In the United States, we celebrate narratives of redemption, freedom and equality yet continue to undermine those ideals when it comes to our justice-impacted citizens. This contradiction is laid bare every election cycle when the same citizens who champion “second…
An honest job description for a children’s minister
God loves the senior ministers whose portraits are on the wall in the church parlor, but God knows the real saints are the ones who care for children. For almost 20 years, Julia Rassmann has been a big fun, big…
Ketanji Brown Jackson’s experience at the Senate felt a lot like being a Baptist woman in ministry
“She has a vast practical experience, something that I think is a real plus. … I will vote no.” “I can say definitively that I like her. I think she’s a good person, but I cannot support her.” “She seems…
Americans with disabilities face unemployment and poverty rates twice the national average
The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush July 26, 1990. For the first time in U.S. history, an invocation was offered at such an event. Harold Wilke, a minister in the United Church…
Get ready: There’s a second wave of church conflict coming
A pastor who works to encourage other pastors recently posted on Facebook that he personally knows 28 pastors who have left the ministry in the past year. That’s one graphic illustration of what the season of our discontent has wrought…
Does your pastor need a doctorate?
I just heard a story about another medium-sized church in a small town where a personnel committee desired above all that their next pastor have the title “Dr.” in front of his name. And I found myself thinking, “How uneducated.”…