Thomas R. Steagald

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Why a denomination is investigating late devotional writer Sarah Young

Jun 24, 2024 | christiancentury.org | Brandon Ambrosino |Jonathan Tran |Brad Roth |Thomas R. Steagald

Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence, a book of daily devotions that combines Bible verses with friendly messages written as if Jesus were speaking, has been one of the bestselling Christian books of the past 20 years. Written by a former Presbyterian Church in America missionary, Jesus Calling and its ancillary products have sold more than 45 million copies since 2004. The book is currently fifth on the Evangelical Christian Publishers bestseller list.
Lectionary essay for June 30 Ordinary 13B 2 Samuel 1 1 17 27

Jun 23, 2024 | christiancentury.org | Brandon Ambrosino |Jonathan Tran |Thomas R. Steagald |Brad Roth

Once I walked into a touristy store in a little town in the mountains. Something about the place spooked me in a crystals-and-crow-feathers sort of way, so I turned around. But before I got out the door, a navy T-shirt emblazoned with a golden bee caught my eye. When the owner invited me to try it on, I responded, “I don’t know what the bee means.” He looked me over and said, “It’s just a bee.”At the beginning of 2 Samuel, things have shifted decisively in David’s favor.
Babes revives the adult comedy

Jun 21, 2024 | christiancentury.org | Brandon Ambrosino |Jonathan Tran |Thomas R. Steagald |Brad Roth

When No Hard Feelings (directed by Gene Stupnitsky) hit theaters in June 2023, critics hailed the return of the adult comedy, which had reigned supreme in American movie making in the early 2000s but since then had atrophied almost out of existence. As an erstwhile connoisseur of the genre, I was ready for a hilarious, mildly inappropriate romp with Jennifer Lawrence to kick off my summer.
Our very human pastors (2 Corinthians 6:1-13)

Jun 21, 2024 | christiancentury.org | Brad Roth |Brandon Ambrosino |Jonathan Tran |Thomas R. Steagald

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. In a tense conversation, someone once dropped what they must have figured was the ultimate smackdown for a pastor. They said, “You’re not warm and fuzzy!”Ain’t that the truth. I want to be Athanasius when I grow up.
Episcopal Church grapples with 'transformative role' in Native American residential schools

Jun 21, 2024 | christiancentury.org | Brandon Ambrosino |Jonathan Tran |Thomas R. Steagald |Brad Roth

Chiricahua Apache children pose outdoors at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, after their arrival from Fort Marion, Florida in November 1886. (Photo by J.N. Choate/Creative Commons) For most Native American children in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, education was neither a right nor a privilege.
What does it mean to be an inclusive church?

Jun 21, 2024 | christiancentury.org | Brandon Ambrosino |Jonathan Tran |Thomas R. Steagald |Brad Roth

(Source image: cienpies / iStock / Getty) I’ve never felt comfortable with the label “progressive.” It buys into the narrative that “things are gradually getting better because of the activism of people like me”—a narrative that seems under-theologized, to say nothing of narcissistic.
Study: Despite highest rates religious disaffiliation, East Asia remains spiritually vibrant

Jun 20, 2024 | christiancentury.org | Brandon Ambrosino |Jonathan Tran |Thomas R. Steagald |Ian Curran

In East Asia, people are leaving their religion at rates that are among the highest in the world, according to a survey released June 17 by Pew Research Center. But while many East Asians do not identify as members of an organized religion, they continue to hold spiritual beliefs associated with the region’s faiths.
Hair like wool

Jun 19, 2024 | christiancentury.org | Brandon Ambrosino |Thomas R. Steagald |Brian Bantum |Ian Curran

Growing up, I was a PK times two. Dad preached on Sundays in the small sanctuary of our humble church plant. Mom taught Sunday school in the classroom down the hallway. For a half hour each week, she was momma to eight kids instead of just my sister and me. Mom’s assistants were two puppets: Patchy the rabbit and Snowball the dog.
What happened to US politics?

Jun 18, 2024 | christiancentury.org | John Ganz |Brandon Ambrosino |Thomas R. Steagald |Brian Bantum

During the Trump years (the first ones, at least), I experienced a new political sensation. It wasn’t anger or dismay on policy grounds—I was long accustomed to that. The only word I could apply to it was humiliation at being ruled by such cheap frauds.
Wildcat and the genius and virtue of Flannery O’Connor

Jun 17, 2024 | christiancentury.org | Brandon Ambrosino |Brian Bantum |Brad Roth |Thomas R. Steagald

“I don’t want your praise; I don’t want you to think I am clever,” Flannery O’Connor (Maya Hawke) says to the priest (Liam Neeson) who has come to offer her counsel and comfort. She is wracked with pain from lupus, forced to move from New York City back to her mother’s home in Georgia, and railing against the limitations of her new life. She and the priest have been discussing whether “scandalous writing” can serve God.