I did make new friends, established two new relationships, encouraged two of my brothers in Christ to press on towards God’s calling. The “to-do list” seems very unimportant right now. [ More ... ]
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I was teaching an online course this summer, and one student responded to a question that I posed about the moral and spiritual values in the workplace. She was being honest, but I am sure that she did not see the inherent conflict in her answer, and I’m going to paraphrase it to avoid a long quote. She wrote that she was having a serious battle with values as a Christian in her workplace, and that she had been unable to find a church to attend that “met her needs.” Look closely at the two parts of the answer. I don’t have any difficulty understanding conflicts of values in the workplace. [ More ... ]  What is missing from Tickle’s book is an understanding that the Church by the grace of God stands opposed to dark forces that seek to dominate the culture-shaping institutions of our world. [ More ... ]  photo by furryscaly A quick look through the book catalog (not to speak of an Internet search) suggests that I need to clarify what I mean by “relational theology.” “Open” theologians claim the label, as do members of the “Emergent” Church. Then there are psychologists who use the title, as well as some who appear to think of “relational” theology as opposed to “traditional” theology. Note that the words “open,” “emergent” (or “emerging),” and “traditional” have no fixed meaning. I welcome readers’ responses to the following paragraphs. My Biblical frame of reference is Jesus’ parable of the vine and branches in John 15. The image that Jesus used was that of [ More ... ]  Image By: woodleywonderworks We have had a most unusual weekend. Joan and I attended the General Conference of the Evangelical Methodist Church (you can look up the details at http://emchurch.org if you need them). There were three striking things that happened that brought the world into perspective. First, at the Communion Service on the first day, there were three presiding general superintendents: one for the US who spoke only English, one from Mexico who spoke no English, and one from Myanmar (Burma) who spoke some English. Each offered prayer in his mother tongue without translation–after all, the audience to our worship was God, for whom languages are no problem! Second, the Myanmar [ More ... ]  By John Gardiner at www.sxc.hu The first church I served as pastor was in Oregon. That was quite an adjustment for me, growing up in the Appalachian Mountains. I quickly realized that many of the folk living around my church had not grown up in church, and for some of them, their parents had not either. “Church” had become vague, irrelevant. Now this disconnect with church attendance is pervasive in our culture. Let’s define these terms. “Church” is NOT a worship service on Sunday morning. It IS a group of believers who gather regularly for worship, study, and companionship. Sunday morning might be a good time to find a group of [ More ... ] |
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