a theological vision for immanuel church – part 3 – reproduce communities
This is part 3 of Immanuel’s Theological Vision. You can find part 1 by clicking here and part 2 by clicking here.
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liturgy after charlotteville
The following are the brief remarks I made at Immanuel Church on the Sunday after the White Nationalist rally in Charlotteville, Virginia
I don’t have many words because, frankly, I’m embarrassed and broken hearted. For most of the weekend, as I saw report after report as to what had happened, my emotions went back and forth between sadness and infuriation. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised because I have been predicting this stuff for a long time now, but I was still flabbergasted that what I was watching could be happening in my country in the year 2017.
a theological vision for immanuel church – part 2 – reconcile people
This is part 2 of Immanuel’s Theological Vision. You can find part 1 by clicking here.
We live in such a fragmented society. At this point, almost every element of society is responding as a victim. Everyone is slighted to one degree or another. Everyone is polarized. As a matter fact, in my 59 years, I have never seen a more volatile moment in our culture’s history. Here are a couple of examples.
a theological vision for immanuel church – part 1 – restore lives
Your kingdom come, your will be done in Spokane as it is in heaven.
In Spokane as it is in heaven! That is how I always pray the Lord’s Prayer in regards to our church.
I Like Women – Part 2
In a post from last December (CLICK HERE), I apologized to the women in my world. It was more a philosophical apology, because even before my shift in positions (complementarianism v. egalitarianism) I worked hard to insure respect for everyone I have been privileged to journey with, difference in gender included. I may have failed at some points, but my intention was to honor all. If there is a continuum where a complementarian view was on one side and an egalitarian view were on the other, internally, I attempted to live as close to the center-line as possible.
As a result of the previous post, I was asked by an atheist friend this question: “Not trying to be a douche, I honestly want to know what you and other more "progressive" pastors do with all the verses talking about a woman’s role in the church.” The following is, at least for me, a short summary of how I approach said passages.
The Reconciliation of All Things
"The Church is not to be defined by what it is,
but by that End to which it moves."