God’s Relevancy
Bonhoeffer: Assassin (wannabe) and Patron Saint of Lutheran Ambiguity
Friday, February 4th, 2011Today is Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s birthday. I was reminded of this on today’s Writer’s Almanac by Garrison Keillor. We wake up at 6:00 a.m. to classical public radio in my family, and at 6:15 Garrison lulls us right back to sleep with his tales and poetry and voice. But it’s worth your time to look up [...]
Rabbit Rabbit
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011Two days ago I learned that my friend Ellie committed suicide. I am very sad. Ellie was the secretary in the foreign language department at St. Olaf College, where I went to school. For some reason or another the work study gods smiled down on my blonde head instead of all the others on the [...]
“Injustice in Health Care is the Most Shocking and Inhumane:” MLK, Jr., Soteria, and the Push to Repeal Health Care
Thursday, January 20th, 2011Dear all, Today I’m posting something a bit out-of-the ordinary for what I’ve typically done with OMG. It’s the text of a speech I made at a press conference on Tuesday, Jan. 18th, sponsored by the South Dakota Democrats and the South Dakota wing of Organizing for America, the morphed body of Obama for America [...]
Visionary Subversiveness
Thursday, December 16th, 2010These days I’m reading a lot of the Old Testament theologian Walter Brueggemann. His writing is prose infused with poetic (and prophetic) outbursts that, depending on, cause the reader to sit up, gasp, cackle, or pause in stunned silence at the implications of his speech. I like him. So I share a few words from [...]
Being Taken on an Adventure
Tuesday, November 30th, 2010adventure (n.) early 13c., auenture ”that which happens by chance, fortune, luck,” from O.Fr. aventure (11c.) “chance, accident, occurrence, event, happening,” from L. adventura (res) ”(a thing) about to happen,” from adventurus, future participle of advenire ”to come to, reach, arrive at,” from ad- ”to” (see ad-) + venire ”to come” (see venue). Meaning developed through “risk/danger” (a trial of one’s chances) and “perilous undertaking” (early 14c.) and thence to [...]
Stewarding Presence Even When God Seems Absent
Monday, November 22nd, 2010I was so pleased to have been asked recently to prepare a presentation for the Stephen’s Ministers of my congregation, and I decided to make the gathered group into guinea pigs. For some time, I’ve been mulling the experience of pain, grief, and suffering as it is experienced in the Church. I wanted to use [...]
The Relevance of Relevance
Monday, November 8th, 2010I remain unable to let go of the irritation I feel at myself that I did not think of the name of this strange venture of mine, namely OMG: Center for Theological Conversation. That spark of creativity and wit came from the fine folks at Insight Marketing, who, after listening to me babble about what [...]
No separation between your faith and your vote.
Monday, November 1st, 2010On the eve of the mid-term elections, a short OMG blog about the relationship of your faith and your vote. If God means anything, it means whatever you hold most dear: it is ultimate to you. And if that is true, then it is key to determine what your God’s agenda is; if you claim [...]
“Saving” Politics
Monday, October 25th, 2010The only time I get to see Jon Stewart is on youtube clips. I save my ironing for Masterpiece Mystery on Sunday nights, and my laundry folding for PBSkids’ Ruff Ruffman after school. (Side note: Did you happen to catch Sherlock Holmes last night? Almost makes me hope that Jesus won’t come before the series [...]
Framed Significance
Thursday, October 7th, 2010Martin E. Marty will no longer be publishing Context, and I am sad. Any tribute to Marty I could give has been given more eloquently by others. Here’s one take on his contributions to religion and society. Google him and you will find many more. Now, let me be clear: he’s not going anywhere: Context [...]
