Pastor Tom's Community

By: Robert Parham Posted: Thursday, July 30, 2009 6:29 am An unassuming woman without theological credentials in a male-dominated faith tradition may be one of the most transformative figures at the Baptist World Alliance's annual gathering in Ede, Netherlands.  "I'm not a theologian. I'm not a pastor. But I know the gospel," said Leena Lavanya in…

John Avant is not just a friend of mine (which is almost enough of an introduction), but he is also the Senior Pastor at First West, and author of Authentic Power and The Passion Promise. His new book, If God Were Real: A Journey Into A Faith That Matters, asks what it might look like…

First, here are some favorite quotes of the moment: "All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership" – John Kenneth Galbraith, U.S. economist, "The Age of…

Lessons On Teaching Children Gratitude Joan Indiana Rigdon, 07.30.09, 01:30 PM EDT I've never bought anything for my kids on demand. Once they understood how little they earn and how much things cost, I could talk to them about their luxuries. READ MORE. via www.forbes.com Good job, Mom! Teaching financial literacy to children is as…

What do you do when you are seven years old and really, really, really don't want to go to church? He will be years living this one down. _____________________________________ _____________________________________ I Was Glad When They Said unto Me, Let Us Go into the House of the Lord Psalm 122: 1 It may take a while…

Today's story about the latest technically advanced prayer gimmick — tweeting prayers to be printed out and placed at the Western Wall in Jerusalem — made me think about prayer and place. Is there some intrinsic value in a special place, special words, a particular prayer and the story of your soul that it tells?…

JERUSALEM — People of all faiths can now "tweet" their prayers via Twitter to the Western Wall, one of Judaism's most sacred sites. Since the beginning of July, more than 1,000 people have sent messages known as "tweets" to Alon Nir, the Israeli who came up with the Wall Twitter initiative. Nir prints out every…

Bless Your Heart! The Religious Right Tries to Be Civil By Candace Chellew-Hodge July 23, 2009 A new campaign from the religious right, “The Civility Project,” aims to solve difficult social issues with politeness. What’s the real agenda here? Being a lifelong Southerner, I know a thing or two about civility. Here in the South,…

UNIVERSAL PRAYER     FATHER of all! In every age,         In ev'ry clime ador'd,     By saint, by savage, and by sage,         Jehovah, Jove, or Lord!     Thou Great First Cause, least understood,         Who all my sense confin'd     To…