Recent Reading

Here are interesting posts from people who are both new and not-so-new to my blog neighborhood.

Jim at Coming out of the Prayer Closet: "I am a Religionist"

"An alcoholic is a person that is addicted to alcohol. We know what alcohol is and understand how serious an addiction to it can be. But what is religion and what does it mean for a person be addicted to it?

John Smulo: "Outside of the Box"

"I have three questions for you:

1. When you think of the local church, what are the bare essentials that you believe are involved in making a church a church?
2. What would you prefer to have added to most expressions of church?
3. What would you prefer to have subtracted in most expressions of church?"

At Calacirian: "Love or Something Like That"

"Perhaps the question is more basic than this. How does one exist in a community without manipulating others? How do I exert my rights as a human being without impinging upon yours?"

Dan muses about the church he's "Talkin' Bout":

"...there would be a kitchen with a big counter and there would be tables and chairs and couches and whatnot (big living room, dining room) and t.v.'s and video games and pool tables and all that whatnot."

Emerging Grace: "Senior Pastor"

"I've sensed some tension lately in the emerging/missional conversation about the role of pastor and about ministry as a profession in particular....The clergy/laity mentality is being deconstructed, and rightly so. However, in that process, the role of pastor is being redefined. Many pastors themselves are leading the way in promoting a more participatory model of doing church."

Micah78 at Letters From Leavers: "Why we leave - it's not Jesus' Fault"

"...for the last two thousand years the church has been industrious in its attempt to sew the temple curtain back together."