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The Jazz Theologian

South Africa has always had a special place in my heart.  In high school I lamented Apartheid (which means separateness).  I rejoiced with Mandela's release and election.  I hoped when Tutu's Truth and Reconciliation Commission brought perpetrator and victim together recognizing that "there is no future about forgiveness." (Tutu's phrase) I have always thought that…

I'm looking forward to leading two workshops at the next National Pastors Convention. Here are the workshop descriptions… Finding the Groove:  Composing a Jazz-Shaped Faith You don’t have to be a musician to experience the renaissance of a jazz-shaped faith.  Jazz is more than music and it’s the more that we can creatively apply to prayer,…

"Call and response " is a halmark in jazz.  Because it was birthed in the post-slavery church jazz took on the characteristics of it's parents.  Musicians use their instruments use their to affirm and encourage each other just as congregation responds to the call of the preacher.  In ensemble community we call and respond to…

Mother's anger turns to delight after her baby survives an abortion

Thumb through your Old Testament until you happen across Habakkuk.  His oracle only takes about ten minutes to read through.  Read it out loud. You'll be struck by how something so bad can sound so good…so ugly, yet so beautiful. What do you hear?  What do you see? I see a jazz-shaped relationship with God…

America–Baskets, baskets everywhere. There are 500,000 children waiting for homes in America's foster care system.  We don't half to travel half-way around the world we live in a country with a half-million orphans. They are every age, ethnicity and background.  Notice that I said, "legally free."  That is, there are no legal encumbrances to their…

Parentless children is a global crisis with over 140 million orphans world wide. One day, I received an email from a woman in our church about a little girl available for adoption in Ethiopia.  At that time my wife, Barbara, and I had four children.  Two boys and two girls–a complete symmetrical family.  As I skimmed the…

I think that she was down by the riverside to see if there was anything she could do.  Powerless to change her father's will and unable to stop the horror upstream she went down by the riverside and immersed herself in the problem.  With hope she sent her attendants walking along the shore in search…

"Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile river to bathe…"  (Ex. 2.5) She went down to the river to bath.  Doesn't that seem odd to you? Pharaoh's daugther, raised in royalty, was bathing in the NILE river?  Why would she do that!? Sure bathing in the Nile was normal practice but it seems to…

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