Lift Every Voice…. Embodying the Vision of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring Ring with the harmonies of Liberty** On this historic Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 2021,…
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3MMM | Episode 91: From Allies to Co-Conspirators
On Friday, we shared a “Love Letter to the Black Church” from Rev. Alisha Smith Haddock. This week we have another love letter. This one is addressed to white Christians and churches from Rev. Dr. Judy Cummings. We have been…
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3MMM | Episode 87: Advent Preparation
Advent It’s coming. It will be here in the blink of an eye. In a year filled with pandemics and amplified racial injustice and healthcare disparities and intense election politics, it is hard to imagine what Advent could be like…
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3MMM | Episode 80: Called to Collaboration
This week we are going deeper into our conversation with Rev. Alisha Smith Haddock. She is helping us see how multiple factors are impacting the community of North Nashville. Back in March 2020, Nashville was hit hard by tornados that…
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3MMM | Episode 75: Sacred and Rigorous Care
How does giving love, attention, and care to women and girls who are Black reorient our sense of ministry… making it better everywhere and with everybody? I asked Dr. Stephanie Crumpton this question as a follow up in our recent…
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The World Is on Fire | Independence Day?
Counting the Costs of “Independence Day” If one of you wanted to build a tower, wouldn’t you first sit down and calculate the cost, to determine whether you have enough money to complete it? (Luke 14:26, CEB) If we want…
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Pandemic Pastoring | Guest Sermon by Lauren Plummer
This Friday we welcome guest blogger Lauren Plummer who offers a encouraging word for #pandemicpastoring. Lauren is a pastoral intern at Glendale Baptist Church in Nashville, TN, where she recently preached this sermon in a zoom worship service. We welcome Lauren’s…
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3MMM | Episode 39: Pulled up Short
Orientation. Disorientation. Reorientation. This week is orientation for many people going back to school… including me! I’m starting a new teaching appointment for the coming year. And orientation begins this morning. The week has hardly begun and already I have…
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3MMM | Episode 8: Equity in Ministry
I am composing this post between the Women’s Marches across the U.S. on Saturday and the MLK Day marches on Monday. So many inequalities still plague the social fabric of our lives. So much animosity still divides this country. Churches…
Read MoreOrdinary Time – An Evening of Prayer and Worship for Unity
Last night pastors, congregations, professors and students gathered from all around Nashville, Tennessee, to remember the nine men and women who were brutally murdered in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17 at Mother Emmanuel AME Church. We met at Woodmont Baptist…
Read MoreAdvent II – #AdventVigil
#AdventVigil In late November, I started planning some posts and op-eds to participate in awakening other white friends, family and followers to reflect on Advent After #Ferguson. That was before the failure to bring an indictment in the #EricGarner case.…
Read MoreOrdinary Time VI
Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman are My Neighbors On Saturday night I went downtown. I felt safe and happy walking through an urban center and meeting up with friends for dinner. When I arrived home from the evening out, I…
Read MoreOrdinary Time XIX
Slowing Down* Tuesday Morning – I’m out for a run in the neighborhood around the seminary. The day dawns clear and pleasant. I check my watch and calculate. I’ve got 30 minutes before I have to be back and showering…
Read MoreEpiphany V
my keyboard with some of the letters worn off Might as Well Face It I was talking to a friend recently about graduate school. He asked if I knew so-n-so. I said, “I’ll have to go home an look them…
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