Author Archives: Chaplainmike

CM – Music Monday: Hymn for the 81%

Hymn for the 81% By Daniel Deitrich • About this song, Daniel Deitrich writes: In 2016, 81% of white evangelical Christians voted for Donald Trump after (among other things) hearing an audio recording of him bragging about sexually assaulting women. Maya Angelou famously said, “when someone shows you who they are, believe them the firstContinue reading “CM – Music Monday: Hymn for the 81%”

CM – Sermon Epiphany III: How to Pray for Our Friends in Christ

Sermon: Epiphany III – How to Pray for Our Friends in Christ For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your innerContinue reading “CM – Sermon Epiphany III: How to Pray for Our Friends in Christ”

The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: January 25, 2020 — Profound Thoughts Edition

The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: January 25, 2020 Profound Thoughts Edition Before we pass on a few profound (and not-so profound) thoughts over the Brunch table today, allow me to share a link to a truly profound conversation between “eco-theologian” Michael Dowd and our own Damaris Zehner. Dowd blogs at Post-doom and you can findContinue reading “The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: January 25, 2020 — Profound Thoughts Edition”

CM – Culture Wars Update: Why I Am Not a Culture Warrior

Note from CM: I wrote this post in 2009. I thought I would re-run it today in its original form and ask for input on how you see that things may or may not have changed. One sentence from the original post that I know is most certainly obsolete is found right in the beginning:Continue reading “CM – Culture Wars Update: Why I Am Not a Culture Warrior”

Review of “Love and Quasars: An Astrophysicist Reconciles Faith and Science” by Paul Wallace, Part 11.

Review of “Love and Quasars: An Astrophysicist Reconciles Faith and Science” by Paul Wallace, Part 11. The final Chapter 13 is entitled, Why I Came Back: Love Embraces the Cosmos.  As he noted in earlier chapters, despite the conservative evangelical background he was raised in, by the time he left home for college, Wallace’s childhoodContinue reading “Review of “Love and Quasars: An Astrophysicist Reconciles Faith and Science” by Paul Wallace, Part 11.”

Another Look: Now there’s a story

One of my favorite stories in scripture is that of the patriarch Jacob. Or, “that rascal,” as I like to call him. From birth, Jacob was never anything but a piece of work. His entire life was one giant con. Born trying to supplant his brother’s place (which is the meaning of his name), Jacob lived asContinue reading “Another Look: Now there’s a story”

Monday with Michael Spencer: On evangelicals and Dr. King

Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2020 This is from a piece Michael Spencer wrote in 2007, in which he complained that the day was not being celebrated well. One of his issues had to do with the attitude of the (white) evangelical church toward Dr. King. • • • I don’t like the ambiguity ofContinue reading “Monday with Michael Spencer: On evangelicals and Dr. King”

SERMON: Epiphany II (Ephesians 2:1-10)

SERMON: Epiphany II (Ephesians 2:1-10) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which GodContinue reading “SERMON: Epiphany II (Ephesians 2:1-10)”

The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: January 18, 2020

The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: January 18, 2020 In 1868, Charles D. Blake took advantage of the interest in President Andrew Johnson’s  impeachment by writing a polka in honor of the occasion. Since he added no words, we don’t know how the composer felt about the POTUS or his trial. However, the fact that heContinue reading “The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: January 18, 2020”