Crucible of Thought

If you're like me, you're feeling very unhappy and unsettled by what's happening in our country right now. The changes are overwhelming, the flood of negative news is unrelenting, and there's a sense of loss as I watch what's happening. In some real sense, it requires grieving, as I realize that things are changing rapidly and those changes might be permanent. So the real quest...

"Too big to fail." We've all heard that saying, and it usually refers to the idea that once an organization gets a certain size, and becomes important to culture or society, it's too big to be allowed to fail; the life of the organization must be preserved at all costs. But that doesn't account for the problem that sometimes, the harm that the organization is doing is so bad...

Today I'm really pleased to bring you an discussion with Kevin Nye, the author of "Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness." He wrote the book a few years ago, and I read it about a year ago, and I've been increasingly interested in what can be done about the problem of homelessness. A lot of the things I grew up believing about homelessness have been proven false, and more im...

For many years now, I have been saying that even the American democratic system will ultimately fail, that it will never become The Kingdom of God, that democracy itself must be shown to be inferior to whatever God's government ultimately will look like. Much to my dismay and discomfort, it's now happening, faster than I could have imagined. But what SHOULD the Kingdom look like? And in th...

Here's another great conversation with Billie Hoard about the book she and her brother Paul Hoard have just finished writing. The topic is extremely relevant to what's going on in America right now, and it's really worth understanding if you want to have a better sense of why things are the way they are. You can also watch this at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3ulqi_4_V0

What's the best way to advance the Kingdom of God on earth? Perhaps you think it's by conquering our culture, by fighting against those trying to lead us away from God. Or maybe it's something different. Maybe if we inspect the Way of Jesus, we'll see something sharply different, something that requires us to sacrifice ourselves instead of conquering others. You can also read this...

Let's talk about reading. I've been deconstructing and rebuilding my faith for about four years now. For multiple reasons, I walked away from my former evangelical church in 2022 and have been steadily and diligently digging through all my various dogmas and doctrinal beliefs ever since. Similarly, I started rethinking my politics about the same time - triggered by the anti-racism uproar t...

I clearly remember the George H.W. Bush phrase, "A Thousand Points of Light." President Bush's victory was the first presidential election in which I was old enough to vote, and his vision from his inaugural speech in 1989 was deeply inspirational to me. That phrase, today, has captured my thoughts again, but perhaps in an unexpected way. And it shows how far we've fallen from th...

I'm really pleased to bring you another interview. My guest today is Mae Forest Barnes, someone I've gotten to know remotely via social media for the last year or so. But as I watched her comment and interact, one thing really stuck out: she made various comments about queer theology. That was an area I knew nothing about, but had a growing sense that I needed to understand. I grew up with...

I'm very pleased to bring you another interview with my good friend Bethany Alvey, who is a spiritual director. I spent the last year or so going through a program with her as she was developing her spiritual direction practice. I found it very helpful and also very informative. Until that process, I knew very little about spiritual direction, but it's something I hear about quite a bit now, espec...

Have you noticed the growing pressure for sameness in our civic and religious cultures lately, the idea that uniformity, or perhaps conformity, is necessary for a holy and Godly nation? I have, and I'm very concerned, because I think it's dangerously false. Not only is it not biblical, it also makes us weaker. I'm going to explore this topic for a few minutes, from both religious and political per...

Everything is a battle lately, both politics and religion, and this keeps us focused on everyone else being our enemy, not our neighbor or fellow believer. I'm choosing to lay down my arms, and stop this cycle of violence which prevents us from moving forward together. You can also read this in blog form at https://crucibleofthought.com/laying-down-my-arms/

As a former evangelical, I experienced a number of occasions where we chased after some manifestation we thought was of God, but probably was not. It's too easy to get busy worshiping this kind of experience, instead of worshiping God. You can watch this video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz0ZKEQ1cpk A compilation of video clips about Silvania Machado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPxZsvt...

I'm pleased to bring you a conversation with another author who wrote a book that I really found helpful in understanding aspects of American religious culture - and in this case, not just Christian, but also other faiths. Dr. Taylor wrote "The Violent Take It by Force", just released this fall, and we talk about interfaith issues as well as the dangers and challenges of Christian Nationalism. The...

Jesus very clearly said His Kingdom was not of this world. We need to stop trying to change His mind about that. You can also read this episode in blog form at https://crucibleofthought.com/fits-and-starts/

Too often, Romans 13:1-2 is used as a bludgeon to coerce people into meekly giving in to the current political regime and gaslighting their appropriate Spirit-led responses to the politics du jour. I've grown up enough to recognize it as outright spiritual abuse. And I've never heard it preached anytime other than during trying political seasons. That needs to stop. The blog post text version of t...

For the first time in my life, after almost 40 years voting 100% Republican, I voted as a Christian for a Democrat this year. Is that even possible? After four intensive years of rethinking my doctrines and politics, I have concluded that my former right-wing positions on abortion, LGBTQ, racism, 2A, welfare, climate, immigration, and Christian Nationalism were WRONG. I take some time to explain e...

We're all being played by The Algorithm, every day, in almost every place we get our news. Here are some tips to take back some control.

Are we humans about to be bailed out of this mess of a world, or is our responsibility to fix it? I used to think we'd be raptured and Jesus would fix it instantly. But lately, I've concluded God gave us the authority and the power to redeem the earth ourselves, and we're in it for the long haul. https://crucibleofthought.com/saying-goodbye-to-a-thanos-theology/ https://youtu.be/wTH68RF-1po

It's a common trope that conservatives lack empathy. Lately they've claimed it's even sinful. But I've found that the truth is more complex. We all have empathy; what matters is how it's applied, and to whom. You can read this post in blog form (including all the links to data shared here) at https://crucibleofthought.com/a-new-look-at-empathy/ You can watch this in video form at https://youtu.be/...

Here's a conversation with my friend Diego Mera. We talk a bit about our relationship and how we became friends, but one the reason I thought this would be an interesting conversation is that I consider myself a follower of Jesus and therefore a Christian, while Diego considers himself an atheist. And despite that significant difference, we've found a great value in our mutual relationship. I'd ne...

"Thou Shalt Not Listen to Taylor Swift" isn't going to produce the results that some parents think it will. Relationship is greater than rules. You can also read this post in blog form at https://crucibleofthought.com/broken-records-broken-relationships/

I enjoyed a chat with Pastor Trey about his new book, "Theologizin' Bigger: Homilies on Living Freely and Loving Wholly", and his new online ministry "The Intention Church." Video of this episode is also available on our YouTube channel. You can buy his book on Amazon at https://amzn.to/4d5Gb2I Learn more about The Intention Church at https://theintentionchurch.com/

Like it or not, America is pluralistic. What will it take to get along with people who are very much unlike us, while staying true to our sense of righteousness and holiness? I suggest that the answer is remembering that Jesus' Kingdom is not of this world - or of our nation. You can also watch this in video form at https://youtu.be/xQtS-wAkftI

The recent flood of the denial of reality - and in many cases outright lies - by both former president Donald Trump and many of his followers deeply concerns me for the future of both my nation and its church. You can also watch this in video form on the Crucible of Thought YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/ceV5QRb-fvU