Gospel Rewrite: The Holy Family Becomes Refugees
Joseph and Mary flee with the young Jesus to Egypt. But it doesn’t go as planned–at least not in this rewrite.
Thank God for Lisa: A Story of Why I’m Affirming
As I became friends with Pádraig and Paul … I recognized something that I knew well from my own life—love. Genuine love. I watched the way they touched each other’s faces and hands with tenderness, said each other’s names with affection, missed each other when the other was away—and I knew exactly what all that felt like. I no longer saw what difference it made if it were for someone of the same sex.
They are Muslim, We are Christian
Reposting a story I wrote for OnFaith on dining in the home of Palestinian Muslims, originally published April 3, 2017. As we prepare to step inside their home, a friend says, “It is a different world in there.” They are Muslim, and we are Christian. We come from white American privilege, and they from the poverty […]
Behind Prison Walls
Last September, the good folks over at Plough published two revised stories from the appendix of Where the River Bends. I’m reposting here. Was Jesus serious when he said, in Matthew 25, that we’ll find him in places like prison? If he spent his time with the least of his society, discipleship would seem to require […]
Gospel Rewrite: Jesus and Healthcare
This was originally posted at Red Letter Christians on March 30, 2016. To read an intro to the Gospel Rewrite series, click here. To read the original gospel stories, click here. In December I began working for a non-profit law firm that provides free assistance to vulnerable Tennesseans trying to access affordable health care. One of our […]
Why a “Gospel Rewrite” Series?
This “Gospel Rewrite” series will make revisions to many well-known stories about Jesus to expose the problems in many of our positions on issues like healthcare, refugees, the death penalty, violence, and more.
New Book Available
Cascade Books has just released my new book Where the River Bends: Considering Forgiveness in the Lives of Prisoners, with a foreword by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. Synopsis: Myriad works discuss forgiveness, but few address it in the prison context. For most people, prisoners exist “out of sight and out of mind.” Their […]
This Land Is (not) Your Land, This Land is My Land: Thanksgiving, Advent, and the Fleeing Christ
This post was originally published on the Tokens Show Blog on December 4, 2015. “I find it ironic on this Thanksgiving Day—a day of sharing, hospitality, and welcome—that our nation is divided as to whether we should extend hospitality to those seeking refuge in our borders.” Such was my dad’s opening remark as he welcomed […]
My Travel Through Instagram: Recapping the Last Two Months in Israel-Palestine, Ireland, and South Africa
My international travel is drawing to an end, and I thought it might be helpful for those who follow the blog but do not have access to Instagram to see an overview of my Instagram posts and stories. Here are some highlights from each location. ISRAEL-PALESTINE August 7, 2015 Their bodies arose early so their […]
Is the Third Palestinian Intifada Here? Some Thoughts on Israel-Palestine
I’ve received some Facebook messages in recent days asking what I think about what’s happening right now in Israel and Palestine. I thought I’d offer a short response as I sit here in a cafe in Cape Town. I do want to note, however, that while my thoughts are informed, they are not those of an […]
