What might it mean to be a Baptist Christian at the mid-point of the 21st century? I’m hesitant to try and answer such a question. In my experience, actual developments over time usually take unanticipated forms. If someone 50 years…
Jesus, the original hipster?
A new ad aimed at making Jesus more culturally relevant has a major church working to re-brand the image of Jesus. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn started a campaign that is gaining national attention. The ad has captured the attention of pop culture with picturing Jesus as the…
(Re)Imagining Redemption
David Kelsey, Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School, asks a very simple yet powerful question, “What earthly difference can Jesus make here?” I’m in my sixth year of pastoring. I’ve completed three degrees that carry theological weight. I’ve been…
Grandma’s never coming back
Each time I returned to my grandparents’ home, I felt like I needed an arsenal of anxiety medications to get me through the feelings of emptiness, sadness and yearning for what used to be. My grandmother’s home was exactly as…
Since it is not 1965, we have to do church different
[This is the second blog post in a series. The first was “Since it is not 1955, we have to do church different” found at http://www.baptistnews.com/blog/generational-differences/since-it-is-not-1955-we-have-to-do-church-different-2013-03-28/#.UWVSpsph7s4.] On Sunday night February 9, 1964 the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show…
Grassroot campaigns and the Church
“The Kingdom of God is like a grassroots political campaign,” said Jesus, never. If I were a betting man (and I’m not) I would be willing to wager that had Jesus known about grassroots campaigning that’s exactly what he would have used….
Don’t believe in church growth? Get over it
Too many moderate to progressive congregations have decided that believing in church growth is a negative thing. Believing in evangelism may be even worse. They do this to the detriment of their long-term future, and the vitality and vibrancy of…