I have been thinking about the church and technology a lot lately. Part of it comes from planning to update a sanctuary constructed in 1951. Some of it has to do with recruiting a team to handle all the tech stuff at 'church plant'. A bit of it came from the odd analogy that was used repeatedly … Read more about Apple Updates and the Church
Reclamation, Religion and Consumerism’s Bricolage: in conversation with Philip Clayton
A couple of weeks ago I had a very interesting conversation with Philip Clayton. Several of us went out for lunch after the High Gravity session on Religion & Science. We were at a restaurant where the walls were decorated with a busy collection of reclaimed signs, old pictures and repurposed … Read more about Reclamation, Religion and Consumerism’s Bricolage: in conversation with Philip Clayton
The Limits of Labels
I have insomnia tonight - a rare occasion these days. I’m not in the mood to read any more about the use of Gadamer’s hermeneutical circle in Practical Theology so I brewed some coffee and revisited some of the online happenings from the past couple of months. I found 3 pairs of things that I … Read more about The Limits of Labels
Who Am I To Judge? an honest question
It is no secret that I am a fan of many of the things (not all) that the new Pope has been up to. So I was very intrigued when it came out that on his cross-Atlantic flight he took the airplane microphone and addressed reporters. I was also surprised by the reports of the following … Read more about Who Am I To Judge? an honest question
The Thing With Labels
On this week's TNT I proposed that labels can be good and helpful. They don't need to be divisive or negative. Now some people want to eschew labels all together. I get why they might want to do that but I find that not only a daunting task but a nearly impossible way to proceed through society … Read more about The Thing With Labels
There is a Difference Between Liberal and Progressive
Roger Olson caused some ripples last week when he posted “Why I am not a Liberal Christian”. Then Scot McKnight went and took it even farther with “What is a Liberal Anyway” and said : “Evangelicals have successfully made “liberal” a pejorative term. So today many liberals call themselves … Read more about There is a Difference Between Liberal and Progressive
The Trouble with This Week’s Texts (Baptism Sunday)
In the TNT that will come out later today, Tripp and I talk about how he would love to start a Lectio-Cast with a Biblical Scholar. Since I am only 2 years into my use of the lectionary, I often look a couple of weeks ahead and think 'I wonder how preachers in Mainline circles are going to handle … Read more about The Trouble with This Week’s Texts (Baptism Sunday)
Diana Butler Bass in 3-D!
A podcast legend visits LA live! Listen in as Bo gets to ask the famed author about her new book Christianity After Religion, why Christianity isn't a religion, the decline of the Mainline, the Methodist tradition as well as topics ranging from sexuality to other religions. This event was hosted … Read more about Diana Butler Bass in 3-D!
Concern about the Collapse of the Mainline Liberal
There is a fascinating conversation these days about what exactly is going to happen to the the 'Old'line (what used to be the Mainline) denominations and why exactly it has happened. Both John Cobb (a while ago) and Diana Butler Bass (more recently) have had amazingly insightful takes about it on … Read more about Concern about the Collapse of the Mainline Liberal
Myths Killing the Church from the Inside-Out
Myths Killing the Church from the Inside-Out: High Sunday-Low Sunday, or Letting People off the Hook! "It is not the proper duty of Christianity to form leaders- that is, builders of the temporal, although a legion of Christian leaders is infinitely desirable. Christianity must generate saints-that … Read more about Myths Killing the Church from the Inside-Out
The Death of the Liberals is killing us
In chapter 1 of his book Death of Liberal Class, Chris Hedges sketches both the height of the Liberal era in the 19th century and its cataclysmic implosion with the arrival of World War in the 20th. The disillusionment of human evil, aggression, and suffering deflated the optimism of innate human … Read more about The Death of the Liberals is killing us