We are all tired of it. We are tired of the handwringing, blaming, wailing and general angst over the demise of church-as-we-have-known-it...
My son is a Boy Scout, and we recently attended a scouting event that helps the boys earn their environmental merit badges...
I’ve heard many colleagues share how proud they are that they serve “purple” congregations where members from different sides of the political..
The thing about Reformed theology is that it is not really aiming to be “Reformed.” It is aiming to be Christian...
American Presbyterians have an imperfect history regarding racial justice, but in the 20th century they took some courageous stands. While white people..
Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary originated in 1867 in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the Freedmen’s Institute of North Carolina. It was established..
The history of African-American Presbyterians – and, yes, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – must acknowledge the transformative life and ministry of..
Why do churches sell their property? Sometimes a congregation gets too small and too old and the church closes its doors. Sometimes..
Sometimes a congregation decides to sell all or part of its property because it needs the money. And sometimes the decision to..
When my family moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, we purchased the only house that was available in our price range. After moving..
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from..
“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having..
I was working with a refugee ministry in Europe when I moved back to the U.S. to attend a Presbyterian seminary. Then..
Why am I writing about typewriters when you are supposed to write on them? At least that is what people used..
I am a recovering first born, a recovering Martha and a recovering “human doing” who is learning to be a human being...
The Pandora app turns your car into a time machine. The app lets you create your own radio station. You don’t..
“Go outside. Look up. Secret of life.” – Anne Lamott My wife and I are raising our children only about 30 miles..
Garfield Street, Washington, D.C. My mother is standing in the doorway of her bedroom. Then she turns to the bureau to fold..
Author’s note: This is a work of fiction. However, “Connecting Grace” is a real initiative of Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary, in..
I learned to run by chasing my father. To wait on a front stoop with laced shoes was to demand entrance into..
It was Sunday morning and there we were, clustered together, in a little church on the south side of Chicago. We were..
I write this from the passenger seat of Jill Duffield’s car. On the dashboard a plastic Jesus bobs, his palms lifted upwards..
By most popular North American accounts, the European church is dying. Old, tired and running out of energy. Soon the last..
It started simply enough: I would take a couple of seminary classes and if I liked them, I’d take a couple more...
“How’s seminary?” I used to cringe at this query posed by those who thought they were asking a simple, innocuous question. During..
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