Tag Archive | church
The Stranger
[This is an update from a blog post I did on my own site a few years ago. The title, like many from my page is a song title, in this case a Billy Joel song] Do you sometimes wonder who you are? Do you sometimes feel like the world’s biggest poseur? To celebrate my […]
Where is that Gentle Voice of Christ?
Guest Blogger: Ariel Benjamin When Paul said, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19), he spoke words of love to the Corinthians, revealing that God’s action through Christ relieved them of condemnation. But Christian responses to other Christians are starting to sound more like […]
Breaking out of the Christian cocoon
This weekend, I’ll begin leading a new series in my Sunday school class using Just Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybels. The E-word — evangelism — is one rarely spoken in our denominational circle, and when it is, it’s often with a big dose of self-deprecation. We know we should do it, but we […]
Examining the role of women in church leadership
Last week, I talked about how sectarianism damages the church’s reputation. One point over which denominations differ is the ordination of women. This has proved an obstacle for me in the publication of Alara’s Call, because one of the main objections I come up against is that a novel about a clergywoman will be inaccessible […]
Sectarianism: The charge we cannot deny
This Thanksgiving, as so often before, I was thankful for my neighbors, who cooked the dinner. All I had to bring was green beans. Any day I don’t have to cook is a true holiday. The company was enjoyable, and when talk turned to politics — as it so easily can in November — the […]
A Family Hero
My Grandfather died on September 14, 2010. He was 97 years old. He lived through both world wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, the War on Terror, and every conflict in between. He saw the invention of the TV and the moon landing. He watched the Model T evolve into a modern sedan. He was […]
The New Authors Fellowship 