By Michelle Van Loon, patheos.com/blogs/pilgrimsroadtrip at michellevanloon.com There are some very good reasons for church leaders not to trust a congregant. Some are obstructionists, determined to resist all change. Others engage in politicking and clique-forming. Still others enter the church with agendas, addictions, or abusive tendencies. There is wisdom in maintaining good boundaries with a member possessing toxic tendencies that must be balanced with the call to shepherd even the balky or difficult sheep, not just the lovable ones. But sometimes distrust... Read more

When it comes to theology and to practice, grace is sometimes ignored. Yes, of course, those who ignore grace believe in it but either their theology or the practice ignores it. Others use grace against others, what I call grace grinding. That is, grace is used to drive home and drill in to another that they are not worthy of God’s grace. Instead of having a positive theology grace here is entirely negative. Others see grace as a religion in that for them... Read more

From Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon, Holy Spirit: Stanley is a communicant in a congregation whose baptistery is in the form of a large cross making possible baptism by immersion. … Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Stanley’s church has determined that when a member of the congregation dies, the body is brought to the church the day before the funeral and the coffin is placed on the baptistery. Members of the church then stay with the body through the... Read more

Source: 1. The U.S. women’s relay teams praying live on camera after winning both the 4X100 and the 4X400 meter relays. Not only did our U.S. women’s relay team dominate the 4X100m and the 4X400m relay races, but they prayed live on camera immediately after their win. Allyson Felix, who ran in both races, herded her teammates into a huddle before they took their victory lap and they bowed their heads in prayer. 3. Gold medalist beams about ‘glorifying God’ after historic U.S. women’s sweep on... Read more

Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. BCP Read more

Great sports story I saw this week about Archie Manning: Buddy didn’t tell his son that he loved him—it wasn’t in his makeup to reveal the bedrock of his emotions—but Archie understood that his dad was his second-biggest fan, just behind his mom, who had attended every game in every sport that he had played since Archie could throw a ball. Buddy, at 5’ 6”, had been a standout offensive lineman at Drew High when he was a teenager, and... Read more

By John Frye David, the poet-warrior-king wrote a fascinating three act play. It is referred to as David’s “shepherd psalm,” yet it is so much more than that. Psalm 23 is a miniature drama of redemption. Here I part company with Keller’s A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. While Act 1 is definitely set as a shepherd/sheep scene (Ps 23:1-4), verses 5 and 6 present two entirely different scenes. The drama celebrates God in three distinct images and each image... Read more

CNN: Confirmed: US relay team given re-run After lodging an official appeal, the United States 4×100 relay team has been offered a chance of redemption. Allyson Felix had been handing over to English Gardner at the second exchange when she was nudged by a Brazilian sprinter. The Brazilian team has now been disqualified, and the US team will return to the track for a re-run at 20:00 local time. Racing alone, they’ll have to beat China’s time of 42.70s to... Read more