Just as a group can elevate you, it can also erase you. –Daniella Mestyanek Young & Amy Reed (The Culting of America, 2026)

Although all Disciples recognize the Bible as an authority for the church, there is no single Disciples approach to the Bible. –Ronald J. Allen (We Call Ourselves Disciples, 2025)

I believe a cult is both a list of qualities a group possesses and also a journey that the group members go on. –Daniella Mestyanek Young & Amy Reed (The Culting of America, 2026)

Wrapping up six years of service with the Texas Association of Charitable Clinics with deep gratitude. Proud to have supported an organization helping provide care to 220,000+ uninsured Texans each year. As I close this chapter, I hope others will consider supporting this important work.

It’s stunning to consider that in the span of the average boomer’s lifetime, the mainline went from half of all Americans to less than one in ten. --Ryan P. Burge (The Vanishing Church, 2026)

Parables are the participatory pedagogy of Jesus for a participatory Reign of God. –John Dominic Crossan & Michael Okinczyc-Cruz (Jesus and Justice, 2026)

Demographers’ warnings are dire: the church has not merely failed the working class; it has reformed itself into the image of middle class capitalism. –Melissa Florer-Bixler (Christian Century, May 2026)

If we ask why Jesus went to Jerusalem that Passover, our best answer is because he was invited there by sympathizers and supporters of his vision for God’s Reign on Earth. –John Dominic Crossan & Michael Okinczyc-Cruz (Jesus and Justice, 2026)

Called to Heal, Invited to Travel Light was my message this morning at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in downtown Fort Worth as we explored the Jesus Priority of Healing - sowhatfaith.com/2026/04/19/c...

By trying to reject the extremes of evangelical Christianity on the one hand while also resisting the pull toward nonreligion on the other, the mainline has found a way to accelerate its own demise. --Ryan P. Burge (The Vanishing Church, 2026)

Good to gather with folks from the United Church of Christ today in Lewisville for the North Texas Association's Spring Meeting

In the churches I attended, drugs, marital affairs, and misanthropic behavior were not unusual, they were just well hidden. –Josiah Hesse (On Fire for God, 2026)

Love of enemies is embodied in, practiced by, and identified with nonviolent resistance to them. –John Dominic Crossan & Michael Okinczyc-Cruz (Jesus and Justice, 2026)

People sometimes say that God becomes clearer in moments of suffering, but this is not necessarily true. What becomes clear is one’s longing for God. –Christian Wiman (Glimmerings, 2026)

If there is one phrase to describe the mainline tradition, it’s not “radical liberal” but “middle of the road.” --Ryan P. Burge (The Vanishing Church, 2026)

Jesus Christ: Either He Is or He Ain’t - What say you? -- sowhatfaith.com/2026/04/15/j...

It is quite disturbing to observe

The fastest way to create identity, loyalty, and exclusivity is to invent a way of speaking that only insiders understand. –Daniella Mestyanek Young & Amy Reed (The Culting of America, 2026)

Only non-violent resistance - the vision for which Jesus lived and died - can save humanity from the escalatory violence that threatens the very sustainability of our species. –John Dominic Crossan & Michael Okinczyc-Cruz (Jesus and Justice, 2026)

Called to Share, Invited to Belong - Rethinking the Great Commission for 21st Century Disciples - sowhatfaith.com/2026/04/13/c...

Though I cannot, at this time, embrace Christianity as part of my identity, I can place humble curiosity about it at the center of my being. –Josiah Hesse (On Fire for God, 2026)

As I have aged, I have come to believe that my faith matters much less than I thought it did when I was younger. I am saved by God's faithfulness, not primarily by my faith. –Miroslav Volf (Glimmerings, 2026)

Time flies when you are serving a great congregation! This morning at First Christian kicked off a new sermon series (The Jesus Priorities) and celebrated Goofy Glasses Sunday (a fundraiser for the Community Eye Clinic). Pictured with Norma Bennett, FCC Moderator/President.

By any metric, the religious group that has taken the hardest hit over the last several decades is mainline Protestant Christianity. --Ryan P. Burge (The Vanishing Church, 2026)

Today we came together to celebrate the incredible volunteers of White Rock Center of Hope. Over the past year, more than 1,500 community members have generously given their time. Your commitment and compassion are making a real difference in the East Dallas community.

Tragically, Easter marks yet another event in the Christian liturgical calendar that has been largely co-opted by our dominant cultural forces of consumerism, nationalism, and individualism. –John Dominic Crossan & Michael Okinczyc-Cruz (Jesus and Justice, 2026)

Groups like the Children of God back in the ‘60s or Scientology today have been incredibly successful in getting people to quit their previous addictions. But the trade-off is that the cult becomes the new addiction . . . –Daniella Mestyanek Young & Amy Reed (The Culting of America, 2026)

The revolutionary story of the resurrection remains a dormant balm of hope for Jesus’ followers to claim in response to the profound challenges of the 21st century. –John Dominic Crossan & Michael Okinczyc-Cruz (Jesus and Justice, 2026)

ICE has always been an instrument of racist state violence, but it is difficult to exaggerate just how much more dangerous it has become over the last year. –Mac Loftin (Christian Century, April 2026)

Motivation, at its core, is not about fixing; it’s about encouraging and inspiring others to find their own path forward. –Leah Marone (Serial Fixer, 2026)