Few ministers need coaches or surveys to tell them what Americans think of clergy these days. They can rely on their own experiences for that. Amy Butler does. Based on interactions with strangers on flights, at parties and in other…
Facts or truth? What’s keeping you grounded?
These days the words of the Psalmist keep coming to mind: “I will lift up my eyes to the hills; From where shall my help come?” I imagine that when he wrote these words, the chaos of his life was swirling around…
The moment the Church has been working for
Objectively speaking, there has been very little in the political world that one might call good about the months leading up to the election. Now that the election is over (sort of), for Christian leaders everywhere there is at least…
In the wake of Trump’s election, a meeting in the Ladies’ Room
Okay, ladies. Huddle up. We’re having this meeting in the Ladies’ Room because we have a serious problem that can no longer be ignored. You don’t have to be even all that in touch with world events to know that…
On social media, laments and hope following Donald Trump election
God surely got an earful Wednesday from Americans emotional about the results of the 2016 presidential election. But God wasn’t alone. Social media heard plenty, too. First thing in the morning, Americans began posting about hopes dashed, dreams fulfilled and…
When telling the truth is painful — and affirming
So here’s how last week went down for me. It actually all began almost two weeks ago when I was sitting in an airport about a 12-hour plane ride away from home. The final presidential debate wasn’t on TV anywhere,…
Presidential debate prompts pastor to get personal about abortion
Comments about abortion in the final U.S. presidential debate prompted a well-known pastor and columnist to break her silence about her own painful experience with late-term abortion. Amy Butler, pastor of Riverside Church in New York City and contributing columnist…
A circus of an election when people’s lives are at stake
I think it is an objective fact that this presidential election is a circus, a national embarrassment. Every morning just the practice of reading the headlines takes uncommon fortitude; at this point I’m prepared to say that very little surprises…
A new framework for thinking about church budgets
This is, hands down, the least favorite time of year for pastors everywhere: church budget planning season. Nobody likes budget planning, from the tedious work it entails to the way in which money necessarily informs the work of the church,…
How can a diverse community of faith collaborate with God in the world’s healing?
I doubt I’m telling you something you don’t know, but just in case you’re wondering, let me say from the start: leading a church is hard work. It’s just perpetually difficult to bring a group of people together, united or…
What would happen if we set fear down?
You would think that after preaching almost four cycles of the Revised Common Lectionary a preacher would have at least one sermon on all the interesting texts that come around regularly. For some reason unknown to me, however, it turns…
What will it take to get through this political season?
Lately I’ve heard friends talking about how their Facebook feeds seem to be turning into echo chambers — that is, all the political posts they see are posts that reflect their own opinions. This has not happened to me, thanks solely to my online and real life relationship with my cousin Kevin.
Grief fatigue: Are we really making a difference in the world’s healing?
Last week I had the opportunity to meet with a group of millennial social justice leaders who were meeting across the street at Union Theological Seminary. I probably shouldn’t have read their bios before I headed over to their closing…
After all these years, why still Baptist?
I hear the question all the time. I meet someone for the first time at a party, they eventually ask what I do for work, and then the follow-up is some version of, “How are you Baptist?”