Ask most church-going folks what they love best about Sundays and they will likely point to two things, worship services and a day of rest (even if the latter is more idealized thinking than reality). Skimming the newspaper, listening to National Public radio, enjoying some waffles, and, oh yes, sliding into a pew for some hymns, prayers, and a sermon; what a lovely Lord’s day morning.
By Dr. Mike Graves, Guest Preacher When back in 1999 I felt led to have my ordination recognized by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), I never could have imagined the role our church would play. The Committee on Ordination and Standing that I met with was incredibly supportive, comprised of several Read More...
A former colleague of mine had a saying taped to his door at the seminary, “A drop of ink may cause a million to think.” There’s no doubt in my mind, the written word can touch people. In this case, I have no illusions that this article will reach a million people, but a modest number counts all the same. Besides, the topic itself is rather small, about 20 pounds in this case.
Theologians distinguish between two broad streams of thinking about God – kataphatic and apophatic. You can’t use these in Scrabble, but they are worth knowing. The former focuses on what can be known about God, whereas the latter stresses what can’t be known.
Tom Long who used to teach at Candler School of Theology in Atlanta says that for a lot of church-going folks, the Christian year with its different seasons is about as interesting as sitting down in a Chinese restaurant only to discover it’s the year of the rooster. Who cares? The answer in the latter case is the Chinese. It’s a traditional way for them to mark time. The answer in the former case is obvious enough too, Christians, a way for us to mark time.
For the uninitiated, FaithPub consists of the potent combination of three things: beer, testosterone and spiritual conversation. Lots of bars feature the first two items, with the latter often focusing on Tom Brady’s latest heroics, that sort of thing. But in this case, FaithPub is a men’s group ministry of our Read More...
