I appreciate that social media has provided me the opportunity to connect and reconnect with family, friends, and colleagues all over the world. At the same time I learned from this past year something about myself that I needed to own. I didn’t find anything good about having a Twitter account. Many people do or … More Throw Back Twitter #TBThursday
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind at this point that we are in the midst of a truly unusual year. The problems that we see all around us come at us with a heightened urgency that can easily drown the most optimistic among us. Virus, job loss, injustice, broken systems, riots, houses up for … More Doing Heart Work
It is that time of year again when we in the Christian faith will give something up for God as we prepare for Easter. Moderation and fasting are valuable practices that have longterm benefits, but does God really care about whether we have chocolate between now and Easter? In short. No. The prophet Hosea wrote; … More Something Else
I have found that there is not one plan or perfect program that fits all situations of loss. Part of that is due to the multitude of ways we can experience loss and the other part is due to what we are dealing with at that time. Loss demands to be looked at when it happens and … More Loss
Last night Dannah Gresh’s Secret Keeper Girl performed their Purple Party Tour at our campus. There was so much joy and energy in our building. All day during the set up, during the show, and after during tear down there existed an excitement that was infectious. Why? The people who do the tour? That is part … More Purple Party Last Night
Why is it that we crave to be known all while wanting to be left alone? When we enter into the pain and disorder and hear of a way through it we don’t want to be bothered by calls for personal or communal change. That would mean that our course is incorrect, the path we … More Lonely in America
Even though there is plenty of shake-your-head press about Malia Obama twerking or the number of assaults and drug/alcohol related emergencies that happened over the weekend in Grant Park I experienced these festival goers in a completely random and surprisingly hope filled way. Let me explain. Even though I enjoy a lot of the musicians … More Youth Gone Mild: My family meets Lollapalooza.
If there is one major take away that I have learned lately is that there a lot of people who feel like they don’t have a voice. It is not for a lack of trying on their part, they cast their votes, they take to social media, they write on their blog … in all … More Listening
How does the follower of Christ engage the democratic elections of their nation? Just writing that question feels like a powder keg that is primed to be misunderstood. Why? Simple. I just combined the two topics that are not to be discussed separately or together in public. I have purposefully withheld my voice from the flood … More Elections and Faith
As someone who was raised in a couple of different Christian traditions I have found that when I say “pray” there are two constants 1) “Not it” happens often and 2) within Christianity there are so many diverse ways that people of the same faith pray. Have you ever been in a group setting and the … More Modern Prayer
Rev. Shawn J. Smith 