Lawrence Downing

The purpose of this article is to challenge pastors to create funeral and memorial services that affirm our Christian faith, provide comfort and assurance to the family and friends of the deceased, and are creative while presenting an accurate…

Robert Alter’s three-volume set of The Hebrew Bible and commentary may well take its place as one of the more original and unique contributions to the study of the Hebrew Bible in the English language. Alter’s numerous scholarly publications…

What shall I preach next week?" The proverbial Monday morning blues have special significance for the preacher who must decide, week after week, what new sermonic offering will be laid before his expectant congregation. The question…

Viewpoint is designed to allow readers an opportunity to express opinions regarding matters of interest to their colleagues. The ideas expressed in this feature are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of…

This is the last constituency meeting I will ever attend. All we are is a rubber stamp. Our opinions count for nothing."

The woman's words cut the air. The speaker, one of the delegates from my church, had been elected to represent…

Pastor, we've got to do something about Sabbath school. Attendance is down. The classes are struggling. Why, I remember a few years ago more people came to Sabbath school than came to church. Now you could shoot a gun off in Sabbath school…

Mr. Chairman, look around here. Not even half the board members are present tonight, and I have to say I don't blame them. All we do is rehash the same old stuff. Who cares what color somebody paints the halls? Aren't there more important…

A noticeable need for editing obscures insightful and helpful understanding hidden within this book written by a woman physician. Now and again flashes radiate from the pages and illuminate our under standing of woman's role in biblical literature…

Ethnic and cultural diversity have revolutionized how churches and pastors fulfill their ministry. We live in a global village. It is no longer necessary to go to foreign lands to find people of other cultures and…

Recently one of us held a strategic-planning seminar for leaders of a major U. S. denomination. At the end, the denomination's president stood and expressed appreciation but said, "You are from the corporate world,…

A month after Eliot Spitzer resigned as governor of the state of New York in early 2008, Evan Thomas, a Newsweek writer, reported that one of Spitzer’s old friends asked him, long before the scandal broke, if he liked being governor.…

Pastor Joe is a dynamic and creative leader. Through his charismatic personality and the ability to relate with his congregation, it has more than doubled over the past four years. He conducts two services each Sabbath,…

Action depends on how we use our resources. All else is just talk. High performance and progress depend upon effective and efficient resource management. In a church setting, the most valuable resource is our members,…

Saturday, February 1, 2003.¹ was walking across the kitchen to put the cereal bowl in the sink when the phone rang. "Who's calling us so early?" I said to my wife as I picked up the receiver. It was our…

Every major Western city has them. They are the once grand churches where the community movers and shakers gathered to worship, along with the congregations that filled them. Today they have all but vanished. The…