David Van Biema recently wrote about how two radically different Christian causes have used Psalm 139: Starting in the 1970s anti-abortionist evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics began using the text to suggest that God's involvement makes abortion unthinkable, and Starting in the 1990s gay and lesbian liberal Christians began using the text to suggest God's foreknowledge and acceptance. So What? While the Bible has long been used to defend both sides of an issue, I cannot think of Read More …
Discipleship
Bread for the Journey (#0725)
I have been privileged to be a part of Christian communities that celebrate Communion differently. Among these differences: Name: Holy Communion, Lord's Supper, or Eucharist Frequency: weekly, monthly, or periodically Who Presides: only ordained clergy or only lay leaders or both groups are welcome in this role Presence: a complex continuum of understanding how Jesus is present Elements: (1) bread - a single shared loaf or multiple loaves - single option for all or for Read More …
Differing Standards for Eternity? (#0721)
Last month megachurch pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren was interviewed by ABC News about the spiritual state of the union. During that conversation he gave very different answers about how people and dogs get to heaven. In his view, people get to heaven only through faith in Jesus Christ but dogs (as well as cats and other pets) are guaranteed admission into heaven. So What? According to recent research Heaven is a more popular notion than Hell. Nearly two-thirds of Read More …
Effectively Welcoming Visitors (#0695)
Kevin Hendricks, founder of Monkey Outta Nowhere and author of Addition by Adoption: Kids, Causes and 140 Characters (2010), recently wrote a post for Church Marketing Sucks entitled "Making Visitors Feel Welcome (But Not Too Welcome)". In the article he reflects on the topic in light of his reflections after hearing Anne Lamott read from her latest book and talk about her own experience. Recognizing a one-size-fits-all approach is ineffective, Hendricks suggests those Read More …
What Was Truly Original About Jesus? (#0693)
In the April 2012 edition of Christianity Today, David Neff interviewed Amy-Jill Levine on the topic of "Jesus Through Jewish Eyes." Levine is one of three dozen Jewish scholars who contributed to The Jewish Annotated New Testament (2011). In addition to co-editing that work, she has written numerous volumes and teaches New Testament at Vanderbilt University. Her response to the question, "So, what was truly original about Jesus?" follows. He's the only person I can find Read More …
What is Faith? (#0685)
Each year Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams commissions a book for those in his fellowship, the Anglican Communion, to read during lent. Ruth Barrows, known as Sister Rachel in her Carmelite Community, was commissioned for the 2012 book. The April 4, 2012 edition of the Christian Century includes an interview of Barrows by Amy Frykholm. Q: What is faith? What does it mean to have it or to lack it? A: Faith is a profound mystery that we can never adequately Read More …
Jimmy Carter On Equality (#0682)
Former US President Jimmy Carter is a Baptist who spent many years teaching Sunday School and who takes his faith seriously. To help promote his new book, NIV Lessons from Life Bible: Personal Reflections with Jimmy Carter, he recently answered several challenging questions posed by Paul Brandeis Raushenbush for a Huffington Post article. When asked about what the Bible has to say about gay people's role in church and society Carter responded: Homosexuality Read More …
Why Are You Still in Church? (#0679)
Much is being written about why people are leaving church, especially those in younger generations. Emily Case, Associate Pastor at Kennesaw United Methodist Church in Kennesaw, GA, recently wrote about why she has chosen to stay: Why do I stay? Because I believe that just like I am broken, the church is broken, that we all are broken. But, I believe that God can often work best through brokeness. Why do I stay? Because I have seen lives changed because someone held their hand Read More …
Poverty Reality Check (#0674)
Sid Mohn is president of Heartland Alliance, the premier anti-poverty organization in Chicago and the Midwest. He recently wrote a Huffington Post article, "8 Facts About Poverty that will Blow Your Mind," based on a TEDx speech on the same topic. Mohn's facts follow in abbreviated form: Our kids are poor. At some point in their lives, half of all U.S. children will be on food stamps. Our adults are poor. Half of American adults will Read More …
Trusting in Trump (#0670)
Cathy Lynn Grossman's March 6, 2012 USA Today article explores a recent American Bible Society survey that finds "more Americans would follow Donald Trump's financial wisdom than the Bible's." Half of those surveyed (50%) would follow Trump's counsel while only around a third (32%) would take advice from the Bible. So What? The Bible, however, did receive favorable treatment from those who do not currently follow its teachings: roughly a quarter (24%) of those "who do not Read More …