the unlikely orange

"claimed" paper collage (found papers, acrylic paint, glue) on book board gregory a. milinovich october 2018 But now thus says the  Lord ,      he who created you, O Jacob,      he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;      I have called you by name, you are mine. "you are mine," says God.  "do not be afraid.  i have redeemed you.  i have claimed you.  i got this." in a messy world full of pipe bombs and synagogue shootings; in a broken mess of hate and fear, i believe a certain kind of fearlessness based in a love that is perfect and holy.  i believe that the light defeats the darkness.  i believe we are claimed.  

"weapon of the word" mixed media collage (found papers, acrylic paint, glue on book board) gregory a. milinovich september, 2018 "a bible used as a weapon against other human beings is always a bible misused."  -kristen rosser i know this new collage i made a few weeks ago isn't going to win any beauty contests, but i wasn't trying to make something pretty.  i was reflecting on how i so often feel about how some Jesus-followers sometimes use the bible.  standing on a foundation of fear, they pack the bible like a pistol, loaded and aimed at anyone who challenges them.  it gets aimed at those who are different.  it gets aimed at those who interpret it in different ways.  in this way the word is weaponized in order to silence the voices of those who would ask questions.   for me, the bible is much more a love letter than a loaded weapon.  it invites relationship not retribution.  it gives life, not death.  it cr...

if i was going to start something awesome, i'd probably start with the most attractive thing i could.  i mean, it's marketing 101, right?  you've got to attract people, tell them that you've got something great, and that they need it.  so think about it: if i was going to start a club for steelers fans who also love indie music, i would probably start by hiring my graphic designer wife to make some super awesome brochures or posters or something, and i would make sure they looked interesting and inviting.  next, i would look for some cool people to join my club, maybe even some people that people know .  i mean, it would be great if i could get the Avett Brothers to join my club, or JuJu Smith-Schuster, or someone that would attract others to join my club.  and we'd have snacks.  maybe little black-and-gold cookies in the shape of a banjo or something.  but not Jesus.  that's now how Jesus operates.  (well, maybe the snacks...h...

last week i tried to remind myself and any of you reading that Jesus isn't interested in calling only the squeaky-clean or those who have all of their cracks and tears all covered up and hidden.  but somehow many of us still let ourselves "off the hook," by assuming that the people that Jesus is really interested in are the religious people.  people like priests and pastors.  people like walt, the guy who leads two different bible studies at church, always attends the special church events, and reads bible commentaries in his spare time.  we sometimes allow ourselves to buy the lie that says, "those are the real Jesus-followers.  you don't have time for that.  you've got your career and your family and your retirement and your hobbies and your busy schedule to worry about...you can follow Jesus just by going to church sometimes."  and we do.  and we check the box.  but i happen to think that Jesus is actually inviting people - regul...

"peculiar circumstances" paper collage on hardcover book cover gregory a. milinovich i truly love the season of life i am in, in my twentieth year of marriage, raising three boys,  and serving as senior pastor of a downtown university church.  life is good.  really, really  good.  but it is also full.  some of the things i used to just have time for, i can no longer even make time for, at least for this season.  one of those things is my love of gluing things together.   i still have boxes and boxes of old paper, scraps and bits, found objects and detritus, and more, just waiting to be joined together, to be redeemed in some new birth.  but, for the most part, they will need to wait several years longer, until "teenager" isn't a regular part of our vocabulary.  that being said, i am delighted that i was inspired to carve out a few moments this week to glue a few things together that had been accumulating in my "someday i'll ...

so here's the thing: i call myself a Christian.  actually, i don't even use that word as much anymore, because it ends up being a wedge between me and many other people as soon as i use it.  instead, i like to say that i'm a Christ-follower (which is closer to the way the very first Christ-followers talked about it anyway).  to be a Christ-follower is to - wait for it - follow Christ .  i know, surprising, right?  well, it shouldn't be a shock to us that being a Christ-follower, or a Christian, means following Christ, but in America in 2018 calling yourself a Christian often has far too little to do with actually following Jesus.  when people call themselves Christians in america today, they may mean any number of things, such as: -i went to a church sometimes when i grew up; -i once got 'saved' at a christian camp or crusade; -i believe in God; -i am in favor of traditional american evangelical political positions; -i say merry christmas instead ...

well, friends, it is labor day, which is to say that the period of the year we call summer is now pretty much completely over.  school has started.  the nights are getting darker, sooner.  and we are taking our summer bucket list out of the frame and putting it into the "to be scrapbooked" pile, an ominous sign by any measurement.  when you are "to be scrapbooked" you are clearly just a memory.  your neighbors are torn ticket stubs, bent programs, receipts, and other two-dimensional obituaries to moments that have gone before.  such is summer, 2018:  a memory.  but it is a good memory.  you may remember that i was reluctant to even share our summer bucket list this year,  and i want to say that while we were able to put quite a few dry-erase x's on that sucker; and while we were able to make quite a few memories, what i hope we got out of it is more than mere scrapbook pages: i hope we continued to build something significant, some...