A week ago, I spent a lively hour interviewing Presbyterian Minister Bruce Reyes-Chow as part of our "Future of Mainline Protestantism" series here at Patheos. Bruce just finished up his 2-year stint as the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (the highest office of the Church) and spoke candidly and passionately about the challenges facing the mainline church, as well as the places for opportunity and growth. We could have talked for hours. Bruce clearly loves the Church and has great hopes for what we are yet becoming as the Body of Christ, even as he raises the serious issues we must address if we are to survive as a denomination. Here is an excerpt from the interview ... Read more

In the last week a conversations has popped up in the blogosphere, presenting us with a unique conversation. To begin with was the ramblings and non-sense of former Republican speaker Newt Gingrich as it relates to the proposed Cordoba House mosque near Ground Zero, New York. Mr. Gingrich is not alone in his ramblings – the Koran burning pastor of Florida comes to mind – but they alone indicate the gross disregard for American values that are required for a movement of thought as seen in Mr. Gingrich. Read more

"Mainline Christianity is now at the margins of North American cultural and religious life; but the margins can become frontiers for a new vital faith." Read the rest of Bruce Epperly's response to the question "What would a vibrant mainline church of the future look like?" Read more

We don't get a memo teling us when our time is up, but we do have the information about how to use the time we currently have. And it's not in accumulating more possessions than one person could possibly use in a lifetime while others go without. Read more

Mid-way through our Future of Religion summer series here at Patheos, we've finally arrived at The Future of Mainline Protestantism! This week, more than 20 thought-leaders, from pastors to scholars to bloggers, offer provocative perspectives on the future of the mainline church. We'll also feature more conversations on the church here on the blog each day, to further feed the conversation. To get us started, retired Columbia Seminary professor Ben Campbell Johnson shares his dreams for a vibrant mainline Protestantism in the 21st Century... Read more

Praying On Our Knees: Reflections on God after God. John Caputo in his ‘On Religion’ challenges the notion that there is in fact a line between atheism and theism, and in one fell swoop he knocks the New Atheists for a loop as well as religious fundamentalists. Caputo points beyond institutional religions and towards the experience they try to institutionalize – the religious awe of life. Echoing St. Augustine he asks ‘what do I love when I love my Lord’?... Read more

Washington Post's "On Faith" recently ran a fascinating debate on the question, “What to call terrorists?” I was most struck by how sharply the answers split. A number of the authorities objected stridently to the Obama administration’s efforts to separate Islamic and terrorist. “Call it what it is!” they insisted; “you’re just obscuring the facts and engaging in double-speak.” But others were equally vehement on the other side: “It’s not Islam as such that creates terrorism and terrorists. Theirs are political acts of violence, and we should label them as such. Don’t blame this all on Islam!” Guest blogger Philip Clayton invites us to watch our responses to religious terrorism... Read more