Is Repetition Unholy?
I remember the first time I heard the bizarre statement that repetition took away from worship. It was, not surprisingly, in a Baptist church. I had, probably naively, asked why the church didn’t practice communion…
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Category: Posts
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Being Missional = Build A Five Million Dollar Bridge
What are some ways a church building a five million dollar bridge makes sense? a bridge to allow relief workers and oppressed people better access to goods and services… a bridge in an area of…
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For Good Friday: The Seven Words Service (A)
As I help to plan the first Good Friday service at The Plant I wrote four different services, each unique in their own way and highly adaptable to many different traditions and needs. The first…
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Questionnaire by Wendell Berry
Wendell Berry wrote this poem for The Progressive Magazine. Food for thought: 1. How much poison are you willing to eat for the success of the free market and global trade? Please name your preferred poisons.…
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Theosis, St. Silouan and Elder Sophrony
”THEOSIS” IN SAINT SILOUAN THE ATHONITE AND STARETS SOPHRONY OF ESSEX by Christopher Veniamin ”Coming into contact with Father Sophrony was always an event of a most especial kind. His monastics, first and foremost, but…
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I Don’t Want to be a Really Useful Engine
I read way too much into children’s TV shows, which seems like a wise use of a graduate degree in English. The gift of interpretation, let me tell you, is a double-edged sword. As much…
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2013 Everyday Liturgy Lenten Guide
I hope you are enjoying your Ash Wednesday. With much fanfare, I want to invite you to download the 2013 Everyday Liturgy Lenten Guide. It is a short primer focused on how fasting is a…
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Family Practices for the Lenten Season
Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people… gather the children, even nursing infants…” (Joel 2:15-16) For those of us who follow the rhythms of a church calendar,…
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Seriously Practiced Christianity
“America is going to become increasingly secular and hostile to the church. But what will build the bridge to whatever authentic Christianity emerges next is going to be a serious practiced Christianity. I think there’s…
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Angels, Rocks and Taking Things Out of Context
During Lent, we remember Jesus’ fast in the wilderness and his temptation. This week’s lectionary readings includes a passage from Psalm 91 that alludes to Jesus’ temptation at the temple in Luke 4: And he took…