Features
Glory days? The myth of the mainline
For decades, the notion of mainline decline has dominated interpretation of church life. But just how mighty were the churches before?
Wrestling with God: Poet and editor Kimberly Johnson
"Poetry invites you to have an experience. It doesn't want you to drift away into inattention. It wants to grab you."
Risk: Essays by readers
In response to our request for essays on risk, we received many compelling reflections. Here is a selection.
Good news verbatim: Why we need clinical evangelistic education
Imagine having a conversation about the gospel, and then bringing an account of this conversation to a group led by an experienced supervisor.
Never forget, never tell: An Armenian Americans dilemma of memory
My first trip to Turkey, the place where so many Armenian Christians were killed, found me in a land both strange to me and known in my bones.
Books
Mirror, Mirror, by Simon Blackburn
In Simon Blackburn's inquiry into how to get our love of self into balance, self-esteem and shame appear alongside traits such as integrity and sincerity.
Pope on the bus?
Pope Francis and Simone Campbell's recent books have much in common. Yet the standoff between U.S. sisters and the Vatican continues.
Hauerwas, by Nicholas M. Healy
Nicholas Healy's central methodological criticism of Stanley Hauerwas is that he "is concerned with the logic of coming to believe and the logic of Christian living rather more than the logic of belief."
Shepherd: A Memoir, by Richard Gilbert
Ever since his father lost the family farm when he was a child, Gilbert dreamed of owning his own farm....
A Fighting Chance, by Elizabeth Warren
Warren weaves together her life story with an analysis of what is wrong with the country’s economic system....
An Idea Whose Time Has Come, by Todd S. Purdum
Todd Purdum's work of journalistic history on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is ultimately a story about politicians doing the right thing.
Departments
Patriot cause
I love the Declaration of Independence and the radical notion that every human being has unalienable rights, innate worth, and dignity.
Teaching virtues
As a Lilly Fellow, I was compelled by Mark Schwehn's vision of all academic work as the work of teaching, with love at the core of its mission.
Revival in the Balkans
Anastasios is first and foremost a scholar. Yet it's hard to imagine any religious leader accomplishing so much practical good so quickly.
Clickbait kitsch
Several times a day, my Facebook feed invites me to cry, laugh, or feel amazed. I click almost every time.
Seeds of Harmony (series), by Jeff Kennel
Many of Jeff Kennel’s photographic works are based on world travels, but a recent series of photos records a gathering of world cultures on a small plot of land in New Columbia, a large housing project in Portland, Oregon....
Sacrificed for what?
Sacrifice has real moral resonance—but it can also be exploited. In Iraq, past sacrifices don't offer a guide for U.S. policy.
News
Two Reformed churches agree to work more closely
In a historic joint session following decades of division and rancor, delegates of the Reformed Church in America and the Christian Reformed Church buried the hatchet....
Archbishop pressed on his knowledge of crime
It was supposed to be a happy day for Archbishop Robert J. Carlson. June 10 marked the fifth anniversary of his installation as Shepherd of Roman Catholics in St. Louis....
Gay marriage ban challenged in North Dakota
North Dakota recently became the last of 31 states to have its ban on same-sex marriage challenged as unconstitutional.
The lawsuit was filed on June 6—only hours before a federal judge in Wisconsin struck down a similar ban....
High court says no to graduations in churches
The U.S. Supreme Court has let stand a lower court ruling that a Wisconsin high school acted unconstitutionally when it held its graduation ceremonies in a local megachurch....
'Inside every Christian is a Jew,' says Francis
Underscoring the close ties between Christianity and Judaism and calling Holocaust denial “madness,” Pope Francis told an interviewer that “inside every Christian is a Jew.”...
Baptist seminary head apologizes for admitting Muslim to Ph.D. program
The head of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary offered an emotional apology to Southern Baptists meeting in Baltimore for accepting a Muslim student into his school’s Ph.D....
Seminary pulls investments from 'sin' of fossil fuels
New York City’s venerable Union Theological Seminary plans to pull all investments in fossil fuels from its $108.4 million endowment, casting it as part of a bid to atone for the “sin” of contributing to climate change....
Plagiarism in the pulpit
Thou shalt not steal another pastor’s sermon?...
Lectionary
Sunday, July 20, 2014: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
We all see weeds, but we shouldn't make it our business to separate them.
Sunday, July 13, 2014: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Jesus' parable presents not differences between people but different kinds of terrain within each of us.