The kingdom of God is about justice, but justice is elusive in history and often thwarted.

Anyone who preaches, or listens to sermons, has discovered that the text for last Sunday’s sermon and the one for this Sunday’s sermon may seem to point in opposite directions. Last Sunday’s text: grace. This Sunday’s: Judgment. Human beings tend to be uncomfortable with ambiguity. . . .

What is What Language Shall I Borrow: Reflections on Faith?

These are challenging times for the church, and especially for those responsible for a congregation. Ronald P. Byars, a former pastor, teacher, and now pew-sitter, reflects on how the varied “languages” of faith most effectively reach the faithful and the unfaithful in times both unfavorable and favorable.

Byars served as pastor of congregations in Fremont, Allen Park, Okemos, and Birmingham, Michigan; and in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1999 he joined the faculty of Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. He continues to write in retirement, living now in Lexington.