Before I dive in to the second part of these installments exploring what Participation can and maybe should look like I want to give an important caveat to everything I write below – especially in light of all this tragedy that has come out of Sovereign Grace Ministries and the JPUSA: You are made in the image of God and that means you are entitled to be treated with the upmost respect and dignity that Christ extended to the “least of these”. If we take Christ’s words... Read more
Labels are inevitable. We need need to understand and identify things. But labeling is difficult. Sometimes we assign a label and unintentionally or unnecessarily implicate individuals or groups who don’t really fit our intended description. Such is the case with the conservative/evangelical Calvinistic-Baptist and Presbyterian resurgence that is busy championing the twin causes of the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation and damnation, and fixed complementarian gender roles in the church and home. You know, the ones coalesced by institutions... Read more
There was a time that picking green beans in my grandparent’s garden and sitting on the front porch snapping off the stems was a spiritual practice for me. There was a sense of community with my Grandparents as they would tell stories, sing songs (often church hymns) and teach me practical life skills like preparing, cooking and eating bacon dressed green beans. Then flash forward thirty-some years and my own mind reels at the transformation of culture and community with... Read more
When I was student teaching during my senior year of college, a student entered my classroom during 8th period wearing a t-shirt that said, “The Head Foundation: Give freely, and give often.” I immediately began writing up a disciplinary referral. He was unfazed. In fact, he started to giggle. “You are the first teacher to notice my shirt,” he said. This student was having a great t-shirt day, and my referral was just icing on the cake. When I was... Read more
This week’s #FFFF isn’t a submission – it’s an excerpt from a recent post written by Hannah over at Hemant Mehta’s blog about the New Calvinist movement and the SGM scandal. It’s so informative, even prophetic – so I had to make it the Free Form Follow Friday this week. FOLLOW HANNAH! Here’s the excerpt: The fallout from this has been fascinating, but it’s all evangelical inside baseball and pretty confusing if you’re not familiar with that world. As someone... Read more
For quite a while now, I’ve been arguing that influential movements within the American church have gone off the healthy, Jesus-centered rails and entered into the realm of empire business. I’ve explored two main categories for this phenomenon – Celebrity Christianity and Controlling Christianity – along with what I believe to be the solution: a deeply-rooted Creative Christianity (though you’ll see more of the “solution” stuff at The Antioch Session). And honestly, the hits just keep on coming. As the... Read more
There are two realities (maybe more?) that we live in these days – virtual and material. I am certainly not the first to take note of this, but it bears repeating. Sometimes the virtual world of social media, emails and texting seems more real than the material world in which my body exists. I walk into a restaurant and see the glow of screens as people share a meal together, but fail to look at or interact with each other... Read more
The American church needs tree farmers in the city. Want to know why? Because when trees are planted the environment is sustained. Once trees are removed in order to make room for some other vegetation (i.e. corn), then the earth must be plowed to make it ready for planting. This process of plowing, planting, and harvesting leads to erosion of the soil. Depending on the area, this process of plowing, planting and picking can take place about ten times before... Read more
I live in a beautiful and diverse neighborhood in northeast Los Angeles. Depending on which way I walk when I step outside my house, I enter either Little Armenia or Thai Town. Some of our favorite local spots are owned by Salvadoran and Filipino families. If I venture out bit further I walk through Koreatown, Little Bangladesh, hipster-filled Sunset Junction, or into the glamor of the Hollywood Hills. This might sound strange, but one of the ways I’ve recently been... Read more
Having recently come through Holy Week, I notice how important personal contact was in the Gospel Story. A woman early in the morning who meets one she thought was a gardener and then goes to tell others, “I have seen the Lord!” Two disciples walking the Road to Emmaus who have an encounter with Another and then go tell others how their hearts were strangely warmed. This is actually present throughout the scriptures. The shepherds go and tell others what... Read more
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