Category: English

ELCA is not the church, by Luther’s definition

Also, for Martin Luther, the real church consisted of people who hear the Gospel and proclaim it, Croghan said. The institutional church arose to aid that mission, “but institutions are not the church.” And, when to ensure their continued existence, such institutions compromise Gospel truth, they can be readily shed, Croghan said.

“The ELCA is not the church, by Luther's definition,” Croghan said.

In an article about congregations in South Dakota leaving ELCA, I came across this quote about ecclesiology. The rest of the article is good too.

via Gay clergy vote splits South Dakota Lutheran churches | argusleader.com | Argus Leader.

Experience in Haiti

I have made almost 8 minutes video with pictures and sounds to describe my experience and feelings in Haiti. In it I use pictures from my travel partners, music and sounds. It is no longer  accessible on the web. If you like to help there are many great organizations doing wonderful work in Haiti. One of them is Haiti Timoun Foundation.

Did Christianity Cause the Crash?

Your Best Life Now, which has fueled a TV show that Osteen claims is now seen in 200 million homes worldwide, opens with a story of a man on vacation in Hawaii. He was “a good man who had achieved a modest measure of success, but he was coasting along, thinking that he’d already reached his limits.” While sightseeing, he and his wife admired a gorgeous house on a hill. “I can’t even imagine living in a place like that,” he said. For this bit of self-deprecation and modesty, Osteen pities the man: “His own thoughts and attitudes,” he writes, “were condemning him to mediocrity,” or what is known in the gospel as the “defeated life.”

via Did Christianity Cause the Crash? – The Atlantic (December 2009).

The Story According to Halldor Elias

My Hotel Room (Photo: Doug Hill)

This text might change as I go through the story and continue to remember more and more details of what happened (last edit 2/12). The picture is of my hotel room two days after the earthquake.

It was Tuesday January 12, 2010 at 4:50pm. I stood in the Courtyard of Hotel Florita in Jacmel, Haiti and had just finished writing a response on my Facebook page. Continue reading The Story According to Halldor Elias

Kennon Callahan

He is the founder of the Center for Continuing Education at Emory’s Candler School of Theology. Dr. Callahan is the founder of the National Certification Program in Church Finance and Administration, providing training and certification for pastors and church administrators. He has received many awards and recognitions, including being elected to the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Church Business Administrators.

via Twelve Keys Seminar with Kennon Callahan via Prof. Doubleday

Teaching Americans What Haiti Needs: Money

Helping people in a disaster area is not all it is cracked up to be. This is an interesting article from New York Times posted on Michigan Chapter of the Red Cross website.

Another widely circulated blog post, “No One Needs Your Old Shoes: How Not to Help in Haiti,” was written shortly after the earthquake by Alanna Shaikh, an international relief and development expert working in Tajikistan. It suggested giving money, not goods; going to volunteer only if you have medical expertise and are vetted by a reputable organization; and supporting the far less immediate task of rebuilding Haiti.

via Teaching Americans What Haiti Needs: Money « Semtourofduty’s Blog.

The original article in New York Times.

idealist.org

Idealist is a project of Action Without Borders, a nonprofit organization founded in 1995 with offices in the United States and Argentina. Idealist is an interactive site where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas, locate opportunities and supporters, and take steps toward building a world where all people can lead free and dignified lives.

via idealist.org – Welcome to Idealist.org – Imagine. Connect. Act..

The Legacy of Guantanamo

In my reading about Haiti, I came across this story. If we don’t know the history, we are doomed to repeat it.

This June marked the tenth anniversary of the closing of the Guantánamo HIV Camp, one of the world’s first, and only, detention centers for people with HIV/AIDS. Today the story is all but forgotten, but at the time it captured people’s conscience, and its demise made headlines.

via The Legacy of Guantanamo.