BlackVoices Preach! Alisha Gordon, William Flippin, and Princeton Parker
In this week's BlackVoices Preach! post from HuffingtonPost.com, featured preachers are William Flippin, Alisha Gordon, and Princeton Parker.
Greg Garrett: Reading Christian: "25 Books Every Christian Should Read"
"25 Books" is, to paraphrase Henry David Thoreau, an attempt not to elevate the new, but to explore those things that never grow old.
How Will You Connect with Family This Year?
Christmas is a time when you have the opportunity to be in touch with your family. Connecting with family is an opportunity for growth,
Dr. Greg Carey: Partisanship in the Hijacked Church: A Book Review
In their forthcoming book "Hijacked: Responding to the Partisan Church Divide," Mike Slaughter and Charles E. Gutenson (with help from Robert P. Jones) call Christians, especially evangelicals like themselves, to passionate and charitable engagement with the public sphere.
Dr. Thomas Lane Butts: He Came
The essential part of my own Christian faith construct is not the historical details of when, where, and how Jesus came into the world, but simply that he came.
ON Scripture: Carolyn Sharp on Luke 1:39-56: Magnificat for a Broken World
What does it mean to wait for God in a broken world? What does it mean to wait in a time in which God’s promise of redemption is met by the despair of the poor, the greed of those who exploit others, and the rage of those who commit violence? What does Advent mean for the real world?
Feast of the digitally-integrated incarnation
Guest blogger Keith Anderson considers how our digital lives are integrated with our face-to-face interactions.
Bruce Reyes-Chow: Dear God, I would like my Presbyterian Church (USA) back
While I do not in any way want to invalidate the genuine anger, frustration and calling my conservative brothers and sisters are feeling about the church, I want to challenge the idea that there is any ONE reason that the church has changed and is changing.
BlackVoices Preach! Alisha Gordon and Margaret Aymer
Margaret Aymer and Alisha Gordon blog in this week's BlackVoices Preach! Topics: Minas, Occupations and Tony Perkins... and Jorelys Rivera: A Harvest Reaped Too Soon.
Dr. Jamie Jenkins: Generosity Is at the Heart of Christmas
During this Advent Season as we prepare to celebrate the Greatest Gift, the Christ Child born in a manger, let us be generous. Remember that Jesus said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Dr. Scott Black Johnston: There's Something About Mary
The final leg of our journey to Christmas always begins with Mary ”” a poor, pregnant teenager who takes counsel with angels.
Dr. Scott Black Johnston: Needing Advent
At their core, Advent and Christmas tell the story of God’s arrival. Every hymn, every carol and every scriptural text in this season point toward the One who refuses to be aloof and distant ”” the One who chose (who still chooses) to enter into the mess of life with us.
Eleven Tips for Church Leaders for Advent/Christmas
Here are eleven ways church leaders can use to stay grounded during the season.
Dr. Peter Marty: To be a guide
As Christian people trying to live a gospel of grace and make sense of an indiscriminately gracious God, we still have a strange love affair with boundary markers. There is something in the human spirit that causes us to want to think of ourselves as insiders, and others unlike us as outsiders.
Dr. Brett Younger: A warm spot for benchwarmers
God understands that most of us spend a significant amount of time on the bench. Some of the best Christians in the sanctuary never sit on the platform.
Dr. Thomas Lane Butts: Bethlehem or Bedlam
English Theologian Don Cupitt once said that "Christmas is the Disneyfication of Christianity". I winced when I read that characterization of Christmas. It hurt because it contains an embarrassing element of truth. Almost all of us participate in the commercialization of Christmas.
ON Scripture: Dr. Tom Long on John 1:6-8;19-28: Faith and Fear
The fear about exposure and judgment comes to white hot focus in a remarkable biblical story, told early in the Gospel of John, about an investigative team dispatched from the capital city to interrogate an enigmatic preacher named John the Baptizer.
What Are You Getting Baby Jesus for Christmas?
While everyone from the newspaper delivery person to our great Aunt Hazelene is on our holiday shopping list, one name that is conspicuously missing ... is the baby Jesus.
Connecting with teens one digital mustard seed at a time
Elizabeth Drescher considers how adult believers can set an example for teens on social media regarding the importance of integrating faith into everyday life. This may decrease the number of teens who leave the church as they reach adulthood.
Dr. Greg Carey: Occupy Jerusalem: How Jesus Got Himself Killed
The theological question many ask is "Why did Jesus die?" I am asking a different question: How did Jesus get himself killed? This question has theological implications, but it is not simply theological. This is a literary and historical question concerning how human actions led to Jesus' death.