In 36 years of congregational and churchwide leadership I have observed that all of us are human in our behaviors, especially in church. I have often questioned whether congregational life is dominated by sociology more than theology. We tend to underrate our fallen, fragile natures in addressing spiritual issues …
When I knew “Ellen,” she was smart, attractive and couldn’t keep a paying job. She found meaning by volunteering for nonprofits, including a classical music organization where I worked. She accepted concert tickets as pay for ushering on “good” days, when she wasn’t hiding in her apartment arguing with her “visitors” …
To what should we compare a churchwide convention—to a county fair, a revival service, a congregational business meeting, a hymn sing, a mass youth gathering, a drama and musical exposition, a camp meeting? …
The financial turbulence and economic crisis experienced in our world in the past six to nine months has been described by some as the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression …
What does it mean to be a peace church in this country when the military-industrial complex has the federal government in a stranglehold? This question relates to a discussion scheduled at this summer’s Mennonite Church USA Convention 2009: our identity as Mennonite citizens in the United States …
