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Walter Brueggemann
Vocation: What do you do?
Erin Weber-Johnson and Rev. Mieke Vandersall always felt challenged when they try to tell strangers what they do for a living. Their profession is far more than a job–it's an expression of their vocation.
Ascension Ponderings
Rev. Dr. Char Cox fondly reflects on her Sunday School exprience in this poem.
Walk With Me
Jesus offers us all healing. We all need healing. And I offer you this peace to walk with Jesus. Maybe the question is, can I trust Jesus to walk with me? Will my community walk with me, with my pain?
When We Crowdsource the Church: The Challenge of Digital Recommendations
Whether through social media, or increasingly, through AI chatbots, we are crowdsourcing our church-going, leaving decisions about church attendance and membership to the wisdom of our connections (or the algorithms of ChatGPT).
Without our wound, where would our power be?
Jared E. Alcantara is Professor of Preaching at Truett Seminary at Baylor University. He was born and raised in New Jersey and came to faith in Christ at the age of 14. He is half Latino, Honduran, and half white and, in 2022, he mentione that, in an age marked by loss, there are plenty of reasons for us to lament, but there are not nearly enough lamenting groups to go around. Let's revisit his talk from Enfleshing Witness 2022.
Nurturing Children in the Faith
Rev. Dr. Char Cox fondly reflects on her Sunday School experience in this poem.
In This Crucial Election Year What Will Your Community Do on Day One?
On Day One of the next administration (and in whatever follows), communities of faith must continue the work being God’s people. Regardless of whether you see the outcome you desire or not, the work will need to go on. You’ll either be working in alignment with those you trust, or you’ll be in the resistance against those you do not trust. Either way, there will be work to do.
I lift my eyes to the hills
Jeff Chu wears several hats, including writer, reporter, and editor. He's also the co curator and co-host with Sarah Bessie of Evolving Faith. He's an occasional preacher. Some days, Jeff says he believes in God. Other days, he wants to believe in God.
Let’s revisit Chu’s talk from our 2022 Enfleshing Witness gathering.
Preaching the Word in a World of Memes
Digital technology has triggered three transformations in how we communicate, or use our words. Each of these transformations in our words has significance for those called to preach the Word.
Tethered Away From God
The Reverend Ranjit Mathews preaches because God has called him to prophetic and embodied witness to those with ears to hear. His vocation is to love extravagantly, and to invite the shedding from systems of white supremacy, purity culture, patriarchy, and the gospel of production. Let’s revisit his talk from our 2021 Enfleshing Witness gathering.
Your Words Will Become Seeds
Dr. Christine Hong usually mostly writes and teaches, instead of preaches, as a seminary professor. But after her writing and teaching slips into sermon mode, and she's mostly sorry about it, Christine mostly teaches and preaches to seminary students and their loved ones at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. Christine preaches among an amazing group of colleagues and friends with the spirits of her ancestors.
An Analgesic Faith: Reflections on Psalm 77
Lent has recently become Dr. Michael J. Chan's favorite season in the church year. The 40 Lenten days commemorate Jesus' time in the wilderness, where he was tempted both by the devil and the harsh environment.
The Hidden Secret of Winter Trees
In order to grasp this great truth, the first thing we need to do is to get off our human high horse. We aren’t all that, especially when you compare us to the world of trees.
Beyond the Politics of Visibility
Jesus embodies a different kind of knowing, a different ministry and witness that comes with stiff social and economic penalties. His visions of an end to evil and dehumanizing systems so that all might flourish. Those were both popular and exceedingly disruptive.