Features
A dustpan, a desert, and a search for moral order
My theological education began at Deep Springs College, a two-year work school in California.
Learning to see the planet as gift
At Holden Village, a Lutheran retreat center nestled deep in the Cascades, I asked my students to consider their vocation in light of the Anthropocene.
The academy needs better theologies of cooking
The first step is to give voice to those whose work in the kitchen is shaped by necessity, not choice.
The consolation of studying theology
Theological education is precarious, inconvenient, and uncomfortable. So why do students keep enrolling?
How shall we render?
Thankfully, the Christian tradition is filled with models of resistance to unjust leaders.
Sacred waters, melting ice
Baptismal rituals in glacial lands hold memories of the past—and wisdom for facing climate change.
From seminary classroom to encampment
Students protesting the war in Gaza are asking deep questions about colonialism, antisemitism, and Christian Zionism.
The hope-filled worldview of John B. Cobb Jr.
Cobb was a visionary who saw theology as a force for transformation—as much about action as thought.
Jimmy Carter, America’s best ex-president
After his 1980 defeat, Carter devoted himself to the causes of a progressive evangelicalism that has all but disappeared from public view.
How do we preach about a vigilante murder?
As preachers consider their response to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a sermon from the Gilded Age might guide the way.
The Christmas of Baby Tommy
We raised our kids without a religious narrative. My young son stumbled upon one on his own.
Respecting the Ten Commandments, in all their ambiguity
I’m posting them in my classroom—and teaching my students about how people interpret them differently.
The gift of words
Here are some books and other wordy presents the CC staff will be putting under the tree this year.
Microbes in the manger
God is humbly present in every living creature. Maybe closer than we’ve imagined.
Music for the apocalypse
Growing up, I never understood the book of Revelation. Then I started listening to Black Sabbath.
The tropes that birth the hero
It is admirable that Bonhoeffer endeavors to highlight Black life. But one must be careful that the Black life of one’s representation is not playing in the dark of caricatured Black people.
Barbara Holmes taught us to see our cosmic ties
A visionary of Black liberation, she broke open what it means to be a contemplative.
The new Bonhoeffer movie isn’t just bad. It’s dangerous.
By egregiously misreading Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s moral crisis, it primes viewers for violence.
There’s no such thing as a Bonhoeffer moment
Dietrich Bonhoeffer didn’t choose to be a martyr. He simply tried, as many others did, to be decent in the face of evil.
A time to endure
As we approach another Trump presidency, I’ve been thinking a lot about Ecclesiastes.