I started running because of my sister. Kim and I began when we were pre-teens. I believed running was the key to making me more like her -- 5 foot 9, lean, beautiful, and highly intelligent. There was one pro ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/rediscovering-values-for-lent/" target="_blank"></a></p> <p> [Editors' note: During the season of Lent we will be pos ...

Jesus came to us full of grace and truth (<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=167387230" target="_blank">John 1</a>). Jesus came to us full of gra ...

The U.S. Navy reported today that it had detected low levels of airborne radiation at the Yokosuka and Atsugi bases, about 200 miles to the north of the Japan's Fukushima nuclear reactors. ...

<p>photo &copy; 2006 <a style="padding:0;margin:0;color:#aaa; text-decoration:underline;" title="click to visit the Flickr profile page for Ahmed Rabea" href="http://www.f ...

I spent this past weekend in an experience that gave me more hope in the church than I have felt in a long time. I spent this past weekend in an experience that gave me more hope ...

Over the course of this past weekend and my recent post about <a href="http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/what-the-hell/" target="_blank">hell, universalism, exclusivism,</a ...

One of the steadfast realities of following the lectionary is the predictable rhythm of its three-year cycle of readings. Preparing a sermon for Baptism of the Lord Sunday in 2011? ...

<p><a href="/sites/default/files/images/1100208-nomoredeaths.jpg"></a>For many Americans, the Sonora Desert conjures up images of a summer vacation replete with tequila shots and su ...

In a <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/januaryweb-only/muslimsevangelical.html" target="_blank">recent article</a> on <em>Christianity Today's</em& ...

Retired Catholic Bishop Samuel Ru&iacute;z Garcia, known as the champion of the poor and indigenous in southern Mexico, died January 24 of complications from diabetes. He was 86.</p> ...

I used to live in a world where God was a given and unapologetic faith was the lens through which the world was seen and interpreted.</p> I used to live in a world where God ...

I confess: I used to cringe every time I heard the "R" word. I confess: I used to cringe every time I heard the "R" word. Growing up in suburban Atlanta, th ...

Growing up, the use of inclusive language was a foreign concept. Growing up, the use of inclusive language was a foreign concept. Although I grew up in diverse church settings -- ...

<em>[<strong>Editors' note: </strong>Below is a hymn written by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette lamenting gun violence. We hope you find it helpful in light of the shootings in Arizona.]</em ...

Sunday school. It was one of the main reasons I enjoyed church as a child. As a young adult, it sometimes still is. But there's a conversation brewing: Does Sunday school have a future? ...

One of the most precious artifacts I have in my office isn't an ancient coin or oil lamp. It is a business card. From northern Iraq.</p> One of the most precious artifa ...

"It gets better." Those are the words of promise that many of us spoke to Internet audiences this past autumn to encourage adolescents who are considering suicide. " ...

On Tuesday November 16, hundreds of Christ-followers around the nation prayed and fasted in <a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/immigration-reform/" target="_blank">solidarity with immi ...

I am ready to give thanks. Last year, I joined my family for Thanksgiving but when the food was served, I could only watch. I am ready to give thanks. Last year, I joined my famil ...

<p><a href="/sites/default/files/images/101115-immigration-prayer.jpg"></a>It was five days before the mid-term elections. The race to fill President Obama's senate seat was ne ...

We've all heard the horrible news of the threatening packages sent from <a href="http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&amp;issue=soj1003&amp;article=is-military-money-a-sta ...

I was privileged the last few days to be in Phoenix, Arizona. I was privileged the last few days to be in Phoenix, Arizona. (What an amazing place -- the sunshine and the cloudles ...

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 ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/truth-and-civility/" target="_blank"></a></p> <p>Yesterday, I <a href="http://blog.sojo.net/2010/10/04/getting-bey ...

We have all heard the old saying that Satan's greatest ploy is to get people to stop believing in him. We have all heard the old saying that Satan's greatest ploy is to ...

Whenever Karen Ward, Abbess for <a href="www.apostleschurch.org" target="_blank">Church of the Apostles</a> (COTA), makes a suggestion about what's happening on the faith f ...

On a muggy Memphis night last week, Tiffany Kelly and Imani Phipps, both juniors at local high schools, sat at the top of the historic Levitt Shell amphitheater as chants of "One Memphis, One Love" ...

Last month I was in a meeting of African bishops discussing the transformation of Africa when a speaker strayed from his specific topic and gave a list of details which outlined the impact of <a hr ...

<em>Emergent Village will be hosting its annual Theological Conversation this year in Atlanta, GA from Nov. Emergent Village will be hosting its annual Theological Convers ...

"Nazis don't have the right to put up a sign next to the Holocaust Museum in Washington," said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. "Nazis don't have the r ...

When I was interviewed in <a href="http://www.statesman.com/life/faith/satirist-ponders-true-meaning-of-christ-outside-christianity-870492.html">The Austin American Statesman</a> about my ...

This hymn can be a helpful one for churches seeking to support the relief efforts in Pakistan.</p> This hymn can be a helpful one for churches seeking to support the relief ...

In the film "Dead Man Walking", shortly before Matthew Poncelet (played by Sean Penn) is executed, there's a scene where Poncelet confesses his crime of rape and murder. ...

For the sake of resting my soul, while I was on vacation with my wife and boys, I was sure not to watch any cable news. For the sake of resting my soul, while I was on vacation wi ...

Here's an idea for people who are unhappy about having an Islamic Center near the site of the World Trade Center, especially if those people are Bible-believing Christians and/or defenders of the U ...

In Sunday school many many years ago, I learned the Beatitudes. In Sunday school many many years ago, I learned the Beatitudes. And I think that my very favorite one has always be ...

In the story of Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the Well of Sychar, we see a man and a woman from two different tribes that hate each other. In the story of J ...

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. ...

Like many others who are currently unemployed or partially employed, this seminary graduate finds herself with unexpected time on her hands. Like many others who are currently une ...

There is one thing the opponents of the Cordoba Initiative (that plans to build an Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero) have in common with the Cordoba Initiative's leadership: their clear con ...

"I'm against you guys." A middle-aged man from Cincinnati proudly wearing an American flag on his T-shirt defiantly uttered these words to me a few weeks ago in Columbus, Ohio. ...

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the landmark Americans With Disabilities Act, signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990. It seems a bit strange when you think about. ...

<p> I've been reading Paul Harding's debut novel, Tinkers, which was this year's surprise Pulitzer Prize winner. It's a modest tome -- slim of build, light in the hand. ...

Throughout the Bible, we see <a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/comprehensive-immigration-reform/">stories of immigrants</a> -- people called to settle in new lands and begin new lives for ...

I want to thank <a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/glenn-beck/">Glenn Beck</a>. I want to thank Glenn Beck . His recent tirade against liberation theolog ...

When I first heard the announcement to rise for "the presentation of the colors," I didn't understand what that was. When I first heard the announcement to rise for ...

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 ...

Certainly one of the most puzzling remarks in Paul's writings is found in 1 Timothy 2:15, "But <a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/women/">women</a> will be saved through <a hr ...

<span style="color: #000000;">"You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ's own forever." (The Book of Common Prayer) " ...