Son of Man in The Bible Project

Frequently in the Gospels of the Bible, we hear Jesus call himself, “The Son of Man.” The December 2018 video from The Bible Project, “Why Jesus Called Himself the Son of Man,” provides an outstanding overview of how Jesus’ use of this phrase references the Old Testament book of Daniel and foretells the roles he will play in both “defeating the forces of evil / darkness” (the “beast”) on earth, and ultimately rule with God and the Holy Spirit, as a co-equal part of the Holy Trinity which we understand as “God: Three in One.” The video presents important yet sometimes confusing theology in an effective, animated storytelling style. In this post, I’d like to reflect a bit more on this video specifically as well as the Bible Project videos more generally. The video is just 6 minutes long, and I encourage you to check it out and watch it first:

I first learned about The Bible Project from Tim Sean Youmans, at the time (and currently) the head Vicar (priest) at Casady School in Oklahoma City, the Episcopal Day School where I worked and served in various roles for 7 years, from 2015 to 2022. My first blog reference to “The Bible Project” dates to October 2018, in my post, “Gospel Encounter: The Last Supper (Matthew 26:17-35).” Tim Sean is the author of “Blessed to Bless: An Introduction to the Bible,” which is used a guiding text in Bible classes taught at Casady. Father Youmans would often use Bible Project videos in the homilies and messages he shared with students, faculty and staff at Casady.

When I had the opportunity to teach and lead an adult Sunday School class at First Presbyterian Church of Edmond, Oklahoma for 3 years (2019-2021, through the pandemic) The Bible Project videos were a frequent media element in my lessons and slideshows. These are (mostly) all archived, by the way, on followjesus.wesfryer.com. These videos also inspired me in my “almost-completed for many years” book project, “Pocket Share Jesus: Be a Digital Witness for Christ,” and the workshops I’ve shared over the years (now through “Storychasers“) on “Christian Digital Storytelling.”

My wife, Shelly, has always been an extremely discerning and spiritual follower of Jesus, and has taught me a great deal over our 28 years of marriage about Biblical values like love, grace, forgiveness, humility, sacrifice, and service. Shelly has been using videos from “The Bible Project” more recently in her own morning devoitions, and she shared the video, “Why Jesus Called Himself the Son of Man,” about a week ago with me via text.

As you may know, I’m a confessing “digital over-sharer” In my life. Slowly over time, in part due to encouragement from my spiritual director, Curt Gruel, I’ve become a more “integrated person” when it comes to my spiritual / Jesus-following / “Sunday morning side” and my “rest of the week” / more secular / professional educator side. This is reflected in several ways, including the ways I now share different kinds of media (most often “Bible Verse InfoPics.”) via the different social media channels I maintain.

Sharing a simple hyperlink can be a powerful and potentially TRANSFORMATIVE act. I credit Tim Sean Youmans with not only introducing Shelly and I, and eventually our FPCE adult Sunday School class, to The Bible Project, but also to the absolutely INCREDIBLE TV series, “The Chosen,” which is soon about to release Season 4. Those videos continue to shape my own understanding and visualization of the characters and narratives in The Bible / Holy Scripture, but also the faith journey of (at least) one of our own children, who has been particularly captivated by watching the series this past year.

I encourage you to not only watch the 6 minute video, “Why Jesus Called Himself the Son of Man,” from The Bible Project, but also check out more of the resources from bibleproject.com. Download the YouVersion Bible app and explore the words of Holy Scripture through its well designed interface, using multiple translations and interpretations of the Bible in your languages of choice. I also encourage you to SHARE these resources and your own experiences with them.

The words of God, expressed in the Holy Bible, are powerful and can be transformative in our lives. We live in an era of challenges and opportunities, and it is vital that we focus our minds DAILY on the words and messages of Jesus Christ, to maintain our hope in a world filled with dangers, fears and perils.

I pray God will bless you this day. I know God continues to bless me through my wife and spouse, Shelly, in many ways… Including the ways she shares helpful resources that assist me in my ongoing journey to deepen my relationship with and understanding of Almighty God. To God be the glory!

Bible Verse InfoPic” (CC BY 2.0) by Wesley Fryer

Ask for Signs and Directions!

These are some of my notes and “takeaways” from a sermon shared today on January 7, 2024, by Rev. Dorothy J. Killian at Caldwell Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. The sermon was titled, “Whose Star Are You Following?” and was live-streamed on YouTube and Facebook. It starts at the 44:00 minute mark if you’d like to view it yourself, and runs 16 minutes.

This Sunday is the celebration of the holiday of Epiphany, which in Christian traditions celebrates “the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the wedding at Cana.” Rev Killian reminded us that as a society and in our culture, “We also follow stars!” Whether pop stars like Taylor Swift of Beyoncé, or sports starts like NFL or NBA athletes, we often pay an undue amount of attention to these “stars.” However, it’s important to consider, “Where are those stars leading?” Who and what are these stars attempting to “point us to” in our lives? Where do these stars lead? By encouraging us to consider “Whose star we are following?” Rev Killian powerfully juxtaposed the sermon text from Matthew 2:1-12 with ominous headlines from contemporary news and popular culture.

“Whose star ⭐️ are you following?!” (CC BY 2.0) by Wesley Fryer

Rev Killian encouraged us to “NOT be afraid to ask for signs & directions.” We should be continually watchful for God, for He is present and at work all around us! We can see God in the beauty and wonder of His creation, but also in the ways we love and care for each other in this troubled world. God calls us to invite his Holy Spirit to provide us with directions for our lives, and he provides guidance when we seek Him in prayer, through Bible study, and through fellowship with other Christian followers of Jesus Christ.

Don’t be afraid to ask for signs & directions” (CC BY 2.0) by Wesley Fryer

Rev Killian received applause during her sermon when she pulled out an “old school” paper map, and reminded the congregation, “When we encounter the living God, we reset our GPS.” Whether we are using analog or digital tools to find our way in the world. encounters with God can have a powerful and positive re-directing and “re-orienting” influence on us. As an undergraduate geography major and someone who grew up learning about maps and orienteering in Boy Scouts as well as in Air Force survival training at the Air Force Academy, this analogy really resonated with me!

“When we encounter the living God, we reset our GPS” (CC BY 2.0) by Wesley Fryer

I also loved Rev Killian’s encouragement to “Look for God and listen for His voice.” For over 10 years now, I’ve been blessed to participate in “Spiritual Direction” with Curt Gruel, through HeartPaths OKC. Even after we moved to North Carolina in 2022, my monthly meetings with Curt have continued via Zoom! “Spiritual Direction” is all about “looking for God,” and meeting with a mentor who can help us identify, see, and interpret “God sightings” in our lives. This is an important message every day, but seems particularly appropriate as we start 2024 and a new calendar year with different ideas for resolutions and new habits to adopt.

Rev Killian’s final exhortations were to ask “Who are the ‘Herods’ in your life? Who is sowing fear in your journey of faith and life?” As I consider the ways I want to develop the “Heal Our Culture” project in the weeks and months ahead, these questions are both challenging and prescient. There are many voices on YouTube, in mainstream news, and in social media which encourage us to adopt a spirit of fear rather than an attitude of joy, hope, and abiding faith.

I want to follow the star of Jesus, and I’m thankful for these words of encouragement from Rev Killian today!

Sermon Points by Rev. Dorothy J. Killian” (CC BY 2.0) by Wesley Fryer

No Human Hierarchy in God’s Family

Through the YouVersion Bible app for iPhone, Shelly (my wife) has discovered the “Eyewitness Bible Series” of videos. This morning, on her recommendation, I watched the 11.5 minute video, “Topics 07 Gratitude,” which features the Biblical character Cornelius the Centurion. In this post, I want to reflect a bit on the theme of “human hierarchy” and how we are called to REJECT it as a “cultural norm.” This is vital to understand as a follower of Jesus Christ. This links directly to two books I have read (or listened to on Audible) in recent years, and I’ll also share some links to past posts reflecting on these themes more deeply.

Here’s the “BIG BIBLICAL IDEA” I took away from this excellent video as well as my (relatively) recent related theological readings: Through Jesus Christ, God calls us to reject the human hierarchies imposed and enforced by authorities and cultural influencers. As we read in the closing verses of the third Chapter of Galatians, written by the Apostle Paul:

‘There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

Galatians 3:23-29

Rejecting the cultural norm of “hierarchies” is both challenging and radical. Most societies “teach” that hierarchies are real, natural, and should be both expected and embraced. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, however, rejects this. Throughout history, including the Jewish faith and the Christian faith, however, we see how many church authorities and leaders have MISSED this critical idea and value from Jesus, Instead, these “authorities” have worked to impose hierarchy and establish it as a universally accepted constant. As a follower of Jesus Christ, however, I understand that perspective to be heresy / heretical.

I’ll try to explain what I mean.

In this context, when I speak of “hierarchy” I’m talking about a perception or understanding that human beings are NOT equal and should not be accorded equal treatment. This is a cultural value in most human societies. In the infamous words George Orwell from Animal Farm, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Orwell was literally writing about animals, but he was metaphorically explaining hierarchy in human as well as animal societies / communities. Hierarchy is common and often accepted, even when it is (often) oppressive and destructive to the goal of human flourishing.

According OxfordReference.com: hierarchy is:

A type of social organization in which individuals are ranked according to their status or dominance relative to other group members. This affects their behaviour in various ways, e.g. by determining their access to food or to mates. Many vertebrate animals and some invertebrates live in hierarchical social groups.

Hierarchy. (n.d.). Oxford Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2023, from https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095935499

Although Jesus Christ taught his disciplines to love one another without regard to hierarchical status or privilege, human authorities relatively quickly moved to co-opt Christianity, make it a “state religion,” and pervert it so it enforced rather than dissolved hierarchical divisions and separations in society. 2 years ago, for fun, I read Paul Stephenson’s 2010 book, “Constantine: Unconquered Emperor, Christian Victor,”  I wrote a lengthy reflection about the book and things I learned from it, titled, “Lessons about Constantine & Ancient Rome.” As I highlighted and attempted to explain in that post, these ideas relate directly to conceptions of “Christian Nationalism” and the ways we see Christianity continue to be perverted and mis-represented in contemporary U.S. politics.

As a follower of Jesus Christ and a student of the Bible seeking to be led by God’s Holy Spirit, I understand that:

  1. God does not condone or support the enslavement of human beings.
  2. God does not bless or endorse the oppression of women, or the patriarchal discrimination of women by men.
  3. God opposes discrimination and discriminatory treatment of human beings based on ethnicity or perceptions of race (which are, btw, in the case of “whiteness,” entirely culturally constructed)
  4. God does not condemn or exclude from full participation in His family any human being based on a self-identified label of gender or sexual preference.

This past week, I finished listening to Heather Cox Richardson‘s outstanding book, “How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America.” I need to both record and write a full review of the book, similar to the post I shared about Stephenson’s book on Constantine. There are SO MANY important and outstanding ideas and perspectives on history which Richardson shares in that book which deserve both amplification and further reflection.

Here’s my main connection to this book and the topic of hierarchy in the Christian faith: As followers of Jesus, we are NOT called to be disciples of oligarchy or hierarchy. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to view every human being on our planet as a child of God, a unique and miraculous creation of our Heavenly Father both deserving of love as well as every right and privilege as everyone else. We are all sinners, and all fall short of the grace of God. We all stand as equals, WITHOUT DIFFERENTIATING HIERARCHY, before the throne of God.

”But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—“

Romans 3:21-25

Here’s one final reflection, returning to the words of Paul in Galatians 3. In verse 23 we read, “nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Let’s consider what that means in the context of our ongoing culture wars in the United States. There is an enormous focus by some political actors on hierarchies based on gender and sexual preference. Those individuals and groups repeatedly preach a false and heretical gospel of hierarchy and condemnation of fellow citizens and human beings on our planet. Those voices proclaiming these divisions and perspectives, “endorsing hierarchical values,” do NOT speak for God or Jesus Christ. Rather, they are false prophets, and need to be called out as such.

”But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.“

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Here ends today’s sermon as blog post.

For more resources relating to these ideas, see my growing resource list for my inquiry project, “Heal Our Culture.”

Go in peace. My God’s Holy Spirit fill our hearts and minds this day, and may we all speak and act in kindness and love, representing the radical and transforming grace of Jesus Christ in a suffering world in desperate need of His embrace.

All Human Beings are Equally Deserving of Human Rights and Dignity” (CC BY 2.0) by Wesley Fryer

Human Rights and Southern Baptist Protestant Christians

This should be obvious to all people in all modern cultures, but sadly it is not and some groups are working to “turn back the clock.

Women are full human beings and should be accorded FULL human rights. This goes for ALL people by the way. Check the Universal Declaration of Human Rights if you or someone you know is unclear about this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights

Both in secular and religious contexts, women have full rights (just as men do) to live, lead, and serve as human beings irrespective of their sexuality or gender identification. HUMAN RIGHTS. These rights are foundational, unconditional and irrevocable.

Jesus did not come to our earth, live among us for 30 years, willingly submit to crucifixion and death on a cross, and bodily resurrect from the dead so that His followers could “keep women in their place” or His followers would act as legalistic jurors presiding over tribunals on the basic rights of fellow humans.

Jesus came to our earth for many reasons, but principal among these was to teach us (as humans on this planet) how to LOVE and better care for each other. He also came to free us from the legalistic and oppressive rule of religious groups like the Pharisees, and offer us a NEW covenant based on grace, love, forgiveness and community.

It’s really quite remarkable and wonderful. We can all even read about it in our own language today!

Some Southern Baptist Protestants “need a heads up” on these topics.

Southern Baptists’ Fight Over Female Leaders Shows Power of Insurgent Right (NYTimes, 16 June 2022) – Gift Link 🎁:

http://wfryer.me/44j

Princeton Theology and Christian Fundamentalism

This is another ChatGPT 4 “theological and historical coaching” example today, in my continuing quest to better understand the historic roots and contemporary flavors of American Christian fundamentalism. If any of you / anyone reading this can identify any factual errors in these presented ideas, please let me know!

This line of personal inquiry continues to be catalyzed by my slow reading of “Fundamentalism and American Culture” by George M. Marsden

My first query:

Briefly summarize “the Baconian tradition in Scottish Common Sense Realism.”

ChatGPT4’s response:

“The Baconian tradition in Scottish Common Sense Realism refers to the influence of Sir Francis Bacon’s empirical and inductive approach to knowledge on the philosophical movement of Scottish Common Sense Realism. Developed by key figures such as Thomas Reid, George Campbell, and Dugald Stewart in the 18th century, this school of thought emphasized the importance of everyday human experience, common sense, and self-evident truths as the basis for understanding the world. By combining Bacon’s inductive methodology with an emphasis on common sense, Scottish Common Sense Realism aimed to counter the skepticism and excessive rationalism prevalent in other philosophical traditions of the time, such as those associated with Descartes and Hume.”

My follow up query:

Continue with more details, elaboration and examples of this philosophy’s impact on the overall arc / development of Christian theology and philosophy in the United States.”

ChatGPT4’s response:

“Scottish Common Sense Realism had a significant impact on the development of Christian theology and philosophy in the United States, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries. Key proponents of the movement, such as Thomas Reid and George Campbell, sought to reconcile religious beliefs with reason and empirical knowledge.

The influence of Scottish Common Sense Realism on American Christian theology can be seen in the following ways:

  1. Princeton Theology: The Scottish Common Sense Realism was adopted and adapted by theologians at Princeton Theological Seminary, which became a major center for American Presbyterianism. Key figures, such as Charles Hodge, Archibald Alexander, and Benjamin Warfield, combined Reformed Calvinist theology with the principles of Scottish Common Sense Realism to argue for the rationality and coherence of Christianity. This approach, known as “Princeton Theology,” influenced generations of American theologians and pastors.
  2. Opposition to skepticism and deism: The reliance on common sense and empirical evidence provided a robust response to the rising influence of skepticism and deism during the Enlightenment. By emphasizing the self-evident truths of human experience, proponents of Scottish Common Sense Realism sought to counter the arguments of skeptics like David Hume and deists like Thomas Paine, who questioned the rationality of traditional religious beliefs.
  3. Moral philosophy: The emphasis on moral sense and innate moral principles in Scottish Common Sense Realism helped shape American Christian ethics. Thinkers like Francis Wayland and William Paley drew on this tradition to argue for the existence of a universal moral law, which they saw as evidence of God’s design and authority.
  4. Apologetics: George Campbell, a prominent figure in the Scottish Common Sense Realism movement, wrote an influential work called “The Philosophy of Rhetoric” (1776), which provided a basis for Christian apologetics. Campbell emphasized the importance of appealing to common sense, reason, and the evidence of the natural world when defending religious beliefs. This approach influenced many American theologians and apologists, including Timothy Dwight, president of Yale College, who employed these methods to defend orthodox Christianity against the challenges posed by the Enlightenment and rationalism.
  5. Education and social reform: The emphasis on reason, empiricism, and morality in Scottish Common Sense Realism influenced American education and social reform movements. Many American educators and reformers, inspired by the ideas of this philosophical tradition, sought to promote moral and religious education and address social problems through rational, empirically informed approaches.

In summary, the Scottish Common Sense Realism movement left a lasting impact on the development of Christian theology and philosophy in the United States, shaping key areas such as Princeton Theology, moral philosophy, apologetics, and education. By promoting the compatibility of religious faith and empirical reason, this tradition contributed to a broader intellectual framework that helped Christianity navigate the challenges posed by skepticism, deism, and the Enlightenment.”

My third / final query in this series:

How do “Scottish Common Sense Realism” and “Princeton Theology” continue to shape contemporary Christian theology and particularly modern conceptions of Christian fundamentalism? How do these philosophical frameworks intersect with conceptions and beliefs about “premillennial dispensationalism,” Biblical literalism, and debates over Creationism and evolution?

 GatGPT 4’s answer:

Scottish Common Sense Realism and Princeton Theology, while rooted in the 18th and 19th centuries, continue to influence contemporary Christian theology and shape modern conceptions of Christian fundamentalism in various ways. Their impact can be seen in the areas of biblical interpretation, theological conservatism, and the relationship between faith and reason.

  1. Biblical Literalism: Both Scottish Common Sense Realism and Princeton Theology advocated for the plain, literal interpretation of the Bible. This approach to biblical hermeneutics has been adopted by many modern Christian fundamentalists, who assert the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible. By emphasizing the self-evident truths and common sense in interpreting Scripture, these fundamentalists resist allegorical or symbolic readings of the text.
  2. Premillennial Dispensationalism: While not directly related to Scottish Common Sense Realism or Princeton Theology, premillennial dispensationalism shares some similarities, such as an emphasis on literal biblical interpretation. This eschatological view, which emerged in the 19th century, divides history into distinct periods (or dispensations) and posits that the Second Coming of Christ will precede a literal thousand-year reign on earth (the Millennium). The literalist approach to interpreting biblical prophecy, often associated with Christian fundamentalism, can be seen as influenced by the hermeneutical principles of Scottish Common Sense Realism and Princeton Theology.
  3. Creationism and Evolution: The commitment to biblical literalism and the belief in the harmony of faith and reason have contributed to ongoing debates over creationism and evolution. Many Christian fundamentalists, drawing on the principles of Scottish Common Sense Realism and Princeton Theology, argue for a literal reading of the Genesis creation account and reject the theory of evolution as incompatible with Scripture. These debates have led to the development of various creationist positions, such as Young Earth Creationism, Old Earth Creationism, and Intelligent Design.
  4. Theological Conservatism: Princeton Theology, in particular, sought to defend traditional Reformed orthodoxy against the rise of liberal theology and higher criticism. This emphasis on theological conservatism and the defense of orthodox doctrines can be seen in the development of modern Christian fundamentalism, which seeks to preserve the core tenets of the faith in the face of perceived threats from secularism, modernism, and liberal theology.

While Scottish Common Sense Realism and Princeton Theology are not synonymous with modern Christian fundamentalism, they have undeniably influenced its development in various ways. The shared emphasis on biblical literalism, theological conservatism, and the harmony of faith and reason provide a philosophical framework that continues to shape contemporary Christian theology and debates over issues such as premillennial dispensationalism, biblical inerrancy, and the relationship between creationism and evolution.

(There ends ChatGPT 4’s responses to my curious questions this morning.)

A final thought from me on ChatGPT, AI, inquiry, truth and curiosity: As a teacher, I strive to encourage my students’ own senses of curiosity, wonder, and desire for inquiry. What a rich and amazing, yet challenging context, AI and ChatGPT presents for this style of “seek and find learning!” We need to remind ourselves, “ChatGPT is a language model, not a truth model or search engine.” Its scope of knowledge and ideas is breathtaking today, however, and that scale and depth will only increase (exponentially, by the way) in the days and months ahead.

We all need to be “playing with ChatGPT” today, to better understand, process and grapple with its capabilities, limitations, and pitfalls.

Welcome to the future.

Charlotte Church Hunting (Sept 2022 Update)

As new residents of Matthews, North Carolina, and the Charlotte area, we are hunting for a new church. In this post, I’ll share about four of the churches we have visited so far, and some reflections about each one. I’m also going to reflect on my own history with Christian churches, and what I remember about “church hunting” in the past.

For more background on this journey, see my December 2021 post, “Called to an Inclusive & Affirming Church.”

Searching for a new church is NOT something I have done very many times in my own life. I grew up in the Presbyterian Church, living in five different states before our family settled in Manhattan, Kansas, and found First Presbyterian Church at 801 Leavenworth. That was my home church most of my life growing up, and it was a wonderful place to learn more about God, the Bible, and gain some insights into the life of Jesus Christ. It was also the sponsor organization for my Boy Scout troop, Troop 74, led by Ray Hightower. I am thankful to be an Eagle Scout of Troop 74.

One of my most vivid memories of FPC Manhattan was from 8th grade Communicant’s class, following a Wednesday evening lesson that our pastor, Phil Gittings, had taught on “The Prodigal Son.” I stayed after class to ask him about it, because it just didn’t make any sense to me. It was not fair. It was not “just.” I couldn’t understand it. I remember Pastor Gittings mainly telling me, “That’s just the way God is.” It didn’t resolve my confusion, but that memory stayed with me. That cognitive dissidence has transformed into more understanding with the passage of time and my own life experiences as a husband, father and teacher.  FPC Manhattan certainly was (in aggregate) a great church to grow up in.

When I went to the Air Force Academy in 1988, we thankfully had chapel services, and I found great solace there during the challenges of basic training and my freshman year. Since our youngest daughter is currently attending prep school at Randolph Macon Academy as a Falcon Scholar for the Air Force Academy, I’ve been reflecting much more on my own years at USAFA. 

I sang in the Protestant choir my freshman year at USAFA, and I remember making a memorable trip up to New England and singing in the state house in New Hampshire or Vermont. But in my upper class years, my chapel attendance slackened, and I didn’t attend church much at all.

Upon graduation from the Air Force Academy, I had a choice: Go directly to pilot training or accept a Fulbright scholarship to study Latin American security issues in Mexico City. I chose the latter. In addition to attending Catholic worship services with the family of Vern Conaway, one of my Academy classmates (who were also assigned at that time to the US Embassy in Mexico City,) I found an English-speaking Protestant congregation in downtown Oklahoma City. Again, I found a sponsored Boy Scout troop at the church, for whom I served as an assistant scoutmaster that year, and my friend, Paco Araujo.

When I moved to Lubbock Texas, to start pilot training at Reese Air Force Base in the summer of 1993, I found Westminster Presbyterian Church. The church family at Westminster loved and cared for me in transformative ways, through some of the darkest and most difficult seasons of my life. Through it all, I met my wife, Shelly, in 1995 on a mission trip to Tijuana, Mexico sponsored by WPC. All three of our children were baptized at Westminster and had wonderful formative experiences in the loving congregation there. Shelly served as an elder at WPC, I served as a Sunday school teacher, and we both grew in love and fellowship as a family and as a member of the church community.

When we moved to Oklahoma City in 2006, we immediately visited First Presbyterian Church of Edmond. One of our friends at WPC Lubbock had come from that church, and on their recommendation it was the first church we visited. It also turned out to be the only church we visited, because the Sunday we first came, we met Jim and Carol Hartzog. They took us out to lunch after the service, and shared how FPC Edmond was looking for a full-time preschool ministry director. At WPC in Lubbock, Shelly served as the nursery coordinator on a volunteer basis, and then on a paid, quarter time basis. God opened the door for Shelly to enter full-time ministry at FPC Edmond, and she served as the Director of Preschool Ministries there for seven years. I eventually was ordained as a deacon at FPC Edmond, and then as an elder. I later became a Sunday school teacher, and remained active in the FPC Edmond men’s group throughout our 15 years of membership there. FPC Edmond was the church where all our children grew up, they all attended Communicant’s class, and they all experienced God‘s love through the church.

In 2021, anticipating our departure from Oklahoma and move to North Carolina, I did not expect to be church shopping. But, the Lord put it on our hearts to seek an inclusive and affirming, as well as more ethnically diverse, church, and we found Saint Augustine’s of Canterbury. Jason and Traci Elliot, who had been longtime members at FPC Edmond, had joined St Augustine‘s a couple years earlier with their son, Josh. 

At the time, I thought this church change (which was very challenging by the way, since I was in the midst my third year of adult Sunday school teaching with a dear class community at FPC Edmond we absolutely LOVED) it was primarily for the benefit of our children, who would (eventually) be on their own to find a local church, when they moved away from us. I thought this process would be instructive for them: How to look for a church, discern the Holy Spirit as well as a focus on Jesus Christ, and find a church community that could invite them into authentic worship, disciple them in their continued growth as followers of Jesus, and also be a community that could support and love them through whatever circumstances they found themselves.

Time will tell if that expectation was on target. But what I know now is that the experience of seeking and finding St Augustine‘s, Father Joe, and the wider Episcopal church community was incredibly powerful for me personally. When I served on our church session in Edmond during the time we left the PCUSA denomination and joined ECO, I was told we were doing that because the PCUSA congregations that were in the majority in General Assembly were not “Jesus focused.” I had the impression, which I admittedly did not research and check out myself, but “accepted on authority,” that these churches were more “Universalist.” Shelly and I did visit one of these churches in Santa Fe, New Mexico, back when we lived in Texas, when we were on a retreat weekend with WPC. The name of Jesus Christ was never mentioned in the sermon, and Christianity was presented as one of a multitude of pathways to finding God. Jesus was not preached as “the gate.” My understanding was that the confessing church movement within Presbyterian circles was focused on encouraging a prioritization of Biblical reading and Scriptural authority, as well as the primacy of Jesus Christ in His message of salvation by grace.

Another aspect of this departure from PCUSA to ECO involved beliefs and treatment of the LGBTQIA+ community. As a member of our session at that time, I was told that this departure was inaccurately being portrayed in the media  as an “anti-gay movement.” We were told it was not, it was rather focused on scriptural integrity and the holiness of the Bible. But as one of our children later brought to my attention through close reading of ECO policy and theology, the denomination is absolutely NOT affirming or inclusive. I am somewhat ashamed to admit that at that time, I did not seriously interrogate these issues and important beliefs for myself, I just accepted them on authority from other leaders in our church.

What I learned in the process of searching and finding a new church in Oklahoma City is that there absolutely ARE inclusive and affirming Christian churches which DO focus on Jesus and his unique and exclusive claims about eternal salvation. It is not true that every church that is inclusive and affirming of the LGBTQIA+ community is universalist.

Through my seven years of working at Casady School and being a part of the community there, I was introduced eventually (along with Shelly) to Episcopal faith traditions. The three OKC Episcopal churches we eventually found which ARE Jesus focused, Bible exalting, and inclusive as well as affirming are Saint Augustine’s of Canterbury, Grace Episcopal of Yukon, and St Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Oklahoma City. This discovery was a huge “a-ha moment” for me personally, and has had a significant impact on me as well as Shelly as we search for a new church home here in North Carolina.

With this background and these recent experiences in mind, we have embarked on the journey to find a new church home and church family here in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. Both Shelly and I now love Episcopal traditions and worship, but as lifelong Presbyterians, I am drawn to want to find a Presbyterian congregation if we can. I absolutely loved teaching adult  Sunday school the last three years we were at FPC Edmond. (I had also served as an adult Sunday school teacher for awhile at WPC in Lubbock.) I feel an undeniable call on my life to integrate my affinity for technological communication, teaching, and evangelism for Jesus, and I sense my opportunities to do that are greater within the Presbyterian Church unless I would attend seminary and formally enter ministry in the Episcopal world. I do not anticipate doing that at this point. So, as of today we have visited two Episcopal churches and two Presbyterian churches in the Charlotte area. Here are a few reflections on each one.

Saint Peters Episcopal Church

Our dear friend Sarah Emily, at Saint Augustine’s back in OKC, taught school and lived in the Charlotte area for several years before moving to Oklahoma, and gave us a number of recommendations when she learned we were moving to this area. One of them was to check out Saint Peters Episcopal Church, which is an inclusive and affirming congregation, and perhaps the oldest Episcopal church in our area. I think it is kind of a “mother church” to others here, (I’m still not completely clear on how hierarchy works in Episcopal circles.) I visited Saint Peters in March 2022 when I came for my interview at PDS, and it was the first church we attended on a Sunday as a family (Shelly and I, along with Sarah and Rachel) after moving here in early August.

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That Sunday we made an unlikely connection to a teacher who had taught for years at Casady, and knew many of the same longtime teachers there that we do. It was a wonderful service and a wonderful embrace by the community during the fellowship time following the service.

St John’s Episcopal Church

St John’s Episcopal was a warm and welcoming community when we visited several weeks ago, very vibrant and full considering we are still coming out of COVID. We are really missing the ritual of weekly Eucharist, and there is so much comfort and familiarity in the Episcopal traditional service. The congregation is not very diverse, however, and while they are Episcopal, there was not any “signaling” that they are inclusive or affirming in the service, or in any of their social media online. Since the Charlotte Pride Festival was at the end of August, it was pretty obvious to see which churches are inclusive and which are not. Most made no mention of Pride. 

St John’s could be a very comfortable congregation to be a part of, but I suspect it may be a “don’t ask, don’t tell” community when it comes to LGBTQ+ folks and issues. We really like this church, and because of those factors (lack of an overt commitment to ethnic diversity and inclusivity) I’m not sure we’ll be back.

Caldwell Presbyterian Church

Caldwell Presbyterian in downtown Charlotte is a very unique congregation and one whose services I watched online this summer before we moved. They are explicitly committed to racial diversity, inclusivity, and social justice. The first Sunday Shelly and I attended, the primary pastor was still on sabbatical, and they had a guest pastor who was excellent but was probably the most liberal and progressive Christian pastor I have ever heard. I have actually studied critical pedagogy quite a bit, as part of my PhD program at Texas Tech. I studied the philosophy and pedagogy of Paulo Freire, author of “Pedagogy of the Oppressed,” for an entire semester. The liturgy and sermon that Sunday was strongly influenced by both feminist and Afro-theology (if I am saying that correctly) and it was extremely different from anything Shelly and I had ever experienced in church. But nothing that was said was anything we really disagreed with, and it was Jesus focused. We found the worship experience overall to be refreshing and Jesus-focused, and the story of the church is extremely compelling.

That first Sunday we visited Caldwell we stayed afterwards for fellowship and refreshment time, and learned from some longtime members the church’s story of “resurrection and rebirth.” The congregation had dwindled to only about 10 or 12 members, but on the Sunday the pastor announced they would be closing, some visitors asked if they could join. They were challenged to bring friends, and the next Sunday they did. The church was “reborn” thanks to the hard work of a small group of people, who decided to redefine the church with its present focus: ethnic diversity, inclusivity, and social justice. It is also focused on sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is not Universalist. This is a very unique and special church.

Trinity Presbyterian Church

Of the four churches we visited initially, Trinity Presbyterian Church felt the most comfortable and familiar. One of the teachers at my school, Brian Fields, had mentioned it during a lunch conversation, and also mentioned that he was part of a committee in the church that is seeking to establish a new vision statement and focus for the church. The church is physically a very large building, but the congregation has dwindled over time, especially during COVID. Shelly and I attended Sunday school a couple weeks ago prior to service, and absolutely loved getting to connect with many people and have some great conversations. We also learned about an upcoming Church retreat to Montreat, which is the mountain camp in Asheville which Shelly attended three summers growing up, and is part of the reason we moved to North Carolina in the first place. The service was good, and remarkably, the sweet man sitting right in front of us during service is the father of my principal, Lee Tappy. We had good connections with many church members at Trinity, and felt very positive about the church overall. I know we are going to go back, and Trinity is on our short list of churches to possibly join here in the Charlotte area.

So today for church, we were faced with the question: Do we visit a new church, or revisit one of these four? Our next-door neighbors have invited us to visit their Baptist church, and I think we will do that one Sunday, but I don’t think any Baptist churches are inclusive or affirming, so it is unlikely we would join. But it will be nice to visit and we really like these neighbors.

I have also found First United Presbyterian Church of Charlotte, which is an historically African-American congregation. I have watched part of their services online and read some of the writings of their pastor. Interestingly, the church does not have anything about its theology or beliefs on its public website. Again, there is no signaling of inclusivity, so I am doubtful this is the church for us. But I love the history and the vibrant worship of the congregation, so it is tempting to visit, and we still might.

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Myers Park Presbyterian is the largest flagship Presbyterian Church in our area, I think, and while it is tempting to visit, both Shelly and I are pretty convinced we want a smaller church. So that rules out Myers Park.

Last week I also learned about a new church that has just launched this weekend, Doxa Deo Charlotte. (Formerly Ridge Church.) It is non-denominational, and for the little I have learned about it so far, reminds me of Life Church back in Oklahoma City. Again, it seems like a larger congregation than what we are looking for, and there is no indication of inclusivity in their social media or on their website. But it was still interesting to learn about. They are the sponsors of a co-working facility that I will be using in about a month for a digital storytelling workshop, and I think that kind of community engagement is wonderful and laudable.

This weekend, Shelly and I ventured up to Hickory on Friday night and Saturday for some furniture shopping, We got back Saturday night for dinner with some friends and to be ready for church on Sunday. We decided to attend Caldwell Presbyterian again today, and their main pastor, John Cleghorn, was back in the pulpit. They baptized two children today, and had a special ceremony of thanks for many of the church members as well as staff who helped sustain their operations during Pastor John’s sabbatical this summer. It was an absolutely wonderful, spirit filled worship service, with a congregation that was diverse in every way. Sarah attended with us.

We love the commitment of the Caldwell congregation to ethnic diversity, inclusivity, and to serving the needs of the poor in our community. They are in the process of converting their historic education building into a multi-unit housing space for the “houseless” in the area. I have loved learning more about their mission from their blog, including this recent article Pastor John wrote in Presbyterian Outlook magazine, “Churches use property and resources to care for the houseless.”

So, that’s a lengthy share about our church hunting in Charlotte so far. I am energized and thankful for this opportunity to discern God‘s will for our family, and I can’t say for sure today what church we will join. But there are many good options, and I am so thankful to continue on this journey together with Shelly and Sarah.

(I also cross-posted this to Medium)

Called to an Inclusive & Affirming Church

God’s Holy Spirit is calling our family to join a Christian church congregation which is both inclusive and affirming. The past four months have been a time of transition for us, as I have continued to teach our adult Sunday School class at First Presbyterian Church of Edmond, where I am an ordained elder and deacon. While I have continued to teach our Sunday School class, we only attended. worship at FPC a couple times this fall. In August we started visiting other Oklahoma City church congregations, and through the guidance and mentorship of friends, found our way to St Augustine of Canterbury, a wonderful Episcopal congregation just about 5 minutes from our house in northwest Oklahoma City. We’ve been attending the early services at Saint A’s since September, and then attending / leading Sunday School at FPC in Edmond. This has, at times, felt awkward, but it has been both necessary and good. This year members of our family “stopped feeling safe” attending worship and church groups at FPC Edmond, and worshipping together as a family is a very important value for us. Those sentiments by other family members were independent of some difficulties I faced personally as a member of the leadership team for our Friday Morning Men’s Group at FPC. Those situations and. issues, and the ways they were handled / mishandled, and additional interactions with men’s group members led me to resign my position of leadership with FPC men’s group on September 23, 2021. That decision followed private meetings with members of the men’s group’s leadership team, and included a later meeting and multiple communications with our senior pastor. This decision to leave FPC Edmond as a family is something my wife and I have taken very seriously, and prayed over for many weeks. We have prayed for discernment, and God has answered that prayer. God is calling us to an affirming and inclusive church congregation.

I was initially ordained as a deacon and then an elder at FPC Edmond when our congregation was part of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) denomination. On January 27, 2013, our congregation voted “for gracious dismissal from PCUSA to join the ECO denomination, the “Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.” With the rest of our elected elders at the time, I accepted ordination following that vote into ECO as an elder. At that time, I had not and did not personally grapple deeply with the question of whether or not we, as followers of Jesus Christ, and leaders of His church, are called to be inclusive and affirming. When I say “grapple deeply” I mean that I did not seriously question the leadership and direction of our senior pastor at the time and our other elders. My only Christian blog post at that time addressing these issues was from January 26, 2013, “Commenting Publicly About Our Church’s Congregational Vote.”

This failure to grapple deeply with the beliefs about and treatment of LGBTQ people at that time may strike some as odd, since the question of how the church addresses homosexuality was a significant and common issue for churches (like ours) choosing to leave PCUSA for another Presbyterian denomination. Around the same time as our congregation joined ECO, the church where Shelly and I met in 1995 (Westminster Presbyterian Church of Lubbock, Texas) also chose to leave PCUSA, but they joined the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). EPC is even more conservative than ECO as a denomination in some ways, as they state in their “distinctives” the following:

“the decision to elect women as pastors, ruling elders, and deacons is left to the discretion of the presbytery and congregation, respectively.”

Distinctives of EPC

The ECO denomination, as well as our FPC church home of the past 15 years, is not inclusive or affirming. This is not a secret. On page 30 of the 2020 ECO Confessional Standards we read:

Q. 87. Can those who do not turn to God from their ungrateful, impenitent life be saved?

A. Certainly not! Scripture says, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit

the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters,

nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor

drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians

6:9–10).

2020 ECO Confessional Standards

Following our congregation’s decision to leave PCUSA and join ECO, one of our assistant pastors (Matt Jones) along with one of our church members and small group leaders (Curt Gruel) led a wonderful Wednesday night class focused on the book “Love Is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community” by Andrew Marin. In all my life up to that point and since, that class was the ONLY time I’ve had an opportunity in church to discuss issues and theology relating to LGBTQ people. At that time, I setup a website titled, “Faith Discussions,” and shared resources there related to the class. That site is now offline, but you can view information about the class as well as Curt’s welcome and class overview via the Wayback Machine of the Internet Archive. I posted notes from that class twice to this blog, “Love is an Orientation: Session 1” from January 9, 2013, and “Session 2: Love is an Orientation” from January 17th. As a related and significant aside, Curt Gruel has generously served (on a volunteer basis, I will point out) as my “Spiritual Director” in the Heartpaths OKC program for at least the past 7 years. Curt’s mentorship and discernment skills have been HUGE parts of my own spiritual development in the past decade, and I am incredibly thankful for his leadership, guidance and loving service to me and others through this amazing program.

Today I am sharing with our Sunday School class our decision to leave FPC Edmond so we can both worship Christ and serve others with an affirming and inclusive Christian congregation. Shelly and I no longer feel we can worship God in spirit and in truth at FPC Edmond. FPC Edmond is a “don’t ask, don’t tell” church when it comes to homosexuality and LGBTQ people, and we want to worship and serve in a Christian church congregation which is both inclusive and affirming to everyone, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

I have not wanted to share this decision privately or publicly with any emotions of anger, hurt, frustration, or pain. This is an ongoing journey which is not over. Shelly and I are both confident, however, that God is leading us and our family in a new direction.

We have been active members and leaders at FPC Edmond for the past fifteen years. Shelly served on the staff of FPC for seven years, leading our church nursery staff. Her leadership and ministry work through Children’s Ministries at FPC eventually brought her into relationship with many people both experiencing homelessness and serving the homeless in Oklahoma City. Our church’s “Rolling Green Outreach Ministry” at that time was a significant catalyst which eventually brought Shelly to serve as a teacher at Positive Tomorrows in OKC for four years. We have raised our children at FPC in Edmond, it has been our church home and our family. Contemplating leaving has been difficult and sad.

Yet we know God is calling us to a new chapter in our lives, and we are ready to answer. As I continue to apply for assistant professor positions to start a new professional role in summer 2022, we are not sure if we’ll be staying here in Oklahoma City or moving to a new place. It’s a time of waiting and praying. We are confident God is answering and has already answered our prayers.

The Origins of the Universe – Free Will and Quantum Mechanics

On July 10, 2020, I shared a lesson on “The Origins of the Universe – Free Will and Quantum Mechanics” for our Friday Morning Men’s Group at First Presbyterian Church of Edmond, Oklahoma, meeting virtually over Zoom. The video is 31 minutes long. The lesson was based on Chapter 3 of Francis Collins’ book “The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.” This was a lesson I shared last year for our adult Sunday School class, “Curiosity and Questions: Jesus and Science.” Our focus Bible verse was Genesis 1:1-5.

‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. ‘

Genesis 1:1-5 (NIV)

The slides for this presentation are also available.

Genetic Editing and BioEthics (3 July 2020)

This morning I shared the lesson at our Friday Morning Men’s Group for First Presbyterian Church in Edmond, Oklahoma. Because of COVID-19, we continue to meet “virtually” via Zoom each week. I recorded just the lesson portion of our hour meeting today, and it runs just under 30 minutes long.

Our scripture passages were:

Here’s the link to the TED Talk video I mentioned and recommend watching about CRISPR. It’s about 10 minutes long:“What you need to know about CRISPR | Ellen Jorgensen” (from 2016).


This video and others are included in this YouTube playlist
. Several other excellent videos from scientific / secular perspectives on CRISPR and Genetic Engineering in it. Check out the “Media” page of our Sunday School class website, “Curiosity and Questions: Jesus and Science” for additional related resources!

The slides from my presentation are available and also linked in the shared presentations folder on followjesus.wesfryer.com

BioEthics and Acting Like Jesus

Today I shared a lesson in our Sunday School class titled, “BioEthics and Acting Like Jesus.” We discussed and explored the appendix of Francis Collins’ book, “The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief,” titled “The Moral Practice of Science and Medicine: BioEthics.” I recorded the audio from the lesson, and this evening edited the audio a bit and synchronized it to make a video I’ve shared on YouTube. In this blog post I’ll share that video, along with the lesson slides, our Bible focus verse for the lesson (Philippians 2:5-11) and additional, related books and videos I mentioned during class. These resources and others for our class, “Curiosity and Questions: Jesus and Science” are available on followjesus.wesfryer.com.

The video of recorded audio and synchronized slides for this lesson is 50 minutes and 20 seconds long.

Here are the slides from our lesson, which include embedded links to referenced videos and books.

Our focus Bible verse was Philippians 2:5-11:

‘In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ‘

Philippians 2:5-11

Some of the images of Jesus I used in this presentation are shared in the Google Arts and Culture article, “Representations of Jesus Christ in Art and Paintings.”

I mentioned and recommended Alec Ross’ (@alecjross) book, “The Industries of the Future,” during our lesson, and also mentioned his 3.5 minute video for Big Think in 2016, “Genome Mapping Will Expand Our Life Expectancies.”

I also mentioned (but did not play in class) Joe Hanson’s (@DrJoeHanson) 2017 video for PBS Studios show, “It’s OK To Be Smart,” (@okaytobesmart) titled “CRISPR and the Future of Human Evolution.”

In addition to genetic engineering, in vitro fertilization, and Somatic cell nuclear transfer, we also discussed a variety of “body enhancements” including Neil Harbisson, who “…is best known for being the first person in the world with an antenna implanted in his skull and for being legally recognized as a cyborg by a government.” I referenced the 2016 Business Insider article about Neil, “I talked with a real life cyborg, and now I’m convinced ‘cyborgism’ is the future,” and the included 4.5 minute video.

During our lesson I also mentioned a favorite book of mine, “Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology” by Neil Postman.

Next week we’re going to take additional time to discuss BioEthics, and most likely watch the 36 minute Braincraft video, “The Ethics of Gene Editing.”

During our lesson, I also mentioned the remarkable November 2019 PBS Frontline documentary, “In the Age of AI.” It’s two hours long, and I’m planning to spend one of our upcoming Sunday School lessons discussing it and watching a short excerpt. It’s possible I may be able to lead a multi-week study and discussion of this video over the summer, likely in June. AI is already reshaping some aspects of our society and the way we live, and it’s projected to transform even more in the years to come.

I hope these resources are beneficial for you as you learn more about bioethics and the topics addressed in this presentation. In addition to these resources, you can follow me on Twitter @pocketshare (my Christian channel) and @wfryer, (where I share things generally related to educational technology and learning.) You can also access my book, “Pocket Share Jesus: Be a Digital Witness for Jesus Christ” on pocketshare.pressbooks.com.

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