I don't often make religious claims with absolute certainty. Not my style. But I am gonna' do it right here, right now. After studying the life of Jesus in the Gospels for the last 40 years, I can state with absolute certainty that Jesus would never, ever, ever, single out transgender children, or their parents, […]

"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it." (Robin Williams)

I love trees. Especially imperfect trees. Trees with scraggly limbs, branches torn off in a storm, green leaves only on the tippy-top, gnarly roots, bumpy bark, woodpecker holes. But look at this beauty. I sighted her on the golf course today and she called to me. She said, "Look at me, Alice! The winds blew, […]

I can't close the cover on Ronald Rolheiser's The Shattered Lantern without sharing one last idea. I remember reading this almost 20 years ago when I was in my late 30s and desperately trying to find a sense of myself in this world. I felt responsible to prove myself, to show the world that my […]

Awkward teaching story #3: I was teaching in the gym in our church, on stage, doing what I do, saying what I say, when all of a sudden the room went dark. I was at the height of what I thought was a really important point. Probably something about Jesus. Right after the dark descended, […]

I recently resigned after 23 years of teaching and preaching at Orchard Hill Church. I have been fielding questions about my departure. The most common being, Why? The simple answer to that question is this: I have a theological difference with our senior leadership team and our Board of elders. My understanding of Jesus and […]