To say that we believe that God loves the poor, judges in their behalf, wills their deliverance but do nothing ourselves to free the poor, to hear their pleas, to lift their burdens, to act in their behalf is an empty faith indeed. To say that God is love and not...
“I mean,” I’d told Steve once, exasperated after listening to Donald talk about institutional growth and how to attract new members with our innovative liturgy, “the point of church isn’t to get people to come to church.” “No?” said Steve, cocking an eyebrow. “What is...
So the church announced a season of Lent, from the old English word lenten, meaning “spring”—not only a reference to the season before Easter, but also an invitation to a springtime for the soul. Forty days to cleanse the system and open the eyes to what remains when...
We need Lent! Our forebears were wise to put its 40 days into the calendar to keep us mindful of the great sacrifice of Christ and the immense love of the Father, the overwhelming grace-full—and grotesque—suffering of the Trinity. In these post-modern times, sin and...
The cross is not and cannot be loved. Yet only the crucified Christ can bring the freedom which changes the world because it is no longer afraid of death. In his time, the crucified Christ was regarded as a scandal and as foolishness. Today, too, it is considered...
The event of the resurrection, the empty tomb, and the risen Lord breaks every mold that would imprison God in the rationalism of a fallen world. But it is the starting point for a new kind of rationality, for the possibility of living hopefully in a world without...
Seems to me that many churches today are looking more for the hype and less for the depth…are looking to “beat” their competition and keep their “consumers” satisfied…are much ado about “the show” and their “ratings.” Seems to me, that is a mistake! Jesus on the Cross...
The prophetic tasks of the church are to tell the truth in a society that lives in illusion, grieve in a society that practices denial, and express hope in a society that lives in despair.
Churches have been commodified, commercialized, and marketized. Pastors become CEOs and the choirs become praise teams. That blood at the cross becomes Kool-Aid just to dip in order to get your next commodity-driven blessing."
Enemy occupied territory—that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage. When you go to church you are really listening in...