Driving through downtown Decatur, GA last week, I passed the sign in front of First Baptist Church at least a dozen times. It announced the title of the coming Sunday’s sermon: "What If I Can’t Forgive?" That’s a pretty gutsy sermon title.
Just asking the question lays certain claims, namely that (a) forgiving is a good, something I should do; (b) forgiving is hard and sometimes I can’t do it; and (c) something happens if I can’t forgive. If we could get CNN to conduct a poll, I doubt a majority of Americans would agree with these as blanket claims, true no matter what it is that needs forgiveness or whether the offender apologizes. This question goes against the grain; it calls us to how we should live. "What If I Can’t Forgive?" is a prophetic question.
Here we are again. It’s the month of August—that transition month. By this point in the year, those summer plans have given way to summer vacation memories of adventure trips and special times with family.
At FTE, making space for conversations and convening is part of our DNA. As you approach this season of transitions and new beginnings, we invite you to join us in planting seeds for a new future in theological education.
Dr. Alice W. Hunt, President, Chicago Theological Seminary,
Dr. Sharon Watson Fluker, FTE Vice President for Doctoral Programs and Administration
Here in Chicago and throughout the United States, men and women scholars of color hunger to make a difference in the lives of our young people, our neighborhoods and our schools...
On May 22, 2010, I will be in the Princeton University Chapel, adorned in my commencement regalia, eagerly anticipating the moment when my name will be called and I am welcomed into the company of scholars. As hard as I will try to maintain my cool...
Hundreds of black clergy and students gathered in Florida, heaving around books and bags, to hear and share stories and challenges of justice and inclusion in the church. And from the looks and sounds of things, the Black Church is far from dead.
The 2010 Samuel Dewitt Proctor Conference convened, calling ministers, seminarians, and lay leaders from around the country to come and hear, to be awaken and aroused, to be prophetic and persistent, and to respond.
The more I reflect on the state of the the church in our world today, the more I believe we are in a period that historians of the future will define as the second great reformation.
Several FTE Congregational Fellows and staff will be attending the Northwest Festival of Preaching later this month, where both Lillian Daniel and Martin Copenhaver will be preaching. In preparation for the Festival, FTE gifted me with a copy of “This Odd and Wondrous Calling,” by Daniel and Copenhaver...
When I reflect on the churches that encouraged my growing faith,
