It was my fifth visit to St. George Cathedral at the Alaverdi Monastery. Positioned on the picturesque Alazani River valley of Kakheti, surrounded by vineyards against the backdrop of the snow-capped Caucasus Mountains, the cathedral beckoned me to return. Along…
matter, that is.
When you’ve spent your entire life asking the world for permission to exist, it can be rather unnerving when it repeatedly answers back with a resounding “no.” Growing up, I enjoyed a rather typical existence for a middle class white…
Spirituality: 4:30 a.m. and mindfulness
[This is the sixth (spirituality) of a nine-part series on empowering a faith community to impact the world. Already hospitality, evangelism, missions, ethics and Bible have been explored.] During my sabbatical study at Oxford University many years ago, I decided to take a…
The spiritual practice of load shedding
By Jayne Hugo Davis Does it ever feel like the demands upon you require more than the resources you have to give? Maybe it’s time or energy that’s in short supply. Maybe it’s money or creativity or answers. Or compassion…
Christian flag breaking
An excited patriot handed me one of those 10-inch flags that you stick into your lawn on July 4th.The plastic red, white and blue was intact, but the pole that once held it together was broken three stripes from the…
‘Are you not entertained?’ Discipleship and Pew Research findings
Have you ever claimed to be something you’re not? I once posed as a town sheriff, brandishing a gun and stopping everyone who disobeyed the law. Of course, at the age of 4, and with a plastic orange-tipped six-shooter, my…
Hinson-Merton friendship continues impact on Baptist spirituality
By Carrie McGuffin and Jeff Brumley The late Catholic monk, author and interfaith pioneer Thomas Merton is far more than a distant historical figure because the body of his work can actually improve the spirituality of Baptists even today, Baptist…
Top 10 reasons people cite for not attending church services
Bill Wilson The photo below is of a perfect attendance pin for Sunday school. Many of you have never seen one. There was a day when it was a regular feature in churches all across America. If a person attended…
Surprise!
In the 1970s the British comedy troupe Monty Python performed a sketch which turned a common expression of exasperation at an unwanted series of questions into a comic refrain. In the sketch a man and woman are having a conversation….