Editor's Desk
Stepping down
I’ve appreciated the Christian Century since a fellow divinity student put a copy in my hand. As I step down as editor-publisher, I’m aware more than ever of the need for a steady voice thinking critically and faithfully.
Welcome intrusion
I went to church full of dread after the recent terrorist attacks. Worship included dedicating a new pipe organ. Was it appropriate to be celebrating in the midst of the hatred and fear?
Zechariah’s problem
A preacher's nightmare is to be in front of an eager congregation and realize your notes are missing. No wonder one of my favorite Bible stories is about a clergyperson who's rendered speechless.
Virtue politics
Virtue, says former senator John Danforth, is what's missing from the current political equation—and the church is a place where virtue can be taught and advocated.
Doing one thing well
Independent, single-purpose organizations have picked up pieces of what the church used to do.
A woman’s decision
My wife volunteered as an "accompanier" at Planned Parenthood. She found that each client came with a unique urgent set of circumstances.
Outliers
It is intriguing that the Republican presidential candidate who's leading the polls and the Democratic candidate who's close to tying the front-runner are both outliers.
A time for change
There is a time for everything, the preacher in Ecclesiastes observed. It is now time for new leadership at the Century.
Repenting for our prisons
Imprisonment in this country is long on punishment and shamefully short on rehabilitation.
Oceanside reading
Something about being close to the ocean is conducive to reading.
Born again and again
When I told my parents about the altar call, my mother patiently explained that for some of us conversion is an ongoing process.
Religion and politics do mix
Our beliefs inform how we live, how we order our priorities, how we spend our time and money, and how we vote. The recent papal encyclical takes this as given.
A different kind of power
Some suggest the tragedy in Charleston would have been averted if Pastor Clementa Pinckney had been carrying a gun. The victims' families showed us another way.
Communion thirst
My Presbyterian granddaughter hasn’t heard about 500 years of conflict over “the real presence.” At her cousins' Catholic church, she washed down the wafer with a large gulp from the cup—and then another.
Rhythm of preaching
What I miss most is not the preaching itself but the preparing, the rhythm, the demand, and the discipline.
Stargazing
It would be dishonest to attempt to squeeze nonreligious scientists into the mold of conventional belief. Nevertheless, they do end up confronting profoundly theological questions.