I was a shepherd in the traditional/conventional church. I also served as a deacon, a preacher, and a missionary. Today I believe more in the church of Bob Evans every Sunday afternoon, the church at Starbucks on Friday evenings and then there is my new institutional church at a University Hospital. (FYI—degrees in Nuclear Medicine and Bible; chose to make my living from the medical side)

For employees who have excessive absenteeism or a history of tardiness there is a policy that places them in a process with the end result being dismissal (verbal warning, written warning, etc) I choose not to do that. Instead I invite them into my office and use the wisdom that comes with sixty years of life and the spiritual wisdom God has blessed me with nudging them closer to success and Jesus (this is my policy and the process I choose). I really believe if I died tomorrow the employees of this institution would carry signs to my funeral expressing their love for me.

And then there are the folks at New Wineskins who encourage me in my wacky writings and the conversations I have with the many I talk with in Christian circles.

I am blessed!

Files under Church, Culture, How to Live, Jesus, conventional church, conversation, future church, influence, love, missional, orbiting the church, revolution, unchurched | |

Mike Cope, one of three senior editors emeritus at New Wineskins Magazine presents anecdotal evidence for the deep faith of Hillary Clinton. And while he’s at it, Mike gives sage advice for those who would get rowdy, loud, and excited during politico season. As Mike says,

“when vigorous political discourse turns into bashing of public figures, it perpetuates a great lie: that they are merely the ideologies and symbols attached to them. When a candidate’s ideology is mistaken for his or her personhood, it masks a crucial truth: that each person, no matter their political views, bears God’s image and matters deeply to him.”

Thanks for the be-good reminder Mike! You can read the complete post [here]

By chance or providence I happened to be on vacation when my wife and I visited the Pine Valley Church of Christ in Wilmington, NC. It just so happened that on that same day Mike Cope preached his inaugural sermon at his new church home. Mike couldn’t have been older than 25 years. He had a beautiful young family to support him in this newly accepted position at the Pine Valley Church. I’m sure there were the good times as well as the bad. Mike if you happen to stumble on this correct me where I’m wrong.

Files under Hillary Clinton, How to Live, Mike Cope, Political Correctness, Presidential Canidates, blogging, conventional church, creative, democrate, influence, politics, republican | |

We must ask why so few are willingly die to themselves in community? Why we so rarely journey from self-dependence through the valley of death to life in the Spirit in the presence of a connecting guide? Where are the spiritual leaders, the elders of God’s people? Where are the spiritual leaders, the shepherds of the flock? Where are the people who can listen well and guide us through our problems to the Father’s heart and regard it as their calling to do so? Whatever became of the idea that all believers are priest?

Our communities are filled with people desperate to unburden themselves in the presence of another, to be known at a level where the only antidote to disdain is grace, to sink beneath death’s dark waters while in the grip of a set of strong hands that promise to raise them up into newness of life.

In recent conversations, I’ve asked a number of Christ-followers if they had someone in their lives whose strength and wisdom encouraged them to make themselves fully known. Every last one of them answered the same way: “I’d give my right arm to have someone like that in my life. There’s so much going on inside me that I’d love to share, not to find answers necessarily but just so someone knew. But I have no one like that.”

Files under How to Live, Inspiration, discipleship, fear, influence, leadership | |

I discovered an interesting post at Church of the Masses, a blog authored by a script writer/consultant named Barbara Nicolosi. In her post called Somebody Gets It, she references an article by a gentleman John Steel, (never heard of him). What I find interesting is the insightful advice Mr. Steel gives for influencing culture. This is important for the Christian community since culture has insipidly, over the last 50 years, shaped the Christian community. No longer does Christianity influence culture, conversely culture has become the engine that drives Christianity. Need some examples? Ask me.

Here’s an excerpt from the post.

Culture is shaped by a small number of gatekeepers. Majority perspectives have little bearing on culture formation. Instead, elites dominate. Neuhaus notes: “Even though [these elites] may be a minority of the population, they succeed in presenting themselves as ‘mainstream’ through their control of powerful institutions in the media, in entertainment, in the arbitrations of literary taste, in the great research universities and professional associations, and in the worlds of business and advertisement that seek the approval of those who control the commanding heights of culture.”

Mr. Steel attempts to provide a Christian sociology that would help Christians with money see their way through to investment in culture.

If John Steel is correct in his analysis then many faith leaders are now viewing “the culture” as a new, laudable strategic goal. But such recognition needs a deep theological perspective and appropriate cultural discernment to have any renewing effect.

John Steel gives Luke 16: 1-9 (specifically verse 9) a new twist.

I am still searching for the complete article in Provocations at The Trinity Forum

Files under Church, Culture, How to Live, influence | 1 Comment | 1 Comment »

Is it possible to subvert consumerism, to inject a virus into it that causes us to slow down, consider the needs of others, while at the same time redefining our place in the world? Fair Trade/ethical buying is a movement that attempts to do just that.

As Brian McLaren says, “Everything must change.” With Trade as One, we harness a very powerful engine of change - commerce, and we subvert a very powerful engine of destruction - consumerism.

Files under Consumerism, How to Live | 1 Comment | 1 Comment »