By Amy Butler I recall once, in college, sitting in the congregation during a Sunday morning worship service and listening intently to the pastor’s sermon. About halfway through he began to talk about a session he’d recently had with his…
Learning to let grow
By Scott Dickison Last spring, my wife and I decided that tending to an infant was not enough responsibility for us, so we tried our hand at some backyard gardening. I built a raised bed plot in the backyard, trimmed…
Are you really as progressive a Christian as your congregation?
Progressive Christian congregations I encounter are very proud of being progressive. Almost too proud. They are glad they are not like other congregations who are less liberated. They almost sound Pharisaical. When I have a strategic leadership coaching relationship with…
Confessions of a seminary professor
By Brett Younger A seminary faculty posted a photo on Facebook with the caption, “Our faculty and all of the books they have written.” The faculty is made up of superb scholars who have authored a huge stack of books,…
Jesus and our restrictive pools
It’s happened again. Fortunately, this time no one was shot or killed, so we can breathe a collective sigh of relief. That is, relief in the sense that innocent black children were “only” traumatized, their lives were “only” threatened and…
Where is the fire?
By Molly T. Marshall Great movements arise out of passion. Whether it be concern for educating girls (Malala), eradicating the guinea worm (Carter Center), enhancing the lives of at-risk children (Edelman), empowering employees (Google) or energizing a moribund baseball team…
Ethics: Have you ever cheated on your taxes or your spouse?
[This is the fourth (ethics) of a nine-part series on empowering a faith community to impact the world. Already hospitality, evangelism, and missions have been explored.] Have you ever cheated on your taxes or your spouse? Have you ever disregarded…
A summer of Baptist fiestas
By Nora O. Lozano I have been a Baptist since I was born, and due to location changes I have had the privilege of relating to different Baptist groups: the Mexican National Baptist Convention during my early years; the American…
Racism evident in response to Texas pool party
True confession: I am a 53-year-old white male raised primarily in the South, and I occasionally find myself involuntarily thinking racist thoughts. Not big, dangerous racist thoughts, just the kind of insipient stereotyping that comes as second nature to most…