Author’s note: Although there is a link from a church website to this blog, the opinions expressed here belong solely to the author. I am making no statement on behalf of the church, but simply reflecting my own thoughts on the political landscape. And after all, this is my personal space, so I can do […]
This next area of exclusion is perhaps the most difficult to deal with, since we start moving into questions of orthodoxy and political belief. Yet, congregations very often avoid embracing people on the basis of theology, political affiliation, or ethics. To set up this discussion, I want to share a recent e-mail from a good […]
A quote via Bob Carlton: Jesus was no prophet of “inclusion”, for whom the chief virtue was acceptance and the cardinal vice “intolerance”. Instead, he was the bringer of “grace”, who not only scandalously included “anyone” in the fellowship of “open commensality”, but made the “intolerant” demand of repentance and the “condescending” offer of forgiveness. […]
This is a continuation of this post McLaren and others have been writing recently on colonialism, which is perhaps the greatest barrier for embrace and inclusion in the church. By this, these authors describe the “us and them” mentality that so pervades Western Christianity, especially as regards the missionary impulse. Our models of proclaiming the […]
000_0001.JPG Originally uploaded by jvoorhe. Jordan recently posted about flickr and I had to try it out. At least I know that I have some skills to fall back on if pastoring doesn’t work out…
The Church of Fools went offline this past Sunday night. Unfortunately, my DSL was out all weekend so I missed the closing services and saying good bye to the gang. I’m going to miss the regular chats with folks from all of the world, especially the Brits. Just a reminder that I have set up […]
Not too long ago, I seemed to have time to blog. But somewhere in the midst of the Fall, the ability to find time to write has gone. Fall is the busiest time in the life of the church. Although we may talk about a year round faith, the reality exists in most “traditional” churches […]
Not too long ago, I seemed to have time to blog. But somewhere in the midst of the Fall, the ability to find time to write has gone. Fall is the busiest time in the life of the church. Although we may talk about a year round faith, the reality exists in most “traditional” churches […]
It’s been a while since I have written. As one reader aptly noted, the demands of family, parish, etc. keep getting in the way of my blogging lifestyle. Yet I want to continue thinking about this notion of exclusion and embrace (that is, how the church often excludes people from its embrace). In my last […]
I recommend this post by Jennell. Her insight and willingness to confront easy answers is a great gift. Thanks Jenell. The Paris Project
Back in the late 1960’s and most of the ’70’s there was the development of a movement within evangelical protestantism (or at least the Southern Baptist circles that I ran in) the was promised to be the future of church evangelistic efforts. This movement led to the rise of such luminaries as Jerry Falwell (the […]
Back in the late 1960’s and most of the ’70’s there was the development of a movement within evangelical protestantism (or at least the Southern Baptist circles that I ran in) the was promised to be the future of church evangelistic efforts. This movement led to the rise of such luminaries as Jerry Falwell (the […]
I really am going to try to post tomorrow on Socio-Economic exclusion. Really. I sort of promise. It’s been floating around in my head, but just hasn’t made it to the screen. But now, sleep.
For several months, Andrew Jones has been running his “Suddenly Seminary” discussion area on the Habbo Hotel system in England. Recently, Jordon Cooper has created the “Resonate Lounge” on the Habbo site in Canada. The Habbo folks are in the process of developing the US site, and I have created a space for talk and […]
Here’s an interesting article from David Brooks in the NY Times. Link
Here’s an interesting article from David Brooks in the NY Times. Link
Sorry that the last post came so late in the day. Blogger was acting strange and it took a while to get everything republished. As we end “stumbling toward faith” day here at OWU, I want to post another passage from the book: i heard the shepherd coming a long way off. he was whistling. […]
Renee Altson and I first connected via the blog world. I didn’t know her name at the time, but occasionally I would come upon a comment or a post by someone name Iphy that was full of passion and always very articulate. Later on, we would stumble upon each other at the Church of Fools […]
Renee Altson has written a moving story about her journey of faith calld “Stumbling Toward Faith.” Renee’s story is both heartbreaking, and full of hope as God refuses to let her go even though church folks did their best to push her away. Tommorow, Renee will be posting here and we will be talking about […]
Congratulations to Holly Rankin Zaher who delivered Ellie early this morning. Jim and Holly, we are praying for you.
only wonder understands