My daily reading has me walking through Jeremiah, which is frightening on a whole new level since January 6.
In Jeremiah 14, Israel tries to get things back together. They have failed God miserably and rebelled horribly for hundreds of years. And like an addict that just needs another fix, they come home “repentant” swearing they’ll make it right this time.
Read moreThe American Church falters and it grows more and more obvious that it does so without a clue.
My reading to day was from Jeremiah 8, so I will continue on this theme of refusing to repent because it runs parallel to our own day.
Read moreThis episode came from a lot of emotion because I had another conversation with another young minister who is leaving a conservative denomination because of the current partisan climate. The nice part of me wants to apologize for that, but I won’t.
The closer we draw to the election, the more doubling down culturalized Christians are doing, leaving friends of color FAR behind. Our “George Floyd Moment” was just that… a moment. Shame on us.
What is ahead for the culturalized Church is hard and I let those emotions roll as I walked through Jeremiah 27-29. This isn’t easy or enjoyable. And it will probably be ignore. But I leave it as a witness.
I have some blocks of time to type up my notes for a work I hope to call “Living in Babylon.” A couple of observations.
Read moreThere were some crazy ideas of “the prophetic” when I was growing up and then when I was early in ministry. There are still some wild ideas about what it means to be “prophetic” even today. Some things just keep recycling. Here is what I have concluded as I keep walking through Jeremiah and Daniel in my work on “Living in Babylon”:
Read moreI am working through a hard passage in Jeremiah related to some writing I’ve called “Living in Babylon.” I’ve avoided getting to deep into this passage because of the direct implications it has on the American Church… and I have no interest whatsoever in being “wacky prophet guy.” But… God has turned me into “wacky prophet guy” and I’m not very happy about it.
Read moreMy daily reading takes me through four major portions of Scripture each day. One of my Old Testament readings this month has been a journey through Jeremiah. This has ignited my thinking once again into a long process the Lord has taken me through over the past 3 or so years I’ve called “Living in Babylon.” This is something that was a bit dormant in my spirit last year, but it is flaming into fire again this year.
Read moreOver the past week I have been trying to slow down my thoughts and put into motion what I needed to have written 3-4 years ago. It’s been a vision and word that has been urgent, but I’ve been timid. I preached on it and was ignored. That happens all the time anyway, so I went on. Yet, my own spirit knew this was not something to just set aside. It was something that needed prayer and writing and warning.
Read moreI am reading back through Ezekiel these days, asking the Lord about “imagination.”
As I read through the early part of Ezekiel again, I am struck by Ezekiel’s call. I also think of Jeremiah’s call. They were to warn clearly regardless of the response. If they didn’t give the warning, God would hold them (the prophets) accountable. In an era where church leaders are consumed with response, this is just offensive. Read more
Through Holy Week I have been meditating daily on Scripture through the Book of Common Prayer. There will be some psalms every day, an Old Testament reading, a New Testament reading, and a Gospel reading.
Today, the reading from Jeremiah 17 exploded into my foggy brain. Read more
