Open Forum

Re: New Shack topic: Telling our Stories about God, or "What is truth?"
Jane,
Thanks for getting us onto next steps.
Let me play the contrarian, a role usually self-assigned by Willis,
albeit with a tongue in cheek in order to raise some pertinent
questions.
"Story-telling" is in. Whether it's in the New York Times Book Review
section or in theological hermeneutics or church practice. Wonderful.

Re: Sermon Note: March 14, Fourth Sunday in Lent, Luke 15:1-3,11b-32 - amoral / immoral / moral / amoral
Herb, an excellent job of conveying the SHOCK of grace as amoral (i.e., beyond the sphere of morality). Social stability demands the "moral instruction...disobedience be properly punished," but Jesus is into social INstability: the kingdom of God "on earth as it is in heaven" DEstabilizes: the commotion Jesus caused was one of the currents which some 40 years later saw the death of Temple Judaism (& the birth of Rabbinic Judaism).

Re: Next topic for The Shack
Working on Luke 15:11-32, I came across part of an old sermon of mine
on 15:1-10.
"Which of us is not more than a bit of a Pharisee and a scribe,
grumbling, mumbling about the people we find with us in the house of
God, people who have come near, here and elsewhere, or even at home in
front of a television, radio or computer screen, to hear Jesus? Is the

Re: Next topic for The Shack
Young invented Mack, but he could have quoted Tolstoy:
"The Christian churches and Christianity have nothing in common save
in name: they are utterly hostile opposites. The churches are
arrogance, violence, usurpation, rigidity, death; Christianity is
humility, penitence, submissiveness, progress, life.”

Re: Sermon Note: March 14, Fourth Sunday in Lent, Luke 15:1-3,11b-32
Tim: Great to hear you voice. If you saw that testimony on CNN by the author of "Son of Hamas" that is a direct quote from the Amanpour interview from the new convert to Christianity.
Have you kept up with Athanasus?. He has a DVD of his last trip to Sudan. I am still working along with S.D. Conference Minister Marc Stewart at putting some package together for his missionary work in the Sudan and pastoral work in Sioux Falls. Where are you at with this? Blessings on however the Spirit is leading on this. I still suffer the fog of not knowing for sure what my role is in this one. Anyway bless your preaching I wish I could be there to hear your heart warming sermon! Blessings Tim, if you feel like it I will call you on this, I could sure use your wise advice as I usually crash into things like a bull in a China shop--------------Roger

Re: Sermon Note: March 14, Fourth Sunday in Lent, Luke 15:1-3,11b-32
Herb: I find your sermon as beautiful as that Canadian Ice dancing couple who celebrated the symmetry and beauty of human possibility in the midst of a death dealing world! The offense of offering ANYONE reversal of corruption as a free gift is miraculous and shocking. The Waiting father equalizes the son's by the force of love. We all have both son's within us so we all need the purifying act of God in baptism/Eucharist/sanctificati on, the unending dance of the Trinity reconciling and redeeming all humanity and all creation to through God's freedom and love. What I am working on right now is how prayer opens our inner life to the outer life of God in others and creation; the re-establishment of the new Adam in Christ by our death to self in baptism and the rising to receive the Holy Spirit for daily life in the process of becoming the "likeness" of Jesus Christ as the last corruption of the flesh is removed at the second coming (resurrection). The stuff of books that we try to put in sermons. Thanks for your help along the way. Also for your addition Jim. Blessing from the soggy prairie where green grass is miraculously appearing from under the drifts of snow-------------Roger

Re: Sermon Note: March 14, Fourth Sunday in Lent, Luke 15:1-3,11b-32
Dear Herb,
I'm still working on this reading, but want to point out that this
third in the series of "lost and found" (15:6, 9, 32) uses "was dead
and has come to life" to intensify the expression of the depth of the
father's joy at the restoration of his youngest son, in his reply to
the angry elder whose resentment toward the father surfaces so

Re: Sermon Note: March 14, Fourth Sunday in Lent, Luke 15:1-3,11b-32
Herb,
 
This is a beautiful phrase you have written (it stopped me in my tracks):
 
"death is not the worse possible condition, lost is."
 
That's my sermon for Sunday.  Thanks!
 
Tim Haut

RE: Sermon Note: March 14, Fourth Sunday in Lent, Luke 15:1-3,11b-32
Sermon Note: Mar.14, Fourth Sunday in Lent, Luke 15:1-3,11b-32
This is truly an offensive parable. Grace is always offensive, it under
cuts justice and fairness. Grace makes the church an offensive institution.
The Pharisees have a serious point. They are sick and tried of tax
collectors and sinners getting off free. They are deeply concerned about

New Shack topic: Telling our Stories about God, or "What is truth?"
Dear Shack readers and others who have been participating in the recent
dialogue about evangelism,

I have attached a document with a new topic in it. This topic was
inspired both by The Shack and by the recent flurry of postings in this Open Forum
about evangelism. Again, I figure I've put in the "soft" stuff, and now

Re: WSJournal this-weekend article on a Christian convert from Islam (& Hamas)
Great! Thanks, Roger.
Grace and peace--
Willis
----- Original Message -----
From: Jean Easland
To: confessing-christ@googlegroups .com
Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 8:05 AM
Subject: Re: WSJournal this-weekend article on a Christian convert from Islam (& Hamas)
Anyone: here is a dandy from Anthony M. Coniaris:

Re: Statistics on Evangelism in Mainline Churches from UNBINDING THE GOSPEL
I am troubled by the way we move back and forth between the word
"evangelism" and local church & denominational membership. The first
is of the gospel. This 2nd is of society.
I find it ironic that I find among the younger, non-church types much
more of a desire to learn about and reflect upon scripture. Yet they

Re: Next topic for The Shack
Jane (and Chris(t)?),
We have been moving topically inside the Shack (as in institutions,
doctrine of the church). Will we be doing soon a next section of
pages?
--Gabe

Re: African Inland Mission
Tom: Very helpful, the Church is always bigger than we can imagine. Thanks and blessings---------Roger
----- Original Message -----
From: Thomas Dean
To: confessing-christ@googlegroups .com
Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 9:07 AM
Subject: Re: African Inland Mission
I have had very positive experiences regarding the work of African Inland Mission. Churches I have served in the UCC have supported AIM missionaries over the years. They are ecumenical in outlook and have a solid understanding of how to do mission work in word and deed with the native people.

Re: Next topic for The Shack
Jane,
Thanks for your brilliant and thorough analysis of Young's take on the
Church. I was wrong when I said in an earlier thread that Young had
little to say on the Church; while he only devoted a few pages
directly to it (the "bride" discussion on pp. 177-79), his views on
Church are one of many threads that run through the whole book. I

   
Discussion Covenant

This forum is open for conversation about issues concerning the church within the boundaries of Confessing Christ's mission to promote "joyful and serious theological reflection" in the United Church of Christ.

Sometimes these issues are controversial and point to painful disagreements within our family. Confessing Christ is a diverse community, and conversation partners will bring their own perspectives to our conversation. So everyone should expect to read views with which she or he may strongly disagree. We want to maintain high standards of civil and charitable discourse, so we ask you to respect the following standards:

1. When we engage a sister or brother about a divisive issue, we should be careful never to question the integrity of that person. We should never impute dishonest motives to anyone. We should expect that in a diverse community, not everyone will agree with our opinions about the Bible or our interpretations of the Christian tradition.

2. Hostile generalizations about groups can easily poison a conversation. We should avoid comments that broadly condemn any group--liberals or conservatives, fundamentalists and evangelicals, for example--instead of directly addressing the issue at hand.

3. Because, in this medium, we cannot actually see the faces or hear the voices of our conversation partners, it is sometimes easy to forget that we are always talking to real human beings. So please think carefully before you write. Choose your words with care, and re-read what you've written before posting a message. Ask yourself whether your message treats the other participants in this conversation with respect, whether you are expressing yourself tactfully and in a way that is likely to build up the community rather than divide it or tear it down. Remember that this is a meeting of the church of Christ. Be honest, but be considerate.

4. We should follow the example of Jesus when verbally attacked by another person. Attacks should be not answered by attacks, and insults should not be answered by insults. In many situations, it may be preferable to ignore an insult and move on.

5. Extremely long messages or multiple messages posted by individual users sometimes discourage others from participating in the conversation, so please do not post more than two messages a day. It will be easier to express yourself within reasonable limits if (1) you restrict your comments to one or two points and (2) carefully re-read and edit what you have written before posting the message.

6. First and last name are required for registration and posting. Although e-mail addresses are required for registration, it is up to the individual as to whether they are displayed to the public or not.

7. Please note that moderators have been designated for this forum. At present they are Herb Davis, Ted Trost and Andy Lang. Their responsibility is to help keep the conversation on track and to guide users to resources that may be relevant to the subject under discussion. Suggestions and complaints should be directed to the moderators. Please note that the moderator is authorized to ban users whose messages habitually are abusive or use profane language. The moderators will exercise this option only in extreme situations.

8. All opinions are welcome! We only ask that you remember that you are in conversation with sisters and brothers in Christ. We will exercise no censorship of opinions expressed in these forums—except in cases of an extremely abusive or defamatory attack against another person or group. We want to provide the greatest possible latitude for debate within the bounds of decency and respect.

To register for the open forum, navigate to http://groups.google.com/group/Confessing-Christ. We look forward to welcoming you to the discussion!

This forum is open for conversation about issues concerning the church within the boundaries of Confessing Christ's mission to promote "joyful and serious theological reflection" in the United Church of Christ.

Sometimes these issues are controversial and point to painful disagreements within our family. Confessing Christ is a diverse community, and conversation partners will bring their own perspectives to our conversation. So everyone should expect to read views with which she or he may strongly disagree. We want to maintain high standards of civil and charitable discourse, so we ask you to respect the following standards:

1. When we engage a sister or brother about a divisive issue, we should be careful never to question the integrity of that person. We should never impute dishonest motives to anyone. We should expect that in a diverse community, not everyone will agree with our opinions about the Bible or our interpretations of the Christian tradition.

2. Hostile generalizations about groups can easily poison a conversation. We should avoid comments that broadly condemn any group--liberals or conservatives, fundamentalists and evangelicals, for example--instead of directly addressing the issue at hand.

3. Because, in this medium, we cannot actually see the faces or hear the voices of our conversation partners, it is sometimes easy to forget that we are always talking to real human beings. So please think carefully before you write. Choose your words with care, and re-read what you've written before posting a message. Ask yourself whether your message treats the other participants in this conversation with respect, whether you are expressing yourself tactfully and in a way that is likely to build up the community rather than divide it or tear it down. Remember that this is a meeting of the church of Christ. Be honest, but be considerate.

4. We should follow the example of Jesus when verbally attacked by another person. Attacks should be not answered by attacks, and insults should not be answered by insults. In many situations, it may be preferable to ignore an insult and move on.

5. Extremely long messages or multiple messages posted by individual users sometimes discourage others from participating in the conversation, so please do not post more than two messages a day. It will be easier to express yourself within reasonable limits if (1) you restrict your comments to one or two points and (2) carefully re-read and edit what you have written before posting the message.

6. First and last name are required for registration and posting. Although e-mail addresses are required for registration, it is up to the individual as to whether they are displayed to the public or not.

7. Please note that moderators have been designated for this forum. At present they are Herb Davis, Ted Trost and Andy Lang. Their responsibility is to help keep the conversation on track and to guide users to resources that may be relevant to the subject under discussion. Suggestions and complaints should be directed to the moderators. Please note that the moderator is authorized to ban users whose messages habitually are abusive or use profane language. The moderators will exercise this option only in extreme situations.

8. All opinions are welcome! We only ask that you remember that you are in conversation with sisters and brothers in Christ. We will exercise no censorship of opinions expressed in these forums—except in cases of an extremely abusive or defamatory attack against another person or group. We want to provide the greatest possible latitude for debate within the bounds of decency and respect.

To register for the open forum, navigate to http://groups.google.com/group/Confessing-Christ. We look forward to welcoming you to the discussion!