Years ago when attendance was pretty low, Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., brought in a consultant who said, “You can either be a museum or a church.” The consultant had been going to the wrong museums. A good church is…
Holy smoke: Barbecue with a side of faith
I think of my vegetarian friends like I think of my Jewish friends. I love and respect them, but we are of different faiths. I believe in barbecue. To the casual observer those who gather for a church barbecue have…
Still learning to see the third time across the Brooklyn Bridge
I like running to Manhattan and I love running back to Brooklyn — though running may not be the right word. I have trotted across the Brooklyn Bridge three times. I go slow enough not to miss much. According to…
A Southerner living in a foreign land — Brooklyn
“Yankee” was a term of derision in my fourth grade class. When the teacher announced, “We have a new student who just moved to Mississippi from New York,” we looked on his poor little lost soul with pity. The progressive…
‘If the church is so great, then why are you teaching in seminary?’
During my first class as a professor at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology, I began waxing poetic on my years as a pastor and the glory of preaching: “What could be more wonderful than to imagine your way back…
Your commute as a spiritual discipline
My morning commute reminds me that I am not the Christian I should be. I drive nine miles to my job — two miles of neighborhood, three miles of suburban commerce, and four miles of houses close enough to Atlanta…
Isn’t it a shame that Jesus never went on a marriage retreat?
Why couldn’t Jesus have said just one sentence about marriage that you could post on Facebook for Valentine’s Day?
Before I die …
Our dreams should aim as high as possible. When the waitress brought our food I tried to find a way to ask, “How am I supposed to eat this?” I had to think fast. I came up with, “How am…
Religious terrorism
By Brett Younger I belong to a religious group that has been responsible for horrible acts of terrorism. The majority of us do not believe these terrorists are being true to our faith, but others insist on painting us all…
Surprised by God
By Brett Younger Most of us have been through so many Christmas seasons that it has become routine. We are used to the sounds of the approaching Yuletide — jingle bells, silver bells, Salvation Army bells and the one-tolling-for-thee-shopping-bell. Santa…
Seminaries reluctantly selling their souls
By Brett Younger When I was 16, I inexplicably got a job as a mechanic. I was assigned to tires and batteries — the kindergarten of the automotive world. Even in the department in which I could do the least…
Reformation Day — 498 years and counting
By Brett Younger Seminary professors spend a lot of time around 24-year-olds. As a result, we spend a lot of time feeling old. Our church experience is different from theirs. My parents took me to church three times a week….