Church in Mission Modest Proposal .pdf Version Available Because I’ve been posting about Brent Bill’s recent series of posts about the revitalization of Friends I wanted to alert all of you to the fact that he’s edited all the blog posts down into a .pdf. I was excited to learn he was going to organize
Featured Seeing Beyond What We See At Camas Friends we are thinking about advent season and how it is connected to our sense of sight this year. Here’s something short I’ve written about it: This advent season we are invited to see the movements of grace all around us. The Christian tradition has for
Blog Entries Postlib or Emerging? A friend sent this today and it had me laughing out loud. It’s really hard to choose which one I’d rather be. I’m just glad there’s nothing to make fun of Quakers about… 😉 http://www.xtranormal.com/site_media/players/jwplayer.swfhttp://www.xtranormal.com/site_
Poetry The Peace of Wild Things – Wendell Berry THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on
Featured Escapism and Citizenship on the Web The web has been a good place to me. I have formed many meaningful relationships over the web, I have maintained long distance ones, and I have had the opportunity to be a part of a variety of ministry, as well as academic, events because of it. Many of these
Featured More Detailed Information for Quaker Heritage Day February 12-13 I will be in Berkeley (at Berkeley Friends Church) discussing some of my favorite topics with anyone who wants to join us. The series of talks is currently being called “Heralding The New Creation: Mission as Participation in the Quaker Tradition” and in it investigate the renewal of
Blog Entries A Silencing Witness Came across this quote today and found it to be particularly good in relationship to the text I’m reflecting on this week: Psalm 46. “In Witnessing, the role of talking is frequently overemphasized. Does that sound strange? Its true. Silence and especially true listening are often the strongest
Featured Thanksgiving and Irony Here’s the message I gave this past Sunday. I am not going to be posting my sermons online as much as I have been in the past but since our recording software for the podcast had a major breakdown this last week I thought I’d put this here
Featured Being A “Released” Minister I recently went through and changed most of my online profiles, email signatures, and even our bulletin for Sunday morning it from “pastor” to “released minister” as that language seems to fit where I am at better. So now, at least on paper, that’s the language I use to
Church in Mission To The Church in North America by Kester Brewin Came across this video today by Kester Brewin. I think it has a lot to say. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqIYgdoUzwc&w=575&h=456] YouTube – To The Church in North America by Kester Brewin.
Blog Entries A ‘Missional’ Church Statement Here’s one of my favorite missional church statements of all time: In the power of life and wisdom, and dread of the Lord God of life and heaven and earth, dwell;…and be a terror to all the adversaries of God, and a dread, answering that of God in
Blog Entries “How to Be a Poet” by Wendell Berry (to remind myself) i Make a place to sit down. Sit down. Be quiet. You must depend upon affection, reading, knowledge, skillmore of each than you haveinspiration, work, growing older, patience, for patience joins time to eternity. Any readers who like your poems, doubt their judgment. ii Breathe
Blog Entries Save the Date: Quaker Heritage Day 2011 I’ve been asked to be the speaker for Quaker Heritage Day, a day long series of talks around, you guessed it, Quaker history that Berkeley Friends puts on every year. Since Brian Young (the released minister there) is sending out the postcards, I thought I’d send out a
Blog Entries New Missiology Books October 2010 As a doctoral student in missiology I like to keep up on the new things getting published on the subject. Here are a few new books that are out that have caught my attention. ((Books include referral code links to Powell’s Books an Independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon.)) Summaries
Blog Entries Social Media and the Illusion of Action The other day I got caught up in following Kester Brewin’s tweets on the Apple 8 Media: Social Media and Political Action event he was covering on twitter (see those comments here). There were a number of things he quoted there that really stood out, so I was eager
Blog Entries Small Group Discussion Guide for “The Quakers: A Very Short Introduction” Over the course of the summer a small group at Camas Friends Church worked through Ben Pink Dandelion’s “The Quakers: A Very Short Introduction.” The book is honestly a little deceiving. It is short, but the font is also small and it is packed full with tons of information.
Blog Entries An Index of Brent Bill’s Modest Proposals Brent Bill, Quaker, recorded minister and and the author of Sacred Compass, has recently hammered out 8 great, and what he calls with tongue planted in cheek, “A Modest Proposal: For the Revitalization of the Quaker Message in the United States.” I printed them all out and read through them
Blog Entries How Krista Tippett is Rocking My World One of the things that has been really inspiring me lately is Krista Tippett’s radio/podcast program “Being,” which as of a month ago was known more widely as “Speaking of Faith.” The show interviews a variety of people from various faiths and perspectives who are doing some really
Blog Entries Our Righteous Lament – Nadia Bolz-Weber Nadia Bolz-Weber, the pastor at the House for All Sinners and Saints, (and blogger at www.sarcasticlutheran.com) has written a beautiful reflection on lament, the recent teen suicides by a number of gay youth, and the loss of covenant in our society. There is quite a strong tradition in
Blog Entries Today is World Habitat for Humanity Day The United Nations has designated the first Monday in October as annual World Habitat Day. It is a day to raise awareness around the importance of there being affordable and safe housing in the world. Safe and affordable housing is not something that is available to everyone and as the
Blog Entries The End of Words Quaker theologian Isaac Penington once wrote: And the end of words is to bring [humanity] to the knowledge of things beyond what words can utter. So, learn of the Lord to make a right use of the Scriptures: which is by esteeming them in their right place, and prizing that
Featured If You Can’t Go Over It, then… One of L’s favorite books, and if we’re being completely honest mine as well, is “We’re Going On A Bear Hunt.” It’s a great adventure story that begs to be interacted with, the pitter-patter of hands on your legs for running, the squishy sounds for mud,
Blog Entries Getting Ready for a New Year in Seminary? As another school year is starting up for all you seminary students I thought I’d link to a few trips and tricks posts I’ve written over the years. Hopefully you find them helpful. * So This Is Your First Year In Seminary? Tips, Tricks and Other Advice * A Resource
Featured There is No Time for Weeping (Jeremiah 8) I thought I would post what I would have said, if I would have preached the other day. (Given that please forgive the very unpolished nature of this piece). The love of a Parent is powerful. For instance, the other night L came running into our room balling. Now typically,
The Theological Joan Baez – Virgin Mary (Had One Son) Re-Watching some of the “No Direction Home” documentary this evening on Bob Dylan and was reminded of this haunting video by Joan Baez. I absolutely love it. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOAAHlYMKYc?fs=1&hl=en_US&w=574&h=456] YouTube – Joan Baez