Conversations are happening across the nation. Stories are being told and voices are crying out for compassionate and competent health care for women who need abortions. But do we really know much about these women? What will become of them?…
When a friend went to prison for murder, the words of Jesus took on new meaning
The jokes about what is not taught in seminary usually write themselves. How often during the past few years have you heard wisecracks about having not learned Zoom, YouTube or how to edit worship videos on iMovie? Or the jokes…
600,000 prisoners will be released this year, and we need to do more to prepare them — and us — for their reentry to society
“I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”— Matthew 25:36 Innumerable dramatizations have made arrest, trial, conviction and prison imaginable to many Americans….
Merry Christmas from Paul the apostle in prison
Leave it the Apostle Paul to make a prison cell sound like a spiritual oasis. Throughout much of the New Testament, he’s trapped, you know, imprisoned by the Roman Empire for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Time and again,…
What I learned working in a Texas prison: Retribution, not reformation
I served as a pastor for 33 years and then worked nearly six years as a counselor at the most high-profile maximum-security prison in Texas. There, I ran the mental health department, nestled in the prison infirmary, which serves all…
How much wealth does America need before we’ll address homelessness?
In college I read a story by Leo Tolstoy called “How Much Land Does A Man Need?” Tolstoy’s story is about a peasant named Pahom, whose desire is to own enough land to make him wealthy. It did not start…
‘God don’t make junk’: Transformed vision prompted transformed community in S.C. neighborhood
Metanoia, a grassroots, asset-based community development ministry founded in 2002, is changing lives and perceptions in a North Charleston, S.C., neighborhood.
Photo Gallery: Metanoia in photos
All photos taken in this photo gallery of Metanoia are by Stephen B. Morton. In this series, we learn what happens when a community rejects traditional concepts of charity but instead taps the existing human and physical resources of a community…
Are the poor really blessed?
In the Gospel of Luke Jesus says, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” I don’t believe for one minute that Jesus is saying it’s a good thing to be poor. Nor do I…