Features
Why lead? Discipleship as leadership
Leadership is big these days. And I've become suspicious of our emphasis on what looks more and more like leadership for leadership's sake.
Being and doing: What’s in a religious identity?
At a seder or shul, I am with my primary congregation—even though I'm not Jewish. And the fact that I'm a rebbetzman is not the only reason I attend.
Messy stories: Disabilities and the choices parents make
When my daughter broke her femur, it seemed clear that we shouldn't conceive another child who might inherit my bone disorder. That clarity was short-lived.
Words against fear: A journalist and poet
Reading or writing a poem requires that we step out of ourselves—which can be dangerous. It's the same thing I do as a foreign correspondent.
After injustice
We are instructed to love our enemies—not necessarily to forgive them.
Grandmother’s communion: Lessons on the one true church
Her tiny cabin was part of an old Methodist campground, a fact that delighted her to no end. When it came to other religions, she had a sharp and amused tongue.
Voices
Samuel Wells
Ministry without God
I have conversations with a wide variety of clergy colleagues. But they're all the same conversation: "Is it well with your soul?"
Books
Questions for Carlene Bauer
"The big struggle for me as a young person was how to be someone who was interested in creativity and art and not losing one's faith to do it."
Faith as a romance
Carlene Bauer's characters create each other as pieces of their imaginations. They do the same thing with God.
A Life Worth Living, by Robert Zaretsky
It is extremely limiting to think of Albert Camus as an existentialist philosopher of the absurd....
Without Apology, by Stanley Hauerwas
Does it preach? That’s the question sometimes asked of theology by people who believe it should be an ecclesial, rather than just an academic, discipline....
The American Health Care Paradox, by Elizabeth H. Bradley and Lauren A. Taylor
Elizabeth Bradley and Lauren Taylor may have written one of the three most important books your member of Congress will never read.
Does Jesus Really Love Me? by Jeff Chu
A gay Christian with a compelling personal story, Jeff Chu is also a superb journalist who listens closely to whoever is sitting across from him.
Departments
Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares, by Evgeniy Vuchetich (1908–1974)
Isaiah’s beautiful vision of peace in Isaiah 2 is the Old Testament lesson for the first Sunday of Advent. Evgeniy Vuchetich powerfully and evocatively captures Isaiah’s vision in this bronze statue....
Christians without church
Like many baptized, praying Christians her age, my daughter is not a regular churchgoer. What difference does it make?
Ministry without God
I have conversations with a wide variety of clergy colleagues. But they're all the same conversation: "Is it well with your soul?"
Persecuted
Between 2006 and 2010, Christians faced some form of discrimination in 139 countries—almost three-fourths of the world's nations.
How to disagree
In a recent public conversation, I was touched by Richard Mouw's kindness and civility. It gave me hope for my church.
Pulled home
While Gravity doesn't pass the Bechdel test, it does feature a female lead in a story that isn't about romance or sex. But is it her story or Everyman's?
News
Kenyans fear rise in Christian-Muslim conflict
While the smoke that hung over the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi has dissipated, tension still lingers in the air....
Church news outlets struggle to maintain editorial independence
The closing of several Protestant denominational newspapers, magazines and other news services has played a part in eroding the standards of professional religious journalism, according to members of the Associated Church Press....
If it is not ‘mainline,’ what is it?
Is there a better name for mainline Protestants? How about vintage Protestants? Or the VPCC—Vanishing Progressive Christian Church? Or the Legacy Church?...
New film prompts calls for racial reconciliation
The new movie 12 Years a Slave may depict a bygone era in American history, but religious leaders hope it might spark increased attention about present-day race relations....
Malay court says only Muslims may use ‘Allah’
A court in Muslim-majority Malaysia has ruled that only Muslims are permitted to use the word Allah to describe God, overturning a lower court’s 2009 decision that allowed others to use the word....
Methodists mull whether to allow online communion
As online worship becomes more common in some churches, leaders within the United Methodist Church are debating whether the denomination should condone online communion....
Asian Americans upset by stereotypes used in church
Asian-American Christians are voicing concerns over how they’re depicted by white evangelicals, most recently at a conference hosted by Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in California....