Changing the Christian Narrative: Unbound Video Series
Changing the Christian Narrative is a new video series from Unbound to offer a different way to live into our Christian identity that centers love, peace, mercy and justice. Each video will be centered around an issue or theological concept while providing insight on scripture, commentary and resources. Videos release every Monday on the Unbound YouTube Channel. Subscribe today!
Our planet has a fever. Last summer was the hottest summer on record. There is every indication that this upcoming summer will break that record and that this pattern will continue. We might look at the .5 degree increments in which the global temperature is rising as insignificant, but think of what the change of a couple of degrees does to the ecosystems of our bodies. We get aches and fatigue. We can go from having chills one minute to being unable to cool down. Like our bodies, the warming manifests in less predictable weather patterns, more extreme storms, and droughts. The unfortunate truth about our planet’s sickness is that we have been the cause. There’s likely no need to outline the effects that industrialization and the accompanying burning of fossil fuels have had on Creation. It’s been well documented. Our planet has a fever and we’ve been the cause. I hate the feeling of having a fever but more so, as a parent I hate when my kids have a fever. I hate to see them suffer and much of my life gets reoriented around helping them to get better. That’s where we are now.
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Within President Trump’s first 100 days, he signed executive orders that not only assault our environment but also significantly limit our ability to take action and address climate change. From bailing on our international climate commitments, reducing national parks staff, and hindering public engagement on policy proposals – the administration is gutting the environmental progress we have made in the last several years, and key policies that keep all of Creation safe. One of the most significant executive orders from President Trump declares an “energy emergency,” allowing fossil fuel projects to evade environmental protections including the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and Marine Mammal Protection Act. To be clear, the United States is not in an
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Mike Parson, the governor of Missouri has never granted clemency in a death penalty case- even amidst millions of signatures, op eds, and local and national pleas for him to save the life of an innocent man on death row, Marcellus Khaliifah Williams. But despite his self-proclaimed pro-life position, Gov. Parsons failed to act, and Williams was executed on September 24, 2024. The execution was a disappointment to many given no DNA evidence linked Williams to the crime and the prosecution’s original case against Mr. Williams was based solely on the uncredible and unreliable testimony of two incentivized witnesses. The case was so flawed that the current District Attorney, many of the original jurors, and the victims’ families all spoke out against the execution.
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I move toward conflict; I don’t flee. My penchant for steadfastness in conflict can’t even be brushed aside as naive, try as some might, because I’m just too old and seasoned for someone to say otherwise. I speak at local Board of Education meetings in support of protections and rights for trans students. I am in the process of closing a dying church on behalf of my Presbytery. I address misconduct. I am a fiercely empathetic pastor, even when my personal reserves are low. I am a loyal friend. I raise good, stand-up-for-others kids. And, when I was in the PC(USA) ordination process, I told the truth. In my home Presbytery, seeking to move from the ‘inquiry’ to the ‘candidate’ stage, I told the truth in the essay questions that the Committee on Preparation for Ministry (
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