Justice that Leavens the World.

November 12, 2014 by 2 Comments
Locust effect

While in the DC area this week speaking and promoting Slow Church, I had the opportunity this morning to visit a friend of mine who works at International Justice Mission (IJM).  I had the privilege of sitting in on IJM's daily prayer service today, where they shared various facets of their work and offered thanksgiving and requests in prayer.  IJM is doing powerful work around the globe, diligently working for the justice of women, fighting the sex trade, working to end the violence that lies at the root of much poverty and injustice in the world.At the same time, I am reading Scot M … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conversations, Justice, What is Slow Church? Tagged With: , , , , , 2 Comments

The Christology of Slow Church?

August 23, 2014 by 2 Comments
The_Crucifixion

My friend Tato Sumantri, of Church of the Servant King in Eugene, Oregon (which incidentally hosted one of the Slow Church events that John and I did in the Pacific Northwest in June) recently sent me an email with a couple of very thoughtful questions about the Slow Church book.  This is the second and final post in response to Tato:[ AND HERE is Tato's first question on Sin and Repentance ]  “What does Jesus have to do with any of this [in the Slow Church book]? What is preventing a slow church movement from being just another sociological phenomenon, like the slow food movement? We ar … [Read more...]

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J.R. Briggs – FAIL [Patheos Book Club]

August 21, 2014 by 3 Comments
Fail-FINAL-COVER

[ This post is part of the Patheos Book Club discussion of FAIL ]Fail: Finding Hope and Grace in the Midst of Ministry Failure. J.R. Briggs IVP Books, 2014One of the characteristics of McDonaldization named in sociologist George Ritzer’s important book, The McDonaldization of Society, is the desire for control. As John Pattison and I have argued in the  Slow Church book, the effects of McDonaldization have become deeply entrenched in churches, just as they have in the broader culture.  One of the bitter fruits of the desire for control that I have observed in churches is a deep ave … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Books, Conversations, What is Slow Church? Tagged With: , , , , 3 Comments

Hope for Iraq. For other conflict zones. And for the world.

August 10, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Hope

By now you probably have heard about Jeremy Courtney who launched the hashtag #WeAreN, as a show of solidarity for persecuted Christians in Iraq.   Courtney founded the non-profit Preemptive Love, which works in Iraq, to "[eradicate] the backlog of Iraqi children waiting in line for lifesaving heart surgery" and pursuing "peace between communities at odds."Courtney recently did an interview with Huffington Post Religion editor Paul Rauschenbusch, which grabbed my attention.  Specifically, he said: We need a long-term plan, not just a short-term fix. There are agencies helping Christians, Y … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, Peace, What is Slow Church? Tagged With: , , , , , Leave a Comment

The Parable of the Old Runner

August 6, 2014 by Leave a Comment
OldRunner

There's an old runner I know who recently shared a story that I think will be helpful for churches that desire to be healthy. (Actually, it probably would be helpful for all communities: neighborhoods, other faith communities, etc., but this is the Slow CHURCH blog after all and our audience here is mostly Christian).  The Old Runner realized earlier this year that after over a decade of pretty-much-not-running, he had grown fat and out-of-shape. So, he worked hard for several months, and started running regularly, and felt himself getting back into decent shape, and worked up to … [Read more...]

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Tom Sine Interviews us About Slow Church

July 21, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Slow Church Cover

While we were on the road promoting the Slow Church book in June, one of our events was hosted in Seattle by the venerable Tom and Christine Sine.Before the evening's events kicked off, Tom recorded a video interview with us about the book.   Watch this conversation in three brief parts below, and be sure to watch the 3rd segment in which John turns the tables and poses a question to Tom!  Segment 1:    Segment 2:      Segment 3: (John turns the tables on Tom...)      … [Read more...]

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Slow Church Conference Recordings (The Complete Set)

June 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Slow Church Conference

Here are all the conference recordings from April's Slow Church Conference at Englewood Christian Church in Indianapolis. These talks are an important supplement to our book, bringing other, wiser voices into the Slow Church conversation. And for an even deeper look, we highly recommend the books that our speakers have written. (Titles and links can be found on the pages for each talk)Please listen, download and share these recordings as you see fit.Talk #1: Willie James Jennings (Duke Divnity School) “A Place of Redemption: Putting Church on the G … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conferences, Conversations, Theology, What is Slow Church? Tagged With: , , , , , Leave a Comment

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