Values, Faith, and Church

A collection of 32 posts

Values, Faith, and Church

A Christian Response to the Trump Election

This post is for all persons who call themselves Christian and are facing a Trump presidency, whether or not you voted for him. As Christians, what is our response? What should we do? Here are six things that seem obvious to me.

Values, Faith, and Church

How to Fight for Change Without Being Mean

I’ve been thinking about this question a lot lately, as I do more and more writing on this page, as I try to do more and more advocacy, AND as we prepare to launch a progressive community site for the city. There are some truths that I operate from,

Values, Faith, and Church

Worship As B-Roll

We had an interesting moment in worship this morning. I was in my usual place, sitting with the choir in the loft, when I looked up and noticed a TV camera crew in the back of the sanctuary. The camera man was shooting some B-roll, while the reporter was

Values, Faith, and Church

This Use of Religious Freedom Is Wrong ... and Dangerous

We’re all aware of the recent attempts by many across the country to use “religious freedom” as an argument for various actions. Whether it is denying service to certain people at retail establishments, or refusing to fill prescriptions for contraceptives at a pharmacy, or turning away couples wishing to

Values, Faith, and Church

Stop Repenting and Start Changing!

(a Lection Reflection on Mark 1:15) It's just too easy, really. All I have to do is ask you to tell me the first picture that comes to your mind when I give you a word, and I bet many of you will come up with the

Values, Faith, and Church

The Work of Christmas

For this morning's Ephiphany service, we sang a setting of this poem by Howard Thurman. I did not know this poem, or this setting, until we practiced it a few weeks ago -- but the first time we sang it, I cried. It is beautiful, moving, and pointed. May we spend 2015 doing the work of Christmas.

Values, Faith, and Church

The Scope of Easter

(A Lection Reflection on Easter) One of the important concepts we use in project work is "scope." It refers, of course, to the reach of the project or initiative. Does this web site rebuild involve only the interface, or are there new features included? Are we remodeling both

Values, Faith, and Church

Some Thoughts on Baptism

I taught a class last night on baptism, part of a class on various topics at church (worship, baptism, communion, liturgical year). The framework we followed seemed useful, so I thought I'd share it here. Perhaps it will help others as they work through their own understanding of

Values, Faith, and Church

Historic Day at a Baptist Church

Memorial Day Sunday 2012 was a historic day at our church, Highland Baptist of Louisville. Why? We ordained someone to the ministry. "So what?" you say. "Churches do that all the time." True, they do. This was a little different, though. A local advocacy group (not the church) issued a press rele

Values, Faith, and Church

Fight Fire with Love: Baptist Church READS Koran

Glad to share THIS news [http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/5678/53/]: > A Kentucky Baptist church will be host for an interfaith service Sept. 11 > billed as a "peaceful, positive alternative" to a Quran-burning ceremony > scheduled the same day in Florida. > > The "Honoring Sacred Texts" servic

Life in General

Interesting moment in Sunday worship

So there I was, singing away on some hymn like I usually do, glad that it had four verses 'cause that meant that I could try to sing all four parts (not at once, although some claim I try that too), when a thought crossed my mind:

Life in General

A Book for Artists and Humans of All Kinds

Just finished The War of Art [http://home.stevenpressfield.com/books/war_art.asp] by Steven Pressfield. It's a book about the struggle to create art, to live to our higher calling, and to be and become what we are intended to be. And it has entered a very select category for me: Books That Changed M

Values, Faith, and Church

Pat Robertson {insert your headline here}

I give up. I wrote three or four headlines for this blog entry, and none of them seemed to capture the idiocy that is Pat Robertson: * Pat Robertson Spews Again * Robertson Needs To Put a Sock In It * Robertson Gives New Meaning to STFU Why? Because of this latest idiocy that came out of hi

Values, Faith, and Church

Hubris, Thy Name Is "Conservative Bible Project"

I'm not sure I even know how to write about this. It is so far beyond the pale that all I can do, I think, is tell the story. There is a web site called Conservapedia [http://conservapedia.com/Main_Page]. Apparently Wikipedia is too liberal for them, so they have their own online wiki-based encyclo

Values, Faith, and Church

The Agape Meal of Broadway Baptist, Fort Worth

A friend sent me a link to this through email, and said he thought I might appreciate it. It's a video of the Agape Meal for the poor and homeless that Broadway Baptist does each Thursday night. It is a simple but moving video, one worth watching, and a ministry worth supporting. Make the jump and y

Values, Faith, and Church

Brothers and Sisters: Teddy Kennedy's Religion

("Brothers and Sisters" is the weekly prayer-and-share diary on Daily Kos where community members share their burdens and needs, and support one another. I am the host for tonight's edition, and have posted it here first. If you want to read the comments in the Daily Kos version, check it out here [

Life in General

Brothers and Sisters: The Vertical and the Horizontal

("Brothers and Sisters" is the weekly prayer-and-share diary on Daily Kos where community members share their burdens and needs, and support one another. I was the host for tonight's edition, and worked for some hours on it once I got home from church. Unfortunately, somehow my draft version got los

Values, Faith, and Church

Baptist Group Stands AGAINST Theocrats and their Lying Billboards

From an op-ed in the Tampa Tribune [http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/aug/02/co-billboards-a-blow-to-us-history/news-opinion-commentary/]: > For the next six months, people on the roads of Pinellas and Hillsborough > counties will rumble past billboard ads making false claims and misleading > assert

Values, Faith, and Church

Toxic Faith and the Tiller Murder

The murder of George Tiller [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090531/ap_on_re_us/us_tiller_shooting] in his church this past Sunday has sparked horror and grief across the political and religious spectrum, as persons on both sides of the abortion debate have condemned the killing as senseless and wrong.

Values, Faith, and Church

Stupid Bumper Sticker of the Week

Saw this in Knoxville while visiting my mom: If it's not King James, it's not Bible. I grunted in disgust, and my mom asked what was wrong. I pointed out the bumper sticker in front of us, and she (daughter of a Baptist preacher and faithful

Values, Faith, and Church

One-Sentence Guideline for Christians

From Connie Schultz, panelist on last night's Bill Maher show: I was raised by a born-again Christian who taught us that being a good Christian meant fixing yourself and helping others, not the other way around. Okay, folks, there's your sermon for today; no need

Values, Faith, and Church

Irony Is Lost on Some People

I wrote a big, long introduction to this, trying to find some way to explain it -- but I just can't explain it. Perhaps their good intentions can be their excuse. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/30/145245/63/817/647006

Life in General

Life As Gift, Live As Gift

Sometimes, when you least expect it, grace breaks in. Sunday night was the Four Churches concert that our church participates in each fall. Having finished my small handbell contribution (we accompanied the first hymn), I sat down to enjoy the rest of the concert. As I looked around the beautiful

Values, Faith, and Church

The Incarnation -- A Fake-Out?

We're working through Brian McClaren's book Everything Must Change at church on Sunday nights, and it's been a good study of a challenging book. (There are still some weeks to go -- come join us.) Today's section contained a point that really helped crystalize a thought for me, and challenged me as

Values, Faith, and Church

Faith Versus Belief

I've started re-reading the book Stages of Faith (Amazon link [http://www.amazon.com/Stages-Faith-Psychology-Human-Development/dp/0060628669/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204508162&sr=8-1]) by Fowler. It's an important book, and I'm sure I'll post some more on it as I work my way through it.