By R. Kevin Johnson I passed a Muslim woman on the street wearing a hijab. She walked quickly with her head down. She acted like she didn’t want to be noticed. She looked scared. Perhaps her fear is justified given…
Peace on earth and good will among people
By Nell Green Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace, good will among people. (Luke 2:14, NRSV) Our first Christmas on the field was in 1986. From then on, every year we host at least one…
Is politics trumping mercy?
In this age of the demise of many magazines because of the great growth of information on the Internet, a small Christian community in New York known as the Bruderhof has bravely begun to publish the Plough Quarterly , an…
A chance encounter on a train
By Derik Hamby This past May I traveled to a preaching conference in Denver. To save expenses I stayed outside the city and traveled in on light rail each morning and back each evening. The trip lasts about 45 minutes…
Santa, Elmo and Jesus
By R. Kevin Johnson Over Thanksgiving dinner this year, our friends asked my wife and me about striking a balance between secular and sacred influences during the holidays. They wanted to know about the “magical” part of this season and…
Which cross is being embraced in Advent?
By Seth Vopat Advent is a season of tension for me. Not because I struggle to proclaim “Immanuel” — God with us — in a season marred by tragedy and violence. The tension is not the result of Christmas consumerism…
The light shines in the darkness
By Alan Bean This sermon was recently preached at a memorial service for those who have lost loved ones in the past calendar year. Before preaching, I sang an old country gospel song by Merle Travis, I am a Pilgrim…
Can prayer be abusive?
By Laura Rector A conservative Christian man “prayerfully” spanks his spouse as Christian “discipline.” A Christian institution “prays” for those who lose their jobs in a restructuring. A Christian employer uses prayer to promote going along with an agenda, rather…
Learning from faith’s circumference
By Doyle Sager My acting experience is pretty limited. Besides a couple of high school plays, my only claim to fame is the role of a wise man during Maple Grove Baptist Church’s Christmas pageant (and I’m not sure I…
Taking offense, but for the wrong reasons
By Joe LaGuardia In a society where people seem so easily offended there is no surprise that few call themselves Christians. Christianity is an offensive faith, there is no way around it. Unfortunately, for too many it has become offensive for…
Church the way it used to be?
By Mark Wingfield On a recent visit back to my hometown in Oklahoma, I heard about a church that has adopted the motto, “Church the Way It Used to Be.” Later, I did an Internet search for this phrase and…
Looking, straining, yearning, waiting
By Adam McDuffie We find ourselves in the midst of Advent, waiting once again. Every year, we go through every day and every month, but come December, we find ourselves in the same place: waiting once again. O come, O…