THANKSGIVING FOR THE FUTURE In Psalm 138, we reflect on the power of thanksgiving as it reminds us of God’s faithfulness…

YOUR PRIVATE LAMENT What I offer you here are guidelines to exercise the healing power of lament. Take some time…

MEETING WITH YOUR RESPECTIVE LEADERSHIP Explain to your leadership how you have arrived at this area of interest. (In mycase,…

CONFESSING SINS OF DISGUSTING NEIGHBORS MY NEIGHBOR IN THE BODY OF CHRIST What is my responsibility for my neighbor’s sins…

Ten top Reasons to Refuse to Hear God’s Call In the Reformed faith, we believe that all people have a…

An Enemy Within the Church Almost every pastor has the experience of having some person or persons within the membership…

An exercise in exploring White Privilege When Whites hear the term White Privilege, they usually have one of two reactions.…

Cost of Listening Most churches would agree that they value a pastor who can listen with sensitivity to people who…

JUDICATORIES WHO CARE FOR CLERGY  PREVENT THEOLOGICAL BURNOUT Most of the pastors in your judicatory have had at least three…

MARRIED TO THE BODY OF CHRIST–part two The parable continues Abigail enthralled his adult class with her description of her…

PART ONE MARRIED TO THE BODY OF CHRIST Stephen McCutchan Part one David Benedict, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran church,…

IS FORCE THE ANSWER TO THREAT? (This is an excerpt from “Hospitality for Alien Strangers,” to be published in the…

PREVIEW OF NOVEL TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE FALL OF 2023 At the time, no one understood that what took…

One Future for Denominations In reading Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat I was struck with its implications for denominationalism.…

If Jesus saves us from our sins and it is clear that we continue sinning, then how does Jesus save…

The Saving Experience of Worship  You find yourself talking to a friend during your lunch hour, and the topic of…

HOW DOES THE CHURCH SAVE In what way does Jesus’ body offer us salvation in a fractured, frightened, often despairing…

GOD’S RESPONSE TO IMPERFECTION While both members and non-members will occasionally comment on the failure of the church to live…

Flipping the question The major issue facing mainline Christianity in our time is the flip side of the ancient statement,…

The importance of accountability and evaluation The Importance of Accountability and Evaluation Accountability and evaluation are crucial elements in the…