“Let us now praise famous men,” is itself about as famous as any self-respecting phrase could ever hope to be. Certainly, it is more bandied about than is any other of those we have lifted whole-cloth out of the Apocrypha. But every once in a while…in a great, great while, in fact…I still want to change the flow of the words a bit and say instead, “Let us now praise famous books.” Once upon a long time ago,... Read more
“Find a quiet place and a comfortable chair. Sit down, don’t cross your legs, rest your hands palms upward and close your eyes. Invite Father to presence Himself with you. Concentrate on your breathing. Centre yourself. Still your mind, focus on Jesus, listen to the rhythm of your breathing”… The roar of an early morning snore nearly makes me fall off my chair. Am I doing this right? Am I sticking to what I learnt on the Soul Spark course?... Read more
In this third post, there is one more missional implication worth mentioning. Emergence can serve as a restorer and rebuilder in breached relationships in abusive Christian contexts. This is very close to my heart since I came out of abusive fundamentalist communities twice in my life. Once as a child and once as a young adult. I couldn’t get the clue the first time, but as a survivor I see clearly how much room there is for this kind of... Read more
Ever notice how good theology is found in life and not the bible. This week, Fred’s wife died suddenly. He tried his best to be with her, but somewhere between Sidney and Victoria on a Handy Dart Bus she drifted out of this world across the threshold into what I can only imagine as infinite mystery. Fred is ninety-four and in this past year has been like that wobbly toy you had as a kid, no matter how hard you... Read more
Shalom is meant to be both personal (emphasizing our relationships with others) and structural (replacing systems where shalom has been broken or which produce broken shalom, such as war or greed-driven economic systems). In shalom, the old structures and systems are replaced with new structures and new systems. The universal expectation for all humanity to live out shalom has been given. Shalom has been decreed. God expects us to make the old way of living new. The Creator requires us... Read more
Around about two years ago I began to wonder- “What did the early Church really look like?” Early in my Christian life, and to this day, I hear people say: “The book of Acts is a blueprint for church life” or “We are restoring the Ephesians 4 ministries, our church will restore Gods’ Kingdom”. My response was to join in, get involved and do the stuff, but in the back of my mind I had some doubts… My journey... Read more
In the second part of this series, Lyotard’s exploration of the historical debate surrounding Auschwitz is a case study in The Differend in which he establishes a powerful message. What do you do when the victims of differend suffer without a voice and die in that state? This is the greatest injustice in Lyotard’s opinion. The horrific acts that occurred at Auschwitz are the most extreme example of this principle. The idiom of the suffering that was experienced cannot be... Read more
I know nothing about Dr. Steve McSwain, but according to his Huffington Post bio, his journey from Christian minister to practicing “a new kind of spirituality” has led him to being called “the voice for the SBNR (Spiritual But Not Religious).” Responding to the new Pew Research showing the continuing rise of the religious “nones” (from ~16% five years ago to ~20% now), McSwain writes about “Why Christianity Is Dying While Spirituality Is Thriving.” Ironically, his article is less about... Read more
During a graduate course in Postmodernity I took a few years ago, I stumbled upon a work by Jean-François Lyotard which continues to resonate in my emerging faith. Though I have never read this elsewhere, I firmly believe Lyotard’s exploration of language games ties in perfectly with the emergence and missional conversations. I’ve excerpted a paper I wrote on the topic to provide some background and philosophical material to explore the ethical and missional implications of the differend for Emergence Christianity.... Read more
I began this conversation I called, See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Heal Me as a challenge to the colonial Western Church to be more inclusive of ethnic minorities at all levels. Here are titles of the prior post: Intro to Series See Me Feel Me Touch Me This series has taken quite a turn of events and has spread to voices well heard and seldom herd, representing both dominant and minority ethnic cultures. Feelings have been hurt and misunderstandings... Read more
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