship Matters to Kids

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As a pastor, I get the privilege of talking to parents about why worship matters for kids.  Most people expect me to give religious reasons:  God is worthy of worship; worship is part of discipleship.  And, yep, that’s all true.  But when it comes to worship and children, I find myself mostly giving the perspective of a developmental psychologist (you know, that other job I do).   Here’s what I shared recently with a group of parents: 1. Patterns, rhythms, and rituals build identity, create a sense of security, and orient/ground us.  Research for over 70 years (yes, that many!) has shown that children thrive when their grownups provide rituals and routines.  Worship is a powerful ritual that reminds kids, “you are part of something bigger.”   Family routines and rituals may improve family relationships and health (apa.org) 2. Worship is a sensory-rich experience with music, liturgy, readings.  Little brains are stimulated when in they are enmeshed in environments like this.  Excep
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Tragedy and Grace

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This is written with permission of the daughter of Sha-Von.   Last year, my church started a journey of more actively pursuing racial justice.   After so much struggle in the Twin Cities, we could not turn our eyes away any longer.   As a step in this journey, the staff and executive team was asked to make progress in our ability to adapt to diverse cultures, backgrounds, and experiences, and to understand more deeply the biases operating in us.   I remember meeting one-on-one with our consultant.   I found myself saying to him over and over, “I feel as if I know what I need to do in my head, but I don’t intentionally create space and time to interact with the diversity around me.   I’m scared.   I'm a  perfectionist.   And I can’t be perfect at this.   I’m worried that my interactions could create harm.   I don’t want to be that person.   So I just withdraw.”   That was last spring.   And I didn’t make any steps.   I’ve let my accountability partner down.   Then June came,
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Free Range Chickens

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I used to get eggs from a friend who had free range chickens in her yard.  The chickens wandered around everyday eating ticks and whatever else they found.  These chickens' eggs were so good—hard shells, dark yoke, and yummy.  I’ve never tasted a store-bought egg, even those marked “free range,” like the eggs from these truly free chickens. The United Methodist Church is a mess.  I don’t need to go into the details.  Most of you know what’s happened.  And if you don’t, a quick google search will fill you in quick.  Like most United Methodists in the US, I’m sad, especially for the pastors who identify as LGBTQI+ and pastors who are leading divided congregations.  Grief.  Frustration. Vulnerability.  It's all part of this.  I must be honest with myself too.  I’m in a safe church, which is mostly of one mind.  As a cis-gender, heterosexual woman I have a ton of privilege in how I frame the debacle of the last few weeks.  As I speak, I want to acknowledge I speak from that
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Does Worship Matter?

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"Does Creator/God actually want us to worship them?" I was recently drawn to this question posed on a friend's Facebook page.  I've grappled with this question several times in my life too, so I offered a comment and now have been thinking about it for the last couple of days.  It's like a little marble rolling around in my brain.     At certain times in my life, I've felt corporate worship--and the resources churches put into it--aren't consistent with God's desire for humans. In fact, at different points, I've actually thought we need to give up on worship, or at least the form its taken over the last 200 years.  I can't actually imagine a God who wants us to use our time and money to lavish praise and adoration on him/her while people are starving and hurting in the world.  Yet, I continue to come back to worship as the most important spiritual practice in my life (which is no surprise for you who have known me over the years). 
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