Something your pastor or a church staff member has done has set you off. You can’t believe he or she had the audacity to do (or not do) or say (or not say) such a thing. Before shipping off a…
The spiritual practice of creating margin
By Jayne Davis My weary body slid into the lounge chair by the pool like Derek Jeter stealing second base — out of breath, a bit scuffed up and like I had taken something I wasn’t supposed to have: a…
The importance of the images and metaphors Jesus didn’t use
I went back in time this past Christmas. Once again I was a child sitting on the floor working my way through a lego instruction manual building a castle. Only this time the castle wasn’t black, it was light gray…
Make room for those whom God is sending
“Find your own parking place. We get here first on Sundays and get all the good places. We have paid for them.” I arrived about the time the late morning worship services began at a congregation where I was serving as…
Come ye sinners
By Molly T. Marshall Word came last evening of the gruesome death of a Jordanian pilot. Evidently he was burned alive, confined in a cage. This is the latest in a series of brutal executions, which call attention to the…
There’s enough
Our economics matter as much as ever. It matters because what we consume and how we consume has a profound impact on our lives, as well as the health and well being of our neighbors and the planet at large….
American Sniper and the Power of the System
There are many viewers of “American Sniper” who consider Chris Kyle an American hero. Some of these, who are also Christians, even see him as an example of Christian heroism. These are folks who collapse obedience to God into obedience…
When character fails
I recently read an article by Bret Stephens in the Wall Street Journal. He offered some reflections on the national economic disaster faced by the nation of Greece. He makes the point that Greece’s problems are only partially economic. The…
Happy birthday, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
By Doyle Sager If Protestants had saints, Dietrich Bonhoeffer would be one of them. And Feb. 4, his birthday, would be his day. He was a German pastor and theologian, a prolific writer and an early opponent of Hitler. He…
Condolences should not come with a ‘but’ attached
A dear friend died who worked tirelessly for social justice during his life. Being a passionate person who relentlessly pursued what he thought was right, he caused more than 1 controversy in his life. He also helped people all around…
The Twilight of the American Enlightenment: The 1950s and the crisis of liberal belief
George Marsden is an evangelical Christian who is deeply troubled by the current state of American evangelicalism. But in The Twilight of the American Enlightenment the celebrated historian turns his attention to the failed quest for an American religious consensus in the…
Kick’em out: Why it’s gotten so hard to work together
By Kyle Henderson The pool of churches which can and will work together is getting smaller. It looks like the pools will eventually shrink to puddles and then dry up completely. When I was a kid we loved to play…