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Jesus saw him in his lostness – alone in that tree. He looked past all the judgements and self-imposed values the people of Jericho were heaping on Zaccheus and he saw him as a lost human being, fully deserving of love. And in that he saw that Zaccheus, just as each one of us, possessed uncommon value.

When it comes to matters of social justice, there should never be such thing as a silent Christian. For that matter, when it comes to matters of social justice, there should never be such thing as a silent spiritualist or humanist.

I’m just saying that if a politician decides to utilize Christianity for their own good, they need to be called out when they forget or misconstrue what Christianity is all about.

Several years ago, I was interviewed at a pro-choice event for Republicans. Being well past any likelihood of pregnancy, I linked my concern about my right to die with my right to decide about my fertility.

Despite the fact that 1 in 5 American adults experienced a mental health issue; despite the fact that 1 in 10 young people experienced a period of major depression; despite the fact that 1 in 25 Americans lived with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression; we are either afraid of or reluctant to or maybe just indifferent about talking about mental health.

There was a time when neither Jesus nor his followers thought of or described him as God. Why is it that so many Christians are now required to confess that Jesus was always God?

For Jesus, for Gandhi, for Dr. King, for the 3.4 billion people who participated in non-violent resistance in the 20th century, pacifism isn’t… well, passive. It is active and creative and frequently uses systems of domination against themselves. Those of us who wish to follow the teachings of Jesus should look to the early church and their non-violent practices and then spend more time understanding how this works and then, ultimately, replicate it in our lives.

Finding peace through social justice.

Sermon Video with Rev. Mark Sandlin, Church of the Covenant (PCUSA), Greensboro, NC.

Why do you think so many churches mostly practice charity rather than justice?

I’m puzzled about prayer in the context of Progressive Christianity which has replaced the interventionist God “up-there” or “out-there” with the God-within. The typical (conventional) church service liturgy invariably includes an “Intercessions” segment. What meaning does this (segment) have in the context of “progressive” thinking? Should it be abandoned?

Can Christian liturgies be made to reflect reality rather than nostalgia?

“in all things God works for the good.”

  Question & Answer   Ginny from Reno, Nevada asks: Question: Why is it so important to you to view the Gospels as “midrash” rather than as history? Answer: Rev. Mark Sandlin   Dear Ginny, It’s not …

With the #TakeAKnee movement growing, what do you think the Church’s role in racism in the US is?

I have friends who seem to think believing that Jesus died for them is all they need to do. Some of them even treat other people badly and when I say something to them about being more Christian they just quote John 3:16 to me. What are your thoughts?

Even though I find redemptive suffering to be horrible theology, it does seem to be the underpinning that 1 Peter’s author is using to encourage Christian slaves to endure the suffering that they are subjected to under their masters. The larger implication, however, is that you are doing it because you are “following in [Jesus’s] footsteps.”

To me, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem – humbly riding into town, bouncing around on the back of a previously unridden ass as people gathered to greet him singing and shouting, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord,” signals that Easter is going to be a story about confronting The Powers That Be.

Why is Christianity growing in its fundamentalist forms and dying where it tries to engage the thought of the present world?

Good and gracious God,

We come before you today
lifting up those who,
because they are far too frequently
seen as different,
are far too frequently
treated differently.

They said I was… a radical. a liberal. anti-American. a tree hugger. a peacenik. a socialist. a progressive. But I was just following Jesus. Contrary to what some may tell you, progressive Christianity is not an oxymoron. …

The bumper sticker that jokingly says, “God loves us all, but I’m His favorite,” points to a much bigger problem that absolutely ruins much of what we read, (or, more precisely, interpret) from the Bible. Everybody wants …