Service and Gathering Planning

Many ready-to-retire American workers are under the impression that all the money that they have paid into the Social Security Fund all their working lives is sitting in an account somewhere, collecting interest, and just waiting to be drawn upon. Not so.

Do you deflect fears of death by raising complex theological or philosophical questions? (As the Sadducees did with Jesus.) Do you want to believe the worst and run to the hills to hide as the apocalypse unfolds?

A Federal Reserve official recently said the quiet part out loud: the divide between the rich and the poor in this country has gotten so big that the whole economy might be in trouble. And I just… I don’t know how to break it to the folks at the Fed… but most of us didn’t need a press conference to figure that out. We live in it.

Unfortunately, my problems with the institutional church are not limited to personal experiences. Like many clergypersons, I’m a serious student of church history. And that story, from the beginning to today, is filled with one massive failure after another, far more than I can review in this article.

Deconstruction costs something. You lose certainty. Sometimes you lose community. Occasionally, you lose your sense of belonging altogether. 

The Supreme Court is poised to totally gut the Voting Rights Act of 1965, an act that attempted to rectify 100 years of brutality, segregation, and discrimination against the southern Black population.

This is a free website to help students, teachers and the general public to intelligently and meaningfully understand and engage the Bible in a non-literal manner.

Progressive Christian campus ministries are rescuing diversity and inclusion programs that are being eliminated at colleges and universities around the country.

Two poems have dominated my life. 

For nearly half a century, Terence E. Fretheim taught Old Testament theology at Luther Seminary, shaping generations of pastors, teachers, and scholars with a vision of God that broke decisively with both classical theism and conventional liberal Protestantism.

The Liturgy for Peace, Justice and Reconciliation was celebrated at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, Brookings, OR.  His life and writings were explored in a radio interview of its compiler.

Milo’s Currents is a faith-based animated series with a new episode released every week, filled with joy, warmth, and wit. Whether you're a wide-eyed child or a grown-up looking for a spiritual boost, these underwater jam sessions will leave your heart lighter, your soul lifted, and your spirit swimming in the right direction.

Postmodern theologian, educator, and author Rev. Dr. Mathew Fox has issued a public invitation to Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel for a debate on the meaning of the Antichrist for this American moment.

I’m deeply humbled to share that I’ve been named to @outmagazine ’s 2025 OUT100 List — recognizing some of the most impactful LGBTQ+ leaders and changemakers in the country.

Deconstruction” has become one of the most talked-about theological buzzwords of our time. It is essential work as many of us carry the baggage of the theology we inherited growing up. 

Under pressure from conservatives, Baylor University recently returned a $640,000 grant from the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation for a project titled “Courage from the Margins,” designed to study how the church can be more welcoming to LGBTQIA+ individuals.

I know the reaction when people first hear the phrase “Progressive Christianity.” You can almost hear the eyebrow raise: What’s that supposed to mean? Isn’t Christianity just one thing? Truth is, it’s never been just one thing. And Progressive Christianity doesn’t show up to hand out a checklist of beliefs or shame people for having questions. That’s not how Jesus taught, and it’s not how we live. Scripture itself is a patchwork of voices.

We have our very own desaparecidos — our very own "disappeared ones" — being abducted from our midst today throughout this country. Those who are abducted and detained are sent to God knows where, often to hideous gulags overseas. But we know that many are being sent to what certainly look like enormous concentration camps being built right here in this country.

You can see, therefore, an essential distinction I wish to draw from the outset between the Gospel and Christianity – between, on one hand, the “good news of the Kingdom” proclaimed by Jesus of Nazareth, and, on the other, the new social movement started up by Jesus’ early followers, which morphed over time into the mighty religious institution we know today as the Christian Church.

The political assassination of Charlie Kirk was a tragedy and reminder that political assassinations have no place in our country. At his memorial, America witnessed authentic grief — but we also saw something more: a chilling example of an empire wrapping itself in the pages of the Bible it never read.

We rightly grieve the death of the Charlie Kirk who was: the Charlie Kirk we knew. But we also ought to grieve the Charlie Kirk who wasn’t yet: the Charlie Kirk we’ll never know.

When I was returning home from Ireland a few days ago, several people said, “Be glad you haven’t been here for the last two weeks. It has been awful.” I could almost feel the gloom upon landing. As if sorrow and fear rose to envelop our descending plane.

Many donations to Israeli causes move through small nonprofits, of which there seems to be an almost limitless supply. After months of reporting on this topic, I still discover new Christian Zionist groups every day. These fundraising figures actually understate the size and scope of the movement because much of the money comes from churches, which are not required to disclose their finances.

What I have to say is based on both personal observation accumulated over decades, and also based on the observations of others, including research organizations. The simple truth is that church membership is in drastic decline, and that includes not only mainline Protestants, but Catholics and Fundamentalist Evangelicals as well. Although my own personal history began in a childhood nourished by a conservative perspective, my current position is what might be referred to as progressive mainline. As a 21st-century human being and as a person unafraid to seek truth wherever it may be found, I offer the following critique of the Church and a vision for the future.

Paul, probably more than any other human being, defined the Christian faith. The central focus of his writings concerns how one is saved. This salvation includes both Jews and Greeks.

Tune of Cranham (“In the Bleak Midwinter”) Written for Worship Design Studio’s Advent series, www.worshipdesignstudio.com/WhatChild

Sometimes I agree with the heretics. Sometimes I don’t. Either way, I usually find them engaging. A few of the heretics I’ve been reading are atheists. Others are agnostic. But most of them are Christians who no longer affirm traditional orthodox theology. A large number of them also express deep concerns about institutional religion. 

“The coming of the Son of Man” isn’t a date on a chart or a cosmic escape hatch. It’s a recurring pattern that keeps arriving inside real lives and real communities: ego-death, honest reckoning, reconciliation, and new creation. Read as pattern rather than prediction, “apocalypse” becomes unveiling. We stop waiting to be rescued and start becoming fully human in God.

Transformation ought to be an essential part of Christianity, but all too often, it isn't.  ProgressiveChristianity.org Co-Executive Director Rev. Dr. Caleb Lines discusses how we must embrace change to experience true transformation.

Christianity is an ancient non-dual spiritual path of awakening. This is not an awakening to God, known as a religious object through the lens of belief, hewn into shape through a set of religious doctrines. This awakening begins with falling in love with the heart of Reality — Holy Mystery — and comes to fruition in the realization that the soul is one with the Beloved.

Join Mark and Caleb for this live recording as they enjoy a themed drink (or two) and bring their high-octane progressive Christian perspectives into consideration of Season 3 of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."

Every time I go to a protest these days, displaying my progressive Christian identity, I get responses like these... comments both encouraging and sobering. "I am so glad to see you here!" "People need to know you guys exist!"

The search for a meaningful life is a profoundly human quest.  When our lives overflow with meaning, we feel happy and self-realized.  But we have to work at it.  It's not given to us.

Transformation ought to be an essential part of Christianity, but all too often, it isn't.  ProgressiveChristianity.org Co-Executive Director Rev. Dr. Caleb Lines discusses how we must embrace change to experience true transformation.

American Christianity has sadly become synonymous with white nationalism, the denial of science and far-right politics. Many see churches as hypocritical, homophobic, patriarchal institutions. Is it any wonder people are walking away? This version of Christianity would be unrecognizable to Jesus, who preached radical welcome, permeating peace and God’s inclusion of all.

Scapegoating has always been a favorite tactic of authoritarian leaders because it unites people quickly and powerfully. Fear, anger, and hatred of a common enemy can unify a people more effectively than almost anything else. But scapegoating is always a lie. It never works.

Progressive Christianity may taste better than the Religious Right, but if we let politics corrupt the gospel, the result is still ruined ice cream.

Our work of peace must begin with the private world of each one of us. To build for man a world without fear, we must be without fear. To build a world of justice we must be just. And how can we fight for liberty if we are not free in our own minds? Dag Hammarskjold

Transformation ought to be an essential part of Christianity, but all too often, it isn't.  ProgressiveChristianity.org Co-Executive Director Rev. Dr. Caleb Lines discusses how we must embrace change to experience true transformation.

We, the citizens, must take back our country.  As the extraordinary late Congressman John Lewis said, we must “make good trouble”.  The only way I see this happening is through massive, non-violent protest and selective civil disobedience.  The first thing that comes to my mind is to ensure that there is no doubt about our revulsion and rejection of the inhumane ways ICE agents are so often carrying out their odious tasks unlawfully and in the manner of masked Gestapo agents. 

The theologian/philosopher Peter Rollins tells a parable about how we are all haunted houses. Within these internal houses, he surmises, there are two types of ghosts. The first, a poltergeist, is a ghost that you try to repress and pretend is not there, only to have it emerge and haunt in the most unlikely and unfortunate of times. The second, a Holy Ghost, is the ghost you name, look at head-on, in hopes of transforming.

I’ve learned that the healthiest religious communities are those where people feel like they matter. That they’re part of something bigger than themselves, with resources available to them to live out their passions. This exponentially increases an individual’s ability to do good in their community; it amplifies their voice and strengthens their advocacy. And, most importantly, it kindles their faith.

Transformation ought to be an essential part of Christianity, but all too often, it isn't.  ProgressiveChristianity.org Co-Executive Director Rev. Dr. Caleb Lines discusses how we must embrace change to experience true transformation.

What does it mean for us to live courageously as God’s people in the midst of the chaos and daily grind of cruelty and harshness that so clearly marks our world? How do we claim our courage with an abiding hope as we worship through such a time as this?

Join Mark and Caleb for this live recording as they enjoy a themed drink (or two) and bring their high-octane progressive Christian perspectives into consideration of James Gunn's first film in his new DCU, "Superman."

Transformation ought to be an essential part of Christianity, but all too often, it isn't.  ProgressiveChristianity.org Co-Executive Director Rev. Dr. Caleb Lines discusses how we must embrace change to experience true transformation.

Join Mark and Caleb for this live recording as they enjoy a themed drink (or two) and bring their high-octane progressive Christian perspectives into consideration of Season 2 Episode 1 of James Gunn's "Peacemaker."

When a Black woman dares to say no, when she interrupts the machinery of oppression, the state calls it a felony. Can you believe that? Nicole Collier, a Texas lawmaker, a Black woman, a daughter of resilience, is now being threatened with felony warnings for refusing to play along with the charade of gerrymandered maps.