Lithium and a Prayer: A Few Thoughts on Mental Illness, Medication, and Spirituality

Last updated on: July 25, 2015 at 5:25 pm By Leigh Finnegan

Two weeks ago spiritually-minded people from across the country flocked to Hot Springs, NC for the 2015 Wild Goose Festival. The Wild Goose Festival is a progressive Christian festival celebrating art, justice, and spirituality. One of the talks was given by Sarah Lund, author of “Blessed Are the Crazy,” and David Hosey, Associate Chaplain for the United Methodist Protestant Community at American University in Washington, DC. Their presentation, entitled “Christ on the Psych Ward,” explored the intersection of mental illness with Christian spirituality. This was... Read more

The Confederate Flag, the History of the South, and the Testimony of our Sisters and Brothers

Last updated on: July 22, 2015 at 5:28 am By Jamie Osborne

A few weeks before the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney was killed at Emmanuel AME Church, he spoke on the floor of the South Carolina Senate about Walter Scott. As he spoke of Walter Scott and the video evidence of his slaying, he likened the nation to Thomas, who said he would not believe in the risen Christ until he had seen for himself. Senator Pinckney said that many could not believe that a police officer would shoot someone in the... Read more

Five Elements of Church Error – The Unexpected Jesus (Part 1of 4)

Last updated on: July 17, 2015 at 9:15 am By rileyobrienpowell

Part 1: Were We Wrong About Jesus Being Wrong About Eschatology? Early in my journey to a fulfilled eschatology perspective, I had the question, “How could the mainstream church have been so wrong for so long about eschatology?” I asked the question this way, because I held to the presupposition that God wouldn’t let the faith I grew up in be in error about something as significant as the timing and nature of the coming of Jesus for “most” of history. I had... Read more

When Life Cannot Go On As Normal

Last updated on: July 15, 2015 at 7:01 pm By Ahnnalise Stevens Jennings

The Sunday after the murders of Clementa Pinckney and his congregation members of Mother Emanuel AME was a difficult Sunday for pastors. There are some church contexts where people would not welcome any kind of reminder that there is a need for justice in the world. I would imagine that those churches would be even less inviting to the thought that they add to and benefit from the injustice that now pervades it. The idea that they may be somehow... Read more

Which are the good gifts?

Last updated on: July 15, 2015 at 6:14 pm By Theresa Soto

Recently, I wrote about how the Golden Rule doesn’t always clarify for people how they should treat people with disabilities The main reason that’s true is that people can experience fear and disgust when they encounter people with disabilities. It’s not an intentional choice, like name-calling, but rather a reaction that’s learned, like slowing down when we encounter yellow traffic signs. The effects of that learned caution on people with disabilities are worth examining closely. One effect is that people with... Read more

To Lament Injustice

Last updated on: July 14, 2015 at 9:09 pm By Janel Apps Ramsey

A few months ago I wrote about a situation at Northwest Nazarene University where Tom Oord, tenured Professor of Theology, was laid off due to budget and enrollment concerns. For many students, alumni, and faculty, that was seen as a smoke screen from the very beginning. A vote of no confidence in the President came from the faculty, a commission was set up to investigate the layoffs, and in the middle of their investigation, President David Alexander resigned. A few... Read more

Us or Them versus Us for Them

Last updated on: July 6, 2015 at 4:44 pm By Bec Cranford-Smith

Us or Them versus Us for Them Ahh. The Bible. Romans 14. Read this for a second. 14 Welcome those who are weak in faith,[a] but not for the purpose of quarrelling over opinions. 2 Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. 3 Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgement on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. 4 Who are you to pass... Read more

Recovering Storytelling

Last updated on: July 8, 2015 at 9:14 am By Lelanda Lee

Mobility is an ongoing issue, and church statisticians tell us that a church has essentially a new (not 100% new, but vastly turned over) congregation every 7 years due to individuals’ mobility. The idea of being grounded in one geographic location will continue to change as people move and travel once again becomes both affordable and ordinary. For many of us who travel for business and pleasure regularly, distance of place no longer is viewed in the same light as... Read more

Room at the Table

Last updated on: July 6, 2015 at 9:32 pm By Mike Stavlund

I’ve been around long enough to know that the best parts of a conference don’t happen at the conference, but around it. The meals, the conversations in the hallways, the impromptu meetings in hotel lobbies, the setup, the cleanup, and the sharing of rides to and from the airport. So several weeks back when the Transform Network was doing their thing in nearby DC, I was disappointed to not be able to attend the whole thing, but I was also resting... Read more

To Heal a Broken World – Fractiles of Grace

Last updated on: July 3, 2015 at 12:39 am By Teresa B Pasquale Mateus

Some days I am so burdened by the have-to’s I wonder what it is I do to change the world. Some days I am so disappointed by the nature of humanity, its greed, its ego, its pride, its hubris, that I just want to scream into the faces of those that disappoint me. And, again, I wonder, how does my little petty rage change the world. Then. Then there are some days where I find the broken human, in the middle... Read more