Recently I was at the early morning roll calls at one of the police precincts in Louisville to train the officers on how to use LouieConnect. (For those that aren't aware of what I'm up to now, I will post more info soon, as I'm only now able to begin writing about the life changes …
Choosing Hope, Choosing Life
My heart is heavy hearing about the suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain this week. Many people have reacted with confusion, wondering why two people with “so much going for them” would take their lives. That question shows us why depression is such a demon. It robs you of the ability to draw satisfaction …
Big Changes for the Kelley Family
This announcement came out to the church today, and we're sharing with the rest of the world To my Christ UMC family: This summer my family and I will be relocating to Louisville, KY. My wife, Jessica, has the opportunity to advance her career with Westminster John Knox Press, and I will be taking a …
Don’t Ignore the White Supremacists
By now most folks in Middle Tennessee have heard that the same white supremacist groups who marched on Charlottesville a while back have plans to stage similar "White Lives Matter" rallies in Shelbyville and Murfreesboro, TN. As a person who was raised on stories of both of my grandfathers fighting the Nazis when they were …
#prayforvegas, then Do Something
Earlier today I posted on social media: “It's great so many of us #prayforvegas, but if we're not moved to act to prevent gun violence, we're not really praying. James 2:15-17.” Social media doesn’t exactly allow for nuanced conversation, so I feel the need to elaborate. After the last night’s mass shooting in Las Vegas that, …
Storytelling- Tempted to be Lazy
This past summer I took a class with The Porch, a writers’ collective in Nashville, on Storytelling for the Stage. If you’ve ever heard The Moth on NPR, or seen shows like That Time of the Month or Tenx9 in Nashville, this is the kind of thing we were doing. Storytelling is a very different …
Lines in the Sand- Matthew 10:24-39
Here is the sermon I preached at Christ UMC in Franklin, TN, on June 25, 2017. I focus on the lectionary gospel for the day, Matthew 10:24-39. The epistle, Romans 6:1-11, is also referenced. We reflect on the tension between Jesus' words about "not brining peace but a sword" and his earlier call in the …
Why Matthew 11.19?
After letting my blog lapse for a few years while I was finishing my Doctor of Ministry at Candler School of Theology (a program I highly recommend for seminary trained clergy who are through their denomination's ordination process and ready to take on a new challenge), I let my hold on the blog title's dotcom, …
Preview
Hey everyone. I'm back into the world of blogging with this new site. This is just a placeholder post while I get everything set up. Check back soon. God bless.
First blog post
This is the excerpt for your very first post.
