The 16^th Street Baptist Church sits in the middle of downtown Birmingham, Alabama. During the heart of the Civil Rights movement, when Birmingham was known across the nation as “Bombingham,” marchers and protesters would assemble at the 16^th Street Baptist Church, then walk across the street to Kelly Ingram Park, where they demonstrated against segregated public facilities and the exclusion of black men and women from local businesses. The church served as…

Last week Duke University President Richard Brodhead announced that Luke Powery of Princeton Theological Seminary will become the next Dean of Duke Chapel. Like many others who connect to Duke Chapel in various ways, I wondered throughout the summer who the next Dean might be and now find myself eagerly anticipating Dr. Powery’s arrival in September. In the…

This post is co-written with John McLean*

Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains has received quite a bit of attention over the last two years. Released in June 2010, it was an international bestseller almost instantly.…

In recent years there has been a spate of literature rethinking religiously-motivated service. Everything from international aid to short-term mission projects has come under fire, and many of the titles speak for themselves. When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the…