How can our church afford to be guided by a Slow, "Small is beautiful" philosophy when the economic pressure -- either from denominations or from the personal load of debt that our pastors bear -- is driving us to take the tempting shortcuts of "fast church"? Read more
What does Jesus have to do with any of this [in the Slow Church book]? What is preventing a slow church movement from being just another sociological phenomenon, like the slow food movement? Read more
This downward mobility of a life hidden with and free in Christ leads us in a direction and on a trajectory counter to the esteemed goals of our culture. We may fail, but it does not define us. We may fail, but we are loved anyway. We may fail, but we are accepted by God, who has taken our failures upon himself. We may fail, but we are invited to be an honored child of the King. Read more
I've been writing about lectio divina this week, as part of my next book project on Reading for the Common Good. I'm fascinated by the early monastic practice of (almost always) reading aloud, which not only was common practice in that day, but also served to engage the body as well as the mind in learning and meditating upon scripture. Read more
There are short term things that must be done -- legally, politically -- to quell police brutality, but for lasting healing, churches must deal with our messy sins of injustice related to race and violence. Churches have made this mess, and now it's time for us to repent, to turn in the opposite direction and to seek healing and peace, instead of fragmentation and violence. Read more
What are we to do in the face of ISIS? I cast my hope with the people of God. We need government; we need non-profits, and I pray that churches will collaborate with these powers insofar as they foster peace and reconciliation, but their vision is too narrow. Let our work be done first through the church, and not in spite of it. Read more
There's an old runner I know who recently shared a story that I think will be helpful for churches that desire to be healthy. Read more
Slow Church is at its very heart about sin & repentance. McDonaldization in Western culture is a result of human sin operating on both social & personal levels Read more
In her debut book, Jen Pollock Michel offers us an exquisite meditation on what it means to be human, to walk the tightrope between dismissing our desires as evil and wholly abandoning ourselves to them. Read more
While we were on the road promoting the Slow Church book in June, one of our events was hosted in Seattle by the venerable Tom and Christine Sine. Before the evening’s events kicked off, Tom recorded a video interview with us about the book. Watch this conversation in three brief parts below, and be sure to watch the 3rd segment in which John turns the tables and poses a question to Tom! Segment 1: Segment 2:... Read more
Slow Church
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In