| | | | | | | | | | | | PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR LEADING CONGREGATIONS |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | You can read the Bible through and you will never find anything about guns or gun violence. But Scripture is rich with resources that speak to those issues, says Lisa L. Thompson, assistant professor of homiletics at Union Theological Seminary.
"It's not going to have a verbatim answer, but if we read the text, there are principles that come up over and over. One of those is violence, and how we connect and live with one another," she said.
Part of the task of preaching about gun violence is to draw upon texts that illustrate God's disposition toward violence and the sanctity of life and human dignity, she said.
"If the text, and our faith, values life -- the sanctity of life, the imago Dei in every individual -- then somehow that has to hit the ground today," she said. "If we say that gun violence leads to disregard for human life and dignity and does not recognize the image of God in every person because it takes life away so carelessly, then we begin talking about gun violence as people of faith."
Thompson was a featured speaker last fall at "God and Guns: Faith Leaders Address Gun Violence," a conference at The Riverside Church in New York. An ordained Baptist minister, she has a Ph.D. and an M.A. in religion from Vanderbilt University and an M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary.
Before joining the faculty at Union, she was an assistant professor of homiletics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a Lilly Faculty Fellow at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.
Thompson's publications include "'Now That's Preaching!' Disruptive and Generative Preaching Practices," in Practical Matters Journal, and "In Search of Our Mothers' Healings: Holistic Wellbeing, Black Women and Preaching," in Homiletic, The Journal for the Academy of Homiletics. Her forthcoming book is entitled "Sacred Imaginings: Black Women and the Practice of Preaching."
She spoke recently with our colleagues at Faith & Leadership.
Read the interview with Lisa L. Thompson » |
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Gifts of an Uncommon Life: The Practice of Contemplative Activism by Howard E. Friend, Jr.
This book of ten essays is a breath of fresh air, a source of inspiration, a wake-up call, and a bold challenge for pastors, congregational leaders, and church members --both active and lapsed -- who long for a new perspective, even a touch of creative irreverence. With an invitation to quietness and stillness, inner strength and resilience, audacious hope and insistent confidence, it welcomes those among the people of God who do not belong to a church or even name themselves as Christian. Yet it does not shy away from raising difficult questions.
Howard Friend offers forthright, at times disarming, candor as he shares his personal pilgrimage of activism rooted in contemplation. Convinced that God still seeks to work in and through the church, Friend shows us where God is present -- at times despite the church itself. In his opinion, the church needs to stir the pot, upset the apple cart, and dare to welcome the new and refreshing. Yet Friend remains hopeful for and committed to the church, calling and equipping it to become its highest and best. Drawing on a range of stories from the Bible and his own lived experiences, Friend invites us to meet real people--pastors, leaders, everyday folks--who dare to dream a new dream, journey toward a far horizon, walk with tireless determination, and press on with awesome hope. Learn more and order the book » |
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