Singing is Slaying

By Rhett Burns Several weeks ago, I wrote here that feasting is fighting. But bread and wine and forks are not our only weapons as we aim to take the planet for King Jesus. We also have organs, guitars, drums, pianos, cellos, and those two ligaments in the larynx responsible for producing the human voice. […]

Juggernaut Fury – A Poem

Their juggernaut fury bore then, breakneck, on. Iliad, bk 16, ln 702 A horde of chub, toddling out of time, marching in and out of unbalanced lines. Terror of little lives just recently begun. Anyone with a sense of time sees in these wobbling ankles a rising sun.   All Chronos’ alms, gathered in grinding […]

Feasting is Fighting

In the war for the world, that ancient, yet active campaign to extend the rule of King Jesus to the four corners of the globe so that the glory of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the seas, food is not neutral. Nor is it utilitarian, a simple means of physical sustenance […]

Raspberry Pie – A Poem

Bent over raspberry pie,  my tongue the taproot of my soul.  Gems jammed and canned, sounding themselves in the crushing.  Rushing to the world, sweetening  the pie. Glorifying snowmelt  and sunshine. Tiny sun-run harvesters,  wide loads running row on row  of wind. Sweetening the Spirit-breath  so it can samba down my tastebuds.  Stomp the Paso […]

Interview with Author K.M. Weiland – Character Arcs

K.M. Weiland, author of historical and speculative fiction as well as books on the craft of writing, joins us from western Nebraska. Thanks so much for joining us at The Westminster Confession of Funk. It is a real pleasure to be able to ask you a few questions about your work on Creating Character Arcs. […]

Cherry Bud Haiku

For those looking for the text of the Haiku by Seifu-Jo that I quoted on this week’s podcast, here you go. This baby…even when we show him cherry buds… opens eager lips   You can find it in the 3rd volume of the Peter Pauper Press collection of Japanese Haiku entitled, Cherry-Blossom.

New York, Be Not Proud

New York, Be Not Proud by Jesse Sumpter “The #ReproductiveHealthAct is now law in New York State. We lit the spire pink to celebrate.” –Gov. Cuomo, Jan 22, 2019 New York, be not proud, though some have called you Mighty and dreadful, for you are thwarted: For those whom you tried to have aborted Die […]

HTBT Business Plan Contest Official Rules

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”3.27.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”]Details No purchase necessary. Contest runs from 1/3/2019 – 3/31/2019. All entries must be submitted to matt@howtobuildatent.com no later than 3/31/2019 via an attachment or link to a cloud service platform. NO paid professional assistance is allowed. You […]

The Scars of God’s Hands

My soul clung to the dust, now dust clings to my soul. Your life-breath, once blown up the nose of my father, once exhaled in fruit-statutes, once blown across the dry bones until they could get up and dance; breathe life on me. Speak again the six stanzas that climb up to rest. Speak them […]

Old Man at the Blueberry Bushes

Blueberry bushes brush bungling hands. Hands heavy with age —quivering unhelpfully— gather taste gushing gems of tang. No rot. No root-break. The ripped branches are simply savaged off by shaking old hands. Hands tired of being bound- back for decades. Held mute by manners monastic and proper. Held still by habit and a fury hell […]

Black Panther and the Savior of the Nations

By Jesse Sumpter Black Panther engages with some important philosophical questions—some of the best since The Dark Knight trilogy. But the movie fails to give anything close to an interesting answer. The ending scene in Oakland fails to offer anything substantial because it fails to grapple with the true nature of humanity: why are people […]

Quote on Mealtimes

“If we understand mealtimes as an important blessing from God, then we need to carve enough time in our schedules for this most precious gathering of the day. To have regular sit-down meals as a family, and to have people over, you have to have a schedule that frees your time to do this. Your […]

Song of Your Own

SONG OF YOUR OWN People take on the shape of the songs and stories that surround them, especially if they don’t have a song of their own. Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys Like the slender-ankled daughters of ocean  shaped by the banks that decide their path,  we are shaped by our songs and our stories like potions.  Each […]

Interview with Remy Wilkins, Author of Strays

Thanks for joining us at The Westminster Confession of Funk.  And thank you for such a delightfully named blog. It’s always been one of my favorite names. Your novel Strays, what’s it about? What inspired the story? It’s about a boy named Rodney who has to spend the summer at his weird uncle’s and gets […]

Investigating Us – An Interview with Musician Joel Ansett

Joel, thanks for joining us at The Westminster Confession of Funk, hosted by CrossPolitic. So you have a new Kickstarter out. Your last one was a big success. What have you learned about yourself as a musician since your last kickstarter, “The Nature of Us”? Great question. Goodness what have I learned. As a musician, […]

The Whirlwind Bides His Time

Having recently had The Rev. Joseph Carlson as a Guest on the recent episode of CrossPolitic, I thought it might be nice to get one of his sonnets before you. This is for the 24th Sunday of the Trinity Season in his book of Sonnets for the Church Year. Waiting Four hundred years – the […]

Easter Invitation – Bring Your Shipwreck

“The Church is like a great ship sailing the sea of the world and tossed by the waves of temptation in this life.” St. Boniface, letter 78 From the very beginning of our lives, we are dependent upon received grace. Grace that we have never given. Grace that we cannot immediately return. We are born […]

Dread Clouds – An Interview with Author Hannah Grieser

  Hannah, thank you for joining us at the Westminster Confession of Funk hosted by CrossPolitic. The Clouds Ye So Much Dread was such a delight to read. But it is obvious that a lot of tears and pain was required to fill this particular pen with ink. Do you find it odd to have […]

Wing Lift

Wing Lift Psalm 91:3-4 Death-wrenched, life-drenched, each pinched soul fledged to soar on raptorial sails. A fowler-freed fire-bred goldfinch, carols unhitched, stretching and reaching, on wind-held wings. Held in glide and lift, windhover pinion, piloted upwards, against the pull, against the pitch, rich wind hovers over the face of the waters fixing and fastening the […]

Chef: A Review

Every once in a while you hit a movie that is just plain beautiful. I mean, real life beautiful. The story is wonderful, the characters and acting are wonderful, and it moves you to want to do what you were made to do. Chef (written, produced, directed by, and starring Jon Favreau) is the story […]