Church
Written by the oppressor, sung by the oppressed
James Walvin traces a beloved American hymn on its winding journey across racial divisions through the centuries.
How can a congregation change its culture?
It helps to focus less on structure and instead envision the church as an organism.
Which church is dying?
The church of empire might be. But I’m not ready to call time of death on the mystical body of Christ.
Women posing problems
In the gospels and in the world today, women get in the way and make the world new.
Is religion good for human flourishing?
The Global Flourishing Study is producing a dazzling amount of data to help us answer this sort of question.
The puzzle at the heart of Mormonism
Historian Richard Lyman Bushman investigates his own tradition’s most mysterious miracle.
God cares nothing for our algorithms
Embracing the random can open us up to the agitations of the Holy Spirit.
The roots of Hebrew Roots
A small but growing movement of Christians believes fervently that Torah observance is for everyone.
Present together
When I was a chaplain intern working with people with disabilities, there was one man I visited every Sunday right after worship.
What is a church’s money for?
As a pastor, I am both grateful for our congregation’s healthy endowment and distressed by it. I don’t think I’m alone.
The shared root of antisemitism and White supremacy
Historian Magda Teter identifies an endemic rot at the center of Christianity.
The great man theory is poison for the church
The problem isn’t just that it exists. It’s that so many ministers fall for it.
My childhood congregation was a progressive Christian dream come true
So why don’t more of the people who grew up there practice Christianity as adults?
A church politics of nondomination
Liberal Anglicans and Methodists often face a tension between LGBTQ inclusion and anti-colonialism. But we don’t have to choose.
Feeling God in a modernist cathedral-in-progress
While other churches have filled me with wonder, Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia brought tears to my eyes.