A Faith on the Fringe update, Dec. 20, 2025

Dec. 28 I’ll preach at Battery Park Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Richmond, Va.

Service begins at 11 a.m. and you’re invited. I’d love to speak with your faith community in 2026.

<><

Dec. 17 marked the anniversary of the Wright Brother’s first four flights. (Or as Dave Barry called them, Orville and Wilbur Wright Brothers.) This summary of the four flights on Dec. 17 is excerpted from my book, Soar to Success the Wright Way.

My motivational biography identifies the success characteristics of the Wrights as well as other aviation pioneers like Jackie Cochran and Benjamin Davis Jr.

Follow this link to order a poster of the First Flight, the only poster of its kind authorized by Orville Wright.

<><

Dec. 10 was the anniversary of the death of theologian Thomas Merton. Follow this link to read about my visit to Merton’s monastery in Kentucky, including the view from his grave.

<><

Dec. 9 was the 60th anniversary of the premiere of A Charlie Brown Christmas, watched by half the television audience. Have you ever noticed the secret symbolism? Follow this link to see the secret.

<><

When Jesus was born, the angel appeared to the shepherds. Not kings and the wealthy, but the poorest of the working poor.

God appears to the shepherds, not to the Emperor Augustus. Not to the governor of Syria.

The Christ child appears first to those with dirty hands and muddy feet— simple farmers raising sheep, not to the wealthy or the leaders or the military.

Jesus said that he came so that all might have life, and have it more abundantly. But he didn’t come to the religious leaders or the money lenders first. First, he came to the poor on the edges of society. That’s where Jesus remains today and where Jesus expects to find us.

<><

New Year’s Eve is known as Watch Night in the African American community as they remember and commemorate the enslaved Americans looking to Jan. 1, 1863, and the implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation. Follow this link to read more about the history of Watch night. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthefringe/2024/12/watch-night-2024/

<><

Follow this link to read my post about Confirmation Bias Christians.

<><

If you’re buying books, follow this link to Bookshop.org, where your purchase supports my ministry.

<><

You can also support my ministry if you shop Amazon through this link. Amazon isn’t for everyone, but if it’s for you, I’d appreciate your support.

<><

Follow Faith on the Fringe on Facebook. for daily doses of Christianity on the fringe of the mainstream faith.

<><

<><

Pastor Jim Meisner, Jr. is the author of the novel Faith, Hope, and Baseball, available on Amazon, or follow this link to order an autographed copy. He created and manages the Facebook page Faith on the Fringe.