Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says, "Oh crap, she's up!" — author unknown
Two ancient texts to begin:
The Problem: Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. (Genesis 6:11)
The Solution: Heal the sick, and say to them, 'the reign of God has come near you.' (Luke 10:9)
Read more ›Near the end of seminary training, I made a listing of what had been the most important books in my theological education. As one reared in deep-water Baptist tradition, I was shocked to recognize that more than two-thirds of my “most important” guides were Roman Catholic authors.
I now say that while my ship of faith has many sails, its mainsail is that legacy flowing from the anabaptist outburst of the 16th century (though that movement’s precursors stretch back to 14th century figures like the Czech priest Jan Hus and the Oxford theologian John Wycliffe—and even 13th century figures like St. Francis in Italy and the Beguine communities, a lay, semi-monastic order of single women (later repressed) in the Low Countries of Europe, all of whom dissented from the church’s wealth and privilege.
Long story short, my anchorage among the Radicals stems from two reasons: First, because of their thoroughgoing affirmation of what I call the “democratizing of access to the holy” and, correspondingly, their undermining of all notions of political sovereignty. Second, the anabaptist majority’s (there were dissenters on this score) refusal, on theological grounds, to wield the sword in defense of the state. (For more on this, see “Public reasoning and ekklesial reckoning: Commentary on the Vatican conference calling for ‘spirituality and practice of active nonviolence’ to displace church focus on just war” and "Enough of this! Toward a theology of nonviolence: Why I don’t often use the language of ‘pacifism’.”)
Read more ›by Ken Sehested
When three of us began daydreaming about a starting a new congregation,
during long hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the first year of the new millennium,
one of the things we immediately imagined was worship centered around communion,
including placing the table in the center of our seating. Every Sunday—which is unusual
in Protestant bodies. None of us were raised that way. This tangible ritual act—of
re-membering in the midst of a dismembered world—is poignantly expressive of our
theological vision.
Moreover, we wanted to do this with bodies in motion, as an act of intentionality,
requiring each to stand, to walk, to mingle in random, status-scrambling order with
others, encircling a round table—with the offering plate right there on the table
sharing space with the cup and homemade Host, along with hand-picked flowers, one
or more candles burning in remembrance of those not present and, on occasion,
pastoral letters of encouragem
ent or prophetic challenges issued from the congregation
and signed by all so willing.
Ken Sehested
Circle of Mercy Congregation
19 September 2005
Text: Judges 19:1-30
There have been two special occasions in my life when I have become agonizingly aware of the special fear women feel over the threat of sexual assault.
The first happened when Nancy and I were counting the days before our wedding. Every couple weeks she came in from where she went to school in New Jersey to meet me in a chaplain’s office in New York City. We were doing a series of premarital counseling sessions.
Read more ›Ken Sehested,
Text: Hebrews 2:5-12 (The Message)
The main title of this sermon, “remembering the future,” is a nonsensical notion. How can you remember the future since it hasn’t happened yet? Maybe if you love science fiction, or if you’re a fan of the actor Michael J. Fox, you can imagine going “back to the future.” But remembering the future?
How silly is that, in a grown-up world?
Read more ›In Scripture, water can symbolize either deliverance or death, salvation or destruction, healing or harm, prosperity or peril, blessing or curse, assurance or threat. What follows is a selection of such texts.
§ . . . the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. —Genesis 1:2
§ So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. —Genesis 1:21
Read more ›by Ken Sehested
This article was originally published in Baptist Peacemaker magazine in 1995. Th
e version below is slightly edited.
One of the up-and-coming stars on the humor scene in the U.S. is Jeff Foxworthy's "You Might Be a Redneck If . . ." standup comedy (now in multiple illustrated book form and soon, I'm told, to be a television offering).
Read more ›by Ken Sehested
I recall my first trip to South Africa, leading a delegation of US and European Christians for a first hand look at the apartheid regime. Over the course of 10 days we met with a host of groups and individuals, and even participated in an impromptu, multi-racial prayer vigil on the grounds of the South African parliament in Pretoria, 
something that was still illegal in 1989.
It was, as you might imagine, a stunning and profoundly revelatory journey. Four things still burn bright in my memory.
Read more ›by Ken Sehested
9 July 2017, Circle of Mercy Congregation, Asheville, NC
Text: Psalm 72
(The text below has been expanded from the original sermon.)
Not so long ago a sermon on religious liberty would likely provoke yawns. The widespread and diverse claims of “religious freedom” are so common and unquestioned in our culture, they mostly go without notice. (Which, if anything, may be testimony to how tamed our assumptions have become.)
In recent years, however, a new crop of claims of religious freedom has arisen to give credence to some very old forms of discrimination.[1] Some claims to religious liberty disguise social mischief. How do we distinguish the two?
Read more ›by Ken Sehested
Originally printed in the 2 March 1994 issue of The Christian Century
Lieutenant Colonel Garland Robertson is an Air Force chaplain at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas. He is endorsed by the Southern Baptist Convention's chaplaincy office. His military record includes a Distinguished Flying Cross for rescue of a reconnaissance team in Vietnam during the war there. He has commanded a nuclear missile site. A native Mississippian, he is self-effacing, almost shy.
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