The Third Way is like the sweet spot on a golf club — when you hit the ball on the sweet spot you avoid the ball wandering either left or right. This analogy is from Adam Hamilton’s book, Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Thoughts on Religion, Morality, and Politics, and provides us with an opportunity to talk about the struggle of pursuing the Third Way — it will not be the legalism of the fundamentalist or... Read more
How do you read Genesis 32:22-32? Today I want to return to an issue I mentioned in our post about the vigorous conversation over reading the Bible theologically. In that post I mentioned Frances Young’s wonderful book, Brokenness and Blessing: Towards a Biblical Spirituality and in today’s I want to explore how she uses Jacob’s wrestling with God to illustrate how the fathers read the Bible. First, the text: 22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his... Read more
Three acts of advent: adoration, activism, and community-building. I’m struck in the advent stories of how focused they are on the people of God … and today’s text makes that abundantly clear. It comes from Matthew 1:20-21. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the... Read more
Today we relight the first two candles of the Advent wreath. The candle of HOPE and the candle of PEACE. |inline Read more
Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen. Read more
Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen. Read more
A high resolution here: Christine Sine. Read more
Chicago! (Perhaps a little dimmer this week.) Speaking of Chicago in grief over Blagojevich, did you see the powerful plea from Chuck Colson? I go on record here to thank Beliefnet for its policy of advertising. The secret for them is to get the kinds of ads our kind of blog community wants, and yesterday’s experience was frustrating but Beliefnet is working with us us to block the Mormon ads; they took them down yesterday but apparently they are still... Read more
The Third way knows the difference between essentials and non-essentials and lets the Way be shaped by the essentials. In the second chp of Adam Hamilton’s Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Thoughts on Religion, Morality, and Politics we hear an appeal for Christians to focus on essentials. To permit non-essentials to shape our concerns, our relations, and our reputations is, to use the words of Jesus, to “strain gnats.” Hamilton here speaks of Matthew 23:34: “You... Read more
Here’s my suggestion … first take a look at this woman from Brazil and count your lucky stars! Seriously … what have your conversations been? Is this what Marko might look like in a few years? Read more
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