Crossings Knoxville

On Easter morning we tend to focus on the way showing up early for Jesus will lead us to a new and resurrected life. But that's not actually what happened for Mary Magdalene on the first Easter morning. She didn't ultimately find what she went looking for, something found her.

What do we long for? What are our expectations of God? And what would it mean to have those expectations frustrated? How can we allow our bad versions of religion and faith—even those that have served us well in the past—die, so that something new can emerge?

All the stories that led to the table at Bethany in John 12 contribute to emotional potency of a beautiful aroma that filled a house in the face of death. Even when told it's all a waste, may we recognize the ways our lives add to beautiful and healing moments such as these.

How do we extend grace in these parched times? How do we seek justice and forgiveness? How can we make God's dream for humanity a reality in our world?

What do we need to change, starting with ourselves? How can we live more aware of how little time we might have left? What can we start doing today?

Molly's second annual “bird teaching” explored Luke 13:31-15 where Jesus identifies as a mother hen. While this is intended to be a warm and comforting metaphor, the implications of what a mother hen can't do in the face of dangerous foxes is important to consider.

Lent is a season to contemplate our mortality and the fragility of our ideals and faith. It is a time to be in the Wilderness. Do we have a faith equipped for the disorientation of Lent and Wilderness times? How can we move from scarcity to trust in abundance? How can we be moved to worship a weak, powerless God who denies dominating power and instead allows divine power to be put to death on a Cross? How can we embrace the uncertainties and ambiguities of life as a part of faith?

This teaching is for the mystic. For those who are drawn to a more mysterious and enchanted faith and spirituality. It's also for those who find themselves wondering, “Will I ever have a meaningful spiritual experience again?

What would it look like if we took Jesus' teaching to love our enemies seriously? Is this practical or ethical in every situation? How can we create more spaces to share a table with those we disagree with? What common ground can we find to see the image of God in all people?Here is a link to the Heineken ad that was shown during the teaching: Worlds Apart

How do we answer the question “Who am I?” Are we what we do, what other people think, or what we have? How can we find a level identity when the world around us is so up and down?

On our 18th birthday as a faith community, we wondered together how God might be inviting us to push out into the deep end. To go places only gods were known to go. And to learn to find our place in the family of things with however many weeks we have left together.

How do we tell the truth at this moment? How can we move beyond rage and despair into an optimism that does good work in the world? What spaces of love, safety, and generosity can we build in our neighborhoods and workplaces?

How much of faith and/or God are we actually supposed to understand? How can we embrace a faith of both tears and joy? How can we learn to live into the fulfillment of Scriptures we don't fully understand?

What would it take to imagine God as a supportive, rejoicing partner? What if God's primary concern for humanity is a restored and preserved dignity for all people? What would it take to believe that for yourself?

What would it look like if Wisdom became more manifest in our lives? How can we see God in the wisdom of the past in our stories?

How do we enter Advent we dont' like or can't connect with some of the scriptures that are supposed to prepare us?

How can we find and feel joy in a season when cynicism and frustration are an easier default setting?

Luke's gospel pinpoints the birth of Christ and the message of John the Baptist in a particular point in history. The political, economic, social, and religious situation was one when many found themselves sitting within the darkness of the shadows of death. What did the incarnation of God coming to earth as a baby mean for that point in history? What does it mean for us now, in our context?

What does it mean to truly have deep hope in Advent? How can we be on guard in these times to find light and get into good trouble? What would something completely new look like in our lives?

Before we transition to following the lectionary for several months, we take time to reflect on where and how we locate ourselves spiritually. Our hope is that we become a community where time itself becomes an anchor in the life of Jesus.

The Book of Ruth is situated “in the days when the judges ruled” and presents an alternative narrative to the stories we read in our Judges study.

How can we allow dark stories to haunt us? Where are we contributing to the darkness of our world? How do we tell stories that transcend and shed light on the brokenness to bring healing?

What do we do when the things done in the name of religion are absurdly hilarious but practically unfunny? What keeps connected to God and others when the world around us is so dark?

How do we experience faith in the ambiguous? What do we do when we feel like God has let us down? How can we be sure that our ideas about God are the same thing as God, and how do we wrestle through this?

Judges 10-12 is a sad story. Sometimes we need help letting sad stories in our sacred text remain as sad stories. Ultimately our question this week is about who suffers and who is sacrificed in the process of religious and institutional battles?

Where is God's justice in the world and how do we account for the perceived lack of it? How can we view God without ascribing to God the same kinds of power we see in our world? How can we play our part in the world without seeking control and power?

How can we best tell the story of the world and our story? What stories are we ending too soon? What stories should we end that we are hanging onto?

Judges 4-5 introduces us to some strong female characters whose actions are explicitly credited as divine actions. These stories make us ask serious questions about “whose side” God is on.

The Judges Cycle begins with an introduction to our first three leaders: Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar. It's tribal and violent and graphic and it makes us questions what to do when our theology and morality don't align with our sacred text.

What kind of the theological overlay do we put on our stories? How do our metaphors about God shape our lives? How can we more consciously choose what kinds of stories we tell about God, ourselves, and the world?

The book of Judges begins by painting a picture of tribal successes and failures. As we study, we must also ask: how do we still participate in tribal politics? How do we understand the identity of "the people of God" in less restrictive ways?

The Book of Judges depicts a time of political and religious disorganization in Israel. It paints a picture of how disloyalty to Yahweh, Israel's God, leads to conflict and division internally and externally. Rather than simply narrating a historical account, Judges tells a theological story about how faithfulness leads to peace. Dark and violent, the book attempts to shock us into a realization of our own ability to do harm and forces us to ask the question, "How could things be different?"

What does the Bible say about "community"? How have we overused this word in ways that have lost its meaning?

What does the Bible say about "salvation"? What do our different understandings of that word and the theories behind it do to us? What are we saved from, but more importantly what are we saved to?

How do we understand the word "sin" biblically when there are numerous words and concepts throughout the Bible to describe it? How can we reframe the idea of sin so that it still holds meaning? How do we avoid weaponizing the term sin against others?

The ways the Bible talks about money, tithing, and generosity is more complicated than churches often make it. Should an ancient agricultural tithe that funded temple personnel apply to us today? How might we return to God what is God and bring money back to its role as a material instrument?

What does the Bible really say about things like sin, salvation, giving, and the nature of Scripture itself? It's complicated. How can we approach the Bible more humbly and appreciate its many different aspects? How can we engage multiple different readings at the same time without claiming the "right" answers for ourselves?

Join us as Matt Nance asks "Why is it so hard to fully abhor violence as a Christian? Why doesn't God just say, 'My way is peace and non-violence?'" and Emily Stott asks "How do I know that I'm finally home?"

Join us as Jennifer Long asks “Is this what you have called me to?” and Michael O'Malley asks “How can I follow the teachings of the early church in the book of Acts while owning a home amongst an ever increasing economic divide?"

God's story constantly reminds us that faith is a conversation and questions are welcome. How do honestly ask our most important questions? Join us as Kristin Smith asks “What is prayer?” and Rafael Rodriguez asks “What am I willing to sacrifice for unity?

Part 7 and final teaching in our study on the Book of Daniel. The book of Daniel concludes with a series of apocalyptic visions that take a more pessimistic stance toward power and empire. At the end of Daniel, we are left with a series of questions: how do we continue to negotiate our expectations and proximity to a power that can at times do good and bad? How can we engage in "strong misreadings" of Daniel and our world that are rooted in our ethics, morals, and values?

How do we feel when we realize the limits of power? What do we gain when we place our hope into people that are so restricted? What do we lose? What are we placing our hope in that, no matter what, we just aren't willing to give up? And is that thing worth it?

The story of the writing on the wall in Daniel 5 reminds of the illusions and facades power often presents to us. But a simple change in the camera angle reveals how temporary power really is. The Writing's on the Wall - OK Go

How do we resist the desire to see those in power convert to our way of thinking? What would change if those who have seriously wronged us changed? How do we maintain identities as exiles when we have access to power but also feel isolated from our own faith traditions?

As Wil Gafney said, Daniel 3 is anti-impirical text disguised as anti-impirical text. It is an unapologetic story of resistance against the violent, controlling, powerful empires of Daniels time and ours. Though we'd rather identify with the heroes/victims of the story, it might be wise to pay attention and take caution regarding Nebuchadnezzar's final demand that all turn to Yahweh.

What do we believe about power and the reality it attempts to create? How can we maintain proximity to power and work with it while still keeping our distance and ability to critique it? How can we learn to trust in God's reality beyond the unreal power of this world?

How does the book of Daniel encourage us to live as exiles in our current times? How do we learn to switch between our multiple roles and identities for the good of the world while also maintaining our integrity?

In our final week of Sacred Ladders, a study of Sacraments, we look at the history and varied practice of ordination (or Holy Orders). What does it mean that we are within a tradition that celebrates the “priesthood of all believers” and what might we miss out on by having such low barriers to ordination?

The third teaching in our Sacred Ladders series is about the sacrament of confession/reconciliation. We don't have a formal practice of confession like some faith traditions, so this study asks questions about we might be missing out on because of that. What might a renewed practice of confession look like and why does it matter?

This teaching is our second in our series called Sacred Ladders. People have different experiences of baptism. Here, we take a look at the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 as a good example of an invitation to the sacrament of baptism. But what if baptism is more of a mutual experience than we often allow it to be?

Week One in our study called Sacred Ladders