Latest Articles
The Last Street Before Cleveland
Joe Mackall’s memoir is the story of the author’s “going home again.” Home is Parma, Ohio, and the blue-collar Catholic...
Sound alternatives
Psalm 96 issues an invitation repeated throughout the Old Testament: “Sing to the Lord a new song.” Today’s Christian musicians follow that call into vistas that David could never have foreseen, fr...
Crime scenes
A dead girl lies in a grassy field. Her blood-soaked body has started to decompose. Who is she? How did she get there? Was the killing a crime of passion or opportunity?...
Louder than words: Missiological authenticity
Jason Byassee’s article on Christians in Jordan reminded me of some conversations I had early in my ministry with a fellow pastor...
Hangman's knot: No space for repentance and reconciliation
Killing people is a grisly business, even in the case of capital punishment....
Century Marks
Talking about Jesus: Jonathan Miller, Democratic state treasurer in Kentucky, is considering a run for governor. He has developed a stump speech that works well in a conservative, religious state like Kentucky—it talks about Jesus. Nothing startling there, except that Miller is Jewish. Miller says that when he wants to talk to poor people about how he would help them he keeps getting asked, “What’s your position on gay marriage?” (Forward, December 15)
Mother in the House: Nancy Pelosi's first career
After the November election, stories began circulating about Nancy Pelosi’s “mother of five” voice, the voice she uses to great effect with staff members and colleagues. Forged during the years she spent at home with her five children, Pelosi’s authoritative voice helped make this Californian Speaker of the House and the first woman to be within two rungs of the presidency. I call that progress.
The submergent church: "The unseen leaven in society"
A man in his mid-30s sits in a recliner in a dark room. Bursts of light from an episode of Dancing with the Stars flash on the walls and furniture....
Churches oppose troop surge in Iraq: Encourage "a robust diplomatic effort"
Mainline church leaders are expressing opposition to President Bush’s plan to escalate U.S. troop presence in Iraq....
Foundations, other donors make NCC healthy if not wealthy: Social justice and environmental work supported
Bob Edgar said he was hired seven years ago as the top executive of the financially bleeding National Council of Churches to do three things: Raise money, raise money and raise money. ...
Carter, Clinton urge new Baptist covenant network: Gathering planned for early 2008
Leaders from 40 Baptist organizations are joining forces with former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton to hold a gathering next January that will emphasize their common goals, especially to ...
Advisers cut Carter Center ties over book: Protest statements on the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate
Fourteen members of a 200-member advisory group to the Atlanta-based Carter Center have resigned in protest over former president Jimmy Carter’s recent book and statements on the Israeli-Palestinia...
Plan for Bush library on SMU campus stirs protest: Faculty and Methodist clergy oppose project
Southern Methodist University, which holds to its denomination’s standards for leadership and public service, has become embroiled in a controversy over linking itself permanently to the husband of...
Polish church crisis echoes Vatican slowness on U.S. abuse scandals: Allegations of collaboration lead to resignation
The abrupt resignation of a top Polish prelate, amid allegations that he collaborated with Poland’s Soviet-era secret police, has once again shone a spotlight on the reluctance among Roman Catholic...
Church of Christ congregation OKs musical instruments: Want to "reach more people who need Christ"
The nation’s largest a cappella congregation within the Churches of Christ has decided to add a worship assembly on Saturday evenings that will make use of musical instruments....
Briefly noted
A Vatican official has upheld the wholesale excommunication of hundreds of lay Catholics affiliated with dissident and reform groups by a Nebraska bishop 11 years ago....