Matthew’s gospel was written to the Messianic Jews of Antioch two to five years after the destruction of the Great Temple of Jerusalem and the massacre of all its priests. The Temple, its rules and priests had represented the center of their lives, and now many were certain that God had abandoned them.
Read MoreTo Those Who Are Concerned…
Read MoreEyes blinded by tears—more than that—blinded by fear, blinded by dreams crushed as fine as the dust under her feet as she walks.
Read MoreTwo Views on Homosexulaity, the Bible and the Church
A Book Review by Larry Duggins
As part of my personal analysis of the Way Forward issues, I went in search of a good book that fairly deals with the various arguments around the human sexuality issues without screaming at me about them.
Read MoreReturning from Camino
A book review by Larry Duggins
Alexander Shaia is a wise and experienced man with a fascinating combination of lived and acquired knowledge. He has studied hard to build a wonderful base of psychological, theological and anthropological knowledge, and he has tempered those with the life experience of an immigrant and a pilgrim.
Read MoreThe Ahadi Collective hosted a Meet the Makers event on Memorial Day weekend to engage with the community and share their work, products, and stories. Promotion began weeks before through multiple avenues and platforms.
Read MoreThe highest point on the island of Iona is a peak called Dùn I (I = “ee”). While this climb, and the accompanying 360 degree island view, is available to anyone, pilgrims climb it as part of their pilgrimage around the island. It serves as a celebration point, a mountaintop moment, for it can be difficult to scale, and even harder, sometimes, to then find your way back down.
Read MorePaul Tillich's The Courage to Be gave me language to articulate a knowledge that is deep within me.
Read MoreFor the space at the table
We celebrate and give thanks
For the stories that arrive
Important to be heard
For the bellies and hearts that come hungry
Hoping to be filled
Heart and Mind
by Larry Duggins
Occasionally, I will read a book that sticks with me – I think about it throughout a day or a week or a month, and I randomly find myself turning over its ideas as I walk through life. Alexander Shaia’s Heart and Mind: The Four-Gospel Journey for Radical Transformation is such a book.
Read MoreTo set the table is to commit to grace.
A set table implies a willingness to believe that our needs will be met.
At the table, the nutritional needs of the body will be supplied by the production of the earth.
Read MoreMeals with a Mission
Read MoreThe great promise of the table is that we are invited to join in holy community/communion with family.
Read MoreFor those who take the time to come to the table, both for ritual and for meal, the community of God is nourishing. It brings health. This is not always happiness. Just ask anyone who has ever come to the table hoping for cake and found cauliflower. Sometimes community requires patience, love, endurance, imagination, and courage. But, in return, Jesus promises nourishment.
Read MoreIn the sacrament of table and community, there lies the healing power of presence and the movement of the Spirit.
Read MoreTwo years ago, my second child told me she didn’t want to get married. I paused the dishwashing I was doing, suspicious that there was a reason she felt compelled to announce this. After a little digging I discovered that she didn’t want to get married because she didn’t want to have children because...
Read MoreThree ladies have prepared the food, two from Syria and one from Iran. They’ve been in The Mix Kitchen for the afternoon, preparing for this meal. A tasty assortment of rice, marvelously seasoned meat, fried kibbeh, and a light mix of greens; we are preparing to feast on this Tuesday afternoon.
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Read MoreHow does a missional mindset or perspective impact the way we read Scripture?
How does the Bible speak to and through a missional disciple?
And seriously, what kind of God is God?
I am not a table setter. I want to be. I really like having a place set for me. I like the sense of sitting down with everything I might need within reach. I like the sense that there was one who went before me, anticipating those needs. I like the sense that I might meet the needs of those at my table.
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