I continue to plug away in the late evenings by reading stories of those who have abandoned orthodox Christian theology as I try to map what losing faith looks like. In the last week I read two books. Howard Teeple’s I Started to be a Minister and Christian Rosen’s My Fundamentalist Education. Hard to know where to go now that I’ve brought these two wildly different books up. |inline Read more
We had four gorgeous, write-it-all-down-in-a-journal days here in Chicago for our Labor Day weekend. Cloudless, sunny, temperate, and relaxing. We spent every minute we could on our screen porch reading, talking, eating, editing, and spending time with family. |inline Read more
Next, missional Jesus is emplotted by the Pharisees who want to get Jesus to say something that will get him in trouble — which is still a preferred technique by lots of Christians today. As they refuse to sing the dirge when John Baptist’s voice is heard and as they refuse to dance to the music Jesus plays, so Jesus refuses to play their game. Which is the way, if we have sound discernment, to play the trapper’s game. Here’s... Read more
On the first day of each month we dip into another chapter of John Goldingay’s magnificent . We are in chapter six, “OT Theology: Israel’s Gospel.“God Sealed” is the theme and it deals with the sealing of the Covenant in Exodus 19–24 and beyond. |inline Read more
As you may have guessed, I get lots of books from publishers hoping I will give them some attention on this blog. What has happened, of course, is that this blog has become media and I have become an editor of an online magazine. I am, I guess, a “Blogitor of a Blog-e-zine.” We give every book a fair shot but we can’t possibly mention every one nor would I commend each book I’m sent. So today I want to... Read more
Missional Jesus, facing the evidence of rejection by the seat of power in Jerusalem, tells a parable that reveals once again the potency of judgment in the theme of Jesus. In essence the point is simple: Jersualem is about to be sacked because those invited to the wedding are not showing up. |inline Read more
For those of you who participated in the humorous conversation about our attempt to rid our house of crickets, we want to give a hearty thanks. Late Friday night someone passed on the Dallas Times news article about how to get rid of crickets — orange oil, which we have in the form of Murphy’s Oil Soap. Yep, that did it. Peace and quiet. And we still enjoy the crickets in our back yard plenty. Read more
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.+ Pentecost 14/Proper 17 Read more
Kris got new glasses today, and they have graduated lenses. She’s adjusting to them, but the odd thing is that she’s seeing a little hue — purplish and yellowish — outlining some objects in her distance. She’s not in the mood for jokes! Anyone have a similar experience when starting up with graduated lenses? Read more
We escaped any serious flooding in our area, but Chicago was drenched with rains and flooding for a week. Many in our area will spend weeks cleaning up and drying out. [For some reason, some of my Chicago Tribune links are not available and I wonder if it is because they are a week or so old, and #2 requires signing in to Google. Sorry.] |inline Read more
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