Blog
- June 16, 2008
Community is not a by-product but a central aspect of the revelation that takes place in the Body of Christ.…
- June 13, 2008
Consider an example of remembering the dismembered in our society. It was a university town in the early ‘70s. Mark,…
, - June 12, 2008
A central focus of his ministry is also that of reconciliation. For a variety of reasons, a number of people…
- June 11, 2008
We proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the Word of our salvation. If the church is the Body of…
- June 10, 2008
Think of the power of community in people's lives. Listen to John Gardner's description. John Gardner describes the power of…
- June 9, 2008
Loren Mead summarizes the break down of a sense of community in our culture. (Five Challenges, pp., 46-50; Alban Institute)…
- June 6, 2008
We have lost the sense of call in our society. At one time the sense of professional was one who…
- June 5, 2008
If I said to you, “Let’s go to church next Sunday,” what would you think that I was saying? I…
- June 4, 2008
As an aide to this form of Biblical interpretation, we are beginning to see a new type of biblical commentary.…
- June 3, 2008
The challenge for seminaries, as they serve the Body of Christ, is to enable pastors and educators to join the…
- June 2, 2008
There is a sense in which our understanding of the church as the Body of Christ revives the question of…
- May 30, 2008
What we are risking in seeking God's word in the body is acting on the faith that Christ, as a…
- May 29, 2008
I realize that such quick and simple correlation between life situations and biblical stories might also lead to erroneous decisions.…
- May 28, 2008
The members of many mainline churches often draw back from utilizing Scripture in their decision making because they feel inadequate…
- May 27, 2008
It is common for Christians to conclude their prayers with the phrase “through Jesus Christ our Lord.” What we have…
- May 26, 2008
Just as for clergy, so too people who are members of a church need to be made aware of the…
Evaluation (2)
June 7, 2012
Building on yesterday’s suggestion of expanding evaluation to the whole ministry of the congregation, an alternative would be to have…
Evaluation (1)
June 6, 2012
Two preliminary decisions with respect to evaluation need to be made. First, what is the purpose of the evaluation process?…
Jesus Choice of Disciples
June 5, 2012
Sometimes we look at the membership of our congregation and we grow discouraged. It’s helpful at such times to recall…
Narcissism and Connectionalism
May 25, 2012
Here is an exercise in counter-cultural connectionalism. It is designed to allow both the elders of a session and the…
Connectionalism and Prayer
May 24, 2012
The danger for an individual is to become to focused on the self. The danger of a congregation is to…
Connectional Church (3)
May 23, 2012
The counter-cultural message of the Christian faith is that a critical part of salvation is in discovering our true self…
Connectional Church (2)
May 22, 2012
The journey of faith is centered around relationships. To paraphrase Jesus’ summary, we are to love God and love our…
The Connectional Church
May 21, 2012
Given the anti-institutional bias of our society, it may be important to re-examine what we mean when we as Presbyterians,…
Narcissism and the Call
May 18, 2012
We all need affirmation and it feels good when other churches express an interest in us. The lived reality of…
Narcissism and the Pastor
May 17, 2012
If Jesus embodies an anti-narcissistic approach to life, then it is clear that not being a narcissistic pastor doesn’t suggest…