By Courtney Hester My mother once told me that she was grateful for the church, because I would have someone to turn to if anything ever happened to her. She wanted me to be safe, secure and loved. She believed…
The mystery of Advent
By Elizabeth Evans Hagan Advent has always been a mystery to me. Maybe it is because I never celebrated it in the churches of my childhood, where we just rushed into singing every verse of “Joy to the World” the…
Life balance for clergy remixed
By Mark Tidsworth “The ordained person can then come to realize that his or her first vocation is to be a human being,” observe Donald Hands and Wayne Fehr in Spiritual Wholeness for Clergy. By now, we all know living…
A woman of valor
By Wes Spears The latest book to cause a stir in the often echo chamber-like Christian blogosphere is Rachel Held Evans’ A Year of Biblical Womanhood. In it, Evans spends a year trying to live up to the supposed imperatives…
The Palestinian problem
The Palestinian problem
By Leroy Seat Some things never seem to end. This month there has, once again, been serious military action between Palestinians and Israelis. There has been intermittent fighting between Palestine and modern Israel since November 1947. Sixty-five years ago yesterday,…
I’m for my friends
By Ircel Harrison The story goes that a politician was once asked where he stood on an issue. He responded, “Some of my friends are for it. Some of my friends are against it. I’m for my friends.” I thought…
Equal time with Al Mohler
By Miguel De La Torre Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., was quoted widely concerning the re-election of President Barack Obama. If afforded equal time, here’s how I would respond to comments attributed to him…
James Bond’s gospel of resurrection
By Darrell Gwaltney The latest James Bond movie, “Skyfall,” delivers the anticipated Bondsian formula of chase scenes, exotic scenery, beautiful women and villains. It also delivers resurrection and a little classic poetry along the way. Bond, James Bond, is making…