The Gospel According to Kanye

I have a confession. Prior to the last week or so I hadn't really put much thought into Kanye. Sure there was his visit to the white house, his outburst at the 2009 VMAs, and his hit song Gold Digger. So I want to say upfront that I am not an expert on Kanye. I don't have 15 years of background to compare to. I am not a 'Ye fan. At least I wasn't two weeks ago.

The past week I have been listening to JESUS IS KING on repeat. I have seen his Airpool Karaoke video with James Corden. I have listened to Jesus Walks off his debut album. I have even watched his two hour interview with Zane Lowe in its entirety.

I've spent time thinking and praying. I've read article after article about the album. Yet there is one single fact I keep coming back to. What Kanye is now preaching IS the gospel. Everything on that album is the gospel -- from the emphasis on freedom for slaves to the counter-cultural statement that Jesus (and none other, not even an orange president) is king.

Teardrops on the Floor

Elevators are sacred spaces. For the last nine months I have been volunteering as a chaplain at a hospital in Philadelphia. Part of being a chaplain is recognizing sacred spaces when you walk into them. Its not always easy, and often I have to rely on the leading of the Holly Spirit, but sometimes you can just tell. As I stepped onto the elevator today, I again noticed a clear sign of a sacred space. There were teardrops on the floor.

When Doubt Grips You

Are you struggling to have faith today? Maybe you are reading this and in the back of your head you have doubts. Maybe you feel God calling you to something, but you are scared because you don't know the details. Maybe you are faced with crippling anxiety and doubt even though God just provided for you.

Usually, when I write these blogs I am writing from the other side. I have just learned something or have just gone through something. I write from a place of knowing. I write from a place of complete understanding. That is not the case today. Today I write from the unknown. I write not knowing how everything will play out.

Complaints in the Desert

This is a manuscript of a sermon I preached for seminary. What I learned here has always stuck with me. I came across it today because I was thinking about the lessons we learn in the desert. The ways in which God uses the dry times, the times of waiting, the times of Advent, to teach us. Without the desert the Israelites would not have been ready for the promised land. It was those years of wandering in the desert that taught them how to trust in God. As Christians I think we move to quickly into the hope of Jesus. We don't learn the lesson of the dry time: that our present circumstances are not an indication of favor or abandonment by God. It is not God who changes, only our willingness to follow Him.

An Open Letter to Survivors

This letter is dedicated to all those who in the last year have shared with me their stories. To those of you that have trusted me with some of the deepest hurts in your life. To those of you who years later are now able to look back and find something redeeming about your story. To those of you who are still in the midst of confusion about what the future holds. I have heard you. And I'm sorry.

When Salvation Feels Like Condemnation

Last weekend I preached a hard sermon. It wasn't hard because I had to do in-depth research. It wasn't hard because the passage was particularly confusing. It was hard because it was truth that people don't like to think about let alone hear. It was hard because it called people to change.

I could spend this post writing about all the ways that the sermon was hard for me. I could talk about the consequences of hard conversations on the person who initiates that conversation. But the reality is that more often than not we are on the receiving end of hard conversations. This is not a post for those thinking about having hard conversations. This is a post for those who have heard a hard truth and don't know how to respond.

5 Things to Learn from Jules Woodson and #churchtoo

I am not a victim. I have never been abused. In fact, being a pastor, I have more in common with the abusers than with the victims. On behalf of the church I want to apologize. Apologize for the silence of the church. Apologize for generations of Pastors who thought more about their position than victims. Apologize for churches who cared more about reputations than displaying the nature of God. If you have been abused this is not for you. This is a blog for the church. The church that has been silent for too long.