Latest Articles
Catholic Priest resigns over new Mass translation
(ENInews)--A pastor in Belleville, Illinois, has become the first Catholic priest to resign over the new translation of the Mass, which was introduced throughout most of the English-speaking world ...
Lutherans find common ground with Catholics on Obama mandate
c. 2012 St. Louis Post-Dispatch...
Southern Baptists: Name change too costly
When Southern Baptists gather for their annual meeting this June,
they will not be asked to create a new official name. Top leaders...
Blacks say atheists were unseen civil rights heroes
Think of the civil rights movement and chances are the image that
comes to mind is of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. leading the 1963
March on Washington....
Planning for a vital future
Why are we losing congregations? There are many factors. If
I’m painting with a broad brush, I’d say that it is because we are largely rural, white and older. What can we do to ensure a vital future? Focus on urban
church planting.
Generational change
About 15 years
ago I was a guest at the annual meeting of the Association of Christians Teaching Sociology. In one session a professor reported on a
student's project. Taking the Century as a barometer of mainline Protestantism and Christianity Today as a barometer of evangelicalism, his student
compared the respective responses to the civil rights movement. The student
found that the Century was very hospitable toward the movement and that CT was critical of
it. (Full disclosure: At the time of this ACTS meeting, I was working for
CT.)
Since ACTS is comprised
largely of evangelical scholars, there was some hanging of heads in the room.
Evangelicals, they agreed, had been on the wrong side of history, not to speak
of the wrong side of justice.
Thursday digest
New today from the Century: a nation of foodies, a future for congregations, more.
Foodie nation
Late in life, my mother confessed that she never enjoyed cooking. "But," she said, "I did take satisfaction in serving simple meals to my family." Well, there's no such thing as a simple meal anymore.
Our life together: Four practices of healthy congregations
To build stronger communities, we need to get in the habit of recognizing what undergirds our relationships. We can't afford to take it for granted.
Bob DeMarco lays down his life
DeMarco experienced a lot of life before he came to care for his mother, and he will likely experience more when his time as caregiver ends. Yet I think of John 15:13.
Another Ash Wednesday, another jelly-bean binge
Like a lot of Protestants, I've never been one to take the fasting element of Lent all that literally. But while I never set out to intentionally do the opposite, it sometimes seems to happen.
This morning, I ate half a bag of jelly beans. I haven't done that in years. Then, with my brain exploding with sugar and my mouth with fantastic artificial flavor, I remembered what day it is. It's as if I got the Fat Tuesday memo a day late, and also missed the part about using up perishable bad-for-you food, not junk you couldn't spoil if you tried.
Wednesday digest
New today from the Century: sustainable congregations, elder care, more.
Man on a Ledge
Man on a Ledge is a nifty little entertainment about an ex-cop
(Sam Worthington) framed for stealing a diamond owned by a ruthless
magnate (Ed Harris). He escapes from custody and stages a suicide
threat on the window ledge of Harris's hotel as a diversion while his
allies break into his accuser's vault to prove the theft was a hoax.
Life and health
I recall three times when the churches I served were picketed. The one that was by far the most traumatic had to do with abortion.
Sunday, March 4, 2012 (Mark 8:31-38)
I can't fool myself into believing that I've gotten close to the kind of costly discipleship that Jesus is speaking of in Mark 8.