I’m excited. I’ve just worked my way through ChurchNext’s MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) of my Making Sense of the Cross and, well, I’m excited. The folks at ChurchNext have done a wonderful job in taking some of the essential elements of the course and turning it into an accessible – and free! – online learning opportunity that is ideal for individuals or congregations as we approach Lent. The class starts a week from today, and you can find out more about the course here. Again, it’s free. While you don’t need to purchase the book to participate in the class, if you’re interested you can find copies of Making Sense of...

Michael Curry, the Episcopal Bishop of the North Caroline Diocese, is one of my favorite people in the church. He is an outstanding preacher, teacher, and theologian, and I am regularly inspired when I hear him. For this reason, I was very excited when I heard he was writing a book, and doubly so when I had a chance to read it. All of which explains why I am now triply excited that he is participating in a MOOC. What is MOOC, you ask? It stands for Massive Open Online Course – short hand for saying it’s an online class that is open to anyone and everyone for free. Sponsored by ChurchNext, Michael’s class is called “How to Be a Crazy...

ChurchNext is the website and ministry of Chris Yaw, who spent the first part of his professional life as an interviewer and broadcaster in radio and television. Now an Episcopal priest, Chris uses those same skills to interview leaders, change agents, and skilled practitioners and harvest what they know to make it available to all leaders in the church, lay and ordained. A few weeks ago Chris interviewed me – I’m not sure which of those above categories I fit into 🙂 – and he’s just posted the fruits of the conversation we had via Skype on his site. My topic: moving from performative preaching toward more participatory...