WHY WEREN’T WE TOLD? A Handbook on ‘progressive’ Christianity, edited by Rex Hunt and John Smith (Polebridge Press, Westar Institute) and LIVING THE QUESTIONS: The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity, by David Felten and Jeff Procter-Murphy (Harper One) WHY WEREN’T WE TOLD? – that you don’t have to take the Bible literally in order to be a serious, faithful Christian?  That’s the question engaged in this book edited by progressive Christian leaders from “Down Under”. WHY WEREN’T WE TOLD? comprises a richly eclectic introduction to theologically and... Read more

How often have you stifled a deeply emotional response to a person or situation – or even yourself – out of a sense of wanting to be “a good Christian?” In a new book, The Passionate Jesus: What We Can Learn from Jesus about Love, Fear, Grief, Joy and Living Authentically, the Rev. Peter Wallace challenges our traditional response as he gently dismantles the popular misconception of Jesus as calm and collected, floating above the drama of our lives. In fact, Wallace... Read more

It’s been a long time since I’ve approached something like this. I “came out” as an atheist a few years ago, and I’ve tried to avoid finding “the right interpretation” of the Bible since then. I used to love it. But, over time, it got really frustrating when I finally realized that no one really cared if I had arrived at some fresh interpretation. Interestingly, a few months ago I listened to some interviews with Jehovah’s Witnesses and actually agreed with many... Read more

[Editor’s Note: This was the sermon preached at my UCC church yesterday, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. I found it remarkable on so many levels, that I asked the Rev. Eric Smith if I could share it here at Faith Forward on this important holiday. Enjoy!]  A Sermon from January 20, 2013 First Plymouth Congregational Church, Denver, CO By The Rev. Eric Smith 1 Corinthians 12-13 Paul, you have to remember, was writing letters. He didn’t sit down... Read more

As a young pastor, one who will serve, pray, create, and organize in my city for many years ahead, I sense the need and the opportunity for other forms of Christianity. We are in a new day. Read more

By Ben Howard I’d heard of Jay Bakker before, but I’d never met him. I’d seen pictures, but never in person. He was smaller, more vulnerable. I have this vision of pastors and preachers being the kind of gravitational personalities that draw you in with loud, bombastic voices. That’s not Jay. From what I can tell he seems quiet, maybe even a little shy. If you don’t know who Jay Bakker is, you probably know his family, and if you... Read more

By Terry Ramone Smith I had a great weekend in Memphis. Saturday started off with the announcement of Animate Faith from SparkHouse, a video oriented small group curriculum for emerging churches. Animate features Brian McLaren, Nadia Bolz-Weber, Shane Hipps, Mark Scandrette, and Bruce Reyes-Chow (who has a book on race releasing next month called Words Matter.) What is the goal of Emergence Christianity?  Emergence Christianity asks the question: is the future of Christianity the Church? Is our question one that... Read more

By Troy Bronsink The reverberations continued at day two of Emergence Christianity 2013 in Memphis… I’ve heard somewhere that the echo decay in a cathedral the likes of St. Mary’s can be as much as 20 seconds. In other words, if you are completely silent and you clap, high tech instruments may be able to pick up sounds for as long as 20 seconds (that’s one pecha kucha slide, in case you’re wondering). Phyllis Tickle’s work recounted claps from across... Read more