Author: Administrador

Angela Zimmann Same-Sex Marriage Gun Control Fracking End-of-Life Rights A Woman’s Right to Choose The Death Penalty Universal Healthcare Immigration Capitalism Did I miss any? Oh, yes: Climate Change. If this list makes you cringe, my colleague, you are not alone. I agree: it reads like the Top-Ten list of “Topics Preachers Should Avoid (Unless … Continue reading “From Controversy to Community: Preaching on the Fault Lines”

Patricia Tull Scripture’s story of Lent begins this year by describing the first human job. March 9th’s reading from Genesis 2 and 3 digests the second creation story very briefly, starting with God’s placing the first human in the garden of Eden. Modern Bibles translate the human’s purpose in the garden as “to till and … Continue reading “Our Lenten Vocation: Serving and Preserving God’s Garden”

Rob O’Lynn When I served a congregation near Austin, Texas, we offered a Wednesday night Bible study hour that began with a short devotional. In spite of my best efforts to involve other members of the congregation, I was often left with the responsibility of delivering the devotional message — and, frequently, at the last … Continue reading “Picture, Passage, Point: Bringing Scripture to Life”

David Lose Dear Working Preacher, “Do not be afraid.” It’s easy to overlook the presence of these four words near the tail end of Jesus’ transfiguration. After all, there’s so much else going on — the dazzling white clothes, the appearance of Moses and Elijah, the thunderous voice from heaven, the disciples fainting to the … Continue reading ““Do Not Be Afraid””

David Lose Dear Working Preacher, When my kids were fairly young, they’d almost always figure out who the people in their lives were via relational categories. “Okay,” they might say, “so ‘Grammy’ is Mommy’s mommy and ‘Grandma’ is Daddy’s mommy.” Or perhaps, “Aunt Nancy is Mommy’s sister and Uncle Jim is Daddy’s brother.” Listening to … Continue reading “Identity Theft”

Melinda Quivik The Vigil of Easter is just what it says: a vigil. At the Vigil, we remember that Jesus is dead, gone “to crush hell underfoot,” as the old Hippolytan eucharistic prayer has it.1 We listen to the story of who we are, and we respond to the readings with widely varied songs while … Continue reading “Preaching the Easter Vigil: Notes on an ancient sermon”

Kae Evensen For those of us who preach, flying on airplanes is risky business. I know of only one pastor who sees flying as mission work. The rest of us huddle in our seats, put in our ear buds, and pull out some reading material. We may make some polite conversation with our seatmates or … Continue reading “An Unexpected Glimpse of God’s Promise”

David Lose Dear Working Preacher, Something’s gotta change. We all know that. Patterns of congregational attendance and membership have declined for decades and precipitously so over the last few years. Of late, I have been reading, speaking, and writing a lot about our need, in particular, to take stock of the changes in our culture … Continue reading “Spirit Freedom”

Angela Zimmann Several weeks ago, Rolf Jacobson wrote helpfully about the re-imagination of Lent; rather than employing the tired language of a “Lenten Journey,” Jacobson calls upon leaders to strive for a “thick Lenten experience,” working backward, employing “reverse design,” using as a starting point: “What would you like to have happen in Lent to … Continue reading “Lent in Jerusalem: Beyond the Palm Parade”

David Lose Dear Working Preacher, This is a story of freedom, even transformation. Not, however — and as far too many interpreters assume — from a life of immorality to one of morality. So let me say this as clearly as possible: I do not think the Samaritan woman is a prostitute. I don’t even … Continue reading “Leaving It All Behind”