By Bill Leonard Each January for several years, I’ve joined a group of theology students for a Wednesday visit to the Haywood Street Congregation in Asheville, N.C. I can’t help but write about it, since the experience is always “transforming,”…
5 ways to respond when your pastor actually turns out to be human
By Amy Butler Before you begin reading this column, I want you to know that I’m assuming we’re all clear on the fact that the pastor is a human being. This might sound like a strange way to start off….
The myth of redemptive violence and ‘The Hateful Eight’
By Michael Parnell I step onto some shaky ground here, but I will admit it: I love Quentin Tarantino. Yes, I know his movies are filled with violence and terrible language. But there are few directors working today that fill…
Praying the Psalms in time of grief
By Joe LaGuardia Like many who grieve the loss of a loved one over the holidays, this past Christmas was particularly difficult for me. I lost my father over two years ago as a result of a mass shooting in…
Congregational vision is about expanding and deepening disciplemaking
By George Bullard Vision is not about promoting programs and using an attractional approach to engage in a spiritual and strategic journey. It is not about a focus on operational planning, and a primary focus on the management of the…
52 questions Jesus is still asking
By Jayne Hugo Davis “How would you dispose of a dead body?” Our staff team was playing a board game called Loaded Questions last week. We had gotten together for a meal and some forced family fun and that was…
A lover’s quarrel with my country
By Russ Dean I only saw one of those year-in-reviews that the news shows always put together for the week after Christmas. One was enough. I was raised like most American kids to be proud of this great land I…
Thoughts on welcoming the stranger
By LeDayne McLeese Polaski I’ve been thinking a lot lately about strangers. I suppose we all have. Strangers — immigrants from Central America, refugees from Syria, Muslims crossing international borders, even people on the other side of town — are…
The charism of creativity
By Molly T. Marshall One of the first Hebrew words I learned in seminary was bara, the word used of God’s creative activity as recounted in Genesis. My Hebrew teacher carefully instructed the nascent scholars that this word could only…
The Incarnation matters all year long
By Doyle Sager Not very many weeks ago, many of us sang the words of Charles Wesley’s familiar Christmas carol, “Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see, Hail the incarnate deity ….” We likely also heard the powerful witness of John’s…
‘The Big Short’ will make you mad — and it should
By Michael Parnell “The little guy always gets screwed.” That was the comment the gentleman who sat next to me said after watching The Big Short. After seeing this movie I was mad. It was not because I was ill informed…
16 books I plan to read in 2016
By Barry Howard My love for reading was slow to develop. During my teenage years, I perceived reading to be a nuisance and necessary evil. At some point during my college years, however, I learned to enjoy reading, not just…