During the fall semester, I'm teaching an adult Sunday School class at First Presbyterian Church (Fort Worth, TX) on Future Faith. Each week we are exploring one of the ten challenges Wesley Granberg-Michaelson identified in his new book: Future Faith: Ten Challenges Reshaping Christianity in the 21st Century. Last Sunday our topic was "Embracing the Color of the Future." This message was challenging for us to consider. The Read More …
race
Mainline: Lacking Racial Diversity (#1573)
Race related topics have been featured in the news more in recent months than any time I can recall. Mainline Protestants generally tend to have healthy perspectives on race. Such philosophical and even theological understandings do not necessarily translate into action (for example: read my summary and reflection of Bradley Wright's recent research showing that Mainline Protestant congregations had the highest rate of discrimination to prospective visitors) nor do they Read More …
Racism: A Mainline Reality (#1572)
Meet the Researcher Bradley (Brad) Wright is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut where he studies American Christianity and spirituality. He is the author of two books: Christians are Hate-Filled Hypocrites… and Other Lies You’ve Been Told (2010 - my review), and Upside: Surprising Good News about the State of Our World (2011 - my review). Research Overview Wright and another researcher researched how Christian churches Read More …
Review of But I Don’t See You as Asian (#1148)
Meet the Author Bruce Reyes-Chow is an ordained Presbyterian pastor, and 3rd generation Chinese/Filipino. He is a consultant who previously served as founding pastor of Mission Bay Community Church. His effective use of social media while serving as moderator of the General Assembly of the 2.3 million member PCUSA helped many mainline leaders appreciate the value of social media for ministry. Reyes-Chow has written two e-books: The Definitive-ish Guide Read More …
Seminaries Lack Faculty Diversity (#1044)
While the topic of reforming the seminary experience has been popular for many years (for ideas forwarded by many leaders check out the Future of Seminary Education), it is atypical for such conversations to include expectations for faculty diversity. Even though I would have guessed this was an area in which improvement could be made, I was surprised by the latest statistics. Claudio Carvalhaes recently shared that the Association of Theological Schools reported the Read More …
Review of Church Diversity (#0349)
Meet the Author Scott Williams is a pastor, ministry consultant, social media guru, and champion of diversity. Church Diversity: Sunday the Most Segregated Day of the Week is his first book. Recently, Williams served as Campus Pastor of the Northwest Oklahoma City Campus of LifeChurch.tv, which grew to an average weekly worship attendance of over 3,500 during his tenure. Prior to entering pastoral ministry, he gained professional experience in his work as a prison Read More …