We Wish You Had Never Come

We Wish You Had Never Come

By: Jan Brooks Far too often it is easier to let the past stay in the past and try to forget it ever happened. But all too often the hurt and pain go so deep that they are carried across generations. Many cannot forget. Many will not forget, lest it happen again. In...
Life Achievement Recipient Mary Speedy

Life Achievement Recipient Mary Speedy

By: Mary E. Speedy Finding a playmate is rarely a problem when you grow up with six siblings. Neither is it a problem finding a book to escape with when you live in a Presbyterian manse with the church library next door. Add to that two parents who encourage both play...
Life Achievement Recipient Tom Malone

Life Achievement Recipient Tom Malone

By: Tom Malone served the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for more than 41 years as a Christian educator and pastor. Born and reared in South Carolina, Tom attended Florida State University (B.A. in English) and Columbia (M.Div.) and McCormick (D.Min.) seminaries. The...
Hot topics we tend to avoid

Hot topics we tend to avoid

By: Studies Check out the group studies ready to be downloaded at www.thethoughtfulchristian.com There are too many to list here. Information about First Nations and resources available for study on various justice issues can be found...
Isaiah 43:16-21: Trends/Disruptions

Isaiah 43:16-21: Trends/Disruptions

By: The deep anxiety in our society (that now readily spills over into violence) reflects a loss of confidence in trends that seem to have been interrupted and broken, a disruption that is powerfully symbolized by 9/11 and the loss of our illusion of invulnerability....
Trends and innovations

Trends and innovations

By: Change is a comin’. How do you deal with change? There are lots of changes coming our way and we have to adapt or not. What is new and innovative in the church in Christian education or faith formation? What is change? Is change doing things differently and...
Thinking outside the box while on a firm foundation

Thinking outside the box while on a firm foundation

By: On a regular September afternoon in Trenton, NJ, loud joyful sounds of teenagers and children filled the room of our church’s afterschool program. I methodically counted my volunteers in order to most effectively distribute my helping hands, when suddenly a...
Protecting children from a sexualized childhood

Protecting children from a sexualized childhood

By: Two decades ago, a friend recounted an unsettling dinnertime experience. Just as he put a forkful of spaghetti in his mouth in a busy restaurant, his 10-year-old daughter casually asked, “What’s a blow job?” My friend recalled how he had to first...
Innovative children’s ministry happens where…

Innovative children’s ministry happens where…

By: My children’s summer highlight is vacation Bible school when 100 children and 70 adult volunteers come together for a memorable week of exciting activities and experiential Bible lessons. My children sing the VBS songs practically daily clear through...
Trends and innovations

Trends and innovations

By: Diana Butler Bass, Christianity after Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening. HarperOne, 2012. Church membership continues to plummet in America. Yet interest in the soul is rising. What’s behind this spiritual but not...