By Bill Leonard “When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were 2 years old and under, according to the…
On saying goodbye and saying hello
By Amy Butler Just the other day I was remembering 11 years of Christmas Eve services at my former congregation. I recall the first year I was there, trying desperately to come up with a unique idea for a service…
A ‘Matthew’ kind of year
By Scott Dickison Yesterday was a lesser-known holy day tucked within this Christmas season. The 28th of December is kept within the church year as “Holy Innocents’ Day,” or more traditionally, “Childermas.” The “Children’s Mass,” remembers the account from the…
Let’s keep Herod in Christmas
By Brett Younger Twenty-eight Christmases ago I was the new pastor of Central Baptist Church in Paoli, Ind. I decided to have the church’s first ever Christmas Eve candlelight communion service. I wanted everything to be perfect. Snow fell that…
Overtaken by joy
By Molly T. Marshall It has been a cruel year, and we all struggle to make sense of the realities of our times. “Living in our own time, wisely” is a key spiritual practice, in the words of Diana Butler…
Crossing borders during Christmas
By Nora O. Lozano Two days ago, I started what has become a yearly journey to spend Christmas with my family in Mexico. During this season, this trip is convoluted. It seems that all the Paisanos (Mexicans living in the…
Christmas wasn’t Scrooge’s problem
By Corey Fields I love Charles Dickens’ 1843 story A Christmas Carol. A few people in my congregation like to tease me because I can’t get through an Advent season without using it as a sermon illustration. It was a…
Skin tax
By K. Jason Coker In 1996, I was a summer missionary in the Philippines. I had no idea how much that summer would change my life. One night my partner and I stayed out too late visiting friends in the…
Vision and venture at Advent
By Bill Wilson It was Vaclav Havel who described the dilemma every leader has with the issue of vision: Vision is not enough; it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps; we must…