Our church staff did an exercise called visio divina yesterday. I borrowed and adapted this idea from my friend Dan Wilburn who has been experimenting with it lately. We all know of lectio divina or “divine reading” of the scripture. The visio is about a divine viewing. It’s based around the idea that this is a God-bathed world and that God is lurking everywhere, always ready to show up and teach us something about ourselves, God’s self, or the world... Read more

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SESSION FOUR: Before it was called Europe, this land was known as Christendom. In the post Christendom era of the church we don’t “have” a mission, we “are” a mission…the gospel is not something which is proclaimed so much as it is something that is embodied. Thus we must own the idea that theology is always incarnational. [ ASIDE: I would agree with that statement, except that I would emphasize that this should have always been our theology/ecclesiology. I have... Read more

SESSION THREE How to find yourself if you are lost is sort of like GPS – it works by triangulation. He has three points on the triangle which have big circles around them which form rings. – Context and Culture– Gospel and Theology– Structures and Church Context and Culture:Who are we? What is our language, what is our social setting. Most of us cannot talk about our lives. We have now we are actually living our lives and how we... Read more

I’m attending a conference at Jacob’s Well church here in town lead by Tim Keel. I’ve been taking a few notes and just wanted to post them here in case anyone is interested! Pretty thought provoking stuff so far. I’ve only been able to transcribe the first 2 of the 4 sessions so far. I’ll do more later: SESSION ONE / A World in Flux: Location, Navigation, and the Dynamics of Being Lost THESIS:As a culture we are disoriented and... Read more

If you have an extra moment, please go read about the world hunger crisis and if you feel so inclined, sign this petition for the G8 conference coming this summer. They really need to act now on behalf of the world’s poorest people. Then, if you’ve never seen the movie The Girl in the Cafe rent it and watch it and you’ll be incredibly glad that you signed the petition. It’s a powerful show which explains the power and political... Read more

Pray Where you Are – The Lost DogsI’ve been praying the hours for the past five years. My general practice is to use the Book of Common Prayer liturgy for the morning prayers. I just do it online. That way I’m reading along with the lectionary readings – which syncs me up with a lot of Christians around the world. The rest of the day I generally do the Divine Hours stuff from Phyllis Tickle – though I’m pretty lame... Read more

This was the readign in the BCP hours this morning. I really enjoy this part of the online liturgy of the hours from Mission St. Claire. They include a reading about a saint of the church for almost every morning. Read this article if you get a chance – at least the first couple of paragraphs. There are two things that stuck out to me: First: an analogy from Martin Luther. He that human nature is like a drunkard trying... Read more

A video of one of my favorite bands…this song is how I feel right now. There is something wrong with me…shoulders shrugging off…Picking apples for kings and queens of things I have never seen…cheer up.Cheer up, honey, I hope you canThere is something wrong with meMy mind is filled with silvery starsHoney, kisses, clouds of fogShoulders shrugging offCheer up, honey, I hope you canThere is something wrong with meMy mind is filled with radio curesElectronic surgical wordsPicking apples for kings... Read more

Here is a quick synopsis of a very good book on the subject of atonement and salvation in the Old and New Testaments. Green is an incredible scholar. CHAPTER ONE: Being Human, Being SavedAs his starting point, Green stipulates that although humankind is the preeminent creation, it is important to imbed our Soteriology in the context of the redemption of the entire cosmos. Citing Charles Taylor, he traces his critical assessment of the Modern view of human persons as autonomous... Read more