Uncategorized 3 Comments I’ve been interested in the work and writings of Margaret Wheatley for many years now. I just read her book, with Deborah Frieze, Walk Out Walk On: A Learning Journey Into Communities Daring to Live the Future…
What does “Jesus Is Lord” mean?
Earlier this month I wrote about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his highly influential book The Cost of Discipleship, published in a new translation in 2001 as justDiscipleship. Bonhoeffer’s emphasis was upon following Jesus as Lord. But what does that mean?
unprofessional christianity VII: calling.
Ultimately, calling has nothing to do with who hears you, and everything to do with who you hear whispering to you to keep going, even in the dark. Calling isn’t about all the things you’re willing to go through until…
Wake up, Christians: The Flint water crisis is an issue of public justice
We cannot live without fresh water, and we cannot thrive without its abundance. We may debate whether other goods are “basic” to human flourishing, but there’s no argument about the necessity of water. So access to clean water is vital…
A bizarre (and clarifying) election
By Alan Bean I was in the middle of a radio interview when I learned that Antonin Scalia was dead. A congressman was part of the discussion and his staffer was checking out her Twitter feed as her boss repeated…
Death, the Prosperity Gospel and Me
Durham, N.C. – ON a Thursday morning a few months ago, I got a call from my doctor’s assistant telling me that I have Stage 4 cancer. The stomach cramps I was suffering from were not caused by a faulty…
I Preached With a Screen So You Don’t Have To
I Preached With a Screen So You Don’t Have To I hate being scared of things for the wrong reasons, but this was one of those times. I don’t normally use a screen when I preach. In fact, even though…
Mamrean encounter
Eons ago, “the Lord”-in the guise of three traveling strangers-ventured into Abraham’s and Sarah’s oaken camp at *Mamre, were given hospitality, and then announced the promise of a fertile womb beyond all conceivable prospect.
On failure and ministry
I do not understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us. – Anne Lamott I am a junky for any and all personality type assessments…
unprofessional christianity VI: believing
When I stopped hiding, defending, answering, and protecting myself from followers of this God using God’s name to justify things they were already going to do regardless of the answers I stammered about the Bible’s place in American society, I…
What about Evangeliphobia?
At the Vital Conversations meeting that I mentioned in my previous blog article, one of the participants asked if anyone had read the novel Christian Nation. No one had been reading it for the last several days. It is an…
Calling out “Calling out ‘American Evangelicalism'”
Calling out “Calling out ‘American Evangelicalism’” On January 19 (2016) moderate Baptist writer and editor John Pierce published a column entitled “Calling out ‘American Evangelicalism’” at https://baptiststoday.org/calling-out-american-evangelicalism/ . Pierce is editor ofNurturing Faith Journal—“the signature publication of Baptists Today, Inc.”