Paul: An Apostle's Journey
A book review by Larry Duggins
Douglas Campbell’s new work on Paul is a very readable survey into the writings of Paul. Dr. Campbell, a Duke New Testament professor who will be a key player in their new Certificate in Missional Innovation program, has written a book for the rest of us - clear, understandable and to the point.
Read MoreMy wife, Nelma, and I both completed a graduate level program offered through the Missional Wisdom Foundation...
Read MoreRe-entry never places you back in quite the same life.
Read MoreDear Friends,
I am writing this article after a beautiful and long house meeting at Francis (an intentional community within the Epworth Project).
To be you: who you are, where you are, when you are is a an act of courage. It takes courage to go and experience and it takes courage to return, relinquishing fullness of the encounter to that which spoke it all into being.
Read MoreLil Smith reflects on a conversation anchored by Larry Duggin's book Together.
Read MoreIt need not be loud, sky-parting, or earth-shattering. It may only be recognizable to you. It may only be recognizable in the stillness of your soul once it has been disconnected from its usual patterns long enough to find stillness.
But the encounter will somehow meet you.
As I washed these broken and bleeding feet, the Holy Spirit took that opportunity to teach me a lesson.
Read MoreOn the train, I began to truly engage all of my senses, hoping to open myself to the experience that is before me, and remembering that each moment of life is an opportunity to pay attention.
Read MoreAs a leader of a group that tries very hard to be ecumenical and also tries very hard to impress on everyone the importance of spiritual practices that strengthen connection with God, I found Flee, Be Silent, Pray by Ed Cyrzewski quite interesting.
Read MoreThe four-fold practice of showing up, paying attention, participating with God, and letting go of the outcome can be complex. We have been participating and leading experiments that do well, fail, don’t take off, or move in unexpected directions. Our cohort community has been there to share in celebration and ask reflective questions to help us see what is happening to us in new ways.
Read MoreThe first step in living contemplatively is simply showing up—presenting oneself for an encounter.
Read MoreOne thing that is very clear: it is important to all of us that we connect to our communities and celebrate the relationships that are formed through these connections.
Read MoreBy Kate Rudd
The winter garden is not beautiful to the untrained eye. No more neat, vibrant rows of lettuce, carrots, chard, squash, and tomatoes. No colorful display of flower blossoms or insects abuzz. No neighborhood children running to pick carrots—exclaiming over how a radish grows. Nothing but empty lines, sad perennials. The intelligent gardener uses winter to enrich their soil with a diverse jungle of cover crops to nurture microbial activity, replenish nutrients depleted from last season, and build the soil by growing then composting organic matter. These techniques significantly enhance next season’s potential, but in winter this looks like chaos that doesn’t fill harvest baskets. It is generally barren, decaying, messy. It seems meaningless and a little depressing.
Read MoreYou are Family
by Ryan Klinck
“You are family,” said Jonathan and Betsy to our friend Morris. “If it ever gets too cold outside, you have to come stay at our place. No excuses, alright?”
Read MoreChrist is Life
Advent, Week 4
by Andrea Lingle
I just spent three hours cleaning up the room shared by my second and third children. I begged, threatened, and cajoled my children to help me. I lost my temper when I found a basket of washed, dried, and folded clothes carelessly upended onto the floor. Every time I clean up my home, I am filled with grating antipathy for the world of physical science. Could we not have been dropped into a universe that tended toward order?
Read MoreStory Sharing in Portland
by Eric Conklin
A few weeks ago, an evening of story sharing was held at the United Methodist Church’s Peace House in the Irvington neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. There were about 75 people present from a variety of experiences and traditions, all of whom came curious to hear stories and make connections with others. I emceed the event, which was fun and a little nerve racking! There was an opportunity to talk about each of the sponsors for the event, where Missional Wisdom was one of 3. This story sharing event has been an ongoing project of the Parish Collective, a network of neighborhood expressions of micro-faith communities, inspiringly born out of the work of Paul Sparks, Tim Sorens, and Dwight Friesen.
Christ is Mystery
Advent, Week 3
by Andrea Lingle
If Paul was a Jew among Jews, I am a first-born among first-borns. I live my life religiously. About twenty years ago, I went hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina with my family and some family friends. The place where we were hiking crossed a rocky bald where there were patches of sensitive lichen. A helpful sign instructed hikers to follow a trail of yellow painted dots to minimize the ecological impact of hundreds of booted feet. After a few minutes of ambulatory dot-to-dot, we sat down to look at the view. My mother, always aware of her children, had seen my careful attempts to minimize my lichen-impact, and teasingly asked if I was sitting on a dot.
Read MoreGod is Amazing
by Wendi Bernau
The wonder and mystery of the Holy Spirit astounds me. I am humbled when I have the privilege to participate in the movement of God anytime I am able to listen and respond to God’s leading. Case in point: I had applied for and received grant money to facilitate an arts retreat for recovering alcoholics at a women’s transitional housing facility in Chicago the first weekend in November. There is a lot of prayer and energy expended in preparation for these retreats: the elements, flow, etc. I’m a feeler, and it has to feel right.
Read MoreChrist is Love
Advent, Week 2
by Andrea Lingle
The flow of the love of Jesus is the atomic signature of the Christ. An atomic signature is a unique array of electromagnetic waves or signals that every atom emits and absorbs that allows persons with the right equipment to identify anything on an elemental level. The body of Christ, in all its diversity is known by love. I do not mean only love given or received in the name of Christ, but love. The love of the Jew, the Greek, the Muslim, the agnostic, the addict, the sex worker, the evangelical, or the Pope is the signature of the living Christ, incarnate in us, come again.
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