Pastor Tom's Community

There is no hope intrinsic in our political system or in any system of human power. The founder and first sponsor of the Psalmist Institution was, himself, a prince. So, he ought to know the limitations of power as well as the responsibilities of power.

We get numb to the news and tragedy overload overwhelms us into dullness. It is complicated. We cannot blame this group or that group for this manifestation of evil or desperation or delusion or all of those things wrapped into a moment of very bad choices … yet many courses are now altered by one…

No Good Thing For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” – Romans 7:18 As I struggled with my humanity recently, I was confronted with some important truths. There is…

Spiritual foolishness is about the heart, not the intellect. Jeremiah describes the fool that says in his hear there is no God, not as a person who has trouble believing, but as one who knows there is a God, but ignores that fact. That is also what the psalmist described – one who makes no…

Jeremiah describes a religious establishment that seeks to serve the establishment of rich, powerful, privileged, and decadent rather than God and people. The rich and powerful are people too, but must be stripped of the false presumptions of privilege and right-to-rule in order to stand with the poor in the feeding line of mercy and…

We walk among "perpetual ruins," reminded of what once was. Were we born at the wrong time? There once was glory. All we see is decay. Where is God? Is it all yesterday's story for yesterday's people? In the lament, there is a hope-trigger. " Yet God my King is from of old,working salvation in…

It is a call to stand beside the discredited, the disenfranchised, the disinherited, and yes, the disrespectful as well as the disrespected.It requires of those who would follow Jesus, something more.

The elder brother, an heir, knew his responsibilities, stayed home and worked like one who saw himself as a slave. The younger brother knew his rights,  took his inheritance, and partied like a man who thought he was free. The elder brother said, “YOUR son;” the father replied, “YOUR brother.”The elder brother said, “I have…

  Poets seldom finish a thought. That is a good thing. They rarely wrap up an idea, tie a ribbon on it, and send it off in a package. They hand you unfinished projects and open-ended musings. They trust you. They do not purport to be wise, only observant. They are not purveyors of information…