My Backstory

I grew up as a science/sci-fi geek in a buckle of the southern bible belt. In the 9th grade I decided to start my study on fusion and plasma, because I knew the only way to move my spaceship at light speed was to create an energy field that masked the mass of the object so it could move like energy through the universe. Yes, I was also in the band and did a little acting on the side, and my friends were smarter than I was.

Yes, I was one of those kids…

Given that backdrop, it’s not a stretch to understand how much the religious born again craze did not sit well with me. I did not think the Beatles were the 4 horsemen of the coming apocalypse, I did not see the necessity of a T-Rex on Noah’s Ark, and this whole “God created an old-looking earth” flew in the face of everything science. People were trying to prove something that was supposed to be taken on faith.

On the one hand, what I endured in my formative years did a lot to make me suspicious of organized religion, especially southern fundamentalism. On the other hand, dealing with the commentaries of evangelicals created an environment where I needed to know chapter and verse in order to understand the growing evangelical fervor in my home town.

It didn’t help that leaving the small southern town of my youth did not provide an escape from the rising tide of what appeared to be medieval theology sweeping America. I had to contend with the misnamed Moral Majority, the heads of the 5 families of the evangelical cult, and the decidedly anti-Christian words and deeds of the anti-abortion / anti-gay movement of the 1980’s and 1990’s.

It seemed to me that God chose the wrong people to lead the Church…

It seemed to me that God chose the wrong people to lead the Church. I didn’t see how these folks could or would make future disciples and grow the kingdom. And for a while, I didn’t want to have anything to do with the people who turned the Creator of the Universe into such a small, petty god. I mean, who needs a God who can get kicked out of a courthouse, or a high school?

Now I was still a believer in an omnipresent God that transcended high school rules and regulations. I was simply unhappy with God for allowing this to happen.

So, yeah, it took a while for me to figure out that the problem was not God’s choice, but the deliberate actions of humans who decided to use God to gain wealth and maintain control of people. It also took a while to determine the root cause, to find the deeper why. And when I say “a while”, I mean going on 40 years of digging.

OR is divisive and violent

Now that I am older and wiser, I see more of the pattern. There is an inherent intellectual violence in OR when it is applied to scriptural interpretations. Sure, the word used is AND (for example, male and female), but the details are defined in OR. People are categorized. You are with US or you are with THEM. You are on the side of GOOD or you are on the side of EVIL.

We are asked to choose sides. No, it is not an ask, it is a directive. And once the decision is made, it must be protected. OR takes the warrior stance with weapons bared.

AND is inclusive and peaceful

Jesus teaches us to not give in to the OR. He calls us to be AND people.

AND is inclusive and peaceful.

AND presents a hand of friendship in the midst of conflict.

The focus of the lessons on this site are dedicated to leaning into the God of And.

Feel free to bounce around, but I would suggest you start in the beginning, with the Genesis story.

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