by jakeowensby | Aug 18, 2023 | Following Jesus, Matthew 16:13-20, Proper 16 A
After Sunday worship at one of the congregations in my diocese, I met with the church’s leadership for the standard review of finances, attendance figures, evangelism strategies, and the like. One of the leaders was visibly angry. He said nothing until we came to the...
by jakeowensby | Aug 12, 2022 | Uncategorized
This is the fifth installment of The Best Of Series (originally published Nov. 22, 2019) Each week a few devout atheists respond to my essays. Mostly on social media rather than on the blog or via email. Some of them want to engage in a genuine way. Others are snarky...
by jakeowensby | Jul 1, 2022 | Luke 10:1-11
“You’ll understand when you get older.” The radio journalist and producer Chana Joffe-Walt asked some middle schoolers how they felt when their parents said this to them. Their unsurprising answer was, “Not at all!” Many of them felt put down by it or saw it as...
by jakeowensby | Jun 10, 2022 | John 16:12-15
Rebecca’s friend Rachel ran up to her with big news: “I know who the tooth fairy is.” They were in second grade. The night before, Rachel had awakened while the tooth fairy was exchanging the tooth left under her pillow for a dollar. “It was my dad!” she said....
by jakeowensby | May 13, 2022 | John 13-17
This is Part One of Four in the Series “Wondering about the Resurrection” Charlie was in the final stages of a terminal illness. His friend and pastor John Claypool asked him how he felt about dying. John reports that Charlie said something like this: “As...
