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Articles by Jim Meisner Jr.
Table Talk: Jesus and a Modern Christian
Sat. Sept. 5, I’ll debut Table Talk: Jesus and a Modern Christian at Wild Goose Festival. (There’s still time for YOU to attend Wild Goose this year. Use my special discount code A-JM to save $50 on an adult weekend ticket.
Faith, Hope, and Baseball: An Amish Choice
Faith, Hope, and Baseball: A Novel “Maybe God was like a ball club. Different religions at different positions. So a Muslim plays one position and has very little in common with a Christian or Jewish guy in other positions. But they are all on God’s team.” | Image via Synaptic Image / For Patheos. My novel, Faith, Hope, and Baseball, is the story of a 17-year-old Amish baseball prodigy facing an impossible choice.
Finding Faith at the Field of Dreams
“If you build it, he will come,” a mysterious voice says to Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella, who envisions a baseball diamond appearing in his corn field. The vision quickly gives away to plowing and seeding. Soon ghosts of legendary ball players arrive, led by “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and other players banned after the 1919 White Sox scandal. The 1989 movie, based on W. P. Kinsella’s novel Shoeless Joe, is a magical story about family, dreams, and baseball.
Woody Guthrie’s Deportee
The headlines remind me of Woody Guthrie’s Deportee. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have shot and killed 10 people and 22 more have died while in ICE custody between New Year’s Day and July 2026, including multiple preventable deaths. As our society ignores the plight of these victims, I’m reminded of the words of Woody Guthrie.
Now is your chance to attend Wild Goose Festival
For years, people have asked if I attend Wild Goose Festival, and my answer has always been the same: “Camping in North Carolina in July? Are you crazy?” Wild Goose Festival is now being held Labor Day weekend, and I’m pleased to share that I’ll be presenting this year. Wild Goose Festival has been called a transformational experience grounded in faith-inspired social justice.
The Day I Met Jesse Jackson
I saw Jesse Jackson twice before the day I met him. On Dec. 29, 1984, he spoke to the 63rd Grand Conclave of his college fraternity, Omega Psi Phi. It was held in my hometown of Louisville, Ky. and his appearance was promoted in the newspaper. So at 17 years-old I drove from where I was staying at my grandmother’s in Crescent Hill to the Galt House Hotel downtown. The newspaper didn’t mention that Jackson was the keynote speaker after dinner.
ICE Is Coming To My City.
It appears ICE is coming to my city. The authoritarian Trump Administration is systematically invading states and cities with Democratic leadership and I believe the attack against Richmond, Va. is imminent. Democrats hold the offices of Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General, the General Assembly, both Senate seats and most of the Congressional seats. The first state in the nation to elect a Black governor swore in its first female governor in January. Gov.
“We Don’t Want Their Kind Here.”
“We don’t want their kind here,” Indigenous people said when Spanish and English speakers invaded their land. The residents of Tsenacommacah shot arrows at strangers, killing Ustis Clovill, the first Englishman buried in the ground the colonizers named Virginia. “We don’t want their kind here,” Colonial America said as it became owned and operated by white men, with laws and systems designed to benefit white men and marginalize everyone else.
Twelfth Night, Epiphany And The End Of The Christmas Season
Twelfth Night, Epiphany and the end of the Christmas Season Christmas Day, Dec. 25, is the day Christianity shakes free of the cultural, commercial Christmas and begins the Christian season of Christmastide. Twelfth Night (The King Drinks) by David Teniers c. 1634-1640 The Twelve Days of Christmas begin on Dec. 26 and conclude with Twelfth Night, observed on the evening of Jan. 5.
Watch Night
Watch Night. Dec. 31, 1862 found enslaved Americans across the southern United States eagerly awaiting their freedom. With the stroke of midnight the Emancipation Proclamation became the law of the land in all states in rebellion. Black Americans continue to celebrate Freedom’s Eve today. While the Emancipation Proclamation only applied to the Confederate states, it provided motivation to the enslaved Americans in those states to support the Union army in every way possible.
Was Jesus A Refugee? Of Course He Was.
Was Jesus a refugee? Of course he was. The only reason to deny the clear Biblical message is because you don’t want to do what the Bible says. This week’s lectionary scripture, Matthew 2:13-23 occurs immediately after the magi meet and venerate the two-year-old toddler Jesus. Scripture doesn’t tell us how many magi, how many wise men there were. We infer three, because of the gifts of Gold, Frankincense and myrrh. But it could have been three magi, or six, or sixteen.
Absurdism Reaches New Heights When Bill & Ted Wait For Godot
Absurdism reaches new heights when Bill and Ted play air guitar in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, running through Jan. 4 at Manhattan’s Hudson Theater. In the roles of Estrogen and Vladimir, the current production casts Keanu Reeves in his Broadway debut and Alex Winter, known for playing Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted “Theodore” Logan in three Bill & Ted movies.
The Secret Symbol In A Charlie Brown Christmas
Have you noticed the secret symbol in A Charlie Brown Christmas, the beloved Christmas classic charming audiences for 60 years? Half the nation tuned in to CBS when the program first aired on Dec. 9, 1965. The Emmy award-winning program featured Peanuts characters Americans had come to love in their daily newspapers. Charlie Brown’s struggle with the commercialism of Christmas resonates just as much today as it did half a century ago.
Confirmation Bias Christians
Confirmation bias allows us to see only what we want to see, believe only what we want to believe and reject anything that contradicts our beliefs. Confirmation bias Christians call good evil and evil good. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” — Isaiah 5:20 Evil.
Danger On The Jericho Road
There is danger on the Jericho Road. “Who is your neighbor?” Jesus asks. “Not the illegals,” Christian Nationalists answer. We know the story of the good Samaritan. In Luke 10:25–37 Jesus shares the parable of a man traveling the Jericho Road from Jerusalem who was attacked, beaten, robbed and left stripped and half dead. First a priest and then a Levite, the two most important and highest-ranking leaders of the community, moved to the other side of the road to avoid the dying victim.
In A Violent World Remember Gandhi
In a violent world, filled with those who accept violence as the cost of living, we should remember Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Better known as Mahatma, “Great Soul.” He was also called Bapu, because he was the “father” of India. Born Oct. 2, 1869, he was assassinated at age 78, Jan. 30, 1948. He led a non-violent protest that freed India from British rule and inspired Martin Luther King, Jr. to lead a similar non-violent civil rights struggle in the United States.
Repent! Does It Really Mean What We Think?
“Repent,” Jesus says in Matt. 4:17, “for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” But does it really mean what we think? Jesus says to repent a lot in the Bible. “Repent.” “Repent, you sinful generation.” “Repent, you brood of vipers, repent.” When kids on the playground get into a tussle, they shake hands, say they’re sorry and go back to being best friends again. They repent. Bible study groups will scan dictionaries looking for the definition.
Republicans Have Found Their Reichstag Moment
With the murder of Conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk, Republicans have found their Reichstag Moment. On Feb. 27, 1933, exactly four weeks after Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Germany’s Chancellor, an arsonist’s fire engulfed Berlin’s Reichstag building, home of the German parliament. The Dutch national convicted of the crime claimed he acted alone to protest the condition of the German working class. Four others were ultimately acquitted.
When Alabama’s Birmingham Was “Bombingham”
When Alabama’s Birmingham was “Bombingham” Sept. 15, 1963 seemed like any other Birmingham Sunday morning for Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson, all 14. Eleven year-old Denise McNair followed the girls and their friends to the washroom after Sunday school and before the church service at 16th Street Baptist Church. A massive explosion shattered the peaceful morning, killing the four and wounding and maiming nearly two dozen mostly women and children.
Charlie Kirk Was A Racist
Let me make it plain: Charlie Kirk was a racist bigot. Too many people need to hear this. Most of the mainstream media, the entire Republican Party, and the MAGA echo chamber need to hear it—so I’m making it plain. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, is a racist bigot. His office doesn’t preclude him from being one. Charlie Kirk’s being a victim of the gun violence he denied does not erase the fact that he was a racist bigot.
Good-night, Sweet Prince
“Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet prince;
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” I watched Adam Turck die more than 30 times, closer to 50 times if you count rehearsals. His character was killed at the end of Act I and I played the investigating detective in Act II. On Aug. 2, the 35-year-old Richmond actor intervened in a domestic dispute while walking his dog in broad daylight. A 19-year-old pulled a handgun, shot Adam and turned the gun on himself.
How Do We Survive The Republican Culture Of Death?
Republicans controlling Washington are trying to kill us all. How do we survive the republican culture of death? Tragedies in Texas give us a clear understanding of the dangerous, death-soaked society Republicans are creating across the country. Kerr County, Texas, known as part of “Flash Flood Alley,” experienced 94 deaths this summer; a significant number of the fatalities at Camp Mystic, a youth camp along the Guadalupe River, where 27 campers and staff drowned.
Remembering Ryne Sandberg - Legends Never Die
“Heroes get remembered,” Babe Ruth told Scotty Smalls in the movie The Sandlot, “but legends never die.” A hero transitioned to legend July 28 when Chicago Cub Ryne Sandberg died of cancer. He was 65, but he’ll remain forever young as a Hall of Fame defender with a powerful bat that left balls bouncing down the streets of Wrigleyville. WGN’s Harry Carey and Steve Stone delivered Cubs baseball to millions of us across the country in the 1980s and 90s.
Notes From A Sermon: Responding To The Current Culture
Notes from a sermon: Responding to the Current Culture In Matthew 25:40-46, Jesus says, “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
What’s The Christian Response To The Current Culture?
For months, I’ve been grappling with what should be the Christian Response to the Current Culture? A timeless question asked by followers of Jesus for 2,000 years. What is the current culture? A solid 30 percent of the United States supports the illegal actions of a convicted felon. The government is controlled by people who don’t want to feed the hungry, who don’t want to clothe the naked, and don’t want to welcome strangers; as Jesus instructs his followers in Matthew 25.
Acting In Faith: Being Present In The Moment
I’m halfway through the performance schedule of Dial “M” for Murder at Hanover Tavern, one of the premiere professional theaters in central Virginia. I was a theater major freshman year of college and I’m finally acting in my first professional play. A good show is about both the performers and the audience being present in the moment. My first professional performing job was six days a week, with Monday off. I was 19 and performing a one man show nearly 100 times a week in an amusement park.
3 Lessons From The Early Celtic Church
Churches today can learn 3 lessons from the early Celtic Church. More than 1,500 years ago the natives of Ireland were polytheist pagans who would consider themselves ‘spiritual;’ much like the growing group of unchurched Americans. Ireland and the other British islands were on the furthest edge of the Roman Empire, and the furthest reach of Christianity. Christian monasteries were established across Ireland under the Bishop Palladius.
How Do Christians Respond To Donald Trump?
How do Christians respond to Donald Trump and his “Christian” supporters? Here are 6 suggestions: Too many Americans claim to be Christian but then behave contrary to the teachings of Jesus. They support policies and politicians who victimize or exploit the weakest and most vulnerable. Throughout history, powerful Christians have wielded the authority of the Bible as a weapon to divide and hurt and not a blueprint to unite and heal. But the redemptive truth of Christ remains constant.
I Quit My Church Because Of Trump
I quit my church because of Donald Trump and stepped down from the pulpit. After four years of being the pastor of a loving and supportive church, I dropped a bombshell. On the last Sunday of 2024, I ended my sermon by saying it was my last, and that I had a replacement lined up for the following week. I told my congregation that I no longer felt called there. Which is true.
Republicans Aren’t Christian: They’re Christofascists
Republicans aren’t Christian: They’re Christofascists. In a stark example of the extremism of so-call “Christian” Republicans, Oklahoma Rep. Josh Brecheen recently introduced a resolution to condemn a Christian bishop for preaching the word of God in her church.
Notes From A Sermon: For Everything There Is A Season
The sermon for Dec. 29, 2024, is from Ecclesiastes 3:1-13, and is entitled, “For Everything There is a Season.” Today’s scripture reminds us that there is a time for everything. A time to ponder the past, and a time to focus on the future. A time and a season for everything.
My New BB Gun And The Day I Nearly Shot My Eye Out
My new BB Gun and the day I nearly shot my eye out. Jan. 6, 1980, dawned covered in snow, just like it did this morning. I turned 13 and was finally receiving the birthday present I’d looked forward to for years: a BB gun. My parents had insisted I wait until i was 13, and allegedly mature enough to handle the responsibility of a BB gun. I never had an interest in killing, so birds were safe around me but glass bottles would always be doomed to destruction.
The Eighth Night Of Hanukkah - 93 Years Ago
On the eight night of Hanukkah 93 years ago, hate, vitriol and racist lies were reaching a fever pitch, sweeping across Germany. (Follow this link to read more about this historic photo: (http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/menorah-defies-nazi-flag/) Let us not fool ourselves into believing that it can’t happen again or that it can’t happen here. For people who are victimized, it is happening here, today.
Watch Night 2024
Watch Night. In the African American community, Watch Night services on New Year’s Eve commemorate the evening of Dec. 31, 1862, as enslaved Americans looked to Jan. 1, 1863, and the implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation. The idea of a New Year’s Eve service actually is older than Freedom’s Eve, and in fact finds its roots in the Moravian Church and a 1733 New Year’s Eve service held in Germany.
Dec. 29, 1954 - James Dean, Roy Schatt, And Me
James Dean, Roy Schatt, and me — my walk in the footsteps of the icon. On Dec. 29, 1954, photographer Roy Schatt took photos of James Dean – photos he dubbed the “Torn Sweater” series. Nine months later Dean was dead. Schatt met Dean in February, 1954, through mutual friends in New York City’s artistic communities. They hung out with actors Martin Landau and Jim Backus, dancer Eartha Kitt as well as musicians, composers, and many others.
Why Did Americans Elect Mr. Potter?
If Americans want to live in Bedford Falls, why did they elect Mr. Potter, who promises misery, bigotry, and theft? Most of us live in Bedford Falls, where our lives are filled with hard working and goodhearted people. We’re friendly and affable and we look out for others. Immigrants like Mr. Martini have opportunities to work hard and join our community. The elderly, the poor, and those down on their luck get help to make their lives better.
Dec. 17, 1903 - The Wright Brother’s First Flight
Dec. 17, 1903 – The Wright Brother’s First Flight (Excerpted from Soar to Success the Wright Way.) The morning of Thursday, Dec. 17 dawned cold. A thin layer of ice covered the puddles of rainwater in the sand. The days were getting colder and the wind blowing from the north at a dangerous 20 to 27 miles per hour. Brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright reasoned that the next day’s weather could be even worse and that if they wanted to be home by Christmas, now was the time.
Notes From A Sermon: Third Sunday In Advent
Notes From a Sermon: Third Sunday in Advent Luke 1:39-55 includes Mary’s song; commonly referred to as the Magnificat. Magnificat is named after the first line in the Latin: Magnificat anima mea Dominum or “My Soul magnifies the Lord.” Magnifies. Enlarges. Makes bigger. Celebrates. As Mary says, “He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
Notes From A Sermon: Christ The King Sunday
Notes From a Sermon: Christ the King Sunday Christ the King Sunday ( John 18:33-37) is a special day on the Church calendar, like Lent or Holy Week leading up to Easter or Advent, the weeks before Christmas. Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Advent have been part of the Christian community for more than 1,000 years.
Fox News Lies To America
Four years ago, Fox News lied to Americans about the presidential election. This isn’t an opinion, it’s a documented fact that Fox News intentionally and repeatedly lied about the 2020 presidential election. Fox News paid $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems for knowingly and willfully broadcasting lies. “Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees and our customers,” said Dominion CEO John Poulos.
Notes From A Sermon: “What Do You Want Me To Do For You?”
In the Grateful Dead’s Box of Rain, lyricist Robert Hunter echoed the words of Jesus when he asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” “What do you want me to do To do for you to see you through? For this is all a dream we dreamed One afternoon long ago” Phil Lesh,who wrote the Box of Rain music, died Oct. 25 at age 84. On Oct. 27, I preached about Jesus asking “What do you want me to do for you?” They came to Jericho, the scripture begins. And then, later, they were leaving Jericho. Two sentences.
Christian Trump Supporters Are Wrong
The first Christians were wrong when they said that only Jews could follow Jesus. Christians were wrong when they wanted Christianity as the official religion of Rome. Christians were wrong when they murdered Jews across Europe during the Middle Ages. Christians were wrong when they murdered tens of thousands of Muslims during the Crusades. Christians were wrong when they murdered Protestants. Christians were wrong when they murdered Catholics.
A Recent Interaction On Faith On The Fringe Facebook
Do you follow Faith on the Fringe Facebook? Last week when I posted about the godlessness and immorality of Donald Trump, someone responded by questioning the faith of President Obama. Here’s an example of honest, thoughtful, Christian introspection, something that Trump is clearly, obviously, not capable of. Where is Christianity in the U.S. when some Christians believe that Trump is a Christian while Obama is not? There is a core, moral decay in Christianity in America.
How Can Christians Support The Godless Immorality Of Trump?
When reading, “Why a Christian SHOULD Vote for Donald Trump to be President,” I felt sick; literally sick to my stomach. And I still don’t understand how Christians can support the godless immorality of Donald Trump. I was hoping for insight into why Christians like Al Baker support Trump. But, alas, there was no insight, just bad writing, poor reasoning, deflection and distraction, not unlike Trump’s entire career.
The Day I Met President Jimmy Carter
As President Jimmy Carter turns 100 on Oct. 1, he reaches significant historical markers. He has lived through 40% of U.S. history since the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and more than a third of all U.S. administrations since George Washington took office in 1789. I spoke briefly with President Carter in the men’s room of Maranatha Baptist Church, after he taught Sunday school on July 10, 2011. I was standing at the restroom urinals with the 39th president of the United States.
The Christian Response To Trump
Donald Trump is everything the Bible warns us against, in both the New Testament and the Old Testament. What is the Christian response to Trump? What does the Bible say? Repeatedly the Jewish scripture describes ungodly people exactly the way we can describe Trump.
Notes From A Sermon: Earthly Wisdom And Godly Wisdom
James 3:13-18, 4:1-8, talks about two kinds of wisdom. Earthly wisdom and Godly wisdom. Bitter envy and selfish ambition arise from earthly wisdom, the letter says. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. Think of those people in our lives, in history, and in the country, who demonstrate earthly “wisdom” with unspiritual envy and selfish ambition.
Do Christians Need To Be Reminded That Racism Is Immoral?
Do Christians need to be reminded that racism is immoral? Evidently. In the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and convicted felon Donald Trump, Trump abandoned his usual, thinly-veiled racist dog whistles and went full volume with the ridiculous lie that black people eat their neighbor’s pets. “A lot of towns don’t want to talk about it because they’re so embarrassed by it. In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in. They’re eating the cats.
Notes From A Sermon: Mark 7: 24-37
“Going to the Dogs” Notes from a sermon on Mark 7:24-37. 24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
Notes From A Sermon: James 1:17-27
Notes From a Sermon: James 1:17-27 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits of all he created . . . Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
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