(Ir)religiosity

Academic Papers:

• Resisting the Empire & Practicing Nonviolence in a Post-9/11 World: Unmasking the Myth of Redemptive Violence & Exposing the Domination System. This was my senior thesis in religion at Oklahoma City University. I examine American imperialism and United States’ response to 9/11 in light of the myth of redemptive violence, the domination system, and the scapegoat mechanism.
• Christian Perfection: An Overview & Interpretation.  I wrote this for a seminary class on John Wesley’s theology in November 2008.
• Augustine and Postmodernism:  A God of Im/possibility.  I wrote this short piece my Theology I class in March 2009.  It explores the possibilities of Augustine’s Neoplatonic mysticism for postmodern theology.
• Kierkegaard and Postmodernism:  The Possibility of the Impossible. In the same vein as the above piece, I explore what Kierkegaard’s “absurdity of faith” might offer for a postmodern appropriation of Christianity.
• A (Postmodern) Kierkegaardian Augustinianism:  Religion With/Out Religion.  My term paper for Theology I written in May 2009 and the culmination of the previous two pieces.  Drawing on John Captuo’s work on Jacques Derrida I propose a postmodern return to Augustine and Kierkegaard after the death of deus ex machina.
• Can Emergent and Mainline Communities Coexist?: A United Methodist Case Study. The term paper for a class I took with Tony Jones on Emergent in Spring 2009.  I examine the question of whether mainline denominations can coexist with emergent communities and make note of the broader similarities between Methodism and Emergent.
• On the Emerging/gent Church.  A short piece I wrote for a seminary class in evangelism at Boston University in November 2009 on the emerging church.  In it I (briefly!) engage Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger’s book Emerging Churches as well as Scott Bader-Saye’s article “Improvising Church: An Introduction to the Emerging Church Conversation.”
• Empire, Economics, and the Future: Toward an Incarnational Eschatology.  This the term paper for a class I took Spring of 2010 at BU STh on Gospel and Empire (including a travel seminar to Cuba).  In it I explore the eschatological trajectory of globalized Empire vis-a-vis the “end of history.”  Drawing on Derrida’s critique of Francis Fukuyama and the theologies of Jürgen Moltmann and Joerg Rieger, I argue for an incarnational eschatology which enacts a critical repetition of the gesture of the incarnation and the logic of downturn.

Blog Series:

Sermons:

*Disclaimer: Normally, I don’t preach with a manuscript. When I do, it’s a very stripped down version, usually a detailed outline. That being said, the sermon manuscripts that I post here will usually be my initial thoughts and may or may not be edited. Expect grammatical errors.

• “Breaking the Law” (Mark 2:23-3:6; Village United Methodist Church, Oklahoma City; 8/12/07)
• “Making All Things New” (Isaiah 65:17-25; Oklahoma City University Chapel; 11/15/07)
• “Proclaiming Jesus as Lord: What Does it Mean?” (Colossians 1:15-22; Oklahoma City University, “Evensong” Service; 11/19/07)
• “Bringing Love Alive: Love as Verb not a Noun” (John 15:1-17; Village United Methodist Church, Oklahoma City, 3/20/2008)
• “Original Stewardship: More than Money” (I Peter 2:2-10; Village United Methodist Church, Oklahoma City, 4/20/2008)
• “The Shape of Things to Come” (Luke 21:25-36; Quincy Community United Methodist Church, Wollaston, MA 11/29/09)
• “The Way Up is Down” (Luke 9:28-43; Quincy Community United Methodist Church, Wollaston, MA, 2/14/10)

Other Articles:

• An Open Letter to Senator Jim Inhofe. A letter written and sent to the Senator in 3/2007 concerning climate change. I got a response 11 months later.
• Proclaiming Jesus as Lord in the Empire. Ezine Article, Published 11/2007.
• “We the People: Condemning the War, Supporting Reconciliation.” A speech given at a war protest at Oklahoma City University, 3/2008.
• “Thoughts on Homosexuality.” This is article originally posted on the MoSAIC Blog, a subsidy of Reconciling Ministries Network, within the United Methodist Church and was later posted here on my blog.

Book Reviews:

• A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren. This was the first book I ever read on the emergent/ing church.  Though I read it when it first released, I wrote this review in March 2009 for an online class I took with Tony Jones.
• Seeing and Believing:  Religion and Values in the Movies by Margaret Miles. I read and reviewed this book for a seminary course on faith and film at Boston University School of Theology in October 2009.