By Doyle Sager It mattered to God that the Hebrew people, wandering in the wilderness, were famished. He gave them manna. It mattered to Jesus that 5,000 people were hungry, and so he fed them with five loaves and two…
When I knew everything
May 8, 1970 was the day when I knew everything. On that day, I received a master of divinity degree after three years of study at an accredited theological seminary. I had received good grades (well, I did get a…
God’s Bet on Humanity and Creation
“Our world is in need of a savior!” A line we might expect to come right out of a sermon in a church. But, it’s not. If we are paying attention, we can hear it being whispered from different corners…
Abraham was wrong
By Kyle Henderson I remember reading the words, “God told me to do it.” The young mother was explaining her decision to kill her children. Then she mentioned something about Abraham. I felt a little sick. I was a little…
epiphany.
If you’re a long time reader of my work* you may be aware of the fact that not only am I an exceedingly mediocre person of faith, but that I get paid for my mediocrity in the practice of said…
If all you have is a hammer, what does a congregation look like?
Whether you believe it is an unattributed proverb, a saying of Abraham Maslow or Abraham Kaplan, many of us know the statement, “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” I have long wondered what a…
The greatest gift (Part 5 in the series, God moved into the neighborhood)
Think for a minute with me about the greatest gift you’ve ever received. What was it? When I was a freshman in high school I received a ball signed by the 1996-97 Jayhawks. As a huge Kansas Basketball fan, that…
Christmas music continues
Yesterday morning in worship we sang three Christmas carols because, officially, the season does not end until January 6th. It is always fun (but strange) singing carols into January even though much of the decorations are gone and everyone else…
What I have said about torture since 2006
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee In Fall 2005, while I was teaching at Union University, and two years before I moved here to Mercer University, the editors of Christianity Today magazine asked me to write an analysis of the…