
Authors /
Julian DeShazier
Julian DeShazier is senior minister of University Church in Chicago. He performs as J. Kwest, an Emmy-winning hip-hop artist.
When rituals leave us full—and then empty
Leaving the jailhouse graduation, I wondered, Where have I felt like this before?
October 27, 2023
Catharsis at church
The book of Ezra helped me realize how bad most congregations are at handling big emotions.
September 14, 2023
Reimagining how we reimagine church
We need to end our obsession with novelty and corporate jargon.
June 30, 2023
The well-credentialed pastor
My friend doesn’t want a PhD. He’s getting one anyway.
May 12, 2023
The little engine that needed collaborators
Clergy burnout happens when churches expect pastors to do everything and pastors oblige.
February 3, 2023
Our holy, human bodies
To build the Beloved Community, we need to think and talk and act differently about bodies.
January 11, 2023
The crowded elevator of opinions
We’ve become convinced that speaking is the most important thing we can do.
November 15, 2022
Who we can hear
Local leaders sometimes convene to try to stop the violence in Chicago. But whose voices are at the table?
August 9, 2022
King David and Kendrick Lamar (2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33)
Hip-hop’s origins go back farther than the 1970s.
August 2, 2021
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August 15, Ordinary 20B (1 Kings 2:10–12; 3:3–14)
Solomon has everything—and still, he seeks transformation.
July 20, 2021
August 8, Ordinary 19B (2 Samuel 18:5–9, 15, 31–33)
David, Absalom, and the dangers of “hanging between heaven and earth”
July 13, 2021
Money in our hearts (Luke 16:1-13; Amos 8:4-7)
Jesus has a zeal against the human willingness to turn wealth into an idol.
September 20, 2019
September 29, Ordinary 26C (Luke 16:19–31; Amos 6:1a, 4–7)
Conversion narratives raise a question: Why does it take so much to get there?
September 5, 2019
September 22, Ordinary 25C (Luke 16:1–13; Amos 8:4–7)
Jesus is talking to two different audiences.
August 27, 2019