Dr. Jamie Jenkins: Little Things Mean a Lot
Little things make a big difference. Sometimes a small act or word can turn a phrase or situation on its head. Do you remember the television commercial a few years ago that featured “Mean” Joe Greene?
This Week's BlackVoices Preach!: Otis Moss III, Alisha Gordon, Princeton Parker
In the first "BlackVoices" Sunday Sermon post from HuffingtonPost.com on Day1.org, we present sermons by Otis Moss III, Alisha Gordon, and Princeton Irvin Parker.
Carol Howard Merritt: Ten Church Models for a New Generation
In some ways, I think of our churches like a crop of corn that was planted at the same time. That field produced corn for 50 years””so much wonderful corn that many of us were fat and happy. In our abundance, we forgot to diversify and plant new fields.
Dr. Lillian Daniel: The limits of taste
Someone was complaining to me about why she had stopped going to her church, saying, "You know, when it came to worship, I just didn't get much out of it." To which I replied, "Well, it wasn't directed toward you."
Dr. Jim Somerville: Will the world end on Dec. 12, 2012?
Not according to Walter T. Witschey. Dr. Witschey wrote to me after a recent sermon on 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 in which I mentioned that some people think the world is going to end on December 21, 2012, because that’s what the Mayan calendar “suggests.”
Bishop Mark Hanson: No ambivalence in this story
The season we have entered is one of homecomings on many levels ”” geographical, emotional, social and spiritual.
A Backroad County Sign and the Baby Jesus
When I passed the little country church with a shocking sign, I discovered that the world was ending, but Jesus had much more to say.
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori and Bishop Mark Hanson on World AIDS Day
In a joint message, the heads of the ELCA and The Episcopal Church write that World AIDS Day is an opportunity for each of us to reflect on God's call to lift up the dignity and value of each person.
Dr. Thomas Lane Butts: The lessons of history
One of the most treasured books in my library is the "Lessons of History", written in 1968 by Will and Ariel Durant. It is a profound book which should be read by anyone who wishes to understand the great lessons of history by the century rather than by the year. History really makes more sense that way.
What if Jesus Comes Back Like That?
As we are in this season of Advent, a season that calls our memories back to Bethlehem and our hearts forward to the future coming of Christ, we live in the loving tension between the two. However, can we get so caught up in reflections of the past and predictions of the future that we ignore the present and perhaps miss Christ's return?
ON Scripture: Michael Joseph Brown on Mark 1: God Barges Into Our Lives
In this week's ON Scripture lectionary resource, Dr. Michael Joseph Brown delves into Mark 1:1-8 and finds God can be an abrupt and unsettling force in our lives.
Dr. David Lose: Is the Bible a reliable moral guide?
I know, I know: given that I teach, preach and write about the Bible for a living, I'm hardly the kind of person you think would ask this kind of question. But maybe it's precisely because I spend so much time with the Bible that this question occurs to me.
Liberty University worships on Facebook: It's not innovative, it's intuitive
Research fellow Lerone A. Martin explores Liberty University's recent decision to hold a worship service on Facebook when no physical space could be found.
Why do we do this?
Have you noticed that Advent is countercultural? Why do we do this, anyway?
Bishop Will Willimon: Word Made Flesh
It’s a story so strange we could not have dreamed it up by ourselves, this story of how God was incarnate in Jesus the Christ.
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori: Advent: A Time to Listen, a Time to Reflect
Calling Advent “a time to listen, a time to reflect,” Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori urges in her Advent Message 2011 to “rest, wait, yearn” for the coming celebration of the birth of the Savior. Watch here
Dr. Jamie Jenkins: Called to Be Peacemakers
John Lennon sang, “Imagine all the people living life in peace.” Picturing it in your mind is one thing, but I believe that peace is more than a dream. Peace is possible. We are called to pray for it and we must work for it.
David Crumm Interviews N.T. Wright on "Simply Jesus"
Former Bishop N.T. “Tom” Wright is a best-selling Bible scholar and one of the most popular figures to appear on ReadTheSpirit over the years. Today we recommended his two new books and also highlighte a special Christmas passage that Wright doesn’t want Bible readers to miss.
Bruce Reyes-Chow: Latifundialization and the Future of Occupy Wall Street
Here I offer a few of the myths that are circulating about Occupy San Francisco and then I’ll get to the whole latifundialzation thing.
Dr. Jim Somerville: My Mom's "Maturity Checklist"
Here is a “maturity checklist” my mother designed to help me and my brothers know if we were ready to make it on our own.