Jesus tells us that one important way to pray is to pray through our action, working to ensure that the kingdom of God becomes a reality on earth. He says our way forward is to work to make this world better for others.
Do we know how to listen to one another?
If we are only interested in collecting the stories and experiences within our pews with no intention of allowing persons to affect change in our minds and in our communities, we continue to commit the sin of oppression.
Is God male?
Christians believe Jesus is the ultimate reflection of God, so is God also male? Centuries of European art has taught, normalized and legitimized how to see the Divine. But insisting on the maleness of God ignores the times God is depicted in feminine language.
What will it take to unite a divided U.S.? The answer might surprise you.
In the feature story of March’s Atlantic Monthly, James Fallows asks, “Can America Put Itself Back Together?” Fallows’ surprising good news is that he believes America can.
What makes life worth living?
Recently I had the privilege of attending a presentation at the Yale Club in New York City to hear a report on the project that seeks to ascertain what it means to live a well-lived life. At the heart of…
Worship: Good for what ails you
Reflecting on the recent annual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance in Vancouver, British Columbia, I was struck by two things: The deep hunger in my own life for corporate worship and the centrality of worship in our common life….
Relax your grip and you can go for miles
For most of my vocational life I’ve had to do battle with the overwhelming need to prove myself. This may have something to do with where I land on the Enneagram. As my fellow Threes will testify, “I succeed, therefore…
Genius hesitates, both in science and religion
In his fantastic little book, Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, a kind of primer on modern physics meant for lay readers, Carlo Rovelli tells the story about how in 1905, a 26-year-old graduate student named Albert Einstein published three short…
Can Baptists be both committed to the message of Christ and active in political matters?
Jeremiah tells the people of the Babylonian Exile that God is calling them to settle in the region. “Go ahead and get married. Buy a house. Join the PTA, the YMCA, a local church.” Essentially, Jeremiah says, “Be all in. Hold nothing back.”
What if we ‘promoted’ in adult Sunday school again?
Decades ago, even among churches that retained adult Sunday school, we adults stopped promoting. More accurately, we adults refused to keep promoting. We put down our feet and said we would not move any more. We wanted to stay where we were.
Wondering what it’s like in Hillary’s shoes
Dear Hillary, This election year has me completely on edge, exhausted and frustrated, but I suppose you might be feeling some of that, too. Truth be told, I spend a lot of time thinking about you, but then, so does…
Are moderates/progressives confusing the ‘e’ word with the ‘E’ word again?
Many years ago my mother told me about a trip she took with a group of people to attend a national denominational training event. If you knew my mother, you would know she could hardly tell it without laughing. The…