Tag: church

From Postliberalism to Preliberalism: A Review of The Church Against the...

Next time we’re drinking bourbon together, I look forward to telling him that he’s got all the right impulses and is coming to the wrong conclusions.

The Consolation of Silence

Your presence is needed. Hush. Stay. Show your love by letting them grieve.

The Census Taker in a Church Pew, part 6

This rural mountain church continues to be good because it continues to do what is necessary.

The Census Taker In a Church Pew, Part 5

Her heart is for those little ones, that they might come to know The One who became a child for our salvation and for the glory of God.

On Bars in Church Basements

Might our local faith communities support such cultivation of virtue, while also restoring what might again be a hub of parish social life?

Craft and Theology: The Renaissance

It almost feels heretical to say that at the center of our religion, indeed our existence, is a God that can be wounded and broken, but this is precisely the Christian claim. We live in a world that can be degraded, and God entered that very degradation in Christ. So might there be a connection between what we do in the world and this world's wounded God?

The Census Taker in the Pew, Part 3

He does not conflate attendance with salvation or sanctification. But empty pews can neither be saved nor sanctified. They never serve in the nursery or children’s services. They never teach Sunday school or tithe. They bring no food for potluck. They do not pray. They do not worship.

Against the Ministry-Industrial Complex, For the Local Membership

Criticizing the ministry-industrial complex does not mean professional resources have no place in ministry. It is not so much their use as their guiding role in congregational life that prevents churches from prioritizing deeper formation. Information and inspiration are good, but congregations must recognize their insufficiency to foster deep and sustained transformation—and must not confuse tools meant to inform and inspire with formation itself.

The Census Taker In the Church Pew, Part 2

At the time of this writing, W. and D., with W. staying at D.’s side, remain faithful attenders of our church’s worship services and Bible studies. How long will this hold? The answer is unknown, but I am watching.

Bono’s Search for Home

To hear that message of tough love for which he seems to be yearning, those who represent the church to Bono will have to have the courage to break through the aura of celebrity and invite a searcher into the true home he is looking for.