This week, we begin a four-week series written by four different women who preach, teach, and minister in traditions where they are among the first to serve their congregations in such capacities. Their experiences will inform the series. Amy Bost Henegar is a Minister for the Manhattan Church of Christ in New York City and a Doctor of Ministry student at New York Theological Seminary. She spent the first part of her career in hospital chaplaincy and has been in... Read more

One would think a change in police culture would be more immediate and decisive, but this story proves yet again we need major changes. AP: TULSA, Okla. (AP) — An unarmed black man killed by a white Oklahoma officer who was responding to a stalled vehicle can be seen in police video walking away from officers and toward his SUV with his hands up before he approaches the driver’s side door, where he drops to the ground after being shocked... Read more

(Image from Wikipedia: credit) The last two sections of the new book The Grand Canyon, Monument to an Ancient Earth: Can Noah’s Flood Explain the Grand Canyon? looked at the layers of rock and sediment in the Grand Canyon area. The questions addressed focused on the age and formation of these layers (A Story Carved in Stone and Fossils Tell a Story). Part four asks questions about the canyon itself. How was the canyon formed in these sediment layers and... Read more

Christians, Retreat! Ahhhh, remember the good old days, when (mostly evangelical) Christians didn’t care much about politics? Remember those heady days of turning off the TV news, of nodding our heads patiently, kindly when our neighbors ranted or raved about their own candidate? Remember the election years when we slept at night and drank coffee over the morning paper and calmly skimmed the Sunday paper, idly curious about the new candidates before heading off to evening church. How times have... Read more

From HuffPo, by Elyse Wanshel: A new app makes finding friends in the school cafeteria a piece of cake. “Sit With Us” helps students who have difficulty finding a place to sit locate a welcoming group in the lunchroom. The app allows students to designate themselves as “ambassadors,” thereby inviting others to join them. Ambassadors can then post “open lunch” events, which signal to anyone seeking company that they’re invited to join the ambassadors’ table. Natalie Hampton, a 16-year-old from Sherman Oaks,... Read more

By Michelle Van Loon It’s possible over four decades of church attendance that I may have missed the larger messages about the “Why?” in many of the sermons I’ve heard about the way in which believers are to steward their money, time, and spiritual gifts. We who are involved in discipling ministry (which is all of us who follow Jesus) may find it a worthwhile exercise to consider the way in which we talk about stewardship of these resources. As... Read more

The NY Times once ran an article about pastors swiping sermons from sermon sources, and then Out of Ur ran a piece which got some comments. (HT: Garry Poole) I’m wondering what you think. Here are my thoughts: I once was in a situation when a pastor admitted to using sermons from sermon sources, and he also said he hadn’t thought there was anything wrong with it. What most confused me about the situation was that he was using illustrations from... Read more

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. BCP Read more

Greetings to you from Kris and me from Helsinki. I’m here to speak at a conference on the gospel. Image Barbara Diamond: Many young couples spend their summer camping, or kayaking, or relaxing or vacationing. But Kristin and Adam Polhemus did none of these things. Instead, the married couple from Hamilton Township, New Jersey spent their summer fixing up the run-down house next door. The house belongs to an older woman who, for years, lived in social isolation. Anne Glancey, a retired... Read more