Blog
Blog 
On her blog, Hyperbole and a Half, Allie regales her readership with the stories of her youth peppered with exaggeration. My favorite story is entitled “The Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas.” Our young author, playing the part of Mary, decides to jazz up the story of Jesus’ birth but finds herself thwarted by family lacking in talent and artistic vision.
Whether referring to the liturgical commemoration of the visiting Magi or the striking realization of insight or innovation, epiphany is a marker of the extraordinarily rare. Times when the dull mundane begins to sparkle, the status quo bends to the point of breaking, and hope is birthed anew—this is Epiphany.
C. Michael Hawn, University Distinguished Professor of Church Music, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas
Jaime Clark-Soles, Associate Professor of New Testament, Perkins School of Theology, SMU, knows how to connect with lay readership. This book is a companion to Carolyn Sharp’s Wrestling the Word: The Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Believer. It is basic in its content, providing the essentials of how to unpack the critical tools and methodologies of New Testament study for “real” people without ever being simplistic or pedantic. For those who have never encountered Old and New Testament courses as taught in mainline seminaries, they may be enticed to study further after reading this book.
Mary Andreolli, minister for outreach & communications
When Laura Mayo, chair of the committee on communities, invited Alliance members to "sound a call" for others to join them in addressing issues, starting projects and exploring topics they are passionate about, folks eagerly made their proclamations. Check out the list below and contact the organizer or Laura Mayo to become involved.
Paula Clayton Dempsey, minister for partnership relations
Twenty-five years ago a group of Baptists imagined a new way of being Baptist in the world. At the 25th convocation at Crescent Hill Baptist Church another group—a more diverse group—gathered to pay tribute to these founders of the Alliance of Baptists.
Stephen Price, member of Alliance-affiliated Broadneck Baptist Church in Annapolis, Md., founder of Justice and Healing.
I arrived in Louisville for the Convocation with a degree of trepidation: My presentation on “Embracing the Leper: The Church’s Ministry to Sex Offenders” was on the schedule—twice. Now I’ve been very blessed that my home congregation, Alliance-affiliated Broadneck Baptist in Annapolis, and my pastor, Abby Thornton, have been incredibly supportive of my work. Elsewhere, I am usually met with disinterest or aggressive hostility when I talk about the offenders I work with as a therapist. Sex offenders are our culture’s current lepers.
The Alliance Spirituality Gathering, June 22-25, 2011
Mars Hill, N.C.
The Justice in Palestine & Israel Community will have its kickoff meeting in conjunction with the 2011 Alliance of Baptists Convocation in Louisville April 28-May 1. The organizational meeting will bring together anyone and everyone who may have a passion for—or an interest in—working for justice in the Holy Land. The group will begin to mobilize around the four action strands of 1) raising awareness about the current situation there, 2) sponsoring trips/pilgrimages to the Holy Land, 3) networking with other like-minded faith-based groups and 4) advocating the pursuit of justice in Palestine and Israel with elected policy makers. The underlying belief of this group is that if justice exists, peace will be found.
Leah Lonsbury, associate pastor, Memorial United Church of Christ in Madison, Wisconsin and chair of the clergy recognition community.
These past few weeks in Madison have been long and hard and unsettling as Governor Walker has attempted to ram through legislation that would strip public employees of the right to collectively bargain, dismantle Medicaid and Badgercare (basic healthcare for our state’s most vulnerable citizens, including many children), defund public education to the tune of 900 million dollars, slash crucial social services, and balance a deficit budget he created through giving tax breaks to corporations and campaign contributors by forcing public servants to pay more than twice as much for their healthcare and pension contributions. And that just skims the surface.
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