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Pandemic Posts: Wisdom for Ministry During the Time of COVID-19
When COVID-19 was initially announced no one knew how to respond, and everyone wondered how long it would last. Over the last two years and two months, I’ve written 35 posts focused on ministry during...
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One Emergency Expense Away
The majority of Americans are one emergency expense away from being unable to sustain their current lifestyle or from going in to greater debt. Vehicles break down and require unexpected expensive...
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Ten Reasons for Concern About HSU’s Statement of Faith
It is a big deal when a Christian University adopts a Statement of Faith. It is an even bigger deal when such a university is part of a non-creedal tradition. To achieve this outcome one would...
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Ten Unanswered Questions About HSU’s Statement of Faith
Over the last three days, I’ve been more engaged in conversation about Hardin-Simmons University than I have at any time since graduating from Logsdon Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree in...
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Saying Goodbye to Hardin-Simmons University
Seminary is an important formation experience for those called to vocational ministry, and in many traditions a seminary degree (often a M.Div.) is a requirement for ordination. For many years, I was...
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Today We Grieve
I’ve lived through too many difficult days. Some of the worst of these days are so traumatic and generate such a tremendous impact that they are marked by the widespread ability to the answer to the...
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The PC(USA) is Missing 2.6 Million People! (#2055)
I have spent the majority of my life in the Mainline Protestant denomination known as the Presbyterian Church (USA). Since I’ve invested so much of myself in this tradition, I strive to tell the whole...
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The ELCA is Missing 4 Million People! (#2056)
I deeply appreciate and have personally been involved in the life of the Mainline Protestant denomination known as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Given my prior involvement in this...
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My Religious Traditions Are Missing 8 Million People! (#2057)
Excepting the four years I spent serving two congregations affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), I’ve spent my entire life in three religious traditions within what is often...
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Daily Blogging – Reflecting on the Discipline (#2061)
I just finished a week of daily blogging. Over the last seven days, I posted once a day: Where’s Greg Worshipping? 8+ Congregations in 3 StatesMy Experiences with 14 UCC CongregationsMidlife & MiD...
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Celebrating 14 Years of So What Faith with Popular Posts (#2064)
Thanks for being a supporter of So What Faith – a site where matters of faith that matter are explored and where good questions are always more valuable than easy answers. As a writer, I always wonder...
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Am I Living in the Most Protestant Place in America? (#2068)
Dallas – Arlington – Fort Worth, Texas (aka the D/FW metro area) has been my home for most of my life. Given D/FW’s location, it isn’t surprising that the area is more religious than the United States...
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UCC: 1 Out of Every ____ Americans (#2075)
Most data related to Mainline Protestant decline focuses on one of two measures: Absolute decline (how many fewer members are in the denomination today as compared to a specific year in the...
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Saying Goodbye to Hodges University (#2078)
I never imagined saying a permanent goodbye to a University that deeply impacted me. Today, I take this action for the second time in as many years. Last year, I said Goodbye to Hardin-Simmons...
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Mainline Protestant Clergy: 3 Intriguing Stats (#2081)
Earlier this month, Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) published Clergy and Congregations in a Time of Transformation: Findings from the 2022-2023 Mainline Protestant Clergy Survey. This...
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Lacking Close Friends (#2085)
Earlier this week Pew Research Center published the results of a survey they conducted in July that found around 1 in 12 American adults (8%) have no close friends outside of their family. You read...
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Top 10 Plates of Food (#2090)
Thanksgiving week has arrived. I’m looking forward to spending time with my family, but also to enjoying great food. Top Plates Last year I tried something new when I wrote Top 10 Plates. In that post...
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Ecclesial Innovator: Best Job Ever or Unfortunate Job Title? (#2091)
A month ago Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University posted a job that has received more attention than any I’ve encountered this year. The job title is novel. My own research yielded 0...
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5 Star Books Published in 2023 (#2094)
Welcome to the fifth annual edition of So What Faith’s 5 Star Books of the Year! This list is comprised of books rated 5 or 5+ on a scale of 1 to 5. To be eligible the book must have been published in...
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2023 in Exactly 100 Words (#2095)
year in review photo collage by Greg Smith As a way of seeking to update the Christmas letters that for decades were slipped inside of Christmas cards and delivered by postal mail, I started writing...
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