Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:31-32 NRSV We often look to Paul’s letters for our theology. This particular verse is about our praxis. It… Continue reading Cost of Community
Author: Ian
Public Privacy
It’s not that I have something to hide; I just have nothing I want you to see. The Girl (played by Amanda Seyfried) in the movie Anon Privacy is a nebulous topic. The so-called Constitutional “privacy” of the United States is far more fluid than most people will acknowledge. In fact, based upon recent cultural… Continue reading Public Privacy
The Unspoken Servant
In the Parable of the Talents, there are 3 servants listed: the really successful one, the not as successful one, and the fearful failure. Jesus taught in parables, leaving room to interpret. I’m taking some liberties, I know, though I expect I’m not the first one to think of it. The consensus is that Jesus… Continue reading The Unspoken Servant
Separate and Not
Does the church need buildings? Is the church a building? Does God? Who does?
Rich and Poor
When scripture and Christians discuss rich and poor, what really is being discussed?
Christians and Authority
At the beginning of Christianity, it was an outsider religion, but still functioned within the confines of a restrictive climate. In Romans 13, Paul discusses how Christians are to treat authority. Moving to today, are we really listening to Paul’s words?
Is Love the Most USELESS Word in the US English Lexicon?
Seth Godin recently wrote: Caring is free In the short run, of course, not caring can save you some money. Don’t bother making the facilities quite so clean. Save time and hassle and let the display get a little messy. Don’t worry so much about one particular customer, because you’re busy and hiring more people… Continue reading Is Love the Most USELESS Word in the US English Lexicon?
#Purple for Royalty
Not #Red. Not #Blue. #Purple for royalty. I, like much of the country, am grieving. However, it is not about the election result that I am grieving, but people’s responses to it. I am particularly saddened by people of the church, and truly devastated by the people who provide spiritual leadership in the church…the pastors.… Continue reading #Purple for Royalty
Differing Views on Marriage Versus Importance
In the recent article Here Comes Wedding Season: How Consumers Will Pay for Others’ Big Day in 2016, the amount of money spent by people attending weddings as guests or wedding party members was predicted to increase significantly. The prevalent Christian meme is that secular society is demeaning or devaluing the institution of marriage, yet by… Continue reading Differing Views on Marriage Versus Importance
Devalued
In Podcast 83, Carey Nieuwhoff interviewed Ravi Zacharias, who drew a parallel between pornography and suicide. Zacharias spoke of his recent experience counseling college students during the Passion Conference (starting at 22:55 and paraphrased), where the majority came two talk about two topics: pornography and suicide. He called pornography the “denuding of the other person”… Continue reading Devalued