A popular misconception about professional Christianity is that most of us with business cards reading “pastor” love talking about church. I can’t tell you how many breathless conversations I’ve had with people about the font size of a worship guide,…
Change we can all support: The LGBT issue, part 3
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee Last week I claimed that contemporary behavioral scientists and mental health experts have responded to research evidence, and the lives of LGBT people, by reconceptualizing human sexuality. I suggested that there is a fork…
Owning up to our flaws
By Mark Wingfield “The devil made me do it.” Years ago, the comedian Flip Wilson made a name for himself with a ’70s-era shtick in which this was his sassy answer to every misdeed his character committed. For folks of…
Embrace the variety
I read a blog post recently that really got me thinking. In the post, fellow ABP blogger, Alan Rudnick advocates for services based on differing worship styles to be de-segregated, that is, to be replaced by blended services containing multiple worship expressions….
What are we going to do about all those children?
By Marv Knox The crisis on our southern border is complicated. Except when it’s not. Surely you know the story: Since last fall, 52,000 unaccompanied Latin American children have flooded the U.S. border with Mexico, most of them along the lower…
Public prayers and the art of conversation
By Mike Greer Real conversation is an art form and requires a host of honed skills. We are all painfully aware of how rare thoughtful and meaningful conversations are these days. Most of us have learned that when conversing in…
Does your congregation need a church search committee?
What kind of congregation do you want? That query precedes the probe into the kind of person you want as pastor? For 15 years I trained churches and their “Pastor Search Committees.” In recent months, I have begun to wonder whether…
Felices son los estupidos
By Brett Younger “Once in your life before you die you ought to see a country where they don’t talk in English and don’t even want to.” Mrs. Gibbs’ recommendation in Our Town has stuck with me, so Carol and…
Build and tear down
By Mark Wingfield The church building is grand and beautiful, representative of the kind of early 20th-century architecture prevalent among prominent Baptist churches with resources. A recent restoration has brought the shine back to this gem of a worship space,…