Twenty girls, ages three to twelve, pile into the entrance of the Korean Cultural Center, where they have come to practice traditional Korean dance. According to Korean custom, everyone takes off their shoes when they enter a building, and the…
Read MoreBook Review — America and Its Guns: A Theological Exposé
by Rick Barger I wish I had written Jim Atwood’s book. It not only powerfully places America’s deathly covenant with arms and violence within a sinister theological framework of idolatry, it also is a wake-up call for the church to give…
Read MoreBook Review — America and Its Guns: A Theological Exposé
I wish I had written Jim Atwood’s book. It not only powerfully places America’s deathly covenant with arms and violence within a sinister theological framework of idolatry, it also is a wake-up call for the church to give voice and…
Read MoreSeasons and Stories
Several years ago a presbytery invited me to spend the last half of a leadership training day to introduce a leadership development process that I was thinking about but had not used. The invitation was open ended. I had been…
Read MoreBuilding Capital: Securing the Funds to Start and Sustain a Program
Every new business venture starts with great enthusiasm, but many soon fail. The U.S. Small Business Administration reports that three out of ten new businesses fail within two years, and only half survive five years. Experts cite numerous reasons for…
Read MoreFundraising Beliefs
Why do people give to congregations? How you answer this question makes a difference to your fundraising efforts. Luckily, while stewardship theologies vary, there is little mystery or doubt about the motivations behind generous giving. Successful fundraisers, religious and…
Read MoreThe Hopes and Fears of All the Years
I do not want to be a bad mother. I don’t want to raise cynical kids. I want to come at parenting with faith and hope. I want to have a happy and healthy marriage, and I want to have…
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Neighbors and Covenant Relationships
Stu was one of the first people to help me see that the patient work of discernment was a big part of what I was called to do. I was right out of seminary at the time. I thought that…
Read MoreNew Experiments in Clergy Training
Over the last decade a few dozen churches, employing various models unique to their own church cultures, have been pioneering and experimenting with the practice of training clergy. Other models sponsored by denominations or local judicatories have used congregations in…
Read MoreWelcome to Religious Polarization
A Canadian perhaps can be forgiven for having a sense of déjà vu as the word comes out that organized religion in the United States is in trouble. In a new study released October 9, the Pew Forum…
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