By Seth Vopat November is here! I am counting down the days until my mailbox will no longer be stuffed with the same negative jargon of competing political candidates. I cannot wait until our television will no longer be bombarded…
What happens when life and scripture diverge?
As I suspect has been the case with many BNG readers, I have been following Dr. David Gushee’s recent series of articles making what he sees as the case that homosexual relationships should be given a moral status that is…
The theo-politics of near/far
By Jason Coker One of the most endearing and memorable skit on Sesame Street is Grover’s epic near/far demonstration. I’ve never been able to forget it since I was a child, and the skit actually is just a little bit…
This is what we do
By Mark Wingfield Long before Ebola came to Dallas, our senior pastor became infamous among staff for this pithy response to the challenges of church work: “This is what we do.” Typically, this response is given when someone has asked…
I can’t just leave
Have you read The Help? I am Mae Mobley. Miss Eva hugged me close as I read to her from my kitty cat book, words she could not read herself. Miss Carolyn cleaned the scrape on my knee I got…
From sugar-laced Halloween to somber All Saints reflection
By Amy Butler It’s funny how different seasons of life can hold totally different experiences, constant invitations to reflect on the gift and adventure of human life, ongoing opportunities to consider — and shift — how we live. I was…
Saints, in fact, don’t do it
By Jeff Harris I’m Baptist, so when All Saints’ Day rolls around on Nov. 1 my first response is, “Huh?” All Saints’ Day was not observed in the church of my birth, but we had saints in that church. They…
i’m not rob bell.
I had this somewhat obvious epiphany the other day. I’m not, nor have I ever been, Rob Bell. I know, I know, groundbreaking. I’d probably give this one a “discovering you have enough change in your late model civic’s ashtray…
We believe in the communion of saints
By Molly T. Marshall A cluster of important days crowds the liturgical calendar in late October and early November. We will celebrate All Hallows Eve, All Saints and All Souls during this week, and it is a good time to…
Freeing the web: A human rights and religious freedom agenda
By Elijah Brown There is an opportunity to stand with thousands of human rights activists and persecuted religious minorities in a way that could literally change the world. 4.9 billion people live in countries where either complete or partial restrictions…
Dying well, part 2
In part one I asked some big questions, shared the tragic story of Brittany Maynard, and offered a quick explanation as to why we as Christians cannot support her decision to end her life “on her own terms.” In this…
Does anybody really know what tithing is?
By George Bullard Has a more general, difficult to measure, New Testament-oriented concept called generosity snuffed out the clear, easy to measure, Old Testament concept of tithing? Let me try that again. Has a left-brained legalism about tithing interpreted as…