Good morning. So for those of you who don’t know me obviously my name is Joe. Part of the reason I’m standing here right now is that I’m a recovering Lutheran pastor. And I mean that in a few different ways. Recovering, Lutheran, Pastor In one sense there’s a part of me that is still a pastor …
Blog Posts
How We Get the Bible Wrong
Whether I express it here or through my work over at Abundance Reconstructed, I believe, by and large, the Western Church gets the Bible wrong. Moreover, because we misunderstand the overarching story, we end up applying the message incorrectly. Now, I do not believe there is some conspiracy …
What’s the Right Way to Be Hated?
On Sunday, January 24, 2021 I preached on the right way to be hated at The Sanctuary in Denver, CO. The essay on love and power that shaped my thinking is the second chapter of Henri Nouwen’s book, Intimacy. …
A Fractured Existence on The Grounded Presence
When your bread and butter job is officiating funerals, you spend time with people living a fractured existence. Death fractures community. My primary roles as a funeral officiant is helping people step into a new but unwanted normal. New because their loved one is no longer part of it. Unwanted …
Overcome Religious and Cultural Shame
Are religious and cultural shame holding you back? That’s a huge part of my story. This week I make a guest appearance on the “Show the F**k Up” podcast and talk about not only the history of how we read the Bible, but how it shapes the way we understand ourselves and the world. Here’s the …