“We are all the same.” This is a rallying cry we see again and again as we sift through the wreckage of our conflicts over differences. It’s a phrase that’s trying to take away pain, but it isn’t telling the truth. Differences are real. Declaring that differences don’t exist doesn’t just erase the beauty of…
A Sunday Service that Directs Me to Christ
The thought snuck into my head every Sunday. “Is this it?” Despite the faithful preaching, something was missing from the standard order. There were three songs, a prayer, announcements, a sermon, a final song, and then lunch at Chipotle. It wasn’t that I was looking for more components that suited my preferences. I wanted to…
Can Anglicans in North America Offer Something Better Than Gay Marriage?
In middle school, I realized I was gay and my family left The Episcopal Church. As a celibate Anglican now seeking ordination to the diaconate, I care deeply about how the Anglican Church in North America teaches and embodies God’s wisdom for sexual stewardship. After exploring why the ACNA has a responsibility to offer gay…
Discerning Friends from Enemies: Critical Race Theory, Anglicans in North America, and the Real Crisis
In 2017, the ACNA consisted of 1,037 churches. By my best estimate, there are 31 African American solo rectors in the ACNA. Of these 31, 27 are in the historically Black Diocese of the Southeast. There are only 4 in the rest of the United States. (The terminology can get complicated here. When I say “African…
More Hooker, Less Twitter: What Richard Hooker Can Teach Us about Writing with Meekness and Conviction
One of the greatest privileges of my life was to have served as a pastor to Mrs. Helen. The saintliest of widows, Helen was always gentle in spirit, encouraging, and thoughtful towards others, even as she ever so slightly bristled at the kids running through the aisles of our small church plant in South Texas….
What NOT to Get Your Rector (Or Their Spouse) for Christmas!
I have been having fun writing about some gift ideas for Rectors and their Spouses. I served as a Rector for over 30 years and spend a lot of time now with Rectors and their families. I know that many laypeople want to get the Rector and their Spouse a gift for Christmas to show…
Here’s Why You Should Celebrate an Epiphany Festival
Anglicans often speak of the tradition of the 12 Days of Christmas, emphasizing that the holiday is not merely one day but an extended season. The season spans from December 25 (or the evening of December 24) through January 5 and includes several nativity-oriented feast days, as well as separate saints’ days. Many families and…
What Your Rector’s Spouse Wants For Christmas
Earlier, I wrote a post about What Your Rector Wants For Christmas. I love Rectors and have the good fortune to spend time with, teach, coach, and encourage lots of Rectors around the Anglican Church in North America. But I don’t just love Rectors. I also love their families! The role of a Rector is…
Let John Chrysostom Preach His Nativity Sermon on Christmas Sunday
Several years ago, I served as the Assistant Rector at a large Anglican Church. This meant, of course, that I had the wonderful opportunity of preaching cultural holiday weekends when attendance would be predictably low … i.e. Memorial Day Weekend, Labor Day Weekend, etc. One of the key weekends that I always got to preach…
What Are We Missing? Ministry and Moral Failure
I know of a very talented ordained priest and colleague of mine who left his ministry; he was removed from the ordained ministry altogether. His bishop removed him. There was something he did to which he confessed, and he is no longer a priest. I do not know the details. I don’t need to know….
The Daily Office Is Not Enough: The Importance of Reading Scripture Devotionally
It was J. I. Packer who made an Anglican out of me. Although I had attended a student-led Anglican service when I first became a seminarian at Regent College, it wasn’t until I moved to the Anglican church that Dr. Packer attended (and at which he sometimes led liturgy) that I was struck by the…
Not “Just” a Deacon
I grew up around deacons. In my Southern Baptist upbringing, deacons were most commonly seen at the church doors, offering handshakes and smiles. Otherwise, they were found in their other natural habitat: at the end of a pew, passing or taking a metal plate. Often, this was an offertory plate, but on special occasions, those…
