Bil Aulenbach

Are you better off than you were in 2020? I am! But I never hear or read about others sharing my reasons. Folks seem to want to talk only about inflation, the cost of living, and the border. For me, inflation is a cyclical issue, and it doesn’t matter who’s in charge; it will happen … Read more

When it comes to the churches of the future, the stereotypical images of a church with a pitched roof, steeple, and cross on top will be gone for a variety of reasons: (1) the facilities of the future will house folks from the interfaith community because no one faith dominates; (2) the churches of old … Read more

Joan asks, In your blog post “A Peek at the Future Church,” you list some of your futuristic ideas. My question is, How does one go from what the church is today to becoming the church of the future? I think the real question might be, Is the church ready for change—a big change? My … Read more

In my series about the church in the future, I discussed the power of working together with ecumenical and interfaith communities. Mutual cooperation can be a game-changer. Let me share an example. A young Vietnamese man came to our church and attended one of my classes. When he was growing up, religion was not a … Read more

In the New Testament, Armageddon is, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, “the last battle between good and evil before the Day of Judgment.” I’m not into eschatological conspiracy nonsense, but I see November 5, 2024, our Election Day, as a day when our country has its last battle between a democracy (good) and an … Read more

Julie asks, “Please comment on mandating the Ten Commandments in every schoolroom in Oklahoma.” I’m reminded of the saying, “Give some an inch, and they’ll take a mile.” Our present “unSupreme Court” seems to be hell-bent not only on destroying all the progress our country has made in the last fifty years but also opening … Read more

Here’s a question from Chris R.: “How do you hold on to hope or faith when the whole world and our country in particular seems to be falling apart?” I suspect about twenty million or so other folks are asking the same question. As a faith-based Follower, let me start with my faith, which I … Read more

I was born an Episcopalian (I was even a PK, or “preacher’s kid”), baptized an Episcopal Christian when I was three weeks old, and attended an Episcopal boys’ school, college, and seminary. I had no exposure to other religions until I went to a seminary in Berkeley. The Bay Area had eight other seminaries, so … Read more

In my last blog post, I alluded to a church of the future that is here and now. One example of this type of church (which is a concept, not a building) was founded by Father Greg Boyle, a Jesuit Roman Catholic priest ordained in 1984. In 1986, he became the pastor of Dolores Mission … Read more

As a child in the 1930s, I loved reading Buck Rogers’s futuristic science fiction comic books (1929–67) about trips to the moon and outer space even though I knew they were pure fantasy. Today, they are realities. I suspect some of you when you finish reading this blog post will say, “This is pure fantasy!” … Read more