Amy Frykholm
Stand up for Jesus: Susan Sparks, pastor and comedian
"I was doing my material about being a southerner in New York—about regional differences in shopping, food, clothing. People were laughing. Then I made the mistake of saying I was a minister. The room went silent."
A review of The Bradbury Report
The year is 2071 when the narrator of this novel, who calls himself Ray Bradbury to conceal his identity, begins his report....
Walking Bible Studies
A woman came to my house recently whose
husband I had helped put in jail the day before. One day she felt afraid of his
...
Muhammad Musri, peacemaker
There are a lot of ways to look at what happened with Terry Jones, the
pastor from Florida who wanted to burn the Qur’an on Saturday but later
...
Religion and the ridiculous: Novelist Clyde Edgerton
A critic once called Clyde Edgerton the "love child of Dave Barry and Flannery O'Connor"—a reflection of the fact that his novels are both dark and funny.
What Was Lost
One in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage. But as United Methodist
pastor Elise Erikson Barrett points out, we don’t much like to talk
about miscarriage.
Obama’s moment
When I opened this biography, I was as curious about how David Remnick would pull off a biography of a sitting president—after only one year in office—as I was about Obama himself.
Renewal and reinvention: UCC president Geoffrey Black
Geoffrey Black has completed his first year as president of the United Church of Christ at a time when the UCC has been emphasizing youth and technology as well as theology and social justice...
The House of Secrets: The Hidden World of the Mikveh
Most Christians have little understanding of the practice in which baptism has its origins: ritual bathing for purification i...
'I don't need another tax break' Mike Lapham and Responsible Wealth: Mike Lapham and Responsible Wealth
United for a Fair Economy was started 15 years ago in response to the growing gap between rich and poor in the U.S....
July is Messy Month
The last few weeks have seen good conversation here about children, worship and Sunday school....
Tracking God: Karen Armstrong's religious vision
When A History of God hit the New York Times bestseller list, Karen Armstrong suddenly became the go-to commentator on religion. Bill Moyers calls her “one of the foremost, and most original, thinkers on religion in our modern world.” Why is she so widely read? The answer is not immediately clear. Her prose is often maddeningly dense and her points elusive. Her drive to comprehend religion leads her to be constantly comparing elements of different religious traditions, but the connections she draws are not always illuminating.
Church workers and the law: Fear on all sides is rampant
When Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona in late April signed a bill authorizing local police to apprehend people suspected of having entered the country illegally, she brought to national attention the...
What kind of reform? Immigration policies on the table: Immigration policies on the table
Although nearly everyone agrees that U.S. immigration policy is inadequate, different critics focus on different elements of the problem. The most comprehensive proposal comes from Representative Luis Gutierrez (D., Ill.), a native Chicagoan of Puerto Rican ancestry who has criticized President Obama’s reluctance to address the issue. Gutierrez’s bill is heartily endorsed by most immigrants’ rights groups, but it is not likely to pass in its current form. Jen Smyers of Church World Service calls it “a marker bill,” since it stakes out a clear position. It has no Republican supporters.
After the earthquake: MCC workers in Haiti
When the earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, Ben and Alexis Depp were in Port-au-Prince working with the Mennonite Central Committee....
Out of Afghanistan: Why Matthew Hoh resigned
Matthew Hoh is a former Marine Corps captain who has served with the U.S. Department of State in Iraq and Afghanistan....
Enemies of the people: Mark Potok monitors hate
Mark A. Potok heads up the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project and is editor of Intelligence Report magazine....
Shepherds in training: Reinventing leadership
Seminaries generally do a fine job of educating the minds of people who are called into ministry. But how well do they form the hearts and spirits of those people?...