We began reading the Gospel of Mark last week as a congregation and one of the commitments that we have made is to stop and turn to any reference in the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament.
NT Wright has a classic analogy that alludes to Shakespearean plays … but I have an updated analogy about Taylor Swift lyrics that I hope is helpful.
Check out the video and let me know your thoughts.
Academic update, turning 50 and future videos
This week I begin a Summer Sermon Series that promises to be exciting.
“Should Christians Be Good Citizens?” is our question.
I am going to make 3 cases:
The big theme is “What is our relationship to power?”
Are we supposed to be ‘in charge’ ?
Are we the minority report?
Are we the band-aid on the wounds?
Are we loyal to this world’s systems ?
If you are interested, you can join in the conversation at 10am Sunday mornings (online or in person) through http://www.VermontHillsUMC.org
I will also be posting recap videos and the sermon notes here on my blog if that works better for you.
If you like the content consider subscribing and you can support here:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BoSanders
Paypal: paypal.me/BoCSanders
The ongoing storm around Critical Race Theory (CRT) can be confusing … because its opponents intentionally want it that way.
Today’s video tries to distinguish between the fruit and the actual root of the problem.
You can also check past post about CRT here: https://bosanders.com/critical-race-theory/
If you like the content consider subscribing and you can support here:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BoSanders
Paypal: paypal.me/BoCSanders
Is the Evangelical’s fascination with the End Times their undoing? Could this be the apostasy?
In this video I outline my journey with End Times theology (eschatology) and share a ‘thought experiment’ that I have been doing with my Evangelical family and friends (min 8).
Watch the video and let me know what you think.
Feel free to comment below, on Youtube, or on Facebook.
Support the page here:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BoSanders
Paypal: paypal.me/BoCSanders
Facilitating an interactive style of church was challenging before. Doing conversational community in hybrid format has added an extra layer of difficulty.
I get why most churches have stopped trying … but I am committed to the model for reasons that I outline in this video.
Give it a watch and let me know your thoughts.
Individualism is the assumed, and thus unquestioned, operating structure of for both the Left and the Right, conservatives and liberals. They are two sides of the same coin.
Nearly every disagreement and conflict that see in our society is framed within individualism and often ‘both sides’ are just the inverted – or photo negative – of each other simply focusing a different aspect of the individuals experience.
I ask the question: what is the most dangerous or objectionable thing that you believe? Not to your opponents but to your chosen group? Do you vote the party line? Do you vary at any point? Do you diverge from popular opinion at any level?
It’s like language – there is no private language. Language is socially constructed as is nearly every aspect of our life and culture. Race is socially constructed. Sexuality is socially constructed. Religion is socially constructed.
The problem comes when we don’t realize the ways that we have been:
Thus even our deepest conviction and true opinions are not independently our own. We are acting within a given structure that acted upon us and within in that we have some agency but we are never choosing from an unlimited menu of options. We are located socially and thus make choices within that structure.
Conservatives focus on one aspect of the individual. Liberals do the same just prioritizing different aspects of the individuals. Libertarians are just radical in this regard.
Watch the linked video and let me know your thoughts. Share with with groups your think might benefit from this challenge as a conversation starter.
Until we recognize the dominating ideology that is operational in all of our politics and social strife, we will not be able to fix the broken, fractured, and fragmented state or our societal problems.
I had the honor of being interviewed for the “Of Dust & Divinity” podcast. It was a great conversation and it was released this week!
My favorite part is the second half of the episode when we start talking about embodied spirituality and the importance of place.
At the end I talk about trees and rivers and seasons in contrast to the McDonalds and Walmart brands of suburban spirituality.
Give it a listen and let me know what you think. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bo-sanders-church-is-just-mcreligion-other-lessons/id1516429851?i=1000530170174
I also continue to love my pod-chats with Randy Woodley on “Peacing It All Together”. In our most recent episode we talk about life lessons to celebrate a monumental birthday for Randy and do some listener feedback about such topics as:
Check it out at
https://www.peacingitalltogether.com/podcast/2021/7/29/life-lessons-amp-listener-feedback
Lots of people are asking “is this the end of evangelicalism?”
The answer is ‘yes’ but maybe not for the reasons that you are thinking of.
Enjoy the video and let me know your thoughts.
Bo Sanders: Public Theology 