Whenever I’m asked to describe my job as a professional Christian, I usually stammer something along the lines of: “I talk about God for a living.” Or, if I’m feeling especially cynical: “It’s mostly marketing, some plagiarism, and a bit…
Thinking outside the seminary
Seminary on $3 per day? I had a great seminary experience in the 1970s. I matriculated for nine years, and earned three degrees. The total cost I paid for my seminary education was under $10,000, which was just less than…
The Bible-denying racist liberal homophobe
The past year, like every year in Christian history, has seen significant amounts of Christian conflict. Consider the vitriol that spewed from the mouths of liberal and conservative Christians alike after multiple landmark Supreme Court decisions. Liberal Christians called (some)…
Flying blind
By Bill Wilson In flight, spatial disorientation is the condition in which a pilot’s perception of direction does not match reality. It typically results from flying into poor weather conditions with low or no visibility. Under these conditions the pilot…
The shocking un-truth about church budgets
By Amy Butler This is, hands down, the least favorite time of year for pastors everywhere: church budget planning season. Nobody likes budget planning, from the tedious work it entails to the way in which money necessarily informs the work…
Grieving summer: a Havdalah
For many people, summer is a type of Sabbath: a slower pace; vacation; more interaction with neighbors as the warm weather invites people outside; a deliberate pause between academic years. Even people whose lives do not operate solely on an…
Does your church need Millennials?
By Emily Hull McGee National news media outlets have been peppered recently with reports and opinions on the churchgoing habits of Millennials. Bloggers have rightly identified why this 18- to 35-year-old demographic is leaving churches of all stripes, citing a…
Does your church need Millennials?
By Emily Hull McGee National news media outlets have been peppered recently with reports and opinions on the churchgoing habits of Millennials. Bloggers have rightly identified why this 18-35 year-old demographic is leaving churches of all stripes, citing a need…
Funding the formation of the called
Robert Dilday’s article on the educational indebtedness of the church’s future ministers published last Friday by Associated Baptist Press, along with the Auburn Center for the Study of Theological Education paper “The Gathering Storm: The Educational Debt of Theological Students”…