Is Mainline Protestantism a tradition worth saving? What caused the decline and what could bring about a renaissance?
Geoff Mitchell on the Future of Mainline Protestantism
Worship From Home: February 7, 2021
Here is the video and the sermon podcast for the February 7 worship service from First Christian St. Paul.
Worship From Home: January 31, 2021
Here is the video and the sermon podcast for the January 31 worship service from First Christian St. Paul.
Sermon: That’s Me In the Corner
Galatians 1:13-17; 2:15-21 and Luke 18:9-14 Sixth Sunday of Easter Losing My Religion Sermon Series May 21, 2016 First Christian Church Mahtomedi, MN Click here to listen to the audio. It’s been about two years since our congregation voted to become an Open and Affirming congregation, meaning that we openly welcome Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and... Continue Reading →
Questions on the Disciples and the Local Church
Disclaimer: I have to start this blog post off by saying that the following criticism is not directed at any one person. It is NOT a personal attack on anybody. This is a critique of a larger system that people might be a part of, but again my beef is with the system and not... Continue Reading →
What Is Mission First All About?
At the 2015 General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Columbus, Ohio, those gathered heard about a new initiative being rolled out called Mission First. Mission First seems to be a way to retool the denomination for the 21st century. A central part of this initiative is to have Mission Gatherings... Continue Reading →
Fatalism and the Disciples of Christ
Does the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) deserve to live? I've been talking with folk about the current state of the denomination. We agree that all is not well in Disciple-land. But in all of the conversations I've had, there is the belief that the tradition is dying. And that's where the conversation ends. I... Continue Reading →
The Invisibility of Progressive Christianity
Every so often, I've heard an argument that goes like this: "the press only talks about the Christians vs. the gays as if all Christians are against being gay. Don't they know that there are Christians who support gays?" The frustration comes from being ignored by the wider culture, especially the media. When we think... Continue Reading →
Disciples 3.0
Just before I left for the 2015 General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Columbus, Ohio back in July, a special appeal was sent out via Facebook about the upcoming event. Registrations were well below what was expected and there was talk about what to do concerning the 2019 General Assembly which... Continue Reading →
Hard Times for the Mainline
Wither the Mainline church? It's a question those of us who are part of a mainline/progressive denomination have been wondering for years. Or, it is a question we continually hear about. Our numbers continue to shrink, as does our monetary reserves. Everyone has their reasons as to why mainline churches seem to be in sort... Continue Reading →
The Clockwork Pastor 