1 Corinthians

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.

From Paul’s letter, we can infer that the Corinthians tended toward the same bias from which many of us suffer: the belief that there is little collective wisdom in the church.

From Paul’s letter, we can infer that the Corinthians tended toward the same bias from which many of us suffer: the belief that there is little collective wisdom in the church.

If the world is a gift, then all the things to which you relate—and many to which you don't—are also God's relation to you.

David Carr rereads the familiar materials of the Bible in conversation with trauma theory. This opens the way for a fresh and suggestive interpretation.

David Carr rereads the familiar materials of the Bible in conversation with trauma theory. This opens the way for a fresh and suggestive interpretation.

Karl Giberson offers a cultural history of the Bible's first human. It's an intriguing and unsettling story.

Karl Giberson offers a cultural history of the Bible's first human. It's an intriguing and unsettling story.

Perhaps the real lack of faith in modern society comes down to a lack of reverence for the people around us.

Perhaps the real lack of faith in modern society comes down to a lack of reverence for the people around us.

In March 1933, the United States stood on the brink of ruin. Twenty-five percent of the population was unemployed; many people had not worked for several years. The situation was even worse in cities with major industries, where unemployment surpassed the national average.

Yet the real worry of the era cannot be captured by statistics alone. 

My dad's descent into depression

The new year is only a few weeks old. Like most people I have been reflecting on the past year, wondering where the time went. But even more, I have been wondering what the world has come to.

Paul isn’t asking us to avoid the world. But if the form of the world is passing away, the everyday is becoming a step into promise.

The story goes that God got a body. I’ve often pondered the relationship between incarnation and pain.

No one likes the thought of an angry God. It's hard enough to deal with an angry person.

For Andrew Elphinstone, human selfishness and violence are not evidence of a world gone wrong. They show a person ripe for transformation.