By Mark Wingfield In three recent commentaries, ABPnews/Herald columnist David Gushee has wisely challenged us to consider how we might shape our identity more positively than simply being “ex” members of the Southern Baptist Convention. I’d like to expand the…
What Norman Rockwell and Blanche DuBois have in common
By Mark Wingfield Say the name “Norman Rockwell,” and immediately iconic images of vintage Americana spring to mind. His paintings of Boy Scouts of America and for the covers of the Saturday Evening Post all portray a vision of American…
Norman Rockwell and Blanche Dubois
Say the name “Norman Rockwell,” and immediately iconic images of vintage Americana spring to mind. His paintings for Boy Scouts of America and for the covers of the Saturday Evening Post all portray a vision of American life that we…
Atrocious saints
“A democratic autocrat. An urbane savage. An atrocious saint.” That’s how biographer James Patton described Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States of America. In seeking to write the first scholarly biography of the native Tennessean, Parton felt like…
Praying for death
A year ago we took my mother home on hospice care. She died three days later, mercifully freed from a series of chronic health problems that were cascading out of control. But getting her out of the hospital—her sixth time…
Birthday offerings
What is your earliest memory of giving or receiving? That was the first of a set of prompts given to a small discussion group this week at a class I attended on religious fundraising. My mind immediately pictured a small…
Worship style surprises
“If we put up screens in worship, I’m quitting Wilshire!” Guess the age of the person who said this at a recent gathering at our church. If you surmised this must be the stubborn opposition of an older adult, you…
Does your pastor need a doctorate?
By Mark Wingfield Hearing a story about yet another medium-sized church in a small town where a personnel committee desired above all that their next pastor have the title “Dr.” in front of his name, I found myself thinking, “How…
Does your pastor need a doctorate?
I just heard a story about another medium-sized church in a small town where a personnel committee desired above all that their next pastor have the title “Dr.” in front of his name. And I found myself thinking, “How uneducated.”…