Bishop Will Willimon: Welcome Others as Christ Has Welcomed You
Most mainline protestant churches are in decline, the churches of North Alabama are no exception. But not all. I’ve made it my business to visit our growing congregations in order to learn more about why they are thriving.
How Do You Exit a Church Gracefully?
How can you leave a leadership position in a way that benefits those you have led? It's easier when we remember leaving is a process, not a point in time.
The Rev. Carol Howard Merritt: Alisa Harris' Raised Right, a Review
Putting energy into helping one homeless person does not keep you from defending the poor in the political sphere. Loving my daughter does not keep me from fighting for women’s rights.... One action informs the other, and we need to keep doing both.
Dr. Thomas Lane Butts: Finding Happiness "Now"
A few years ago I was invited to be one of the speakers at a retreat for medical doctors. My assigned topic was "Finding Happiness Now". Big order!
After
I belong to the Redbird Society, formed a month after 9/11. Want to join?
ON Scripture: Matt Skinner on Matt. 20:1-16: Justice Comes in the Evening
Our notions of justice usually cannot help but be influenced by our own circumstances and by our opinions about what we and others deserve. We insist justice has to do with equality, but a lot of the time it's a word we toss around to keep people and things we don't like at bay. And then along comes Jesus, eager to mess even more with our regular attitudes about what's right or fair.
Bishop Mark Hanson: Ready to be Moved by the Spirit
I am hopeful because we are a church whose unity is in Jesus who gathers us around word and water, wine and bread. Worship was at the center of each day with Bible study among small groups of prayer partners.
The War Within
The desire to erase the complexities and the fear of responding to evil is understandable, but they are also symptomatic of spiritual malaise and poverty.
The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow: Applauding Executions: Is That Christian?
Bruce Reyes-Chow on the audience response regarding Gov. Rick Perry's executions: "I simply believe that no matter the circumstance, it is never justified to applaud at the death of another human being. Period."
Dr. Jamie Jenkins: Pain, Suffering, and Loss Are Part of Life
While I remember and mourn the events of 9-11-2001, September 11 is a very important day in my family for a very different reason. That day marks the birthday of our first born child.
Paul Raushenbush: 9/11 Anniversary: Finding Hope & Healing at Ground Zero (Video)
On the anniversary of 9/11, Paul Raushenbush, HuffPost Religion editor, went to St. Paul's Chapel at Ground Zero to talk with clergy and lay people about where they find hope and healing ten years later.
John Philip Newell: 9/11 Prayers Connecting Distant Shores
In a meditation for ReadtheSpirit.com, John Philip Newell writes: "I have a very definite sense that, at this point 10 years down the road from 9/11, we are being called to remember a tragic moment””and to recognize that we are part of a turning movement in the world."
The Hypocrisy That Kills Young Souls
If we choose to raise our children in schools and religious communities that practice peaceful conflict resolution, why can't we choose leaders who uphold these same values and practices?
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori: 9/11 Ten Years Later: A Call for Reflection
Calling the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks “an opportunity for reflection,” Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori notes that the Church “continues to work for healing and reconciliation.”
Paul B. Raushenbush: Ten Years after 9/11, Has Religion United or Divided Us?
Two religious responses from the days immediately following the attacks of 9/11 demonstrate how religion has been both a divisive and unifying force in America over the last ten years.
Dr. Eric Barreto: Preaching and Ethnic Diversity
I would argue the dream of a "post-racial" society is ultimately empty. Such hopes emerge from a positive aspiration that we might move toward a society in which racial and ethnic prejudice is no longer granted a divisive and destructive force among us. However, our differences linger on for better or for worse.
Dr. Thomas Lane Butts: Enjoy the Children
Children tend to speak the unvarnished truth as they see it -- most of the time. Obfuscation and lying are learned, and adults are the teachers. Children are comfortable with saying what they think and feel, but sometimes their honesty makes us uncomfortable.
The Binding Force of Grudges
How does the process of forgiveness unfold? What gets in the way of the process? When does an inability to forgive sprout from our choice to hold a grudge? The more we hang on to a grudge the more it holds on to us and everything we do, think or say.
ON Scripture: Barbara Lundblad on Exod. 14:19-31
We haven’t had any clear victories to sing about since September 11, 2001. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were ambiguous from the start and drag on to this day. Thousands have been killed, both soldiers and civilians. While many cheered the death of Osama bin Laden, his death has not turned sorrow into joy or filled an empty place at the table. What song shall we sing now?
Are You Tired of the Church Rat Race?
Church leadership doesn't mean sprinting: it's more like a marathon. Leaders need stamina and determination, and the willingness to stay in the race.