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.
Ég kaus Guðfríði Lilju
Í vefheimum hef ég á stundum verið sakaður um hægrimennsku og jafnvel verið af sumum verið talinn kristin öfgahægrimaður.
Mér þykir því rétt að taka fram að í kosningum til Alþingis 2009, kaus ég Vinstri græn og þar með Guðfríði Lilju í Suðvesturkjördæmi. Ég er stoltur og ánægður með þessa ákvörðun mína og viðtalið við Kolbrúnu Halldórsdóttur í gær, eða orð Steingríms um raunverulega stöðu Flugleiða hafa ekki haft nein áhrif á það stolt mitt, heldur þvert á móti. Stjórnmálamenn sem segja sannleikann, segja hug sinn þrátt fyrir að það sé “ekki hentugt” er það sem við þurfum núna. Þegar Katrín Jakobsdóttir svaraði kröfum um sumarlán með orðunum að það þyrfti að reikna það út og lofaði engu, eða þegar sama Katrín sagðist eiga von á skattahækkunum og launalækkunum, þá sýndi hún og sannaði hvernig stjórnmálamenn eiga að tala.
Glæpamenn og mútuþegar, sem telja að hagsmunir almennings séu minna virði en góð veiðiferð, eða það sé í lagi að þingmenn þiggi greiðslur frá fyrirtækjum fyrir að lána nafnið sitt á pappíra, er ekki fólk sem þarf til að stjórna landinu. Einstaklingar sem neita að gefa upp hagsmunatengsl sín, nema aðrir geri slíkt hið sama minna mig á stráka í Vatnaskógi, sem byrja vörn sína á orðunum “hann byrjaði” og bæta síðan við “ÞAÐ GERA ÞETTA ALLIR”. Slík viðbrögð eru ekki sæmandi einhverjum sem sækjast í leiðtogastöður, heldur eru viðbrögð aumingja og tuskudúkkna.
Það má vel vera að fjárhagur landsins versni, það má vel vera að við einangrumst enn frekar. En kjarkur til að standa upp fyrir skoðanir sínar er það dýrmætasta sem nokkur getur átt. Það er þess vegna sem ég kýs vinstri græn að þessu sinni.
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.
Við erum ekki þá
Röksemdafærsla Sigrúnar Jónsdóttur um annað umhverfi nú en þá gengur því miður ekki upp lengur. Fortíðin sem Sigrún er að verja, er forsenda þess ástands sem við glímum við núna. Án vitneskju um þá fortíð er ómögulegt að takast á við daginn í dag. Continue reading Við erum ekki þá
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?
UCC and new Churches
UCC just recently published a report about new congregations in their system and how the stand in comparison to longer active congregations.
Why Do They Hate Us?
Michael Spencer addresses reasons why people dislike evangelical Christians.
internetmonk.com » Blog Archive » iMonk 101: Why Do They Hate Us?.