By Russ Dean We live in a frightening world. Everywhere we turn there are reminders. There is violence in the streets; multiple killings seem commonplace and no place seems to be immune from the crosshairs of the lone gunman; our…
Smuggling and trafficking: What are our responsibilities?
By Nell Green It was a normal school day. She worked with the children who needed some help with their English. One day a child asked her if she knew what a “coyote” was. She said, “Of course. It looks…
the speck is also the log.
I’m a racist. I tried beginning this conversation differently, for instance by talking about how incredibly difficult hearing about the events unfolding in Ferguson has been, but that route’s been mired in political and rhetorical polarization with each side mustering proof texts…
If they are black
By Bill Leonard Our pastor, the Reverend Dr. Darryl Aaron, is black. He and his family live about two blocks from our family, in a neighborhood that is predominately white. When an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown was shot…
God’s gonna trouble the water
By Rob Lee At the church I serve, I had the opportunity to participate in my first baptism as a Baptist minister. I was raised Methodist, so this was a new and awe-inspiring experience for me. In true mountain fashion…
Are Millennials different than Baby Boomers 40 years ago?
Back in the 1970s a lot of congregational prognosticators warned that the Church, in general, was in the process of losing a whole demographic generation known as Baby Boomers. Existing congregations, new congregations, and denominational approaches to ministry were losing…
Missing Gwen
By Pam Durso It has now been a year since that moment on Aug. 27, 2013, when I learned that Gwen had died. She was my friend. She was my pastor. She was my Panera Bread lunch date, my fellow…
‘Jesus is my savior, but I’m a killer!’
By Alan Bean Dan Page, the St. Louis police officer who famously pushed CNN anchor Don Lemon, has been relieved of duty. Pushing Lemon in front of a national television audience had nothing to do with it. It was Page’s…
Smuggling and trafficking: what are our responsibilities?
It was a normal school day. She worked with the children who needed some help with their English. One day a child asked her if she knew what a “coyote” was. She said, “Of course…it looks sort of like a…