Zao MKE Church

Much of the talk of heaven is nothing more than individualist fantasies of personal gain. So what actually is on the other side of this life, and why is is so much better than any of us can imagine?   Join us for our summer series, Lies I Heard in Church. We'll debunk some of the nonsense that you may have heard from the church or church people, and reclaim the truth that is actually good news for...

A good and loving God simply does not eternally torture people. So why has this lie become so pervasive in the church, and how can you heal from it?   Join us for our summer series, Lies I Heard in Church. We'll debunk some of the nonsense that you may have heard from the church or church people, and reclaim the truth that is actually good news for all.

Spirituality should be about cultivating a discerning heart, so why do so many religious communities tell us not to trust our own judgment?   Join us for our summer series, Lies I Heard in Church. We'll debunk some of the nonsense that you may have heard from the church or church people, and reclaim the truth that is actually good news for all.

God is beyond the binary, and so are many of God’s people! Come hear about the spiritual gifts of transgender people, made on purpose by the God who loves them.   Join us for our summer series, Lies I Heard in Church. We'll debunk some of the nonsense that you may have heard from the church or church people, and reclaim the truth that is actually good news for all.

How can we dismantle the lie that Jesus was white, and follow our brown skinned revolutionary Savior further into the work of liberation?   Join Zao MKE Church for our summer series, Lies I Heard in Church. We'll debunk some of the nonsense that you may have heard from the church or church people, and reclaim the truth that is actually good news for all.

Gay people are made in the beautiful, queer image of God. So why has the church been talking trash about them for the last 80 years?   We'll unpack the lies and where they come from, along with the surprisingly short history of anti-queerness in Christianity, alongside the surprisingly ancient history of LGBTQ people as important spiritual leaders. *** Join Zao MKE Church for our summer series, Li...

Tbh, the Bible is super confusing. But what if that's okay? Instead of doing mental gymnastics to try and pretend it's clear cut, we are called to step out in faith and wrestle with this beautiful, complicated, messy book. And the best part? You don't have to do that alone. *** Join Zao MKE Church for our summer series, Lies I Heard in Church. We'll debunk some of the nonsense that you may have he...

The stories say that one day God's Spirit came down like fire and filled the faithful with immense and beautiful power. But what if that story is ongoing? Come hear about how the Spirit of God is at work in you, and the power we can harness together to change the world for the better.

God called you "very good" when you were created, and that promise of your true nature remains steadfast no matter what trials you experience or mistakes you make. Come connect back to your core goodness, protected and held in the love of God, and remember who God is calling you to be in this world.

If we die to the things of this world, then the threats from the powers of this world hold no sway over us. How can "dying to sin" free you to live a life of rebellion and liberation here and now?

The new life promised to us begins by leaving behind those things that bind us in death. What does it look like for you to emerge from your grave? From the closet? From that relationship that took so much life from you?   Wherever you are, you are called into new life. What will it take to shed your old skin and find the freedom to be boldly who God created you to be?

Who do we believe and who do we question? The story of "doubting Thomas" shows us that the truth of oppression can be believed through the revealing of our wounds. And yet Jesus follows that up blessing anyone who hasn't seen or touched the pain of others and still believes what they say about who they are and what they have been through.   What does this story have to teach each of us about trust...

Solidarity isn't an idea, its an orientation to life - and it's built on love forged in the fire of liberatory life together. Hear how the earliest Jesus communities put it all on the line, for their faith and for one another.

Solidarity is a radically different way to approach meeting our needs. How would our communities change if we offered what we had with bold generosity, and received what we needed and desired without shame?

From executed political dissident to risen Lord, the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has radical and revolutionary implications for those seeking liberation, justice, and hope.   This Easter Sunday, we reframe the Easter story in light of Jesus's context as a community organizer, the abolition of eternal incarceration (hell) and the long view of God's plan for the salvation of...

Palm fronds or protest signs?   Modern re-tellings of Palm Sunday cast it like a parade, but the original march into Jerusalem had the vibe of a rowdy protest. Come hear more about the political theater Jesus employed as he squared off with the Roman Empire in the days before his death and resurrection.

This is a re-release of a sermon from 2019, recently featured on an episode of The Collective Table . The name "Zao" is a greek word that means "to be among the living". This sermon highlights the ways that Zao as a community joins Jesus and the tradition of Jesus followers in seeking the fullness of life. Our world is a mixture of creative, vibrant, beautiful life, alongside systems of death, des...

God's love is subversive, powerful, and threatening to the systems of empire and oppression. That's why Jesus' preferred metaphors, like mustard seed and yeast, have bad connotations.   Jesus calls us to be modern day bad apples--ready to spoil the bunch for the kingdom.

Love is not simply a feeling or even a clear set of actions. It is an orientation to the world that changes everything. Following Jesus means studying the ways of love and letting it transform us into new beings.

With so many people arguing about "what the Bible says" and certainly what it all means, it is scripture itself that tells us how to determine what is true: examine the fruit a belief, a teaching, or a behavior bears.   What fruit has your life and belief borne? How can you cultivate a faith that nourishes, heals, and transforms?

From dust we came, and to dust we shall return...   This is the refrain of the season of Lent, when we remember the weeks and days leading up to Jesus's death and resurrection. The humble and holy beginnings of human beings reminds us of our limitations, but also our connectedness to God, all of creation, and one another.

Jesus loved to eat, drink and party, but those in power judged and criticized him for it. John rejected material pleasure and raged against sin, but the people in power hated that too. When it feels like we just can't win, what's really going on?   Jesus invites us to eat, drink, dance, abstain, weep, and wail, and all the while wonder: if the tone police will never be pleased, should we just stop...

God is making a way of abundance, but it looks different from the opulence of capitalist empire. What do the margins know about abundance that those in power are unwilling to hear?   God provides enough for all now, speaks through the wisdom of those creating out of scraps, and promises that in the end, there is enough for all - even if the mighty must be cast down from their thrones to get there....

God is described as a "sheltering God," offering protection from harm. The scriptures call God's people to follow in Her example by being "a shelter to the outcast."   With so many wounded by systemic oppression, church and religious abuse, childhood and relationship trauma, and more, we are instructed to cling to and protect one another in the name of our sheltering God. What are you sheltering f...

"Jesus loves you" falls pretty flat when it's spoken with hate, judgment, and condemnation. Though hyper-conservative Christians are the ones most often throwing around the term "false teaching," the scriptures actually warn us that evil teachings will harm the church and the people "through the hypocrisy of liars."   We'll dig into these warnings, including one that explicitly cautions against te...