I have always enjoyed reading Ray Anderson (Fuller). Recently I was rereading, The Shape of Practical Theology and his one of his phrases in chapter eight gripped me and I have been sitting with it ever since. “Obedience by itself
The other day my son (four years old) made a disturbing confession. He boldly declared, (and I paraphrase), “I have two Gods. One tells me to do good, and one tells me to do bad.” Apparently some Marcionite has been
Here is a great article by Dr. Elaine J. Ramshaw titled: Power and Forgiveness in Matthew 18. The article first appeared in Word & World. Peace, dwight
A comment in a student’s paper this Spring has been lingering in the back of my mind. Dale Helt re-framed the classic Evangelical litmus-test question by exchanging the word “personal” for “communal.” The question, as he voiced it was, “Do
If you have visited my site before than you know that I take pretty seriously the notion that relations form identity. I would go so far to say that understanding of self is impossible without the other. As I sit
Leadership is an Art, by Max DePree The Tale of Three Kings, by Gene Edwards The Emergence of Leadership, by Douglas Griffin Connective Leadership, Jean Lipman-Blumen Complexity and Management, by Ralph D. Stacey The Paradox of Control in Organizations, by
Which came first? The chicken or the egg? In a brief conversation with Marty Folsom (Seattle-area theologian/counselor), he highlighted some possible connections between recursion theory and relational theology. The language of recursion was new to me and I have much to learn. This
In the theological process of crafting statements addressing the many and various issues which inevitably arise in the process of life (for example), there is often a summary statement followed by a series of articles of affirmation and denial. These affirmations/denials are an
Toward the Heart of the Matter by Eberhard Jungel Eberhard Jungel is professor of systematic theology and philosophy at the University of Tubingen. Toward the Heart of the Matter was translated by Paul E. Capetz, July 15, 1990. This article
“Where’s your passion?” “I’ve lost my passion?” “I can’t find my passion?” “Has anyone seen my passion?” I’m beginning to wonder whether passion might be a tad over-rated. Maybe we are passion-crazed like we are sex-crazed. Don’t get me wrong
In a student’s paper I was reading, there was an insightful comment about “fans” and “teams” that got me thinking . . . who is part of the team? How important are fans to teams? Are fans part of the team?
My friend, teacher, and colleague, Brian McLaren will be posting here on this journal tomorrow, Monday, May 9th. Brian’s blog tour (including: Tallskinnykiwi, Jordan Cooper, Jen Lemen, Paradoxology, and Pomomusings), will be a conversation regarding his newest, and arguably most
Following up to my “U-Theory and the Cross” post. One aspect of the U-Theory that Senge and the rest did not seem to speak to was the process of ongoing transformation. In my personal life – especially my spirituality –
In a conversation with Terry O’Casey over the weekend, we got to discussing the idea of Biblical inerrancy; more specifically the role of inerrancy within narrative vision of Scripture. It could be argued that the doctrine of inerrancy as defined
My friend Kyle, passed along an interesting article in USA Today (April 20, 2005): “Picking apart the ‘Big Bang’ brings a big mystery.” “From colliding atoms: Instead of a hot gas of independent particles, top, experiments generated a ‘perfect’ liquid
I’ve been giving some more thought to the connections of Cellular Mitosis with church growth and church planting. The body of Christ appears to be a not unlike a multi-cellular living organism. Multi-cellular living organisms contain more than one cell
Presenting “emerging theology” at the mission_shaped_church learning party sponsored by Karen Ward and the Church of the Apostles. April 17, 2005 Peace, dwight
Paragraph The reflective and discursive book, Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future by Peter Senge, Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski and Betty Sue Flowers invites readers into the exploration and development of the “U-theory” of learning and change.
Among the many intriguing characters of Holy Scripture is the Northern Kingdom prophet Hosea(circa 8-7 century BC). He’s the man God called to marry a “prostitute” named Gomer as radical form of prophetic performance art. It’s a tragic relational story.
There have been times throughout Western history when people talked as though the spiritual mattered, and the physical did not. Soul = good; body = bad. The move to holistic viewing of the human person in community seems like a
For nearly as long as the church has existed so have Creeds. Creeds are the “I/we believe . . . ” statements of the people of God. As with all text, once it is “written” and made available(whatever the medium)
For many, if not most people, today’s observation of “St. Valentine’s day” has come to underscore some of the deepest pains and greatest longings of our lives. The day is also one of the very few days on our calendar
In one of the courses I get to guide this term, we’re using Michael Polanyi’s ground breaking text, Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy. As I’ve been preparing and revisiting Polanyi I am undone by his courage, as he stands
In a recent conversation with some friends who are engaged to be married (congrats Thomas & Kelly) we got to talking about themes for their upcoming wedding. We batted a few ideas around the one that seemed to generate the
Sheryl raised some great questions in her reply to my Dec 28th post. The claim is often made that “truth is truth” with the assumption that such a claim stands on its own. Why should we expect it to? For
