Just over seven months ago, I announced that I would soon begin serving as the Interim Senior Minister at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. While seven months is not a long time in the life of a congregation, a lot can happen when a church is willing to look honestly at where it has been, where it is, and where it might go next. This is exactly what FCC has been doing. As Fort Worth's oldest congregation, FCC has a remarkable history. It has Read More …
Great New Books for October 2026 (#2340)
The best new books I’ve read in the last month are The Death of Religion The Death of Religion joins The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us as the only two books to be rated 5+ this year on So What Faith. By comparison, just three books received that rating in 2025. In recent years there have been dozens of well-researched books chronicling the decline in American Christianity, often with particular emphasis Read More …
Stronger Together: When Churches Partner to Serve Their Communities (#2339)
I am a huge fan of the local church. After 30 years of serving congregations, I have seen firsthand the good that local churches can do. Over the last 30 years, I've served 11 congregations affiliated with 5 denominations: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, Presbyterian Church (USA), and United Church of Christ (UCC) in the Dallas – Arlington – Fort Worth metropolitan area of North Read More …
Jesus is Queer (#2338)
Every week I post a dozen or so quotes from recently published books I'm reading on Threads and Bluesky (something I did on Twitter for 15 years before departing soon after it transitioned to X - see Goodbye Twitter, X, or Whatever You’ve Become). With only around 2,500 and 1,500 followers respectively, my reach is modest. The closest I have come to going viral on these newer platforms was Jesus is Queer A few days ago I posted a thread that has gained more traction than Read More …
My Visit to Trinity Lutheran Church (#2337)
This past Sunday morning, I was a first time guest at Trinity Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Oklahoma City. About Trinity Lutheran According to the congregation's about page, Trinity is a community of faith, hope, and love in the heart of Oklahoma City. Just last month their current pastor, Rev. Miranda Searcy, was ordained in the ELCA and installed in this congregation. Trinity offers one worship service at 10:30am each Sunday. Welcome I arrived on the church campus about 12 Read More …
Great New Books for September 2026 (#2336)
The best new books I’ve read in the last month are Welcome Back Two of this month’s authors have previously been featured on So What Faith in connection with other books they have written: Read More …
Who Am I? (#2335)
Passage for reflection: Psalm 8 I have the privilege of meeting a lot of people. I’ve noticed that in most social settings, people rarely introduce themselves using only their name. More often, they offer some clue about who they are, usually by offering insight into what they do. “Hi, I’m Mark, and I’m an aerospace engineer.” Or, “Hi, I’m Melissa, and I reimagine higher education.” We often understand our identity through our work, our relationships, our accomplishments, or the Read More …
Five Pictures, Five Months, One Ministry (#2334)
Five months into an interim pastorate, I’ve discovered that sometimes a photograph can capture what words cannot. Since beginning my service as Interim Senior Minister at Fort Worth’s oldest congregation, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), I’ve been paying attention to the moments that seem to tell something larger about this remarkable community of faith. Established in 1855 and located in the heart of downtown, First Christian’s “new” campus has been home to the congregation Read More …
A Robe Retrospective (#2333)
A few years ago, I shared some of my many clergy stoles in A Story of Stoles. A few recent conversations prompted me to continue that reflection with another part of clergy garb: robes. The Original I no longer have the robes I wore soon after graduating from seminary. And enough time has passed that I don't have high-quality photographs of myself wearing them. They were simple black robes, worn during my first two calls to congregations affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Read More …
Great New Books for August 2026 (#2332)
The best new books I’ve read in the last month are 5 Star Trio Prior to this list, I had rated only six books as 5.0 or higher so far in 2026. That makes this month's trio especially noteworthy. Although these books examine very different subjects, each offers timely wisdom for navigating today's world with greater courage, compassion, and purpose. William Blaine-Wallace's Mending the Space Between: 7 Habits of Contemplative Justice is the strongest new faith-based leadership Read More …