Relocation to Abandoned Places

New monastic communities are analogous to prophets having been carried out to the desert to hear from God. It’s sort of like the stars, from a city street you can’t see many stars even on a clear night, but from a country field or desert plain, the stars fill the sky. Removed from the chaos [...]

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A City Like a Sore Thumb

God gives the law on a mountain, the prophets predict that people will flock to God’s holy mountain and worship the Lord together there, living according to God’s law. Jesus reminds us that a “city set on a hill cannot be hid” all while standing on a mountainside reiterating the law of God. The point [...]

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Tikkun Olam in Christian Tradition

I’m always delighted to find doctrinal statements that coincide with ancient Hebraic understanding. Today I read the following in The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church. Notably, this represents Anglican, Evangelical, Methodist, and Brethren strains of thought.
We pray and work for the coming of God’s realm and reign to the world and rejoice [...]

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Elorah’s Healing

This is the third time that this has happened, but on the two previous occasions I neglected to write it down.
On Saturday, December 21 Elorah came down with a cold. We took her to the doctor and they put her on an antibiotic in order to prevent the ear infection that was all ready forming. [...]

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Understanding the “Tutor” Analogy

When someone graduates from under a tutor, that person (if they’re wise) does not subsequently abandon the lessons they were taught.  When you learn to shoot a jump shot, you don’t forsake the lay-up. When you learn to parallel park, you don’t stop parking in parking lots. When someone understands the "higher consciousness" of love [...]

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I Believe

I believe it is the great privilege of Christians to imitate Messiah and to represent God’s image to the world by following the commands of Scripture. Whether they be found in the First Testament or the Second, the commandments of God will always reflect the image of God.
The end of the matter; all has been [...]

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A Critical Interpretive Issue

My brother-in-the-Lord, Joel Usina, continues to update and improve his increasingly profound blog. There is a post over there from last month that is short, sweet and to the point, but oh, what a point it makes.
Joel takes up the issue of whether it is consistent to imagine that the Apostles considered Jesus the prophet [...]

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What If?

What if “church” actually benefited its participants rather than burdened them?
What if contributing to the local gathering of saints actually helped each family and each individual practically live life more like God intended?
What if we got together and bought one of the homes that has been foreclosed on in our neighborhood? It sure seems like [...]

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The Celtic Way of Evangelism

I ran across a new book this morning (new to me, at least) that I can’t wait to read. Here’s what interested me:
The Church, in the Western world, faces populations who are increasingly “secular”—people with no Christian memory, who don’t know what we Christians are talking about. These populations are increasingly “urban”—and out of touch [...]

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