by CarleneByron | Oct 1, 2019 | Leadership
Welcoming marginalized people is often seen as a challenging task beyond the resources of the ordinary congregation. But the smallest congregations often do an outstanding job of including the marginalized as part of the family of God. It’s six months since John died,...
by Prasanta Verma | Aug 1, 2019 | Leadership
Once upon a time, there was a woman whose name was Abigail. Abigail not only was beautiful, but also very wise. Abigail was the apple of her parents’ eyes. They delighted to watch her grow in grace and knowledge, and gain the favor of those who knew her. Naturally,...
by Jenny Rae Armstrong | Aug 1, 2019 | Leadership
The Bible, like life, is rife with stories of gender-based violence. Abuse. Enslavement. Rape. Murder. Torture. Kidnappings. Forced marriages. Exploitation. It is there, in all its horrifying depravity, and the stories hint at realities that are even worse. Realities...
by Lauren McGuire | Aug 1, 2019 | Leadership
The first time I heard the term helpmeet was during a career development conversation with the vice-president of my department at my corporate job. After college, my husband and I had worked hard to establish careers and our family. My performance was stellar, and I...
by Noelle Kirchner | Aug 1, 2019 | Leadership
It was just a purple paper cone filled with tissue paper. The tissue was yellow and orange, the color of fire. The cone glistened with foil stars that coiled around its body. It was simply a handmade paper torch, but it had meaning. The torch commemorated fifty years...
by CarleneByron | Mar 1, 2018 | Leadership
I encountered Ecclesiastes long before I knew much about God. My honors English teacher forced our roomful of ambitious high school juniors to dig through the King James text to figure out what the word vanity means. “Vanity of vanities … all is vanity” (Eccl. 1:2,...
