Matt Lipan claims that good neighbors respect property lines, while holy neighbors look for ways to connect over the fence. Expect to be challenged as you read about the difference between a good and a holy neighbor.
In this Seven Minute Seminary, Dr. Gregg Okesson discusses the oral culture of the Bible and how this relates to modern African Christianity, revealing that literacy and orality are not to be posited against one another.
Humanity has always been characterized by a toxic proclivity to exclude. Exclusion in capitalist countries materializes as a war between economic classes. Within families and small communities, exclusion damages or destroys interpersonal relationships. But God’s answer to exclusion is not self-preservation; it is hospitality.
Rev. Canon Andrew White shares how he ended up in Baghdad, Iraq, where he serves at the only Anglican church in the country. He also shares helpful insight into what church life and ministry look like in hostile environments.
Dr. Robert Lupton shares six points based on the ancient physician’s Hippocratic Oath that might help direct the church’s service to the needy.
In my youth group “club,” everyone was very familiar with everyone else, which felt great. We had certain things we talked about, and we were always on the same wavelength. But what about the people who were not a part of the club? They probably thought we were a little weird. Instead of being the grand poobah of a club, I encourage you to be a facilitator of the greatest movement the world has ever known.
Even as a relatively new Christian, there are numerous times that I have heard an impassioned exhortation from the pulpit to serve the “least of these” and by doing so to serve Christ, as it says in Matthew 25:31-46. I began taking my time to look at the text intentionally. What I discovered surprised me, and I began to ask the question — Is social justice the point behind the text? The conclusion that I have come to is: no.
The Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 has gotten a lot of attention of late. Those who want to change The United Methodist Church’s position on same-sex practices cite it frequently. Did James and the other apostles decide that portions of the Mosaic law no longer applied to them? In what ways is our current debate similar to and different from the Jerusalem Council?
What is post-Christendom and what does this mean for how the church engages in gospel ministry? Chris Backert of Ecclesia Network and Missio Alliance shares.
To re-discover that God is at work (and has been at work all along) reshapes our understanding of both individual and corporate purpose—our calling and our ecclesiology. Considering prevenience and mission as intertwined and inseparable brings this post’s four implications to mind.
In this Seven Minute Seminary, Dr. Brian Russell continues his discussion on reading with a missional hermeneutic — this time focusing on Psalm 2 — and shares what difference this makes for the church.
In this Seven Minute Seminary, Dr. Brian Russell shares how we might read Psalm 1 using a missional hermeneutic, and what difference this makes for the church.
