So i will cross-post from Elmwoodjesus.org. This is what I put there (which was also a lazy post, I know):


For the record, I have started to put most of my sermons there. It's not because I don't like you all, but just because that's where people tend to go look for sermons. So if you want theological content, go to elmwoodjesus.org/news


Oops. Can't copy and paste the links. So if you want to see the post, you have to go here.

I promise to be a better (e:strip)per soon.

This is also on the other site. Shane Clairborne talking about "Jesus for President":



Ok. Time to go home. My wonderful wife is making a good dinner tonight.

There is good polish stuff @ the Albright-Knox. That is where (e:janelle) and I will be, until we go salsa dancing.

Is available at this link.



I wish I had written this. When I get permission, I will probably adapt this for the elmwoodjesus.org website.

Today is the most fun day of the Christian calendar. Here's how I am celebrating.

Right now: Drinking coffee and making sure everything is ready for worship.

9:20am: Meeting with the people that will join Lafayette Church today, to get them ready. (Six of them! W00t!)

10 am: Worship begins: special music, special flowers, new members join, everybody dresses up, we share communion, and even have a u2 song (plus there will be more people than usual!)

11:30: Coffee with people, Easter egg hunt, and then go home

12pm: start making burritos

1pm: Easter burritos with friends!

I'm learning as I go. I am sure this would have been simple for some, but it took a lot of effort and starting over for me.

But I am getting better.

1. It allows kids to "have a beer."

2. It is uniquely American. Most of the world thinks it disgusting, actually.

3. It kept brewers in business during prohibition.

4. It can be made at home.

5. It is flavored by Sassafras. You've got to love a tree that tastes good!

6. It can be delightfully simple, or bold and complex.

7. Froth.

8. Floats.

9. Cool sweetness on a hot day (coming soon, I hope).

10. The taste, duh!

Is the Rev. Jeremiah Wright racist?

He has been proclaimed to be such.

Today, my hometown Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, I read a column comparing Obama's association with Rev. Wright and Trinity UCC with George Bush choosing to speak at Bob Jones University, when it had some racist positions (interracial dating was illegal, for example).

She also reacted against Wright's teaching of a black Jesus.

She then told us, quite plainly, that Jesus was Jewish.

Which, of course, is true.

But she did not take time to understand what Wright meant by "black Jesus."

Black theology teaches that Jesus is black in a number of ways. For example:

a. Jesus had dark skin. To many white people, this makes you black. To many white supremacists, every non-WASP is black. By their definition, Jesus is black.

b. The "one drop" rule. This is related to the first case. In many Southern states and colonized nation, the children of white and black parents presented a problem. What were these children? According to the "one drop rule," one drop of "black blood" made a person black.

Now, if all of humanity is redeemed in Christ (which orthodox Christianity affirms) then Christ is at least "one drop" black.

c. Finally, as a Galilean Jew, Jesus was politically, socially, and economically disadvantaged. While this does not make him black, ethnically speaking, it does connect him to the black experience in the US. Jesus is black in the way that Bill Clinton was "the first black president," or the way a bunch of Irish soul singers are in "the commitments."

(I couldn't find the video, but here's the quote:

"Jimmy Rabbitte: Do you not get it, lads? The Irish are the blacks of Europe. And Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland. And the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin. So say it once, say it loud: I'm black and I'm proud.

Dean Fay: I'm black and I'm proud. )

With any one of these explanations, it is easy to see that Jesus was, in one way or another, black.

So many columnists, however, don't bother to ask these questions.

Instead, they skip directly to Wright's sermon in which he replied, "God Damn America."

Now I do not share his sentiment, but he has not been the only person to say as much. Robertson and Falwell have also preached that 9/11 was a judgment on America.

Here's a question that ought to make us uncomfortable.

Could God rightly judge America?

Now, I'm not saying that God has done so, but couldn't the enslavement of one people group and the near extinction of another qualify a nation for judgment? Wouldn't that earn it?

And, even if it isn't good to do so, couldn't you understand a member of the group that was enslaved still reacting against the nation that has treated him unjustly? Rev. Wright, I'm sure, has experienced real racism.

Is he called to forgive? Absolutely. But start with yourself before coming down on somebody else. How many of those calling for Wright to forgive America have forgiven America's enemies?

There is a big difference between associating one's self with Bob Jones and with Jeremiah Wright. Yes, both have taken a stand based on race. One however, is associated with power over a race, and another has encouraged blacks to stand up together against that power.

Wright's theology isn't perfect. Nobody's is--we cannot fully understand God, and every theology is incomplete.

But he is not a racist. And he does not deserve to be attacked as he has been recently. He has spent a lifetime thinking about what it means to be black, American, and Christian, and now he is being dismissed in a soundbite. Let's seek to understand where he comes from before we attack him for where he is.

Sorry about the commercial, but it is the only way to share the joy of Tracey Morgan obviously reading from cue cards.




"That's where I come in . . ."

(The West Side west of Richmond, that is)

1. Guercio's market. Good food, good prices, and friendly, too.

2. Lots of good non-profits: West Side Community Collaborative, PUSH, West Side ministries, MAP, Peace of the City, and a few more. (They organized a housing meeting today that I went to--inspiring this post.)

3. Houses that are cheap, or even free.

4. It is diverse. (That causes problems, too, but I like having lots of cultures around)

5. At least 2 good thrift stores (Salvation Army and New to You)

6. Old houses.

7. Italian restaurants.

8. The bargain hardware store.

9. "Essex corners," with good food, Urban roots, art stuff, good drink, and nice places to live.

10. Good people that care about their neighborhood--all over the place.