faithrunner

Church Around The Table One weekend our LifeGroup gathered at the lake house that belonged to one of the members. Not everyone in the group could make it, and it was winter, but water sports and 100% attendance were not our goals. We just wanted to be together. Sunday morning we gathered around the table for breakfast. We enjoyed the cooking of our hosts and the warmth of the fireplace on a cold January morning. All the surface talk had been used up in the time we already had together walking, playing table games and watching football. Our guards were down, and we were relaxed to be ourselves. My wife jumped into some story about our grandchildren and told of a podcast she liked where the host always ended her episode by asking her guests, " What are three things that make you happy now." She thought that would be fun for us to do. (Being an introvert married to an extrovert I have come to expect these conversational invasions into free-flowing conversations I can ...

There is a (very long) blog in the Dallas Morning News that asked several theologians if we need a "Steve Jobs of Religion".  This question is based upon a NYT article titled "Americans Undecided about God?" by Eric Weiner who is a self proclaimed "None" (people who chose None under Religious affiliations when surveyed). Weiner writes: "We need a Steve Jobs of religion. Someone (or ones) who can invent not a new religion but, rather, a new way of being religious. Like Mr. Jobs's creations, this new way would be straightforward and unencumbered and absolutely intuitive. Most important, it would be highly interactive. I imagine a religious space that celebrates doubt, encourages experimentation and allows one to utter the word God without embarrassment. A religious operating system for the Nones among us. And for all of us ." Cynthia Rigby , W. C. Brown Professor of Theology, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, suggests...

Baptism is the ancient, Christ-modeled act of associating with the person and movement of Jesus, who is the Christ. For centuries follower-apprentices of Jesus have been baptized before friends and family to witness their allegiance to Jesus as their Rescuer and Leader . From the Ethiopian eunuch to the Philippian jailer, God's people have baptized those who trusted Jesus wherever there was water and witnesses . Over time, that practice was brought inside buildings with baptismal fonts and pools built into the architecture and leadership limited to credentialed, professional clergy . We know, however, that in oppressed countries Christ followers have found bathtubs, streams, and drinking troughs for animals suitable for the rite. I still witness this act in streams, homes, and lakes around the world today. But, here we usually stick to the indoor, ordained clergy rendition of the act. I love Legacy Church because several years ago we released followers of Jesus to baptize...