Tell us about The Teacher Who Changed My Life – and why. I cannot imagine my life without the influence of my teachers. My church school teachers taught me that the true power of the church was in loving neighbors across boundaries. My high school English teachers encouraged me to write and nurtured me beyond the [...]

Gov. Haslam is expected this week to sign a new law that would require public schools to allow science teachers to discuss purported weaknesses of theories such as Evolution and Global Warming in their classrooms. What should we do about teaching evolution? Is the theory of evolution a scientific controversy or a social/religious controversy? Should this [...]

It is often said that you “can’t legislate morality.” Are saggy pants a morality issue or something else? The Tennessee General Assembly approved a bill to prohibit public school students from dressing in an “indecent manner,” but the legislation was primarily aimed at young men who wear saggy pants. It is often said that you “can’t [...]

In a recent interview, Rev. Franklin Graham questioned the Christian credentials of President Barack Obama and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney. He apologized Tuesday for questioning President Obama’s faith. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, members of the NAACP’s religious roundtable called on Graham and all Christian leaders to “refrain from using Christianity as a weapon of political [...]

What concerns you about immigration? What concerns you about the way politicians and legislators are dealing with the issue of immigration? What should we do about illegal immigration? Would you sign the Clergy for Tolerance letter? Political theater during the presidential party nomination process can reach an overly dramatic pitch producing much more heat than light. [...]

The Affordable Care Act raises difficult issues that cannot be simply characterized as a contest between religious freedom and reproductive rights for women. The moral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church are not binding on all U.S. citizens. Indeed, people of good conscience have moral and spiritual principles that support reproductive choices for women. Understandably [...]

Should grieving be considered a psychiatric disorder? How do you define grief? How do you counsel or minister to those who are grieving? Can/should grief be medicated? When I counsel with families who have suffered the loss of a loved one I say two things. One is that there tends to be a lot of support [...]

If an entire community could make a New Year’s Resolution, what should ours be for 2012?

For the New Year the phrase “us and them” will be replaced with “we.”

In 50 words or less send a holiday greeting to the Memphis community. What is your holiday wish your fellow Memphis area residents? The Christmas narrative is about those who give a responding yes without knowing how things will turn out. Mary says yes to the embodiment of hope in her. The wise men say yes [...]

Tell us a funny faith-related story. Make us laugh.

What’s the funniest joke you’ve ever heard about your own denomination?

What happens when you cross a Unitarian with a Mormon? Someone who knocks at your door for no apparent reason.

Which translation of the Bible do you use and why? Why King James? Why not King James? How do you decide which translation/version of the Bible or other holy scriptures to use? Translating the Latin Vulgate into the vernacular was as revolutionary in Europe as the American battle for independence. In a largely illiterate world, having [...]

In 140 characters or less (Twitter’s limit per Tweet), can you sum up your personal faith? In other words, Tweet your faith to Memphis. Or Tweet your faith message to Memphis.

my faith: one reality/one world/one people/who share one fate (Unitarianism); & we are saved by love (Universalism)

Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. How has America changed since then? How did 9/11 change faith in America? What impact did 9/11 have on the soul of America? 9/11 was traumatic to the American soul. Facing vulnerability is not a strong American trait. Our sense of exceptionalism promotes strength and power. But [...]

These are fretful times. The economy seems to be in another tailspin. We’re witnessing gridlock in Washington, panic on Wall Street, riots in London, high unemployment and budget cuts all around. Are these difficulties strictly economic and political, or are there moral, ethical and spiritual dimensions to our economic woes? How are these difficulties affecting the [...]

Who’s responsible for Shelby County’s stray pet problems? What should be done? What does your faith or tradition teach about our treatment of and responsibility for pets? There is a propensity to think we own what we name. But we really don’t own anything because everything must be given up at the end. What truly is [...]

A few months before he was killed in the line of duty, Memphis Police Officer Timothy Warren made a YouTube video expressing his deep internal struggle between his “Two Paths” – between a Christian “life of service, compassion, seeking and forbearance” and a life in “police authority, command and governance.” “Which path to follow?” Officer Warren [...]

Given that the Fourth of July has just past and we are now at the height of summer vacation and prime reading season, what are you reading this summer, and what books would you recommend to our Faith in Memphis readers and why? My reading this summer is focused on a paper I am giving to [...]

What is government’s role in caring for the poor in Memphis and Shelby County? Should churches and civic groups do more? There is a responsive reading in our hymnal taken from Walt Whitman that has a line that reads: “Those who govern are there for you, it is not you who are there for them.” In [...]

Last week, the Tennessee Senate passed a bill that would forbid public school teachers and students in grades K-8 from discussing the fact that some people are gay. How should our schools public and private deal with the subject of human sexuality, and in particular affectional orientation? Forbidding the recognition of facts and the many ways [...]

Something has been accomplished and the road is open before you. We call this moment graduation. What it means is that you have proven that you are teachable. Now it remains for you to decide how you will walk the path ahead. Some people stop learning and become stuck in old thoughts and ways. Some [...]