A dramatic story—perhaps an urban legend—about John Wimber, one of the founders of the Vineyard Movement, relates to something that happened following his conversion to Christianity around 1963. It is said that he began attending a church nearby. After several…
Taking stock of mission endeavors
By Amy Butler Lately I’ve had occasion to think a little more deeply than usual about churches and mission/social justice programming. It seems to me that collaborative efforts to heal the world are critical parts of life together in Christian…
In this case, missional means a contemplative sculpture garden
By Jeff Brumley The term “missional” evokes images of churches partnering with existing ministries and nonprofits in the neighborhoods around them. Connecting with God’s work leads other churches to open their facilities to homeless or emergency shelters, feeding programs or…
Repenting of Christianity
Chinua Achebe’s classic novel Things Fall Apart centers around the life on Okonkwo, the powerful leader of his clan and their village, one of nine villages in the Umuofia region of Nigeria. Okonkwo is a fearsome warrior, well-respected among his…
The case for the 45 credit seminary degree
The Atlantic ran a disturbing article on the state of middle class clergy carrying a seminary degree: high debt, low wages, vanishing churches, and part-time pastor positions. The piece profiles Justin Barringer, a recent seminary grad who like many before him…
The taller I become….
We’re remembering the Freedom Summer of 1964 this year, fifty years later. During those momentous times in US history, a broad group of organizations worked together to break the tyranny of the Jim Crow laws in Mississippi. Their primary goal…
The complexity of short-term missions
By Blake Hart Lately I’ve had the privilege to be part of great discussions about how to improve our current short-term mission praxis. Many of us know that something is wrong with the way we do short-term work, and thankfully…
Age segregation in worship
In the last 30 years, age-segmented worship was an unforeseen effect of the contemporary worship movement within Christianity. What has developed in many (not all) churches are two worship services. A traditional service with older adults and a commentary service…
Churches being pushed to see selves as guests in own communities
By Jeff Brumley At Grace and Main in Danville, Va., organizers have ceded much of their power to the people they came to serve. “A lot of our leadership is made up of those who are or were hungry, impoverished…
Prayer and resistance
Just after seeing Jesus transfigured, the disciples run into a little trouble. A man with a boy possessed by a demon approaches them to cast out the demon. The disciples try, gathering a big crowd along the way, but they…
FutureBaptists: A collaborative missional movement
March 6thand 7th a diverse group of Baptists from North America gathered in Philadelphia for the 50th anniversary of the North American Baptist Fellowship [NABF] of the Baptist World Alliance. Using the title—FutureBaptists: A Collaborative Missional Movement—this gathering was more…
Learning to listen
I am afraid of well-meaning Christians. This is probably because I am one myself, but it is also because I encounter well-intentioned Christians all the time. They have a vision for all the good they could do to other people….