Somehow, there’s a mythology that popular or influential programs have occasionally been canceled by mistake or in some colossal error of judgment. I mean, as a pastor it would seem that’s evidently what some church people think. This has got…
Why we wrote a book on the life-giving stories of palliative care
After moving from Seattle to Dallas in 2015 to teach at Southern Methodist University, I decided to do something, well, important with some leftover funds. With a history of searing headaches, I wanted to introduce ancient authors who wrote in unvarnished ways…
Finding the gospel amid a ‘churchgoing bust’
In a recent Atlantic essay titled “The True Cost of the Churchgoing Bust,” columnist Derek Thompson writes that “more Americans today have ‘converted’ out of religion than have converted to all forms of Christianity, Judaism and Islam combined. No faith’s…
No one ever talks about how hard it is to come back from sabbatical
“You should go on sabbatical more often,” said Marijane on her way out of church last Sunday. She noticed what others had too. I was preaching with more energy, like back when I was first called to Northside six years…
An asset map shows how churches are meeting the needs of older adults in rural areas
In recent years, there has been a growing concern about social isolation and loneliness among older adults, particularly in rural communities. Adults older than 65 make up one-sixth of the population of the United States, and that population is projected…
The dangers of minority rule
America is a nation being held hostage by fundamentalism. In our recent BNG webinar with Robert P. Jones and Greg Garrett and Timothy Peoples, the single thing that stuck with me most is a comment by Jones, who is among…
Politics, faith and mission: A conversation with Randolph Hollerith
Randolph “Randy” Marshall Hollerith was named the 11th dean of Washington National Cathedral in 2016. Under Dean Hollerith, the “nation’s church” has shed a decades-long reputation as an unfriendly place for people of color and has leaned into its call…
The Sunday I was transfigured
Every pastor has certain Sundays they like more than others. Christ the King Sunday is my least favorite Sunday. But I love Transfiguration Sunday. That’s the Sunday that falls right before the season of Lent. It’s the Sunday that concludes…
‘You forgive us, we’ll forgive you,’ the theology of John Prine
April 7 marked the four-year anniversary of the death of John Prine. A beloved American singer-songwriter, Prine was one of the first victims of COVID-19 when the disease took his last breath in the spring of 2020. The multi-Grammy-winning storyteller…