By Molly T. Marshall Fast-food workers in Kansas City have been marching, taking an “unofficial strike” from their jobs at Burger King, Wendy’s and McDonald’s, to name three of the worst offenders. Joining similar rallies all over the nation, they…
Angle of repose
Death is bigger than us. All of us. And when we brush up against it, we leave wounded—especially when we lose the ones we love (i.e. friends, family, etc). We leave hurt. Over two years ago my wife’s uncle died…
Thinking inside the boxes
By Bob Burroughs Every church has multiple boxes. There is the Worship Box. This box is very large, for it must accommodate a wide variety of people. The Worship Box often has “dividers” that are called such names as “Traditional,”…
A tale of two Chucks
What a couple of agnostics taught me about congregational business. I have two friends who are particularly dear to me, both named Chuck. I first met The Chucks, as I call them, a few years ago in a writers’ group…
Judgment and empathy
By Marv Knox Let’s face it: a white person doesn’t know what being black feels like, and a man can’t completely understand a woman. But during this long, hard summer, I’ve tried. First came the George Zimmerman trial. A Hispanic…
Absolutely there is life after burnout for pastors
Would you be willing to tell your story of Christian ministry after burnout as a pastor or staff minister? Recently I wrote a post entitled Is There Life After Burnout for Pastors? According to the number of hits this story…
A queer baptism testimony
By Kirsten Brownsmith We know that God’s chosen people are the destitute, those who hunger and thirst for both sustenance and justice. But both privilege and oppression have a lot of layers, and it is rare to find a person…
Women as potential church planters
I appreciate George Bullard’s interest in women in ministry and in potentially helping discuss the issue of women seminary graduates finding church positions; however, I’m not sure church planting is the answer. While church planting has been popular for bringing…
Megachurch trends we small churches must face
The appeal of the megachurch is undeniable: big building, large worship setting, youth and children’s programs, and a semi-celebrity pastor. Yet many smaller churches have not learned from their large counter parts. There are some things megachurches are doing well…