Like Jesus, we can be thoughtful about what images we let (and don't let) form our personal images of God. In our current moment of global war crimes, mass economic exploitation, and collective deconstruction of versions of faith that no longer work for people, we need mothering images of God more than ever before. (Mosaic: Jesus as Mother Hen -- D…

The usual way Americans interpret Jesus' parables is surprisingly weird. Continuing our series "From Charity to Solidarity", Vince explains with a look at Jesus' Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard from Matthew 19-20. (Illustration by Lauren Rolwing for The Southeast Center For Cooperative Development) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJ…

Hayley and Vince dig deeper on how a solidarity mindset is distinct from a charity mindset, with a focus on the role and promise of community. (Illustration by Lauren Rolwing for The Southeast Center For Cooperative Development) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechu…

Join our church in dreaming together this spring about a more profound, more connecting, more sustainable way to address economic suffering and struggle in our country. Vince sets the table for this ongoing project teaching us about the God of Solidarity, who calls us toward the same mindset. (Illustration by Lauren Rolwing for The Southeast Center…

Jumping off of our community's discussions and comments over the last couple months, Hayley reflects on our Lenten practice of trying to give up unhelpful and incomplete beliefs. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.or…

Easter's celebration of Resurrection isn't about elevating Jesus above all, like an authoritarian emperor. It's a vision of hope and justice to lift up ALL people, that begins with Jesus, and moves forward by the power of persuasion, not force. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources htt…

Our church's tradition on Palm Sunday, beginning Holy Week's re-telling of the last days of Jesus' life, is to talk about the Cross. This year, Vince talks about the way Jesus' death on the Cross can help free us from cycles of revenge and retribution, and encourages us to give up the popular American belief known as Penal Substitutionary Atonement…

Does Christianity have to be the only game in town for it to be anything worthwhile? Or can Christianity be a distinct, important contribution to the world — worth giving your life to — AND other world religions also have truthful, ultimate things to offer the world too? Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurc…

The idea of "eternal conscious torment" disgusts, and even traumatizes, many. Unfortunately, it feels like it is synonymous with Christianity, even though it is (gasp!) not in the Bible! Hayley and Vince point us toward alternative Christian beliefs about eternity and morality. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownli…

Our wider culture's good response to self-punishing versions of religion is to focus instead on self-care. Hayley highlights the helpfulness of that, and yet also wonders if it is incomplete, before suggesting an alternative aim we might make our goal, from deep in the Jesus tradition. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http:/…

Hayley and Vince kick off the Lenten season sharing several ways BLC hopes to help you (and your friends/family/roommates) live with intentionality and meaning over the next 40 days, without feeling exhausted or burdened. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org…

We tie up various loose ends and respond to some outstanding questions after leaning into the discomfort of talking about suffering for the last month. (Art: "Sorrowing Old Man At Eternity's Gate" by Van Gogh) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources D…

A natural response to suffering in church settings is: “I’ll pray for you.” Which is great! But it can also lead to disappointment, or even (dare we say it) embarrassment. How can prayer to alleviate suffering be an important and deep part of our lives and communities? Are there popular beliefs about prayer we need to unlearn? Join our live chat! h…

What is it behind the most inspiring stories we know of people embracing suffering? Vince wonders if it's a certain kind of perspective that's hard for modern Western people to learn. But it still can be! (Photo by Adrian Swancar on Unsplash) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http:…

Vince & Hayley respond to a grab bag of questions about suffering and the tension of alleviating vs embracing. (Image from the Center for Action & Contemplation) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate…

For MLK Day weekend, we continue our look at the tension of alleviating suffering and embracing suffering for a good, full life, learning from some of Dr. King's 1967 speeches. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/…

That is the question! Vince reflects personally and intellectually on how a good, full life seems to involve BOTH a commitment to alleviating suffering AND an embrace of the inevitability of suffering. What do we do with that? How does one hold that tension? Jesus' life and ministry offer needed insights.Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJS…

Hayley brings us to the provocative, beautiful suggestion from 13th century mystic Meister Eckhart that we are all called to be mothers who give birth to God -- bringing God's Spirit into the uprootedness of life, into the most unfathomable of circumstances. (Art by @osageandfern) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brow…

Vince asks questions about poverty, exploitation, and perceiving God's Spirit as we turn again to Matthew's Christmas story about the confrontation between Herod and the Magi. (Art: "Herod greeting the three magi" by Rolf Nesch, 1922) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownl…

For the second Sunday of Advent, we visit again Mary's Magnificat -- the song of longing and revolution that formed Jesus in the womb. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate…

Where is God when we feel stuck or trapped? For the first Sunday of Advent, the four weeks leading up to Christmas, we look at Isaiah 9, a traditional Advent passage, with help from womanist theologian Monica Coleman. (Art: Isaiah 9 by Amy Lindahl) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources…

Instead of a message this week, we have our annual update on the financial and business side of running BLC. Plus, we're celebrating our community's 10 year birthday! (Image from Hamid Roshaan on Unsplash) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donat…

Through the lens of the Nap Ministry's Tricia Hersey and her book "Rest is Resistance", Hayley continues our church's discussion of how to address societal burnout. (Illustration by Kumé Pather) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://br…

The forces of acceleration behind our societal burnout are experienced as guilt by the middle class, and as injustice by the working class. Vince points us to the Bible's Zacchaeus to help us imagine how communities can counter this "tyranny of acceleration" by holding up alternative visions of fullness of life. Scholar Sources to learn more Charle…

Two friends of Vince, in different helper professions, join us to continue our discussion of societal burnout (Cartoon by Bruce Mackinnon) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate…

The most natural response to burnout in our culture, according to scholars of the Modern World, is a good response in many ways, but, alas, it can't save us from busyness. Vince explains, and point us to Jesus' alternative vision of a good life that isn't busyness. SCHOLAR SOURCES FOR THIS SERIES Charles Taylor https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.p…

Burnout is not a problem with fringe individuals; burnout is a societal problem. How did we get here? And how can we, together in community, address societal burnout, rather than demand individual heroic effort to overcome it? What does Jesus have to offer us in this? And how might BLC help us stay open to that? Links to sources for this series Cha…

Is there any wisdom that is more across-the-board applicable than forgiveness? — to both interpersonal and societal struggles? — to both small slights and major abuse? There might not be! For our part 2 on "conflict resolution", Vince explores Jesus' teaching on forgiveness, as explained by Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mbpo Tutu in "The Book of Fo…

Vince & Keziah tell on themselves to surface various nuggets and insights on conflict resolution that have helped them over their 15 years of marriage, and highlight what a difference-maker it is to actually living those things out when you feel seen by a God of Love. (Image by jean wimmerlin on Unsplash) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJ…

We Modern people like to maintain the image of our minds being a locked-down, private space, but, when we let our guards down, we often feel a call away from closed self-sufficiency. Maybe our minds are more mysterious than we assume, and we'd welcome a flashlight and some outside input. This week, Vince teaches us about Listening Prayer. (Photo by…

For our shortened end-of-August service, Vince reminds us that a full life stops to mark transitions (like the turning of the academic calendar) rather than speeds through them. He leads us in a blessing over the back to school transition from author Kate Bowler. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/co…

Modern life is like being under a waterfall: so many experiences and demands and thoughts and feelings tumbling down on us, leaving us in constant reactivity mode. "Getting behind the waterfall" is a contemplative prayer practice meant to get us out of reactivity mode. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.…

Beginning with the famous "Invisible Gorilla" study by Daniel Simons, Vince suggests a prayer practice for experiencing transcendence in the midst of our exhausting, pressure-heavy lives, which can feel simultaneously instinctual AND extremely hard (or strange) against the backdrop of Modern Life. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New …

In Illinois, over 9,000 people are unhoused, and over 389,000 more are considered at risk of being unhoused. This Sunday is our annual project for packing relief kits for our unhoused and underhoused neighbors, and for demonstrating that the real moral question for our country is how we treat the poor. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8…

Everyone can perceive God, but different people will perceive more naturally in different ways. Vince brings to us a resource that can relieve pressure about how prayer has to look, and inject some creativity and new ideas into our personal prayer lives. Resource here: http://brownlinechurch.org/spiritual-pathways Join our live chat! https://discor…

While Psalm 139 is most known for its incredibly affirming beginning ("I am fearfully and wonderfully made"), it also has a dark, troubling turn ("I hate with perfect hatred"). What holds it all together? The final verses that reveal "the God of the Gut Check"... Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/co…

In celebration of Pride weekend, we celebrate the God who celebrates and welcomes all. (Photo by Alex Jackman on Unsplash)Por Hayley Larson & Vince Brackett

While there are many unhelpful pictures of power and control, we can find in Jesus a power that is rooted in compassion and trust. On this Juneteenth and Father’s Day weekend, we look at the Psalms’ portrayal of God as a source of help and liberation. (Art: "Christ Breaks the Rifle" by Kelly Latimore) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 …

Continuing our series inspired by the Psalms, Hayley & Vince share experiences of music and song connecting them with God. (Photo by Aaron Burden via Unsplash) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate…

Graduations and "comings of age" can mean so much more when we mark them in communal spiritual practice. Join us as we begin a new annual tradition for our church: Graduation Sunday. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurc…

Psalm 42 offers comfort in the form of validating our present struggles. How do we navigate the ebb and flow of hope and despair? What do we do when our experiences of God change? Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.o…

For Mother's Day, Vince takes us to Psalm 91, inspired by reflections from feminist process theologian Marjorie Suchocki (Art: The Child's Bath, by Mary Cassatt, 1893) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate…

This week is a special service! Like an author’s dedication at the beginning of a book, baby dedications are parents' dedications at the beginning of a life, shared with community. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.…

There's a tension between a pursuit of joy and a pursuit of meaning behind the New Testament writings that formed the early Jesus movement after Jesus' death and resurrection. How might honoring that tension help us in our struggles today to hold to hope instead of cynicism? Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinec…

Is "experiencing God" only for certain people? The intuitive or contemplative? Or, alternatively, the super expressive? Or maybe only the most pious? Or those who know the most about the Bible? The Gospels' stories of encounters with the Risen Jesus (like Luke 24's "Road to Emmaus") encourage us beyond these limitations we may place on ourselves. (…

Hayley demystifies regular, active experience of God with a look at some of the Bible’s stories of people experiencing the Risen Jesus. (Art by @scottthepainter) NOTE: DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, WE LOST THE FIRST FEW MINUTES OF AUDIO FROM HAYLEY’S MESSAGE — SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE! — YOU CAN FIND HER NOTES HERE: http://brownlinechurch.org/l…

Is there any hope? Or should we just "eat and drink, for tomorrow we die"? The 1st century Jewish version of the age-old struggle of hope vs. cynicism was the debate over whether to believe in "the resurrection of the dead." Can something from that debate then inspire us in our versions of the struggle today? (Art by Morgan Harper Nichols) Join our…

Our hope is that this reflection can stand alone as a meaningful way to pray and slow yourself down today, BUT if you have been following along in our Lent Mealtime Readings & Prayers, this reflection will build upon the story we have been following there (and in particular the reading and prayer for Good Friday). Find our Lent Mealtime Reading & P…

Is God always angry? For Palm Sunday -- which begins Holy Week's march toward Good Friday -- we continue our differentiation from the American Christian legacy that we are "sinners in the hands of an angry God", with a focus on alternative ways to believe in the power of Jesus' crucifixion. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? h…

Unfortunately, one of the most enduring legacies of American Christianity is a sermon from 1741: "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God". Few today know the sermon, but most know the belief behind it, as its influence over modern images of God and faith is immense. This week, we deconstruct the term “sinner” and unpack an alternative Christian belie…