Category Archives: discipleship

When the Nativity makes us uncomfortable

10 Tuesday Dec 2019

Posted by in Community of Christ, Culture, discipleship, Politics

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“God, the Eternal Creator, weeps for the poor, displaced, mistreated, and diseased of the world because of their unnecessary suffering. Such conditions are not God’s will. Open your ears to hear the pleading of mothers and fathers in all nations who desperately seek a future of hope for their children. Do not turn away from them. For in their welfare resides your welfare.” – Community of Christ Holy Text

This past week there has been an image of the nativity scene at Claremont United Methodist Church in California in where Baby Jesus, Joseph, and Mary find each of themselves in their own cage. It’s a protest visual in response to our governments border policies. To view the image, check out this article from CNN. To use the nativity in this way is provocative, sad, disconcerting, and even maddening, and that is why it is incredibly appropriate. I wish more faith communities were brave enough to make a similar statements. For the purpose of Christ’s message wasn’t to spread a message of rainbows and butterflies with pats on the back for good deeds done. It was to challenge unjust laws and spread a message of Joy, Hope, Love, and Peace in the midst of a society that seemed to contradict that message. It was to bring hope to those who were lonely, oppressed, marginalized, and forgotten. It was to live within a spirit of shalom, not fear.

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Community of Christ, Come out!

06 Monday Nov 2017

Posted by in Community of Christ, discipleship, Religion

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Part of my role as a full-time minister for Community of Christ is serving as the Invitation Support Minister for the Greater Pacific Northwest Mission Center. This post was my Invitation Support Minister article that was printed in the Autumn 2017/Winter 2018 edition of The Chinook, our GPNW MC Biannual Newsletter. 

Claim your unique and sacred place within the circle of those who call upon the name of Jesus Christ. Be faithful to the spirit of the Restoration, mindful that it is a spirit of adventure, openness, and searching. – Doctrine & Covenants 162:2a

Over Labor Day Weekend, I had the honor to join with others who identified somewhere on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum as well as straight allies at a GALA Retreat at Camp Red Cliffe in Huntsville, UT. GALA is an organization whose mission seeks to “Providing sanctuary, spirituality, and transformation: For persons of ALL sexual orientations and gender identities through our shared faith experience in Community of Christ building bridges of understanding”. A common theme at the retreat was the concept of “coming out”. It was present while people shared their personal stories of faith and sexuality in their journey as a disciple. We occasionally wept tears of pain, hope, and even joy, as we listened to one another share their stories of courage. Stories that reflected the sharing of their authentic truth with others. Continue reading →

Singing, We Need Revival

16 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by in Community of Christ, discipleship, Religion

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Holy Spirit rain down. Change us from the inside.
Singing. We need revival.

These lyrics from the song “Revival” by Soulfire Revolution (feat. Kim Smith) became an anthem for me as I sensed my ministry focus shift a few years back. It was a shift that led to my call, acceptance, and ordination to the office of Seventy. In many ways, congregational life in the Christian church is in the midst of its own huge shift as well, or at least needs to be. The needs and demands are changing. Building glorious structures of praise, beautifying our property, and traditional 11 am worship on Sunday meet the needs of many of our active members, but they no longer meet the needs of many in our communities. An “If we will build it, they will came” approach to living out congregational life is no longer relevant in our Western culture society today.  Continue reading →

Mourning, Healing, Disrupting, Living

11 Friday Nov 2016

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Mourning, Healing, Disrupting, Living:
Post-Election Thoughts From A Minister

I posted the following on my Facebook page near midnight on Tuesday, November 8:

Tonight… Racism won. Homophobism won. Misogynism won. Religious Imperialism won.

Republicans lost. Democrats lost. 3rd party voters lost. But most importantly… Equality lost. Humanity lost. America lost.

I’m numb.

But I won’t be numb for long. I will fight. I will scream. For this is not the America that I believe in and I will do what I can to fight and scream for THAT America.

And now, 40 hours later, I still feel the same sentiment. Continue reading →

Why Uncommon Devotion?

10 Wednesday Apr 2013

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God is calling for a prophetic community to emerge, drawn from the nations of the world, that is characterized by uncommon devotion to the compassion and peace of God revealed in Jesus Christ. – Doctrine & Covenants 163:11a

When I attended the 2007 Community of Christ World Conference I was on the edge of my seat listening to President Steve Veazey share Words of Counsel to the church. “Uncommon Devotion” was one of the phrases that immediately stuck out to my that night. Later in the week the conference body accepted it as Section 163 of the Doctrine & Covenants. “Uncommon Devotion” was such a powerful phrase that the Young Adult group that I was the Co-Leader of in the Seattle area planned worship services around it.

So why does it speak to me? Continue reading →