Meet the Author Anne Lamott is the author of seven novels and five best-selling nonfiction books. She was honored with a Guggenheim Fellowship, and has taught at the University of California - Davis. Lamott’s biweekly Salon Magazine “online diary,” Word by Word, was voted The Best of the Web by TIME magazine. Book Basics Help Wow Thanks: The Three Essential Prayers is simple, honest, and personal. Lamott shares her understanding of and Read More …
Borg on the UCC (#0931)
Progressive Christian scholar Marcus Borg served as the Hundere Chair of Religion and Culture in the Philosophy Department at Oregon State University until his retirement in 2007. He is the author of numerous books, including Evolution of the Word: The New Testament in the Order the Books Were Written (my review) Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power –And How They Can Be Restored (my review) Putting Away Childish Things: A Tale of Modern Read More …
Read & Reclaim the Bible (#0930)
Ronald Hendel, professor of Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies at the University of California - Berkeley, recently blogged about why people should still be reading the Bible. While many today opt for extreme positions - ignoring it or interpreting it in a very literal manner - he proposes an alternative: a respectful approach that emphasizes the impact of rather than the historicity of the stories contained within its pages. He writes: . . . it is a book that lies at the heart of Read More …
Proof of God’s Love (#0929)
Crave, the debut album of for King & Country features a song based on I Corinthians 13: "The Proof of Your Love." The lyrics of this song invite followers of Jesus to live authentic lives that display God's love: So let my life be the proof The proof of Your love Let my love look like You And what You're made of How you lived, how You died Love is sacrifice So let my life be the proof The proof of Your love So What? The core of Christianity is living life by the Jesus Read More …
Review of Hidden America (#0928)
Meet the Author Jeanne Marie Laskas is an associate professor and the director of the writing program at the University of Pittsburgh. Previously (1994-2008), she was a syndicated columnist for The Washington Post Magazine, writing weekly essays: "Significant Others." She is the author of six books, including an award-winning trilogy of memoirs: Fifty Acres and a Poodle (2000), The Exact Same Moon (2003), and Growing Girls (2006). Book Basics Read More …
Pastoral MBA (#0927)
While most Protestant denominations either require or strongly recommend those preparing for ministry as pastor earn a seminary degree (normally the Master of Divinity) few groups have established protocols requiring that academic preparation include significant training in business or organizational leadership. Since most congregations are small in size (approximately two-thirds have fewer than 200 members), pastors are often tasked with the daily oversight of the daily operations of the Read More …
Does Distance Matter? (#0926)
Cor Chmieleski, senior associate pastor at Hope Community Church (Minneapolis, MN), recently asked "how far is too far?" when it comes to the distance people will travel to participate in a community of faith. Chmieleski lives six miles from the church he serves, but passes "more than 50 churches" on his commute. He questions whether, in the current era, distance should matter and if there is a point at which a congregation should encourage those who travel over a certain distance to Read More …
Review of America’s Blessings (#0925)
Meet the Author Since 2004, Rodney Stark has been a University Professor in Social Sciences and the Co-Director of the Institute of Studies of Religion at Baylor University. Stark is an American sociologist of religion who previously taught for over thirty years at the University of Washington. He has published 30 books (my review of What Americans Really Believe / my review of The Triumph of Christianity: How the Jesus Movement Became the World’s Largest Read More …
Sentence: Attend Church (#0924)
There are some things in life that I simply cannot understand. That list grew by one when I read about Oklahoma District Court Judge Mike Norman sentencing a 17 year old convicted of manslaughter to weekly church attendance for the next ten years. Incredibly, this isn't the first time Norman has resorted to mandatory church attendance. Thankfully, many have noticed and are speaking openly about how Norman's latest sentence differs prior cases in which he ordered Read More …
Consumerism as Idol (#0923)
Tony Campolo is an ordained American Baptist pastor, professor emeritus at Eastern University, founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, author of 35 books, and popular speaker. Recently he wrote these challenging words: . . . the enemy of the Church is consumerism. We have made an idol out of the things that are being sold. We bow down and worship the commodities that are paraded before us on television. We are enslaved to a mindset Read More …