Moving from the 1800s into the 1970s we see a return of disatisfaction with the Christian Faith as it was practiced. Some of that was understandable. Some problems include: A faith that reflected societal values (such as consumerism, violence, racism, and such). A faith that guided people's practice one morning a week, but little beyond. …
Continue reading Seeking “Non-Extreme” and “Unradical” Faith, Part 2
If you are involved in churches... especially Evangelical Churches, you have probably seen them... conferences (especially youth conferences), camps, books, and such that promote: Extreme Faith Radical Faith Radical Commitment Extreme Christianity You get the idea. The motive is to get people away from Christianity as it is usually experienced and practiced. The problem is …
Continue reading Seeking “Non-Extreme” and “Unradical” Faith, Part 1
I did a short article on Bukal Life Care blogsite regarding the controversy among some on whether one should use the term "pastoral care" or "spiritual care." I do have strong reasons for preferring pastoral over spiritual, and list some here. I did not go into theological reasons, but I suppose what I have is …
How do you breathe? I recall someone talking about yoga and Indian meditation, and describing it in terms of learning how to breathe. Of course, most of us would say that we know how to breathe. It comes naturally. However, when I was in symphonic band, I was taught how to breathe properly for playing …
I was talking with my son around 1:30 in the morning (we do tend to be night owls at times). We were talking about ministry. He mentioned that when we first came to the Philippines he wasn't sure whether we were really helping here or not (a very fair and understandable assessment) but that he …
Today I heard a sermon of an older man who spent his early years as a Catholic priest and his middle years as a Marxist organizer, before becoming a Baptist pastor. He noted that no step along his path was a waste because he gained from each step and helped him in his life and …
Continue reading Lodestar, Lodestone and More as Metaphors for the Christian Life
Another good article from Jackson Wu. Talks about the problems associated with what he calls "decontextualizing the Bible." I might say, converting the narrative quality of the Bible into a series of propositional statements (Although Evangelicals tend to love propositional truth, it seems to be a love affair we should get over and move beyond.) …
Continue reading Contextualization via Decontextualizing the Bible
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/138372721">Social Ministry as Part of an Integrated Mission Strategy, Part 2</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user42611623">Bob Munson</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
The following is two excerpts from Christan Smith's paper, "On 'Moralistic Therapeutic Deism' as U.S. Teenagers’ Actual, Tacit, De Facto Religious Faith, " based on the research of sociologists Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton. I think one could read his paper and recognize that the bigger challenge for Christianity is not Secularism or other faiths, …