By Joseph V. Crockett

The author contends that the report of the demise of the Mainline Church is premature and inaccurate. To the contrary, he sees growth in some sectors. His article also offers pastors and other church leaders strategies for growth.

By Jo David

A first century C.E. rabbi reflects a deep skepticism about messianism, which serves as an illustration of how resurrection is still viewed within the Jewish world. To understand the historical and current view of resurrection in Judaism, a knowledge of how Jews process theology is essential.

By Donald W. Shriver Jr.

When our survivors read our disposition of our assets, will they recognize that we “have been with Jesus” (Acts 14:13)? Will they see that this Christian, in life and in death,underwent “pocket book conversion” in favor of the world’s poor?

By Walter J. Burghardt

Today, in our Jubilee year, we Christians have our own needs that call for various kinds ofliberation. I shall focus on one such need: justice. Specifically, justice for prisoners, for the men and women incarcerated for crimes. Three stages to my reflection: (1) the justice that is retributive, punitive, vengeful; (2) the justice that is restorative; (3) the justice that is capital punishment.

By Dr. James T. Clemons

Of all the strange and wondrous stories of the Bible, few are better known than that of Jonah. Even people who have never read the Bible, or attended Sunday school, or listened to sermons, have heard something of Jonah and the whale. But it is just this familiarity and this obsession with the whale that keep us from understanding and appreciating the more profound meanings of this portion of Scripture

By Dr. Doris Donnelly

Theological Reflection on Healing through Henri Nouwen’s book The Wounded Healer.

By Thomas H. Troeger

We are healed by God’s identification with our suffering.

By Rev. Dr. Marvin A. McMickle

The phenomenal growth of Pentecostal movements within African American communities has been one of the most significant developments in Christianity in the United States. It is safe to say that the history of African American Christianity can be divided into three phases of denominational influence: the Methodists in the nineteenth century, the Baptists in the twentieth century, and Pentecostal groups in the twenty-first century.

By Demetra Velisarios Jaquet

The Feast of Pentecost is not simply the celebration of an event which took place centuries ago. It is the constant renewal of relationship as sacrament in Church and community. We all have died and risen with the Messiah, and we all have received His Most Holy Spirit.

By Dr. Harold Dean Trulear

Pentecost must be set free. First, Pentecost must be set free from the silence of the church concerning its importance. Second, Pentecost must be wrest- ed from its association solely with denominational designation. Third, Pentecost must be delivered from denominational caricatures that identify it primarily with glossolalia as the badge of fidelity.

By Rev. Dr. Judy Yates Siker

The story of Pentecost is indeed the story of how unsettling the in-breaking of the Spirit can be. But it is the story of spiritual transformation, as all the people in the crowd were empowered as they heard the Gospel in a way they understood. Perhaps we ought to pray again that God send that unsettling Spirit among us to con- fuse us and shake us loose from our safe places. As we learn to speak and hear “in other tongues,” it may bring new light to shine on familiar matters.

By Dr. Cheryl Bridges John

Tarrying involves waiting before the Lord in anticipation of Divine intervention. To tarry is to plunge into that tension between the times, the tension between the “already” and the “not yet.” It involves actively attending to the presence of God, yet patiently waiting for that mysterious biblical event known as “the fullness of time.”