Recent Articles
9/11, Lindsay Clancy, and Who Gets Grace
We would all do well to notice and sit with the discomfort before we respond to it.
Sunday’s Worship After 9/11
We now would see with certainty that worship is theology on the half-shell, raw for the chewing and swallowing.
Hidden Eyes: Why ‘Flock’ Surveillance Cameras Must Come With Oversight
The automated tracking is widely viewed as a direct violation of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.
‘For Those With Ears to Hear’
True listening is more than auditory reception.
How Should Americans Respond to Trump’s Aggression Against Canada?
Canada has a bully, and he just happens to be the leader of the United States of America.
Following Jesus: Robert Parham on September 11, 2001.
Those in the Christian community have little clear perspective save that of Jesus.
Profundity and the National Crisis: John Pierce on 9/11
The words of God have always been profound.
Maine Court Determines Father Has Final Authority Over Daughter’s Church Attendance
The state’s highest court was careful to note that its decision was based on the “best interest of the child” and did not concern “the substance of Bickford’s beliefs.”
Race, Religion, and Reparations: The Story of Second Baptist and Lake Street Church in Evanston, Illinois
One can only wonder what might have been. What if both First Baptist Church and First United Methodist Church had worked hard to fully accept their Black members?
A Modest Proposal for an Immodest Ballroom
If a gilded ballroom is inevitable, then the argument can continue whether it is a symbol of greatness or an embarrassment.
Labor Day, Dorothy Day, and the Spiritual Roots of Unions
We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.
We All Know Who Dealt It
When flagrant habitual liars govern, the people cease to believe.
No World Without Dolly
I do not know a world without Dolly Parton in it.
Resistance at 500: Women Who Led the Way
Throughout our sacred stories, whether in the Bible or the ones of those who went before us, women have led the way.
Bullies With Bullets and Badges
The net always catches both the intended target and innocent bystanders.
Dolly’s Greatest Gift Was Reading the Room
You can’t grow up in a one-room log cabin with 13 other people without learning to read a room
Wendell Berry: The Mad Farmer Who Practiced Resurrection
Berry died this week at the age of 92, leaving behind one of the most remarkable bodies of American writing of the past century.
Off to Lunch: What Caused the ‘Death of a Pastor’s Wife?’
An increasing number of churches are willing to allow their senior pastor to do whatever the senior pastor wants to do.
Finding Belonging at Beer Camp
I have come to understand that this kind of belonging does not simply happen because everyone means well.
Justice Department Opens the Door For Federal Funding of Religious Programs
Religious organizations in the United States have historically been allowed to receive federal grants to fund educational programs and social services initiatives.
Everything is a Scam
Everything is a scam, a test of discernment and of will. You need a genie in a bottle, a wing and a prayer, an eight ball, and a lot of luck to get what you paid for.
ELCA’s ‘Stolen Stories’ Series Centers the History of Palestinian Christians
The series is intended as an educational resource to help Christians better understand the region’s conflict.
Crisis Contemplation: On Living Buoyantly in Baptism’s Power
With our confidence in the resurrection—God’s power over the realm of death—we can risk much, because we are safe, even in a despotic political climate.
Announcing the Good Faith Alliance: The Time for Cooperation is Now
With faith and democracy teetering on the brink, it’s time for people of good faith to cooperate around a unifying mission.
Religious Accommodation Lawsuits on the Rise
Many of those cases involved employees from religious traditions that require Friday afternoons and Saturdays off.
Dolly Showed Us the Only Possible ‘Third Way’
What has taken me aback is how well-behaved we have all been toward each other.
‘Flood’ Offers an Alternative to Estrangement
Parents who have taken religious and political exclusion to their natural conclusions are looking around and wondering why their kids have gone “no contact” with them.
Peter, ‘Fleabag,’ and the Gospel of Incompleteness
It feels right to say that on this side of heaven, everything remains incomplete.
Don’t Get Above Your Raisin’: Remembering Dolly Parton
Southerners are known for our ability to turn a phrase. We have certain sayings and expressions.
Alcohol Consumption in U.S. Remains at Record Lows
Recent Gallup research suggests embracing the trend of non-alcoholic bars will be an excellent business decision.