Because churches and faith-based organizations do disaster relief so well, we assume what works for communities recovering from a fire will be what works for a family experiencing food insecurity or poverty. Most victims of poverty suffer because of systems designed to help some people thrive at the expense of others’ languishing.
Discovering the human Jesus opens new possibilities for becoming more like Jesus
Ironically, when I believed Jesus was God I didn’t take him seriously. But when I let him be an imperfect, but courageous and compassionate human being, I discovered a compelling interest in becoming like him.
A church for all who wander: the ministry of ‘bringing back’
Rather than spending time judging others so that we feel better about ourselves, we are called to go out and find those who have wandered from God’s dream for their life and bring them back to the life God intended for them.
In a culture of shouting, people of faith must address America’s listening deficit
How can Christians demonstrate how to listen deeply in a culture of shouting, especially when listening to shouting is so spiritually and emotionally draining? Only out of listening – and hitting a personal pause button on all the feigned and manufactured social outrage – do I actually have a voice.
Why CBF exists: to serve congregations and help them thrive
All the winds of our larger culture push us to respond to difference with isolation, condemnation and even anger. We must find a distinctly Christian way of responding to difference if CBF is to be a Baptist community committed to being a real and remarkable priesthood of all believers.
Legislating ‘In God We Trust’: using the state to do the Church’s work
For many today, American Civil Religion remains inseparable from Christianity, evident in current efforts among some 30 state legislatures to mandate the posting of “In God We Trust” (IGWT) in multiple government-related contexts. Haven’t we learned anything from history about the folly of such endeavors?
Hidden pencils, urgent warnings and instructions Mary Oliver left the Church
What lines would the Church write if we approached Scripture – and our world – with the holy curiosity and expectancy Mary Oliver did when she went to the woods and to the shore?
What churches could learn from Southwest Airlines co-founder Herb Kelleher
A church is not a business. But churches should not be afraid to explore the best practices of businesses that get the people equation right. Southwest Airlines co-founder Herb Kelleher offers an inspiring example.
10 bogus ideas my white culture taught me growing up
I posted a list on Facebook of 10 bogus ideas I learned growing up in America’s white culture. The responses were interesting and sometimes surprising.
Gillette’s ad campaign gets ‘toxic masculinity’ right. Churches should follow suit
Whether or not you believe women should be pastors (I do), the men in our congregations should take a hard look at toxic masculinity and the damage it does to women and men, to churches and to the Gospel witness.
A church sign for Robert Jeffress and other ‘wallers’: We don’t need a big wall; we need a big mirror
Yes, Pastor Jeffress, the New Jerusalem described in the book of Revelation might have a wall. But it’s not for the reasons you claim. How in the name of Christ can we possibly justify building a multi-billion dollar wall to keep people out when all that Christ teaches us is to draw our circles wider to welcome people in?
Another alarm sounds on clergy sex abuse: Will Southern Baptist leaders just hit snooze again?
Sooner or later – and probably sooner – Southern Baptists will get their turn in the spotlight of still another media exposé on clergy sex abuse and cover-ups. When that happens, will anything change?