Monthly Musings

The Lenten season and the events of Holy Week have kept me very busy at St. Giles, so blog posts have been hard to come by lately. For this, I apologize.

It's time, once again, for Monthly Musings - articles, videos, and other items that caught my attention and had me thinking during the previous month.

What articles have had you thinking?  Feel free to let me know in the comments.

"5 Reasons NOT to come to our Church"

The church is supposed to be a sent-out people, not a come-to people. The point of church is not to get people into a building, the point of church is to get disciples of Jesus into the world.

I would want you to be a part of our church because it feels like the right fit for you to grow in faith and get to work.

Don’t come to our church if you’re looking to be served the best and most promising religious goods on the market.

Don’t come to our church because you’re looking for the greatest that any church in town has to offer.

Come to our church if it feels like the right place to receive the best news of your life– that God loves you and sent Jesus to live and die and be raised for you and that life following this Jesus is the most meaningful there is. [click to read entire post]

An insightful blog post written by a friend and seminary classmate, Rev. Jamie Thompson.

"Against My Religion"

A helpful piece from the "Church for Starving Artists" blog about recent Religious Freedom bills popping up in state legislatures.

It was against Jewish law in Jesus’ day to touch lepers and bleeding women, and yet he did it for the sake of the greater law of love.  If we believe the Bible, Jesus spoke against stoning an adulterer, socialized with Samaritans, and was okay with his followers picking grain on the Sabbath – all in violation of his religion’s law ... If I’m to understand Jesus correctly, I believe it’s against my religion to refuse to serve my neighbor.  [click to read entire post]

"No more 'Volunteers' at Church"

A post by Rev. Adam J. Copeland on the use of the word "volunteer" in our houses of worship, getting at one of my (admittedly many) pet peeves: seeing the ministries of the church as "slots to fill" rather than "opportunities for service."

Language matters. Particularly, the language we use in worship matters. So, my ears perked up recently when in worship congregation members were besieged by many, oh so many,opportunities to “volunteer.”

Now I’m all for businesses giving their employees time off for volunteering. I’m all for helping people. I’m all for paying it forward. But I don’t think “volunteer” is the right word to use when Christian communities worship together. 

Rather than merely volunteering, it sounded like we were actually being asked to take up a particular call to discipleship. [click to read entire post]

"God Did Not Kill Jesus on the Cross for our Sins"

Various "Theologies of the Atonement" abound in seminary classrooms, in the written work of biblical scholars, and throughout Reformed Christianity. Many choose to stand upon one or another particular atonement theology. Perhaps there's much to glean from all of them.  This blog post, admittedly with an attention-grabbing title, seeks to describe the moral/subjective image of the atonement.

“Why did Jesus die on a cross?”  Jesus died on the cross because he offended those in power. Jesus died on a cross because he challenged the status quo. Jesus died on a cross because love would not sit silently by as those who had little were being stepped on, used, and abused by those who had so very much. 

“Why did Jesus die on a cross?” Jesus died on a cross to show us what love looks like in action. [click to read entire post]

"Toss the Old Sweater"

Encouragement to look at the many ministries of a congregation to determine "what to keep" even as together they discern what it is to which God is calling them next.

One of the first rules recommended by de-cluttering experts is this: before you add a new item, toss an old one. Take your closet for example. We all have clothes that make their way to the back of the closet—and stay there. They haven't been worn in years, but they take up valuable space. To declutter, say the experts, toss that old sweater or faded blue jeans before your next shopping trip. We need to do the same with ministries. [click to read entire post]

Coming next week:  A review of Rachel Held Evans' newest book, Searching for Sunday. I've had the privilege of serving on the publisher's Launch Team for the book, and I'm excited to share some of my thoughts and reflections on it.  You can pre-order Searching for Sunday today!