Almost four decades ago while I was serving as pastor of an inner city congregation near a Baptist seminary, I would often have seminary students visit to see if they could obtain some ministry experience as a volunteer with our…
Never alone
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…
Rescuing Advent from Christmas
By Bill Leonard In 394 CE the Spanish nun Egeria visited Holy Land sites, participating in the church’s great liturgical moments from Epiphany to Easter. She kept a wonderful diary of her exploits that includes this experience in Bethlehem’s Church…
Immigrants and other neighbors God told me to love, Part 1
In past months, I have received invitations to attend meetings on the issue of immigration. I have expressed myself both publicly and privately to my lawmakers about what I think about the issue and have written about the matter. It…
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…
CBF helps church reopen for holidays
By Jeff Brumley The television news stories present a stark before-and-after image of Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church in Morgan, Ark. First there is the pain Pastor James Hayes and his congregation felt when their century-old church building was flattened by…
Thankful once a year
By Amy Butler When Thanksgiving and Advent are back-to-back, per usual, there’s hardly time to clear the turkey off the table to make room for the Advent wreath before the first candle should be lit. Most years we scramble back…
Keeping watch
By Molly T. Marshall I recently heard a child grumble: “Do we really have to celebrate Jesus’ birth every year? Isn’t once enough?” Some of us may echo this sentiment more than we dare to say publicly, especially as we…
Why am I so tired?
I’ve spent the last three months moving at what feels like a break-necking pace. From the demands of being a bi-vocational pastor to juggling calendars, spending four weekends attending weddings, buying my first home, moving, preaching, leading two weekend retreats,…