Denominational Envy
By John Mason Lock
From time to time I visit other churches, especially during the four weeks of vacation I take in the summer. In recent years, I’ve taken to visiting churches of other denominations as a ch... Read More...
Ever Ancient, Ever New
Ancient Christianity:
The Development of its Institutions and Practices
By Angelo di Berardino
ICCS Press, pp. 718. $89.95
Review by John Mason Lock
As a young college student discovering the beauties ... Read More...
John Milton’s “On Time”
By John Mason Lock
As a culture we are a low point for the reading and enjoyment of poetry. Most people say they don't like poetry, and poetry has been relegated to the specialist as an oddity that requires ... Read More...
Virtual Church: Opportunity or Mirage?
By John Mason Lock
Since the pandemic began, I've heard many clergy celebrate the extension of the church’s ministry through virtual worship. The refrain I hear again and again goes something like this: “We ... Read More...
Billy Joe Shaver and Music for the Land of Nod
By John Mason Lock
With the political morass we've been enduring during this election cycle and the pressures of leading a church in a pandemic, I was about a week late in learning of the passing of one of m... Read More...
Reading Boccaccio’s Decameron in the Time of Corona
By John Mason Lock
A friend recently posted on social media that he had gone to the bookstore, and they were out of Boccaccio's The Decameron. This admittedly English-major-type joke is that Boccaccio's clas... Read More...
Toni Morrison’s Beloved: A Retrospective Review and Contemporary Application
For Black History Month I have been revisiting the works of Toni Morrison, especially what is arguably her greatest novel, Beloved, a kind of literary reflection on the traumas of slavery.
Narcissism, Psychiatry, and Pastoral Care
A growing number of younger clergy are looking to reclaim the theological heritage of the church, but we must also recognize that not all personal problems are theological problems.