Spiritual formation usually brings to mind practices like contemplative prayer and fasting, silence and meditation, walking the labyrinth and celebration. Wait, celebration?
A Social Media Prayer
Words can be toxic. The apostle Paul knew that. Little has changed since the first century, though back then the only social media Paul had to contend with was the chatter at the well or outside the synagogue.
A time for prayer, but what kind?
Sunday night several hundred people gathered in my city to pray. We went to our prayer vigil place — the steps of the governmental plaza in Greensboro, N.C., where we’d gathered before. Some of the candles still held the wax…
For some imams, Ramadan is a month-long revival, Muslim style
Imad Enchassi likens the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to what some Christians described as getting some of that old-time religion. “I call it a revival camp” for Muslims, said Enchassi, imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City….
Laying on of hands? A lot of Americans do it, study says
A new study has found that nearly nine in 10 Americans have relied upon healing prayer at some point in their lives, praying for others even more than for themselves. “The most surprising finding is that more than a quarter…
Your commute as a spiritual discipline
My morning commute reminds me that I am not the Christian I should be. I drive nine miles to my job — two miles of neighborhood, three miles of suburban commerce, and four miles of houses close enough to Atlanta…
Praying the Psalms in time of grief
By Joe LaGuardia Like many who grieve the loss of a loved one over the holidays, this past Christmas was particularly difficult for me. I lost my father over two years ago as a result of a mass shooting in…
A lover’s quarrel with my country
By Russ Dean I only saw one of those year-in-reviews that the news shows always put together for the week after Christmas. One was enough. I was raised like most American kids to be proud of this great land I…
Watch night history
“Watch Night” services began in 1733 with the Moravian communities in what is now the Czech Republic. By 1740 John Wesley and his Methodist movement within Anglicanism had adopted the tradition, with New Year’s Eve services ending after midnight, marked…
Can prayer be abusive?
By Laura Rector A conservative Christian man “prayerfully” spanks his spouse as Christian “discipline.” A Christian institution “prays” for those who lose their jobs in a restructuring. A Christian employer uses prayer to promote going along with an agenda, rather…
Looking, straining, yearning, waiting
By Adam McDuffie We find ourselves in the midst of Advent, waiting once again. Every year, we go through every day and every month, but come December, we find ourselves in the same place: waiting once again. O come, O…
Are social media “thoughts and prayers” helpful anymore?
By Alan Rudnick In the wake of tragedy it has become an automatic response for many Christians: “Our thoughts and prayers are with…” I know, I said it on Facebook and Twitter after the shootings in San Bernardino, Sandy Hook, and…