“I’ve often wished I could write off church… It certainly would make life easier in many ways and at least I’d get to sleep in on Sundays. But, I’m beginning to think that if I truly understand the Gospel… I just can’t. ” Now that’s a great opening paragraph 🙂 After an overdose of some…
Category: Church
New Order Life
“Although the church is not God’s new order, it is meant to be a hint of the new order now and, more, a training school for new-order people. Rightly, we declare the good news – the promise of God’s new order, forgiven and free – and then in our common baptized life demonstrate an inclusive…
Following a Vision
“If we are to follow visions, we cannot be overconcerned with what the church is not doing. The very word “vision” implies grace — that which is not seen by ordinary eyes. The following of a vision, therefore, means a willingness to be out alone in a strange land, confident that God keeps us company…
Church attendance … A political act?
“During the time of the Third Reich church attendance was being frowned upon by the National Socialist regime, and thus became a political act.” – Footnote 19 on page 210 of Discipleship(Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works Vol 4) Reading Bonhoeffer sends chills up my spine! While trying to discipline myself to finish a book for a change…
I thought that I could do it on my own
 “When I first became a Christian, about fourteen years ago, I thought that I could do it on my own, by retiring to my rooms and reading theology, and wouldn’t go to the churches and Gospel Halls; I disliked very much their hymns which I considered to be fifth-rate poems set to sixth-rate music….
Rediscovering my churchianity – a recant :)
“… when i’ve been in a church environment in which i’ve not agreed with the teaching it was fun to critique my thoughts and challenge myself as to whether i was just being disagreeable and what i really thought. Having been in a teaching environment for the last yr where i have found myself not…
Holy Fools: Ushers of the next generation in the church
I shared this idea “Holy Fool” as part of my Father’s Day message today. This article Holy Fools: Ushers of the next generation in the church would be a good follow up (with a good specific application to the church). I’ll pick out some highlights and see whether I can enter into a conversation with…
Website Immunization: Learning Good Design from Bad Design
Sitting down and listening to him talk about all things relating to church websites made me laugh, want to cry and most surely “enlightened” from my website design blind spots. So, it was a delight to meet Dean Peters from the blogs4God fame and draw from his wisdom. The small group of us had a…
Complaining about church
Good reading before I get my coffee … and good wisdom as well … Read on … 🙂 “Before taking this new job at Fuller, I was a pastor of a fantastic church for 23 years. That congregation wonderful as it was, was full of humans, which meant sometimes I was disappointed, hurt, angry, annoyed….
Emergent Returns
Emergent Spirituality How does one go through “the process of deep experiences of purgation” without having one’s faith annihilated?Ă‚ or perhaps it allows one’s faith to be resurrected? “If it is true that the real intimacy of participation in the divine life, of spiritual union with God in Christ, occurs only through the process of…