Latest Articles
It's not about Jezebel
Jezebel has become a cultural symbol for treachery, seduction, immorality and idolatry....
My church, Rachel's church: "Jesus means church for me"
Every spring when our church confirms members of our confirmation class, I reflect on my own experience of joining the church....
Preferential hiring? Religious agencies; government funds: Religious agencies; government funds
Iraqi immigrant Saad Mohammad Ali worked for six months as a volunteer with World Relief, helping the nonprofit Christian-based agency resettle Iraqi refugees in the Seattle area....
Century Marks
A room for grandma? Kenneth Dupin, a Methodist pastor in Salem, Virginia, thinks he has a way to address the needs of an aging population: MEDcottage, a portable dwelling that can be placed in a backyard and equipped with technology to monitor a person’s vital signs, filter air and communicate with the outside world. Critics call them “granny pods” and warn that they will create a “not in my backyard” movement (Washington Post, May 6).
Küng warns against total condemnation of church over sexual abuse scandal: "A bad generalization"
Vatican critic Hans Küng has warned against “condemning the church and its priests wholesale” for the current spate of sexual abuse allegations....
Ex-chaplains reject change for gays in the military: Say they will be forced to choose whether to obey God or humans
More than 40 retired military chaplains have warned President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates that allowing gays to serve openly in the military will force current chaplains to choose betw...
Can evangelicals live with high court's broadened symbolism of the cross? Court allows cross but secularizes it: Court allows cross but secularizes it
Many evangelicals cheered when the Supreme Court ruling allowed a cross to remain as a war memorial in California’s Mojave Desert....
Anti-incumbent mood in the Missouri Synod: "Tea Party feel to these numbers"
When the nominations for president of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod were tallied and released in April, a collective gasp went up from Lutherans who pay attention to things like presidential n...
ELCA worried by shutdown of publisher pension plan: Augsburg Fortress employees suing
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America says it is “deeply concerned” about the welfare of employees who are suing the denomination’s publishing arm over the termination of their pension plan....
African Lutherans press opposition to gay rites: Church leaders in Tanzania and Ethiopia
Three months before a major assembly of the Lutheran World Federation, church leaders in Tanzania and Ethiopia—who represent the two largest Lutheran constituencies in Africa—have expressed opposit...
From clergy shortage to clergy glut: Economy prompts staffing cuts
After a decade-long clergy shortage in America’s pulpits, Christian denominations are now experiencing a clergy glut—with some denominations reporting that they have two ministers for every vacant ...
Lovers' quarrel: Arguments and intimacy
When Moses is on Mount Sinai he offers the gutsiest prayer of all time. I’m in awe of it because it doesn’t sound at all pious; it sounds like an argument....
Thanks, but no thanks: Congregations say no to the faith-based initiative
More than a decade ago, the faith-based initiative was launched in Congress with the idea of tapping the energy and genius of religious organizations, including congregations, to meet social needs....
Fog of the culture war: Wisdom from Lincoln
The earliest occurrence of what church historians call a jeremiad happened before there was a United States....
It's about the carbon: What's worse than the gulf oil leak?
The sudden, hideous explosion of oil in the Gulf of Mexico is the latest reminder of who we really are. By we, I mean:British Petroleum: Broken Pipe? Bigtime Pollution?Our government: The Bush administration's constant deregulation is a factor, but Barack Obama avoids offending the big oil and coal companies. We as in us: Every politician in America notices that Americans scream any time the price of oil begins to rise.
Repentance: Repeat as needed
The parish liturgy committee decided to adopt the contemporary version of the Lord’s Prayer for use during worship....
From forgiveness to love: 1 Kings 21:1-21a; Luke 7:36—8:3
In 1 Kings, the storyteller sets the scene simply. Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. We have already been told a lot....