Theological education has been my life’s work, and it has been a joyful and traumatic pursuit at three schools: Southern Seminary, Central Seminary, and now United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. I would consider myself blessed to have labored…
Making wise and courageous choices amid the best and worst of times | #intimeslikethese
While we are in no way beset by all that Dickens’ time portended, we have some choices about how to live in our own time.
How not-so-random acts of kindness from strangers transformed my latest air travel odyssey
“God has got this,” the attendant in the airport travelers’ lounge said. Indeed.
Let’s bury the patriarchal narrative in American culture. Politics and churches are good places to start
American culture is patriarchal to the core. As author Leslie Dorrough Smith argues, the ideal male identity remains white, heterosexual and given to “family values” (even while their behavior contradicts this supposed conviction).
Sowing an enduring legacy
I pray declining and fragile congregations that are evaluating their future will make unselfish decisions about the kind of enduring legacy they want to sow. Only God is eternal – not particular congregations, their leaders or even their former missions.
Moving from ‘knowing’ to ‘unknowing’: leadership during a liminal time for the church
Good leaders never make it to the promised land, a former colleague and model of effective leadership, once remarked. Good leaders always know there is more to do, more to learn and more pilgrimage to make.
‘What shall I give him?’ Robert Dilday gave a humble heart invested in the right things
Giving our heart to Jesus is not only a private soteriological exchange; it has to do with a reoriented life that puts the well-being of others ahead of selfish interests. It is a persistent attempt to live as Jesus did, in the power of the Spirit.
Mary sings her joyful – and radical – faith. Do we have the courage to join her?
Let us rejoice with Mary that God keeps promises and will ultimately conquer all that tramples the weak and outcast. The Mighty One did great things for her – and will for us.
Are congregations and seminaries in this work together?
The ecosystem of congregations, judicatories and the institutions that prepare persons for ministry has been fraying across the denominational spectrum.