In African culture death is accepted as an inevitable aspect of life and a promotion to the spiritual level where one becomes an ancestor whose duty is to protect and intercede for one's living fam ...

Today marks the first anniversary of the <a title="http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=action.ccir&amp;item=ccir_mult" href="http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=action.ccir&amp;item ...

Historically, the number of individuals who say they have no religious affiliation in America ranges between 5-10%, but a new poll conducted by Robert Putnam (of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/p ...

Interestingly enough, people sometimes get surprised and/or offended when they hear me say that I do not want to be tolerated or included. Interestingly enough, people sometime ...

There were some remarkable outcomes to last week's Mobilization to End Poverty, with nearly 50 <a href="http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=events.M2EP&amp;item=M2EP-host-sponsors">sp ...

Many of you have attended a class at church designed to help you discern your spiritual gifts. Many of you have attended a class at church designed to help you discern your spirit ...

I rarely agree with Mark Driscoll. Yet he points to something when he said:</p> I rarely agree with Mark Driscoll. Yet he points to something when he said: This genera ...

As I process the conversations I had recently at EVDC09 (a gathering of emerging church participants to discuss the future of Emergent Village), I realized that one of the topics that keeps surfaci ...

Michaela Bruzzese Reflections on the Revised Common Lectionary for May. In the four weeks that precede Pentec ...

There is a lot more to the swine flu outbreak than a virus and a vaccine: There is, surprise surprise, a political-economic context.</p> There is a lot more to the swine f ...

In this clip, Pastor Efrem preaches from the book of Proverbs, specifically chapters 10-18, in which there is a contrast made between the righteous person and the wicked person. I ...

This week's issue of <em>Newsweek</em> features <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/194592" target="_blank">a compelling article</a> about the evolution of race ...

<p>"Good" Friday was real good this year. We remembered Jesus, and we remembered Jesus disguised in the "least of these" -- those who continue to be tortured, spit on, slapped, insul ...

<p><a href="http://www.ryanrodrickbeiler.com"></a>I am a native of Biloxi, Mississippi. To the rest of the world, we are the left behind communities. I thank God on a daily basis th ...

Ministry has its up and downs. Such is life. Ministry has its up and downs. Such is life. But one of the joys of planting and pastoring Quest Church is that it's one of t ...

<p>NPR's Wade Goodwyn has been working on <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103056359">this story </a>ever since he attended the premier of the film ...

In this sermon, Pastor Efrem discusses the focus in April on Martin Luther King's death and the Easter Season, and proclaims that there is no separation between proclaiming the gospel and advancing ...

With the National Day of Prayer coming up (May 7), a lot of folks around the country are organizing prayer services in church sanctuaries and town halls. With the National Day of ...

HR 875 The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 has gotten considerable attention lately and that is a very good thing, people should be concerned about food safety and more specifically how their ...

<p><a href="http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=events.m2ep&amp;item=m2ep-home"></a>Some might say that this is the worst possible time to have a <a href="http://www.so ...

I've been asked to comment on churches that are more conservative, predominantly evangelical, and how they are coalescing around poverty reduction. I've been asked to co ...

In a stunning turnabout, some of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's firmest allies distanced themselves from his hard-line tactics when the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted to postpone accepting $1.6 m ...

Jesus, who was a Palestinian Jew living under Roman occupation, preached a message that was anti-state and religious imperialism. Jesus, who was a Palestinian Jew living under Rom ...

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove An interview with L'Arche founder Jean Vanier and theologian Stanley Hauerwas. ...

Elizabeth Palmberg In a society that glorifies thinness and individualism, the occurrence of eating disorders has risen sharply. How can C ...

Meet Stephen Bartlett, an urban gardener and educator in Louisville, Kentucky. Meet Stephen Bartlett, an urban gardener and educator in Louisville, Kentucky. His passion isn' ...

The clock is ticking for thousands of Liberian immigrants as the month of March draws to a close. The clock is ticking for thousands of Liberian immigrants as the month of March d ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/economy-special-focus/"></a></p> <p>It's always difficult to find just a few minutes from Pastor Efrem's sermons to highli ...

An <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-buying-black-09-mar09,0,5889126.story">article</a> in the <em>Chicago Tribune</em> caught my attention this week. ...

I guess that people are on a journey when it comes to faith. Some admit to being on a journey, while there are those who state they have arrived. I guess that people are on a jour ...

It's a new world we're living in. The troubles and hardships that were once easy to shove under our country's red, white, and blue rug now fly up in our faces on a daily basis. ...

Four years ago, faced with a disastrous federal budget proposal, Sojourners coined a phase, "budgets are moral documents." That phrase has now entered the common lexicon, but it remains our fundam ...

Most of my life I have been thinking about race and religion -- as a child when my family left my native Costa Rica to move to inner-city New Jersey, as a teenager struggling to develop my faith an ...

<p><a href="http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=events.m2ep&amp;item=m2ep-home"></a>It's 8 p.m. and I'm exhausted.</p> <p>My six-month-old boy finally sto ...

Preaching from the story of Ezekiel and the dry bones, Pastor Efrem describes the "right relationships" that God wants to bring about for both physical and spiritual change in our lives. ...

Is it possible to create a new economy in the hood that would create jobs, lower energy costs, reduce the carbon footprint of an urban neighborhood, and allow neighbors to get to know one another a ...

I recently heard a voice from Darfur. She sat on a stage in front of me, not on the pages of the newspaper, and Darfur's resilient voice said, "The crisis has turned our lives upside down."</ ...

<p><a href="http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=events.m2ep&amp;item=m2ep-home"></a>I am the tenth of 17 children from a polygamous East African family. I hail from the village ...

It is the power of relationships that make new things possible. Relationships are the foundation of and the means for creating a culture shift. It is the power of relationships t ...

I moved to Tulia, Texas, in the summer of 1998, a year before <a href="http://blog.sojo.net/2009/02/10/the-war-on-drugs-in-tulia-texas/">a massive drug bust decimated the black side of town< ...

That U.S. megaphone of amazing grace, Shane Claiborne, was recently moved to tears after witnessing a youth gathering in Australia. That U.S. megaphone of amazing grace, Shane Cla ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/economy-special-focus/"></a></p> I heard a report on NPR Monday that "The weather in Lon ...

The <a title="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-faith-based5-2009feb05,0,1591409.story" href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-faith-based5-2009feb05,0, ...

Last week, I read this quote by John Piper: "...the weeping of the saints at the loss of precious souls is, paradoxically, the weeping of joy in God." I believe that is what God wants for me and fo ...

In this clip, Pastor Efrem talks about how the church has constantly changed throughout history to get closer to God's heart. In this clip, Pastor Efrem talks about how the c ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/economy-special-focus/"></a></p> In this month's issue of Sojourners magazine, Wal ...

Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity, died yesterday. Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity, died yesterday. Poor and homeless of the world lose his ...

Even in our current political climate, as President <a title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1XWvs7SL5I&amp;eurl=http://www.freepress.net/ Obama demands" href="http://www.youtube.com/wat ...

The 111^th Congress is turning out to be a bit more exciting than the 110^th, with members tackling tough issues with a vigor that was in short supply in 2008. ...

I want to be hopeful these days, what with Barack Obama just being inaugurated as our nation's 44th president, but <a href="http://blog.sojo.net/2008/04/11/keeping-the-faith-by-bart-campolo/" ...