This is a sermon I preached today. You can hear it below.
A megachurch pastor comes out of the closet, scandal free
October 30, 2010 by 7 Comments
Watch live streaming video from bishopjimswilley at livestream.com
This is Bishop Jim Swilley. It’s long. Watch the whole thing. My distaste of megachurches aside, in the midst of the bullycides, this is a powerful thing. What are your thoughts?
I hope we can get him on the podcast soon.
The classic ‘Footprints in the Sand’ poem revisited
October 16, 2010 by Leave a Comment
In my sermon this week, I decided to revise the famous “Footprints in the Sand” poem to reflect Matthew 6:24 about serving two masters. Here it goes:
One more set of footprints
Last night I had a dream. I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonged to me, the other to the Lord.
After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was one more set of footprints.
This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. “Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, you would be all I needed. You’d walk with me all the way. But during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, I saw another set of footprints. I don’t understand why anyone else would come between us.”
The Lord replied, “My son, my precious child, I love you and I wish there were only two sets of footprints. During your times of suffering, when you saw three sets of footprints, it was then that you brought along your friend Mammon.”
Religious Pluralism, Nondualism, and Polydoxy with John Thatamanil: Homebrewed Christianity 86
October 12, 2010 by 3 Comments
This is just a podtastic conversation between Tripp and Dr. John Thatamanil, a discussion about how Thatamanil’s cultural background has informed his Christian theology. This podcast episode gives a glimpse of what one might come up with weaving strands of Alfred North Whitehead/process, the thought of Paul Tillich, and a bit of hindu tradition into a thoroughly Christian theology. He and Tripp explore the implications for religious pluralism, nondualism, and an emerging polydoxy stemming from his work.
Dr. Thatamanil is an assistant professor of theology at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, teaching a wide variety of courses in the areas of comparative theology, theologies of religious pluralism, Hindu-Christian dialogue, Buddhist-Christian dialogue, the theology of Paul Tillich, process theology, and Eastern Orthodox theology and spirituality.
Order a copy of Thatamanil’s The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament. An East-West Conversation.
We’re also still looking for a few more religious jokes before we offer up the finalists to the deacons to vote on for the title of 2010 Homebrewed Christianity Joke-off Champion. The prize is 4 world-class theological books, 2 premium cigars from Tripp’s humidor, some of Chad’s famous homebrewed ale, and a stack of stickers for you to spread the goodness of Homebrewed! Give us a call at 678-590-BREW to leave a message with your best religious joke.
Click the play button below for a great episode!
