By Doyle Sager Is your congregation receiving all its spiritual vitamins and minerals? We all know how crucial a balanced physical diet is; our spirits also need a healthy mixture of “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). But before…
We really do love you, honey, but …
By Jonathan Waits While some parents like the surprise element, my wife and I wanted to know. I remember the moment with each of our boys. We headed to the doctor for a regular checkup with a bonus: an ultrasound….
Soar past tithing on your way to becoming wildly generous
Should we forget tithing? Is it passé? Does it set up an artificial target on which too few people actually agree? Tithing seems like an obvious principle–10 percent of your income–yet too often it becomes a negative point for confusion,…
No longer singing alone
By Amy Butler Last Sunday I stood at the front of the church, as I do most weeks, to welcome the community to worship. After I finished my remarks, I made my way to my seat on the side of…
Connection between parents, children is at heart of ‘Interstellar’
By Michael Parnell Movies are often greater than the sum of their parts. We watch the story unfold and, as we do, there is something more there than just the pictures and the actors’ words. The auteur theory of filmmaking…
We really do love you, honey, but…
While some parents like the surprise element, my wife and I wanted to know. I remember the moment with each of our boys. We headed to the doctor for a regular checkup with a bonus: an ultrasound. But, at 20…
Respecting the lived religion of others
By Molly T. Marshall Religious pluralism is the reality of our time; indeed, the world has always contained persons of widely varied religious experience. Because of differing historical and geographical circumstances, people have found different pathways to express their deepest…
The secret to congregational vitality
By George Bullard The secret is really not a secret. It is well known by many congregational leaders. But they do not accept it because they are looking for a magic act that brings quick vitality without deep commitment and…
Ayn Rand, the reluctant apostle of the Religious Right
How did Ayn Rand become an icon of the Religious Right? It’s not what she would have wanted, Lord knows, and yet, there it is. Ayn Rand despised Jesus, and would have despised him all the more if she had…