Category: Blog

  • Declare Independence from the Filibuster

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    Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed Declaration of Independence Every Fourth, I post a brief reflection on how the Declaration speaks into current events. This year, I am guided by “the consent of the governed.” In recent years, the Supreme Court has practically set law by…

  • American Gun Violence is a product of willful ignorance

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    19 elementary students, two teachers, one 18-year-old, and one grandma – all dead in Texas, just hours after I flew with my three kids and wife out of Houston. Everybody has an opinion on how and why this happened. They raise topics like gun control, mental health, school security and what not. The bottom line…

  • How are you doing, Pastor?

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    I wrote another piece for the United Church of Christ’s Center for Analytics, Research & Development, and Data (CARDD) Blog. The simple, well-intended question “How are you doing, pastor?” needs a lot of parsing. Hopefully, this more detailed look at what clergy persons are dealing with can be helpful for congregations, pastor relations committees, church councils, committees…

  • Cheers to COVID, dear church!

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    Drinking is up 60% during the pandemic. How do we promote systemic change on all levels of the church that reduces our contribution to alcohol abuse? Shaming is not the answer, neither is permissiveness. Read more in my latest piece for the UCC Center for Analytics, Research & Development, and Data. If you are experiencing…

  • Careful with those child tax credit payments

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    We received some extra cash from the IRS this month. I had to move it into savings right away, because in our situation the new advances are not really advantageous. Getting cash in parents’s hands is a good idea for the country and for people who we actually need that extra cash for necessities now.…