By Amy Butler It has been over a year and a half since I graduated with my (last ever, I swear) academic degree, and I personally feel that I’ve shown great restraint staying out of the classroom for this long….
On ‘Glee’, Nietzsche, faith and greeting cards
By Amy Butler Regular contact and conversation with my congregation is an important part of the work of a pastor and definitely one my favorite parts of my job. These days that interaction happens most usually by e-mail or on…
My evil plan to overthrow church-membership practices
By Amy Butler In the tradition of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, I would like here to officially announce the unveiling of my grand plan to overthrow current church-membership practices. You heard me right. It’s not that this thinking is…
Making space for talking about grief
By Amy Butler Knowing the one-year anniversary of her mother’s sudden death had just passed, I asked a friend over coffee the other day to tell me how she was doing. We talked about the year gone by, about…
When church is the real thing
By Amy Butler Hands down my favorite question to ask people in casual conversation is: Why do you go to church? I often wonder what compels people — what compels me — to offer so much of my life to…
Welcoming Mohamed to Calvary
By Amy Butler While I’d bet this problem spans professional worlds, I know for sure that anybody who is responsible for a church staff will agree that good help is hard to find. Even the ridiculously high pay and indisputable…
Jesus at the hospital
By Amy Butler I’ve heard it told that some pastors really like to make hospital visits. Me? Not so much. It’s not that I don’t understand their purpose in the larger scope of my job; of course I do. I’m…
Getting a life — and giving life
By Amy Butler When young pastors ask me for advice on self-care (insert uproarious laughter here) I always say that one very important part of survival in the trenches of ministry is getting a life. Outside the church. While one…
It’s summer. Where IS everybody?
By Amy Butler Warning: this column is purely a pastor’s summer rant. While I often feel alone in these sentiments, I strongly suspect that other pastors out there share my feelings. Thus, I’ve recorded them here just to see if,…