THE LAST RIVER MILE

Thoughts near the take-out.

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GEOFF POSEGATE

Retired United Methodist pastor and leadership coach.

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  • “A WARNING TO RELIGION FROM THE GARDEN OF EDEN”

    “The sin warned against at the very beginning of the Bible is ‘to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ (Genesis 2:17). It does not sound like that should be a sin at all, does it? But the moment I sit on my throne, where I know with certitude who the…

  • “MAKE A WOMB OF THIS WOUNDED WORLD”

    A daily devotional resource I use (Lectio 365) recently included this piece by Malcomb Guile, in anticipation of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth: “Come to us Wisdom, come unspoken Name, Come Root, and Key, and King, and holy Flame, O quickened little wick so tightly curled, Be folded with us into time and place,…

  • THE ‘RIGHT’ SIDE OF HISTORY

    I’m binge-watching a now dated Netflix series – “Designated Survivor.” In the story, an accidental U.S. president (played by Keifer Sutherland) urges government leaders to “choose to be on the right side of history” during a time of crisis. That’s an interesting and compelling concept…the “right” side of history. It occurs to me that all…

  • HOPE ISN’T HOPE IF I SCRIPT IT

    For Jesus-followers, especially in the four Sunday run-up to Christmas Day (Advent), hope is a major theme. We like messages such as Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” We tend to assume that hope is the thing we need when that…

  • WHAT “CULTURE WAR”?!?

    Apparently we’re involved in culture wars. I guess I’m not as up to speed on this as I should be. Evidently the concept of “culture war” dates back to the 1990’s, and has something to do with the tension between the moral values of progressive thinking verses traditional thinking, however those are defined. As a…

  • JESUS DOESN’T COME IN ONE COLOR

    The Church of Jesus the Christ doesn’t exist for itself. It exists for those who have yet to really hear, experience, and know the depth of God’s sacrificial love for them. Our mission is summed up in what I know as The Great Commandment (Mark 12:31-31) and The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19.) I am deeply…

  • NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO REFER TO ANOTHER HUMAN BEING AS “GARBAGE”

    At no point do I have permission to call another person “garbage” or to regard any person as such. And nothing gives me a “pass” to do so. Not the amount of wealth I command. Not the official or unofficial position of power I hold. Not any amount of “success” I can claim. Not the…

  • “THE WORLD, THE FLESH, AND THE DEVIL”

    “Traditional Catholic moral teaching said there were three sources of evil – the world, the flesh, and the devil. Dom Helder Camara (1909-1999), the holy and wise archbishop of Recife, Brazil, taught this in terms of a spiral of violence rising from the bottom up. The world (systemic evil) is the lie about power, prestige,…

  • JESUS WAS KILLED NOT BY THE OUTSIDERS, BUT BY THE INSIDERS

    We define so much of life by being on the inside or striving to be on the inside. Those on the inside belong; those on the outside do not. Insiders are wealthy and powerful; outsiders are not. Insiders are beautiful, favored, and popular; outsiders are not. In some ways we see this as blueprint for…

  • NAME-CALLING IS NOT A MARK OF GOOD LEADERSHIP

    This post may sound as if it is aimed at one person in particular. It is not. My concern is with all of us, and with an alarming cultural comfort we seem to have with verbal bullying. Name-calling is not an indicator or strong leadership. Negative labeling, put-downs, and demeaning words of all kinds happen…