Steve Scharf @sjs524

We need the witness of Christians of other cultures to correct our culturally conditioned understanding of Scripture.

This is my father (with his sister). They were German Jews. I am so thankful that they escaped from the Nazis and came to England as refugees. Most of the rest of their family were exterminated in Dachau, Riga and other concentration camps. #YomHashoah #HolocaustRemembranceDay

This administration is making America cruel. Christian agencies that resettle refugees (like World Relief and Global Refuge) desperately need support now that Trump has pulled the rug out from under refugees already here. cnn.com/2025/01/24/pol…

A "Christmas Carol" Prayer: Father of Light, In the hush of winter nights, When stars pierce through darkness And frost rims the world in silver, We remember Your coming. Not in thunder, Not in earthquake, Not in storm, But in a mother's whispered lullaby, In a newborn's first breath, In the quiet wonder of shepherds Standing beneath Your luminous sky. Teach us to find You In life's tender places— Where hope flickers like candlelight, Where love makes a home in unlikely spaces, Where grace falls as soft as snow. Let us carry Your presence As Mary carried Your Son: With reverence, With courage, With hearts made wide by wonder. Make us bearers of Your light In this world's shadowed corners. Let our lives become carols, Our days become prayers, Until earth and heaven Meet in endless morning. Through Christ, the Dawn of all our nights, Amen. #ChristmasCarol #carolprayer

We lost a dear friend and brother last night. @TonyCampolo, our co-founder, our partner in ministry, a light in all of our lives. Thank you, Tony, for challenging us, for reminding us of Christ's love for us and each of our neighbors, for a life dedicated to the Red Letters. Your legacy lives on in us. Memorial post from Religion News Service on our blog. More coming soon. Thank you for your prayers for Tony, his wife Peggy and their family, and for @ShaneClaiborne and his family. redletterchristians.org/2024/11/20/ton…

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Everyone writes a life story. But every story has an author, and the author you choose is the authority of your life. I renounce self-authorship and choose Jesus as my author and authority for life. I lose my life to gain my life, since God made me and knows me best. This means my lifestory has a ghostwriter, a Holy Ghostwriter, the Spirit of Christ, the Author and Editor of my lifestory. #HolyGhostwriter #AuthorAuthority

When the ground gives way beneath your feet and you feel like you’re free falling into an inescapable abyss, Jesus is there. You cannot go where he cannot reach. Cry out. He will catch you.

Notice how it’s always “vote according to Biblical values!” until it comes to welcoming the immigrant, helping the poor, feeding the hungry, bringing healthcare to the sick, forgiving debts, caring for our planet, laying down our swords, or loving our neighbors.

President Carter has voted. He made it to that goal. Let's make his next goal reality. Vote Harris/Walz #VoteHarrisWalz2024 #TrumpIsUnfitForOffice

Steve Martin @UnrealBluegrass

4 years ago

We've seen few humans this devoted and humble as Jimmy Carter. Quietly continuing his mission,which was to do good. If you must leave us go gently . Leave your heart and bravery so we might learn. Thank you President Carter. Jimmy.

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WHY WE DON'T CELEBRATE COLUMBUS DAY by Shane Claiborne Christopher Columbus may have been a daring adventurer... but he is not someone we want our kids to think of as a hero or role model. A growing number of cities are no longer celebrating Columbus Day, swapping it for "Indigenous Peoples' Day." While we are thankful for this land we call America, it is important not to romanticize our national history. In his book "Lies My Teacher Told Me," James W. Loewen points out that Columbus and the Spaniard conquerers approached the native Americans and would read aloud what came to be called “The Requirement”, which went like this: “I implore you to recognize the Church as a lady and in the name of the Pope take the King as lord of this land and obey his mandates. If you do not do it, I tell you that with the help of God I will enter powerfully against you all. I will make war everywhere and every way that I can. I will subject you to the yoke and obedience to the Church and to his majesty. I will take your women and children and make them slaves . . . The deaths and injuries that you will receive form here on will be your own fault and not that of his majesty nor of the gentlemen that accompany me.” And from Howard Zinn: "When he arrived on Hispaniola in 1508, Las Casas says, 'there were 60,000 people living on this island, including the Indians; so that from 1494 to 1508, over three million people had perished from war, slavery, and the mines. Who in future generations will believe this? I myself writing it as a knowledgeable eyewitness can hardly believe it....' Thus began the history, five hundred years ago, of the European invasion of the Indian settlements in the Americas. That beginning... is conquest, slavery, death. When we read the history books given to children in the United States, it all starts with heroic adventure-there is no bloodshed and Columbus Day is a celebration." Part of what we must do is re-learn our history – so that we do not read the Bible with imperial eyes but learn to read the empire with biblical eyes. We can't get our future right until we get our history right. Let me close with a quote from our book Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals: “Our history is different from the history told by nations and empires—our heroes are not the pioneers of colonialism and capitalism like Columbus and Rockefeller, but the pioneers of compassion like Mother Teresa and Oscar Romero. And our holy-days are different from the holidays of pop-culture and the dominatrix of power.” We need new heroes. We need new holidays. Happy Indigenous Peoples Day.

Congratulations to Nihon Hidankyo, a group of survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for winning the Nobel Peace Prize. At a time when the threat of nuclear weapons is growing – and the taboo against threatening their use is weakening – Nihon Hidankyo’s work reminds us that these weapons have a terrible human cost, and that the pursuit of a world without nuclear weapons is an essential part of making sure we leave our children a safer, more secure world. Nihon Hidankyo built a powerful movement out of personal tragedy and insists upon our common humanity.

The Nobel Prize @NobelPrize

2 years ago

BREAKING NEWS The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2024 #NobelPeacePrize to the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo. This grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha, is receiving the peace prize for its

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To note, my political takes have always been "equal opportunist" against the left and the right. Why? Because Christianity doesn't fit any political party. See: buff.ly/2FCkn1x

The church has lost credibility largely because it has mishandled power. We have tried to rise up when we should have taken up our cross in sacrificial love. We believe in Jesus; but our lives look nothing like Him. This is not the kind of Church that makes the gospel credible.

Jesus directs his “you must be born-again” statement (John 3) not to the worst of sinners but to the most moral of persons in the land (Nicodemus). To be born again is conversion of life & requires rethinking everything in light of Jesus. This is how we see the kingdom.

When Jesus said "Love your enemies".... I'm pretty sure he meant we shouldn't kill them. I haven't found a way to love my enemy and simultaneously prepare to kill them. You can't carry a cross in one hand, and a weapon in the other.

Dr. King’s commitment to equality and justice inspired generations to fight for civil rights. His words continue to resonate around the world, and #MLKDay serves as a reminder to all of us to keep building on his legacy. If you can, take a moment today to think about how you can make your neighborhood or your community stronger – in ways large or small.

“You must ask for God’s help. ... After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up, and try again.” - C.S. Lewis

This applies - regardless of how we spend our days. I spent today writing and doing strategic thinking. Yet, I had to walk this out with Daily Office (i.e prayer pauses, walks, coffee breaks, and lots of space to listen).