Lent is the season for paying attention. Compassion is the work of seeing, of making invisible people visible.
3 faulty assumptions that keep Baptist churches from hiring female pastors
Churches which have opened their pulpits to both genders have made a discovery: Women, just like men, are fully capable of offering strong and visionary church leadership as well as thoughtful, healthy pastoral care. Likewise, females are just as able to provide Christ-honoring preaching and worship leadership.
Consider birthday goals rather than New Year’s resolutions. Here are 8 of mine
Here are 8 of my birthday goals for the coming year, some more serious and challenging than others, offered in the hope that they might inspire a few ideas of your own.
Advent: a good time to remember the power of blessing – for the ‘blesser’ and the blessed
Advent is a great time to notice how much of the Good News of Jesus Christ is couched in words of blessing. All week long the people in our churches are brutalized by words which attack them, devalue them and challenge their core worth. These souls are crying out for the healing balm of a blessing.
Is the rise in anti-Semitism one of the Church’s unpaid bills?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer told his seminary students, “Only he who cries out for the Jews may sing Gregorian chants.” As Christian worshipers stand to sing on Sunday, we would do well to remember Bonhoeffer’s confession.
An unchanging truth: Romance between church and state always tarnishes the Bride of Christ
Jesus Christ is above party and nation. Confessing Christ is a political statement. If Jesus is Lord, Caesar is not. This means speaking truth to power, regardless of the stance taken by our favorite cable news outlet (or that of our Facebook friends).
Making a ‘faith bet’: Discerning God’s will includes ‘rolling the dice’
In our journey to know God’s will, after we have prayed, sought appropriate counsel, considered circumstances, studied scripture and used the brains given to us by God, we eventually have to “put our money down” and make a faith bet.
The subversive gift of children
The Bible’s accounts of children provide subversive stories which expose pride, hatred and entrenched, institutionalized evil. These stories remind us that our attitudes toward children reveal much about what is in our own hearts regarding all marginalized and devalued people.
Preaching on #metoo and #churchtoo
The biblical stories remind us that our lies, cover-ups, excuses and foot-dragging do not make the national blight of sexual misconduct go away.