Let’s stop shaping Jesus into our own image

There was no fast fashion, no jumbo pack of tube socks at the Dollar Tree, nor Tshirt vendors hawking Passover Festival 33AD hoodies. In the ancient world, everything was handmade and many people owned only what they were wearing and little more. The law told a lender they could not hold a cloak overnight as […]

Don’t ask a nation to “shine your light”: the misguided idolatry of Christian Nationalism

I was 11 years old and my church league basketball team was playing Immanuel Baptist. Immanuel had this tall kid, Big 33, who I was supposed to guard. We couldn’t stop him. Between the quarters, our coach, let’s call him Coach Rupp, pulled me to the side and laid out a detailed plan that involved […]

Jesus did not teach Christian Nationalism

In 1976, I found myself in the summer school reading program. One of the few perks of summer school was representing Lexington Fayette Urban County Public Schools in Lexington’s  Fourth of July parade. They asked us to dress as our favorite character from American history.  I knew I wanted to dress as a Native American.  […]