I grew up in a theology where everything was black and white. There was a line that was drawn and if you crossed it, you were going to heaven or going to hell. There was a song I used to sing as a little boy in Sunday school – “One door and only one and…
I have a friend who told me how each night before he goes to sleep he puts a full glass of water next to his bed so that the first thing in the morning when he wakes up, he drinks the entire glass of water. This has multiple benefits – it’s good for the digestive…
This week’s article is written by Rev. Houston Burnside Jr. He writes a powerful message of life before and after an “operation gone bad” that left him in a wheelchair. Let his story encourage you – no matter what you may be facing in your life. “Throughout our lives we confront circumstances that seem to…
Today, we have at our disposal more knowledge than at any other time in history. More information has been produced in the last thirty years than in the previous five thousand years. Our world has plenty of knowledge and education, but it doesn’t necessarily bring along much wisdom. One might have a lot of knowledge…
I think the Apostle Paul would’ve liked the festivities here in San Diego as we celebrated LGBT Pride. After all, he understood the destructiveness of division and prejudice. He lived in a world whose fundamental structures were rooted in pairs of opposites: circumcision/uncircumcision; Jew/gentile; slave/free; male/female. And, he believed that the message of Jesus worked…
This week’s article is all about little things that have control over big things. Things that are small, yet powerful: A bit in a horse’s mouth; a spark that can burn down a forest; a rudder that can control a ship; and a tongue that can influence a person so much. James, the apostle, talks…
A few years ago, James Patterson and Peter Kim surveyed America and tabulated the results. The results were given in their book called The Day America Told the Truth. In the chapter dealing with America’s religious beliefs, they shared that 90 percent of the people questioned said that they truly believed in God. Yet, they…
Let me ask you a question, “Have you been hurt by the church? Do you feel disillusioned? Do you discriminate?” That’s a strong word – and you may have experienced discrimination. Before you answer that question too quickly ask yourself, “Who, outside of your present circle of friends, have you attempted to include in your…
Every hospital has one hallway that seems seven miles long. I’ve been to many hospitals and even though hospitals don’t all look alike, they all look like hospitals – and every one of them has one corridor that seems like its seven miles long. It doesn’t matter how long the hallway actually is. It doesn’t…
From an ad in the Advocate magazine, submitted by a defrocked Pentecostal preacher, who was kicked out of his church for being gay, came a gathering of 12 people in a living room in Los Angeles, which birthed the first Metropolitan Community Church; becoming a global denomination in excess of 200 churches in more than…
