Posts from the “Spirituality” Category

What I don’t want the future of Christianity to look like

Posted on February 23rd, 2012

Sometimes we first need to identify what we do not want in order to articulate what we do. -Christopher Butler, “Future Daydream”, Print, February 2012, 66.1 When you think about the future of the church, what is it that you think of? I know it’s a difficult image to conjure, given that we’re in a time of so much upheaval in the life of faith, but surely you’ve thought about it. Perhaps you can just glimpse some nascent truths you hope flower into something larger. Perhaps you’ve been able to articulate something quite robust in a particular area. However, my guess is that you are like the rest of us and you fall back on a very tried and true notion of many an…

Categories: Church, Leadership, Spirituality, Theology

Are you a stereotypical Christian?

Posted on February 6th, 2012

Over the weekend, I learned the origin of the word “stereotypical.” We often speak of “stereotypical men” – guys who seem do what we have seen guys do for years and years and years. We think of stereotypes as things that fit a certain mold or category, which repeat themselves over and over. We’re not that far off. The word is derived from two Greek words: stereos=firm, solid and typos=impression. A stereotype is a “solid impression,” a really good copy. Original usage comes from printing (as you might imagine) and actually refers to the copy of an original (a prototype). Apparently, in the printing world, it is the stereotype, not the prototype, that was used to make all the subsequent copies. I suppose that one could…

Categories: Church, Spirituality

Mama’s Boy (reflections on a “masculine Christianity”)

Posted on February 2nd, 2012

One of my favorite insults ever is “Mama’s Boy.” I find those who throw it around to be delightfully ignorant of a whole host of facts, realities, and relationships. They accuse these boys of not being able to function on their own. They mock these boys for choosing to be within protective distance of their mothers (physically or emotionally). Sure, I’ll grant you that developing a level of independence and autonomy is a great thing, but when I think about those who tried to insult me with this phrase as a young boy, well… Let’s just say I’m much more well adjusted than they are. Recently, (thanks to Rachel Held Evans) I became aware that Calvinist preacher John Piper decided to say that God…

Categories: Music, Spirituality, Theology

A Progressive Call to Conscience

Posted on January 28th, 2012

One of my spiritual heroes, Fr. Richard Rohr, posted this quote on his blog yesterday: “Despite a certain trend towards conservatism in parts of the church and society, I am convinced that we have moved into a new era that will be determined by people who live by their own conscience and are particularly qualified to act as discerning members of community and society…the era in which almost everyone was content to be born and to live as a member of a certain church or ‘organized religion’ is over. The people who will shape the future of believers of all religions are those who have the courage to make their own choice, whatever pain may be involved, and to do so with personal responsibility.”…

Categories: Church, Spirituality, Theology

Tagged: adjacent possible, Bernard Haring, Call to Conscience, conservative, cosmology, epistemology, progressive, Richard Rohr, theology