“Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.” That’s what Jesus’ friends Mary and Martha said to him on separate encounters after their brother Lazarus had expired in Bethany where Jesus was nowhere to be found.
American exceptionalism at a crossroads?
Americans agree that national identity is in trouble but clearly disagree on what that identity is or might be. Nowhere is that more evident than in faith communities.
Pontificate with caution (or not at all)
We all pontificate, those times when we “speak or express opinions in a pompous or dogmatic way.” Like the pastor who entered the pulpit one Sunday and declared: “I had a great sermon on humility for today. But the crowd…
Is America facing a socio-spiritual plague?
This week, the Huffington Post reported bomb threats against Jewish community centers in 10 states. Sixty-seven such incidents occurred at 56 Jewish centers in 27 states since 2017 began. This week, the Winston-Salem Journal detailed a local meeting where the…
Splitting churches right and left
Several years ago I put a self-imposed moratorium on employing the term “separation of church and state.” When I wrote the book Baptist Ways: A History, I don’t think I referenced the phrase unless citing its use in the Baptist…
Vintage Jesus
“They have no wine,” his mother said to the Son of God, when the cabernet ran out, at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, on the edge of the kingdom of God. But Jesus of Nazareth wasn’t buying it. “Woman,”…
Liquid modernity: Churchly challenges in 2017 and beyond
In liquid modern life there are no permanent bonds and any that we take up for a time must be tied loosely so that they can be untied again as quickly, and as effortlessly as possible, when circumstances change. Those…
A wind-up Jesus
The week before Christmas, I received a small package from minister-friends in eastern North Carolina. It contained the sage-looking, plastic-action figure pictured below. The enclosed card read: “A gift for you from two wise men in the East. Maybe you…
‘Be subject,’ but be careful
¨Let every person be subject to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist…