M. Craig Barnes

Empathy made it big in an era some call the "me generation." By discovering my feelings inside you, even you are about me.

Despite bleak forecasts, many of today’s teenagers refuse to buy the marketed temptations to despair and fear. They’ll find a way.

We all live with many callings in life, and the greatest is not to be a pastor—much less to be in the right job at a particular congregation.

When did we stop taking church architecture seriously? Christians used to devote themselves to building projects that lasted over a hundred years. Not anymore.

I recently went to parents' night at my stepsons' school. Since then, I've been thinking about the parishioners I've served over the years.

The request hadn't even made the committee chair's checklist. It never does; it's just reflexive. And I've never known exactly what it means.

Benedict instructed that a novice's street clothes should be kept. Every morning for the rest of his life, the monk confronted two habits.

Our congregation helped build a parish school in the West Bank. In return, Palestinian Christians stretched our understanding of the gospel.

Everyone knew the family's problems, but there was never a word of judgment or even pity. The congregation was just being the church.

Conflict is neither good nor bad. It is just inevitable, and it’s another tool for leadership. Jesus Christ started most of the ones he experienced, so why should his faithful disciples expect to avoid them?

Social commentators warn that if you don't manage your social media identity, someone else will. I recently learned this the hard way.

Jack served the church in countless ways. There's only one thing he wanted in return.

This is the third time I've said goodbye to a congregation. I should know how by now, but I'm still overwhelmed by the emotional awkwardness.

The newlyweds stood in worship surrounded by examples of the options for how their marriage will end. And 100 percent of marriages do end.

Dhini didn’t ask to be adopted. That's the way grace works.

In the fellowship hall, theology becomes incarnational and takes on all the fleshly concerns brought to church that day.

Palestinian parents don’t fret about drugs or drunk drivers. They worry that the Israeli soldiers will use their M-16s.

Salvation requires repentance. But of what do the righteous repent?

I am cherished, and called by the Shepherd to serve the flock. But I can save no one.

By grace we're created in the image of God. When we corrupt our lives with sin, the grace of God in Jesus Christ forgives us and makes us fully alive again.