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It is important for financially stable churches and Christians to build relationships with those in poverty. But the reason may be different than what you might assume.
Jesus’s example of laying down his life for others inspired Martin Luther King Jr. and the U.S. civil rights movement. This theology of how to engage undeserved suffering can help congregations deal with pain.
What churches profess and what they do sometimes clash. Sharing stories, sitting with those who suffer, praying, and listening in silence for God can help churches harmonize theology and sociology.
Providing charitable support and development assistance to people in need can and does work, but, like any important activity, we must learn how to do it well.
On Wednesday, August 9, 2017, before the violent events in Charlottesville, Virginia, someone broke into a church near Waco, Texas, a historically African American congregation, and vandalized the property with hateful graffiti. The pastor of the church is a student at Baylor’s Truett Seminary. At the request of Baylor President Dr. Linda Livingstone, the Office of Spiritual Life at Baylor developed this prayer guide which will be used at community-wide gatherings on Friday, August 18.
The fact remains that most American Christians remain startlingly ignorant of critical aspects of their church’s history. Learning this history can help us more faithfully know ourselves, love others, and follow Christ.
Is it possible to work in international development without hurting those we are helping?
Soong-Chan Rah argues that the deeply rooted triumphalism and exceptionalism in the American society are causing the absence of lament in the American churches.
When Soong-Chan Rah planted an urban church near Boston, he began with a series of sermons on the Book of Lamentations, a radical counter-cultural approach to ministry that later became the basis for his book Prophetic Lament.
Defining “worship” is an essential step for churches that want to start including youth in planning and leading worship. Teenagers long for worship that connects to life issues such as justice, imagination, and the arts.
When she moved to Northern Ireland, Kiran Young Wimberly was surprised to discover how few Presbyterians there knew the Irish and Scottish melodies she’d grown to love in the U.S. Her Celtic Psalms project is helping Protestants and Catholics reconnect with their shared heritage.
Kiran Young Wimberly and Karen Campbell are musically gifted Presbyterian pastors who have seen how singing Celtic psalms helps bridge communities in troubled places.
