Happiness. That sometimes ever elusive vibe, especially in rainy wintery Portland. What does it mean to be “happy people?” Jesus has a word on it and you might be surprised that it includes hopelessness, grief, humility, justice, mercy, a different kind of purity, peace, and folks that have experienced insults and lies - Jesus even thinks JOY can be found here.

John the Baptist is looking for some change.

So much of how we were told to “believe in the Bible” just didn’t add up by 3rd or 4th grade it wouldn’t have passed the Snopes test. And yet we were told there was only one literal way to understand stories like Noah’s Ark and the Great Flood. Did a flood happen? Yeah, probably. A lot of cultures told stories around the same time in global history. Did God send the flood to punish all the people, though? 

Wrestling with angels, running from the past, and heading God knows where - that's the story of Jacob's life (and maybe some of us, too, let's be honest). Right smack dab in the middle of the chaotic journey Jacob had a vision of angels and was invited to realize what he was looking for was hidden in plain sight all along.

When you're a child there's something magical about the way some Bible stories are taught. Seven day creation? It's a profound poetic flourish that can help inspire further imagination. But then we grow up and must deconstruct those myths... and hopefully put them back together anew again. That’s what Richard Rohr is talking about when he talks about the pattern of order, disorder and reorder. We need those containers - but when we outgrow them, as we inevitably do as we mature and expand, then what? Deconstruction works. But it’s not enough. So like Humpty Dumpty needing to be put back together again, we’ll be journeying through a commitment to reorder. Join us this Fall on a journey of Reorder as we look to continue following in the footsteps of Jesus for us and others. #churching #portland #progressive #spirituality #inclusive

What does it look like to physically embody forgiveness?

As the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins sings, “Christ plays in ten thousand places,” so how are you seeing Christ in the world around you? And how are you Christ to others? Now is the time.

December 2 2018: Advent: Suspend the Expected In Order to Expect The Unexpected

Jesus didn’t come to change God’s mind about us. Jesus came to change our minds about God, about one another, and what it meant to be truly human. Which is divine. Which calls for sacrifice. A beautiful, fragrant offering for others. How are you living a fragrant offering for others? 

We’re not talking about buildings and old tired ways. We’re talking about a church not made of hands - co-created out of the rubble of this world by ordinary women and men. Folks like Peter, who had no business running anything at all. Let’s talk about why we can’t quit “church.”