A pastor has one of the hardest jobs in the world. When I was a pastor, I was not willing to say that sentence. It seemed self-serving and whiny. I heard other people say how hard a pastor’s work is,…
Congregations need sabbatical and jubilee
Congregations need a hopeful learning season that will help them see the same things they have seen for many years in a different way. This gives them insight into what it will take to continually transform congregational life. Likely this…
Customer service and servant leadership
For the most part, I only think about “customer service” when I am the customer and on the receiving end of what I consider poor service. I will not elaborate here. Each of us has a collection of frustrating stories…
Baptist out to ‘reform’ homophobia
By Jeff Brumley A gay, married man in Springfield, Va., believes his childhood Baptist roots and conservative Christian upbringing will help him convince homosexuals estranged from the church that the Bible isn’t out to get them. Dave Farmer says his…
At the Table of Christ
Two rituals, sacraments or ordinances lie near the heart of the faith: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism marks the start of one’s journey with Christ and one’s welcome into the great family of Christ followers. The Lord’s Supper reconnects…
Cherry picking the Bible
A few weeks ago Neale Donald Walsch had a post on Huffington Posts’s Religion blog entitled “Buffet-Style Bible Believers” to which I’ve wanted to respond, but have had little time until now. The message of the post is nothing new….
They are your brothers
The news of late has been enough to depress just about anyone who longs for and fights for justice, fairness, and equality. We have seen states trying to limit a woman’s access to healthcare and limit her right to make her own…
God of love?
It seems that most every time I write something about God not hating gays or about what early Christians believed about hell, I get a healthy amount of reaction from people who feel that it is their duty, their holy…
Mr. Irrelevant
Anyone who spends time with me eventually learns that I love football. I don’t like football. I love it. One of my favorite things about football is the NFL draft. For football players, the draft is the culmination of years…
How to interpret the Scriptures
A church member will sometimes ask how I go about interpreting the scriptures. I am tempted to answer, “On the run,” since I preach and teach several times each week. Thinking more about the question, here are some guidelines. First,…
Is giving an offering — as an expression of worship — dying?
With online giving through a congregation’s web site, or texting a contribution, or bank drafts, or offering boxes in a corner of the worship space or narthex, or discouraging visitors from giving an offering at seeker services, or giving through…
Reading Scripture is like rock climbing
Settling for the “clearest reading” of a Bible passage is not enough if doing so causes the Bible to contradict itself. In a recent interview with the New Voice Media Group (which includes Associated Baptist Press), I used rock climbing…