This has happened before and will happen again…
My apologies for the title, I have Battlestar Galactica on the brain these days. But the phrase really summed up something I wanted to write about. The Out of Ur blog recently posted a video of N.T. Wright going off on the dangers of social media. He warms that blogging and the like will stand in the way of real communication with others and he calls the popularity of social media “cultural masturbation.” Now it’s nothing new to hear some voice or other going off on modern technology, putting their own particular “it’s the end of the world as we know it”

Go and Do Likewise
So the November edition of Next-Wave Ezine is out and I have an article in it called Go and Do Likewise. It’s based on a meditative exercise we did in church recently on Luke 4:40-44 and is my somewhat snarky realization of how we let our vision of Jesus get in the way of Jesus. I originally titled it, “Go and do likewise or else get the hell out of my way,” but for some odd reason that was changed. So if you’re interested in a ranty re-interpretation of scri

Fair Trade Christmas
So the stores are already playing Christmas music and down here in Texas the highs are only the 70s and 80s, so the holiday season must be upon us. But as we gear up for the celebrations, the spiritual reflections, and the traditions now is a good time to start deliberately planning how we can make this Christmas a just Christmas. In other words, how can we subvert systems of oppression and exploitation through our holiday habits. And while I think some of those habits might need to be reevaluated, some of them are beautiful and hold special meaning. So while I am wary of over-consumption, we still practice the giving of gifts in my family. I just do my best to therefore try to make

Human Trafficking, Justice, and CSI
I’ve gotten used to popular TV shows going the after-school special route and highlighting some issue or another.  Granted, it boosts their ratings, but it also brings attention to issues that need attention.  So I was intrigued this past week when the CSI franchise did a story-arc across all three shows that focused on the issue of human trafficking.  It pulled no punches.  They showed the horror involved in trafficking and what a complicated system it is.  From mov

Discussing Everyday Justice 4
The recent contest to win a copy of Everyday Justice generated some fantastic comments and questions about justice issues. So I’ve been addressing some of those in blog posts. I don’t assume to have THE answers to anything, but just want to share my perspective and hope you will join in with yours as well. Christi Bowman commented - “As an American is it possible to not be exploitative…which is where begging for mercy from Jesus everyday comes in…no matter what I do their are countless ways in which I am exploitative and don’t know it and s