A Convert to Short-Term Missions - It was the church choosing who would go that changed Jamie Wright's mind: "Most of us don't go to churches who let anybody who feels like it get up and preach on Sunday morning. We don't let the first guy to jump on stage with a tambourine lead us in worship. We don't let every volunteer who walks through the door feeling “called” hold our babies on their lap, or—God forbid—count our money! We are constantly making decisions about who should do what within the framework of the church, but we balk at the idea of choosing our missionaries."

Where's The Faith? - How is it that Downton Abbey, a show set in an era when religious faith was so much more central, seems to skirt the topic? "As a practicing Catholic, perhaps [the program's writer Julian] Fellowes is suggesting that faith and material riches are incompatible. If that is his point, he’s in good company. Jesus frequently talks in ...