Faith and just got off a plane, coming back from the Friends of Jesus Fellowship Spring Gathering near Indianapolis. I’m exhausted from the trip, but I’m so excited about what God is doing in our community. I want to share with you about what we experienced this weekend. From Thursday night to Sunday morning, we …
This Sunday, we heard the story of the apostle Thomas, who refused to believe in the resurrection until he had witnessed it for himself. All the other apostles had been there Jesus when Jesus appeared, but Thomas missed it. Thomas was sure the others were making the whole thing up. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, …
What is Christianity? Is it a collection of individuals, each following Jesus? Is it a type of culture, a philosophy that can govern courts, legislatures, and armies? Is it a radical fringe movement, at odds with mainstream culture, or is it a faith that is central to what it means to be American? Throughout history, different …
When I first became a Quaker, I thought that the point of my faith was to experience God’s presence. If I wasn’t experiencing regular encounters with the Holy Spirit, something was wrong. More recently, such experience – the sense of spiritual ecstasy and mystical states of consciousness – has become much less central to my faith. Instead, …
This weekend there were 11 of us (plus one baby!) at the William Penn House, just blocks from the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. We had solid representation from DC, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York City, and California, representing the core leadership of the Friends of Jesus Fellowship. It felt fantastic to be together in one location, dedicating …
This weekend, the core leaders of the Friends of Jesus Fellowship will be gathering in Washington, DC. This is a special retreat, to consider how God is calling us to move ahead as a community in the months and years to come. This gathering comes at an pivotal moment for Friends of Jesus, which has grown and evolved in …
When I was about twelve years old, I went through a phase when I was terribly afraid of hell. Like, wake-up-screaming scared of hell. Shouting-at-the-ceiling-because-God-won’t-answer afraid of damnation. My parents probably thought I was mentally ill, but that wasn’t quite right. I was living in a persistent state of spiritual terror. Somewhere along the way (maybe at …
Read more “I Want to Follow Jesus. Do I Need to Be Baptized?”