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August 2020

August 09, 2020

Church Deserts: And the Unique Opportunity of Online Community

A church desert is a place where your choices of worshipping community are limited. It's...

July 2020

July 12, 2020

Reclaiming the Language of Faith: Beyond Sound Bites To The Better Way of Jesus

When the church can't talk about poverty without somebody hollering "politics!" then our message has...

June 2020

June 08, 2020

Truth and Transformation: Can The Church Survive Confronting Racism?

As Americans, we have a choice in nearly everything. From where we live to what...

April 2020

April 26, 2020

If We Weren’t Afraid: What Is The Post-Pandemic Church Going To Be?

We've all got a story we've told too many times, right? Mine is this: Once,...

April 25, 2020

Without Casseroles and Crowded Churches: 10 Ways To Support The Grieving While Social Distancing

Guest Post: Rev. Selena Wright “Grief must be witnessed.*” One of the greatest gifts of...

March 2020

March 31, 2020

This Pandemic Is A Test: But Maybe Not How You Think

If you'd told me a month ago that a pastor in America would be arrested...

March 13, 2020

Five Ways To Be The Church When Church Is Canceled

There are many unknowns here. There is unprecedented territory ahead, and nobody can say how...

November 2019

November 26, 2019

Magnify The Joy: Hope and Gratitude In the Midst of Illness

I've had the privilege of knowing Shawn McGuffey since college-- which means I've had the...

November 11, 2019

Permission To Unperfect

My Girl Child was melting down. It was 8am, the Wednesday after a 4-day weekend....

November 03, 2019

A Cloud of Witnesses

He'd been making the rounds. The man in the trench coat, Bible in hand, burst...

September 2019

September 22, 2019

Americans Are Starved For Community: TV Might Be The Answer

Dillon, Texas. Pawnee, Indiana. Stars Hollow, Connecticut. These are my favorite places to visit when...

September 04, 2019

Deferred Maintenance

You know how when you have major life transitions going on--like moving, settling your family...

July 2019

July 17, 2019

How To Be A Guest: 7 Things I Learned About Visiting A New Church

It was an alien experience for me, pulling in that "visitor" parking spot. But after...

January 2019

January 31, 2019

Small Things

Fan turning, light burning Dust on the air Cardinal feather, change in the weather A...

June 2018

June 04, 2018

It Was Never About the Cake: A ‘Narrow’ Ruling, and a Love Note for PRIDE Month

It's not about the cake. It was never about the cake. And yet, here we...

February 2018

February 20, 2018

A Better Way: Support of Haiti Orphanages Does More Harm Than Good

Guest Post: Margot DeGreef It's a common sight: American church groups traveling in matching t-shirts, with a...

November 2017

November 13, 2017

At the Same Table: On God’s Economy, and Serving Two Masters

A stewardship sermon on Luke 16:1-13. The Parable of the Dishonest Manager 16 Then Jesus said to...

November 02, 2017

5 Things for the Next 500 Years: The Church and the Next Reformation

Thanks to my friend Danny Gulden for this guest thoughts, as we mark the 500th...

October 2017

October 25, 2017

Who Markets the Gospel Better Than Church? Burger King, and Basically Everybody

Y'all know I love Church, right? LOVE it. For all of its imperfections, bumbling ways...

October 09, 2017

Hymns for the Crossing

When you are at the funeral of a non-church person, nobody sings.

September 2017

September 28, 2017

Wide Awake: True Confessions of a Bedtime Hater

We've become a nation of walking zombies. It is affecting not just our health, but...

August 2017

August 16, 2017

Praying Through a Megaphone: Taking Church Outside

Guest post: Rev. Megan Severns Huston This week I learned how to pray through a...

July 2017

July 26, 2017

Lace Up, and Go Care for the Wounded

A sad truth for today: I have maybe the best, most timely and important post...

June 2017

June 26, 2017

10 Lessons the Church Can Learn From Harry Potter: On the Occasion of His 20th Birthday

I was tragically late to the Potter party. 20 years ago (!) when the first...

June 14, 2017

Along for the Ride: A Very P.K. Summer, Part I

If you are a parent, then you know the mixed blessing of summer. On the...

May 2017

May 11, 2017

Duke Drama: A Lesson In Mission Focus

A guest post from my friend (and Duke Divinity School alum) Chris Furr. When I...

April 2017

April 20, 2017

Your Church Does Not Need Volunteers

I was writing my weekly note to the congregation (a few days late, because I...

April 10, 2017

The Stories We Tell Ourselves: Holy Week Clergy Burnout

There's this story we clergy tell religiously around this time every year. Not the thing...

February 2017

February 16, 2017

Showing Up for the Stranger: The Church Speaks Out Against the Travel Ban

Ever look around at the news/world/government these days and say "for the love of all...

January 2017

January 05, 2017

10 Ways to Care for Someone (When Nothing Will Fix It)

You just can't imagine what they must be going through. You don't know what you...