A wise and important reflection:
http://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/witness_winsomeness_and_winter
HT: Jesus Creed
WHAT OUGHT A CHURCH BE AND DO?
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Category Archives: Church
COMMUNITY OR PEOPLE LIKE US?
To Richard Beck’s important reflections below I would add that many who say they want community, are really only interested in what Robert Bellah and his associates called “lifestyle enclaves.” We want to be around people like us in all ways. Different is scary, risky, and too big an investment.
http://experimentaltheology.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-biggest-obstacle-to-spiritual.html
RACISM, EMOTIONAL HEALTH, AND THE GOSPEL
7. A slowed down spirituality to lead with integrity. Our first passion is Jesus, not reconciliation. Reconciliation is a byproduct, an essential outworking of our following of Jesus. At New Life, we invite people to leave the world, along with the cultural American church, to radically follow Jesus. Reconciliation is a core theological outworking of the gospel, not an addendum. Slowing down for a deep, beneath the surface spirituality with Jesus is the only way our us to do this with integrity.
The rest is here: http://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/racism/
RUSSIAN CHURCHES
I grew up loving to look at beautiful buildings and their decor. Here are some wonderful shots of Russian churches (HT Jesus Creed/Patheos):
http://holeinthedonut.com/2014/12/09/russian-churches-symbol-of-russia/
SO SIMPLE, SO NEGLECTED
Watching the video I posted yesterday reminds me of a simple, yet widely neglected truth: Christians must wrestle with the beliefs of their faith. We are now embarrassed to say doctrine and theology. Sounds too impractical. If people come to that tragic conclusion, it is either the teacher’s fault or it could be the student’s fault. But it is never the subject of vibrant and life-giving theology. And notice how I felt compelled to modify theology. Maybe I am too defensive!
What happens when we mainly attract people to church with the social benefits, yet they don’t really understand much of what the Christian faith is about? Well, if they get troubled and want to ask probing questions, they might be told good Christians don’t struggle with such things. I’ve heard my share of such horror stories.
Christianity is true, but rightly understood it is beautiful, compelling, worth everything we are and have.
WHAT A LOCAL CHURCH CAN BE AND DO
I am currently reading Scot McKnight’s terrific, new book, Kingdom Conspiracy. Stay tuned for my interview with Scot.
In Scot’s book, he mentions Pastor Wayne Gordon. Watch the ministries of Lawndale Community Church. Wonderful example:
DISASTER
“Madeleine L’Engle keenly observes in her book, A Stone for a Pillow, that our English word ‘disaster’ comes from the roots dis- (meaning ‘separation’) and -aster (meaning ‘star’). Disaster is thus a separation from the stars, a fragmenting of creation, the shattering of what God formed as an interconnected whole.”
(As quoted in Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus, by C. Christopher Smith and John Pattison, p. 100)
By the way, Slow Church may be the best book I’ve ever read on the nature of the church.
NO CHEST BEATING!
Our dear friends, Allison and Darin Maurer, served on Cru staff with us at Stanford University. Allison recently reminded me of a visit they paid to us when we were living in the “Chicagoland” area.
We went to Willow Creek and they were having a celebration for their church. They had a nifty brochure for the event, but it was the information inside which shocked and thrilled me. Along with the wonderful things which happened over the years, they candidly described some of their failures, including mention (not by name) of former pastors infidelity.
I was edified by Willow Creek’s humility, and their saying no to the temptation of beating their collective chest.
CONFESSIONS OF AN EX-EVANGELICAL
“…I went to Evangelical churches fifty-two Sundays a year for the better part of 19 years, and I cannot for the life of me remember once when the name of a theologian was mentioned…
Instead of an intellectual tradition, it is a church built on emotion. Every sermon is a revival stump speech about the evils of the world and the need for salvation.”
The rest of this short, but extremely important piece is here: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/ex-evangelical-pro-gay-millennial/
TRINITARIAN OR UNITARIAN?
The picture above is of Trinitarian Congregational Church in Concord, Massachusetts.
Last year, I was in the Boston area on two different occasions. I spent some time in Concord with our youngest son, Chris. These visits got me thinking about the whole split of the Unitarians from the Congregationalists. There are many Unitarian and Congregational churches in Massachusetts, and several look similar from the outside.
One Congregational church in Concord makes their theological allegiance clear by calling themselves Trinitarian Congregational Church.
Update: I looked at Trinitarian’s doctrinal statement and it is not so clear what they actually believe about the trinity!