Andrew T. Barnhill
Congregational Fellow ('10)
Duke Divinity School
Recent entries:
January 14, 2011
This sermon was delivered on Jan 9th at the the second National Festival of Young Preachers. Originally published on The Huffington Post.
Let us take a moment to look at what Hebrew Scripture teaches about
Sabbath. In Exodus, the longest of the 10 commandments says that we
should do all our work in six days but on the seventh we should not do
any work, nor should we allow anyone else to work -- not our children,
not those who serve us, not the resident aliens, not even our livestock
and animals. (Exodus 20: 8-11) Everybody gets a day off.
Our scriptures understand it. Our story tells it. But do we imbibe
it? Do we speak the language of Sabbath? If you were to walk into a
certain Christmas shop in the State of Washington, you might be drawn in
by the unique, yet all too familiar words in front of you. There is a
small sign on the door that reads: "Christmas Spoken Here."
What a nice phrase: "Christmas spoken here." Wonder if we altered the
phrase just a bit, to read, Sabbath Spoken here. What would it mean if
we put up such a sign in our churches? In our hearts? In our
communities?
Read More »
October 08, 2010
Live Blogging from our 2010 Calling Congregations Conference
Our world has many greenhouses. I run across them from time to time.
Sometimes they are in the likely places—a neighboring yard, a place that
looks familiar. But other times they are not. More often than not we
find them run down and uncared for. Even then, somehow the plants manage
to grow and bring life into the world.
This morning, participants at the Calling
Congregations conference were brought into an image of a greenhouse.
Plenary speaker Dori Baker, FTE’s Scholar-in-Residence, brought
attention to her soon to be released ethnographic survey of American
churches entitled, Greenhouses
of Hope.
We were invited to imagine a young person who wants to change the world,
but also chilled by the types of conversations such a young person
faces. Why the church? Why use your gifts in such a sluggish institution
if you wish to change the world?
Read More »
August 08, 2010
From of our 2010
Leaders
in
Ministry
Conference
in Boston, MA
Ten of us went down to the historic Old South Church in Copley
Square where we met a minister named Nancy. She told us how she spent
hours lobbying the Massachusetts Legislature on Beacon Hill to support
the rights of the un-housed...
Read More »
