An end of the year article by Phyllis Tickle (Emergent Village) urged readers to “join the sacred game.” Tickle was asking for reader feedback, but the phrase gave me pause. Authors have described the Christian life of interaction with God, other Christians, and the larger world in various ways, but I like this picture: join …
Category Archives: Renewal
Why I Like Main and Oklahoma
We had visitors yesterday. I like visitors–Nevada, West Virginia, Texas, our own community…. Our college students were home for fall break. The visitors help make up for the travelers. It is easy to become bored with the sameness of church week after week. Progress is not always evident. Sometimes it seems we experience the proverbial …
Holy Dissatisfaction
I have noted that lots of negative adjectives are somehow improved in the Christian vocabulary by prefixing “holy”. Anger may be a problem, but “holy anger” makes us like God. I avoid wrath, but is not a little “holy wrath” God-like? I am dissatisfied! If it makes you feel better, mine is a holy dissatisfaction. …
How Should We “Do” Church? (4): Worship and Preaching
WORSHIP AND PREACHING: DO WE REALLY KNOW HOW TO DO CHURCH? [Note: you can link to previous blogs in this series: (April 20, April 27, May 4) .] Recently, I was visiting with a friend. He shared an observation from an acquaintance outside the churches of Christ: “You guys have the best preaching around but …
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Church “Wellness”
In psychiatry, researchers study not just the manifestations and causes of mental dysfunction or illness, but also ‘wellness,’ that which helps the patient become ‘more well.’ In education and business, for students and for companies respectively, increasingly the emphasis is to explore and develop strengths rather than focusing on weaknesses. In analyzing developing countries, debt …