By Bill Wilson Some of the very best days I have known in ministry have revolved around high-functioning staff friendships and relationships. Seeing plans come together, an organization take off, or a worship experience exceed expectations is meaningful beyond words….
Dallas preacher says Jesus would seal the border
The Rev. Robert Jeffress thinks Jesus would build a fence at the U.S. border so desperate children from violence-ridden countries would be discouraged from heading north. “Yes, Jesus loved children,” Jeffress admits, “but he also respected law. He said, render unto Caesar the…
Selfies
By John Chandler In a recent New York Times op-ed piece, columnist Charles Blow interprets Pew Research on Millennials (North Americans ages 18-33). Unsurprisingly, he details some of the now-tiresome broad brushstrokes of their political and socioeconomic mores: they are,…
In church on Saturday
By Gary Cook In Sue Monk Kidd’s remarkable book, The Invention of Wings, a fictional account of real people caught up in the 19th-century drama of slavery and the abolitionist movement, there is an encounter between Sarah Grimke, who became…
Two Pastors, An Angry Man, And a Funeral
As a pastor, I have usually have positive experiences with funeral homes and funeral director. One of the first funerals I ever did, as an ordained pastor, was memorable. A well known hometown gentleman died young, and his family contacted me and a…
Dialogue — or monologue?
By Luke Smith The term dialogue seems like a totally reasonable request. Who after all is not willing to listen to the heartfelt convictions of another? We come from different places. We have different experiences. We think about complex issues…
Blessing the stressed out
By Eileen Campbell-Reed This week a new poll reports, “One in every four Americans say they had a great deal of stress in the previous month.” National Public Radio, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Harvard School of Public Health…
Still challenged by wealth and poverty
By Russell Waldrop Jesus’ disciples have always struggled with the harshness of his teachings on wealth and poverty. Some have rejected them as a “social gospel;” others have upheld them for that very reason. A few have lived them out…
Let justice roll
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! Amos 5:24 NIV During our recent vacation Bible school I observed our students standing attentively as they belted out , “I pledge allegiance to the flag…”. We…
The camp of the litmus-testers
By Amy Butler I recently found myself asked to take a step back from leadership in worship. The pastor in charge was apologetic and very polite, but the public leadership of women in the church is not biblical, he explained,…
Can I give you a ride?
I like giving people rides. As I live and work in the same neighborhood with a high concentration of poverty, I find the opportunity arises quite often. It’s a simple act of kindness that gives me joy while meeting an…
The dead-end of revenge
By Molly T. Marshall The world is reeling once again at the violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Events in the Middle East seem to draw more attention than the ongoing violence in our own land, supported in a structural way…