When we complete a task, it is good to celebrate the end result, but what do we really remember? Is it not the people, the things we did, and the lessons learned in the process of completing the task? ...

We’re surrounded by beauty all of the time. Sometimes we just need a little help seeing it. We have a group at our church that does a weekly sandwich ministry together. Though we ...

Lisa Sharon Harper "Richard Twiss was willing to step out for what he believed in." ALL EYES WERE f ...

Here is the most common myth that Christians mistakenly apply to urban areas: The Inner-City is Morally Bankrupt. I used to lead and organize inner-city mission trips. Churches, y ...

There is an element of lingering inherent with submerging. It is a willingness to be present to the point of feeling like we are wasting time, when in reality we are leaving ourselves open to be used by the Sp ...

This minister is walking away from church — well, at least for the next three months. I'm rewriting the old African-American spiritual “Down By the Riverside.” (Don't ...

In the business I am in, of ministry and pastoral care, listening is such an important thing. I can prepare all the fancy theology and exegesis imaginable but if I don’t listen I might be getting it all wrong ...

It’s a simple joy – hoola hooping. And that seems to be the reason Carissa Caricato left her job to travel the world. A few years ago when Carissa traveled to Haiti for earthquake relief efforts, she brought a few hoops to share with the children. A ...

Is Halloween a prime time for evangelism? Are religious tracts passed out along with (or in lieu of) "treats" really the best way to spread the gospel message? Is ...

A truck bomb has killed at least 70 people in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, including a crowd of young students applying for scholarships to study abroad. This just in from A ...

Before Jesus was born, his mother Mary predicted that he would offend some people. In the Magnificat she sang: "He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the pow ...

That the email ever made its way to me is something of a miracle. That the email ever made its way to me is something of a miracle. And brother, am I glad it did. ...

According to a new study by Hartford Seminary called Faith Communities Today, U.S. congregations are less healthy than they were 10 years ago. According to a new stu ...

When I was growing up, there was a house down the street from us which had slightly tattered window coverings and the front lawn was like a graveyard of broken things. When I wa ...

I woke up on the morning of September 11, 2001 both nervous and excited. I woke up on the morning of September 11, 2001 both nervous and excited. I had spent the last two months ...

As of this morning, more than 1,009 Americans have been arrested to bring national attention to the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. This is what church looks like. As of thi ...

Nadia Bolz-Weber likes to have both tradition and innovation happening at the same time in House for All Sinners and Saints, a mission church she founded in Denver, Colorado, that's part of the Evan ...

Yesterday afternoon I found out that ABC news plans to dedicate it programming today to "Hunger at Home: Crisis in America." It precipitated my writing of this post which I had planned to add as a la ...

[Editors' note: Below is a hymn written by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette to inspire churches to further support and pray for famine relief in Somalia and the Horn of Africa.] O God, You Love the Needy ...

When it comes to homeless youth the facts are simple, services in the City of Chicago are falling far behind the need. When it comes to homeless youth the facts are simple, servic ...

Rev. Steve Stone was just trying to be a good neighbor. Rev. Steve Stone was just trying to be a good neighbor. Two years ago, the pastor of Heartsong Church in Cordova, Tenne ...

The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, 'Here I am, for you called me.' Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. ...

In recent days I've been thinking through with a friend one of the enduring challenges of pastoral and catechetical ministry: how to dispel the notion that worship should be entertaining. ...

Many people remember "O God, Our Words Cannot Express," a hymn written on the afternoon of September 11, 2001. Many people remember " O God, Our Words Cannot Expr ...

Do yourself a favor and watch this. It's 7:15 minutes long but well worth your time. Do yourself a favor and watch this. It's 7:15 minutes long but well worth your time ...

An account in The New York Times by Ethan Bronner reports that Israeli women and West Bank Palestinian women and girls have once again broken Israeli laws. http://creativecommon ...

John Stott died this Wednesday. He was 90 years old. John Stott died this Wednesday. He was 90 years old. What many people don't understand is that he was the most influentia ...

Where has all the sanity gone? I, for one, never expected in my wildest dreams to pine for the days of Ronald Reagan. But I'm there. Where has all the sanity gone? I, for ...

Shakespeare said a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Maybe, but a Stink Rose by any other name (say... garlic?) might get more play. Shakespeare said a rose by any othe ...

It's funny the things that you remember. I can remember one time when I was a teenager watching an episode of the Montel Williams show. It's funny the things that you re ...

You don't need a ton of proof to know that more and more churches are struggling to survive. It seems churches that are in this predicament have one of two options: revive or die ...

I was not one of the 1,500 who attended the inaugural Wild Goose Festival in Shakori Hills, North Carolina last month, but I did grow up going to Christian summer camp. I was not ...

I send many of my students to the Middle East as interns. In fact, Wheaton College has an entire program devoted to student short-term placement. I send many of my students to the ...

After posting a blog about my <a href="http://blog.sojo.net/2011/06/13/10-problems-of-a-dying-church-and-how-to-fix-them/" target="_blank">observations of a dying church</a>, th ...

I recently wrote a blog about how to kill a dying church, asking questions about what to do with so many churches dying. I recently wrote a blog about how to kill a dying church ...

I've been a Christian all of my life. My parents taught me that God loves everyone equally and that all people should be treated with dignity and respect. I've been a Ch ...

God only knows what alternative universe the United States Congress occupies. On May 31, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass a bill to raise the debt limit of the United States. ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/2011/05/18/what-are-your-life-giving-questions/" target="_self"></a>I love what I do, but it's amazing how even that which you do and ...

On my personal blog, I <a href="http://brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/this-is-not-actually-a-blog-post.html" target="_blank">traced my journey</a> on the issue of homosexuality ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/2011/05/13/8-lessons-learned-as-a-pastor-and-mother/" target="_self"></a>I love this photo. Exemplified in this photo is where my life as ...

[<strong>Editors' Note: </strong><em>This month, Sojourners and Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform will be featuring "The Stories of Immigration" blog series. ...

Years ago, the member communions of the National Council of Churches declared that a budget is a moral document. Years ago, the member communions of the National Council of Church ...

[<strong>Editors' Note</strong>: <em>This month, Sojourners and Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform will be featuring "The Stories of Immigration" blog series. ...

Here are 10 ways to make Earth Day a church day for your congregation, small group, or family.<em></em></p> Here are 10 ways to make Earth Day a church day for y ...

This evening I will lead a Passover Seder observance in my Christian community. We've done it for years and always find it inspiring to reflect on God's liberation from slavery. And it's the occ ...

During my last year of college, my pastor lent me the book Living Gently in a Violent World, co-authored by Jean Vanier and Stanley Hauerwas. This book is an exploration on how followers of Christ ought to liv ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/2011/04/19/let-us-not-forget-its-not-about-us/" target="_self"></a>I'm very fond of this season in the Christian calendar because I c ...

Today is the annual <a href="http://www.dayofsilence.org/" target="_blank">National Day of Silence</a>, a day where students across America pledge to be silent for a day in orde ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/2011/04/15/homeless-men-and-women-donate-1000-to-the-hunger-fast-movement/" target="_self"></a>A quilt hangs in the dining and fellowship ...

<em>[<strong>Editors' note</strong></em><em>: As part of Sojourners' campaign to end the war in Afghanistan, we will run a weekly Afghanistan news digest to educate our ...