by Kat Bair | Apr 11, 2024 | Big Ideas, Blog
I remember a meeting where where clergy I worked with were bemoaning the reality that as soon as our confirmation class was over, half of our confirmands were never seen again. They said, “We need to do something to increase our retention.” They looked at...
by Kat Bair | Apr 2, 2024 | Big Ideas, Blog
“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.” Matthew 25: 28-29 Predictable and unbelievable as ever, the seasons have turned over again and...
by Kat Bair | Mar 25, 2024 | Big Ideas, Blog
If I had to guess, we’ll have a few less readers than usual this week, because all of our friends and coconspirators who are leading churches are pretty busy. Its Holy Week – the week leading up to Easter, and probably the most sacred week of the year in...
by Kat Bair | Mar 22, 2024 | Big Ideas
Church leaders are great at nuance. Anyone who went to seminary, or has spent significant time in the church, has learned how to sit in gray areas, to accept the messy, complex, beautiful truth of God’s work in the world, to point to the Holy Spirit at all times....
by Kat Bair | Mar 5, 2024 | Big Ideas, Blog
CW: This post contains references to gun violence and domestic violence. I was listening to a podcast the other day about a man who was shot. The gunshot was an accident, and it happened decades ago, when he was hanging out with some friends. One of them was admiring...
by Kat Bair | Feb 27, 2024 | Big Ideas, Blog
There is some evidence to suggest that, in the last 30 years, there has been up to a 90% decrease in the cockroach population of New York City, and similar declines in Chicago, LA, and most other major American cities. This kind of thing is a bit hard to study because...