I have a mighty pen I prefer over any other pen. I carry it with me always. When someone offers me a pen to sign a document or a payment slip, I pull out my mighty pen and sign it….
Adhan at Duke Chapel: A call for hostility or hospitality?
After coming home from my classes at Duke Divinity School yesterday, I noticed that Duke Chapel would be hosting a Muslim call to prayer every Friday afternoon beginning this week. The adhan is an integral part of Muslim worship practice…
Our hidden addiction
By Bill Wilson You know all too well that our society is prone to addictions. We do nearly everything to excess. Not just the obvious culprits — alcohol, gambling, pain-killers, sex, work. There are a multitude of things which, done…
We need covenant parenting in covenant communities
Often, as we discuss sexuality and marriage, the word covenant comes up—specifically whether marriage should be a covenant between a man and a woman or whether LGBT friends have the right to enter into such a covenant. When we limit…
Tasting the Kingdom
By Bill Leonard Each January for the last three years I’ve joined a group of students in visiting the Haywood Street Congregation in Asheville, N.C., and each time we’ve gotten a taste of God’s New Community (aka the Kingdom of…
Lord, give us a bishop
Looking over the landscape of Baptist churches, there are days when we might rightly cry out, “Lord, give us a bishop!” Too often, churches use their full autonomous rights to make awful hiring decisions. Not all the time, but not…
Epiphany: why Jesus talked about children and we should too
Epiphany and the path to common ground I learned about the season of Epiphany from the book of Daily Office Bible readings I stole from the Episcopalians some thirty years ago. First, I wondered why the advent readings focused on…
Imagining our best selves
By Amy Butler I freely admit that, along with the rest of the world, I stood in line to join the gym last week. I could offer many (valid, in my opinion) explanations for why I didn’t join the gym…
Andraé Crouch, Expensive Pianos, and Church Priorities
Unless I slept walked through it, I never had the chance to see Andraé Crouch perform live. I heard plenty of his music. But I was never in his presence. I have been places where he performed, but only years…
‘Selma’ reveals a Martin Luther King who struggled with both the system and himself
There are few movies that should be required viewing. Most movies are merely candy we consume quickly and forget. But there comes a time when a movie rises above those confectionary tomes and becomes something much more. Selma is such…
Vulnerability in the Body of Christ
By Aileen Lawrimore What’s the deadline for New Year’s resolutions? I mean, are we supposed to be all resolute before the ball drops or do we have until, say, Feb. 1? The reason I’ve not written my resolutions yet is…
What happened on the way to my funeral
Facing a new year, many of us reflect on our lives. You may be shocked that I would suggest that we talk about death, but after years of training in pastoral care in seminary and Clinical Pastoral Education, and more…