Category: justice

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celebrating martin luther king, jr…and acknowledging the Giver of such dreams…

mlk

Martin Luther King Jr. was an extraordinary person.  Not perfect but nevertheless, extraordinary.  While we remember his legacy again on this day…let’s not make the mistake of forgetting the God behind this extraordinary man.

It’s way too easy to talk about MLK because so many people and groups of people want to own him as their own.  But they often don’t want to take or acknowledge all of him.  At the core of his life, Martin Luther King Jr. was a follower of Jesus Christ. His faith in Christ informed all that he sought to do as a civil rights leader.

And that is precisely why his dream did not die upon his assassination. Because Continue reading “celebrating martin luther king, jr…and acknowledging the Giver of such dreams…”

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Palm Sunday: He’s Jesus. He’s Lord. We’re not. We’re just the donkey (or ass). Remember, it’s not about us.

Palm Sunday.

I’m very fond of this season in the Christian calendar because I can mention the word “ass” during my blog post and sermon and still keep all the fundamentalists off my back. 😉

But seriously, the message of Palm Sunday is very significant. True, this fulfills the prophecy of the Old Testament and that’s very significant but there’s more:

The image of Jesus riding on a donkey – aka “an ass” – during Palm Sunday is a great paradox.

In some ways, it’s when things go downhill really fast for Jesus and for anyone and everyone associated with Jesus that had a different agenda about “the Kingdom” than Jesus. Continue reading “Palm Sunday: He’s Jesus. He’s Lord. We’re not. We’re just the donkey (or ass). Remember, it’s not about us.”

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racism sucks

Racism sucks.  Most of us can agree on that.  The bad news is that many of us are racists.  We just are.  I fear that I may be a racist on some level or another.  It’ll help our conversation dramatically if we can all start from the presumption that we’re all racists in some way.  This way, we don’t have to all be so defensive.  And if we aren’t, we can all agree that we’re all racialized…meaning, we can’t help but see the world and others via the lens of race.

I know that dialogue isn’t sufficient in itself but conversation and knowledge can become foundations to action.  If you’re in the Seattle area, join us for our church’s 4th annual Faith and Race Depth Class.  Register HERE.  I can assure you that you’ll be disappointed by the class but that’s ok.  It’s still good a good discussion to have…

For five weeks in October and November [5 consecutive Mondays beginning Oct. 22] we will be hosting our fourth annual faith and race conference. We hope to learn more about racism in America, deepen our understanding of what it means to call ourselves a “multiethnic church,” and continue the dialog that began in 2003. We will be working through a reader using excerpts from the articles and books below as well as video clips from the Color of Fear documentary. The format will be both small group discussions and lectures led/taught by members of Quest. The charge is $10 to cover the cost of materials. 

By now, many of you have heard about the situation known as Jena 6.  But how many of you have heard about the rape and beating of Megan Williams on September 7, 2007?  Seriously, how many of you knew about this? Continue reading “racism sucks”

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caring for the environment

It’s sweltering hot here in Seattle this week.  It’s also hot in many places.  How did Al Gore manipulate the weather to get more support for his cause behind Inconvenient Truth?

When I became a Christian at 18, I never heard anything about the moral dilemma of environmentalism until seminary.  I still wrestle with how to more organically speak of environmentalism and care of God’s creation within the context of a larger framework of ministry.  I’m constantly challenged by individuals at Quest that not only talk the talk but walk the walk.  Individuals that bike regularly to work, go hybrid and biodiesel, compost galore, and even taking steps to utilize solar energy.  Very cool.  I have much to learn.  I’ve always felt like I’ve done my part and even converted my wife who is becoming the recycling Nazi.  She recycles everything…

This leads me to some thoughts about the Live Earth concerts from last weekend.  Anybody watch?  Continue reading “caring for the environment”

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comfort women | dignity walk


I was 15 when I first learned about ‘comfort women.’  I thought it was a fictitious story;  I thought, “That’s unbelievable.  How is that even possible?”  Tragically, it happens and is still happening in different forms.  I know there will come a day when my kids will learn about things that happened in my generation and will wonder, “Why didn’t anyone [including my parents] do anything about it?” That will be another occasion I will be tempted to hide. The issues of human rights, children’s right, women’s rights, and global peace must still be forefront in our hearts. Continue reading “comfort women | dignity walk”