We wonder if the greatest enemy of "belief in God" is not secularism or atheism or religious pluralism -- it is bad "belief in God" -- ugly, cruel versions of "belief in God", or "belief in God" carried out in bad faith. For Easter this year, Kyle leads us in a reflection on the way Jesus' death put to death Bad Faith, and the way Jesus' resurrection invites people into just the opposite: an incredibly magnetic and inviting Good Faith.
Read MoreWrapping up our annual Christmas Carols service, Kyle leads us in a reflection on how to let Jesus' incarnation affect and guide us, on stories from the life of St. Nicholas, and even on the mythology of Santa.
Read MoreThe season of Advent is a time for remembering how God came to humanity: not in flashy displays of power, but in the humility of Jesus. How does this help us respond to the ever-growing list of sexual harassment and abuse exposés of men in power?
Read MoreEvery place you've lived in your life, no matter how long, has shaped you, and you've had the chance to shape it. In the Jesus tradition, an Old Testament prophet shines light on this reality, and Kyle offers some suggestions as to how we can invest in (not just consume) the place we live now: Chicago.
Read MoreIn our experience, setting aside questions of IN vs. OUT doesn't make following Jesus matter less, it makes following Jesus matter more. We are freed up to focus on what life is truly about, like our topic this week: growing up, not just old -- becoming mature, grounded people who healthily process their stresses and pains, rather than pass them on to others.
Read MoreIn our experience, setting aside questions of "In vs. Out" doesn't make faith matter less, it makes faith matter more -- it frees our faith to become about the things that really matter most in life, like our topic this week: justice. How does Jesus lead us into participating in justice? By pursuing equity (rather than equality) and by giving dignity (never taking it away).
Read MoreConnection with people different from us is something we think matters immensely if we want the deep, full life Jesus modeled and taught. But how is that is even possible in today's world without ending up "standing for nothing"? We think it's by standing for the Respectful Conversation.
Read MoreThe focus of this church is not a matter of "In vs. Out". Does that then mean the stakes are pretty low here and nothing really matters and everything is the same? We don't think so! We think the stakes of following Jesus and pursuing community the way we do here are very high, because in our experience it's the difference between loneliness and connection.
Read MoreJesus doesn’t give cheap words about life; he speaks about actual life, which we all know is not always easy. None of us need some pseudo-religious authority-figure claiming that we can find perfect pleasure and wealth and be forever free of suffering if we just do x, y, or z. In fact, a life following Jesus can include more hard things than most lives, but perhaps that's a good thing. Because Jesus encourages us to face hard truth and not run from it, to embrace it and let it shape us into someone better.
Read MoreJesus has some hard, countercultural-feeling encouragements for people, like "give to anyone who asks" or "give up your status". Should we follow Jesus out of duty or courage? Or, as Jesus himself instructs, should we follow him because he has our good health in mind? Isn't that a bit self-interested, Jesus? Maybe not...
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