ARTICLES [January-March 2006 Volume 15 No. 1]

Henry H. Mitchell
Lord, How Long?
Henry H. Mitchell reminds us that hope for the future and faith in the reign of a just God has long sustained the African American community and this hope is reflected in the music of the African American church.

Rebecca Pugh Brown
The Reign of God as a Lens
Our grasp of the Reign of God colors brings into focus our understanding of many different scriptural themes. Rebecca Pugh Brown suggests that the Reign of God is indeed a lens through which we discern the shapes of liberty, justice, hope, and sorrow.

Robert B. Birge
Let Justice Roll Down Like Waters
One of the founders of this magazine issues a rallying cry for individuals to become partners in working to bring about God’s kingdom.

Walter J. Burghardt, S.J.
A Just King, A Just Kingdom
Walter Burghardt returns to the theme of justice as he points out that justice in all of its facets is an essential element of the kingdom of Christ
on earth.

William C. Simpson, Jr.
H. Richard Niebuhr and the Reign of God
H. Richard Niebuhr distilled a brilliant classification scheme to make sense out of the many different ways of understanding, embracing, and responding to the Reign of God. William Simpsom summarizes Niebuhr’s categories that hold “both the threat and promise of understading.”

Kristen Johnson Ingram
The Two Faces of Caring
Do we believe that the Kingdom will come “in the sweet by and by” or do
we believe we are already citizens of God’s Kingdom and demonstrate this belief in everyday acts of caring and charity?

Harold Dean Trulear
Not God!
Grace, recovery, and community happen when individuals overcome a sense
of personal powerlessness and accept God’s sovereignty in their lives. Along the path of recovery, individuals progress from despair to hope. Their
discoveries along the way can enrich the lives and faith of all Christians.

Dan P. Moseley
Preaching: Creating an Oral Cathedral
An imaginative teacher uses the concepts of space, wonder, grandeur, light,
and color to suggest new approaches to help our congregations find deeper personal meaning in our sermons.

Daniel Tomberlin
A Pentecostal Pastor in Hagia Sophia
The beauty and conflicted history of this ancient church reminds a visiting
pastor of God’s enduring presence and sovereignty across cultures,
generations, and political empires.
 

Reflections on the Lectionary

Judy Yates Siker
Contemplating the Reign of God
Reflections on the lectionary readings for January

Keith A. Russell
The New Is Breaking Through
Reflections on the lectionary readings for February

William J. Sappenfield
Change Is in the Air
Reflections on the lectionary readings for March

Judy Yates Siker
Reign of God Lectionary Guide

Douglas S. Stivison
He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands

Book review by Marian Ronan
This Is My Story: Testimonies and Sermons of Black Women
in Ministry,
Edited by Cleophus J. LaRue

Book review by Douglas S. Stivison
God Was in the Laughter, by David Haxton Carswell Read

Lee Ellenwood
Quotations on the Reign of God