Ministry Matters - The beauty of faith | Put down the fear-filled playbook

Why should preachers care about beauty? The beauty of faith by Paul Scott Wilson   Why should preachers care about beauty? A preacher who graduated from seminary in the 1990s recently lamented, “I am not sure what I am doing anymore. At weddings people think they have hired me to do what they want, at funerals people ask me not to mention God, and on Sundays I wonder if the Word of God seems to matter.” Many preachers are confused about their roles these days. Read here

Do any of us serve God by exchanging frank Christian dialogue for the polarizing tactics Put down the fear-filled playbook by Bill Brownson   Staying on message is the hallmark of a well-run political campaign and often means ascribing motives and a lack of character to your opponents. Make no mistake, the most vocal proponents of disaffiliation are following a secular political campaign playbook. It is not rooted in scripture and it is increasingly devoid of basic respect and fair play. Read here

Do we dare expose them to the blood and cruelty of the cross? Children and Holy Week by Margaret Ann Crain   The story of the last week in Jesus' earthly life is full of drama. Adults, deeply moved by this story, shy away from including chil­dren. Will they be frightened by the arrest and trial? Do we dare expose them to the blood and cruelty of the cross? Given their lack of understand­ing about death, should we subject them to something they do not understand? We may be selling children short. Read here

Testing God's patience, finding hope in hopelessness, and the sermon this Sunday Connecting worship with the season this Sunday

Preparing worship elements for the Third Sunday in Lent