Martha Stearns Marshall Month* Six Stages of Why You Should Invite a Woman to Preach Why should you invite a woman to preach in your church during Martha Stearns Marshall Month, this February? Well, it depends on where your church is along…
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HOPE For Advent this year I’m taking up the invitation from the Anglican Communion to pray through the season with an #AdventWord each day and an accompanying photo or video. This post is the summary of Week 1 of Advent. Hoping…. #WAKEUP…
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For everyone who needs to preach and pray publicly this weekend – from any faith perspective – and especially Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders, I’m praying with and for you and the tensions you hold as you … … speak…
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Blocks What usually comes to mind when you think of “writer’s block”? Is it the blank page or flashing cursor on the screen? The stories and words that won’t be fully formed in your mind? Or is it that elusive idea that…
Read MorePraying for Kelly Gissendaner … and putting the prayers into action The following six messages can be tweeted out in succession – each already has links and hashtags to advocate for Kelly’s life. How can you help commute the death sentence of…
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ASK Writing is often a solitary enterprise. Yet all kinds of connections are needed for writing to begin, to improve, to be published, and of course to be read. In the early stages of writing one of the best things a writer can do…
Read MoreLast night pastors, congregations, professors and students gathered from all around Nashville, Tennessee, to remember the nine men and women who were brutally murdered in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17 at Mother Emmanuel AME Church. We met at Woodmont Baptist…
Read MoreI’ve posted this recipe before, but when I need a good and delicious treat – which is also chocked full of healthy ingredients, I pull this one out. Love the oatmeal chewies and I’m taking them with me to a…
Read MoreReflecting on the Alliance of Baptists The Alliance of Baptists met in mid April in Atlanta, Georgia. We were hosted kindly by the good folks of Northside Drive Baptist Church. Here are some reflections on my time at the annual gathering…
Read MoreToday’s date inspired a nested poem this morning.* As the Department of Justice Report on the Ferguson police department comes out this week, two executions are postponed in Georgia for Kelly Gissendaner and Brian Terrell, and the fiftieth anniversary…
Read MoreBREAKING NEWS: 2:40pm March 3, 2015 Executions POSTPONEDwith an “abundance of caution.” #KellyGissendaner & Brian Terrell! Awesome! #KellyOnMyMind JUST DON’T STOP, Team! Let’s add a new hashtag: #BrianOnMyMind +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Wake up! When I woke up my daughter this morning and kissed…
Read MoreThe New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander This afternoon I had a long drive from Atlanta to Nashville, and I decided to start a book I’ve been wanting to read . . . by letting my iPad read to me.…
Read MoreSelma I began this first Sunday in Lent by traveling to Harlem in the heart of New York City. After a week of sleet, snow and ice in Nashville, I was grateful for the sunshine, and even the slushy sidewalks. People…
Read MoreGimme All Your Love So tell me what do you want me to do… You want me to lay down and play dead and do backflips for you? Walk in your shoes for a while? Tell me, what’s right? Gimme…
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Women breaking new ground in ministry need a network of peer support. February 10 is the Feast Day of Saint Scholastica, the twin sister of Saint Benedict and founder of the first Benedictine convent for women. These “holy twins” were born…
Read MoreHidden Talents Black History Month – Day 3 This afternoon I heard on NPR a remembrance of Rose Marie McCoy, who died at age 92 in on January 20. She was “one of the most prolific songwriters you’ve never heard of,” and she…
Read MoreCaged Bird Black History Month – Day 2 In the fall of 2014, I taught a course in World Religions to 25 men in prison. It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had as a teacher. It…
Read MoreWho’s Lovin’ You? Black History Month – Day 1 At 13 years old Ms. Lauryn Hill took the stage at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NYC. Already her fierce determination shows through when she keeps singing in the face of the…
Read MoreScholastica When I was starting out in ministry, I drove four hours every couple of months to meet up with three other women in ministry for connection and support. We laughed and cried together and told each other about our lives, ministries,…
Read MoreAdvent Vigil O Lord, deliver us from believing that surveillance is a substitute for relationship. Turn us away from thinking cameras alone can deter violence. Give us instead new eyes to see one another with trust and new hearts to…
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