Latest Articles
Friday digest
New today from the Century: Jason Byassee on Star Trek, Diane Roth on evangelism, more.
Galactic hopes
Star Trek has long been insistently nonreligious. But in the end it has not replaced religion, just repurposed it.
The Beautiful Old, by various artists
This project by producers Paul Marsteller and Gabriel Rhodes is an admirable tribute to pre–World War I popular music....
Cultivating a holy imagination: Ministry in the 21st century
"I eventually realized that leaders are not made by books or workshops," says Lisa Yebuah of Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. "Leaders are people who marry their knowledge to action."
Pope Francis and Archbishop of Canterbury to meet for the first time
c. 2013 Religion News Service...
Southern Baptists condemn gay Scouts policy but won’t force a boycott
c. 2013 Religion News Service...
Republicans retool for evangelical outreach
Do Republicans have an evangelical problem in a party that’s been both derided and heralded as God’s Official Party?...
I'm not married to my church, are you?
I was with a group of folk from another congregation recently, introducing them to NEXT Church and talking about my involvement as co-chair....
Wife, mom, SecState, Methodist
I'm puzzled by Sally Quinn's take on Hillary Clinton's tweeting debut this week:
There were two surprising things about Hillary Clinton’s first tweet.
Clinton broke her Twitter silence this week with this bio: “Wife, mom, lawyer, women and kids advocate, FLOAR, FLOTUS, US Senator, SecState, author, dog owner, hair icon, pantsuit aficionado, glass ceiling cracker, TBD . . . .” A photo by Diana Walker showing a serious-looking Clinton in black and looking at her Blackberry through dark glasses is her avatar.
Thursday digest
New today from the Century: Interview with UM pastor Lisa Yebuah, MaryAnn McKibben Dana on not being married to her church, more.
I Have Big Plans for the World, by Beki Hemingway
The latest six-song effort by Beki Hemingway—a distant relative of Ernest—finds her in fine voice, singing with a poised balance of tough and tender....
Racked by fracking: Ministry challenges in the oil boom
For some churches in North Dakota, the oil boom is a threat. For others it's an opportunity to relate to new neighbors.
Baseball believers
Wrigley Field and Fourth Presbyterian Church both opened in 1914. It's the perfect image of my lifelong connection to God and baseball.
Mormonism and race 35 years after the end of the priesthood restriction
The musical The Book of Mormon portrays two naïve Mormon missionaries in Uganda proclaiming that “in 1978, God changed his mind about black people.” The joke isn’t mere whimsy; the LDS Church is widely perceived as racist. The irony is that had the church followed its initial trajectory, by now it likely would have become the most racially integrated and progressive church in America.
Wednesday digest
New today from the Century: Amy Frykholm on the churches and the North Dakota oil boom, Daniel Schultz on Christians and the PRISM program, more.
How should Christians think about PRISM?
Is the NSA electronic surveillance story about human rights? Is it about the common good, or loving the neighbor?
Report: ‘Catholic McCarthyism’ threatens bishops’ anti-poverty push
c. 2013 Religion News Service...
Waste management: Copts live off Cairo's garbage
In a slum settlement outside Cairo, Coptic Christians do a dirty job that no one else wants to do.