CCblogs Network

This week at Theology Pub we discussed Thanksgiving from various angles. I found it an interesting topic because giving thanks—and gratitude in general—is certainly not unique to people of faith.

I was watching one of those competitive cooking shows the other night with my six year old daughter Emma. The challenge in that particular episode involved taking the chefs out to (as they called it) “the middle of nowhere” and having them butcher a pig and cook it over a fire they built from wood they gathered.

Once again, while at an ecumenical clergy gathering, I heard the call for the Church to become missional, this time from a Presbyterian.

Now that October 2011 has drawn to an end, I want to express my gratitude to all the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who were inspired by the tradition of October being Coming Out month to come out to themselves and those around them.

What is the message of this billboard?

I shared today in church a few of parables from Matthew 13: mustard seed, yeast, treasure, pearl. I tried to just tell them as stories: very little editorial commentary or explanation, just the stories.

One of my more conservative friends posted this picture on his Facebook page recently, shared under the headline, “It’s funny, because it’s true.” I get it. Ironic, right? Maybe so. Yes, the captions make a point, but it’s not one I find compelling.

My ears perked up when I heard that Atul Gawande--my favorite surgeon/writer--has a piece in the New Yorker about coaching for professionals. You can read the whole thing online here.

Two supporters of Occupy Atlanta showed up at my church last Sunday. Now, I should say--they didn't come to worship. They showed up just as I was locking the doors to go home, slightly before two.

When you enter the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham—one of Alabama's great institutions—you are welcomed by Fred Shuttlesworth. You will be welcomed to this shrine of the Civil Rights Movement by a preacher.

This is the 785th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi. He is beloved by so very many people the world over. Christians and non-Christians, believers and non-believers all admire the man who sought simply to follow in the footprints of Jesus Christ, living out his baptismal promise as one committed to living the holy gospel.