As a child I remember my mother, an elder in our Presbyterian church, preparing Communion. I remember going with her to buy bread a few days before so it would not be too soft to cut in little squares and…
Women as pastors isn’t the only way SBC churches are out of compliance with Baptist Faith and Message and SBC resolutions
Those currently calling for the Southern Baptist Convention to expel any church with a woman carrying the title “pastor” appeal to two primary sources — beyond their own biblical interpretation — as justification: The Baptist Faith and Message doctrinal statement…
United Methodists will welcome President Biden for Communion
Roman Catholic bishops may bar President Joe Biden from receiving Holy Communion because of his political beliefs, but United Methodists are ready to welcome him to the Lord‘s Supper without question. Anyone who has attended Communion in a United Methodist…
Remembering Christ’s death with chicken soup and Goldfish
It’s probably wrong to think this, but it feels good to hear that groups other than Baptists are fighting about stuff. Catholics are all in a snit about allowing the president to share Communion since he is a supporter of…
It’s not enough to offer scraps from the Table of the Lord
It was about this time nine years ago that one of GracePointe’s members described our congregation to a member of the press as being “gay-friendly.” Amazingly, in response to those extremely weak credentials, the infamous Westboro Baptist Church decided to…
Is the pandemic-era church a church without baptisms, funerals and other major rituals?
“I have to ask myself: am I doing anything I was called to do when I became a pastor?”
An alternative to ‘virtual communion’ for the scattered church
Amid discussions about the practice of “virtual communion” in these extraordinary times, we commend an ancient Christian practice that may be relevant for churches today, especially for those that have decided they cannot celebrate communion virtually.
Scrounging for ‘what elements you have around you’ to share virtual Communion
We joined others at the Lord’s Table(s), a community scattered by a deadly pandemic but gathered, alone together, in homes across the city, sacralizing the common things of life by making holy the elements we had around us.
Remembering with integrity
I had been a freshman in college for hardly a month. I first learned of the attacks when I arrived at a morning class, and spent most of the day huddled around a small dorm room television with new friends….