tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145972432024-03-07T12:41:33.666-06:00The Clockwork Pastor- Musings on Faith and AutismThe blog of a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) pastor from Minneapolis who muses on autism and faith.Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.comBlogger549125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-6763646445733792882013-06-04T09:52:00.001-05:002013-06-04T09:52:26.561-05:00How a Gay Webcomic Teaches Christians About Resurrection In a recent post, I said that being autistic makes it somewhat hard comprehend faith. I also said that what has helped me the most is the use of imagination to make visible what can seem not very visible or tangible at all. Tales about vampires or to a lesser extent, zombies, are good ways of understanding the afterlife to me.
So, how do I come to understand the Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-28511855516148299772013-06-04T09:51:00.001-05:002013-06-04T09:51:00.107-05:00Children’s Sermon: “Help Is On the Way” | The Clockwork Pastor
“Help Is On the Way”
Luke 7:1-10
June 2, 2013 (Second Sunday of Pentecost)
First Christian Church
Minneapolis, MN
Do you know what’s been happening in Oklahoma? Yes, the people who live there have had to deal with tornadoes. Tornadoes are scary. I’ve been through one and they are not nice. People who had homes lost their homes and all the things that were in it.  Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-60830089723686058442013-06-04T09:49:00.001-05:002013-06-04T09:49:41.120-05:00Repost: Love, Justice, Vengence and Grace
tags: christianity, human-rights, jesus message, religion, war criminals The following is a blog post from 2007.
‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” 44But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-32181695472616231302013-05-07T21:58:00.001-05:002013-05-07T21:58:09.603-05:00Discipleship or Consumerism?
A few days ago, I was at a church retreat. In response to a question on what challenges the church is facing, a woman remarked that one challenge is how people don’t really want to get involved in church. They don’t see it as a life, as much as a place where they can get their needs met and be on their way.I was glad to see someone in the pews notice this. It’s been a growing Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-35323653409858940332013-05-07T21:56:00.001-05:002013-05-07T21:56:10.737-05:00Is There a Plan B for Plan B? "I don’t have kids. But if I had a daughter and she was say around 12, would I want her to be able buy Plan B without my say-so or even knowledge?
The Obama Administration has decided to offer Plan B, the emergency contraceptive, to women over the age of 15 without a perscription. All those under 15 have to get a percription. That goes against a judge who ordered that theDennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-14401519397979810982013-05-07T21:53:00.001-05:002013-05-07T21:53:51.098-05:00Why Does God Hate Suburbs?
I’m a city kid. I grew up in Flint, Michigan and was only an hour away from Detroit. The 1970s, my childhood, was the time when we heard a new phrase: white flight. It was a time when whites who lived in cities like Flint and Detroit, left the inner cities to head to a new life in the burbs. At least in Michigan, the move to places like Rochester Hills, Farmington Hills, Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-33803475829133589502013-04-26T23:04:00.001-05:002013-04-26T23:04:58.731-05:00Why Am I So Annoyed By Progressive Christianity?
Anyone who has read this blog over the years, know that I have a bit of a beef with Progressive Christianity.
While it might sound like I don’t like Progressive Christianity, or that I want to move to a more conservative denomination, let me reassure you, I’m not going anywhere.
The fact is there are many reasons that I like running alongside Progressive Christians. I love their supportDennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-17766508455398720882013-04-22T09:06:00.001-05:002013-04-22T09:06:21.452-05:00What Joe Paterno and Kermit Gosnell Have In Common Like a lot of folks, I’ve been following the whole story on the role of the media concerning abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell. There’s a lot to said about media ethics and double standards. Last night, I watched a Huff Post Live segment on the case, which I consider some of the best coverage I’ve seen so far. What made it so good was the honesty of the host, Marc Lamont Hill&Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-75859885775722014252013-04-18T09:06:00.001-05:002013-04-18T09:08:55.995-05:00Sermon: “On Pastors and Pastures”
A sermon from Good Shepherd Sunday 2006.
“On Pastors and Pastures”
John 10:11-18, Psalm 23
May 7, 2006
Lake Harriet Christian Church
Minneapolis, MN
I have to “blame” our Associate Minister, Tammy Rottschaefer for this sermon. For a while she has commented on the problem with parts of the church today in that we don’t know how to be church together. Somehow, all that talking about being Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-47630967794162371382013-04-18T09:04:00.001-05:002013-04-18T09:05:18.909-05:00On Holy Friendships
My thoughts these days are drifting towards relationships, or the lack thereof in churches.
I’ve been thinking about this in light of a recent blog post on CivilPolitics.org on the dearth of cross-party friendships. The post linked to a longer article in the Chronicle of Higher Education on the issue. The author, Neil Gross notes that such friendships have benefits for the whole of Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-35562538170905100402013-04-12T08:46:00.001-05:002013-04-18T09:10:43.802-05:00How a Clockwork Pastor is Becoming Human
When I started seminary 15 years ago, I had come to accept that I would never pastor a church. I just wasn’t a people person. Maybe I’d be a seminary professor or something. I didn’t know it back then, but I was basically acknowledging my Aspergers limitations.
Of course, as you can tell, I didn’t end up as a seminary prof. Instead, I’ve been the Associate Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-30488107115992247262013-04-12T08:44:00.001-05:002013-04-12T08:44:23.108-05:00Being Gay at Liberty University Last fall, I wrote a blog post about how I’ve come to respect social conservatives. What I’ve learned over time is that the view of social conservatives is not so black and white.
Keep Reading Being Gay at Liberty University Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-53208087014695061192013-04-03T22:29:00.001-05:002013-04-03T22:29:46.536-05:00Now That We’ve Won (Maybe)…This week's drama over the issue of same-sex marriage at the Supreme Court has been nothing short of historic. American society is at a point that I thought wouldn't come for several years, if not decades. Same sex marriage might be legal in most of the nation in a few short years. Here in Minnesota, it might be that by the end of the year we might have the right for gay couples to marry. It Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-59231280389056939452013-04-03T22:12:00.001-05:002013-04-03T22:12:10.576-05:00Happy To Be Stuck With You16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to abandon you, to turn back from following after you. Wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord do this to me and more so if even death separates me from you.” 18 When Naomi saw that Ruth Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-65390369727189173912013-03-27T22:43:00.001-05:002013-03-27T22:43:12.781-05:00Good Friday: Now With Zombies! It's Holy Week, so that means I'm going to hear a number of pastors use their blog space to talk about how they don't buy atonement. They don't believe that Jesus died for our sins, they don't like using the cross which is considered a symbol of violence, they don't like the focus on blood, and the list goes on.
Keep reading...Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-8739974619594307912013-03-16T22:26:00.001-05:002013-03-16T22:26:18.476-05:00How A Nun and A Priest Led Me to be a PastorI don’t know when it happened, but at some point it became fashionable among both secular and religious progressives to bash the Catholic Church for basically everything under the sun. Since the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, I’ve heard a number of slams against the church including that it is old-fashioned, sexist, homophobic and the like. What is surprising and Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-85745506472872886242013-03-12T23:55:00.001-05:002013-03-12T23:55:36.314-05:00What J.C. Penney, Sears and Montgomery Ward Taught Me About the Mainline ChurchEver since it appeared a few weeks ago, I’ve been thinking about John Vest’s blog post called “The Vine is Dying.” The Presbyterian pastor from Chicago has been involved in finding ways to help the Presbyterian Church (USA) rebound after decades of decline and his February 27 post was one borne of frustration with the church he loves:
more...Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-63608881264392524532013-03-09T23:09:00.001-06:002013-04-18T09:11:35.248-05:00Sermon: “Three Beeps Means ‘I Love You’”
This is a sermon from my Community of Grace days. I think my sermon writing is a lot better than it was back then, but the essence of the sermon is still prescient.
“Three Beeps Means ‘I Love You’”
Micah 6:1-8
January 23, 2005
Community of Grace Christian Church
St. Paul, MN
I’m going to break tradition here in that I am using a text that is appointed for next week. Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-44236629571359830782013-03-09T23:07:00.001-06:002013-03-09T23:07:52.499-06:00Sermon: “This I Believe” I really had a temptation to call this Dennis’ Baptismal Follies, because me and baptism have had a troubled relationship. There was nothing wrong with baptism per se, but it was how I learned of baptism and faith as a youth growing up in Michigan during the 1970s and 80s. I didn’t have a good understanding of what baptism was all about and because of that, I continually doubted my Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-67616990762002187962013-02-25T23:10:00.001-06:002013-02-25T23:10:44.701-06:00How Do You Solve a Problem Like A Bigot?
It was about 15 years ago that I saw firsthand how love of enemy and justice for the oppressed clashed with each other. I was in seminary at the time and one Sunday afternoon, I went to a discussion held at a local Lutheran church. The then-Bishop of the St. Paul Area Synod of the ELCA, Mark Hanson (who is now the denomination’s Presiding Bishop) was in attendance. The topic Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-14634188526927828692013-02-20T23:38:00.001-06:002013-02-25T23:10:57.845-06:00There’s Still Hope for the Mainline
Anyone who’s read this blog knows I tend to be critical of mainline Christianity. It’s not that I want to leave what has been my theological home for two decades; it’s that I get frustrated at some of it’s shortcomings.Despite all of that, mainline/progressive/liberal Christianity is my home. As much as I respect my evangelical beginnings, I don’t belong there anymore. My Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-78561912768809655102013-02-15T23:43:00.001-06:002013-02-25T23:11:41.882-06:00Ashes to Ashes…We All Fall Down.
Like many people, I’ve been rather surprised to hear that Oscar Pistorius has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend.The South African athelete, who is a double amputee, is known as “Blade Runner” for his carbon fiber legs and his speed. Pistorius was a symbol that persons with disabilities can achieve great feats, like being a world champion runner. Yes, he was to use Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-90700266983099625712013-02-11T23:18:00.001-06:002013-02-25T23:12:06.098-06:00Silence of the Drones Michael Kruse has a good post that deals with my long quest to find out what is truly prophetic and what is just a poser.
Keep reading Silence of the Drones:
'via Blog this'Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-56042812686647929422013-02-08T22:18:00.001-06:002013-02-08T22:18:11.787-06:00QMTD*
This summer the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) will gather for its biennial General Assembly in Orlando. One of the items to be considered is a resolution proclaiming the denomination Open and Affirming to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.A resolution is for the most part a sense of the Assembly and carries no legislative power. That said it does carry someDennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14597243.post-40855085511142796872013-02-07T11:57:00.001-06:002013-02-07T11:57:29.001-06:00Trees. Forest. Pastor.
One of the things that is common among folks with Aspergers is that they lack executive function skills. What’s executive function? It’s basically being able to see the forest from the trees. You can look at a tree in a forest and comprehend that it’s part of a greater whole. What’s different for someone with Aspergers is that they can see a tree, and another tree, Dennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.com0