Melinda sat down in the sanctuary and prepared for worship. Her mind wondered and she thought, “I love this church, our worship, and my friends. But I want more. I want to be part of a church with a clear…
The two most dangerous words
By Bill Wilson “Yes, but …” Two of the most dangerous words in a minister’s vocabulary. Two of the most destructive words a congregation will ever utter. “Yes, but …” The order of their utterance is important. First we say,…
Missing Church: Why I’m not a “Done” (Even If I Want to Be)
A couple of months ago, I posted about the experience of taking a break from attending church. It somehow garnered a lot more attention than I expected, enough that it prompted a follow-up question: Why go back? It’s a question that…
Another shooting? Not again.
Not again. That was my first thought upon seeing countless posts on Twitter about a shooting in Chapel Hill. By now, many of you have heard about the shooting of Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife, Yusor Mohammad, 21, and…
Salvation and shape notes
By Bill Leonard Recent conversations about hymnody and history sent me back to a century-old family photo I discovered after my mother’s death two years ago. It shows a group of some 70 men, women and children standing in front…
A long journey home
This is the third of three posts by Jason Coker, written in the days before and after his father died on Jan. 27. The first post can be read here and the second here. Jan. 30, 2015 I got the…
Scar-friendly places
Scars have a bad reputation. They’re branded as the bullies on the playground, the bad apples in the barrel, the “Debbie Downer” of the party. We ban them from our conversations. We send them to sit in the corner by…
TMI
By Amy Butler Last week I spent a few days teaching a class called The Vulnerable Leader, with doctor of ministry students at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, Kan. This was the second year I have had the privilege of…
Scholastica: A saint for women called to ministry
Women breaking new ground in ministry need a network of peer support. February 10 is the Feast Day of Saint Scholastica, the twin sister of Saint Benedict and founder of the first Benedictine convent for women. These “holy twins” were born…
Redeeming the goodbyes
This is the second of three posts by Jason Coker, written in the days before and after his father died on Jan. 27. The first post can be read here. Jan. 16, 2015 I didn’t realize that this phone call…
A minister to young adult households trumps a minister to children
A very large congregation looked for a new, full-time minister to children for over two years. They could not find one. They presented their dilemma to me. My response was, “What if you are looking for the wrong staff position?”…
Six movies that tell us something about God
By Aileen Lawrimore “For this assignment,” Dr. Danny West said, “I want you to watch a movie and then write a reflection on what that movie says theologically.” It was one of my first assignments for my Introduction to Preaching…