The Union Project is an interesting postmodern gathering spot, offering all kinds of opportunities to mostly young adults in Pittsburgh, PA. It is also a meeting place for an Emergent Church called Open Door.
Category: English
Interesting Books
The Dialogue between the Lutheran and The Roman Catholic Church from a very sceptic perspective. – Christian Contradictions: The … – Google Book Search.
Articles about Religion and Culture, among them an article by Emil Brunner about the Non-Church Movement – Religion and Culture: Essays in … – Google Book Search.
Emerging Leaders Network – Sharing stories, experiences, resources, hopes, dreams, and prayers.
A forum for Lutherans exploring the Emerging movement in the Church.
Emerging Leaders Network – Sharing stories, experiences, resources, hopes, dreams, and prayers..
Employment
When it comes to employment in churches, two books that can be of some help.
More than Fine Gold, from Episcopalian Church
What Color is your Parachute?
Litigation
It pays to be a little paranoid when it comes to counseling, beats litigation at least.
Mission websites
Two interesting mission websites:
www.friendsofmissional.org
www.worldmap.org
Revelation and Systematic Injustice
Systematic Injustice is addressed most vocally in Revelation, while other NT writings are more focused on personal moral issues. In Revelation misuse of power, slavery and the rich claiming on the back of the poor are addressed.
Is the Church dying?
How is the death rate in our church compared to the general population? A study on the UMC.
The Second Coming Of The Church: George Barna: Books
Probably an important read about the church future. Old, but could be interesting to compare to today’s trends.
Amazon.com: The Second Coming Of The Church: George Barna: Books.
“Who Do You Say that I Am”
“Jesus said unto them—“Who do you say that I am?”
And they replied:– “You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground of our being, the kerygma in which we find the ultimate meaning of an interpersonal relationship.”
AND JESUS SAID UNTO THEM: “WHAT?”
via “Who Do You Say that I Am”.
—-
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground of our being, the kerygma in which we find the ultimate meaning of an interpersonal relationship.”
And Jesus answered him, “WHAT???”
Who Do You Say I Am?
“You are my Oppressed One, my soul’s shalom, the One who was, who is, and who shall be, who has never left us alone in the struggle, the event of liberation in the lives of the oppressed struggling for freedom, and whose blackness is both literal and symbolic.”
Sharing
To share we have to be able to receive not only give.
Integrity
Integrity requires congruence. The goal is not so much congregational perfection as consistency. Within a congregation, the ideal is to have three views of the congregation aligned:
- what you say about your church
- what people perceive your church to be
- what an objective analysis of your church would reveal
Few interesting links about Atheism
London Journal – Atheists Send a Message, on 800 British Buses – NYTimes.com.
A somewhat helpful list, when namedropping is needed. – The 50 Most Brilliant Atheists of All Time.
Amazon.com Books Bestsellers: The most popular items in Atheism.
NY Times address the more proactive strand of Atheism in an article yesterday. – More Atheists Shout It From the Rooftops – NYTimes.com.
The unpolite minority
It is interesting how all groups considered to be either minority- or oppressed groups are accussed of not knowing proper way of communication when they finally speak out.
Leadership Traits
What people think a leader is: Hope, Trust, Care, Spirituality.
Islam “ecclesiology”
How does Islam understand its “ecclesiology”?
Local or global
The first time we come across the concept of universal church, as something more than a group of local churches is in Ephesus according to a handout I saw somewhere.
The Financial Collapse in Iceland and the church
“Looking back we might say we failed… the prophetic voice of the church was not loud enough” – Karl Sigurbjornsson, the Bishop of Iceland on the failure of the country’s state religion to have any impact on the financial disaster which has devastated Iceland.
BBC – BBC World Service Programmes – Heart and Soul, 04/04/2009.
If Your Church Closed Today…
Think about that for a moment. Make a list of the people and groups in your community outside your membership who would miss your church. What would they miss? Repeat the exercise a year later. Is the list longer or shorter?