The Rev. Anthony Robinson
Denomination: United Church of Christ (UCC)
Organization: Congregational Leadership Northwest, Seattle, WA
The Rev. Anthony B. Robinson is an ordained Minister of the United Church of Christ, who has served four congregations. His present ministry is a multi-faceted one. He travels throughout North America as a speaker, teacher, preacher, consultant and coach serving congregations and their leaders. He has taught at many schools including Emmanuel College/ Toronto School of Theology, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle University and Vancouver School of Theology. He has delivered named lectures at a variety of schools and events (for a complete list, see Keynote Speaker or Teacher).
He is the President of Congregational Leadership Northwest, a Seattle-based ecumenical group that offers leadership education and support for congregational leaders.
Tony is the author of twelve books, the most recent Stewardship for Vital Congregations (The Pilgrim Press, 2011). He is currently at work on his next book on The Pastoral Epistles and Pastoral Leadership, to be published in 2012 by Eerdmans. He is also a frequent contributor to various magazines and journals, including The Christian Century, Congregations, and Journal for Preachers. He also writes regularly for several on-line sites includingCrosscut.com and Faith and Leadership at Duke Divinity School.
A Northwesterner by birth and at heart, Tony lives in Seattle with his wife Linda, an elementary school principal. They have three adult children, Joe, Nick and Laura. Nick is married to Alison Jones, Joe to Shannon Ginn.
Tony is a graduate of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. He holds a Master's degree in European Cultural and Intellectual History from the University of Oregon. His Master of Divinity degree is from New York's Union Theology Seminary. He has done post-graduate study at Harvard Divinity School as a Merrill Fellow.
At various times, Tony has been active in refugee resettlement, low-income housing development, ministry to those experiencing mental illness, and interfaith dialogue.
He enjoys travel, gardening, hiking, kayaking and red wine.
Day1 Weekly Programs by The Rev. Anthony Robinson
View All Day1 Weekly Programs...
Buying the Ticket
Tuesday July 03, 2012
In Mark 6:1-13, the Rev. Anthony Robinson points out that Jesus experiences failure in his hometown, but those he sends out two by two to minister achieve success, and draws illuminating conclusions about this contrast for our life.
Articles by The Rev. Anthony Robinson
Anthony Robinson: Being "Convicted"
Friday November 03, 2017
At least sometimes we do need to hear a hard word, a word that names our failures and self-deceptions, a word that causes us to straighten up and do better.
Anthony Robinson: Repentance in Pew 16
Monday October 30, 2017
Eavesdropping from pew 16, I occurred to me that both Henry and his mother were right. Actual new music is needed in every new generation, to complement the musical tradition passed on to us.
Anthony Robinson: The Immoral Majority
Thursday October 26, 2017
In Exodus, God's people are warned about following the crowd, about 'following a majority in wrong-doing.' What I'm talking about isn't just following the crowd; it's using the crowd for cover.
Tony Robinson: Faith Is Simple (But Not Easy)
Wednesday September 20, 2017
It is easy to turn faith into an instrument of me getting what I want. But I kind of think faith is more about God getting what God wants, what God wants in and through us.
Tony Robinson: Another Way
Friday September 15, 2017
I started my ministry in small, rural churches. I did my pastoral work standing in dairy barns and over coffee at kitchen tables. I even wrote my seminary master's thesis on small churches and their strengths and challenges.
Anthony Robinson: It's What's Inside
Friday September 08, 2017
One August day, when I was a young pastor, a group of people showed up at the church office demanding to know if I had been 'born again.' There was a fight going on in the congregation.
Tony Robinson: "Like Amen to That"
Sunday August 13, 2017
The message of this passage is something Jesus says a bunch of times in a bunch of different ways: BE BOLD IN PRAYER. Ask, seek, knock ”” each one ups the intensity level.
Anthony Robinson: You Feed the People
Friday July 28, 2017
Five loaves and two fish. Enough for a family picnic, not enough for a hungry crowd of 5,000. I am absolutely certain that if I had been among the disciples at that moment I would have complained that this was ridiculous and that Jesus needed to get real.
Anthony Robinson: Never Give Up
Saturday July 15, 2017
Our times are such we may be tempted to give up. To give up on a nation so deeply polarized and divided. To give up on a democracy so vulnerable to manipulation of fear and by falsehood. To give on the hope of being and building a beloved community when bruised by acts and words of cruelty and callousness.
Tony Robinson: This Retirement Stuff Is Hard
Wednesday July 05, 2017
'We've got to talk, this retirement stuff is HARD,' said a terse but urgent email from a friend recently. If retirement has its upsides, like no longer having to go to so many meetings and taking off to wherever whenever, there are downsides too. There's loss: role, routine and relationships. And one more ”” power.
Anthony Robinson: The Joy of Dependence
Sunday June 11, 2017
Dependence is frowned upon in our society, while independence is seen as a good thing. I get that. It's good to be in charge of your own life and have the capacity to make decisions about it.
Tony Robinson: Peace
Friday May 26, 2017
The world offers three kinds of peace.
Tony Robinson: Enough
Thursday May 11, 2017
The 23rd Psalm is such a fixture at funeral and memorial services that we may associate it first and most with grief and occasions of mourning. Which is fine. But it is too rich for one setting or a single meaning.
Tony Robinson: But First It Will Make You Mad
Wednesday May 03, 2017
'The Truth Shall Make You Free.' These words from the Gospel of John show up in lots of places. On the pediments of college buildings, on university seals, and above library entrances....
Tony Robinson: I Met Jesus and My Life Is Not Better
Friday April 21, 2017
What happens to someone who is touched and changed by Jesus? When I watch a religious TV show or listen to some personal testimonies, it seems that after meeting Jesus everything is better.
Tony Robinson: Pure Gospel
Wednesday April 12, 2017
Is this Christian thing mainly about all the stuff we do or are supposed to do? Living in the right neighborhood, attending another meeting, serving another meal, writing a book, erecting a new building, enlisting in another cause, being perfect parents or flawless sons or daughters. Is that it?
Tony Robinson: Just Words
Friday March 31, 2017
There's a popular wisdom that says words don't matter. It's actions that are important. You hear it in expressions like, 'It's not what you say, but what you do that counts,' or 'Your actions speak so loud, I can't hear what you're saying.'
Tony Robinson: Standing on the Promises
Saturday March 11, 2017
Psalm 91 is full of amazing promises. These promises are truly stirring. I can hear them set to music. In fact, I have heard them set to music.
Anthony Robinson: God Wants You Back
Thursday February 23, 2017
Sisters and brothers, God wants you back. God wants us back. How did we get separated? How did our faith become weak, our hope diminished, our love tepid?
Tony Robinson: 36 to 1
Wednesday February 08, 2017
Philoxenia is Greek, one of the Bible's words for hospitality. It means love (philo) of the stranger (xenia). It's the opposite of xenophobia, fear of the stranger.
Anthony Robinson: Inclusive
Sunday January 22, 2017
The Pharisee is almost a cartoon of the self-righteous person. It's easy to poke fun at him. Harder to identify with him.
Anthony Robinson: Sacred Speech/Verbal Pollution
Friday January 06, 2017
Lots of attention these days, rightly so, to things that pollute the air, the water, the soil. Paul knew, and reminds us, that there is such a thing as verbal pollution. Moreover, its consequences are serious. Careless words, distortions and lies, fracture trust and destroy life.
Tony Robinson: Fiercely Waiting
Wednesday December 07, 2016
It's strange””and striking””how the Bible ends. Not like a mystery, with the culprit revealed and the riddle solved. Not like a symphony or a musical with a grand finale. Not like a novel, with the main character or characters finding some resolution.
Anthony Robinson: First to Return
Friday November 25, 2016
When I was a kid, in the neighborhood where I grew up, we played games outside after school. Houses lined our street on the hill where in winter we would sled.
Anthony Robinson: Consider Your Way of Life
Sunday November 20, 2016
Haggai was called to bring God's word to the people of Israel recently returned from exile in Babylon. Though back home, they were struggling mightly and frustrated greatly. Nothing really seemed to be working for them. Haggai said that nothing would work for them until they prioritized rebuilding the temple, God's house, at the center of their lives.
Tony Robinson: Moving Mountains
Thursday October 27, 2016
You take a wild and wooly word from Jesus like this one about faith moving mountains and learn to whittle it down, to domesticate it, to nuance it, to explain it.
Tony Robinson: Mocking
Wednesday October 19, 2016
It is one of life's basics. You don't mock people who are vulnerable. You do not make fun of the poor or the unfortunate. You don't laugh when someone else suffers a broken neck or a broken heart.
Anthony Robinson: When You're Hurting
Saturday October 01, 2016
If we don't have easy or straightforward answers to Jeremiah's tough questions, we can at least be grateful that we find them in the sacred Scriptures of our faith. In the Bible we hear people telling it like it is. Thank God.
Tony Robinson: Urgency
Sunday September 11, 2016
Then he said to them, 'Christ is lord of the sabbath.' - Luke 6: 6 This verse comes from one of a number of New Testament stories where Jesus was at six's and seven's with the religious authorities over Sabbath laws and observance.
Tony Robinson: Take My Hand
Sunday August 28, 2016
In my travels for work I have been in lots of different churches. A number of the UCC churches I have visited begin their service with words inspired by the God Is Still Speaking Initiative, 'Whoever you are, wherever you are on life's journey, you're welcome here.'
Tony Robinson: Mouth Guard
Saturday August 20, 2016
There is a time to speak up and to speak out; and there is a time to be quiet, to refrain from speaking ”” even though we may wish with all that is in us to speak. So, here the Psalmist asks God to, 'Set a guard at my mouth, a watcher at the gate of my lips."'
Anthony Robinson: Drift
Saturday July 16, 2016
Drifting down a lazy river can be a nice thing on a summer's day. And drifting can be how everything goes slowly, steadily downstream until suddenly you notice the current has quickened as you rush toward an impassable logjam and disaster just ahead. And by then it is too late.
Anthony Robinson: What You Can Learn from a Cheater
Sunday July 03, 2016
A dishonest steward got word that his rich boss was onto him. Instead of owning up, the steward used his final days on the job to cut deals with the creditors so that someone would help him out when he got canned. Jesus says we can learn from this guy. Really?
Anthony Robinson: Of Princes and Presidents
Friday June 17, 2016
Doesn't it just feel as if the 2016 Presidential campaign has already been going on forever? And many days, the best we can say about the whole extravaganza is what my Grandma Victoria used to exclaim, with a nod to the heavens, 'Lord, have mercy.' But maybe that's okay?
Tony Robinson: You Haven't Got What It Takes
Wednesday June 01, 2016
It's graduation season. Caps and gowns, pomp and circumstance. Smiles and degrees. A huge sense of expectation held at bay with alcohol. And the speeches.
Anthony Robinson: Defiance
Sunday May 22, 2016
I picked this passage, or maybe it picked me, for a recent memorial service. I did this even though I'm not sure I had ever really 'gotten' these words of Paul. What did he mean, 'Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies?'
Tony Robinson: When Someone Ticks You Off
Sunday May 08, 2016
I was recently irritated with someone because they were doing this thing that always irritates me. It is their not-so-hidden awful failing. Then, in an odd burst of humility, I asked myself, 'Do I ever do the thing for which I have now charged, tried and condemned my friend?'
Anthony Robinson: The Hearing Aid Revelation
Thursday April 28, 2016
Either she had eaten it, which seemed ridiculous, or she had sailed it across the room with a flick of a curious paw. 'It' was my recently acquired left hearing aid, which I quite liked and which was, besides that, plenty expensive. The 'she' was our cat, George.
Tony Robinson: Letting Go of Being Right
Saturday February 20, 2016
It's embarrassing for me to admit how often I want to be 'right,' and how hard it can be to get off that horse.
Tony Robinson: NIMBY Alert
Tuesday February 09, 2016
We do often seem to think of the Christian faith as our human search for God, our feeble attempt to get close to God. The Bible tells a different story...
Tony Robinson: The Peaceable Kingdom
Friday January 29, 2016
The Peaceable Kingdom of Isaiah is depicted in Edward Hicks' famous painting of that name. Wolf and lamb dwelling, improbably, together while a small child plays over the head of a deadly viper.
Anthony Robinson: Sometimes a Sheep
Sunday January 17, 2016
I am sheep-like, or what I imagine sheep to be like, at least some of the time. I need my human version of green pastures and still waters, some safe pasture and sanctuary. I need a good shepherd to turn to, to check in with.
Anthony Robinson: Family
Wednesday December 23, 2015
Really, Jesus explodes conventional notions of family. And as precious as my own family is to me, Jesus' words are a needful stick of dynamite...
Anthony Robinson: Comfort
Thursday December 17, 2015
When we look inside the word 'comfort,' we find not one word, but two, the Latin words for 'with' and 'strength.'
Anthony Robinson: Sleep, Play and Worship
Sunday November 29, 2015
Sleep: what a great gift God has given us! What a good plan God had in creating us to need sleep. Question: What do sleep, play and worship have in common? Answer: All three are, at least potentially, powerfully healing.
Anthony Robinson: Making a Scene
Sunday November 22, 2015
The two sightless men sitting at the roadside made a huge scene when Jesus passed by, a big crowd in his wake. The crowd told them to shut up. But they refused. The got louder.
Tony Robinson: Darn That Jesus!
Wednesday October 14, 2015
Darn that Jesus! Isn't it just like him to mess up my Sunday. Here I was planning to go to church where I could pledge my support for truth, justice, kindness, generosity and all right causes and feel pretty good about myself, before coming home to take a long nap, watch a violent football game, have a few stiff drinks with dinner and go to bed.
Anthony Robinson: Renunciation
Sunday October 11, 2015
Following me, said Jesus, means self-renunciation. According to the dictionary, self-renunciation is, 'rejecting, repudiating, sacrificing, giving up your self.'
Tony Robinson: Gold
Sunday October 04, 2015
Real gold, says Peter, takes time to be revealed. Time and trial.
Anthony Robinson: Calling on God to Be God
Thursday September 17, 2015
While Moses was up on Mt. Sinai counseling with God, the people got a little anxious. They talked Aaron, who Moses left in charge, into letting them make a golden calf to worship and dance around before busting out in general debauchery. In today's reading, God, having seen all this, tells Moses that he is done with this stiff-necked people.
Anthony Robinson: A Word for Parents
Sunday September 06, 2015
Though we've all heard the proverb, "Spare the rod, spoil the child," Paul seems to me wiser when he cautions fathers to take care not to provoke or exasperate their children by coming down hard on them.
Anthony Robinson: Christian Creativity
Wednesday August 19, 2015
Paul has a great 'word to the wise' for us here. Go easy on others, but be tough on yourself. Often it seems that we do pretty much the opposite. At least if talk radio and similar forums are any indication, we can be pretty tough on others while not going in for much for self-examination.
Anthony Robinson: The Dump and The Church
Saturday August 08, 2015
Oddly, the one thing God really welcomes is something broken””the broken heart, a fractured spirit.
Anthony Robinson: Arguing with God
Wednesday July 29, 2015
Do you ever argue with God? Do you ever call on God to be God? Is that even okay? Can we do that? Well, lots of people in the Bible did, including whoever wrote the 44th Psalm.
Anthony Robinson: Simple Church
Wednesday April 29, 2015
Sometimes church seems to get awfully complex and terribly busy. So many different groups, organizations, activities, projects, and agendas. We end up going in a hundred different directions and a newcomer may feel as if she has wandered into Grand Central Station instead of a church.
Anthony Robinson: Tell No One
Wednesday March 11, 2015
After Jesus asked the disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "the Messiah." Then Jesus ordered the disciples, "Not to tell anyone about him." Some joker suggested this may be the only command of Jesus””"tell no one about me"””that the church has actually managed to keep! But, really, why did Jesus say this?
Tony Robinson: None Like You
Tuesday January 13, 2015
God you are odd. There is none like you. Thanks be to God.
Tony Robinson: Who Am I?
Wednesday December 31, 2014
Martin Luther described sin as life curved in upon itself. The theme of today's psalm, praise, is pretty much the opposite of that
Tony Robinson: Faith Made Visible
Saturday December 20, 2014
Looking at a man who sat crippled by the roadside, we read that Paul saw his faith. I wonder what Paul saw? What does faith look like?
Tony Robinson: Determined
Sunday December 14, 2014
As an Advent virtue, determination reminds us that what it means to be people of faith is that we aren't there yet, but to not give up. But so far as I can tell, that doesn't describe Advent alone. It describes life.
Tony Robinson: Telling It Like It Is
Sunday December 07, 2014
The 79th Psalm is pretty raw stuff. There's this verse, telling God it's 'payback time.' There are cries for vengeance and divine wrath.
Tony Robinson: Sacred Speech/Verbal Pollution (Ephesians 4:17-5:1)
Sunday November 23, 2014
Lots of attention these days, rightly so, to things that pollute the air, the water, the soil. Paul knew, and reminds us, that there is such a thing as verbal pollution. Moreover, its consequences are serious. Careless words, distortions and lies, fracture trust and destroy life.
Anthony Robinson: Physician-Assisted Suicide: Don’t Call It That
Thursday November 06, 2014
'We don’t call it that anymore,' said the social worker from the hospice agency. She had been talking in a vague and confusing way about 'death with dignity.' What was she trying to say? 'Are you talking about physician-assisted suicide,' I asked?
Tony Robinson: Stop Listening to the People
Wednesday April 02, 2014
At least every now and then, the effective pastor, teacher, parent, principal, president does not tell people what they want to hear, but what they need to hear.
Tony Robinson: Super-Human Christians
Sunday March 16, 2014
'I can't do this!,' protested a young woman about whom I care a great deal. Tears of frustration welling up at the corners of her eyes.
Tony Robinson: Trouble Ahead/Trouble Behind
Friday March 07, 2014
Sometimes when none of our options appear great, when we don't see a clear way forward, and when tension mounts on all sides, the very best thing we can do is just to turn ourselves and our situation over to God and God's care
Tony Robinson: Only God Gives the Growth
Tuesday February 18, 2014
Part of being a good leader is knowing it's not about you. You are a messenger, a herald, a witness to a higher power, to God's grace and power.
Tony Robinson: Understanding
Sunday February 16, 2014
We stand under a reality, a power and a presence that we do not fully grasp, completely know, or - well - understand.
Tony Robinson: Get Up and Go
Saturday February 01, 2014
The Book of Acts features some of the Bible's best stories. Today's scripture comes from one, the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, found in Acts 8: 26 - 40.
Tony Robinson: I Will Change Your Name
Friday January 17, 2014
Many of us bear a name -- not literally -- that diminishes, distorts or disfigures us. These names may be secret ones, known only to us. But God has a new name for us.
Tony Robinson: But First It Will Make You Mad
Thursday January 09, 2014
Before the truth frees us, there's a good chance it will make us mad. Because the truth is, among other things, that we too have some issues to face, some stuff to deal with.
Tony Robinson: Look Up, I Can Help
Sunday January 05, 2014
Psalm 27 is the prayer of a person with a few things awry in their life and world. And it is a multiple-exclamation-point-reminder to LOOK UP!!! Lift your eyes, lift your heart to the Lord.
Tony Robinson: Sometimes an Imperative
Friday December 27, 2013
Despite what many assume, Christian faith is not mostly about imperatives. God is not like a hectoring parent exhorting us to eat our vegetables or to be nicer to our neighbors.
Tony Robinson: Fiercely Waiting
Sunday December 08, 2013
Today's passage comes from the very last chapter of the very last book of the Bible. It's strange””and striking””how the Bible ends.
Tony Robinson: May I Bring Up a Difficult Matter?
Thursday November 07, 2013
May I bring up a difficult matter . . . judgment? Actually, this is not my idea. I blame it on today's Scripture, Psalm 50 -- and truth to tell, lots of other parts of the Bible as well.
Tony Robinson: But As For You
Wednesday October 30, 2013
Writing to his youthful successor, Timothy, Paul uses this particular grammatical construction -- 'but as for you' -- several times.
Tony Robinson: "Log in Eye" Syndrome
Wednesday October 02, 2013
I still wish that today's Israel would back off on settlements on the West Bank. But maybe we should be a little less self-righteous, a little less sure that we would certainly never do anything like that. Because, well, we have.
Tony Robinson: Our Methodist Summer
Tuesday September 24, 2013
This summer we were Methodists. We worshipped at a small Methodist church in the little town near our cabin in northeastern Oregon. What did we find? Basically, we found the church being church - and it was a blessing to us.
Tony Robinson: Labor Day
Monday September 02, 2013
Our church and many of its leaders have been supporters of the labor movement over the years. We have supported efforts to insure that laborers were treated with respect and paid fairly. We have backed the right of workers to collective bargaining. But...
Tony Robinson: Who Can Believe in God?
Friday August 30, 2013
Who can believe in God in a world where there is so much innocent suffering, in a world where injustice is a vivid, ugly reality?
Tony Robinson: Sorry, That's Not My Gift
Tuesday August 20, 2013
I'm having second thoughts on spiritual gifts. For a time now, we've been saying - I've been saying - that folks need to discern their particular gifts and be supported in exercising those gifts. We have done gift discernment inventories. We have offered gift discernment workshops. And sometimes that's been terrific.
Tony Robinson: Tweaking or Transformation?
Sunday August 11, 2013
A case could be made that the truest images and metaphors of change in Scripture aren't about growth. They are about something wilder, more dramatic, wondrous and hard. They are about death, death and life.
Tony Robinson: Got Worship?
Sunday August 04, 2013
Sometimes I wonder if we're too dependent on the idea that worship only takes place in a church building. That we have to have organs or pianos to worship. Or that we have to have hymnals to sing praise to God. Or (worst of all) that you can't worship without a bulletin.
Tony Robinson: A Changed Life
Sunday July 14, 2013
Who knew? Paul also struggled! Even the great apostle was, at times, divided against himself, intending to do the right thing but doing something else entirely. Paul also knew what it was like to screw up. Hallelujah!
Tony Robinson: You Are Enough
Sunday June 30, 2013
Most of the people I know work really hard. But sometimes it goes beyond that - way beyond. People can be driven. They/ we seem unable to stop doing. We feel we've never done enough. We must work harder, longer, accomplish more.
Tony Robinson: The Power of Prayer
Wednesday June 26, 2013
Have you ever had someone come to you with a problem and it seemed that what they really wanted to do was to off-load that problem onto you?
Tony Robinson: Getting Under Your Skin (Acts 16:17-18)
Sunday June 09, 2013
Have you had the experience of something bugging you, something that won't shut up? The Apostle Paul did.
Tony Robinson: We Need the Eggs
Saturday May 18, 2013
Watch out, because so far as I can tell Jesus is very likely to bust in on our little arrangements and take away the eggs.
Tony Robinson: An Ecclesiastical Flash Mob?
Wednesday May 01, 2013
I love these flash mob videos. In fact, they can bring me to tears. I wonder why they are so powerful?
Tony Robinson: The Invitation I (Nearly) Missed
Sunday April 21, 2013
Years ago my wife, Linda, and I were travelling around Europe in a VW Bug. One evening we arrived after dark on an island of Greece. We drove out on a bluff that appeared to be deserted and set up our Bug hotel for the night....
Anthony Robinson: Extravagance
Monday April 08, 2013
Sometimes extravagance is foolish, wasteful, and just wrong. Think of huge cars that get fourteen miles to a gallon. Or of sprawling McMansions for some when others have no home at all. Or the fancy restaurants where the bill for a foursome can exceed a thousand dollars.
Anthony Robinson: I Met Jesus and My Life Is Not Better
Saturday April 06, 2013
Being touched and blessed by Jesus may not mean our lives are suddenly successful, as society defines success. Jesus may make life harder, but in ways that matter.
Anthony Robinson: Come and See What God Is Doing
Monday February 25, 2013
Not long ago I was in Louisville, Kentucky, where I met Jamesetta Ferguson, the pastor of St. Peter's UCC, a downtown church that has experienced a death to life change. She invited me to visit the church saying, Yes, we'd love to have you visit. Come and see what God is doing.
Anthony Robinson: Holy Laughter (Ps. 126)
Tuesday December 11, 2012
I love this verse from Psalm 126: Our mouths were suddenly filled with laughter . . .
Anthony Robinson: Alternative Gift Giving
Wednesday December 05, 2012
Heads up - tomorrow, December 6 - is St. Nicholas Day. The 4th century saint, Nicholas, is the patron saint of quite a line-up: sailors, merchants, archers, thieves, children and students (by the way, who decides these things?). He is also a pre-cursor to Santa Claus, a.k.a. Old St. Nick. o gift-giving is associated with St. Nicholas, but gift-giving with a difference.
Anthony Robinson: Sleep, Pray, Worship
Friday November 16, 2012
Question: What do sleep, play and worship have in common? Answer: All three are, at least potentially, powerfully healing.
Anthony Robinson: How Do Christians Vote?
Monday November 05, 2012
Some say that true Christians will vote for this candidate but definitely not that one; this political party but never the other one; or only this way on a particular ballot measure or referendum.
Anthony Robinson: The Power of Negative Thinking
Thursday September 27, 2012
The author of Ecclesiastes, Qoheleth, apparently missed the memo about being upbeat, cheery, positive, and salting every other sentence with the word “Awesome.”
Anthony Robinson: Is It a Battle?
Tuesday September 11, 2012
Perhaps you, too, have noticed how often we speak of illness and death using the language of "battle". Is that the Christian story?
Anthony Robinson: Honor Your Father and Mother
Sunday September 09, 2012
While my father is gone now, both he and my mother lived to a proverbial "ripe old age." For both, however, aging brought challenge and loss. My father had Alzheimer's, my mother has dementia. Still, both have borne these infirmities with grace and good humor.
Anthony Robinson: Both/And - StillSpeaking Devotional
Tuesday August 14, 2012
Galatians 6:2,5 says "Carry each other's burden and so fulfill the law of Christ . . . each one must carry their own load." Okay, Paul, which one is it?
Anthony Robinson: David's Failure
Monday August 06, 2012
For weeks now (if you follow the lectionary) we've been hearing how great David is. David this and David that. Now, David screws up -- massively.
Anthony Robinson: Naked Gospel
Monday July 30, 2012
People are hungry for God. They are hungry for powerful good news of the God who has broken the powers of sin and death and makes new life possible here and now. They are hungry for naked gospel.
Douthat, Bass and Liberal Christianity
Thursday July 19, 2012
Recently New York Times columnist and author of "Bad Religion," Ross Douthat asked, "Can Liberal Christianity Be Saved?" Historian and popular commentator on church and culture, Diana Butler Bass, responded to Douthat saying he mostly got it wrong. Here's my take on their debate and the issue of "Can Liberal Christianity Be Saved?"
Heath Care Reform, the Court and the Church
Thursday June 28, 2012
The Health Care Reform has been upheld in the Supreme Court. There are some remarkable things about this decision -- several of which have implications for healthy churches.
Anthony Robinson: Family
Thursday June 14, 2012
Often as I visit different congregations I hear the church described as a "family." I'm never quite sure about this ”” speaking of the church as "family."
Video by The Rev. Anthony Robinson
The Rev. Anthony Robinson - Times Of Shaking
Monday May 06, 2013
The Rev. Anthony Robinson talks to us about how to face those difficult times, and how to make the best of them. A Day1 Reflection brought to you in part by Odyssey Networks.