So the time is finally here. The season most of our folks long for and the children actually pine for is here but are we as a church ready to fulfill those longings? Recently I sat in a team meeting where the focus wasn’t on planning for the Advent season but it did come up. My sense was that as a church we really weren’t ready for this moment.  By that I mean we were not ready to educate our congregation about the meaning of the season.

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The collection of articles that comprise Religion in the New Millennium: Theology in the Spirit of Paul Tillich, are from presentations given at the gathering of international scholars of religion meeting in New Harmony, Indiana in June 1999. The writers were challenged to address current issues of faith and culture through the lens of Tillich’s theology, especially as developed in his classic work The Religious Situation (1926). Not all presenters and writers were students or experts on Tillich or his theology, and that makes for a frustrating sense of unevenness in reading through this volume.

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In many ways my native language has always been dance.  I moved stories before I told them in words, heard music most clearly when it flowed through my body and out again into the waiting space.  In secret my deepest prayers were danced before God.   Perhaps that is why I am drawn to those who, writing about religion, note that we are creatures with bodies.  Christians have some trouble with this reality.  Often, if they affirm their bodily state at all, it is to triumph over it, to deny its power, to dismiss its claims on us.   Rarely do they celebrate the body and own the sheer joy of abandoning oneself to the dance.

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In 1996, Catholic Bishop Pierre Claverie of Algeria was martyred after a lifetime of serving the Christian and Muslim community in that country. Bishop Claverie was convinced that Jesus’ model for table ministry was the key to Islamic-Christian relations. A review of his biography, recently translated into English is featured below.

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Many of us have followed the work being done at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the religious beliefs of American teens.  “Moralistic therapeutic deism” now rolls off our tongues with growing ease, though it does nothing to ease our minds about the future of the church.  I heard the Rev. Rhonda VanDyke Colby do a highly effective job of interpreting the research to a group of pastoral counselors, social workers and medical personnel recently.  As I listened I heard voices from the past.  This is something that often happens to those of us who have more past than others.  I knew that I had heard similar critiques of current beliefs.  Where and when?

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Scott Bader-Saye’s forthcoming book, “Following Jesus In A Culture Of Fear” deals with the issue of the protection of God. In an excerpt published in the July 10, 2007 issue of Christianity Today, Bader-Saye tells the story of a young man who is dying of cancer named Steve who receives a letter from a woman telling him that she knew it was God’s will for him to be healed, all he had to do was believe. Steve replied to her in a letter saying, in part, “I sincerely hope that if my cancer continues to grow, no one will see it as a failure of my faith in God, but that perhaps people can see me as faithful even if I die while I am still young. I do not claim to understand God’s will, but I do know that I am in God’s hands, whether in life or in death.”

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It has been a few weeks since I posted – (the week on the beach at Hattaras was divine). I thought that I might toss out a discussion starter to tap into our collective scripture & historical expertise. The article below addresses a question that I hear often: Why do Catholic Bibles have more books than Protestant Bibles? The article is the Catholic response with additional input from me at the end. I am curious to see samples of Protestant responses to this issue.

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A statement that many find challenging is one that says, “a congregation, while a legitimate expression of church, is not equivalent to it.” (see The Hidden Lives of Congregations) So, here’s a riddle: When is a congregation not a church? And when is a church not a congregation.

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Here’s a site that contains some of my favorite things to talk about: congregations, systems, and design. First take some time to study the concept behind the graphic design of “this is not a church” by Steve Collins.

This is a terrific “visual metaphor” that effectively teaches a concept. Be sure to scroll the screen to take in the full impact and message of the image.

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The following is from the book Myths: Fact and Fiction about Teaching and Learning by Israel Galindo. How well do you know fact from fiction?

MYTH: Penicillin kills bacteria.

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