A minister dies and is waiting in line at the Pearly Gates. Ahead of him is a guy who’s dressed in sunglasses, a loud shirt, leather jacket, and jeans. Saint Peter addresses this guy, “Who are you, so that I may know whether or not
A Pagan died and, much to her surprise, found herself at the Pearly Gates facing St. Peter. He walked up to her and said, “Hello, and welcome. She stared at St. Peter in complete confusion. “Wait a minute,” she said. “I was supposed to end
Reading for All Saints Day: John 11:32-45 Jesus received a message that Lazarus was sick. Jesus did not leave immediately to see Lazarus. He waited for two days before going to see Lazarus. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead and buried for
Editor: I feel compelled to write and express my thanks to Candace Chellew for writing the article, Yes it Is, No it Isn’t. Her words spoke right to my soul and I shall be praying on the issues raised. Jesus’ message is written in my
If I had to make a speech before congress, what would I say? I am a Christian who grew up in the southeastern United States. As such, I grew up with certain cultural biases. Biases which needed to be outgrown. It took seven years of
Background: In August 2007, a fundamentalist mega-church in Texas refused to conduct funeral services when it found out the deceased man was gay. Whew. I don’t know about you, but I sure sleep better at night knowing the Christian churches in Texas are standing by
Republished from Coming Out of Fundamentalist Christianity: An Autobiography Affirming Sensuality, Social Justice and the Sacred with permission of the author. Introduction In early 2005 in anticipation of my sixtieth birthday, I began working on an autobiography. Certainly, I reasoned, now entering my sixth decade, I
Recently, I was asked to give an interview on a public listener sponsored radio station that largely has as its audience rather politically progressive people, most of whom can be expected to have an understandable disdain for anything “Christian.” Given the fact that most of
You’re just waiting for the next “Family Values” Republican to get caught with his pants down, aren’t you? They’re being exposed fast and furiously now that bloggers can do an end run around mainstream media enablers. It’s hard to keep up and keep score, but
Read our interview with Tammy Faye’s son, Jay Bakker One of my heroes passed away this summer, on July 20, 2007. Tammy Faye Messner spent her years after the PTL Club scandal ostracized by many in the established church, and she said many times that