postmodernpilgrim

"Solitude does not necessarily mean living apart from others; rather, it means never living apart from one's self." -Parker Palmer, from A Hidden Wholeness

i received some interesting comments in response to my posting re: a church's attempt to set a world record for the world's largest potluck buffet. i also received an email from one of the organizers of this event, which sheds some light as to the focus and direction of the potluck. the potluck serves as a mission/outreach event for the church and local community organizations like the Salvation Army, Boys and Girls Club, local missions and night shelters, and other local churches and civic organizations were invited to attend. the church decided not to pay extra fees to ensure its "World Record" status and a representative from the Guinness Book of World Records will not be on hand (which apparently is an additional cost) to verify. the burden of proof will be upon the church to prove its claim to "World's Largest Potluck Buffet" with pictures and other verifiable data. the email also stated that the record was not the focus but a benefit of organiz...

in honor of Women's History Month, i am reading through some of my favorite women theologians work. already posted about Phyllis Tickle's The Great Emergence , now onto Robert Ellsberg's compilation of the diaries of Dorothy Day, The Duty of Delight , and then stopping back by Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki's God, Christ, Church: A Pratcical Guide to Process Theology . i know that this is only scratching the surface so i am putting it to you, the reader, to suggest your favorite women theologians to me for further reading. also, if you know of a good treatment of the church and female imagery, would love to have titles on this as well. as a sidenote, i have already received a ton of rec's for Diana Butler Bass so if you are recommending her, please be specific about which of her books you would suggest go first on my reading list. thanks, in advance, for your reader participation.

"Confessing Christ is not a matter of parroting biblical truths. It is possible to say all the right things, to be impeccably orthodox in one's theology, and still to be fatally disloyal. Loyalty to Jesus Christ occurs only when our confession of him is concrete.... The confessing church is a radical alternative. It rejects the individualism of the conversionists, the secularism of the activists, and a matter peculiar to them both: the equating of faithfulness with effectiveness (or with working for effectiveness).... It is committed first of all to restructuring neither society nor the heart but the church according to the will of God. The church restructured will be a church of reconciliation, a church of nonconformity, and a church of the cross." -George Hunsinger from Disruptive Grace

a local church will seek to make the impossible possible this Sunday by attempting to set a world record for the world's largest potluck buffet. which makes me wonder...is it events like this one that contribute to the feeling that the church has nothing of great import to offer them? i am certainly not pinpointing this one event as exhibit A but it is a compelling example: a community of faith attempting to build a monument to excess and gluttony. it is my hope that the proceeds of the potluck will benefit some greater good or that the potluck is open to those truly in need of a warm, filling meal. i am reminded of Ronald J. Sider's seminal work entitled Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity , which exposed thousands within the church to look outside of themselves to see the realities of world poverty and world hunger, that as they enjoy the benefits of affluence each day, roughly 30,000 children worldwide die of starvation. my wife says t...

But WE are the church. The "institutional church" is the last thing Jesus had in mind. Nor is there a scintilla of evidence that he thought his presence in history would prevent us from worshiping with his Jewish brothers and sisters. And so when we say we are the church, we ought to include all ... all who trace their origins to the way God revealed God's self to Abraham. (And we cannot be exclusive about that, either.) So, okay. How many times have you heard it? We are the church. So what does that mean for those who continue to struggle in institutional churches, synagogues, mosques where the vast majority do not get the Justice message of Yahweh, Jesus of Nazareth, and the Prophet? What does it all mean for those of us who have expended an unconscionable amount of energy trying to work for reform and Justice from within the institutional church? Some, I am sure, are called to continue to work from within. But for those to whom the "unconscionable" adjective ...

On Sunday morning, a car drove by a Dallas club and opened fire on the crowd gathered outside. Jessica Chane' Waldron and friends were waiting outside for the valet to pull their car around. Chane' was shot during the incident and died later of her wounds. I had the incredible opportunity to work with Chane' at SMU while in Residence Life and Student Housing. Chane' brought her energy, excitement, and bright, shining personality to everything she encountered. She was an excellent RA, an authentic life-assistant to the young men and women of McElvaney who were attempting to navigate their first years at SMU. Chane' will be greatly missed by so many people. Please join me in prayer for friends, family, and all those touched by the life of Jessica Chane' Waldron. Please join me in prayer for all those affected by senseless violence. Please join me in prayer for those who take an active role in senseless violence, that their hearts and lives may be transfor...

"The chief thing that separates us from God is the thought that we are separated from God." -Thomas Keating from Open Mind, Open Heart

"I confess I'm still not sure what it means to "be" church. Been in it since infancy, and still don't know what it means---to be it, to do it. Yesterday's poem reminds me how tricky it can be even to find the entry points when folks have such different ways of trying to open the door ... some that turn out to be threatening, deadly even. I haven't lived through bodily bloody "Christian" violence, but I've had enough of those "Are you saved?" moments, times when "the preacher would trounce my tender sins"... and "true believers come knocking to tell me that flaming hell is real" to run from overly eager saviors of my soul, bearing their ideas of 'truth,' 'right answers' and 'one way or no way.' Sometimes I don't step away fast enough and my eyebrows get singed, my heart contracts, and I find myself scanning the room for exits. So I'm thinking if love is the mark of the church, then...