As a lay theologian who works at the intersection of money, God, and institutions, I am often asked what is the difference between fundraising, as an element of stewardship, and manipulation.

What if your church was positioned to meet the deepest needs of your community? […] what if a small change in the way you communicate could help motivate more and more people to engage with your church?

Moreso than any other community or institution, the church is uniquely situated to help communities navigate a year of uncertainty. And yet we must recognize that our culture is not one that is accustomed to uncertainty

But really, it means a revealing, the revelation of Jesus. So ultimately, this book shows us who Jesus was in ancient times against the Roman Empire and might invite us into something about what the world is now.

It is only when our eyes see the fullness of suffering and sin do we see the ways in which God moves on our behalf.

All of us could take a lesson from Elphaba in valuing the lives of neighbors who are too quickly pushed into the background ... or minimized and subjugated by those occupying roles of privilege and authority.

Today I would argue that our current cultural understanding of Christmas isn't as a time of excess but as a time of fervor.

Together, their stories paint a portrait of a religiously and culturally diverse corner of the Middle East disappearing, and the people saving it with their stories. Each voice puts us in front of an essential question: What is the deepest part of ourselves, the one thing that can never be taken from us?

Hope, in [Advent], is located in the sense of seeing with greater clarity God’s interaction with creation both now and in the days to come.

...it’s so critical for church leaders and preachers to learn to work alongside AI with equal levels of interest and skepticism...

I've become convinced that if Luke had chosen a picture of the gospel instead of 24 chapters of writing... [he] would have drawn for us a big table, wooden and worn and homey.

I found in [these letters] stories of men working hard to be countercultural to our training. We wished to leave behind the more arid and shallow masculinity of traditional male friendships.

When we step into the pulpit, we hope that the people will hear what we want them to hear, that they might be changed like we have been changed.

Maybe it’s not the amount of money that matters for churches today, but their willingness to risk it to try something new.

Prayer without belief/faith is no good. Why are we praying if we don’t believe?

What were they waiting to see? [...] Biblical mandates bring us to life, full life. In full life, we can’t not work for the collective good through the giving of tangible and intangible gifts.

...creativity and faith formation are deeply interrelated, especially when we define creativity as a process of articulating experiences and telling stories

In the midst of declines in attendance and donations, many congregations find themselves at a crossroad: How do they live out God's mission in this time and place when they seem to have less and less assets to do so?

Righteousness, holiness or right living in Leviticus 19 was determined by the sharing of resources as a community, or collective identity.

In a world that wants to criticize and categorize and commodify everything we do, time and space to create for its own sake is a sacred revolution.