Starting Again

Most folks who receive this email were subscribers to a newsletter I’ve periodically sent but which has been dormant for a long while.

In my work, I’m particularly interested in intersections: places and experiences where the traffic of diverse cultures, personal experiences, practices of creativity, questions of ethics, quests for meaning, guidance from wisdom traditions, and the ways of Jesus meet each other.

My posts here will vary in kind, content, and length. I hope that they will serve you as you attempt to live intentionally, wisely, faithfully, and joyfully in these challenging times. If what you read here piques your interest, you can find more of my writing at FromTheInstersecion.org

When I started the earlier newsletter, I had recently finished my service as pastor of the First Baptist Church in Asheville, NC and was teaching in the Religion and Philosophy department at Mars Hill University. I was also part of the adjunct faculty at the Gardner-Webb Divinity School.

These days, I offer leadership coaching and spiritual guidance to individuals and groups, and I teach and preach in a variety of congregations. Increasingly, I am focused on writing and on working with the Jesus Worldview Initiative to call Jesus-followers to view all of life through the lens of his life, deeds, and teachings. I’m also grateful to be affiliated with the Center for Healthy Churches and its work with ministers and congregations as they “navigate growth, transitions, and challenges.”

This past Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, I was in my local bank to make a deposit. To my left was a woman who was irate with the teller, a young Black man, because a deposit she had made at an ATM the day before wasn’t yet available for her use. The teller politely listened and patiently explained that, while the transaction showed-up, it would be a few hours before it could be disbursed. She said very loudly, “Look, I give regularly to the Christian Aryans, and they are waiting on my money. They need it now. Plus I have some things to pick up at the grocery store.”

It was chilling: groceries and Antisemitism, Neo-Nazism, and racism. We left the bank lobby at the same time. She was parked near me. On the bumper of her car was a sticker that said: “We still pray.”

What I thought of her didn’t begin with my respecting her as a bearer of God’s image and a subject of God’s love. It began with condescension and condemnation. Then, though, I thanked God that it was Ash Wednesday. Repentance—turning in a new direction, the direction of the all-embracing and all-transforming Jesus—is a gift and task for all of us.