The Rev. Dr. Derek Penwell

Denomination: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (CC(DC))

 

The Rev. Dr. Derek Penwell is an author, editor, speaker, and activist. He is the senior minister of Douglass Boulevard Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Louisville, Kentucky and a lecturer at the University of Louisville in Religious Studies and Humanities. He has a Ph.D. in humanities from the University of Louisville.

He is the author of The Mainliner's Survival Guide to the Post-Denominational World, from Chalice Press, about how mainline denominations can avoid despair in an emerging world.

He currently edits a blog on emergence Christianity, [D]mergent.org, and blogs at his own site. You can also find him on Twitter and Facebook.

 

Articles by The Rev. Dr. Derek Penwell

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Derek Penwell: If You’re A Christian, Now Would Be A Good Time To Live Like It

Saturday August 26, 2017
I sent off a letter many years ago to Duke theologian, Stanley Hauerwas, chronicling some trouble I’d been experiencing at the church I was serving. The trouble centered on my failure to sufficiently celebrate the Fourth of July in worship.

Derek Penwell: Can Evangelicals and Christians Coexist in America?

Thursday July 02, 2015
Tradition, orthodoxy, precedent … all have a nasty habit of changing over time, and thus disappointing those who so vigorously contend that 'God’s word is unchanging.'

Derek Penwell: Six Things Christians Should Worry About More Than the Decline of Christianity

Friday June 05, 2015
Christians of all stripes are freaking out a little (some a lot). Given the recent bleak news from the Pew Research Center, which indicates that Christianity is on the decline in the U.S., such exercises in hand-wringing are understandable -- even if not particularly helpful.

Derek Penwell: The Bible's for Losers (And Why That's a Good Thing)

Thursday February 26, 2015
Taking everything into consideration, the Bible was written mostly by losers for the benefit of other losers. That’s not a value judgment, just an observation.

Derek Penwell: Why Liberal Protestantism Should Quit Living in Fear of Its Own Death

Tuesday January 20, 2015
If congregational or denominational survival requires something other than faithfulness, then the message of Jesus’ life (and death) is that it’s not worth it.

Derek Penwell: A Pastoral Letter to Older Generations About Those Frustrating Millennials

Friday November 07, 2014
The question that older generations of leaders within mainline denominations must ask themselves is: 'What if the kids don’t want our church?' This is an an important issue in the age of the 'nones.'

Derek Penwell: 7 Reasons Not to Freak Out About Protestant Mainline Decline

Sunday August 31, 2014
So, the numbers look bad. If you want to be afraid, be afraid. Believe me, I completely understand. But if you somehow think that living with that persistent hand-wringing fear is going to help you through the next ten years, and wind up on the other side with everything you care about still intact, then I don't know how to help you.

Derek Penwell: Post-Denominational: Making the Time to Be Scared of More Interesting Things

Tuesday August 12, 2014
If denominational structures as we know them are heading for difficult waters, how are we going to respond? Derek Penwell responds in this excerpt from his new book, "The Mainliner's Survival Guide to the Post-Denominational World" (Chalice Press).