Blog

Cultural relevance is good. Excellence is good. God and our community are worthy of both. But those are lesser things that can’t become ultimate things. It’s not about one dominant, charismatic voice; it’s about a community responding to God’s grace with one voice.

Psalm 82 is a psalm for all those who are victims of injustice and those who stand in solidarity with them…Psalm 82 is a message for all people who hold power, which I would argue is the vast majority of us. Each of us has spheres of influence whether or not we have an official leadership title. And, therefore, all of us have the responsibility to speak loudly to those who are in leadership and have unjust practices, lest we become complicit.

Psalm 30 is David’s testimony of praise to God for rescuing him from a period in his life in which he was overcome with despair. What follows is a reinterpretation and reorganization of the Psalm as a monologue. It is interspersed with the congregational song representing God’s voice, “Don’t Be Afraid” by John Bell.