The death penalty is at the forefront of our news cycles once again. First the Tennessee legislature, due to a shortage of the standard execution drug, approved the return of the electric chair. Then, while experimenting with a new drug combination,…
Joining God as co-creators
By Marv Knox Creativity is older than dirt. Literally. Just look it up. The first verse of the Bible says, “In the beginning, God created … .” According to Scripture, creativity started eight verses before the arrival of dirt, which…
Motives matter
By Alan Bean If a random Google search is anything to go by, it was Ralph Waldo Emerson who originated this clever quip, albeit in a slightly altered form: “I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the…
Waterboarding is not funny, Sarah Palin
Former vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, gave a one-liner to an audience at the National Rifle Association that likened baptism to waterboarding torture. Palin said in her speech: They obviously have information on plots to carry out Jihad… Oh, but you can’t offend…
The pressure cooker
By Amy Butler There are seasons of intensity in any line of work, and in the world of ministry Holy Week and Christmas run neck and neck. I personally think Holy Week is harder, not in small part due to…
Deepening the Spirit
By Molly T. Marshall Eastertide is the season in the life of the church when we struggle to make sense of the Easter appearances, the dialectic of presence and absence, and the new awareness of the Spirit of God. The…
A Plastic Feast, Part 3
In the first two parts of this series I shared some reflections on the Fox-National Geographic Channel’s reboot of Carl Sagan’s classic science series, Cosmos. While the show is a feast for the eyes with its stunning cinematography and computer…
Re-thinking mission for a global church
Editors Note: Steven Porter, announced today as CBF’s new global missions coordinator, unpacked his missiological views in this piece submitted to ABPnews/Herald. We welcome the opportunity to publish it. By D. Steven Porter In September 1931, a 15-member Commission on Appraisal…
LEGO theology
LEGO building blocks are a wonderful toy. My grandchildren love them. Each kit comes with detailed illustrations to show the builder how to create a particular item. The real fun comes, however, when the builder departs from the instructions to…