Regardless of whether you can gather soon with members of your local flock, the nagging question remains: “What is essential about being the church?”
The Theological School of My Living Room
My articulate and intellectual preparedness is challenged the moment my kids ask a pointed question like, “Do cats like to swim?”
Renewed for Ministry
One of the characters in the Bible who has impacted my life most profoundly is Elijah, because there is so much we can learn from his life and legacy.
“Columbine” by Dave Cullen
While the events are deeply moving and almost unbearable, Cullen has not set out to toy with our hearts but to tell us what really happened. (Nonfiction)
Barna State of the Church 2020 and the Next Generation
The fact is the church sits in the middle of a world needing restoration, and our next generation sits in the middle of the church.
The Power of Reaching One
In our day, it’s very easy to stand behind a computer and think that’s ministry. Of course that’s part of it, but when that’s all we do, I think there’s a problem.
The Importance of Intentional Experiences
Providing a chance for people to talk with, work alongside, and listen to people different from themselves can aid in spiritual, emotional, and cognitive change.
Life After Forced Live Streaming
It’s 2020 and I have to acknowledge that our credibility, along with how we tell our story as a church family in this digital age, hasn’t merited the attention it justly deserves.
I Am Tired
I am tired of trying to explain what “Black Lives Matter” means. I am tired of thinking positive and being a giver of hope and life. I am tired of sitting with my precious Black friends as they process their trauma born out of our racial disparities.
“Crabwalk” by Günter Grass
What does it mean to deal with a national sin? What does it mean to grapple with a past that is never just the past, that keeps intruding day by day and will do so for the foreseeable future? (Fiction)
Introducing the What We Really Think It Says Bible (Now in Imitation Leather)
Hello there. Have you ever tried to read the Bible and actually do what is says?
Pandemic and Protest: Musings on the Lord’s Prayer
What does it mean to pray the Lord’s Prayer in these days, as the pandemic now shares the stage with visible and often violent social unrest?
“How Dogs Love Us” by Gregory Berns
The question of all questions for dog owners is this: does my dog really love me, or is this just instinctive submission to the pack leader? (Nonfiction)
Free Will and Healing
The most painful thing we do is talk with husbands or wives whose marriages are not being healed.
Close but Distant
Everyone knows each other in rural towns, but I have come to know that there is a difference between knowing of someone and actually knowing them.
Reopening After COVID-19: Treating Our Worship Spaces as Workplaces Rather Than Theaters
I think it’s time to think creatively about how to reopen churches in a way that honors both God and neighbor.
“The Topeka School” by Ben Lerner
Every preacher must wrestle with the fragility of our families, the difficulty of defining healthy masculinity in our world, and the constant problem of how we can actually have meaningful conversations. (Fiction)
Back to Normal or Toward New Possibilities
Is going back to what used to be really possible? And – listen closely, church leaders – is going back to what used to be really desirable?
We Are Christians First
As we begin to come back together, let us do the hard work of making empathetic contact with those whose opinions differ from our own.
“Losing My Religion” by William Lobdell
You may be thinking that throwing over your faith because of some bad actors in the church is a really bad idea. But Lobdell raises such interesting questions that his book cannot be easily dismissed. (Nonfiction)