Melissa Florer-Bixler

1 month ago | christiancentury.org | Mark Larson |Mac Loftin |Peter W. Marty |Melissa Florer-Bixler

My 12th-grade English teacher was a curious and active listener. Whenever we sat together to discuss my latest personal essay, he’d ask, “What are you really trying to say?” I’d spill my guts—in ways I’d never done in school before. I told him about my hang-ups, my breakups, my dying mom. He listened in a manner that was simultaneously gentle and intense, and I got the sense that he respected me. I’m not surprised that he has become an oral historian.

Sep 13, 2024 | christiancentury.org | Debie Thomas |Richard Kauffman |Melissa Florer-Bixler |Ron Adams

Most of us have participated in conversations in which someone mentions a discouraging political trend or societal crisis of the day. That’s usually when other participants weigh in with their own take on present gloom. From there the shape of the conversation deteriorates rapidly. Good cheer gets replaced by a cloud of pessimism. Only a shift to idle chatter about the weather tends to rescue the moment. Despair is easy to come by in anxious and divided times. But there is another way.

Sep 13, 2024 | christiancentury.org | Ron Adams |Debie Thomas |Richard Kauffman |Melissa Florer-Bixler

To receive these posts by email each Monday, sign up. For more commentary on this week's readings, see the Reflections on the Lectionary page. For full-text access to all articles, subscribe to the Century. I’ve been a working preacher for 27 years. I’ve preached around 25 Christmas and Easter sermons, nearly 60 funerals, and close to 25 weddings. I’ve been through the lectionary cycle almost 9 times. You’d think I’d know how to preach by now.

Sep 11, 2024 | christiancentury.org | Debie Thomas |Melissa Florer-Bixler |Philip Jenkins |Ron Adams

The defamation lawsuit brought against Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary by the school’s former president, Adam M. Greenway, has come to an abrupt conclusion—with Greenway receiving none of the compensation he sought. On September 9, seminary officials announced they had signed an agreement with Greenway, who has made repeated claims that his former employer defamed him and owes him millions of dollars.

Sep 10, 2024 | christiancentury.org | Debie Thomas |Melissa Florer-Bixler |Richard Kauffman

A woman recently told me she had been asked to be a trustee at the congregation where I am now an interim pastor. “I turned it down,” she said, “because I don’t like working with structures.”She might benefit from a change of metaphor: congregations are living organisms. They need tender, loving care from all those concerned—pastors, lay leaders, ordinary folk serving a multitude of roles or simply showing up for worship. Read our latest issue or browse back issues. Church structure is important.