By Mark Wingfield As a pastor, I try not to take it personally when you stop coming to church. Most of the time, I understand that it’s not about me and that it’s not even about the church. It’s about…
When it comes to congregational vision, good enough is never good enough
By George Bullard Surely you have heard the expression throughout your life that something is “good enough for government work.” Or, you have heard its cousin, “close enough for government work.” When the typical person hears these phrases they think…
Work in the new office — an opportunity for spiritual formation
By John Chandler The can’t-miss trend of 2016 will be that North American disciples pay strategic attention to what it means to be a follower of Jesus at work. “Faith@Work” is not a new topic, but it is and will…
Happy New Life!
By Starlette McNeill I need to see your hands. Put the pen down and slowly back away from the list. Before you begin your annual declaration of independence from unhealthy food and toxic people, before you purchase the gym membership…
It’s time to abandon reason
By Greg Jarrell On Monday, Dec. 28, Timothy McGinty, district attorney of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, announced what everyone suspected, and many hoped would not be true — that there will be no charges in the slaying of 12-year old Tamir…
Making our list, checking it twice
By Barry Howard At our house we make a lot of lists, especially in December — the grocery list, the Christmas card list, the gift list, the guest list, the holiday event list and the end-of-year giving list. During this…
Contending with texts
By Bill Leonard In a 2006 New Yorker story on writer Gertrude Stein, Janet Malcom wrote: “The instability of human knowledge is one of our few certainties. Almost everything we know we know incompletely at best. And almost nothing we are…
What are excellent vs. mediocre congregational visions?
By George Bullard Vision is not business as usual. It is not about average thinking. It does not involve doing a little better next year than you did last year. It is not about mediocrity. Vision is about excellence in…
When miracles fly thick
By Amy Butler There’s a short story written by Phillip Gulley, well-known Christian writer and Quaker pastor from Indiana. Here’s how it goes: I was born deep in the winter. Each birthday my father phones to recount the events surrounding…
Hoping for more Luke, less Matthew
By Scott Dickison In this column [https://baptistnews.com/opinion/columns/item/29670-a-matthew-kind-of-year] around this time last year, I noted the differences in the Christmas stories told by Matthew and Luke. Luke’s is the one remembered in specials on TV and Christmas cards. It’s full of…
A Star Wars outsider reflects on church
I have a confession to make. I have never seen any of the Star Wars movies. I know very little to nothing about them. I am officially an outsider when it comes to all things Star Wars. With all the…
Smashing the chains of fear
By John Carroll In reading through the Christmas stories this year, the words about fear and being afraid have jumped out at me. Fear is a player in the story of Zechariah, Joseph, Mary, the shepherds and King Herod with…