By Colin Harris Increased participation in interfaith dialogue in recent years has brought new levels of friendship and understanding across lines often marked by fear and hostility. Fellowship leads to friendship, hostility gives way to hospitality, respect replaces suspicion and…
What’s so beautiful about America?
By Marv Knox The blogosphere, Facebook, Twitter and, no doubt, millions of e-mail accounts just about melted down lately, thanks to a Coca-Cola commercial. Maybe America needs to hold a can of Coke up to its collective face and chill…
Treasuring the gift of water
By Bruce Day The Bible is full of water illustrations and metaphors. Most are of the positive actions and attributes of God – cleansing, restoring, saving. Some of my favorites are: • Psalm 1:3, “That person is like a tree…
Religion and science call for dialogue, not debate
By Joseph Phelps People love a fight, especially one that includes religion. So Bill Nye, the Science Guy, and Ken Ham, founder of the Creation Museum, did their best this week in their nationally-watched face-off to recreate the Scopes Monkey…
To get the right answers, ask the right questions
By Miguel De La Torre On Sunday, Oct. 23, 4004 BCE, some 6,000 years ago, God created the heavens and the earth — at least according to James Ussher, archbishop of Armagh in Ireland, who made his calculations during the…
The ‘Science Guy’ and the Creationist
By Alan Rudnick What do you get when you put a children’s-educational-scientist-teacher with a Bible-believing-Christian-creationist? Lots of confused adults. I just finished watching the almost three-hour debate between humanist Bill Nye and creationist Ken Ham and I’m truly confused. I’m…
No wiggle room on a church staff
By Marion Aldridge Most churches are small. Compared to the government’s various definitions of “small business,” which can be 50-500 employees, our congregations are tiny. It is a rare church that has a dozen employees. Most have one (the pastor)…
Nurturing innovation and valuing tradition
By Terry Maples I recall sitting in a business meeting several years ago while the congregation I served wrestled with a significant change. After much dialogue, the recommendation from the staff and church council passed. Here’s what happened next: An…
The sound of (congregational) silence
By Bob Burroughs There is a lot of energy, excitement, discussion, change, pluses, minuses and a world of opinions about the subject of worship in today’s churches. To discuss all these would take several articles. But for now I’d like…