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…
Pursuing reverence in a society that doesn’t recognize it
In a recent New York Times column, David Brooks offered an assessment of one of the presidential candidates, noting, “He appears to have no ability to experience reverence which is the foundation of any capacity to admire or serve anything…
The problem with not talking about politics at church
Here’s the problem with saying we must never talk about politics at church: We immediately cede to politicians the right to define what is political and what is theological. And then the church loses its voice on theology because important…
Giving and receiving: Transformative gifts
Through the acts of giving and receiving, many miracles happen. Both the giver and the receiver become transformed.
Dar y recibir: Dones transformadores
A través del dar y recibir, muchos milagros se suscitan. Ambas, la persona que da, como la que recibe, son transformadas.
‘Spiritual but not religious’ or ‘religious but not spiritual’?
I often hear people say, “I’m spiritual but not religious.” The sentiment just wearies me. I wonder if what these people are, despite their sometimes angry claims to the contrary, is “religious but not spiritual.” Let me explain. I will…
Give me your rings!
Aliança! Aliança! That’s the word the hooded young men wielding guns kept saying. How did they know that’s who we were, I wondered? We were the Aliança de Batistas do Brasil. How could these strangers know that?
Christian, Baptist, Evangelical? Just call me a Jesus follower (then again, maybe not)
These three words — Christian, Baptist and evangelical — have such diverse meanings in contemporary society they hardly mean anything at all. So I would just rather be known as a would-be Jesus follower.
What will it take to get through this political season?
Lately I’ve heard friends talking about how their Facebook feeds seem to be turning into echo chambers — that is, all the political posts they see are posts that reflect their own opinions. This has not happened to me, thanks solely to my online and real life relationship with my cousin Kevin.