By: Kyle Chalko on March 15, 2019
When I was in graduate school I took a class called Contemporary Issues in Theology and it was in one of my top classes of all time. We covered a total of six different heavy issues that semester… Women in Ministry Divine Foreknowledge Divorce & Remarriage The Providence of God Spirit Baptism Homosexuality There was…
By: Mary Mims on March 15, 2019
Today’s world is known as the internet age. Children at an increasingly young age navigate electronic devices with ease. Soon we will have a generation that will not know what it is like to live without electronic devices to communicate. This use of electronic devices to communicate has created what is known as a “network…
By: Trisha Welstad on March 15, 2019
Four years-ago I did one of the most challenging things I have done as a pastor. I sat with eight other pastors over the course of three days and dialogued for the first time on same-sex inclusivity and the church. We all came from a variety of tribes and traditions and represented the spectrum of…
By: Sean Dean on March 15, 2019
Running is my exercise of choice. Aerobics classes frustrate me lifting weights is fine and biking is nice, but nothing has captured me like running. I also happen to be a data guy. More data equals better results – in that way I am very much like Berger and Johnston from last week’s reading. As…
By: Karen Rouggly on March 14, 2019
Last winter, I completed my first Whole30. If you aren’t familiar with the Whole30, it’s like “pushing the reset button on your health, your habits, and your relationship with food”[1] It’s more than just a diet and a cleanse. Essentially, you remove certain food groups (like sugar, grains, dairy, and legumes) from your diet for…
By: Jay Forseth on March 14, 2019
Hello Ellen! My name is Jay Forseth, and I am a Pastor in small town America. I am writing this letter because I think you are kind. In fact, many times on your show your actions appear more Christian than most Christians I know. Your generosity impresses me. You are obviously successful and loads of…
By: Andrea Lathrop on March 14, 2019
I opened my laptop after reading Digital Minimalism and noticed the clutter on my screen in a new way. Before opening Microsoft Word, I minimized the following; 10+ website tabs from yesterday’s business and surfing; Evernote with several windows; email app; Nozbe task manage; Messenger; and iCal. And I consider myself a bit of a minimalist…
By: Mark Petersen on March 14, 2019
Is anyone out there a fan of Whose Line is It Anyway? (It was news to me, but I found out that the show originated in the UK before it crossed the pond.[1]) In it, comedians are given an open idea but no script on how to play their part. Imagine not being scripted, and…
By: Rhonda Davis on March 14, 2019
The digital declutter has been a real struggle in the Davis house this year. With jobs that seem to demand constant connection and three sons ages 14, 13 and 7 years old, my husband and I have been searching for ways to simplify our lives. We long to be more present in a world that…
By: Colleen Batchelder on March 14, 2019
“Did they really just say that!?” I pulled over at the nearest Starbucks and turned the radio volume to full blast. “No, they couldn’t have said that!” I begged my senses to recompose and leaned in to hear more. Their two voices boomed through my shock as they repeated their diatribe. “Yeah, Mike! You heard…
By: Harry Edwards on March 14, 2019
I still remember vividly the time when one of my colleagues looked at me with derision when I mentioned nonchalantly that I did not have my phone with me. She had texted me just a few moments prior and had expected a quick response. I do not recall the content of the message but to…
By: Jenn Burnett on March 14, 2019
For Lent I took Facebook off my phone. Before I had even started Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism I knew I needed what he describes as a “digital declutter”[1] . I resonated with Newport’s identification of the good intentions we (let me own this, I) have to simply use technology to stay connected to friends overseas…
By: Jake Dean-Hill on March 13, 2019
My journey on the topic of homosexuality, gay marriage, and their place in the church started many years ago when I was in full-time church ministry. Back before this population was as “out of the closet” as they are today, I would have long discussions with people in the church about how to approach this…
By: Dan Kreiss on March 13, 2019
Choose your own……gender I wonder how many of you ever read any of the children’s books “Choose Your Own Adventure”? Essentially, they were books where the reader was able to determine some of the outcome at certain points in the story. Each decision altered the scope and conclusion of the story. Netflix has even come…
By: Rev Jacob Bolton on March 13, 2019
The past year has been one focused on an intentional and personal “slowing down.” I was feeling very harried after a long church transition and needed to make some changes. I started last January to intentionally make my coffee every morning using only a French Press. No Keurig, no buying it at the bagel place…
By: Mike on March 13, 2019
Preston Sprinkle’s editorial work on Two Views on Homosexuality explores and challenges the Christian response to modern sexual ethics surrounding same-sex couples within the church. Sprinkle referees a two-on-two literary debate over the affirming versus non-affirming views on the topic of homosexuality. Sprinkle leverages the work of Loader, Defranza, Hill, and Holmes to advance a…
By: Tammy Dunahoo on March 12, 2019
Recently a screen popped up on my iphone telling me the amount of screen time I had used that week. Instantly, I went into denial mode, “No way! That has to be wrong.” Unfortunately, it was quite right and had tracked my unconscious habit of digital use. I have spent my entire adult life decluttering…
By: Jennifer Williamson on March 11, 2019
When I first met Lois, I assumed she a widow. Several of my colleagues had mentioned how she and her husband had run thriving music ministries in France for several years, but when we arrived on the field she was single. Close to retirement age, she had recently spent some time back in the States…
By: Shermika Harvey on March 10, 2019
Confucius once said that “life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”[1] Not sure if this statement is entirely true, but it does have truth to it. In today’s world, most lives are filled with a degree of complexity that challenges our straightforward approach to it. For instance, a single mother working…
By: Mary Mims on March 10, 2019
Churches were once the anchor of many communities. Today, things have changed and many churches are languishing and on the verge of dying. Often, older churches are close to dying and ignore many of the symptoms associated with their illness. Thom Rainer in his book, Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 12 Ways to Keep Yours…
