What characterizes a sort of Western “underground” church doing well within a larger context of the church having been pushed to the margins of society?
The ecstasy of God’s inner life is the model for human community
We seem to sing it better than we conceptualize it. We can muster a hearty rendering of “Holy, Holy, Holy,” probably pondering more about the “early in the morning” wording than the theological verities. I am speaking of the blessed…
The divine dance of the Trinity
Since the 14th century, the first Sunday after Pentecost has been celebrated in the Western Church as “Trinity Sunday,” presumably with the hope that one of these years we’ll figure it out. I’m kidding, but one of the ironies of…
Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit — Who? Me?
La versión en español está disponible aquí. Pentecost Sunday prompted me to reflect again in my personal relationship with the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. One of my first recollections dealing seriously and painfully with this doctrine happened in the…
The language of the Spirit: the way of love
How do you imagine the Spirit? The creeds speak of God in three persons, and the Spirit is often referenced as such. Some scholars note that the creeds meant something different than what we mean when we use the word…
It’s the Church’s birthday, not its funeral
I’m not going to tell you my age but not because I’m embarrassed by the number. I’m not that old yet. I’m only partly kidding. No matter what I have collected — a couple of degrees, student loans, a marriage…
Letting go – moving on (The metaphorical meaning of an Easter story)
In the story world of John’s Gospel Jesus tells the disciples that he is going away, but he would not leave them without his presence. How could that be? Most spiritual truth is paradoxical in nature. The Father, says Jesus,…
Lord, give us a bishop
Looking over the landscape of Baptist churches, there are days when we might rightly cry out, “Lord, give us a bishop!” Too often, churches use their full autonomous rights to make awful hiring decisions. Not all the time, but not…
Is your denomination slowly committing suicide?
For decades we have known that persons who smoke multiple packs of cigarettes per day are slowly committing suicide. Many of these people did not want to commit suicide. Some claim they did not know they were committing suicide. At…