Timothy Beal is Florence Harkness Professor of Religion at Case Western Reserve University and the author of twelve books and numerous articles on the cultural history of the Bible, religion and popular culture, and relations between critical theory and academic religious studies. He recently shared a portion of an essay from his latest book, The Rise and Fall of the Bible: The Unexpected History of an Accidental Book (2011), in an article for The Chronicle of Higher Education. Read More …
United Church of Christ
A Few Thoughts on Who Jesus Is (#0341)
Yesterday the United Church of Christ's Stillspeaking Writers' Group shared fourteen thoughts about who Jesus is. Three of their thoughts spoke to me: Jesus is the one who makes God real for me Jesus is the one who calls me out to the other on behalf of myself In Jesus, God shared in the kind of life you and I live So What? As you continue on your holy week journey what are some of your thoughts about who Jesus is? Has some aspect of who Jesus is become more clear for you in Read More …
American Sex Ed is Atypical and Ineffective (#0335)
The documentary Let's Talk About Sex is generating considerable discussion. It aired on TLC last weekend and the DVD was released a few days later. Directed by James Houston, an Australian fashion photographer currently based in New York, the 62 minute offering shows how very different sexuality is when comparing American teens to teens from other nations. While American teens and European teens become sexually active at about the same age the results are very Read More …
What the Church Is and What it Should Be (#0328)
Jason Fairbanks, pastor of First Congregational Church (United Church of Christ) in Lake Worth, Florida, recently wrote a series of posts on his blog about what the church is and what it should be. In making his case for what the church should be he offered the wisdom given him by his father: A church is a hospital for those that find themselves hurting and on our doorstep. It is these that we have the opportunity to receive and to love. A church is a greenhouse for those interested in Read More …
Learning from Gen Y: Thoughts of a New Reformation (#0324)
Bradley N. Hill, a minister in the Evangelical Covenant Church, recently wrote an article for the Christian Century suggesting that the way most churches operate (an attractional model) will never effectively engage Generation Y (those he characterizes as being born between 1976 and 2000) for many reasons including: . . . advertisement is just part of the background white noise of our culture. No impersonal website or advertisement, no program or event flyer, poster or radio spot will entice Read More …
Mission 1: Feeding the Hungry and Confronting Food-Related Injustice (#0323)
The one million member United Church of Christ may be best known by its incredibly successful multi-year "God is still speaking" campaign. Perhaps you have heard the message: No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here. We believe in extravagant welcome. (For more information read The Language of God and Uniquely UCC then watch some of the original television commercials.) The United Church of Christ originated as the result of mergers that Read More …
Do you Attend a Living Church or a Dying Church? (#0312)
Sam Trumbore is a Unitarian Universalist (UUA) pastor who currently serves as minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany (New York). Previously, he was Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Charlotte County, Florida. Recently he wrote a piece contrasting the experiences of living churches with those of dying churches. This article was originally published in the newsletter of a Charlotte county church: Pilgrim United Church of Christ. More recently it Read More …
A Shift in Theological Education (#0292)
In the last two weeks two United Church of Christ (UCC) related seminaries have announced plans to launch or expand hybrid or online educational offerings. Andover Newton Theological Seminary will partner with The Alban Institute to offer "courses in church leadership and vitality . . . using Andover Newton’s online learning system and Alban’s authors as instructors." These four week offerings are designed primarily as continuing education for clergy. Eden Theological Seminary will Read More …
Review of New Feminist Christianity (#0229)
Mary E. Hunt and Diann L. Neu, eds. New Feminist Christianity: Many Voices, Many Views. Skylight Paths, 2010. ISBN: 9781594732850. Meet the Editors and Authors Mary E. Hunt (pictured on the left) and Diann L. Neu (pictured on the right) are co-founders and currently serve as co-directors of WATER (Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual), which is an an international community of justice-seeking people who promote the use of feminist values to make religious and Read More …
Review of Saving Jesus from the Church (#0202)
Robin R. Meyers. Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus. HarperOne: 2009. ISBN: 9780061568213. Meet the Author Since 1985, Robin R. Meyers has served as the Senior Minister of the 750 member Mayflower Congregational Church in Oklahoma City, which has been recognized as the fastest growing United Church of Christ congregation in the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference. In addition, he serves as a tenured professor of rhetoric Read More …