I am reading The Long Loneliness, an autobiography of Dorothy Day. It struck me how she went through her own “awakening” in the early 1900s in much the same way I did when I was in college. I reflect on that because “deconstruction” is the “buzz word” of our time… and it’s not really at all. It may look slightly different in every generation, but it’s not something “wholly owned” by any particular generation.
Read moreI am but a shadow of my future self
How I live now matters. My body matters. My mind matters. It is not discarded in the future, so I can treat my current life any way I want.
Current gleanings from NT Wright’s book, Surprised by Hope:
I am but a shadow of my future self.
How I love now matters.
What we do in the present matters. It will last into God’s future. Our vocation. Our gifts. Our actions. Our care. All of it is getting us ready for our future selves.
All along the way we are building for God’s Kingdom.
Notes on redemption
A few notes jotted down on the plan of redemption from NT Wright’s book, Surprised by Hope.
Redemption isn’t scrapping what’s there and starting from a clean slate. When I read passages talking about a “new heaven and new earth” that was the mentality I had. The old earth (where we live currently) would be burned up and something new would replace it. That isn’t redemption.
Read moreSomething missing from the Gospels
I am working my way back through NT Wright’s book, Surprised by Hope, and it is bending my mind all over again. How I used to think about heaven and eternal life was transformed by this book, and I need this refresher.
Wright has the reminder for me that the New Testament witness isn’t about believing in Jesus so that when we die we get to go to heaven. Strangely enough, that is completely absent from the gospel narrative.
Read moreWhite evangelical
The quote above is from David French. The interview is HERE.
White evangelicals are tone deaf
It’s more than being tone deaf, but it’s something I’ve mentioned for years and it’s now being exposed in deeper ways for a simple reason: white evangelicals are refusing to listen to what is going on around them.
Read moreThe straw man argument of “BLACK LIVES MATTER” and Marxism
It’s taking me two days to work my way through the foreword and introduction of Dennis Edwards’ new book Might from the Margins: The Gospel’s Power to Turn the Tables on Injustice. I read a paragraph, put the book down, weep and repent, then try to get through the next paragraph.
There is a paragraph to quote here from his book that answers the shameful tact white Christians are trying to use on the phrase “BLACK LIVES MATTER.”
Read moreThe challenge of James Cone and black theology of liberation
James Cone continues to challenge me in my theological thinking. I keep at his work exactly because my thinking needs to be challenged… constantly. It bothers me when I quit growing.
Read moreLove and Justice
James Cone’s work is digging deep into my spirit, much like the Spirit’s work through Romans 5-8 right now. With Lent on us this week, it’s a good time for deep self-examination.
Read more1906
A body of thought is beginning to develop in my thinking and theology.
1906 was, for Pentecostals, a watershed year. It was Azusa Street. It was the outpouring of the Spirit and ushered in an unbroken time of renewal and missions in the church. It has been one long ride.
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