By Jerrod Hugenot Years ago, I remember watching Star Trek: The Next Generation where the Starfleet crew moved about the USS Enterprise with hand-held data pads (technically spelled “padds” on the show). From these pads, one could access the ship’s…
Know thy neighbor
The Wave Recently as I was driving into the neighborhood of the church I serve, I realized I was behind one of my church members at the stop sign. I waved furiously, hoping that he would look in the rearview…
Remember, new ministers — you’re incidental
By Amy Butler What’s the most important piece of advice you would give yourself if you could go back in time to your seminary graduation and have a conversation with your newly credentialed self? I had the occasion last week…
Latest ‘X-Men’ film sparks discussion of sin and human nature
By Michael Parnell The X-Men are unique in the superhero genre. They are hated and hunted, yet they do acts of heroism to save humanity. X-Men have powers because of genetic mutation. Some powers are concealed and the hero looks…
Is your denomination slowly committing suicide?
For decades we have known that persons who smoke multiple packs of cigarettes per day are slowly committing suicide. Many of these people did not want to commit suicide. Some claim they did not know they were committing suicide. At…
What Christians can learn during Ramadan
By Nell Green Ramadan begins on June 28th. Ramadan is the month when people who follow Islam fast from the time the sun comes up until it goes down. They do this for 30 days. Sometimes my Muslim friends laugh…
Is feminist a Baptist word?
By Molly T. Marshall An online firestorm has erupted following the Isla Vista killings. This past Friday night a 22-year-old man enacted his “Day of Retribution” by killing six and leaving seven injured. He intentionally targeted women. His express reason…
The bigger picture
The recent kidnapping of hundreds of school girls by the Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, in Nigeria is a tragedy that has both shocked the world and gotten its attention. Hopefully, the world won’t miss the bigger story going on…
Memorial Day, Turner Field style: Some ambivalent Christian reflections
So here is an itemized list of everything the Atlanta Braves and Turner Field did to mark Memorial Day on Monday. I was there: • Troops from a wounded warrior recovery center unfurled a huge flag, almost as large as…
Why your minister should be like your physical therapist
By Bill Wilson My experience with a physical therapist was fairly routine. I went in with a painful or injured body part (once a knee, once my back), and the PT helped me restore motion, function and strength to my…
Grief isn’t a disease
She’d lost her husband to a terrible, slow disease and now had just buried her son. I asked her how she was. “Some days, she said, “I just stand in the middle of my house and scream.” What a wise…
Ministers are not exempt
By Barry Howard Self-care includes developing and maintaining good physical, spiritual and mental health, a uniquely challenging but crucial discipline for a pastor. While these three areas of wellness are intertwined and inseparable, in my own life and the experience…