by William Powell Tuck Without question, the cross is the central symbol of Christianity. But the centrality of the cross is far more than symbolic; it represents finality– an act of God. As Paul is bold to claim, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself” (II Cor. 5:19). Through the central act of…
by William Powell Tuck Throughout my life I have sought to commune with God. I have undertaken this endeavor in many places. I have found moments of contemplation in quiet, small, white-framed country churches, in large traditional or contemporary-designed urban churches, in ancient Gothic cathedrals in Europe, in a Quaker Meeting House, in tent meetings,…
by William Powell Tuck In one of the churches I served as pastor, a high school student wrote a paper entitled, “The End of Time.” He began his paper with this sentence: “This paper will tell and explain about the end of time.” That’s a remarkable claim for a high school student! But that’s…
By Dr. Dolly Berthelot America has become a volatile place to have meaningful conversation. Perhaps the whole world has. Is it possible to address controversial issues together without rancor? We lose that ability at our peril. Whether online or in person, across the dinner table or the board table or the oceans, among individuals or…
by Darren M. McClellan And now, for a continuation on a previous post regarding a theology of mission. Specifically, I invite you to reconsider the stereotypical notion of the church as a “place.” I get it, you say. The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple…the church is the people. Hand…
by Darren M. McClellan How does one begin to define the mission of the church? For those with an historic commitment to “one Lord, one faith, and one baptism,” we might think that most Christians would respond with some consistency (something along the lines of disciple-making); but alas, much of our experience as the church…
by Darren M. McClellan Some years ago, a man confessed to his pastor an occurrence in which his good intentions had gone awry. This was his story: believing it was time for him to ‘step up’ his efforts as the spiritual leader of his household, the man decided to rededicate himself to the discipline of…
by Herold Weiss Which is more important, the creation of Adam and Eve or the creation of the Risen Christ, the Last Adam? The story of the creation of Adam and Eve, the second of the stories in Genesis, is in part the story of the loss of life when access to the tree of…
by Herold Weiss It is widely accepted that the first three chapters of Genesis actually contain two stories of creation which are told from two quite different perspectives. One is found in Gen. 1: 1 – 2: 4a, and the other in Gen. 2: 4b – 4:23. Neither one of them supports what came to…
by Herold Weiss It is disconcerting to witness the many efforts carried out by different groups, with otherwise disparate perspectives, to have creationism taught in public High Schools as a valid scientific explanation of the origins of the universe and life. Proposals to achieve this goal have been debated at local school boards, school district…