Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church

Epiphany Sunday[1] In 2013, the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa in Oregon refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple.  The bakers soon became the darlings of the religious right, touring the country, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars from Christians fighting for the freedom to bake cakes only for people whose marriages … Continue reading How Do You Know?

There’s been a rise of dystopian novels and movies in the last ten years especially among teenagers.  Maybe you’ve noticed it:  the Hunger Games featuring teenagers battling each other to death in a sick contest arranged by the adults in power; the Divergent Series set in post-apocalyptic Chicago where kids are forced into particular tracks … Continue reading The Upside Down

Last week Isaiah cried out to God to tear open the heavens and come and save us.  This week 2 Peter writes to a people who seem to be losing faith that God will ever come.  It’s one thing to believe in the second coming of Christ a few weeks or even a fear years … Continue reading All Will Be Disclosed

We have arrived at the end of the church year, and we’re now asked to get ready for the coming church year.  It begins next Sunday on the first Sunday in Advent.  This last Sunday in the church year is usually called “Christ the King” Sunday, and the lectionary readings for this Sunday generally move … Continue reading This is Who We Are

Legend has it that while serving as a Professor at Columbia Seminary, Walter Brueggemann was called onto the carpet of the President’s office for supposedly using too much profane language in the classroom.  Apparently in the heat of talking about one of the prophets, Walter had let a succession of F-bombs fly on a day … Continue reading Keeping Your Head Up When the World Brings You Down

It’s stewardship Sunday and there’s a big part of me that wishes we could do stewardship commitment like we’ve sometimes done it in the past – celebrating the resurrection of this community, back from near death, a nearly 40 year resurrection story in its own right. Proof that God isn’t finished with us yet.         But … Continue reading Stay Woke

I was 7 years-old when I first “made a decision for Christ.” I walked down the aisle of the little Baptist church where we lived in rural South Carolina and declared Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. It was unusual for someone so young to be making such a decision, but the truth is … Continue reading Decision Time

When you want to cross a river, you look for the place where a tributary drops down from the ridges. Silt is deposited there, making the river shallower. That’s where river crossings happen all through the Old Testament – at the fords, those shallower parts in the river.[1] It’s where Joshua and company prepare to … Continue reading Repeat Miracle

Imagine if they hadn’t said anything. Imagine of Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah had done what women of their time were supposed to do: stay quiet and let the system act on them instead of acting on the system. I’m sure they weren’t the first daughters who had found themselves in this situation. There … Continue reading Reformation IV: Reformed and Always Being Reformed #metoo

A few years ago, when I was gearing up for my first guest sermon, one of my former professors told me I should “preach like I won’t be invited back” – which was fine advice as I drove to a small congregation in Arkansas. Once they realized that I wasn’t Mr. Lewellen, there wasn’t a … Continue reading Reformation: The Word Did Everything