The article on John the Baptist is excellent -- you will probably learn many things from it, including a bit about the Mandaeans who revere John as God's greatest prophet. Other features explore an education ministry for Palestinians and a Missouri church's summer outreach project to provide sack lunches for kids in a community where 60% of students in public schools qualify for reduced-price or free school lunches. There's also an interesting piece on the benefits of funerals for those mourning the death of a loved one.
There are multiple articles that I would describe as personal essays. Unlike recent issues of DisciplesWorld, I found them to be of a real "hit or miss" quality. One strong piece considers the nature of leadership, paying particular attention to a young woman who founded a web-based company that allows people to make micro-loans around the world. There's also a couple of interesting pieces about letting go of control -- one by a woman reflecting on dealing with significant medical problems, one by a minister about attending church between pastorates. I found the other essays to be more disappointing, particularly one lamenting how the authors found General Assembly to be unfriendly to religious pluralism. Bashing a widely held Christian theology of atonement in the name of reconciliation among faiths is an odd approach to religious dialogue and tolerance.
As a matter of local interest, the poem on the inside back cover is by Maggie Sebastian, pastor of First Christian in Wheeling, whom some may know.
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