Once upon a time, if anyone used the phrase “purple church,” they might well have been referring to the sanctuary during Advent and Lent; the church’s two annual liturgical waiting rooms, sacred seasons when altars and pastors are draped and…
Building bridges in a divided world: 7 ways to cultivate unity
In a world that is increasingly divided, followers of Jesus can be proactive and intentional about building bridges over the chasm of our differences. Our faith calls us to be peacemakers, to love our neighbors and to cultivate unity in…
Hope for divided churches glimmers at the Grammys
I cried Sunday night watching two seemingly different individuals perform one of my favorite songs together. I love music and look forward to the Grammy Awards every year. While I love celebrating my favorite artists and watching about half the…
Beyond the headlines, United Methodists muster new energy for doing good
Recent news headlines have screamed that The United Methodist Church in the United States has lost one-fifth of its congregations in a split over acceptance and inclusion of LGBTQ Christians. What the articles typically don’t tell are the ways in…
‘May they all be one’
“I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one.” — John 17:20-21 John 17 often is labeled as Jesus’ “high-priestly prayer.” This…
Resolving to ‘respect the diversity’ of the global Baptist family
Last week, Baptist News Global reported the removal from the Baptist World Alliance Commission on Interfaith Relations and another BWA commission of a gay man whose sexual orientation and same-sex marriage were known at the time of his appointment. Much…
The whole gospel of God for a church and nation in crisis
In a piercingly truthful and honest op-ed in The New York Times titled “What Christian Nationalism Has Done to My State And My Faith Is A Sin,” Susan Stubson, a prominent Wyoming Republican, for whom her conservative politics and her…
The unsolvable political problem facing those who lead purple churches
The United States is bitterly divided along what we now call red/blue, conservative/liberal, Republican/Democrat lines. Of course, not everyone fits into those boxes, but enough do for the statement to be accurate. The mutual suspicion and social separation between the…
Concern for our nation at Bubba-Doo’s
“Pastor, I just don’t understand how we got here.” Now if you feel like you just dropped in on a conversation that had already started, that’s understandable. Let me catch you up on a fascinating chat I participated in the…