On the weekend our country remembers Dr. King, we do a book report on Howard Thurman's "Jesus and the Disinherited" -- reportedly the book Dr. King kept in his pocket during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Thurman is one of the most important theologians in American history, but unfortunately not as well known as he ought to be. (Photo: Book jacket for "Jesus and the Disinherited" by Howard Thurman)
Read MoreThe season of Advent in the church calendar encourages us to annually come back to the theme of "waiting", suggesting how core it is to learn to "wait well" in order to "live well". Hayley and Vince unpack some helpful and some harmful spiritual perspectives on waiting they've encountered (and perhaps you have too?)
Read MoreWhether it’s from the self-help industry or Christian messaging, toxically simple takes on “how to rest & recharge” or on “the three steps to a (fill in the blank) life” abound. Hayley helps us scour the Jesus tradition for more realistic and helpful outlooks on life.
Read MoreJoin us as we attempt to capture and give expression to the many feelings and thoughts and complicated prayers we all might have bouncing around inside us 20 years after 9/11.
Read MoreVince, Kyle, and Hayley share experiences, reflections, and suggestions on the intersection of spiritual health and therapy. They discuss how therapy can be amazing for anyone, and how to overcome common obstacles to a good therapy experience.
Read MoreVince Brackett, Abby Dye, and Elizabeth Bertrand discuss the various ways we are prone to assume "God might be pleased with other people, but not me," and suggest some ways to leave this spiritual imposter syndrome behind.
Read MoreOn the weekend of Valentine’s Day, Kyle and a panel of folks from our church help us relieve the pressure everyone feels about romance being what will complete us. (For single people, of course, but also for partnered people!) Unfortunately, churches have reinforced this pressuring message just as much as 90s Disney movies, pop music, Hollywood, etc, and just called it “Biblical”. But it’s not!
Read MoreLast Sunday we hosted a communal online experience meant to offer each of us some spiritual help in our individual journeys of leaving behind what constricts us and embracing promise for the future. Our sense is, as we turn the page on 2020, this past year has been full of chances for constricting lies, traumas, thoughts, beliefs, or vows to make their way into us and start to take up residence.
Read MoreIt’s no surprise that white American Christianity has chosen Donald Trump as its leader when for decades its prevailing use for Jesus on the Cross has been “motivation by fear of punishment from a strongman, violent God”. What an unhealthy, worthless picture of God! BLC stakeholder Abby Dye helps us discover Jesus on the Cross as a totally different (and inspiring) picture of God that models a totally different kind of leadership: self-sacrificial love.
Art: Ethiopian painting of the Crucifixion, ca. 2000
Read MoreConstant movement instead of strict adherence, defending those without power instead of those with power -- Special guest (and BLC's old friend) Joey Rodil shows us how Jesus' descriptions and modeling of his own mission can help shift our narrative about faith (and our experience of it) away from typical white American Christian notions.
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