Learning to love a thermostat God

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

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Posted in Blog Posts, Faithful Living, Public Policy

Have Christians become opportunistic omnivores?

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

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Posted in Faithful Living, Ministry, Spiritual Formation

The best/worst graduation speech ever

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

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Posted in Blog Posts, Education, Faithful Living

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

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

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Posted in Blog Posts, Death, Leadership, Religious News Voices

Life balance for clergy remixed

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

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Posted in Faithful Living, Health & Wholeness, Leadership, Ministry

You don’t bring me flowers anymore

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

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Posted in Faithful Living, Leadership, Parenting

Remember infertility on Mother’s Day

This Sunday dads will wake up extra early to make their wives breakfast in bed, or at least a good cup of strong coffee. Children will work diligently during their Sunday school hour cutting out yellow-and-pink paper flowers or finger

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Posted in Health & Wholeness, Social Issues, Suffering

Who decides if you are a Christian?

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

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Posted in Religious News Voices

Running the race on the first saturday of May

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

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Posted in Blog Posts, Faithful Living, Spiritual Formation

Jesus, the original hipster?

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

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