May 17 is a special day for me. On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court unanimously issued the Brown v. Board of Education ruling that declared racial segregation in public education unconstitutional. On May 17, 2019, I have reasons to hope, but also cause to mourn.
A response: 5 things Orthodox Christians can learn from Protestants in the U.S.
Prioritizing open dialogue and mutual respect in the future will help move Orthodox and Protestant traditions toward the realization of Christ’s ultimate prayer for unity “that they may be one just as we are one” (John 17:22). With that hope in mind, I’ve listed 5 things Orthodox Christians can learn from Protestants.
Church and creation care: we need a theology-before-politics approach
What has happened to us, that conversations about our cosmic home have become so divisive? What would happen if we were all curious enough to learn from science, scripture and one another?
Women cannot serve as pastors. Really, Southern Baptists, you’re going to go there again?
The Spirit of God keeps blowing where it will. Baptist women are now serving as pastors and associate ministers in all kinds of different settings and situations.
John Coltrane, the power of ‘a love supreme’ and the call to radical discipleship
“A love supreme” is fierce, faithful, steadfast and unmovable, and therefore is able to anchor us when we must weather the individual and corporate storms that assail us. But it is also empowers us to build the bonds of solidarity that will ultimately be the source of our shared prosperity – and the site of God’s glory.
Mother’s Day: The way of love is the gift and burden of mothers
How do our mothers — biological, adopted and encountered — shape how we make sense of the world?
Is Sunday morning worship the place to celebrate Mother’s Day? It’s complicated
This Sunday, as women around the country are celebrated for their motherhood amidst family and friends, what is the role of the church?
Women as pastoral leaders render a different vision of God
Many have dismissed inclusive language as “politically correct.” I believe it runs much deeper. It is an attempt to speak justly about humans, and it strives to offer a vision of God beyond gender
We inexplicably walked away from a terrifying accident. We’re still shaken – by the weight of gratitude
Some people would tell our incredible story of tragedy averted and credit angels’ wings, the intervention of something powerful and supernatural. That doesn’t fit my theology. But I have no doubt God was with us.
In America’s culture divide, the Golden Rule is no longer enough
It seems America’s cultural divide has reached such a bitter impasse that the Golden Rule no longer applies. We’ve short-circuited it by jumping to the conclusion that “others” are not like us enough for this sage wisdom to apply.
Blessed are the foolish, for they are key to healthy churches
Signs of a healthy church are not necessarily a polished worship service, a jazzy children’s program or excellent preaching, but a place where fools are welcome and celebrated. This church is led by the most foolish one of all, the God who voluntarily became human to dwell among other foolish humans, so that they might become God’s children.
A world still charged by flame: finding God in the singed pages of the Old Testament
In Fire by Night, author Melissa Florer-Bixer invites us to encounter the God of the Old Testament in new ways. Joining in God’s liberative work in the world is an urgent matter, which makes the patient care of reading these old, old faith stories all the more important.