For many pastors of urban congregations, “stepping up” to end gun violence stems from a very personal place — as they have been forced to bury their own neighbors and church members. ...

Elaina Ramsey Victor Mughogho Victor Mughogho works with local churches in southeast A ...

A majority of Protestant pastors plan to vote for GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, according to a new survey, but nearly a quarter are still undecided less than a month from Election Day. ...

Today, Sojourners in launching a new project called Emerging Voices, and it’s one of the most exciting things I have been involved with for a long time. It aims to mentor, develop, and promote the most dynamic ...

In an email sent on Wednesday to members of the Grandville, Mich., church, leaders announced Kent Dobson had accepted the lead position. GRANDVILLE, Mich. — Mars Hill Bible Church ...

Most members of the clergy are taught to put the physical and spiritual needs of others first, but that self-denial may be harmful to their own health, according to a new Duke University study. ...

The National Association of Evangelicals is urging pastors to seek a common moral ground by uniting under a consistent code of ethics. NAE leaders said the new code  will provide uniform guidance to church leaders across the 40 denominations t ...

Regardless where you sit, stand, or wrestle with the issue of women in church leadership, I thought this satirical list was worth sharing for both laughter and even reflection because that’s what good satire f ...

In an op-ed published in the Charlotte Observer, Mike Daisley calls for Christians to "tone down the religious rhetoric." Of course, the influence of religious belief on political discourse is nothing new. In the Bill of Rights, the very ...

There are some religious beliefs, such as a particular stance on infant baptism, understanding of the Trinity, or belief in what occurs when Christians observe the Lord’s Supper that are significant theologica ...

The Rev. Jim Wallis and Dr. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, went head to head Thursday night at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School outside Chicago in a debate over the hot ...

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 ...

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. ...

"God is Watching," reads the headline for a full page ad Sojourners ran in this morning's Politico. "God is Watching," reads the headline for a full pag ...

Several weeks ago (right before I left for my sabbatical), I joined with six other pastors from around the country -- in partnership with Sojourners -- to draft an open letter to Congress and Preside ...

The way you think and feel about the world is shaped by what you see when you get out of bed in the morning. I remember hearing this from civil rights activists. The way you think ...

As the federal debt ceiling standoff threatens to cause an economic catastrophe for our nation, more than 4,000 pastors across the country are opposing proposed immoral budget cuts that harm the most vulnerabl ...

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 ...

Scott Kinder-Pyle is a Presbyterian pastor in Spokane, Washington, and the featured poet in <em>Sojourners</em>' July issue. Scott Kinder-Pyle is a Presbyterian p ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/2011/06/17/friday-links-round-up-japan-pastors-surfing/" target="_self"></a>Japan. Pastors. Surfing. Here's a little round up of link ...

We are looking for 1,000 pastors to debunk a myth based on the political assertion that government doesn't have any responsibility to poor people. We are looking for 1,000 p ...

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 ...

Some controversy has arisen about an ad campaign that a new coalition wanted to run in Sojourners on the issue of the LGBTQ community and the church. [ Update : For a list of ...

I concluded my celebration of Women's History Month (March) with a sober realization that the abuse of females is inseparable from the study of women's history.</p> ...

Recently I found a story about a friend from seminary in <em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/us/22pastor.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a></em>. ...

With all the angst about the economy, the deficit, and a looming government shut-down, I'm still concerned that we're treating symptoms rather than diagnosing the underlying disease. ...

Congress is working on the federal budget for the rest of the fiscal year 2011. Congress is working on the federal budget for the rest of the fiscal year 2011. It is now clear tha ...

In some ways, 2010 was a great year for evangelicals who have longed for the church to stand for just and <a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/immigration/">compassionate immigration reform</a& ...

<a href="http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm" target="_blank">Call your Senators right now about the DREAM Act</a>.</p> ...

This past week I was afforded a sneak peek at the forthcoming PBS documentary <a href="http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/calling/" target="_blank"><em>The Calling</em>< ...

As we continue to live within the ever-increasing multi-ethnic and multicultural reality, it is more and more obvious that the "black and white" matrix of the American Christian church is outdated. ...

Many people grew up enjoying the song, "Zacchaeus was a wee little man," celebrating this beloved story of Jesus and a tax collector. Many people grew up enjoying the so ...

In the last few weeks, as seems to happen every <a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/elections/" target="_blank">election</a> year, both parties along with some pastors and churche ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/truth-and-civility/" target="_blank"></a> </p> <p>[Editor's Note: Welcome to Sojourner's Truth and and Civility ...

Humility is not easy. Humility is not easy. After all it shares the same root word as "humiliation." But the humility that allows us to say we are sorry and to change ou ...

The earliest representations of Jesus show him eating and healing. In both instances, those who shared the scenes with Jesus included misfits, outcasts, the infirm, and the impoverished. ...

Several years ago, I spent several hours/week doing research (and meeting with other pastors) about pastoral health and vitality for my denomination.</p> Several years ago, ...

This spring, we saw an opportunity to join the efforts of Rev. This spring, we saw an opportunity to join the efforts of Rev. Jim Wallis and Sojourners to stand up to the Tea Part ...

Dear Pastors,</p> Dear Pastors, This week, a group called NumbersUSA sent out a message to hundreds of thousands of Americans to ask them to please contact their pastor. ...

I often say that one of my favorite parts of being a pastor for 24 years was pronouncing the benediction each week at the end of gathered worship. I often say that one of my favor ...

I thought Glenn Beck must have moved on to other things, but the other night, he went back to his attack on social justice churches. This time the issue was climate change.</p> ...

<strong>Jonathan, you were quoted in a recent <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/mayweb-only/28-41.0.html"><em>Christianity Today</em> Web article</a>< ...

We are all familiar with the famous pop culture image of a street evangelist holding up a sign reading, "Repent, for the end is near!" But repentance is actually a fundamental religious theme, and ...

<em>Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long? Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long? Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may ...

"To believe is human, to doubt divine."</p> "To believe is human, to doubt divine." Those words are central to the self-described "incendiary th ...

Esteemed Governor Brewer:</p> Esteemed Governor Brewer: My wife and I are both Evangelical pastors who have unrelenting commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our pa ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/2010/04/19/putting-collateral-murder-in-full-context-rotten-fruit-and-the-tree-from-which-it-fell/"></a>Recently, Wikileaks, an online whistleblower ...

<em>This post was written in response to the </em>Washington Post <em><a href="http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/2010/04/beck_vs_wallis_social_justice/all.html">On Fa ...

The political polarization of our society has now reached a new and dangerous level. The political polarization of our society has now reached a new and dangerous level. Honest di ...

<p>The Catholic church is reeling from the several sexual abuse allegations that have come to light over the past three months. Downplaying the severity of this scandal will only further damage the alrea ...