A couple of weeks ago, Mark Wingfield wrote to challenge his readers in his article, “The Strict Father Model is Killing Us.” After describing the differences between the Strict Father and the Nurturant Parent worldview models, which attempts to explain…
Finding Christian leaders in a shifting religious terrain
It’s that time of year again. New books, backpacks, technology, schedules, classes and teachers conspire with learners to develop their lives. At every level of education, including graduate study in seminaries, the goal is to engage students in the practices…
What makes life worth living?
Recently I had the privilege of attending a presentation at the Yale Club in New York City to hear a report on the project that seeks to ascertain what it means to live a well-lived life. At the heart of…
The ecstasy of God’s inner life is the model for human community
We seem to sing it better than we conceptualize it. We can muster a hearty rendering of “Holy, Holy, Holy,” probably pondering more about the “early in the morning” wording than the theological verities. I am speaking of the blessed…
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…
Death is behind them
By Molly T. Marshall Death remains a great mystery for humans, and we want to know more about what transpires on the “other side.” As my friend Babs Baugh says, “I just wish I could get a postcard.” We do…
Billy Graham’s shadow: Chuck Templeton and the crisis of American religion
It was August of 1949 and Billy Graham had never been so depressed. Twelve years after “surrendering to preach” on a Florida golf course, the evangelist was wrestling with doubts. He had been reading neo-orthodox theologians like Karl Barth and…