Life of Faith
Soul-altering substances
What implications does the psychedelic renaissance have for faith and spirituality?
Catharsis at church
The book of Ezra helped me realize how bad most congregations are at handling big emotions.
The brine of Christianity
I don’t go to church anymore, but the faith I was pickled in still shapes me.
Anorexia in the communion line
As I stealthily slipped the body of Christ into my pocket, I prayed that no one was watching.
As a pastor, it’s my job to pay attention
In the Mennonite tradition, we are all priests. But I still have a particular role to play.
Prayers rising past the immanent frame
Charles Taylor helps me understand my church’s architecture—and my own struggles with faith.
My retirement to-do list
Several times a day I need to tell myself: I am not busy. I am not in a hurry.
Earth martyrs
Elizabeth O’Donnell Gandolfo makes readers question the depth of their own commitment to righteousness.
A poet’s truth at the graveside
At the interment, the holy words I needed to hear weren’t from the Bible.
September 3, Ordinary 22A (Exodus 3:1–15)
We see what we focus on—and what we focus on determines what we do not see.
Compassion makes us human
When we fail to be compassionate, the refrain “Well, we’re only human” is exactly wrong.
Episode 31: environmental activist Bill McKibben, author of The Flag, the Cross and the Station Wagon
A conversation with Bill McKibben about climate change, the wealth gap, spiritual formation, and more
Intersex at Bible college
In telling a student’s story, Cynthia Vacca Davis captures the complicated nature of coming of age as an intersex person.
Christians should read books
Jessica Hooten Wilson helps us to see reading as a form of holy play.
Each of my dyings
I’m in a stage of life where I find myself praying the same prayer again and again.
An old man dreaming dreams of psalms
Paul Simon isn’t religious, but the voice he heard in his sleep seems to be.
August 13, Ordinary 19A (Genesis 37:1–4, 12–28)
Is it possible to be completely and terribly wrong but not all bad?
Helping incarcerated men see their own worth
“My goal is to teach men to love themselves,” says Men’s Workshop founder James Enoch Banks, “so they can love others.”
August 6, Ordinary 18A (Matthew 14:13–21)
There are no ideal conditions for a miracle.