A Way in the Wilderness
Beside God’s altar in ancient Jerusalem, there was an organizational chart carved into the wall. The High Priest Caiaphas oversaw worship, but over him was
December 2, 2025
Bill's Progressive Christian Blog
Help for those stuck in a conservative box
Weekly Word:
(posts that may or may not match this week's lectionary scriptures)
An Apocalyptic Advent
One of the themes of Matthew 24:36-44 is that having things can be normal one day and apocalyptic the next. What happens the day before
November 24, 2025
What does a prophet say?
Every child is born into a certain context. John was born on a dark day, in the suburbs of Jerusalem, about 5 BCE; to a
November 18, 2025
Bill's Current Thoughts on Faith, Society, and Where We are Headed
Empathy Part III: Shame and Empathy
Every action that Jesus took was rooted in empathy. So much was this the case that in Matthew 25:31-46, he promises to remain in the world as an invisible presence with those who are hungry or thirsty. The nations of the world will be judged by how they treated the strangers in their midst, that is anyone who is a refugee, immigrant, speaks a distinct language, or follows another faith tradition. Christ demands that we have empathy for those who are homeless, ragged, sick, or in prison. Those who follow Jesus understand his solidarity with the weak. The intentional practice of Empathy is at the heart of the prayer Jesus taught us. When we pray, we think of how Jesus came into our world out of the unimaginable glory of eternity. So we stand with Jesus and pray for the elevation of our world to the goodness and charity of
September 23, 2025
A little thing in 1938
In October 1938, Polish Jews who had immigrated into Germany were rounded up and deported back to Poland. The Polish government, being equally anti-Semitic, didn’t want them. 17,000 people huddled for weeks in makeshift encampments on the border as winter came. This barbaric act was a transitional step in the larger movement in many European countries to deny citizenship to certain groups of people that they labeled as undesirables. A year later, Germany invaded Poland, starting World War II. Two years after that, they began the process of mass extermination known as the Holocaust or Shoah. I think if we were to ask Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, Tom Homan, or President Trump if they know that they are repeating history, they would say, no. They view their actions as patriotic, not demonic. They say we are anti-immigrant, not antisemitic. It’s not racist to believe in (white) America first. “Besides, we
July 26, 2025
I Samuel 8 will Preach
When the people came to Samuel and asked him to anoint for them a king, such as the other nations have, he repeated what God had told him to say, “[This king] He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” -I Samuel 8:14-18 In the 1990s, America became schizophrenic about separation of church and state. Conservative Christian leaders
June 17, 2025
Mental Health = Spiritual Health
I like this Thomas Moore quote: “The soul is a community of many interior persons, many of them capable leaders. The ego is only one among them and probably should not always run the show… The secret of a soul-based life is to allow someone or something other than the usual self to be in charge.” – Original Self: living with Paradox and Originality Our interior lives are a mixed bag. Thomas Moore writes, “The soul is a community of many interior persons, many of them capable leaders. The ego is only one among them and probably should not always run the show. The ego represents the motivations of our personality type, a voice which has both a dark side and a basic longing to do what is right. So those of us who are by nature perfectionists have an evil critical voice in our heads, as well as a
May 28, 2025
A Young Pope?
For the first time in my life, I can say the Pope is younger than me. I rejoiced when I discovered this. The reason for my joy is subtle and has more to do with my own struggles in ministry than any opinion I might have about papal competency. I have sought to be intentional about aging, retirement, and my elder role as I relate to the three generations of adults who are younger than me. People born in the 1950s have had their time in office. I don’t believe anyone over sixty-five should seek to be president of our country, or head of the local school board, or bishop in my denomination. I don’t say this because I fear senility, which I do on some days, but because each generation must graciously yield the floor to the next. It’s not that youth have better ideas. It’s that as we
May 10, 2025
David Brooks on Trump
On this April fools day, I thought I’d post something serious. This is a clip of David Brooks speaking at the recent annual conference of the Association for Responsible Citizenship in London. He begins by making the point that the Trump administration is not a populist, seeking to bring the politic back to the grass roots, but instead an elitist with no concern the slim majority that elected him. Then he makes the striking point that America’s loss of community and communal experiences, such as religious worship, is what birthed the MAGA movement. This is sobering for those of us who have read Dietrich Bonhoeffer’ writings on community and know the story of his resistance to the Nazis who utilized the loss of community to rise to power in the 1930s.
April 1, 2025
A Sneak Peak
In my novel, “Martha Finds Rest,” I retell the story of the first Easter. When I get to the part where Jesus visits the upper room in John chapter 20, my novel dramatizes the events, utilizing the viewpoint of a spying twelve-year old.
March 19, 2025
No Separate Peace
Wars don’t always begin with the firing of a gun. Sometimes they begin with a separate peace. Often what we do to preserve “normal” leads to tragedy. Twenty-five years ago, Al Gore called the unacceptable normal of human generated climate change an inconvenient truth. Forty years before that, the phrase “our nation’s darkest hour” was used to describe the dirty tricks and abuse of power that had become normal in the Nixon Whitehouse. An uneasy time of detente hung in Europe during the 1930s. Antisemitic violence and the remilitarization of Germany — something forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles — was normalized by a separate peace negotiated by Lord Chamberlain. Polish people today, should be wary of any separate peace negotiated by the United States with Russia. From 1619 until 1865, it was considered normal in America to buy and sell human beings. As I write this, the United
March 19, 2025
Grant us…
Grant us the courage to resist evil. Teach us to forgive. As we pray for each other, Grant us peace and unity. Amen. I would suggest gathering with whoever will join you at a fixed time and location each week, holding hands, and praying the resistance prayer. The evil that surrounds us today, makes resistance costly and offers neither apologies nor forgiveness. It seeks to divide us. Its leaders do not know the way to peace. Pray simply. Openly. Don’t share your opinion or fears.
March 13, 2025
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