Learning to love a thermostat God

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Alan Bean — No Comments ↓

By Alan Bean “Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world?” This question was originally scrawled in the margin of an Alabama newspaper by an exasperated Martin Luther King Jr. The…

Tagged with: Economic Justice, gay rights, Martin Luther King Jr
Posted in Blog Posts, Faithful Living, Public Policy

Have Christians become opportunistic omnivores?

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Jayne Davis — No Comments ↓

Opportunistic omnivores. What a great phrase! No, it has nothing to do with ruthless mergers and acquisitions. It’s how our Walk in the Woods guide, Sam, described the black bears in the Smoky Mountains on our hike up Mt. LeConte…

Tagged with: bears, hiking, intentionality, Spiritual Practice
Posted in Faithful Living, Ministry, Spiritual Formation

The best/worst graduation speech ever

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Barrett Owen — 2 Comments ↓

A couple of years ago, I attended a graduation ceremony at Emory University. The keynote speaker was the chief of surgery at one of the nation’s leading hospitals. I didn’t know him, but apparently he was a huge deal. As you might…

Tagged with: Failures, Graduation speeches, Growth, life lessons
Posted in Blog Posts, Education, Faithful Living

Gene Puckett, my father, and the best member of our family!

Posted on May 14, 2013 by George Bullard — No Comments ↓

In 1978, Gene Puckett was the major speaker at the retirement dinner for my father, G. W. Bullard, as executive director-treasurer of the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania-South Jersey. He and dad had gotten to know one another in 1966 when…

Life balance for clergy remixed

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Mark Tidsworth — No Comments ↓

Life balance is important and necessary for sustained ministry over time, but there are some things that life balance is not. “The ordained person can then come to realize that his or her first vocation is to be a human…

You don’t bring me flowers anymore

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Barry Howard — No Comments ↓

When it comes to observing Mother’s Day at church, traditions vary around the country. Factors influencing a congregation’s contextual practice include geographic location, denominational heritage, liturgical preference, and congregational precedent. In my first pastorate, I inherited that southern tradition I…

Tagged with: Mother's Day
Posted in Faithful Living, Leadership, Parenting

Who decides if you are a Christian?

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — No Comments ↓

Recently I was a guest on HuffPost Live with Rev. Paul Raushenbush, HuffPost Senior Religion Editor and two other authors. (You can watch the segment here. I come in around 19:00) We discussed the coming out of NBA player Jason Collins and the conversation turned to…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, Christianity, congregation, dialogue, faith, Jason Collins, Jesus, spiritual formation
Posted in Religious News Voices

Running the race on the first saturday of May

Posted on May 7, 2013 by George Bullard — No Comments ↓

Reflections from Saturday May 4th I’m pondering the significance of this day–the first Saturday of May in 2013. Traditionally in my place of residence, Columbia, S.C., it marks the beginning of the transition from spring to summer. Temperatures typically start…

Jesus, the original hipster?

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — No Comments ↓

A new ad aimed at making Jesus more culturally relevant has a major church working to re-brand the image of Jesus. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn started a campaign that is gaining national attention. The ad has captured the attention of pop culture with picturing Jesus as the…

Posted in Church growth