CCBlogs thinking critically, living faithfully

Lynne Hybels gets it right ... here.

I've seen the film she refers to - it really is worth seeing.

Also worth seeing - Bob Roberts and Prince Turqi model Christian-Muslim dialogue:

Prince Turqi of Saudi Arabia from Glocalnetblog on Vimeo.

I've had a quiet summer - good for writing (and recuperating from 2 tick-borne diseases). Next week a full travel schedule ramps up again. Between now and Christmas I'll be ...
In North Carolina
In Tennessee
In Minnesota
In Baltimore
In Edmonton, AB, Canada
In Hong Kong
In Cambodia
In Boston, MA
In Houston, TX
In Toronto, Canada
In Boston, MA
In Philadelphia, PA
In Shreveport, LA
In VA Beach, VA
In Louisville, KY
In Dallas, TX
In Philadelphia, PA
I'm looking forward to meeting many of you in one of these cities. If we meet, be sure to tell me you read my blog. Thanks!

Philip Clayton gives one of the best overviews of "what's emerging" that I've seen anywhere ... right here.

A reader writes ...

Continue reading The Cross and the Greco-Roman narrative...

Do you remember how incredibly tedious school was when you were a teenager? Do you recall those eternally long days and weeks and months and years of adult designed and enforced education? I remember spending a lot of time with my chin in my hand, staring at the wall while my teacher read things like Ode on a Grecian Urn to us.

But sometimes we would get to school and discover there was a field trip, a blessed reprieve from the tedious repetition of class. We could have been going to a pencil factory for a lecture on #2 lead, but we didn’t care. It was wonderful if only because it broke up the monotony of the familiar...

Click here to read the rest at the High Calling Network.

I didn't watch the President's speech from the Oval Office the other evening.  I knew what he would say, and I knew I stood behind him (in some ways I feel like the last man standing in this regard).  I knew that he couldn't win for losing, that the Right would go after him because he had opposed the war in Iraq (as well as the surge) and the left would go after him because he didn't pull all the troops out the moment that he took office -- and now because he commended his predecessor -- not because they agreed on the war, but because the former President was a man who loved his country and is a patriot.  During President Bush's term I admit taking swings at him, but he's no longer President and to his credit he's pretty much stayed out of the way.
Although my ideology tends toward the left, my instincts have always been centrist.  I grew up Republican and voted for Gerald Ford in my first opportunity to vote.  I opposed entrance into both of the current wars -- writing to my Senators at the time to register my views -- but I also believe that its time to move on -- or as the President said, turn the page.  
One of the most disheartening thing about the current political climate is the fresh polarization.  We're witnessing a civil war within the Republican Party, which is being orchestrated by a far right fringe that is reminiscent of the John Birch Society, and whose voices are people like Rush, Sean, and Glenn.  It is important to note that the central influence on Glenn Beck is a shadowy character named Cleon Skousen, a Mormon who is so extreme that the LDS establishment distanced itself from him.  Skousen had connections with the John Birch Society and proffered conspiracy theories, many of which Beck now spreads, that the conservative establishment leaders like William Buckley feared would taint the conservative movement.   On the left, you have a dispirited Democratic Party unhappy with its President because he's made too many compromises in the hope that he could achieve his goals.  One of the fallacies that lies behind the supposed opposition to the recently passed health care bill is that 60% oppose health care reform.  Yes, many do, but many opposed this bill because it didn't go far enough.  So, we have extremes defining the political moment.
So, yes, it is time to turn the page, to get realistic so that we can solve important problems.  We'll not all agree.  But, let's stop the conspiracy theories of left and right, and get busy dealing with the issues that trouble the nation and the world.
I appreciate a piece written today by Allan Bevere.  Allan would agree with me that I'm much more liberal and more partisan than is he.  I'm not a political independent, I am a Democrat.  And yet we agree that its time to put aside the bickering and get to work.  Allan did listen to the President and offers an appreciative statement in that regard.  He's disheartened by the dismissals left and right of the President's statement, and then points us to another President who was criticized on all sides, but whom history has lifted up as a man of honor and wisdom -- Abraham Lincoln.  As the war ended, and the nation began turning its focus to rebuilding after the devastation of four years of war, Lincoln said:
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.
Even then partisans didn't want to see this happen.  Conspirators moved to murder the President, and succeeded, removing the wise hand from the tiller.  Radicals from the north sought to punish the south in ways that led to a hundred years of segregation and resistance to change.  Let us heed the words of that wise President, whose life was cut short by violence, but whose voice still rings its clarion call to finish the work we're on.

A reader writes ...

Continue reading Q & R: A great question about prayer ... and a hint about my next book...

by Steve ThorngateAccording to a Quinnipiac University poll, 54 percent of New York State voters agree "that because of American freedom of religion, Muslims have the right to build the mosque near Ground Zero." That strikes me as a shockingly small minority—almost half don’t feel that “religious freedom” by definition applies to all religions, even when the question’s put that way?—but hey, gladthe Christian Centuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13235684418107619434noreply@blogger.com0http://theolog.org/2010/09/islamophobia-by-numbers.html

I posted an earlier post asking the question -- what is Liberation Theology?  The answer to the question is important, because it is being misused by Glenn Beck for political purposes.  As we ponder the question, which isn't just about President Obama, but about how we understand the Christian faith, I want to recommend an excellent Huffngton Post article by Jesuit theologian James Martin, SJ that carries the title:  Glenn Beck vs. Christ the Liberator."
Before getting to the question of Liberation Theology, I must confess my discomfort in even giving attention to Glenn Beck, who is little more than a snake-oil salesman and panderer in cheap conspiracy theories that hearken back to the John Birch Society, a group of crazed right wingers that the Republican Party beat back in the 1960s, and which is making a comeback in a new guise.  That said, it is important that we try to understand the nature and purpose of Liberation Theology.  Martin gives an excellent discussion of this movement that emerged out of a Latin American context in the 1950s and 1960s.  He writes:
A little history: Liberation theology began in Latin America in the 1950s and 1960s, and was later developed more systematically by Catholic theologians who reflected on experiences of the poor there. The term was coined by the Rev. Gustavo Gutierrez, a Peruvian priest, in his landmark book A Theology of Liberation, published in 1971. Briefly put, liberation theology (there are many definitions, by the way) is a Gospel-based critique of the world through the eyes of the poor. Contrary to what Beck implies, the liberation theologian doesn't see himself or herself as victim; rather proponents call us to see how the poor are marginalized by society, to work among them, to advocate on their behalf, and to help them advocate for themselves. It has nothing to do with seeing yourself as victim. It is, like all authentic Christian practices, "other-directed."
It also sees the figure of Jesus Christ as the "liberator," who frees people from bondage and slavery of all kinds. So, as he does in the Gospels, Christ not only frees people from sin and illness, Christ also desires to free our fellow human beings from the social structures that keep them impoverished. This is this kind of "liberation" that is held out. Liberation theologians meditate on Gospel stories that show Christ upending the social structures of the day, in order to bring more--uh oh--social justice into the world. Christians are also asked to make, as the saying goes, a "preferential option for the poor." Since Beck, who infamously told Christians to run from churches that preached social justice, wants to call us back to God (I do find it ironic that evangelicals who consider Mormonism a cult seem to ignore Beck's off-beat version of Mormonism), and wants to tell us that Jesus didn't preach social justice, but only salvation, I want to leave you with the words of the Savior himself -- Jesus the Christ.  
 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim release to the captivesand recovery of sight to the blind,to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.20And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’  (Luke 4:16-21 NRSV)

I missed the last session of Tuesday's program. An old friend had an issue to discuss and, seeing as I was in the neighborhood, I spent late Tuesday afternoon sitting in a bar drinking Speights and talking about life, the universe and everything instead of in the Kinder library discussing Augustine, life, the universe and everything. I would have got away with my wagging except that when I arrived back in school on Wednesday morning I discovered I had been appointed, in my absence, to a panel and my place was there, third to the left and we start in 5 minutes.

It was OK. The panel was comprised of people representative of various ministries, lay and ordained, who all spoke eloquently and powerfully about issues of power in the church. People spoke from contexts in which the power of the church to speak the Gospel was severely restricted, in the places where they lived, by governmental and social pressure. Some were students preparing for a future of full time service to the church. One was a newish bishop. There were many contributions from the floor, and the time rolled past too quickly as people sought to coalesce the historical and theological reflections of the past two days into the areas where they worked to make real the Gospel. After all, talking, thinking and reading stuff is only worthwhile if it affects the way we do stuff. I thought briefly about the mountain of books in my garage. We ended with a powerful and moving description from Hone Kaa about the work of his congregation with abused children in South Auckland. He told us that at the end of many decades of Christian ministry and very public leadership, this last chapter of his life has been the most rewarding.

Then it was kai. Then, because the hui had been hosted by Tikanga Maori, there were carefully constructed words of farewell to release us and enable us to return next year. Then it was back to the airport in the lugubrious Nissan and a flight down the whole length of the country. It was a fine clear day and we flew over the Abel Tasman national park, over my sisters house in Kaiteriteri and my mother's house in Motueka. Looking down at the bush and the golden sand I wondered if my tramping boots were in the garage and if I would have the books cleared sufficiently away to find a tent by January.

Then it was circling over the green paddocks of the Taieri and the crisp southern air and this widely scattered people needing new ways to hear the Gospel for which Perpetua died; and with which Augustine wrestled; and by which Constantine sought to rule.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Glenfinnan Pl,Dunedin,New Zealand

A reader writes ...
Hi Brian,
I am an avid follower of your blog and am reading one of your books right now for the first time. You're different way of thinking has truly helped me re-frame my traditional evangelical upbringing. I had never heard of "Big Tent Christianity" until your recent post about it as part of the synchroblog. From your post, I gathered it was a pretty cool concept. Then I read another post from a blog I follow "Ethnic Space and Faith" where the writer talked about an injustice done to him from White Christians...in relation to being asked to contribute to the Big Tent synchroblog. I am continually trying to broaden my perspective and be more vigilant against the subtle kind of discrimination and racism that is (some would say) inherent in dominant culture. So I wanted to ask someone I respected, what is this blog writer referring to? Is there something about Big Tent Christianity that only serves dominant white Christians at the expense of others?

the blog post I'm referring to:
http://ethnicspace.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/honest-hatred-under-the-big-tent/

Continue reading Big Tent ......

I'm really pleased that the Emergent Village council has chosen "Creating Liberated Spaces in a Post-Colonial World" as the theme for their theological conversation this year, Nov. 1 - 3.
You can register here.
There are a number of folks blogging about the theme this week ...
- Jonathan Brink at http://jonathanbrink.com/blog/
- Annie Bullock at Marginal Theology http://marginaltheology.wordpress.com
- Julie Clawson at onehandclapping http://julieclawson.com/
- Nelson Costa (in Portuguese) http://www.nelsoncostajr.com/
- Natanael Disla (in Spanish) http://karmatarsis.wordpress.com/
- Carol Howard Merritt at TribalChurch.org http://tribalchurch.org/
- Dave Ingland at http://www.daveingland.com/
- Mihee Kim-Kort at first day walking http://miheekimkort.com/
- Crystal Lewis at Jesus Was A Heretic, Too. http://jesuswasaheretictoo.blogspot.com/
- Katie Mulligan at The Adventures of Tiny Church http://tinychurchnj.blogspot.com/
- Ann Pittman www.anncpittman.blogspot.com
- Danielle Shroyer at http://danielleshroyer.com/

Emergent Village will be releasing a short piece I wrote on the subject soon.

Be there November 1-3 if you can - and if you can't, educate yourself on this important theme. These blogs are a good start ...

by David HeimA fascinating legal question has emerged in the aftermath of Judge Vaughn Walker’s overturning of Proposition 8 in California: Who has standing to appeal the decision? Amy Davidson spells this out in the New Yorker, and this summary from the San Jose Mercury News includes comments from leading scholars on court precedent on the matter.The question boils down to who can show that theythe Christian Centuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13235684418107619434noreply@blogger.com3http://theolog.org/2010/09/legal-standing.html

I can't give you a complete answer to this question in this posting, but I think it's an important question to be raised.  Since Glenn Beck, who is himself a Mormon (and perhaps not the best informed one at that) and not a trained theologian (his post HS education consists of one religion class at Yale), has declared that Barack Obama is captive to "liberation theology," which is all about "victims/oppressors" and condemned by the Pope, "liberation theology" is back in the news.
I think it's important to note that there is not just one liberation theology.  There are many -- Latin-American, Black, Feminist, Asian, Palestinian, and more.  Aspects of liberation theology have always been with us, throughout history, for it is a theology that seeks to transform the world.  This is something that those in power do not like.  It is interesting that the Pope's condemnation of this theology has been brought into the discussion, for the reason why John Paul II and his successor have condemned this theology is because it challenges their power.  It includes a call for the church to be returned to the people.   Luther also got into trouble with the Pope over this issue -- of course, when the Peasants rose up against their oppressors, Luther sided with the authorities and supported the slaughter of people who thought he was on their side.  But all of this is simply a way to get us to a definition (and those can be many).
I simply want to start the discussion by turning to Gustavo Gutierrez, a Peruvian Catholic Theologian, whose book A Theology of Liberation, is considered to be the classic statement on liberation theology.  The quotation I'm about to give comes from 1973 edition.
It is for all these reasons that the theology of liberation offers us not so much a new theme for reflection as a new way to do theology.  Theology as a critical reflection on historical praxis is a liberating theology, a theology of the liberating transformation of mankind and also therefore that part of mankind--gathered into ecclesia -- which openly confesses Christ.  This is a theology which does not stop with reflecting on the world, but rather tries to be part of the process through which the world is transformed.  It is a theology which is open -- in the protest against trampled human dignity, in the struggle against the plunder of the vast majority of people, in liberating love, and in the building of a new, just, and fraternal society  -- to the gift of the Kingdom of God.  (p. 15)  Glen Beck says that Jesus just came to save our souls, nothing more, nothing less.  That may be the message of the Book of Mormon (I've not read it, so I don't know), but its not the message of the Gospel.  Jesus consistently talks about living a new way of life that transforms the world in which we live.  Evangelism is more than simply rescuing the perishing, it is offering a vision of a new way of living, which Jesus calls the Kingdom of God.  Liberation Theology was born in Latin America out of frustration with a church that turned a blind eye to the abuses perpetrated against the people by dictatorships and a small cadre of wealthy land owners.  When Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador realized what was happening to his people, he woke up to his responsibility and began to speak in opposition.  As a result, death squads aligned with the government (a US supported government) murdered him as he said Mass.  This is what Liberation Theology is all about.  It involves speaking up for those who are voiceless, with a view to a new world of peace and justice.  It is a theology more focused on "orthopraxis" (right living/practice) than "orthodoxy" (right doctrine).  Indeed, I do believe that at its heart is the dictum -- love God and love your neighbor.

 On May 1, 2003, more than seven years ago, President George W. Bush landed on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific with much fanfare, wearing the flight suit of a Navy pilot.  With the infamous "Mission Accomplished" banner behind him, the President of the United States, in triumphalist tones declared an end to "major combat operations" in Iraq.  He commended the military and his war planners for their work in swiftly bringing down the enemy in Iraq, as well as destroying the Taliban in Afghanistan. 
President Bush spoke of the noble cause that the Armed Forces had engaged in and commended them for their bold and swift victory (you may remember Donald Rumsfeld announcing the beginning of the war in terms of "shock and awe."
In this battle, we have fought for the cause of liberty and for the peace of the world. Our nation and our coalition are proud of this accomplishment. Yet it is you, the members of the United States military, who achieved it. Your courage, your willingness to face danger for your country and for each other made this day possible. Because of you, our nation is more secure. Because of you, the tyrant has fallen and Iraq is free. Operation Iraqi Freedom was carried out with a combination of precision, speed and boldness the enemy did not expect and the world had not seen before. 

From distant bases or ships at sea, we sent planes and missiles that could destroy an enemy division, or strike a single bunker. Marines and soldiers charged to Baghdad across 350 miles of hostile ground, in one of the swiftest advances of heavy arms in history. You have shown the world the skill and might of the American armed forces. The way forward might be difficult, but the people of Iraq were free from tyranny and Al Qaeda was deprived of its possible source of nuclear weapons (the President seems to have forgotten that a rather unstable Pakistan did have such weapons).  He went on to couch this in terms of the War on Terror that began on September 11th, thereby justifying the war in terms of a response to that attack.
But as we know, despite the military prowess of the US Armed Forces and their allies, the President's vision proved to be an illusion.  Saddam Husein might have been defeated and executed, and the Taliban might have been driven from power in Afghanistan, but the road to recovery still remains daunting in Iraq, which remains without a government, and as for Afghanistan, it faces a resurgent Taliban, which simply slipped across the border.
So, tonight another President, one who inherited two wars being fought in Muslim lands (even as 20% of Americans mistakenly believe he's Muslim and many more believing that he kowtows to Muslims), will announce the end of US combat operations.  50,000 troops remain in Iraq in training and support positions, much as 35,000 American troops remain in South Korea, nearly sixty years after that conflict ended with what amounts to a lengthy ceasefire.  Instead of delivering his message from the flight deck of a carrier, he will speak from the Oval Office.  There will be, I'm sure, commendations for the troops, who have been put in harms way.  He will note the sacrifices of those who have died in service to their country.  But it's unlikely that there will be the bravado that accompanied the last speech.  As the President noted earlier today, there will be no victory laps.  Of course, it's quite possible that few Americans will pay attention.  As one pundit noted earlier today on NPR, for most Americans, the Iraq War, the end to which President Obama originally based his campaign, has been forgotten by many Americans.  Afghanistan, a war zone that predates Iraq, and which got lost in the shuffle as we carelessly ventured into Iraq, remains as volatile today as it did nine years ago.  
I am glad that combat troops have returned home.  I'm just sad that we got caught up in another quagmire.  As for the Iraqi's -- they may no longer have Saddam, but they also are without electricity and security.  This isn't the vision laid out in that earlier Presidential speech, but its the reality that this current President must wrestle with.  In making these observations, I'm not placing blame on the ability of the to perform its job.  I don't want to get into a debate about the surge in 2007.  I'm lamenting our lack of vision as a nation that we have yet to realize that we cannot impose our will on the world by force.

Then I hope you'll consider being part of a gathering there in just over a week. You can read about it here.

And even if you can't be there, stay tuned ... hopefully lots of good things will unfold in the months to come from this time together.

The college years often play a pivotal role in faith development. Some young adults are given a faith that "works" well for them when they leave home and enter university.

Others discover they can't in good conscience make the faith they inherited their own - they face realities of science, history, psychology, philosophy, or even their own psyche that can't coexist honestly with their inherited faith. Some who find themselves in that situation simply put faith aside entirely. Others have to go through a painful but essential and tremendously creative process of adapting their inherited faith (instead of adopting it without adaptations). I'm always glad to hear when my books help young adults do the latter.

Many of us have wondered how to facilitate that process of helping young adults adapt their inherited faith so they can have a faith they truly and wholeheartedly celebrate. And we've wondered how to teach the faith to children in such a way that it will support rather than hinder their intellectual, interpersonal, ethical, and personal growth later on ... which is why I'm enthusiastic about the event that just was announced last week.

Here's a note from a recent college graduate ...

Continue reading BACK TO SCHOOL (cont'd): Especially for College Students...

Continue reading Five Books in Six Months ......

What is a "Good Enough Theology?"  And in defining this notion of theology, where might evangelicalism fit?  One of the things about evangelicalism, is that it is a hard term to pin down.  I'm a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary, an evangelical flagship institution, but Fuller is quite different from other institutions in the evangelical community, such as Dallas Seminary or even Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.  There are conservative evangelicals and there are those, like me, who want to retain our connection with evangelical sensibilities and would be comfortable with the designation "liberal evangelical."  Then there are those who see themselves as "evangelical liberals," a designation that Bruce Epperly, the author of this series of posts, is quite willing to affirm.  If you are a liberal or progressive Christian, what might you take away from the evangelical mindset that can broaden and deepen your faith?  That is the purpose of Bruce's essay today (and next week he'll be bringing in fundamentalism). 
**************************************
A Good Enough Theology: Evangelical Passion


Bruce Epperly

For the past two weeks, I have affirmed that a good enough theology has the stature to embrace diverse theological and spiritual approaches. We can compare theological wholeness, or stature, to a balanced diet – recognizing favorite foods, but also including side dishes that not only add flavor but vitamins and minerals. We need basic foods, good theology, but also good seasoning, liveliness. As a progressive Christian, I recognize that I need to include the heart as well as the mind, contemplation as well as action, passion as well as intellect, to have a complete and balanced theological diet. Last week, we reflected on the gifts of the Quakers: the vision of God’s presence in everyone, the importance of contemplative prayer, and commitment to action for justice based on recognizing God in every face. Today, I will reflect on the evangelical passion for a personal relationship with God and Jesus.
Recently, I had a conversation with a member of a liberal/progressive congregation. He commented that although his pastor is a good preacher, he virtually never mentions Jesus in his sermons. I have heard this observation/critique many times from liberal/progressive congregants. They hear Jesus occasionally mentioned as the example of a “way of life,” but seldom as a contemporary reality - a personal reality - that can be experienced in daily life. While liberals and progressives are rightly concerned about making an idol of Jesus, seeing Jesus solely in individualistic terms, or promoting a relationship with Jesus that leads to denigrating other religious traditions, I believe that the evangelical passion for Jesus, for a personal relationship with God, contributes energy and vitality that balances and adds life to intellectual and contemplative faith experiences.
Now, many liberals are uncertain about using the word “evangelical.” For them, it connotes social and theological conservatism, televangelists, and religious exclusivism. In contrast, I like the word “evangelical”: perhaps, because I was raised in a small town Baptist church, perhaps because it points to the importance of passion in faith, perhaps because it reminds us that we have good news to share. While labels can be limiting, I am particularly fond of descriptions such as “evangelical liberals” and “spirit-centered progressives.” I claim them both, and believe that there is good news to be found in embracing both evangelical and Pentecostal perspectives as part of a good enough theology. (We will speak of spirit-centered faith next week.)
Anne Lamott uses the term “Jesus-y” to describe her faith, and that works for me. As a progressive-oriented Christian, I claim that Jesus is alive, not just as the proponent of a way of life, but as a personal reality within the dancing (perichoresis) trinity of divine creativity and companionship within God, us, and the world. In unity of spirit with God, Jesus is as intimate as our next breath. Yet, Jesus’ intimacy invites us to a global spirituality. As our companion on a holy adventure, Jesus calls us to “follow” him in growing in wisdom and stature – in embracing God’s presence in the outcast, the diseased, the stranger, and the enemy. Jesus says “I am in the least of these” and you love me best by loving them. Jesus “walks with us and talks with us” in the midst of life’s challenges.
Loving in the spirit of Jesus means a lot of things, too, certainly it means hospitality and healing; it also means sharing “good news.” And, sharing good news involves both a “what” and a “how” – as progressives we can be as passionate about our faith as those who call themselves evangelicals because we have good news to share. Just look at Eric Elnes’ Phoenix Affirmations or the principles of progressive Christianity, articulated by the Center for Progressive Christianity; just look at my Holy Adventure (Upper Room, 2008) and you will discover that we have a faith we can share, a faith that changes lives. Claiming the following visionary affirmations can change your life and the lives of countless seekers:
God loves us and is present in our lives.God wants you to have abundant life.God rejoices in your creativity.God’s grace embraces, forgives, and makes whole.Jesus shows us a way to healing of mind, body, spirit, and the planet.Wherever there is truth, God is its source, in all its many forms.Jesus is your companion in life and death.God’s spirit is constantly inspiring us.God wants us to be partners in healing the world.
This list is far from exhaustive and you can make up your own progressive affirmations of faith; but one thing is clear, living with any one of these affirmations will change your life. These affirmations “preach, teach, and transform.” They call us to a full-voiced Hallelujah!
And, they call us to share our faith in the spirit of hospitality, healing, and respect – learning as well as proclaiming in the spirit of young Jesus at the temple. We can have passion, share good news, and also listen to the gifts of others as part of our affirmation of God’s global and graceful presence.
We progressives have a theology that transforms: if we can personalize this theology, experience it through contemplative practices, and embody it in socially-transforming actions, we can proclaim faith with passion. We can be evangelical as well as contemplative and theologically open-minded. A balanced theological diet of mind, heart, and hands gives life, vitality, and witness to the world, and us.



Bruce Epperly is a seminary professor and administrator at Lancaster Theological Seminary, pastor, theologian, and spiritual companion. He is the author of seventeen books, including  Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living, a response to Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life. His Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry, written with Katherine Gould Epperly, was selected Book of the Year by the Academy of Parish Clergy.  His most recent book is From a Mustard Seed: Enlivening Worship and Music in the Small Church, written with Daryl Hollinger.

by David Heim“War is not healthy for children and other living things.” That consciously obvious claim—a favored bumper sticker in the 1960s—came to mind while reading a report in USA Today saying that one in four soldiers at the nation’s largest army post have been in counseling during the past year.The number would probably be even higher if the mental health services at Fort Hood, Texas, couldthe Christian Centuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13235684418107619434noreply@blogger.com1http://theolog.org/2010/08/counting-cost.html