It's time.

You've thought about it over the years. You've found lots of reason NOT to join the church (believe me... I've heard them!):

1. It's inconvenient (couldn't make the membership classes...)
2. Not sure about doctrinal issues (the "Jesus is Lord" thing, the strangeness of the Bible)
3. Don't want to give the church my money ('nuff said)
4. It's just personal (not really a "church person")

But it's time to join. Now. Let me tell you why.

Today, April 4th, is an important day to stop and remember.

Today, 40 years ago, in Memphis, TN, a 39 year-old pastor was killed as he stood on the balcony of a motel. His own church was in Atlanta. He was in Memphis because he believed that to serve God meant to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with sisters and brothers in their pursuit of justice for themselves and their families, wherever they were. The men who picked up Memphis' trash were striking for better wages and benefits and the young pastor was there to encourage and support them and draw attention to the holiness in their struggle.

I don't know what Martin Luther King, Jr. would have been talking about today, at age 79. I can only take cues for my life from what he said and did. I look at what this servant of God said and did, and pray for the clarity and strength to serve God with the same faith and courage.

I'm consistently befuddled by the problem of homelessness in New York. It's a life-threatening problem for 35,000 New Yorkers every single night. 35,000 people without the essential safe haven of a home is too many...

Homelessness is a problem that shouldn't be a problem. There are the means in this city to provide every person who needs shelter with shelter. If it's not the resources... then what causes 35,000 people to go without?

The issues are as different as the people who face them:

Happy Black Friday—the biggest shopping day of the year, and the official start of the apocalyptic time known as the "Christmas shopping season!"

I thought I'd take a moment on this sacred day to offer one confession, and one wish.

First the confession: My family and friends think I'm cheap. And they're right. I'm cheap.

Why do you go to church... or not?

One of the many things I've learned as a new minister is people come to church for a million and one reasons!

There are lots of good reasons to be at church: to grow in faith, to express our faith, to find healing, to hear words that inspire, to hear music that inspires, to find opportunities to serve other people, to learn about God...

And there are some other reasons, perhaps less high-minded, but also legitimate: because you've always gone to church and wouldn't know what else to do on a Sunday morning, because it's a good place to make friends or perhaps find romance, because the brunch is good and you don't want to cook on a Sunday...

This Wednesday, I tried to preach on "giving." As a fairly big chunk of my sermon, we had a discussion about this blog post from Stephen Dubner, a co-author of the fantastic and provocative book Freakonomics.

Dubner presents the following familiar New York City scenario to five commentators and authors, and invites their response:

You are walking down the street with $10 of disposable income in your pocket. You come to a corner with a hot dog vendor on one side and a beggar on the other. The beggar looks like he’s been drinking; the hot dog vendor looks like an upstanding citizen. How, if at all, do you distribute the $10 in your pocket, and why?

Ah, it's that time of year again. A special time of year in churches all across America. A holy time... a sacred time... a joyous season, full of love and good cheer! Thanksgiving?  No. Christmastide? No. What season am I talking about?

Why, Stewardship Season, of course!