Good Faith Reads

God has entrusted preachers with his sacred word, his church and the sacred desk. Preachers have an obligation to offer back to God excellence in Christian ministry by conducting the ministry of preaching “decently and in order.” Likewise, churches are entrusted with honoring the time and energy that preachers — especially guest ministers — spend in preparation for speaking/preaching engagements b...

This book is a memoir of my journey in faith. That journey began in the home of my childhood, but the chapters cover experiences extending from some of my earliest memories until just a few years ago. I had already begun reflecting on these experiences, theologically, as the later ones were occurring, but it was not until a friend invited me to speak to his congregation that I connected them. "You...

American mom and Baptist church lady Becky Ramsey moves to France knowing her family’s life will change, but her faith? Why would it? Then a quirky new friend gives her a holy card she found at the flea market and soon Becky finds herself on an accidental pilgrimage out of the pew and into the streets of France. Readers come along as she collects a ragtag assortment of unlikely saints and sacred e...

After being asked by the associate pastor of his church to write a weekly blog post, author Jeff Hampton jumped at the opportunity to offer up his thoughts on matters of faith—which he has now done for the past ten years. This act of deliberate writing has forced him to explore what he believes, and to consider whether or not he practices what he preaches. At his wife LeAnn’s suggestion, Hampton c...

I almost gave up on Christianity. Growing up in a conservative Protestant church, I was taught a lot of ideas about God, the Bible, salvation, and what was called faith. I never questioned most of this until I got older and began to really study the Bible. I slowly discovered that much of what I had been taught did not make sense in that it was internally inconsistent and sometimes contradictory....

I am not an authority on the practice of yoga. I am, in many ways, deciding to be the proverbial blind leading the blind. I am a beginner offering insight to other beginners. I am a novice sharing my embryonic experiences and pitifully sophomoric thoughts in order to get you past whatever anxieties and fears you hold with regard to yoga. Some may seem simple: What equipment do I need? How will I e...

Over the years, I have been deeply moved by the exemplary lives of parents, nurses, and my fellow chaplains and physicians. In addition, the inspiration to write arose out of my encounters with social injustice and suffering that first barged into my awareness in my preadolescent and adolescent years. Sometimes it is just the unwanted stuff of everyday life that comes without invitation to threate...

The biggest challenge for me of a long-term pastorate was the preaching. How does one come up with something “new” to say every Sunday? By the time I retired, some parishioners had heard me preach more than 1,000 times. Dr. Dave Thompson, an astrophysicist with NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center, had heard me preach more than 2,000 times since he attended both worship services most Sunday mor...

As we have traveled this path with our child since the Fall of 2014, some questions have been answered—they’ve had to be, because there were new questions waiting. I will be sharing my experience of this transition as the mother who gave birth to this beautiful, brave, and wondrous child. My hope is that by sharing my experience, the door will be opened to many other mothers to accept and not fear...

Exodus is not simply the epic narrative of God’s deliverance of the children of Israel. The story of Exodus is part of the larger gospel of Missio Dei—the mission of God. Through Exodus we read of Israel’s experience as part of the greater story of God at work in creation. We read of the LORD God working through the particular people called Israel to bring about liberation and deliverance. We read...

52 children’s sermons—one sermon for each Sunday in the church year. Each sermon is based on a focus passage, with a short portion of the passage noted as a memory verse. The author has provided a bit of background to summarize the focus of each children’s sermon. Most of the children’s sermons presented in the book include objects or props to help bring the words to life for the children. The pro...

Discipleship is not step two in the Christian life: it is the very essence of the Christian life. Discipleship begins with a willingness to trust the one who calls us to follow. It seeks to know Jesus in every way—to know his teaching and to know his sacrifice; to know his healing and to know his resurrection. The goal of Christians and congregations in our context must be to know, love, and follo...

Barry Howard, pastor of Wieuca Road Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, joins the Good Faith Reads podcast to discuss Call Stories: Hearing and Responding to God's Call, which he edited. In the interview, Howard explains the origins of the book and shares how he hopes it will help others in discerning their sense of calling, while highlighting a few of the stories and reading a short excerpt. This...

While the leadership positions and other responsibilities she has achieved are impressive, perhaps the most important achievement for Doctor Miller is the impact she has had on the lives of so many patients and therefore their families. Her clinical ability and pragmatic, realistic evaluations of patients and their problems have always been impressive. In addition, her personal relationship with a...

To Dream Again, Again! Growing Healthy Congregations for Changing Futures explores the power of congregational dreams. The health cycle model offers an organic, inside-out approach for understanding church health and avoiding pathology. To root churches in redemptive health, we’ll identify and apply health cycle discoveries. By rooting life and witness in healthy purpose, we can cultivate new life...

Welcome to the inner lives of leaders. Current leadership literature is more apt to feature practices than practitioners—what leaders do rather than who leaders are. Much of today’s leadership literature seems to assume leaders burst forth ready to lead with little introspection or no struggle. We know better. Our best leaders are anchored in clear values and considered beliefs. They have grown do...

When I saw that most of the Gospel readings for Epiphany, Year B, were from the first chapter of Mark, I wondered if I could put together a sermon series on the seven first words of Christ in that particular Gospel. I asked myself: What would happen if we looked at the opening chapter of this earliest Gospel and let Mark tell the story of Jesus in his way? Of the many things Jesus said in his life...

It’s easy to get jaded in this life. Don’t let it happen. Ours is a divided era. I can’t walk into work or church or a civic or family gathering without being immediately aware that there are different, even polarized, perspectives around the room. While I’ve developed my own opinions on many things, I’m quite certain my methods for developing these opinions have evolved. I want to be more objecti...

How do Christians follow Jesus’ command to love our neighbor in the political realm? How can the local church help form members for responsible Christian citizenship? Perhaps now more than ever, many Christians are recognizing the need to engage in advocacy work. If you feel called to lead your church or faith-based nonprofit toward the mission of advocacy, but don’t know where or how to begin, th...