It is one of my favorite issues of the year! Every year The Atlantic publishes its “annual compendium of prescriptions, provocations, and modest proposals for making the world a better place.” It is always a fascinating read—something that gives the…
Tweet this, Facebook that
What is my life worth? Is it all based on the perception of “friends” who read my posts on Facebook? Do I need to be sure they know how I really feel about my Lord or politics? And, what if…
Worlds colliding
As a pioneer in the field of grief, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross used to hold workshops all over the world. In these workshops people didn’t just learn about grief; they had a chance to do deep grieving of their own. A friend…
Are there good reasons to start new congregations?
A quarter of a century ago I moved to South Carolina in response to the call of the largest Baptist body in that state. Baptists of various tribes in South Carolina lacked a commitment to starting new congregations. I was…
Don’t count out the church organ just yet
By Jeff Brumley There are times, Shaun King says, when worship music should be energetic, light or joyful. That’s when instruments like pianos, drums and guitars do the trick. But then there are times when the sound needs to be…
Churches aid learning with food
By Bob Allen Before long, youngsters toting backpacks back and forth to school will be a common sight, but for about 40 students at Peck Elementary School in Greensboro, N.C., they will carry something more vital than just notebooks and…
How spaces become places
Have you ever thought about the difference between places and spaces? A place (as I would define it) is a location with determined boundaries. A space is the opposite; it is a location with undetermined boundaries. Examples may help here….
You can’t cover up and soar with faith
My wife and I got married on an important day in American political infamy. June 17, 1972. Oh, you do not know what this celebrates? Perhaps it is because the event — the Watergate break-in — is not nearly as…
Sometimes, churches need to ‘die’
A 100 year-old plus-mainline-congregation closes its doors. The church dies. What’s left? An empty shell of a building and a disbanded group of church members. Many have predicted the death of mainline churches for the last 20 years. People have…
The Honeymoon
We still talk about the period after a couple is married as the honeymoon. This is more than a short period of time to get away to a resort or vacation spot. This is the time when the couple begins…
Food courts and fender benders
Pam Durso We have not yet arrived — not completely and totally. Baptist women serving in ministry still hear words of opposition, encounter suspicions and doubts and experience the pain of exclusion. We are not fully embraced by all, not…
Baptists and Episcopalians together?
In my book Ecumenism Means You, Too: Ordinary Christians and the Quest for Christian Unity, I suggested this as something that “ordinary Christians” can do locally to further the visible unity of the church: “If your own denomination has been in…official…