Alan Knox has put up a couple of good posts about what church is. In one he talks about the difficulty of describing the difference between a group of people who belong together versus a group of people who get together to do things. In the other, Alan describes the feeling of being part of a group that belongs together. Read More

I visited another church this morning, after a long sabbatical, and left feeling grumpy and discontent all the way around. What do people in a church have in common that people at a sporting event don’t? Just that the other team never shows up. Our team is the right one; we listen to a pep talk, watch a performance, leave Read More

When you disagree with someone and there is a clear separation between you, it’s a matter of little concern. Disagreements only become passionate when something you value is involved. It may be that the policies you disagree with will affect people you love. It may be that the conclusion you disagree with subverts or distorts a principle you believe in Read More

Liturgy makes the most sense to me when it is described as no more or less spiritual than self discipline: Good liturgy and ritual guides and shapes our emotions into fitting responses to God’s self-revelation. An approach to worship focused on undisciplined spontaneity and individual self-expression can be problematic on this front, as the emotions can become feral. One of Read More