CCBlogs thinking critically, living faithfully

Chris Brundage's blog

“He’s missing a leg, and he needs a ride to the Chelsea Hospital,” my wife said on the phone. She was at her church.

“Okay… (sigh)… Give me his number.” He lived on Division St by the stadium, and I was around the corner at Meijer, picking up groceries at noon on Sunday.

After a quick phone call, I drove to J’s house. He came out the front door on aluminum crutches and made his way with ease down the steps and over to my little Geo in the driveway. His left leg was missing, the blue jeans knotted off on that side where his knee would have been. He lost the leg to cancer I learned on the 45 minute trip north to Chelsea.

He chatted most of the way in a stream of consciousness fashion. He said his doctor told him to go to the Chelsea ER to get pain meds for his leg. He’d called churches all through town looking for a ride.

Being an introvert, the more he talked the more I retreated into the safety of silence.... READ MORE.

Chris Brundage's blog

New Testament scholar Craig Blomberg says they are, and he uses methods of critical historical inquiry to support his views. Although at some points he takes the argument farther than necessary, on the whole he presents a strong and compelling case, looking in a detailed analysis at the Synoptics and John.

The most striking aspect of his argument came at the end when he noted we assume the Gospels to be generally historically reliable unless it is demonstrated clearly they are not. This is the same assumption made for any historical document, especially ones so close in time and space to their events as the Gospels are.... READ MORE.

Chris Brundage's blog

I visited a woman who will die soon. She lay asleep in her nursing home bed, a plastic mat on the floor in case she fell. A black and white photo of her as a young woman hung on the wall next to her dresser. I anointed her with oil and sat quietly with her for a time. A ministry of presence is a simple thing.

A nurse in blue scrubs stopped by the room. “Can I get you a cup of coffee?”

“No thanks,” I said, surprised by the offer.

“If you need anything, just ask,” he said and walked on. I said nurse, but he may have been a CNA, certified nursing assistant. Whatever he was, he was kind and attentive to my needs as I sat with a dying woman.... READ MORE.

Chris Brundage's blog

Bob Cornwall defends denominations against those who consider them old baggage in a new ’postdenominational’ world. He agrees with Michael Kinnamon and Jan Linn that to be vital churches must affirm their heritage embodied in a particular tradition. He used to discount denominations, but now Cornwall embraces the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

He gives no other reasons, though, for embracing a particular tradition, nor does he discuss the pitfalls they present. The relevance of denominations is more ambiguous than this.

The earliest form of Christian community is the congregation, the ecclesia. Anything beyond this came later. In the Presbyterian Church, where my ordination lies, congregations in America first joined together to form presbyteries, and presbyteries joined together to form larger synods and a national church. But the matter began with local congregations. As for other traditions, no matter what structure or polity exists now, the movement began in Palestine with a loose collection of house churches. The roots of things are in the local congregation.... READ MORE.