David Crumm: Stanley Hauerwas on The Character of Virtue, Letters to a Godson
Would you invite Stanley Hauerwas””the famously 'angry' theologian””to become your child’s godparent and agree to write a series of letters to your son or daughter? That is what the Rev. Dr. Samuel Wells and his wife did two decades ago, fully aware of the famous theologian’s 'happy anger,' as Wells describes it.
David Crumm: Jana Riess on re-discovery of the Christian Prayer Wheel after it was lost for centuries
Do you remember the headlines about this discovery? Sara Griffiths of The Daily Mail in the UK was among many journalists around the world who reported in 2015 on the mysterious chart, which turned up when a medieval illuminated book of Gospels was placed on the auction block. In the front of that set of Gospels was a strange chart for a kind of spiritual discipline no one could decipher.
Mitch Carnell: In Unkind Culture, Is There Still Something Nice to Say?
I helped launch the Say Something Nice Day movement 13 years ago. Never in my wildest imagination did I think that the greatest barriers to our success would become a president of the United States and evangelical Christians who support his coarse way of communicating and his behavior.
Bishop Elizabeth Eaton: An Easter Message 2018
In her Easter message, the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), reminds us that Jesus’ crucifixion is the death of our death.
Weekly Sermon Illustration: Thomas
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.
Bishop Michael Curry's Easter Message
Hatred does not have the last word. Violence does not have the last word. Bigotry does not have the last word. Sin, evil do not have the last word. The last word is God, and God is love.
Weekly Sermon Illustration: The Secret in the Dark
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.
David Crumm: John Dominic Crossan on ”˜Resurrecting Easter’ and re-envisioning our relationship to Jesus
How do you envision the Resurrection? It’s a timely question as 2 billion Christians around the world soon will mark the most important global holiday in this 2,000-year-old religion: Easter. (April 1 for Western Christians and April 8 for Eastern Christians in 2018.)
Weekly Sermon Illustration: The Truth of Stories
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 the Tenth Anniversary of My Ordination
A decade of ordained ministry has shown me an awful lot of what makes ministry a struggle, but it has also shown me more than one glimpse of God's kingdom.
Weekly Sermon Illustration: Salvation
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.
Bishop L. Bevel Jones, 1926-2018
An iconic leader of the church and of this organization passed away on March 6. Bishop L. Bevel Jones III was a longtime trustee of the Protestant Hour and the Alliance for Christian Media boards, and was a major figure in the United Methodist Church as well as in the Atlanta community, as well as in Western North Carolina where he served as Bishop.
David Crumm: Bart Ehrman on the surprisingly un-controversial Triumph of Christianity
The publication of Bart’s latest book, 'Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World,' certainly is notable because it is unlikely to spark controversy. In fact, from the perspective of many traditional churchgoers who have shunned Ehrman””this new book is likely to be very popular for some its basic conclusions...
Talitha Arnold: Go Back or Go Deep
Two choices: Go back to Egypt or go deeper with God, i.e., deeper into the wilderness.
Weekly Sermon Illustration: Foolishness
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. Next Sunday, we will celebrate the Third Sunday in Lent.
Lon Allison: Billy Graham and Racial Justice--An Excerpt from "Billy Graham: An Ordinary Man and His Extraordinary God"
In this excerpt from his new book on Billy Graham, Lon Allison asks, "Did Billy Graham only preach the gospel of the new birth? Or did he and his organization also seek justice and the alleviation of need in our world?"
David Crumm: Remembering Billy Graham’s Crusade against Racism
As a journalist, specializing in religion and diversity for more than 40 years, I’ve reported my share of stories about the Graham family. Since his death at age 99 on February 21, I have mourned Billy’s passing. As I read the coverage of his life by my colleagues nationwide, I was struck by one thought: Billy’s legacy would look a brighter if his son Franklin Graham hadn’t doubled-down on the family’s earliest bigotry.
David Crumm: Episcopal Bishop Frank Griswold on ”˜Tracking Down the Holy Ghost’
Why do we need this wisdom from former Episcopal Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold right now? Because, at the heart of this little book is an invitation from a survivor of conflict to walk along with him through various dramatic encounters and discover, in the end, that Spirit can guide us not only to our own individual solace””but toward re-establishing ties in a deeply divided community.
John Dominic Crossan and Sarah Sexton Crossan: In the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus
In April of 2012, we are in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus to visit a series of frescoed churches from the 12th to 16th centuries””for, of course, their Anastasis images. There is also one separate icon that is very special for us because it was the image that first drew us to Cyprus.