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I’ve been doing a lot of homemaking recently. Several weeks ago I discovered that third grade boys hurled mean words at my daughter. My reaction came swift – shared tears, long hugs, soothing words, calls to the teacher and rallying a community of friends around her to mend what was broken. Now I check in often, and ask for greater detail, about what happened on the playground with other kids. And I’ve empowered both my son and daughter to advocate…

My dear friend J.R.Goudeau invited me to contribute to her Questions of Travel Series in which she explores thoughts about experiencing cultures, engaging various people and reflecting on both people and places with respect. She's gathered a thoughtful group of writers and practitioners to think and share together, and I'm honored to be included in this conversation. As Claude and I are preparing for our summer, that means we are planning to host many friends. We will open our summer…

One of the best gifts this past year is my connection to J.R.Goudeau. She's a kindred spirit in many ways - insightful thinker, gifted writer, drawn to the margins for friendship and wired for transformation. She's easy to talk to, so easy that we can get lost in a four hour conversation without blinking an eye... and still have more ground to cover! Please see links below to find ways to connect with her and Hill Tribers... *** When we…

  I grew up in a middle class home, complete with two parents and a dog. Home meant safety, enough food and plenty of love. My parents held to the adage that good fences made for good neighbors, so we had high fences and polite neighbors. A single family detached home seemed to be the ideal. Everyone in the suburbs wanted one. Raised to crave space and safety I dreamed of my own home someday filled with good things –…

Yesterday I began re-reading The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann. I was captivated to the point of distraction from scheduled tasks because this book is just that good. My mental play list for the rest of the day, as if on endless repeat, were his words on the role of criticism in prophetic work. Criticism (combined with energizing) empowers prophetic motion; it changes the reality on the ground in our communities. But not mere ‘carping and denouncing’ he warns, rather…

The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann is a modern classic. Written in 1978, the work resonates as much today as when originally penned with Brueggemann’s understanding of prophetic and challenge to engage our imagination in pulpits, communities and beyond. The book has been seminal for me, providing better words and new categories for the world I live in. So every year I commit to re-read favorite books, to engage again with ideas that stir me. I find that revisiting these…

The Politics of Jesus by Yoder has appeared in many a footnote over my seminary career. It’s been on my ‘must read’ list and eventually spent a year on my nightstand. Finally I’ve read this seminal text, most of it while in transit (ironic, I know) through LAX and on a long, long flight to Melbourne. Crossing the Pacific Ocean was the first time I encountered words like messianity, exousiology, radicality and jubilary. My mind hummed with all the goodness…

One of the last tweets I remember before boarding my flight to Australia was about ‘being so over platform talk.’ I might have clicked ‘favorite.’ Then I powered down my phone for the long, long flight. // Bronze skinned women paraded like monks up to the front of the auditorium. They walked with measured steps, one limping and leaning on her friends. Standing on the raised stage in front of us, they looked up and then away, a few dodging…

1. Holy week entered from the East Gate, colt and all. I can see palm fronds scattered on the dusty roadside, trampled by feet and hooves a day later. Still, evidence that Jesus passed by this way making a public demonstration that Rome is not the only power in town. Provoking our curiosity with this display on the back of a donkey - looking nothing like the mighty parade of the other empire arriving through the West Gate. But then,…

Today I'm off to Oz: Melboure, Australia to be exact! And guess who will be waiting there for me, fresh from Burundi? That's right, Claude will be there, too! We've been invited to participate in SURRENDER 13, a gathering of Australian friends exploring social justice on Biblical terms. Claude and I will be meeting with various groups of new (and old) friends conversing about Redemptive Economics, Jubilee, God's Chosen Fast and texts ranging from Deuteronomy to Isaiah, from the Sermon…