January 19, 2022

I utilize the Book of Common Prayer’s daily office to help guide my daily (well…near daily) devotional practice. It provides a structure I find comforting as it guides me through a series of prayers, petitions, and a psalm, Old Testament, New Testament, and Gospel reading each day. Baptists are well known for our love of scripture. Using a resource like the BCP gives me multiple touch points on God’s biblical narrative each day. Collectively the well-worn set of prayers and scriptures continue to shape me as I learn more about myself and my relationship to Christ and his church.

The next day the great crowd that had come for the Festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They too palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,“Hosanna!”“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”“Blessed is the king of Israel!”(John 12:12-13) A dear friend who recently passed away, …

Which King? Read More »

Your work is holy. Your vocational calling as a stylist and beautician in a salon is sacred. It is what you are good at and it matters that you do it well.

Special thanks to Myles Werntz of the Baptist Studies Center at Abiline Christian University for hosting me for this YouTube interview. To learn more about the Baptist Studies Center visit their website: https://www.acu.edu/academics/college-of-biblical-studies/departments/bible-missions-ministry/baptist-studies-center/

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-m5yqr-1045afa Rev. Dr. Ryan Burge is the Assistant Professor of Political Science as well as the Graduate Coordinator at Eastern Illinois University. He is author of The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going. In the book he details a comprehensive picture of Americans who say they have no religious …

The Nones, the Church, and Baseball with Ryan Burge Read More »

Times of crisis reveal what dwells deep within our souls. The ongoing crisis of COVID-19 has shined an uncomfortable light upon our private and communal lives, putting our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual competencies on trial. When communal calamities occur, our weaknesses are exposed, and long ignored wounds surface. Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, Stop AAPI Hate, gun control, immigration, voting access, creation care, and other failings are symptoms of much deeper issues. Our collective response becomes a gauge for our social and moral health. As with all such crucibles we discover a mix-bag of fellowship and division, hope and horror, and anxieties and affirmations.

A version of this article first appeared at Word&Way November 3, 2021 The story of how Netflix replaced Blockbuster is a well-documented and prominently cited tale of warning. The documentary The Last Blockbuster can of course be streamed on Netflix. The fall of a video rental empire is the foundation narrative to the popular TV show Schitt’s Creek… …

Physical Media, Streaming, and Ministry as Metaphor Read More »