Sermon Text: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (The Message) Sermon Excerpt The B-I-B-L-E yes, that’s the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God. What a song! I know many of you sung it years ago, but I don’t even know how to begin to respond. Huh? What? How? Stand alone? Word of God? The Bible may be the best-selling book of all time, but it is certainly not a book in the traditional sense. It is a collection of 66 “books.” It is a sacred text for those of us who seek Read More …
marcus borg
Sermon: Personal Transformation + (#1581)
Sermon Text: Acts 16:25-34 Sermon Excerpt Are you saved? Maybe that is a question you have not heard in a long time. Maybe it is one you have heard far too often. Are you saved? Earlier this week when a group gathered for a Topical Tuesday conversation about salvation we had more stories to tell than time allowed. One participant remembered a time when as a young mother she had allowed a stranger into her home simply because she craved interaction and conversation with Read More …
Sermon: Courageous Compassion (#1550)
Sermon Text: Ephesians 4:32 (NIV) Sermon Excerpt Marcus Borg, a progressive Christian scholar who has shaped my thinking about what it means to live as a follower of the Way of Jesus, taught that “compassion is the central virtue of a life centered in God as known in Jesus.” Further, he suggests that although Luke 6:36 is typically translated “be merciful as God is merciful,” a better translation given the meaning we assign to words in our contemporary culture would be “be Read More …
A “So What” Faith (#1520)
We are blessed to live in the Information Age – an era when any one can access an incredible amount of information. We are also stressed by this abundance knowing that simple Google searches yield millions of results, televisions feature hundreds of channels, phones and tablets often have dozens of apps, and previously one-way media communications have now branched out in every direction imaginable through something we call social media. Everything is the same; everything is Read More …
Remembering Marcus Borg (#1517)
I knew Marcus Borg primarily through his writings. He is the only person to be featured on my top ten books of the year list four times (the following links are to the annual listings and to my specific book reviews when available) 2010 - Putting Away Childish Things, 2011 - Speaking Christian, 2012 - Evolution of the Word, and 2014 - Convictions. Patheos has created a page featuring remembrances of Marcus Borg by a long and diverse list of folks including Brian McLaren, Jenny Read More …
Christmas Story: Fact or Fable? (#1504)
Over the years I have encountered many passionate people who were not only certain they held the only proper perspective about the Christmas story, but were equally committed to converting others to share such a view. Interestingly, I have been involved in numerous one-on-one and group conversations with those who were certain the Christmas story is a fact as it is recorded in the Gospels and also with those who are certain the story is just a fable. Marcus Borg, a progressive Christian Read More …
Top 10 Books of 2014 (#1503)
Since 2010, I have published an annual list of my top ten books published that year (each list contains a link to a book review for each book mentioned): 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. My top ten books for 2014 (in alphabetical order by author’s last name) are Marcus Borg Convictions: How I Learned What Matters Most Walter Brueggemann Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now Amy-Jill Levine Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Read More …
Recent Reading – June (#1435)
This is the final installment of my monthly posts sharing my ratings of some of the books I have recently read. I plan to resume my normal routine of providing reviews next month. (5) Convictions: How I Learned What Matters Most by Marcus Borg (2014) (4) The Twilight of the American Enlightenment: the 1950s and the Crisis of Liberal Belief by George Marsden (2014) (3.5) Pastoral Work: Engagements with the Work of Eugene Peterson edited by Jason Byassee (2014) Read More …
Review of Incorporation (#1233)
Meet the Author Will Willimon spent twenty years as Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Christian Ministry at Duke University before serving as a Bishop in the United Methodist Church from 2004-2012. After completing his work as bishop, he returned to his role as Professor of Christian Ministry. Willimon is the author of over sixty books including two best sellers: Sinning Like a Christian: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins and Thank Read More …
A Divided Christianity (#1216)
Marcus Borg is professor emeritus in the philosophy department at Oregon State University, where he was the Hundere Chair in Religion until his retirement in 2007. He is also the only author to ever make my top ten books of the year list in consecutive years (2011 and 2012). Recently, he joined Patheos. In his introductory post explaining who he is and what he will be blogging about, Borg explains the reality of what American Christianity is today: My (and our) Read More …