By David Gushee Christmas draws near and 2010 comes to a close. For my year-end column, I offer scattered musings on what were, for me, some of the biggest surprises of 2010. In no particular order, I am surprised: —…
Review: ‘The Calling’ a hopeful portrait of religious leadership
By Eileen Campbell-Reed Becoming a pastor, priest, rabbi or imam is no simple matter. The Calling, a new four-hour documentary premiering on PBS, follows seven men and women on their paths to becoming religious leaders. Over the course of 18…
Were you there?
By Lacy Thompson “Does it look right?” “What?” he asks, without moving his eyes from the television screen. It is the football rivalry game of the year. “Do I have it right?” “Do you have what right?” “The nativity scene….
Where is our identity as Jesus’ disciples?
By Norman Jameson Between April and June 1994 an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the space of 100 days in a tribal, ethnic genocide that people outside of Rwanda still do not understand. Most of the dead were Tutsis…
Window washing and Advent
By David Wilkinson The window washers left our house at sunset last night with about 90 percent of the job done. Seems the rest is up to us: we can live with being mostly clean or we can finish the…
John the Baptist intrudes on Advent
By Amy Butler I’ve been sticking with the Gospel texts assigned by the lectionary for sermon-writing these first three weeks of Advent even though John the Baptist and I have a kind of rocky relationship history. I just have always…
Review: Film depicts struggle for peace in modern Bethlehem
By Robert Wallace Serene manger scenes and Magi represent the extent of most American Christians’ understanding of Bethlehem. But EGM Films’ powerful new documentary, Little Town of Bethlehem, tells the story of a Bethlehem that doesn’t lie so still. The…
Bantering with Bill Leonard
By Ron Crawford A few days ago, Bill Leonard’s article, “Opinion: Will CBF make it another 20?” was published by Associated Baptist Press. As is always the case, Bill brings wonderful insight to the table; his article inspired me to…
Discernment and holiday giving
By Barry Howard As Christmas approaches, our mailbox seems to be stuffed each day with Christmas cards and requests for money. We love getting Christmas cards and letters. After reading them, my wife displays them around the living room with…
Review: Latest Narnia film worthwhile, if not exactly masterful
From left, Ben Barnes as King Caspian, Skandar Keynes as Edmund Pevensie; and Georgie Henley as Lucy Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. (Walden Media) By Meg Tully Liam Neeson seems to be in…
The ‘myth’ of Christmas
By Jim Denison I live in Dallas, often called the “buckle of the Bible belt.” You can imagine the stir caused by the Dallas-Fort Worth Coalition of Reason when it purchased signs on four Fort Worth city buses: “Millions of…
Making friends, not enemies
By Christopher Robertson Just the other day I made an unexpected friend. We began our conversation with the usual questions – “So, where are you from? What do you do?” We were only two questions in when my new friend…