by Matt Fitzgerald
A few years ago a member of the church I then served asked me to preach a sermon addressing the question, “How the Bible Says it is Okay to be Gay.” I was stumped. The Bible says things are beautiful or idolatrous, sinful or wondrous, evil or holy. Terrible is a biblical category. So […]
by Roy Howard
Soon Americans in the United States will engage in the annual celebration of the founding of the nation. There will be patriotic speeches, parades and flag waving along with family picnics. All of which presents an annual dilemma for Christians; or at least it could if we raised certain questions at our pot luck […]
By Mona Eltahawy
Over the past month, I’ve been to Qatar, Germany and Egypt. As jet setting as all that sounds, I was counting the days till I was in Bellevue, Ohio for it was in this tiny town halfway between Cleveland and Toledo that my family would finally gather again for the first time in […]
by Susan Andrews
Desire.
Longing.
Come as you are.
Connection.
Do it yourself.
Strip it down.
Bare Bones.
Take away all the fluff and the hype.
This ethos heavily shaped my understandings of what a church should be like: strip everything away and get down to the most basic elements. A group of people desperate to experience God.
- from Velvet Elvis by Rob […]
by Wes Avram
During the years I was teaching preaching at a university divinity school I was often struck by how eloquent many of our students could be when describing the human condition. They would wax lyrical, find appropriate metaphors, use telling examples of life experiences, and identify with their audience in ways that kept their […]
by David Bartlett
Earlier this spring I joined a group of preachers studying the lectionary texts for the season of Pentecost. We were reminded of the quip attributed to Alfred Loisy the French New Testament scholar: “Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom but what we got was the church.”
The clear implication of that statement is that we ought […]
by Matt Fitzgerald
In a passage from Marilynne Robinson’s novel Gilead, Reverend John Ames reflects on how “commonplace” our sins are. Speaking of his parishioners he says, “So often people tell me about some wickedness they’ve been up to, or they’ve suffered from, and I think ‘Oh, that again!’” I imagine that, enthroned in heaven, God’s […]
by Ali Trowbridge
Henri Nouwen wrote that sometimes it is in and through our sufferings that we come to know God and experience God’s call. Entering into the suffering of the poor is one way to become obedient, to become a listener of God. “Suffering accepted and shared in love breaks down our selfish defenses and […]