Voices
Julian DeShazier
When rituals leave us full—and then empty
Leaving the jailhouse graduation, I wondered, Where have I felt like this before?
Brian Bantum
Can dead things live again?
When the widow in Luke 7 sees her son revived, she isn’t thinking about biology.
Samuel Wells
How we can and can’t help
When my household took in some Ukrainian refugees, we had no idea how their story would end.
Julian DeShazier
Catharsis at church
The book of Ezra helped me realize how bad most congregations are at handling big emotions.
Alejandra Oliva
The brine of Christianity
I don’t go to church anymore, but the faith I was pickled in still shapes me.
Melissa Florer-Bixler
As a pastor, it’s my job to pay attention
In the Mennonite tradition, we are all priests. But I still have a particular role to play.
Philip Jenkins
A gospel that admits it’s a false prophecy
One of the most fascinating texts from early modern Europe is the Gospel of Barnabas.
Heidi Neumark
My retirement to-do list
Several times a day I need to tell myself: I am not busy. I am not in a hurry.
Samuel Wells
Choosing solidarity with God
In a sense, I am asking my parishioners the same thing John Wesley asked: Are you going on?
Yolanda Pierce
A poet’s truth at the graveside
At the interment, the holy words I needed to hear weren’t from the Bible.
Rachel Mann
Compassion makes us human
When we fail to be compassionate, the refrain “Well, we’re only human” is exactly wrong.
Rachel Mann
Atonement without participation?
In the substitution theory, God simply does stuff for us. What about the relational God of the Bible?
Heidi Neumark
Organizing is about people’s agency
Unlike social services and advocacy, which are all about being helpers
Debie Thomas
Each of my dyings
I’m in a stage of life where I find myself praying the same prayer again and again.
Isaac S. Villegas
Nonviolent crisis response in my city
I wish Durham’s HEART program had existed when my friend Joe was killed.
Brian Bantum
Living by kinship, not consumption
When I’m tempted to click “Add to cart,” I hear creation groaning.
