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.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
It hurts me to know this text that I weekly thank God for has been misused and continues to be misused to cause pain and trauma in people. In a sad irony, the Bible was written by the outcast and the marginalized and is misused to create outcasts and to marginalize.
When I knew that my time as youth minister was over
While my time as youth minister is over, maybe I’m not done ministering to youth after all. Because they are certainly not done ministering to me.
Fly fishing as spiritual practice
When I try to follow it as long as I can downstream, my schooling in river beauty and river wisdom leads me to this hope and prayer: let us then, like the salmon leaping against the current and over the ledge, leap finally beyond the metaphor and the simile when it comes to our embodied consciousness of nature.
What if God is an imaginary friend?
We must have imagination, and that includes in our spiritual life. Without it, the world lacks magic and wonder. Imagination doesn’t mean that it’s fake – it means that it exceeds reality. Surely that is a decent definition of God as well – the One Who Exceeds Reality.
Love is a religious value, but only if we make it one
Seeing Judaism as rooted in love is a choice. When we inherit a tradition, we make choices about which values to center and which to set aside. When I think about my grandfather, I remember someone for whom Judaism nourished his ability to care for others in a loving, heartfelt way.
Pastoral care, perfectionism, and grace
Part of my struggle with pastoral care is a desire to be perfect. After some time as a pastor and some work on myself, I am learning to trust that there is always grace.
Featured Series
Faith and Mental Health
With more resources than ever for communication and connection, we have an epidemic of loneliness. Why?
Perhaps part of the reason for the phenomenon of loneliness in our culture is that we do not entirely understand one another in our differences, and so what can be lonely for one may feel completely replete with connection for another.
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.
U.S. Surgeon General declares epidemic of loneliness and isolation
Connected people live longer, happier, healthier lives. Connected societies do too.
It’s OK to not be OK
Churches can be a vital force for their community’s mental health by gathering community, lifting up others in prayer, and creating safe spaces where access to community support is not predicated on falsely claiming that everything is fine.
Mental Health Awareness Month, a good time to start or expand a mental health ministry in your church and community
Speaking and preaching about mental illness with directness and compassion will only take a congregation so far. Real and sustained progress requires a change in cultures that demand people hide a part of who they are.
Veterinarians and mental health awareness—helping the helpers
Perhaps, beginning this month, we can reexamine just how it is that we might play a role that could contribute to the rising incidence of suicide among veterinary professionals, and give them our best attention and efforts when we take our pets into see them. Our veterinarians are usually giving us their best, and reciprocation is a good start to helping them, ourselves, and our animal relatives live in an abundant way.
Mental illness and the Black church
The Black church struggles with the stigma of mental illness. Due to past and present experiences with institutionalized racism in America, Black church leadership and their members have been apprehensive to collaborate with mental health agencies. However, the Black church is positioned to be a pivotal partner in supporting mental wellness in the African American community.
Mental health ministry—Beginning with worship
When liturgy and worship become the work of the people, space for the sacred stories of those living with mental health conditions begin to have space in the collective experience. Isolation can break down and connection can be formed as people begin to understand the deep humanity of their neighbor in the pew. Remember that worship is a collective act, and the collective is only truly inclusive when all can participate in a meaningful way in the act of worship.
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ROOTED IN HEAVEN - GROUNDED IN LOVE
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