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Posts Categorized: Uncategorized
August 9, 2017
Does belief lead to faith? The difference between belief and experience By N. Graham Standish A Thought: Our beliefs about God can shape our faith, but it’s the EXPERIENCE of God that gives us faith. When belief is devoid of experience, it becomes dogma. When experiences of God lead to deeper beliefs, they give… Read more »
July 31, 2017
Kiss of death or saving grace? Cell biology teaches lessons of community by Elizabeth Jeffries Dinnertime every night was more than a meal; it was a family meeting. My parents, brothers and sister and I each shared a story about the day around the dinner table, and Dad always took his turn last. He was… Read more »
July 10, 2017
A Declaration of God-Dependence How are rights and love different? By N. Graham Standish A Thought: We live in a nation of inalienable rights, but God calls us to live lives of inalienable love. Rights lead to rules, but love leads to life. Choose life! A Reflection: The Fourth of July fireworks are over,… Read more »
June 29, 2017
Civility or Resistance? Practicing Jesus-centered justice By Antonio (Tony) Aja After the shooting of Republican Congress members by a mentally ill person on a baseball field, many of the opposite side of my political and theological worldview started to say that we need to be ‘’civil,’’ stop naming others with pejorative epithets and lower the… Read more »
June 22, 2017
Whose fault is it? Blame has no place in the Kingdom of God By Susan Rothenberg Whose fault is it? When a congregation reaches the end of its life, whose fault is it? A pastor who kept putting off retirement, and as he lost energy, so did the congregation? A music director who refused to play… Read more »
June 7, 2017
Living in the now Resurrecting our spirituality By N. Graham Standish Christians often crucify their faith by focusing so much on the cross that their faith becomes all about sin, judgment, and the past. True spirituality focuses on the resurrection, which immerses us in love, grace, and possibility. The cross was then. The resurrection… Read more »
June 5, 2017
Building new ramps Can we connect people who love God but not church? By Susan Rothenberg One of the reasons I am grateful for Facebook, despite its dastardly power to distract me from the useful tasks I should be doing, is that social media has reacquainted me with people I haven’t seen nor heard… Read more »
June 2, 2017
The Spirit in action A polity wonk’s guide to pneumatic presence By Robert Bayley Come, O Spirit, dwell among us; come with Pentecostal power; Give the church a stronger vision; help us face each crucial hour. Built upon a firm foundation, Jesus Christ, the Cornerstone, Still the church is called to mission that God’s love… Read more »
May 22, 2017
Shake the dust off your feet When it’s time to move on in ministry By Mark Roth British anthropologist Robin Dunbar suggested 20 years ago that most human beings’ social groups number about 150 people, which matches the typical size of ancient hunter-gatherer tribes. The idea behind the Dunbar number, as it came to… Read more »
May 10, 2017
Analyze this! The loss of transcendence By N. Graham Standish We are transcendent people trapped in an analytical world. We love to analyze, looking for what’s wrong, what’s broken, what needs to be fixed. Yet we are called to transcendence, looking for what’s right, what’s good, what’s filled with God’s presence and grace. When people struggle… Read more »