The bustle of the past few weeks slows today. It is a time of reflection and quieting the spirit. Even the relentless urge to consume begins to re-set as the year comes to a close. We realize that we are more than what we possess or give. Like Mary, we ponder what is yet to come.
Liminal existence for Myanmar’s Rohingya refugees
Pope Francis is visiting Myanmar, where Christians are only about 4 percent to 5 percent of the approximately 55 million people who live there. He hopes to draw attention to the plight of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who are being driven out of the Rakhine State into Bangladesh, where they live the liminal reality of refugees.
Are seminaries still relevant?
Many seminaries are in trouble; there are few that are not fragile in some way. Issues include the challenge of recruitment, the burgeoning debt of seminarians, issues of placement for women graduates, the white privilege of which many seminaries are oblivious. It is a “troubled industry.”
Are Baptists still reforming?
We are still trying to catch up with Martin Luther in many areas and there are parts of the Reformation legacy we have not fully realized.
#MeToo! Our culture of sexual predation
Many clergywomen have voiced their experiences of violation, often perpetrated by friends in seminary, senior pastors and judicatory leaders — many of whom were publicly affirming of women in ministry.
Putting God to the test
Dictating how God must respond reduces the sovereign one to our level, a risky proposition, indeed.
Does God play favorites?
Those who are spared must not simply rejoice in their seeming “chosenness,” but must use every resource to alleviate the suffering of others. Guilt may not be the best source of motivation, but if it spurs compassion, it is constructive.
God works; we work
Trusting that God is at work empowering humans to work for the good of all is reassuring. It also prompts courageous action. While it is common to think that we are waiting on God, actually both God and others are waiting on us.
Finding wonder and foreboding in the pathway of a total eclipse
Our experience of a total eclipse should illumine a spirit of contemplation as we marvel at God’s handiwork and the perdurance of an expanding universe. It also urges us to find ever more constructive ways to hold both science and faith in our heart. Holding them together makes for an informed sense of wonder.
God’s invitation to life
God’s invitation is nothing less than a beckoning to receive what God alone can provide: grace. Grace receives us as we are and renews the human spirit. Grace reminds us of who we are created to be and supplies the enervating work of the Spirit that we might fully live.
Can the Church and the minister afford each other?
Our times call for fresh thinking on the economics of ministry, which is a constellation of issues. Educational debt, ministry compensation, rising health care costs, diminished congregations and a culture of credit all conspire to make the question “can the church and the ministry afford each other” more challenging.
What is sown in the heart
A trip to the cardiologist is rarely routine. Usually a precipitating episode or a prior procedure prompts the appointment, and we are eager to receive a reassuring assessment. We know that the condition of the heart determines our health, and…