Interfaith marriage: A reality check

by William H. Willimon

Forty-two percent of U.S. marriages are interfaith. Naomi Schaefer-Riley convinced me that this is one of the biggest stories in religious life.

Sticky faith

What keeps kids connected to church?

by Jen Bradbury

We youth ministers have often tried to make our ministries cool enough to compete. But every teen knows that the church is not cool.

The perils of silence

Real and imagined dangers

by Sara Maitland

There are specific and cunning temptations in silence that, if allowed to flourish, can fester and rot the whole enterprise.

God ran with us

Caught between two Sudans

text and photos by Paul Jeffrey

The Sudanese government has long waged war on its own people. In the borderland of Abyei, it's turned two peaceful groups into enemies.

Interfaith marriage: A reality check

Sticky faith

What keeps kids connected to church?

The perils of silence

Real and imagined dangers

God ran with us

Caught between two Sudans

Familiar faces in the script

May 20, 2013 by Barry Howard

Back in the dark ages of the 20th century, I remember an ad for the Yellow Pages that urged, “Let your fingers do the walking.” Now that texting has become the preferred means of communication, it seems our fingers actually do the talking.

I’ve been thinking about the complexity of communication with God, especially the challenge of praying at times when words are hard to come by. In response to such a dilemma, Paul essentially tells the Romans to let the Spirit do the talking.

The hospice pastor with a church on life support

How can we move beyond our walls when our congregations need so much care?

May 20, 2013 by Carol Howard Merritt

"I feel like a Hospice nurse," I sighed as I set down my bags. I had so many funerals in my small congregation that I had little time for anything other than caring for the dying. 

Monday digest

May 20, 2013

New today from the Century: Will Willimon on interfaith marriage, Carol Howard Merritt on getting outside the church's doors, more.

Other people saying things

May 17, 2013 by Steve Thorngate

“People who are experiencing homelessness are people. They are not extras in a movie about you.”

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The hospice pastor with a church on life support

How can we move beyond our walls when our congregations need so much care?

May 20, 2013 by Carol Howard Merritt

"I feel like a Hospice nurse," I sighed as I set down my bags. I had so many funerals in my small congregation that I had little time for anything other than caring for the dying. 

The formation of a domestic goddess

Giving up our control issues

May 13, 2013 by Carol Howard Merritt

It was a tiny control issue that happened in one corner of a fellowship hall. But now, in your mind, multiply this minor discomfort by a thousand.

David H. Jensen: God, Desire, and a Theology of Human Sexuality

May 09, 2013 by Carol Howard Merritt

I talked with David Jensen, Professor of Reformed Theology at Austin Seminary, about his new book, God, Desire, and a Theology of Human Sexuality.  

#UNCO13

May 08, 2013 by Carol Howard Merritt

This will be the fourth year of UNCO. We’ve gone from a small handful of people who really wanted to meet one another after interacting on Twitter to meeting on two coasts, conconting dreams and implementing creative projects. If you are interested in working toward the future of the church with action that moves beyond hand-wringing and an institutional nostalgia, then by all means, go to UNCO. You’ll find kindred souls there.

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(Re)writing songs for Pentecost

May 17, 2013 by Steve Thorngate

Somewhere in my queue of non-time-sensitive articles to write—yes, it’s been there a while—is one on the history and practice of making theologically significant changes to traditional American songs. Not just line-level edits like neutering/diversifying gendered language or using “love” in place of “wrath.” I mean re-imagining songs in a thoroughgoing way, while also preserving much of the existing imagery and language patterns. (I posted some time ago about one historical example.)

I write songs and play traditional music, but I haven’t actually tried this approach myself.

Other people saying things

May 17, 2013 by Steve Thorngate

“People who are experiencing homelessness are people. They are not extras in a movie about you.”

When the real controversies legitimate the fake ones

May 16, 2013 by Steve Thorngate

It’s true: gay-rights groups, a progressive church and other liberal organizations have received not-so-special attention from the IRS in years past, as well as more recently. It’s true that there’s no clear evidence that IRS staffers were ideologically motivated when they gave special scrutiny to Tea Party groups. It’s true that, by design, the IRS does its work largely independent of the White House—Obama couldn’t fire the people at the Cincinnati office if he wanted to. And yes: “social welfare” nonprofits need more scrutiny and regulation, not less—assuming they should even exist.

Still.

Bangladesh, guilt and solidarity

May 15, 2013 by Steve Thorngate

We may have the power and privilege to avoid having to work in a sweatshop. But we feel powerless to prevent such horrors from existing.

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Faith formation

May 17, 2013 by Diane Roth

Not long ago I went to visit a woman who had just entered hospice care. I've known her family for several years. I used to visit her with her husband and give them communion pretty regularly.

The divine protest of Pentecost

May 16, 2013 by David Henson

The God of Pentecost doesn’t have an official language.

This is the shocking revelation of the day of Pentecost, but one often  lost amid the day’s more bombastic metaphors of rushing winds, descending doves and intoxicated disciples with tongues touched by fire.

The church as blueberry pancake

May 14, 2013 by John Vest

It was either Rocky Supinger or Greg Bolt that turned me on to marketing guru Seth Godin. I subscribed to his blog and read it with interest. I often find in his posts compelling connections or challenges for the church. I’ve considered writing posts that tease out these connections, so here’s a first attempt.

Who was Jackie Robinson's Jackie Robinson?

May 10, 2013 by MaryAnn McKibben Dana

My husband and I went to see 42 the other night. Good film, well worth seeing. There was the tiniest layer of cheese over the movie, and the score was not the least bit subtle. But it was well done, and it captured the essence of his story, at least according to Robinson’s widow.

A church member had told me to be on the lookout for references to faith, and they were certainly there.

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Ministry in the 21st century

What is pastoral ministry like these days, and how is it being shaped in new ways? The Century talked to pastors about the challenges and surprises of their early years in ministry.





Features

Urban experiments

Ministry in the 21st century

Jan 11, 2013 | An interview with Nanette Sawyer

"I've been given an opportunity to color outside the lines," says Nanette Sawyer of Grace Commons and St James Presbyterian Church in Chicago, "the permission and charge to be creative and experimental."
Features

Fusing justice and holiness

Ministry in the 21st century

Nov 29, 2012 | An interview with Dennis Sanders

"Progressive Christians do a good job with issues like LGBT rights," says Dennis Sanders of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Minneapolis. "But we're less good at helping people become disciples of Jesus."
Features

Training in Jesus’ way

Ministry in the 21st century

Aug 14, 2012  | An interview with Todd Friesen

"Jesus calls us to make disciples, not just converts," says Todd Friesen of Lombard Mennonite Church in Illinois. "I believe that discipleship begins in communal worship."
Features

A foundation for relationships

Ministry in the 21st century

Jun 13, 2012 | An interview with Joyce Shin

"More than ever, people are building interfaith marriages," says Joyce Shin of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago. "Too often, religion is seen as an impediment to this instead of as a resource."
Features

Organizing for communion

Ministry in the 21st century

Mar 14, 2012 | An interview with Isaac S. Villegas

“I like to think I’m a grassroots organizer," says Isaac S. Villegas of Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship. "I rearrange pews; I find people to make sloppy joes for hungry people.”
Features

Faithful reinvention

Ministry in the 21st century

Feb 15, 2012 | An interview with Scott Kershner

"Religious commitments are no longer taken for granted as part of North American people's lives," says Scott Kershner of Holden Village, a Lutheran retreat center in Washington State. "So space opens up to ask very basic and interesting questions."
Features

Entrepreneurial idealism

Ministry in the 21st century

Nov 30, 2011 | An interview with Carol Howard Merritt

"What would happen," asks Carol Howard Merritt of Western Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., "if we coupled baby boomers' prophetic focus with the pragmatism of my generation? What if the church unleashed us to plant churches?"
Features

Pastor as witness

Ministry in the 21st century

Sep 22, 2011 | An interview with Kevin J. Long

"It doesn't happen every day," says Kevin J. Long of Orchard Park Presbyterian Church in suburban Indianapolis. "But it is thrilling to see someone begin to grasp the good news of Jesus Christ."
Features

Bearing testimony

Ministry in the 21st century

Jul 28, 2011 | An interview with Katherine Willis Pershey

"People need to hear the good news," says Katherine Willis Pershey of First Congregational Church in Western Springs, Illinois. "If the church doesn't take on this mission, I'm afraid—well, that's where that sentence can end. I'm afraid."
Cover Story

Deeper history

Ministry in the 21st century

Jun 20, 2011 | An interview with Josh Carney

"We have rejected much of our immediate [evangelical] past," says Josh Carney of his church, University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas. Looking to older traditions, "we found that some of our objections had already been addressed."
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