You Want to Make the Visitor Welcome? Twelve Church Website Tips

Last updated on: January 11, 2018 at 7:40 am By Christy Thomas

In my past role as “mystery worshipper” for a newspaper column, I am offering a few pointers for an effective church website. The number one issue: Never, ever change your normal worship time without splashing it all over your website! But other than that particular rant, below are some things I have learned after perusing hundreds of church websites. One: Do not assume that a Facebook page provides adequate electronic presence. You still need an actual, up to date, reasonably professional looking... Read more

It’s the Little Things that Bring Big Things: Meditations on the New Year

Last updated on: December 29, 2017 at 11:02 am By Christy Thomas

Little things make the big things: what little things that make big things could we do in the big “do-over” time that we call the New Year? For the last four months of 2017, I lived with foot one or another in the “toes above the nose” stance. I had finally decided to undergo the surgeries necessary to correct inherited foot problems that have plagued me since I was a teen. And that was a long time ago. As the... Read more

Tax Bill Repercussions: Church, Watch Out!

Last updated on: December 26, 2017 at 7:17 am By Christy Thomas

Below is my, admittedly limited, take on the repercussions of the tax bill. Keep in mind that because of my husband’s occupation, when he is home, we watch a lot of business news. It is neither Republican nor Democratic–just questions and concerns about various aspects of the economy. 1. Of course, the bill benefits the uber-wealthy. They bought and paid for those currently in office. Just a fact of life. We might as well get over it. Money always talks.... Read more

Lack of Institutional Support: A Recipe for Clergy Destruction

Last updated on: December 20, 2017 at 6:26 pm By Christy Thomas

To say that I did not have the institutional support that I needed to keep going as a clergy could qualify as the year’s most significant understatement. We had our office Christmas party earlier this week. My husband and I sat at the head of the table. [Note: Technically we co-own the company. Truth: he built it from the ground up. Even at 75, he works four to six days a week. I married into this and am the cheerleader and... Read more

A Subversive Act Calling For Justice: The True Story of Christmas

Last updated on: December 22, 2017 at 4:29 pm By Christy Thomas

Mary reveals that the entrance of the Savior into the world is a subversive act on the part of God. God is initiating a social revolution against unjust rule. These words shout: “justice for the masses!” Mary, mother of Jesus, hears the words of the angel. She will bear a special child. Almost immediately she sets out to see her elderly cousin, Elizabeth, at least a five day and often dangerous, walk. Why? Because the angel also told her that... Read more

Banned Words And Mein Führer Trump #THISMUSTSTOP

Last updated on: May 23, 2018 at 12:53 pm By Christy Thomas

Yes, it is with a great sense of entitlement that Mein Führer Donald Trump has given us a list of banned words in his quest to eliminate the most vulnerable among us. The autocrat Trump, AKA known as the President of the United States, has handed down a list of banned words. Of all the outrageous moves that the Trump administration has foisted upon us, this word ban is the greatest. This despicable man, as usual with the nearly total... Read more

Why Do Christian Women Vote For Sexual Predators? It’s What They Know

Last updated on: December 13, 2017 at 1:26 pm By Christy Thomas

I was chatting with a friend of mine early today and asked why women so readily vote for sexual predators. He responded, “Most of them are hard-shell Baptist.” According to a series of exit polls by the Washington Post, the majority of women in Alabama still voted for (alleged) pedophile Roy Moore. Why? I was chatting with a friend of mine early today and asked why women so readily vote for sexual predators. He responded, “Most of them are hard-shell... Read more

Morally Diminished: It All Boils Down to Immoral Sexual Practices

Last updated on: December 6, 2017 at 11:42 am By Christy Thomas

Yes, we are morally diminished. That is exactly what has happened. We are morally diminished from the top down. I keep thinking that this all comes back to sex: can anyone who embraces immoral sexual practices be a morally-adept leader? Every morning, I read the “Republicans can do no wrong” Wall Street Journal, as well as the Democratic-leaning and “We hate everything Trump” New York Times. Many mornings, I find myself in two different worlds. I see graphically how our prejudices... Read more

All Eyes On Alabama: The Outcome Will Decide if Christianity is Bankrupt

Last updated on: December 6, 2017 at 2:14 pm By Christy Thomas

The marriage of religion and politics, long in the making, has possibly corrupted beyond redemption the most visible faces of Christianity. Effectively Christianity is bankrupt. I suspect the church needs to go back underground again, back to the catacombs. According to the latest news report, The President of the United States has, on his Twitter account, fully endorsed credibly accused pedophile and sexual predator Roy Moore for the next Senator from the state of Alabama. The election is December 12. Now,... Read more

Santa Is NOT God: The Spooky Predator Song

Last updated on: December 4, 2017 at 10:36 am By Christy Thomas

But it is at its worst when the Santa/God confusion turns a holy God into a punitive, spooky, nosy predator, cruelly punishing anyone who gets out of line. I love the Christmas music. Last week, I attended a Christmas concert and found myself awed at the profound theology expressed in familiar carols. We see the glory of God, sense the humility of the incarnation, feel the fear of the shepherds, hear the voices of the angels, kneel before the Child.... Read more