Greatness with a grain of salt

As we observe World Communion Sunday, may we remember with due humility, the circle is always open. The Church is bigger than we think. The table of the Lord is open to all who call upon the name of Jesus and follow his gospel.

Being loved in a strange land

For the Latino community of faith, offering others the sense of belonging “not for what I can do but for who I am” is one of the greatest principles we can have, not only because it comes from our culture, but also from our faith.

Giving thanks is an essential part of stewardship

Give thanks more. Find ways to appreciate your givers. For pastors and stewardship leaders, giving thanks will make the work easier and more joyful for you and for givers.

Living intentionally as Job’s brother

What the metaphor of Job’s brother offers us is the responsibility to use our position to recognize that all human life is sacred. Our distance from Job’s pain comes with an obligation to continue to hold our communities to account while working separately in broader movements to end the war and achieve justice in Israel/Palestine.

Justice. Mercy. Faith.

Through The Christian Citizen, we seek to shape a mind among American Baptists and others on matters of public concern by providing a forum for diverse voices living and working at the intersection of faith and politics, discipleship and citizenship.

Being loved in a strange land

Being loved in a strange land

For the Latino community of faith, offering others the sense of belonging “not for what I can do but for who I am” is one of the greatest principles we can have, not only because it comes from our culture, but also from our faith.

read more
Living intentionally as Job’s brother

Living intentionally as Job’s brother

What the metaphor of Job’s brother offers us is the responsibility to use our position to recognize that all human life is sacred. Our distance from Job’s pain comes with an obligation to continue to hold our communities to account while working separately in broader movements to end the war and achieve justice in Israel/Palestine.

read more
Work needs boundaries

Work needs boundaries

Work expands to fill the time allotted. I recommend that the clergy I coach set an ending time for their working day. If you always working longer than you plan, you will wear yourself out.

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A moonshine faith

A moonshine faith

Mass-marketed prosperity and nationalistic forms of Christianity are anything but genuine. Anything but real and authentic. Anything but a radical Gospel for all. This revelation hit me like a shot of poteen.

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Featured Series

Faith and Mental Health

September is National Suicide Prevention Month

September is National Suicide Prevention Month

Therapists, chaplains, but also clergy serving in congregational ministry are uniquely positioned to reduce stigma around suicide. Through preaching explicitly compassionate messages and being open about their own mental health struggles, clergy can authoritatively dispel myths around suicide that stem from toxic theologies.

We must make better worlds

We must make better worlds

For that dedicated, regular time away to be respected and honored, we must develop grace-filled, compassionate cultures within our churches that destigmatizes mental health and emphasize self-care for both congregants and clergy.

Still okay?

Still okay?

Many negative references remain in our common discourse about race, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, religious practice, and a host of other categories of human experience. The difference is, when used in public forums, the transgressor will be fired or politically maligned or cancelled or publicly shamed for using them. In contrast, commentators, politicians, preachers, and celebrities of all kinds can pepper their conversation with pejorative references to those who live with mental illness without consequence.

We fall down, but we get up: Mental health, faith, hope, and resilience

Falling—experiencing failure, grief, loss, and despair—is a fact of life for us, as it was for Jesus’ early followers. However, hope inculcates the ability to get back up, again and again. And where there is hope there is resilience. In this way faith, resilience, mental health, and the post-resurrection experience are inextricably connected.

ROOTED IN HEAVEN - GROUNDED IN LOVE

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We feature thought-provoking articles and action-inspiring essays that intersect faith, politics, discipleship and citizenship, while examining a variety of public concerns ranging from gun violence, racism, trauma and sexual violence to poverty, food insecurity, disabilities, and immigration.