If Christianity is to become aware of what it is, we must abandon the pastoral church which takes care of people, which is the usual form of the Western church. Instead, we have to call to life a Christian community church. Either we set about this church reform by ourselves, or it will be forced [...]
The Other: Postmodern shorthand for anyone differing in any way from “us,” born of the reality that in an era of radical pluralism and globalization, we are constantly confronted with people who are indeed different from us.
Tony Jones, The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier
Jesus and the Kingdom, Brian McLaren
Can you imagine a community [...]
The notes from the 2008 State of the Conference Address given by LMC moderator Keith Weaver include this summary of the findings reported in unChristian: What the New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity…and Why it Matters–Kinnaman, David & Lyons, Gabe (2007) Grand Rapids, MI: Baker. See interview with David Kinnaman here.
What Kinnaman and Lyons learned is [...]
I saw Jesus last night.
He was sitting
by the Jenga blocks on the floor
playing with a baby-
the daughter of an unwed teenage mother.
I have never seen the father,
but young mom has her hands full
with two children under
the age of two.
I saw Jesus
making time for this baby
holding the baby
playing with the baby.
I saw Jesus caring for
the [...]
In a number of settings recently at SMC, I have been asked about vision for church as a missional community (I am particularly thinking of Melissa’s questions). I feel like I have not yet done justice to answering these questions. It involves a radical re-imagining of church. It doesn’t mean we change the center from historic [...]
G.K Chesterton once entered a public debate on the state of the nation by writing a letter to The Times. In response to the question of what was wrong with the world he wrote this:
Dear Sir, I am.
A prayer for the Church…
Lord,
Help us in our weakness and inadequacy to understand the ways in which [...]
Kingdom Grace posted a number of wonderful pictures which are representative of key words in the emergent church conversation as well as many other parts of the Church. They are words inherent to Gospel living.
I re-post them here with a HT to Kingdom Grace. I also found the comments exchanged in response to her pictures [...]
I identify my ecclesial context as the Anabaptist stream. However, several conversations have been a significant part of my ongoing theological process and formation. I am an associate pastor at Sunnyside Mennonite Church. Although we are a local expression of the Body of Christ, we are not independent from the Great Christian Tradition. We are [...]
Christians in the Eastern Orthodox tradition remind us of a remarkable truth when they honor Mary with the technical term theotokos or “bearer of God” in their special hymn:
Today is the beginning of our salvation,
The revelation of the eternal mystery!
The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin
As Gabriel announces the coming of Grace.
Together [...]
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