Once upon a time, if anyone used the phrase “purple church,” they might well have been referring to the sanctuary during Advent and Lent; the church’s two annual liturgical waiting rooms, sacred seasons when altars and pastors are draped and…
Matt Queen, we hardly knew ye
There’s an old Irish drinking song that was repopularized in the 1960s about a young soldier who ran off to South Asia to join the British armies fighting the Kandian War in modern day Sri Lanka. The lyrics capture the…
Time management, soul management
I hope reading this column is a good use of your time, and I hope writing this column was a good use of my time, because you and I waste a lot of time. We turn on the TV out…
Undecided voters, time has run out
Over the next handful of days, millions of thoughtful and responsible people will go to the polls to cast ballots for many things, among them electing the president of the United States. I wish there had been two viable and…
This is how to defeat Trump’s fascist movement
It is only a matter of time before Donald Trump’s hateful fascist rhetoric incites some of his followers to engage in violence against immigrants, women, people of color, LGBTQ people, members of the news media, election officials and others who…
What happened to ‘friendship evangelism’?
My grandpa, Edwin Penner, mortgaged his house to build our hometown Baptist church in Chico, Calif. Once built, he drove his Dodge pickup over every Sunday at 6 a.m. to turn on the heat or air conditioning for the comfort…
Why I want to run from children’s ministry but am still called to serve
I taught my first children’s Sunday school class at the age of 16. I was responsible for teaching all children under the age of 12 for the summer. I was given no curriculum or direction. However, I felt called to…
I live in North Carolina and see FEMA’s presence every day
In the summer of 2016, I was serving on staff at a large United Methodist Church in downtown Raleigh, N.C., while attending Duke University Divinity School. One day I walked into the senior pastor’s office to speak to him on…
A million Christian Zionists gather in D.C.
A woman identifies a Middle Eastern man in a turban as the antichrist. Israeli flags fly high as thousands of women cry and pray over the souls of the Jewish people. Christians are called to be watchmen for Israel and…