Wayne Meisel: Where Faith Still Thrives! Summer Camps and the Future of the Church
What was the most significant institution in my faith development? The obvious answer would be Sunday School and church youth group, or perhaps, my college chaplain's office. You might think it surely had to be the venerable Princeton Theological Seminary. Nope. The answer: Camp Dudley, a YMCA camp located on the banks of Lake Champlain in the Adirondack Mountains.
Darkwood Brew: Vocatio: Discovering the Work of Your Soul in the Soul of Your Work, Part 5
'Vocatio' refers to a calling into our life's work. This seven-week Darkwood Brew series features people from a variety of professions reflecting on how they were called, how they answered and what it means. This week's Featured Guest: Bob Ravenscroft Trio.
David Crumm: The James Martin SJ inteview on ”˜Jesus: A Pilgrimage’ to Jerusalem
That idea of Jerusalem as a life-changing destination runs through the popular Jesuit author James Martin’s latest book, 'Jesus: A Pilgrimage.' Read our interview with Father Martin.
Greg Carey: The Biblical Job and Robert E. Lee
If ever we met a tragic hero, it would be Job. I like Job too. I admire him. But this week I noticed something about Job that complicates my relationship with him. Job holds something in common with Robert E. Lee: They both owned slaves.
Weekly Sermon Illustration: Prophet
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. On June 8, 2014 we will celebrate the Day of Pentecost.
ON Scripture: The First Multi-Media Blowup Moment (Acts 2:1-21) By Dr. Karyn L. Wiseman
Can you imagine sitting in a public space and all of a sudden everyone around you starts to speak in a different language? And yet somehow you still understand them? Can you imagine the cacophony of sounds this event would cause? Can you envision the power it would take to make this astonishing moment happen? Is it a miracle? Possession? Paranormal activity? It likely would freak you out.
Lillian Daniel: It's Not Your Book
When you get your first Bible, you treasure it, and keep it somewhere special. You open it and start reading, telling yourself you'll read a little every day because it's such a special book. And then you stop.
Martin Copenhaver: Cake or Death?
Comedian Eddie Izzard has a classic routine in which he imagines how the Inquisition would have been conducted if the Church of England had been in charge. He imagines the Anglican priests being far too genteel to torture their victims.
Debra Darvick: Hours of Devotion
A poet and book editor, Dinah Berland serendipitously happened upon a book of women’s prayers (tkhines) written by Fanny Neuda (1819- 1894). This book, Hours of Devotion, was the first Jewish prayer book for all occasions written by a woman for women.
Bruce Reyes-Chow: A Prayer for Political People of Faith
This week someone stumbled upon an old blog post that I had written about guns and I was reminded again of the ways that politics and faith can so often turn into such a place of toxicity. I admit that I simply do not understand the motivations behind those who choose to engage in particular ways, but I do my best to live and speak my faith in ways that I believe God leads me to.
The Laughter Barrel
This chapter from Buechner's book The Yellow Leaves describes his relationship with the late Maya Angelou.
David Crumm Interviews Bart Ehrman on "How Jesus Became God"
In his new book, "How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee," Bart Ehrman asks provocative questions--the fresh approach that has made him a best-selling author.
Jacqueline Lewis: Mad as Hell
To me 'Christian' means finishing what Jesus started. Healing what is sick, repairing what is broken, standing up for those on the margins. Standing up for women and children.
Kenneth Samuel: The Long Way Around
One of my seminary professors, Dr. Fred Craddock, used to tell us that the greatest distance in life is the distance between head and heart. There is indeed a great distance between what we know cognitively in our heads and what we know viscerally in our hearts. I think it's the basic difference between knowledge and instinct.
Darkwood Brew: Vocatio: Discovering the Work of Your Soul in the Soul of Your Work, Part 4
'Vocatio' refers to a calling into our life's work. This seven-week Darkwood Brew series features people from a variety of professions reflecting on how they were called, how they answered and what it means. This week's Featured Guest: Melanie Gant Elnes.
Robert Naylor: Giving Your Firstborn Isn't Required
Micah's words were a condemnation of the hollow religious rituals that many of his hearers believed would please God. Micah cries out that God does not want blood offering rituals but rather the hearers' blood, sweat and tears in offering God righteous lives. And we don't have to look too far into the Christian Scriptures to find Jesus' validation of Micah's challenge.
Carol Howard Merritt: Birth, Reincarnation, or... What?
My friend, Landon Whitsitt, and I have an ongoing argument about a particular metaphor. When you complete a piece of art””a poem, book, sermon, painting, or (in Landon’s case) song””what is that process like?
Weekly Sermon Illustration: Anxiety
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. On June 1, 2014 we will celebrate the Seventh Sunday of Easter.
ON Scripture: Christian Suffering in a World of Suffering By David A. Sánchez
It seems that from a Christian perspective, suffering is to be expected and just part of the deal of Christian membership””a real scriptural blow to prosperity gospels! Thus it should come as no surprise to us when the letter of 1 Peter 4:12-14 and 5:6-11 emphasizes the same themes of present suffering as a marker for future reward.
Carl McColman: A Prayer for the Morning
Beautiful God, Blessed Trinity, I thank you for the gift of this new day....