#MorningPrayer Keep our focus on you, Lord, that we may place our trust in your faithful love, rather than in things that are passing and temporal, however solid and secure they may seem to us. Guide us to those things which help us to encounter, reveal, and embrace your kingdom.

Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of all who are dispossessed. Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and needy. —Proverbs 31:8-9

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

Christian nonviolence is not a strategy to rid the world of violence, but rather the way Christians must live in a world of violence... faithful followers of Christ in a world of war cannot imagine being anything else than nonviolent. ~Stanley Hauerwas

Things to consider: Document the violence & violations--on camera, w/photos, saving images--any way you can. Speaking as a historian- it will matter Point out violations--w/images & text--even if you think it won't matter. It will. It needs to be called out & exposed You are a witness. Expose it.

If U.S. states have any degree of sovereignty, if there’s any states’ rights at all, it is the right not to be invaded by the armed forces of another U.S. state.

Christian nationalism bases many of its theological and ethical ideals on the Torah, not the Gospels. But even there they get it wrong. The Torah points toward a society in which the poor are cared for and immigrants are treated as neighbours.

“I’m increasingly convinced that most people should delete their social media and the ones that stay must adopt a more active posture toward it and not allow themselves to become a passive user that is subject to the whims of the algorithm.” @ianharber.bsky.social mereorthodoxy.com/monk-or-miss...

In Jesus there is hope. In Jesus there is healing. In Jesus there is comfort. In Jesus there is freedom. In Jesus there is peace.

It’s the duty of all theologically trained clergy to expose error and denounce heresy. Christian Nationalism is syncretism. It is error. When it is embraced willfully, it becomes heresy. Clergy, let’s do our job. This is on us.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to love. Not tolerantly. Not in spite of. Not with secret bitterness. But to love. Following Jesus means loving everyone.

They do not have enough popular support. So they are trying to outlaw / silence opposition. And that’s where we are. Pushing back has never mattered more.

Never forget!!

“The president should be removed from office because he is plainly insane.” I mean, there is no war in Portland. There just isn’t. You can’t & won’t avoid reporting this story. But you’ll still find a way to try to report it in a way that gives him the benefit of the doubt. And that’s wrong.

Amid an ongoing wave of conspiracy theories and bogus claims about Jan 6, I’ll note this from our reporting: Rioters made all kinds of claims and defenses in court … and jurors convicted 100% of the defendants who went to trial 100%

"She (Arendt) argued instead that evil is committed by people who don’t think critically or consider the moral implications of their actions." terikanefield.com/heres-why/

There will always be neighbours here in the Empire who are servants, apologists, disciples, & prophets beholden to the Empire’s evil. They will always see disagreement with their idolatry as heresy. But there are enough neighbours who see how we live & love—they know the truth.

“I want to say to you that nobody who is fighting the battle in our own generation can float by on a Beautyrest mattress. If you love God and love men and have compassion for them, you will pay a real price psychologically.” -Francis Schaeffer

“Charlie Kirk's murder and other recent acts of violence should warn us as parents that we need to opt out for our kids. But we don't have to despair. It is possible to choose a smartphone-free life for our kids. And the time is now.” -Clare Morell open.substack.com/pub/claremor...

The Empire way of the world is a powerful political force for evil. Standing up against it will always be seen as political & divisive. And responding Jesus’s call to turn away from the Empire & follow His narrow way will always be decried as heresy by the Empire Church.

If we choose the language of war, we will get a war. If we choose the language of civil disagreement, we will get a society. The choice is always and forever ours.

The killing of Charlie Kirk was sheer wickedness as is any glee in response to it.

The US president trafficked & raped underage girls, the evidence is overwhelming, everyone knows it, and this country's elites & institutions are so broken, so insular, so decadent that we can't even bring ourselves to state it clearly, much less do anything about it. Contemptible & pathetic.

The Christian religion in America looks more like American values (guns, flags, freedom, prosperity) than like Christ’s values. The Empire faith that has often called itself Christianity throughout history is still alive & well—& still nothing like the narrow way of Jesus.

If it’s true that GOP reps are scared for their lives if they oppose the president on any vote, maybe veterans could volunteer to protect their families? Just spitballing now. Odd times call for odd measures.

Today would be a great day to never swear allegiance to the Empire ever again: Let’s follow Jesus—and Jesus alone—and never embrace the idolatry of pledging allegiance to any flag or nation.

Breaking News: President Trump’s deployment of thousands of Marines and National Guard troops to Los Angeles was illegal, a federal judge ruled.

Empathy is only a sin to those who reject Jesus and embrace evil.

Florida bans "The Diary of Anne Frank" in school libraries. Whoever made this decision should have to eat every page of that amazing book, page by page.

Getting annoyed at professional companies using Chat GPT to do their writing and research. If I have to completely rewrite something it should tell you that it can't be trusted to give you an accurate breakdown of the info fed into it. Bored to death with doing this now.

I'm old enough to remember when slavery was bad, fascism was bad, and pedophilia was bad.

An idea:

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. Proverbs 31:8-9

Today at church I - ..Redesigned a check in station for our children’s ministry… .. changed out the dog poop stations at our church dogpark .. installed anti porn software on a members computer and phone .. visited someone in the hospital .. listened to a scammer for 20 minutes

Got this really cool, ghostly picture by accident the other day in Dillon Beach, CA. It is a Heermann's gull with both it's shadow and reflection. #birds

"Should pastors use Artificial Intelligence to help write their sermons?"- sounds urbane, philosophical, important "Should pastors let a word guesser machine teach their flock?"- far more accurate, makes you sound stupid for even asking the question

Turns out decades of writing sentences like “we leverage our core values as pillars around which we nimbly pivot to excel synergistically in the innovation ecosystem” didn’t produce universities that could enunciate, defend, or deploy academic values appropriately when an actual crisis arose.

Crazy, but that's how it goes Millions of people living as foes Maybe it's not too late To learn how to love and forget how to hate -Ozzy Osbourne, Crazy Train RIP

ICE just prevented me from entering an immigration detention facility in my district—a clear violation of federal law. Members of Congress have the right to immediately access these facilities. Listen here 👇

It also covers two-thirds of all nursing home stays.

“Let’s pray for a life dependent on God’s presence and for a church brave enough to resist the allure of political power.” ~César García General Secretary Mennonite World Conference

If we love Jesus, we won’t let racists co-opt His Name. If we love Jesus, we won’t let fascists co-opt His Name. If we love Jesus, we won’t let liars and thieves and murderous thugs co-opt His Name. Quite literally - to hell with all that.

Part of the reason so many of these fools hate Stephen Colbert is that he lives his life as the faithful and humble Christian they constantly claim themselves to be but are too selfish and fearful to actually be.

What CBS' disgraceful termination of Stephen Colbert illustrates is how quickly a Republic can fall when the media chooses cowardice instead of courage.

Not really an overstatement to say that the test of a free society is whether or not comedians can make fun of the country's leader on TV without repurcussions.

Good theologians and pastors must exist because bad ones always will.

I recently spent time with a distressed believer, which served to further intensify my anger at false teaching and poor biblical interpretation. They are effective tools in the hands of the father of lies.

What was and is God's response to the diabolic power that rules the world and destroys people and their lands? The answer is a deep and complete mystery because God chose powerlessness. - Henri Nouwen