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Archive for June, 2007
Cultivating Kindness in the Midst of Self-Sufficiency
Published by June 28th, 2007 in Books, Kingdom, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices and Western Christianity. 4 CommentsiFeedReaders
“Christians are moved by the Spirit to reach out and help others because their own identity is intimately tied to the help they have received at God’s hand.” “…we regard people as kind because they go out of their way, often quietly and without fanfare, to engage in kind actions. Nitty-gritty, concrete, everyday kinds [...]
“The L Word,” and my anxiety over it
Published by June 26th, 2007 in Leadership, Spiritual Dynamics and Western Christianity. 8 CommentsiFeedReaders
“Leadership.” Through the lenses of my own personal history with various expressions of Christianty, this word has picked up good deal of baggage and has become something of a source of anxiety to me.
The worst images that come to mind have to do with authoritarian males who exhibit cultish tendencies while claiming [...]
Cultivating Patience in the Midst of Productivity - Life on the Vine Pt. 5
Published by June 25th, 2007 in Kingdom, Spiritual Dynamics and Spiritual Practices. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
Another translation for patience is “long suffering” (Contrast with “short temper”) and is rooted in the character of God who is “slow to anger and abounding in love.” This carries with the notion of being willing to yield control (God allows creation to go its own way, is not in a hurry, is non-coercive [...]
Shane Claiborne: Practicing Resurrection
Published by June 25th, 2007 in Kingdom, Spiritual Dynamics and Spiritual Practices. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
I was completely moved to read this today as the people of the Simple Way in Philidelphia are modeling before us all what it looks like to practice resurrection in the midst of grevious destruction. Thank you for your tremendous example! Shane Claiborne: Practicing Resurrection
“A reporter asked me how it felt to [...]
Cultivating Peace in the Midst of Fragmentation - Life on the Vine Pt. 4
Published by June 24th, 2007 in Books, Kingdom, Scripture, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices and Western Christianity. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
The biblical definition of peace or “shalom” carries the connotation of wholeness or even salvation, including the state of well being, wholeness and harmony that infuses all of one’s relationships. It is a condition that is inherently social and not a mental serenity confined within ones psyche. This theme of peace—peace and wholeness [...]
Cultivating Joy in the Midst of Manufactured Desire - Life on the Vine Pt. 3
Published by June 22nd, 2007 in Books, Kingdom, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices and Western Christianity. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
: Kenneson tries to illuminate the true nature of biblical joy by contrasting it with mere pleasure: “The more that we are drawn out of our selves, the more we likely characterize our delight as joy rather than simply pleasure.” The words used for joy in the New Testament “both imply the [...]
Pray for our friends at The Simple Way
Published by June 21st, 2007 in Family and Friends and Western Christianity. 2 CommentsiFeedReaders
Some of this blog’s readers are familiar with Shane Claiborne and other members of the Simple Way, a community in Philidelphia. I received information this morning about a fire that destroyed the Simple Way community center and the homes of many people in the area. Tony Jones posts an update here.
This [...]
Kristin is blogging!
Published by June 21st, 2007 in Family and Friends, Movies and Pop Culture. 1 CommentiFeedReaders
My beautiful wife is now blogging at kristincalderwood.com. The title of her blog is i am not a drama queen…. (Don’t let the title fool you…) Her blog is about all things entertainment and of course our family and kids. If you want the real scoop on the Calderwoods, hers [...]
Life on the Vine Pt. 2 - Cultivating Love in the Midst of Market-Style Exchanges
Published by June 21st, 2007 in Books, Kingdom, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices and Western Christianity. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
Kenneson uses the bulk of this book to offer a biblical exposition of each fruit of the Spirit, “followed by an explanation of some of the ways in which the dominant [North American] culture inhibits its cultivation.” He begins by discussing: Cultivating Love in the Midst of Market-Style Exchanges: “How do we cultivate [...]
Life on the Vine Pt. 1 - Why Focus on the Fruit of the Spirit?
Published by June 16th, 2007 in Books, Kingdom, Spiritual Dynamics and Spiritual Practices. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
Kenneson notes that disciples of Jesus Christ have a loyalty and allegiance that is first to Christ, which relativizes all other loyalties and allegiances. This discipleship requires a willingness to locate one’s story within the wider, more-encompassing narrative of God’s ongoing relationship with Israel and the church through Jesus Christ. Living primarily as [...]
Poison Oak, Poison Ivy and… Mangos???
Published by June 13th, 2007 in Family and Friends, My Story and Uncategorized. 3 CommentsiFeedReaders
I once lived on a piece of land that was overgrown with poisen oak. It was so bad that I actually cut a poisen oak vine with a chainsaw that was at least 8 inches accross. During this time, I regulary reacted to the accursed stuff, more severely with each contact. Once [...]
Book Review: Life on the Vine, Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit in Christian Community
Published by June 12th, 2007 in Books, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices and Western Christianity. 5 CommentsiFeedReaders
Of all of the books I’ve read in past two or three years, few have impacted me as much as this one. I look forward to generating some conversation here based on Phillip D. Kenneson’s work. Kenneson writes from “the conviction that the church in the United States is seriously ill.†His [...]
What “Gospel” are we preaching?
Published by June 12th, 2007 in Kingdom, Scripture, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices, Theology and Western Christianity. 3 CommentsiFeedReaders
The post from which the below experpt is taken is a great example of why I consistently read Scot McKnight. I grew up hearing an awful lot of what McKnight describes here as a “standard” gospel presentation. At one point, if you asked me what it meant for me to share the gospel [...]
I woke up to the sound of torrential rain but the sun was shining. Turns out, some poor guy plowed his car into our apartment’s mail center, taking out a fire hydrant at the same time. Bummer. Anyway, I whipped out the video camera and shot it from the balcony. (Also, this [...]
A Theology as big as the City - Part 4 - Hope in the City
Published by June 10th, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
Last night, a friend of mine described his experience speaking last week at a church in Baltimore where the son of one family in the church had recently been killed in a shooting. Before my friend spoke, the Pastor got up and asked the grieving family to come forward for prayer and the support [...]
Immigration Bill Dies
Published by June 10th, 2007 in Faith and Politics, Global Issues, Immigration, Justice, Politics and Poverty. 3 CommentsiFeedReaders
Interesting article in the NYT describing the grass roots activism that killed the albeit imperfect bipartisan immigration bill. It seems that many Americans actually don’t want lawmakers to attempt to fix the broken system. Give them 90 days to leave and then start deporting them is the only option many will consider. [...]
A Theology as big as the City - Part 3 - A Surprising Source of Urban Leaders
Published by June 8th, 2007 in Books, Kingdom and Leadership. 1 CommentiFeedReaders
Bakke reflects on the life of Moses and his emergence as the leader in God’s liberation of Israel from slavery.
“…the great Exodus movement began with poor urban women who broke the law by having illegal babies. The law, genocidal and totally unjust, made this a case of civil disobedience. Moses mother [...]
G8 Africa pledge a smokescreen?
Published by June 8th, 2007 in Global Issues, Poverty and Social Issues. 1 CommentiFeedReaders
I might be be a rock star but I can count.”
Reuters AlertNet - INTERVIEW-G8 Africa pledge is a smokescreen, says Bono
Paris Hilton and Proverbs 24
Published by June 8th, 2007 in Justice, Pop Culture and Scripture. 4 CommentsiFeedReaders
It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgement. A judge who says to the wicked, “You are innocent” will be cursed by many people and denounced by the nations.” -Proverbs 24:23-24
As predicted milenia ago by the writer of proverbs, Paris Hilton’s early release from jail by a Sheriff alegedly sympathetic to celebraties [...]
Following is a real life conversation that took place between me and my somewhat culturally insulated albeit very sweet (very southern) Grandmother when I was in tenth grade:
Grandma: You know, when I was a girl, we used to get the freshest fruit from this wonder niggar man who used to come by the house…
Me [...]
A blog about present and future church, contemporary culture, intercultural dynamics, and the implications of Jesus' Gospel of the Kingdom in today's context. 
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