Viral Faith

  Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem Nativity Scene When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  5 "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.  6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.  8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.  9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.  10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Matthew 5:1-10 NRSV It is hard to celebrate the birth of Jesus, when the birthplace of Jesus is experiencing the ravages of war.  I wrote elsewhere about the Israel-Hamas...

  The Church and Societal Forces of Injustice   “Slavery was upheld by three sectors of society: religious, economic, and political.” —Tom Skinner in How black is the Gospel (1971)   One of the ongoing discussions among church leaders is the role of the church in regards to the formation, influence, and regulation of the societies in which they serve.  Many believe that churches are to promote the highest ethical standards and leverage its many privileges to encourage its surrounding society to embrace those same standards.  Others believe the church is a vendor of religious products that seeks to enhance the lives of its adherents, without any responsibility to those outside of its body.  I believe that the answer is clearly spelled out in Scripture, embodied by Jesus Christ, and promoted by the early Church.   Historically, it is important to understand the duplicitous role of the church in both bringing about justice and promoting inj...

  But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT) The Greek Scriptures that we commonly call the "New Testament" reveal God's story to restore Shalom through the work of Jesus, extended though the church.  While there are lots of moving parts of the narrative, and lots of literary devices employed in which to convey the primacy of THE STORY, it comes down to evil being discarded through love made visible.  Relationships healed, community restored, and the powers that separate, distort and destroy are banished. "Shalom is an ancient Israeli construct concretizing practical loved to be expressed through structures and systems" --Randy S. Woodley in Decolonizing Evangelicalism Shalom is a state of healthy community where relationships and processes are redeemed in love.  This is the essence of the Go...

"Is this all there is?  Is this what church is"   Chery Dulaney, member of New Hope's ministry team (www.newhopefree.org) This morning, I began to re-read the book of Acts.  For those unfamiliar with the Book of Acts, it is the chronicles of the development of the early church immediately after the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Its an amazing read as we see a movement that literally began with about 120 adherents explode to thousands in several years. The movement of Jesus followers had an explosiveness or dynamism that endured persecution, crossed cultural barriers, and overcame civic opposition.  All of this without programs, nice church edifices, or a dominating clergy class. Among pastors, there is this aching and haunting reality in many of our churches: Our churches do not look or feel anything like the dynamic movement of Jesus followers in the book of Acts.  Yes, there are programs, and new buildings, and increased staff, but no revi...