When pastors retire after a lifetime of service to the church, they often preach a last sermon unfettered by concerns for continued employment. It is the sermon “they always wanted to preach” but were afraid to, lest some big contributor take her money and leave the building. Clergy are, by and large, not a particularly courageous lot.
I have been wondering lately, if we are really missing the conscience of our mainline churches in our country. Most of us are aware of the political, social and personal conflicts that are going on in our country right now. And most of us are aware of the sad numbers of our dying churches. I have been wondering if there is a connection.
Writing about the Theological School at Drew University this past week caused me to think about theological education in general and my own theological education in particular. I loved …
Sandwiched between Matthew’s two stories of Jesus feeding the multitude is another popular tale in the gospels. It is the account of Jesus walking on the water. Interestingly …