Is First Christian a progressive congregation? The answer is complex.
Are We A Progressive Church?
Podcast Clip: The Church as Truth Teller
The church needs to be a truthteller, which means the church is willing to speak the truth even if it means attacking sacred cows that people like.
This Is Who We Are
As a nation, we strive to live up to better ideas and many times we do. But let’s not kid ourselves. We are not okay.
The Church in the Trump Era
What does it mean to be church in the era of President Trump? What does this mean for Mainline/Progressive Christians? In the days following the Inauguration, I was less worried about the new President. It doesn't mean I wasn't concerned: but he was chosen in an election and should be allowed govern. It might be... 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 →
Repost: “Progressive Christians” and Yours Truly
I wrote this post in the summer of 2011. The trend has continued in the succeeding years. I will write something more current on the issue, but this old posts still stands. I've been noticing lately within Mainline Protestant circles, the rising use of the word "progressive" as a way to describe Christians who might... Continue Reading →
Diversity in Name Only
A friend on Facebook linked to an article in First Things by Mark Regnerus. Regnerus is an interesting fellow. He is a sociologist at the University of Texas and has been at the center of some controversy in recent years over a study he released on gay parenting that did not put same sex families... Continue Reading →
More Thoughts on “Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner”
A recent online conversation has led me back to the old debate about the phrase "hate the sin, love the sinner."* As I said back in 2012, I've never had the reaction that other mainline/progressive Christians seem to have about it. Blogger Ben Godsen shares why he feels we need to kick this phrase to... Continue Reading →
We’ve Got to Talk About Micah
What that passage is all about? Are we saying that God supports the Affordable Care Act or raising the minimum wage to $15/hour?
Adventures In Church Planting: 2013 (REPOST)
Writer’s note: I was going to write another post about church planting in Mainline churches, and I still plan to, but I think this post sums up a lot of what I am feeling still. One update: I am not leading the new church team anymore.
As most of you know, I’ve been the head of a new church ministry in my Region. There have been some good and not so good developments in the area of church planting last year, though for the most part it was a down year in many ways. The good news is that our group got bigger as a few more people expressed interest in being involved. The so-so news is how I’m leading. I want to give people the chance to step up and take part, but I have to balance that with the need to just get something done.
The not-so-good things is the fact that a lot of potential church plants just died on the vine. One planter looked like he was going to plant a new community in the eastern suburbs of the Twin Cities. Things seemed to be moving ahead and then he back out…
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The Clockwork Pastor 