Chuck DeGroat

She wrote to me exasperated, looking for some clarity.* It was two weeks ago or so, and her church staff was in a panic about Sunday worship. Their area had just gone into a shelter-in-place order, and she – as…

Years ago, I heard Henri Nouwen on an old recording tell the story of his path from teaching in the Ivy League to living in a community of people with disabilities in Toronto. He told the story of a female…

When I started my first “official” pastoral role in the late 1990’s, I immediately hung a painting of Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son on my main office wall. The same painting still greets me each day, reminding me that…

My friends who are skeptics are cynical about Christianity these days. From our intramural fights to our political collusion on both sides, it all looks very un-Jesus-like. My skeptical friends from back in Chicago, Orlando and San Francisco, in particular…

by Chuck De Groat I’d written a piece for The Twelve some time ago and a friend dropped a text shortly after saying: “Hey, I saw that blog you wrote. Who are ‘the 12’? And what does it mean that…

by Chuck DeGroat Pardon the length of this piece, but we really need to talk. It’s become inevitable that I’ll get a call or email once or twice a month asking to consult with a church on an LGBTQ dialogue.…