Prolific author and progressive religious leader Sister Joan Chittister, recently shared an excerpt from her short book Journey into Light in a Lenten article for the Huffington Post. She concludes that article with these powerful words: The light of Lent is the beacon that enables us to see under the obvious, the systemic, the hypocritical in both state and church to the evil they mask from us. It is the path to integrity, to righteousness, to the Spirit of God. So What? Lent Read More …
Archives for March 2012
Top Church Websites (#0664)
Sharefaith recently posted their list of 22 Top Church Websites on Church Relevance. The alphabetically ordered list includes: Church on the Move - Tulsa, OK Fellowship Church - Grapevine, TX Imago Dei Community - Portland, OR Hillsong Church - London, UK LifeChurch.tv - Edmond, OK Mars Hill Bible Church - Grandville, MI Second Presbyterian Church - Memphis, TN Watermark Community Church - Dallas, TX So What? The author notes that this updated list for Read More …
Facebook Friends Friday (#0663)
While I spend a great deal of my day online and tend to be an early adopter, I was so late to Facebook that it already boasted over 100 million members when I joined. The network has expanded to include some 850 million accounts that were active during the month of December, 2011. Interestingly, one's age appears to be an indicator of the likely size of one's Facebook friends network. Lee Raine, Director of the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, Read More …
Tattoos for Lent? (#0662)
In recent years I have heard about many non-traditional Lenten disciplines. Chris Seay, pastor of Ecclesia Church in Houston, provided his congregation a unique opportunity that "combines the ideas of sacrifice and devotion that mark the Lenten season." More specifically, he asked them to consider getting a tattoo of one of the stations of the cross. So What? Writing for CNN, Dan Merica reports that more than 50 people associated with the congregation Seay pastors have Read More …
Refocusing (#0661)
Staying focused is an ongoing challenge. There is so much one can do that it is easy to lose sight of what one is called to do. The urgent can override the important and the exciting can trump the routine. So What? Living a focused life requires intentional periods of refocusing. How do you refocus? When? What role does Sabbath play? Do you know yourself and your identity well enough to know when you are living an out of focus life? Do you have others in your life Read More …
Unusual and Unacceptable Excuses (#0660)
Marc Cortes, Academic Dean and an assistant professor of theology at Western Seminary, recently shared a picture of a piece of paper containing a list of reasons for which a professor will not accept late work. This one of a kind list includes: computer glitches bad planning embarrassing messages from “Mom” on your Facebook wall seeing your new brother in law on Cops unforeseen cataclysmic acts of God undergoing enhanced interrogation techniques Read More …
Review of the Underground Church (#0659)
Meet the Author Since 1985, Robin R. Meyers has served as the Senior Minister of the 750 member Mayflower Congregational Church in Oklahoma City, which has been recognized as the fastest growing United Church of Christ congregation in the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference. In addition, he serves as a tenured professor of rhetoric in the Department of Philosophy at Oklahoma City University. Meyers has written five books in the last decade, including The Read More …
Why Do You Belong to Your Church? (#0658)
Christianity is not a Lone Ranger religion; it is experienced in community. In most cities or towns in American would be church goers have many options, including Protestant or Catholic, contemporary or traditional worship, theologically conservative or progressive, and small or large membership. So What? If you currently belong to a church (whether or not you are a member), think back to your original experiences that helped you discern this was the fellowship for you. Why did Read More …
What if Communion Tables Were Freed . . . ? (#0657)
Leslie Leyland Fields describes herself as "an award-winning author of eight books, a regular columnist and contributor to Christianity Today, a national speaker with Ambassador Speaker’s Bureau, and a sometimes commercial fisherwoman with her husband and 6 children, all of whom live on Kodiak Island, Alaska." Her latest "Stones to Bread" column in Christianity Today (March 2012) asks the question "if we have such an extravagant Savior, why are our Communion meals so paltry?" Read More …
#FF – Follow Friday (#0656)
Every Friday morning I wake up to a Twitter stream that differs from the other six days of the week because of #FF or Follow Friday. This weekly event is a way that those on Twitter can share who they value and encourage others to consider following those individuals (or entities). So What? Months ago I found that with each new Follow Friday I asked myself "who do I follow?" While this was a good way to evaluate my ever expanding list of those I follow on Twitter, it also pushed me Read More …