As Ted Gioia recently observed, [caption id="attachment_10148" align="alignright" width="392"] John Martin, “Ruins of an Ancient City” c. 1810–20 , oil on paper, mounted on canvas Cleveland Museum of Art[/caption] “The biggest changes often happen long before they even get a name. By the time the scribes notice,...
TMC Staff Amy Valdez Barker and Adam Borneman speak with Kelly Carpenter and Greg Oberg about their view of church as active laity, how friendship and discipleship intersect, and why it's important to explore the world outside of church on a Sunday morning....
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so...
Program Director Adam Borneman speaks with the Rev. Dr. David Shelor (First Presbyterian, Dunedin, FL) and two of his congregants, Dr. Robin Rose and David Bramley, about their church's historic ties to the community; their recent intentional efforts to listen closely to the broader community;...
Focus. Attention. Wonder. Stillness. “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.” - Proverbs 4:25–27 I recently finished reading Johann Hari’s Stolen Focus. Hari reflects on a...
Executive Director Mark Ramsey speaks with Heather Brown and the Rev. Barrett Payne (James Island Presbyterian Church, South Carolina) about the centrality of forgiveness to Christian identity, the problem with a "checkbox" approach to faith, and what personal and communal crises reveal about the witness...
“Mystery is an embarrassment to the modern mind.” — Flannery O’Connor “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith lives in the quiet certainties of the heart. It is the ever-recurring assurance that reality does not ultimately mock our...
The movie Amadeus features a memorable scene in which Emperor Joseph II approaches Mozart after the premiere of his opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail and awkwardly suggests that Mozart uses “too many notes.” A perplexed Mozart responds, “There are just as many notes as...
Pilgrimage Formation Curator Ryan Bonfiglio speaks with the Rev. Dr. Albert Russell (Grace Community Church, Millbrook, AL; Tuskegee University) and the Rev. Leon Bell, Jr. (St. Joseph Baptist, Mobile, AL; Hope for All Gulf Coast) about the tension between forced dislocation and the practice of spiritual dislocation, the...