By Amy Butler Those who don’t really care about the suffering of others may be excused. But anybody who feels they must comment from the sidelines on an occasion of human pain ought to have some training in pastoral care….
Wisdom of staying put
If you are like me, you are probably always looking for the next great adventure around the corner. How can I get a better job? What can be changed in my routines to give me more peace? How could I…
Renewing compassion
By Molly T. Marshall As governing structures lurch from one fiscal crisis to another, it is not easy to move beyond self-protective responses. Whether made “redundant” by a job lay-off, deemed “expendable” by a curtailed health-care provision, plunged “underwater” because…
Renewing compassion
By Molly T. Marshall As governing structures lurch from one fiscal crisis to another, it is not easy to move beyond self-protective responses. Whether made “redundant” by a job lay-off, deemed “expendable” by a curtailed health-care provision, plunged “underwater” because…
Real hope for tough times
You can sustain a lot of losses in your lifetime, but when you lose hope, life can become depressing and your previously strong faith can become as weak as stump water. During tough times, hope becomes the fuel that energizes…
How to be a child again
By Darrell Gwaltney It is that time of year again. The pitchers and catchers have reported. The Spring Training games have begun. Baseball is back. Rogers Hornsby, the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famer, once said: “People ask me what…
Evangelicals find “the heart of God” on immigration
American Evangelicals are gradually joining the push for immigration reform and the impetus behind this shift in emphasis is most apparent in Focus on the Family, a para-church organization founded by the controversial James Dobson. But Dr. Dobson has yielded…
I left the church. Don’t hate me
By Elizabeth Evans Hagan Five years ago now, I found myself in a position countless said I’d never be in. I was installed as the pastor of a Baptist congregation. I was 28. In response to this new call, I…
Lent and longing
This Lent at The Well, we are exploring the Lord’s Prayer together. Even though, we’ve just begun, I can tell this is going to be a meaningful season. We are gathering for worship and service opportunities, and are also meeting…
‘Leveling up’ religion
By Susan Sparks Many probably think I’m on a slippery slope to hell. I drink beer, I dance, and God help me, I’m a Baptist minister. However, it’s not the Stella Artois or tango lessons that are greasing my downward…
Flawed heroes
Flawed heroes are the only ones available. This should not surprise us. Take biblical heroes for example. A friend and I have been discussing the Noah story lately. My friend is not taken with Noah. As he notes, Noah tells…
Dangerous Lent
By Bill Leonard In my Baptist upbringing we didn’t pay much attention to Lent. Ash Wednesday, for example, was just another prayer meeting night. Yet, we did not disregard the classic Christian struggles — repentance, confession, humility, mortality — that…