1 Corinthians

The church at Corinth had many problems. Some simple kindness would have helped.

The church at Corinth had many problems. Some simple kindness would have helped.

The church at Corinth had many problems. Some simple kindness would have helped.

The church at Corinth had many problems. Some simple kindness would have helped.

I like that Jesus isn't actually what the disciples are looking for.

Theologian Deanna Thompson used to criticize the pervasive technological creep overtaking our lives. Then she was diagnosed with cancer.

I came into the world cursed with the ability to see all sides of an issue.

The prescription for the persistent malady of God’s people

Deuteronomy 30:15–20; 1 Corinthians 3:1–9; Matthew 5:21–37

Isaiah 58:1–12; 1 Corinthians 2:1–12; Matthew 5:13–20

Matt grew up in the Episcopal Church. One Sunday he appeared at the altar—with his arms crossed over his chest.

Theosis is mission’s starting point. Believers are called to “become” the gospel through participation in the divine life.

I keep a 36-inch utility shovel in my church office. I use it to dig the graves that hold the cremains of our congregation's saints.

Luke grounds the resurrection narrative in tangible details: the rock-hewn tomb, the linen cloth, the heavy stone, the fragrant spices. The reader can imagine the place and time. Then things fall off the map.

Luke grounds the resurrection narrative in tangible details: the rock-hewn tomb, the linen cloth, the heavy stone, the fragrant spices. The reader can imagine the place and time. Then things fall off the map.

In 1947, Langston Hughes published the poem "Luck." It could be read as an ode to love. It could be read at weddings along with 1 Corinthians 13, the biblical ode to love. But that would miss the point of both the poem and the scripture. 

For several years, I directed the Center for Pastoral Excellence at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. The center hosts five initiatives that together address and support the long arc of ministry through a variety of resources and research projects. Its name--the Center for Pastoral Excellence--has been somewhat controversial.

We've been hearing for a while now about the "spiritual but not religious." There are all kinds of reasons why people might rather be spiritual than religious.

One is that the church has turned people off with its own mistakes.

The writer of Luke may be challenging his readers to accept even those whom the oppressed might reject, but Paul reminds us to act with love in all things.

In this week’s Gospel reading, many people praise Jesus’ teaching—until he claims that he is the fulfillment of the scripture he reads. It is difficult for American Christians to grasp how shocking Jesus’ announcement is to a first-century synagogue.