Sunday, June 15, 2014 This week, I’m gathering with Presbyterians from across the country for the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Whatever your faith-community or denomination, I invite you to join with me and with others in morning prayer each day this week, engaging the Pentecost text from Acts 2:1-21. Over the course of this week, I invite you to read and engage the full text of that Scripture in your life and in your prayer. This morning,... Read more
Saturday, June 14, 2014 This week, I’m gathering with Presbyterians from across the country for the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Whatever your faith-community or denomination, I invite you to join with me and with others in morning prayer each day this week, engaging the Pentecost text from Acts 2:1-21. Over the course of this week, I invite you to read and engage the full text of that Scripture in your life and in your prayer. This morning... Read more
[Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of reflections and prayer posts from the biannual General Assembly of the PC(USA), offered by the Rev. Scott Clark, Chaplain and Associate Dean of Student Life at the San Francisco Theological Seminary.] When I travel with my friend Janie Spahr, there’s this moment just before takeoff. We’ve settled into our seats. We’ve snapped our seatbelt buckles into place, low and tight across our hips. The plane takes that slow turn from... Read more
By Timothy Villareal A striking 2009 photo of one of the nation’s most talked about people, Bowe Bergdahl, recently surfaced: the then 23-year-old, wearing his Army fatigues and a yellowish scarf around his neck, is standing at an Army outpost in Afghanistan. He is smoking a pipe. His right hand is on a sand bag, the left hand comfortably in his pocket. The young soldier’s entire pose, down to his right foot about to casually cross the left, bespeaks a... Read more
Part 6: Progressive Reflections on Traditional Christian Themes Engaging in social justice can be challenging, difficult, and risky work. It is easy to understand why many present-day Christians have relinquished this responsibility and redefined the gospel so that it is not about social justice at all. Some Christians think that it is enough to care for those in need and participate in acts of mercy and charity. Ministering to those in need is certainly an essential part of the Christian... Read more
Part 5: Progressive Reflections on Traditional Christian Themes Joel Osteen has been deemed by many as America’s pastor. He is pastor of the largest church in America, and his books have sold in the millions. I scanned Joel Osteen’s book, Your Best Life Now, in search of any serious reflection or discussion on the life, teaching, and death of Jesus and his call to discipleship as presented in the Gospels. It’s not there. That’s not to imply that Osteen doesn’t... Read more
“Bearing beauty includes creating beautiful things and being about beautiful movements in our world…often movements of revolution, redemption and transformation.” — Heatherlyn, singer and songwriter In our second session of the new Bearing Beauty interview series here at Patheos, we’re introducing you to artist and freelance photographer John Noltner. Noltner is the creator and producer of A Peace of My Mind, a multimedia art project that fosters public dialogue about issues related to conflict resolution, civic responsibility, and peace. In 2009, John set out... Read more
The word “heretic” is often thrown around today to denounce someone for espousing an idea deemed “unbiblical” or “unorthodox” or “contrary to the teachings of the church.” It carries a negative connotation, often meant to cast a poor soul out of a community to be shunned, exiled, and sometimes even tortured with words or sharp implements. And in extreme cases, killed and ultimately damned. But as one looks at the history of heretics, one finds quite a few surprises: For... Read more
Part 4: Progressive Reflections on Traditional Christian Themes Wendell Berry’s novel, A World Lost, is a story about a family coping with the death of one of their own. In the final chapter, Berry reflects on the manner of man he was. This meditation gives way to a reflection on death as a pathway into the light of a more advanced spiritual realm. Berry writes: I imagine the dead waking, dazed, into a shadowless light in which they know themselves... Read more
I remember the night my cousin and I planned our funerals. We were teenagers. I was fourteen and she was sixteen. Sitting up late one night, we fantasized about what it would be like when we died; all the people who would show up, who would cry, who would share memories and talk about how much they loved us. Death did not seem like a bad thing to us. Because for us, dying meant that we would finally be noticed; people... Read more
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