“Beyond the Zero-Sum Game” excerpted from Nathan C. Walker (2014) Exorcising Preaching: Crafting Intellectually Honest Worship. St. Louis: Chalice Press. For centuries, insiders have been democratizing their religions. Incremental moments of institutional reform have led to a new era of...

Go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is.

We extinguish this flame, a mere wisp of matter in process, almost as insubstantial as the thought of it. Yet our civilization has harnessed the power of such a flame to drive and shape a new world. So may it be with the power of our thoughts, that in truth and love they may drive and shape a new...

Take courage friends. The way is often hard, the path is never clear, and the stakes are very high. Take courage. For deep down, there is another truth: you are not alone.

According to economist Juliet Schor, author of The Overworked American, having the chance to spend time not doing anything in particular is less common than it used to be. In her book, Schor documents the increase of time spent working—both paid employment and work around the house—over a...

The storm outside echoes the storm raging within my soul. So many people in need… so much pain, so much grief. Too many causes and campaigns fill my mailboxes, sap my energy, beg for my money. Three things I must do...only three things? You've got to be kidding—which three do I choose? Books and...

ALL: Today we honor the youth among us You who are stepping beyond and away and toward Today we share in your journey And encourage your discovery Young Adults (18-35): Today we welcome your energy And offer you a safe place to grow Today we celebrate your hopes and dreams Come live, breathe, thr...

Service Leader: In our religious tradition, it is not just ministers and religious professionals who have power to bless. Each of us has the power to bless another, and to bless the world. Therefore I invite everyone here to participate in this blessing....

"She possessed more influence on the thought of American women than any woman previous to her time."...

"The position I early was enabled to take was one of self‐reliance. And were all women as sure of their wants as I was, the result would be the same. But they are so overloaded with precepts and guardians who think that nothing is so much to be dreaded for a woman as originality of thought or...

"What Woman needs is not as a woman to act or rule, but as a nature to grow, as an intellect to discern, as a soul to live freely and unimpeded."...

"All around us lies what we neither understand nor use. Our capacities, our instincts for this our present sphere are but half developed. Let us confine ourselves to that till the lesson be learned; let us be completely natural; before we trouble ourselves with the supernatural....

What you risk telling your story: You will bore them. Your voice will break, your ink spill and stain your coat. No one will understand, their eyes become fences. You will park yourself forever on the outside, your differentness once and for all revealed, dangerous. The names you give to yourself...