Embracing Apocalypse

Column by Rev. Lauren Van Ham on November, 6 2024

In Hebrew scriptures and repeated in New Testament teachings, G-d assumes all authority in the practice of vengeance. If, after thousands of years, we truly trusted this to G-d, how might we face this moment we have co-constructed? The wars, the biodiversity loss, the assault weapons, the changed climate.

It’s Kamala’s Time!

Column by Rev. Irene Monroe on October, 31 2024

When I heard the news of Harris running for President, I immediately thought about how my deceased Brooklyn  Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm would be proud of this moment. Chisholm was the first African American woman to campaign for the presidential nomination in 1972 on the Democratic ticket. 

Founded on Love

Column by Rev. Jim Burklo on October, 24 2024

It is much worse to wreck the law’s foundation, which is perfectly legal to do, than it is to break the law, which can land you in jail. Unless Americans understand this, and vote accordingly, we’ll lose our democracy on November 5.

Politics, Religion, & You

Column by Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Lines on October, 17 2024

American Christians often wonder exactly how their faith and politics ought to intersect.  It’s an understandable confusion, especially for those who value freedom of belief and religious diversity.  I often hear that we should “keep politics out of the pulpit,” but doing so is a theological impossibility for those who take Jesus’ teachings seriously because Christianity is inherently political. 

Dying As An Invitation To Intimacy

Column by Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. on October, 10 2024

Our ego approaches life as if there were too little time to overcome the breach of space that separates us from one another. The fuel propelling our drive is the thoughts littered like kindling across the landscape of our mind as we have struggled to construct a seamless forever bridge from our heart to another’s.

Filling the Void with White Pseudo Christian Nationalism – Election 2024

Column by Dr. Carl Krieg on October, 3 2024

White, Christian, and nationalism are three words not to be taken lightly, three kairotic words that demand explanation and understanding. So here is our question: why does a movement describe itself as white, Christian, and nationalist?

The Dystopian Vision of Project 2025

Column by Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Frantz on September, 26 2024

At the heart of Project 2025 is an aggressive and ambitious policy agenda for a vast expansion of presidential power.  In spite of Donald Trump’s endless denials that he knows anything about the project, the leaders of the project are virtually all close associates of the former president. 

The Problem of Silos, and Building a Field Beyond Them

Column by Brian McLaren on September, 19 2024

In my years as a pastor, I frequently lamented the religious and denominational silos that inhibited collaboration among faith communities and leaders in a neighborhood, city, or region. It seemed that intra-religious and intra-denominational demands were so great that multi-religious and trans-denominational collaborations were relegated to the margins.

Reproductive Rights and the Bible

Column by Rev. Dr. Mark Sandlin on September, 12 2024

First of all, the New Testament doesn’t directly deal with the issue of abortion or even when life begins. And, the Old Testament or the Jewish Bible turns out to not be anti-abortion at all.

For Such A Time As This

Column by Rev. Brandan Robertson on September, 5 2024

We all know the damage the Religious Right has done to the reputation of Christianity around the world, and now it is our time to reclaim the moral power of our Christian tradition, using our faith to inspire and motivate the millions of people of faith across the country who are longing for a message of hope, a vision for a better tomorrow, and a way to connect that vision to the faith that forms the foundations of their lives.