Most churches still approach membership the way they did in the 1960s. But if new modes of affiliation are appearing, churches will need new ways of thinking about membership.
When House of Mercy began in 1996, most attendees weren’t interested in formal membership. In 2008, the church joined the ELCA—which requires congregations to keep a member roll.
I confess that I'm not up to forgiving Osama bin Laden. But I'm not going to dance in the street over his death either.
St. Cyprian said that we can't have God as our Father if we don't have the church as our mother. It seems, however, that we live in an age in which people are less inclined to become church members—even when they are happy to have some church associations.
Eating at my city grandmother's table was a chore. I remember being dressed up, speaking in soft tones if at all, and being terrified of spilling on that lace tablecloth. But my country grandma served her meals in the kitchen.
How sweet was the moment when, the catheter removed, I was able to again urinate on my own. I heard myself whispering enthusiastically, with no hint of disrespect or irony, "Thank you, Jesus!"
What exactly qualifies as a fiery ordeal?
The Spirit's power is the power to bear witness.
All is vanity
Where is Qoheleth coming from? What is he doing in the Bible? What can he offer us, when his mood and outlook seem so at odds with the rest of the Bible?
Past progressives
According to Gary Dorrien, the influence of Walter Rauschenbusch, Washington Gladden and the Social Gospel on the United States was mixed--but it was very real.
Bill Cunningham New York
This invigorating documentary offers a poignant portrait of a life devoted to the pursuit of beauty. Cunningham, a photographer who documents fashion in his long-running New York Times column, is both an artist and a social commentator, though far too modest to describe himself as either.