Bishop Will Willimon: When "Mine" Becomes "Thine"
On this week of Thanksgiving, pray with me this prayer, Wesley’s poetic response to Acts 4:32, “The multitude of them that believed, were of one heart, and one soul; neither said any of them, that aught of the things which he possessed, was his own, but they had all things in common. Neither was there any among them that lacked.”
Thanksgiving Always and Everywhere
Even with faith as our fuel, the graceful means by which we make it from one day to the next, we know all too well that life is sho 'nuff anything but easy. There are ups and downs, highs and lows, failures and successes, and not always at an equal frequency or impact. Of course, God is still God and Jesus still reigns, but thus is life on this side of heaven. Nevertheless, the apostle Paul (amongst other biblical writers) tells us that a thankful disposition is the antidote to any unending disturbance of the soul.
Dr. Brett Younger: Thanksgiving
For all the trouble undertaken, Thanksgiving doesn’t really happen for everyone. Many will be glad that they have what they have, but gladness is not gratefulness. The people having turkey and dressing will outnumber those having a real experience of gratitude.
Dr. Thomas Lane Butts: Help and Hope
As I look back on my struggle with ignorance and meager resources as I worked to get an education in preparation for Christian Ministry, I realize I would have given up had it not been for the gracious people who helped me make it, against all odds. I have a profound sense of gratitude for them all.
ON Scripture: Matt Skinner on Mark 13:24-37 - Advent: One of Those Dangerous Religious Ideas
Here comes Black Friday, even earlier than usual. Bell-ringers are appearing outside stores. Advertisers are shifting the consumerism-as-therapy machine into high gear. And Christians say: This is a good time to think about the world falling apart. We’re not trying to be morose. We’re starting Advent.
14 Things to Be Happy About
I have the book 14,000 Things to Be Happy About, by Barbara Ann Kipfer. If I'm having a bad day, I read a page, and it always makes me smile.
Cyborgs have bodies too
New Media Project research fellow Kathryn Reklis explores how we might be embodied online.
Carol Howard Merritt: We are Scrappers
A Scrapper is pragmatic. We are people who have learned to work outside of institutional structures in order to get stuff done.
Dr. Scott Black Johnston: Finding Joy
What is joy? Is it a permanent state, or a fleeting feeling? Are some people naturally joyful, while others will never experience true happiness?
Dr. Jamie Jenkins: In everything give thanks
This Thursday is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. I look forward to time with family, turkey and dressing (and all the other good stuff), and football. The day also causes me to think about some of the things for which I am thankful.
Are You Celebrating the Resources You Have in Your Church?
Our society is very good at noticing what we don't have. What are the resources in your church, financial and otherwise, that you might celebrate?
Greg Garrett: Famine and Feast: An interview with ONE's Adam Phillips
Each of us has a role to play in this fight for the world's poorest people. It's not whether we can make a difference in this famine, but how can we make a difference if we work together.
Matt Skinner: New media make the Bible accessible; Bible readers too
Today we read the Bible on the same screens where we see the daily news, our work-related email, and photos of loved ones. With everything else residing only a click away, we discover new potential for reading the Bible in more direct contact with all of the other aspects of our lives.
Dr. Thomas Lane Butts: The role of failiure in success
Several years ago Henry Petroski wrote a book entitled, "To Engineer is Human". Petroski uses engineering failure to illustrate how how we can use downfalls in any area of life as lessons for a safer and more successful future.
ON Scripture: Dr. Walter Brueggemann on Ezekiel 34 - Reign of Christ Sunday
If Ezekiel were among us now, he might well conclude that the emergence of the “99%” is a scourge from God that intends to expose and bring down social policies, practices, and institutions that are out of sync with God’s will for shalom.
New tools? What’s the big deal?
Given that for two millennia, Christian communities have engaged various cultural worlds to tell the Biblical stories of faith, what’s so particular about today’s challenges?
Carol Howard Merritt: God is for us
When first settled down to read Barth, I had to make sure that I had Kleenex close at hand. We read about God the Creator first. The words clinched me, each time I read, “God is for us.”
David Crumm interviews Sarah Arthur: A literary guide to prayer
David Crumm of ReadtheSpirit.com interviews Sarah Arthur, author of "At the Still Point: A Literary Guide to Prayer."
Dr. Jamie Jenkins: Our actions and inactions affect countless lives
Folks who don’t follow college football may not know that Paterno is a class of his own when it comes to winning football games, but they probably know that he lost his job last week and they know why.
Bruce Reyes-Chow: The unexpected safety of the radical Jesus
One of the things that I have noticed recently in many interactions regarding the nature of the church is an increased reclamation of what it means to be “radical” for Jesus.