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Stray Thoughts and Free-Form Blogging RE: Rob Bell
I’m not sure how many folks Benton Chapel seats, but it was standing room only for Pastor Rob Bell’s appearance at Vanderbilt last night. After a brief introduction by Vandy’s Director of Religious...
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Religious “Nones” and a Palm Sunday Faith
Have you heard about the “Nones?” A few months back the Pew Forum released another one of their polls about American Religious Life. They found that a full 20% of Americans—that’s 1 in 5—they found...
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Peter and the Tomb
[I wrote this for my preaching class, with the intended audience being Vandy divschool. Of course, if you aren't a seminarian, then you're still welcome to overhear.] There’s a local church pastor who...
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(Belated) Easter Prose
The claim is that 2,000 years ago God vindicated the life and teachings of Jesus by raising him up from the grave. This is, very literally, ancient history, and surely it stretches the modern...
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Things that Shouldn’t Need to Be Taught and Yet Do Need to Be Taught
The guy chatting with my boss next door says, “I’m always trying to teach my kids that just becaue you get a paycheck for $300 that doesn’t mean you have to spend $300.” Consumerism runs very, very...
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There Are No Neutral Prayers
North Carolina is trying to turn itself into a theocracy. This’ll most certainly get struck down in court even if it passes. Besides that, the state’s current legal stance is curious: In a 2011 ruling...
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Nashville Fair Food
I try to lend some of my time and energy to Nashville Fair Food. You can follow the link to learn more about the initiative, and you’ll also find yours truly briefly featured in the video and write-up.
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Toil or Togetherness?: A Wednesday Sermonette
Good morning. I’m glad we can gather here to celebrate St. Joseph the Worker day, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to talk a bit about work. Some of our finest scholars tell us we need to do a good...
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Grieve First, Tell Stories Later: Notes on Tragedy and Ideological Opportunism
Yesterday bombs went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, and today we’re tempted to tell stories when we ought to be grieving. The pundits have already started. (Apparently the first rule of...
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Marathon–A Poem from a Dear Friend
My undergraduate mentor shared this wonderful poem with me, and I wanted to pass it along. MARATHON Our eyes were towards the distant finish line beyond the ranks of watchers who were blind to anything...
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Goldline and God’s Economy
In February of 2012, Goldline International settled charges of fraud and unfair sales practices with the city of Santa Monica for $4.5 million.[1] Much of the media buzz surrounding Goldline’s legal...
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Jesus Christ, FInancial Consultant
Audio can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/jared-hillary-ruark/jesus-christ-financial I work sometimes with a little church in Cookeville, TN. Cookeville’s about an hour and a half east of...
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DREAM 9 Update
I spoke at some length about my friend Marco and the DREAM 9 during this past Sunday’s sermon. Just now I ran across an update and things are looking good. The fight for comprehensive and compassionate...
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The Angel of Death and The Things We Need To Live and Die
You probably wouldn’t have any occasion to go looking for him, but I know where you can find The Angel of Death. I have it on good word. One of my mentors told me. There’s a minister who works as a...
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Peace! Be Still!
I recently gave a paper called “The New Knowledge and The Old Faith: Considering the Promises and Pitfalls of American Theological Liberalism.” The conclusion goes like this: These have been pointed...
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A Sermon About Zacchaeus and the Klan
The Bulletin called the sermon: “Loving the Grumblers and The People Who Make them Grumble.” The text is Luke 19: 1-10. I suppose you already know the story. Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee...
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A Title You Can’t Wash Off
The reading was from Matthew 3: 13-17 Audio is here. We could say any number of things about baptism. The text today–the baptism of Jesus–it sort of starts the whole Christian baptism thing, and we...
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In Which Jesus is an HR Nightmare
The text was Matthew 4:12-23. (Jesus’ calling of the fishermen.) I have to admit that I don’t like this story nearly as much as I used to; and I think you’ll find that the story loses its original...
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Questions for TN Governor Haslam RE: Executions
Did you happen to read the accounts of Ohio’s latest execution? Are you aware that Dennis McGuire, who was killed by lethal injection, took 15 minutes to die? Did you know the drugs were untested? Did...
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A Sermon about Salt
Based on Matthew 5:13-20 I imagine you’re already familiar with some of the language from today’s gospel reading. Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world.” Sometimes...
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