Almost exactly 200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson took office as President of the United States. Arguably, the major achievement of his presidency occurred two years later when, for $15 million dollars, he secured 800,000 square miles of new territory. That…

In March 1999, four Webheads nailed 95 theses to the front door of the Internet cathedral and The Cluetrain Manifesto (www.cluetrain.com) was born. The document, authored by Christopher Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger, is a wake-up call…

It seems the dot-com revolution is coming to the church. Congregations everywhere are rushing to develop interesting Web sites. Denominations strive to connect. And Christian periodicals laud all of these efforts. The ecclesiastical dot-org movement breezily promises great things: vast…

Stepping off the elevator, we looked the part of Mormon missionaries. Dark blue jackets, pressed pants, matching ties, close-cropped hair, and Bibles in our hands created that image. We were seminarians, working as chaplains on the same floor of the…

On my thirtieth birthday, I interviewed by conference call for my current position as minister of Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Terre Haute, Indiana. The interview went well, I thought. They asked good questions about my theological perspective…

Being a member of Generation X and serving as a pastor earns some recognition these days in church circles. Is this a good thing? I have apprehensions about this recognition which are very typical of Generation X. The mainstream is…

The 14 young people gathered around the table last October were bright, articulate, intense, enthusiastic, and passionate about their work. They also represented a disappearing breed—people under 35 who chose ministry in the mainline Protestant church as their first career….