Hey You –
Close to real skin color David —
What slingshot will you use to fight our ailments?
The media have been full of stories and commentaries on the water landing of a US Airways passenger jet that resulted in no fatalities, and few serious injuries. Often, almost too often, the outcome of this potential mass tragedy has been proclaimed to be a miracle. One commentator said that the happy ending was the result of a series of small miracles.
As our congregations respond bravely to the worsening recession, we should also learn from it.
Steve Monsma is senior research fellow at the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics at Calvin College and professor..
Some convergences of timing — no matter how amazing — reflect little more than a coincidence. That an African-American would be inaugurated as the president of the United States just 23 days before the 200th birthday of the president who proclaimed emancipation for African-Americans is just such a coincidence.
Two recent and very ordinary events have set me thinking about a New Year’s resolution that might just be worthwhile for us..
She was birdlike and petite, with a hawk nose and an attractive smile. She was routinely mocked in parliament by big angry men shouting "Go back to Moscow" or "Go back to Israel." Yet this indomitable Jewish woman could make strong men tremble. Oh, and she helped break down the walls of apartheid in South Africa.
During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama affirmed directly that Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior. Will his profession be demonstrated in the legislation he promotes and in the leadership he exerts?
Churches are already planning for their Vacation Bible Schools this summer. Publishers of VBS material have provided the following synopses of their curricula for 2009.
Where better to turn for a source of New Year’s resolutions than the Ten Commandments? Martin Luther’s exposition of the Eighth Commandment*..
As people return to church during the holiday season, remember that you have two stories to tell.
So how was your 2008? On many fronts it looked bleak: the collapse of the financial markets, an often ugly political race that turned incendiary on religious issues, continuing conflicts among the world’s religions — including stepped up persecution of Christians in some mostly Muslim and Hindu countries.
If the First Beatitude is true about the blessedness of knowing our need of God, the current financial crisis opens the door to important progress in Spiritual Development.
From the time of Christ, his followers have struggled to recreate a wholesome life and community that reconciles each of us to one another and to God. Instead of reconciliation, however, we frequently find ourselves trapped by circumstances that limit our capacities to be free to love, to live a life rich with possibilities, and instead, find ourselves isolated and broken.
‘Tis a sign of the season: Brunswick, Ohio, cancelled its holiday lights display due to a lack of money. Snowflakes normally hung from the downtown light poles stayed in storage for possible use next year.
“Doubt” opens with the parish priest, Father Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) delivering a brief, eloquent homily about doubt. This is the 1950s, and the well-dressed, clean-scrubbed congregation sits in rapt attention, in part because Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) is the self-appointed behavior modifier.
As I have gotten older, I have shifted one hundred eighty degrees in my attitude toward the penitential seasons of Advent and..
The congregation’s membership ministry starts with recruitment and retention, but it must push on to transformation.
'Tis the season for looking back
As the worsening recession spreads dislocation, church leaders face increasing pressure to do more with less.
His initial words seemed so harsh, but the others’ response was stunningly gracious. Now, together, they have become conversation partners, and an avenue toward peace may result.
Day-after reflections of an election may sound dated when you read them a couple weeks later. That being said, now that you’ve heard numerous pundits’ two cents’ worth, the mail delivers a mainline Presbyterian editor’s two cents’ worth. That is to say, I write as one who aims to obey God’s will as revealed in the inspired words of holy Scripture, as one who has a passion both to evangelize the world and to promote justice, as one who promotes the ministry of reconciliation and connectionalism, and as one who above all aims to glorify God. All this is motivated by living in the hope, the audacious hope, of the resurrection.
When a congregation launches a Church Wellness Project, voices telling the old stories come first. Some are negative, some are fond reminiscences, some are reminders of “how we used to do things,” and some are one more try at getting an idea or need on the table.
(ABP) -- On Nov. 12, in a front-page story, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution broke the news that the Georgia Baptist Convention has approved a new policy giving GBC executives the freedom to refuse donations from churches it finds to be out of step with Southern Baptist beliefs. The policy move is aimed (for now) at First Baptist Church Decatur, because it called a woman, Julie Pennington-Russell, to serve as pastor.
Beware the dangers lurking in the pages of the magazine you are holding. This “Just the Stats” issue can mess with your head.
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