Give Ben-Hur a Chance: Watch the Movie with Your Heart and Imagination

Last updated on: August 23, 2016 at 4:22 pm By Deborah Arca

The new Ben-Hur movie from Paramount Pictures opened over the weekend and the reviews have been, well, not all that great. It’s not surprising really, after an enormous promotional lead-up setting expectations high, that folks (especially the non-Christian cadre) have been quick to criticize the big-budget epic laced with a feel-good Christian message. And while critically, I may have a few quibbles with parts of the story (the rushed ending, most especially), I also found the movie to be quite beautiful and meaningful to... Read more

I Needed Somebody to Hope Me: An Update on the Moral Revival

Last updated on: August 19, 2016 at 8:12 pm By Guest Contributor

By Rev. Dr. William Barber When I was growing up in Eastern North Carolina, I used to love to sit in my grandmama’s kitchen and listen to her sing as she made dinner. Whenever she was done cooking, she’d give me a plate to eat. Then she and some of the other sisters from the church would make up some to-go plates and, with their aprons still on, head out the door to visit the sick and shut-in. “We going... Read more

Patheos 10+1: A Q&A with the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow

Last updated on: August 5, 2016 at 4:55 pm By Deborah Arca

“The Asian American community is far from unified in its perspective, but a growing number are pushing our community to confront the racism that exists in our own communities and how we reinforce anti-Blackness and benefit from white supremacy. If you want to know more, track the hashtag #Asian4BlackLives and amplifying this growing ally group.” — Bruce Reyes-Chow, pastor, author, church coach I remember first hearing the name Bruce Reyes-Chow in 2008 when I worked at the San Francisco Theological Seminary and... Read more

Reviving the Heart of Our Democracy: Watch the Rev. William Barber’s Soul-Stirring Speech at the DNC

Last updated on: August 3, 2016 at 7:05 pm By Guest Contributor

Last week at the Democratic National Convention, the remarkable Rev. Dr. William Barber II delivered an electrifying speech on the need to revive the heart of our democracy. His rousing words, delivered like a true revivalist preacher, effectively introduced millions of people to one of today’s most powerful and important preacher/activists and his grassroots movement for a moral revival. The video of his speech has been watched more than 64,000 times and the Moral Agenda has been signed by over 8,000 people of faith and friends! If you missed it,... Read more

I Dare You to Ask: On the Value of a ‘Beginner’s Mind’ in a World of Pre-Packaged Answers

Last updated on: August 2, 2016 at 5:56 pm By Guest Contributor

In a moment when our world’s submerged ideological divisions are surfacing violently, it is critical that we take the open posture of asking. Read more

Part-Time Jesus: On Being Church in the Summer

Last updated on: August 1, 2016 at 4:24 pm By Dwight Lee Wolter

For the remaining Sundays between now and Labor Day -- if you cannot physically be in church -- then continue to be there spiritually, wherever you may wander, wherever you may roam. Read more

Spirituality and Democracy: Staying Engaged Amid Vulnerability

Last updated on: July 27, 2016 at 10:39 pm By Nancy S. Wiens

Together, let's build and practice the courage to stay engaged in Democracy by doing the vulnerable work of the heart. Read more

Patheos 10+1: A Q&A with Duke Divinity School Dean Elaine Heath

Last updated on: July 27, 2016 at 8:53 pm By Deborah Arca

“We are at the front end of a new reformation, which will likely take many decades to unfold. I am excited to be part of this era of the church’s life, to be able to participate in the new thing that God is doing. Some of our versions of church will fail, and not a moment too soon. But the gathered people of God who are the Body of Christ in the world today, will continue because God will not... Read more

What Are Our Choices? Conventions, Elections, and Spiritual Practices

Last updated on: July 26, 2016 at 10:20 pm By Nancy S. Wiens

I have no responsibility for what anyone says on any political platform. I have total responsibility for how I consciously respond to it. Read more

In Spite of Our Politics, We Are Made for Goodness

Last updated on: July 26, 2016 at 5:56 pm By Rev. Jen Butler

In this moment of cataclysmic political division and rising tension, we must hope that our better angels will prevail; that basic goodness will once again be the standard to which we hold our political leaders, and human decency the measure of our democracy. Read more