Chris Yaw Interviews Mark Allan Powell: Stewardship Advice That Makes Sense
Mark Allan Powell’s book, Giving to God, is the best stewardardship book I’ve ever read – and in this interview Dr. Powell takes on the biggest objections to giving to church. This seminary professor also shares with us ”˜what he would do’ were he in charge of the annual stewardship campaign at his church. Enjoy the wit, wisdom, and seasoned advice of this very well informed thinker.
Chuck Queen: Living with Gratitude
The story of the landowner and the workers in the vineyard in Matthew 20:1–16 generally leaves those who read it for the first time scratching their heads. It has a kind of shocking, subversive impact because the actions of the landowner are so not like the way things actually work in our world.
Scott Black Johnston: Do Not Be Alarmed
Young Americans are saying, clearly and repeatedly, that they find the contemporary church to be 1) overly political, 2) painfully homophobic, and 3) downright hypocritical when it comes to pointing out others’ sins. What do we do about it? Don't panic.
Waiting
The waiting of Advent slows us down, but the rush towards Christmas speeds us up. How can we pause and reflect on the coming of Christ?
Margaret Dulaney: Sunlight
I have been following closely the story of Malala, the Pakistani girl who kept an online diary of her life under a two-year Taliban rule over the valley where she lived, during which all girls were forbidden to attend school.
Thomas Lane Butts: It All Comes Back
This is that beautiful time between Thanksgiving and Christmas when the best impulses of human nature tend to come to the surface. When we reflect on the nature of generosity, we become increasingly aware of the strange ways in which what we give tends to come back to us.
ON Scripture-The Bible: After the Chaos Ends (Jeremiah 33:14-16) by Amy Erickson
Jeremiah’s promise of a future restoration for Israel and Judah centers on the image of a righteous branch. This image, while somewhat strange to our culture, carries along with it a rich and varied tradition, deeply rooted in the world and literature of the Old Testament. The tree of life in the Garden of Eden links trees with ideas of abundance, fertility, and renewal.
Election politics and the practice of Facebook charity
Research fellow Kathryn Reklis on engaging with people of differing political views on Facebook.
William Green: Inoffensive Faith
I've come to find Christians unwilling to speak of Jesus for the sake of not offending others similarly narrow-minded. I'm reminded of an old Pogo cartoon where Pogo says, "I love the world. It's people I hate."
Darkwood Brew: Failing, Falling and Flying: Genesis Stories of Original Grace – Week 3: “That Darned Brother : Fall #2”
In this week's Darkwood Brew, Eric Elnes and Reinhilde Ruprecht discuss Failing, Falling and Flying: Genesis Stories of Original Grace – Week 3: That Darned Brother : Fall #2
Experiencing the Passionate, Honest Love of Jesus
Jesus expressed a wide range of emotions with his followers, but love was the foundation of them all. It was all part of the complete package of authentic emotions felt and expressed by the passionate Jesus.
Carol Howard Merritt: Progressive Christians Enter the Age of Relevancy
It's been a sobering few decades for Christians who work alongside the poor, claim their feminism, respect scientific discovery, care for the earth, and yearn for marriage equality. We felt like the voice of Christianity had been captured by some strange ventriloquist, and it was proclaiming things that often contradicted our faith. We became frustrated with our own irrelevance, as our speech in the public square seemed to be on permanent mute.
Chris Yaw Interviews Peter Rollins: Growing Communities by Embracing Mystery
The unkeepable promise of certainty is what the world offers – and the Church shows its own fears when it tries to compete. That’s why author and theologian Peter Rollins urges congregations to embrace the truth of life’s deep mystery and unknowing – as a way to open us up to God’s presence and purpose. Meet this deep thinker, and founder of Ireland’s IKON Community.
Greg Garrett: Always Creating (A Sermon Delivered to the Academy of Homiletics)
If you’re going to play God, there might be something we can learn from those stories about a God who created order out of chaos, a loving God who wants our stories to end happily even if we choose otherwise, a God who cherishes light and conquers darkness.
David Lose: Early Christmas Carols and the Secret of Happiness
I have a confession to make: I started listening to Christmas Carols in earnest three weeks ago.
Lillian Daniel: But Why Don't They Just Come to My Church?
I’m a woman senior minister of a large liberal Protestant church in the middle of the conservative Western suburbs of Chicago, where dreams of evangelical mega churches dominate the ecclesiastical imagination. So I didn’t need Justin Lee to tell me that the ex-gay movement doesn’t work.
Greg Garrett: Radical Orthodoxy? A Review of "Rob Bell and a New American Christianity"
Author James Wellman argues that Rob Bell may be the bellwether of a new American Christianity. What does that mean for American Christianity?
Chris Yaw Interviews David Emery: Celebrating Transformation Grows the Church
David Emery serves the 100+ year old congregation at Middletown Christian Church which, ten years ago, had half the people on Sunday mornings that it has today. David says the old church ran by more of a ”˜membership model’ than a ”˜transformation model’ – which emphasizes the changed hearts and lives of its members.
Martin Copenhaver: Do This In Remembrance of Me
If memories are deep and have a hold on us, they will soon be beyond the reach of words. If our memories are powerful they simply outgrow words, and one longs for something more than a story. We want something that looks and feels more like life itself.
Dr. Thomas Lane Butts: A Good Word for Today
Late one afternoon a sailor was walking across the pier on his way to town for shore-leave when he heard the cry of a child from the water. He plunged into the water and rescued a six-year-old boy who had fallen in. As soon as the child was placed on the pier, he scampered away, leaving the nameless sailor standing there dripping wet....