Latest Articles
Truth telling
Throughout those tortured months leading to the impeachment trial of President Clinton, one point of national agreement stood out: truth telling is good; lying is bad....
A nice gesture
Frederick Denny's article on "Postures and Gestures" in The Encyclopedia of Religion may contribute to your survival in our uncivil society....
Missing at the table
The economy is humming, the stock market is flirting with another record high, unemployment remains low, and the neighbors all seem to be buying sports utility vehicles. Life is good in America....
Still on pilgrimage: Churches uniting in Christ
The months preceding the 18th plenary of the Consultation on Church Union, held in St. Louis in January, were marked by no little anxiety and anticipation....
When congregations are stuck
We often hear that two-thirds to three-fourths of American congregations are in decline or at a plateau with regard to membership....
Being postliberal: A response to James Gustafson
The editors have asked me--as, I assume, some sort of certified postliberal--to respond to James Gustafson's questions. For several reasons, I was probably a fool to agree....
Remember that you will die
A metal door opened, and we were invited in. Draped sloppily in white linen was a body on a table, frozen and immovable....
Horton who?
It was a major event in American Protestantism when, in 1933, Douglas Horton translated Karl Barth's The Word of God and the Word of Man, just as it was when Walter Marshall Horton, former...
Holy heartburn: Acts 2:14a; 36-41; 1 Peter 1: 17-23; Luke 24: 13-35
Again and again in scripture, pounding hearts become burning hearts.
Jesus in faith and history
Marcus J. Borg and N.T. Wright, The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions (HarperSanFrancisco, 288 pp.)...
Partner in terror
For over three decades military regimes in Guatemala conducted a terrorist campaign against their own people....
The liturgy of abundance, the myth of scarcity
The majority of the world's resources pour into the United States. And as we Americans grow more and more wealthy, money is becoming a kind of narcotic for us....
Making adult disciples: Rite for our times
During the past 30 years various churches have begun to revive an ancient pattern for preparing adults for baptism and Christian discipleship....
Principles of the Catechumenal Process
1) Storytelling. Each person, whether a bishop or a new Christian, has experienced God acting in his or her life....
Christian initiation and renewal: One congregation's story
St. Andrew Episcopal Church in Kokomo, Indiana, began its commitment to the catechumenal process by launching two experiments....
Just what is ‘postliberal’ theology?
Reading a recent issue of the Christian Century finally provoked me to register a concern raised by other reviews and articles over many months....
Bothering God
I have a seven-year-old granddaughter by marriage named Madeline. She is blond, skinny and tall for her age. When she comes to visit, we cook together....
Crossroad and resurrection: The father of the prodigal son
During a Lenten retreat, we were asked to reflect on the feelings and role of the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son....
Marketing a classic
Nothing's sacred. Those of us who look for continuity in culture have always known that we could count on certain trademarks and products....