Latest Articles
Religion, Race, and the Making of Confederate Kentucky, 1830-1880, by Luke E. Harlow and The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Emancipation, by David Brion Davis
Why did northern whites support a limited set of rights for blacks during Reconstruction, but then abandon them in the 1870s, and do little to stop the racial violence of the 1880s and beyond? Two new books shed important new light on such questions.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
The story of the golden calf is a parody of Israelite idolatry.
Museum of the Bible aims for timeless name, imagery
c. 2014 Religion News Service
WASHINGTON (RNS) Museum of the Bible.
That’s it....
Religious leaders try to cope with Islamic State attacks
c. 2014 USA Today
(RNS) Religious leaders agree the Islamic State—also known as ISIL or ISIS—must be stopped. Their struggle is how best to do it....
Most full-time faculty at Episcopal seminary in conflict with school’s leadership
c. 2014 Religion News Service...
One store, many churches: Bookseller Byron Borger
"I suppose some liturgical types don't like our Amish novels, and some evangelicals are perplexed by our Catholic stuff. But it used to be worse."
Look at how we kill you
Sunday morning, as I was doing the final edit on my sermon, I flitted briefly to web-based news sources to check in on the world....
LaSalle Street Church makes use of abundance
The point isn't the money; it's the risk.
Becca Stevens's favorite books for ministry
What are the best books for ministry written in the 21st century? We asked seven pastors to pick their favorites. — Ed....
America’s Pastor, by Grant Wacker
Let it be said at once: this is the best book ever written about Billy Graham. I found this an absolutely captivating book and have read every word, including the footnotes.
North Dakota oil boom offers mission field
Sven Hauge goes every Thursday to the “man camps” surrounding the oil fields near Williston, North Dakota, and holds worship services that feature preaching, praying, and singing....
Resisting ISIS
The question isn't how frightening ISIS is. It's what actual threat it poses—and how to contain that threat without causing more harm.
Fired? Forced out? You're not alone.
If you’ve been fired or forced out, it doesn’t always mean you need to fold up the cloth all together. It’s incredibly painful. We might feel a spiritual rejection that we’ve never experienced. We may have a loss of identity. Betrayal might become wounds that are so deep that we don’t feel like we’ll be able to love a congregation again. We may feel abandoned by God. But sometimes we just need to need to endure the ache, walk through the rejection, and find a place where our gifts can flourish.
Consumers and kenosis
In her most recent book, Blessed Are the Consumers, Sallie McFague focuses on kenosis as the key element in shaping a Christian alternative to the pervasive religion of consumerism. McFague says that consumerism consists of those cultural patterns and practices by which people “find meaning and fulfillment through the consumption of goods and services.” We may rightly identify consumerism as a religion.
Dear couple in the pew: I see you
I see the way you grip each other’s hands when you notice us. I see the way you try not to cry while you watch our kids.
All My Puny Sorrows, by Miriam Toews
This is a book about deep, protracted, unrelenting sadness, and it knows it.
Brian McLaren's favorite books for ministry
What are the best books for ministry written in the 21st century? We asked seven pastors to pick their favorites. — Ed....
Shame and guilt
It is a subtle shift that we make in our liturgy and preaching. But it’s an important one. We do terrible things and we must confess our action. But we are good. We are made in the image of God. And in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven people.