Intentional conflict
“Conflict is not sin,” says Priya Parker. “It’s heart; it’s relevance. People don’t fight about what they don’t care about.”
Churches are closing. What should they do with their assets?
Invested Faith offers one possibility: give them to social entrepreneurs doing transformative work.
A glimpse of the world beyond
In his new novella, Jon Fosse allows a luminous narrative to unfold at a dreamlike pace.
An old man dreaming dreams of psalms
Paul Simon isn’t religious, but the voice he heard in his sleep seems to be.
Where did the baby boomers go wrong?
Bill McKibben recalls his suburban childhood without a hint of nostalgia.
Frederick Buechner’s many benedictions
Buechner never stopped searching his own life for clues to the presence of God.
Stephen Sondheim’s expressions of yearning
My spirituality was shaped by this secular artist’s powerful spiritual questions.
Diana Butler Bass’s love letter to Jesus
Freeing Jesus is not the kind of book we expect from someone with a PhD.
A religious studies thriller about Karen King’s “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife”
Ariel Sabar’s nonfiction book contains more twists and turns than a car chase.
The problem with specialization
Chess players and golfers might benefit from an early, singular focus. Most people don’t.
Which new books deserve a spot under the Christmas tree?
We asked our contributing editors to each pick two.
It’s time for me to let go of some books
Someone else should have a turn feeling guilty about not reading Finnegans Wake.
Learning to give thanks
How is thankfulness engendered? By giving thanks in all circumstances.
Do you see this prisoner? Meeting with Sing Sing seminarians
In the context of a seminary class behind bars, Jesus' question to Simon is a probing and challenging one.
Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic, by Reinhold Niebuhr
Reinhold Niebuhr was 23 years old when he began this journal of his experience as the pastor of a blue-collar church in Detroit. Pastors will be reassured to read how even the great Niebuhr struggles with the pastoral role.