Article on “The Banner” – “Redeeming Ritual”

Protestants tend to brace themselves at the mention of the R-word: ritual. The word is a trigger evoking a Reformation history that has sunk into our bones. We associate ritual with dead orthodoxy, “vain repetition,” the denial of grace, trying to earn salvation, scoring points with God, “going through the motions,” and various other forms [...]

Inspiring Story of Faith and friends in Survival

Check out this story from CNN: ‘My own dad tried to kill me:’ Faith, friends help in survival – CNN.  The role of personal faith alone gives strength to face anything we need to, but mix that with a supportive network of friends and you’ve got a recipe for  world-conquering faith. Another confirmation that scriptural spirituality [...]

At the Crossroads…

This past Sunday, November 7, I attended worship at Crossroads Community Church in Goshen, Indiana. This church has made quite a splash in the Church of the Nazarene as one of the fastest growing churches in our area by utilizing the attractional church model. The music was performance driven with a keyboardist leading the songs [...]

God & Tattoos

The shift of culture over the last hundred years has dramatically impacted the church, and fortunately vice versa.  This has led to the blending of spirituality with what normally has been labeled as anti-God.  As many of those “blendings” have played out, however, the world has been able to witness God in the normal – [...]

Oh Great

As Phyllis Tickle ran spine tingling fingers across the back of current Christianity, the angst I sensed in my soul was legitimized: things are a changin’! Reuniting with her discourse on The Great Emergence brought some deep relief (spell it out: R-O-L-…) while instigating some deep churnings (ooh, pass me the Tums). I loved how [...]

onederings begun

So it has officially begun: a blog of my thoughts regarding one faith and one church and one life on planet earth and beyond – my onederings. Currently on sabbatical, I am collecting thoughts from my reading and reflections, and collecting experiences from visits to various churches in the surrounding areas. These collections will be [...]

Visiting Mars …

This past Sunday (Oct 24), I visited the Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan. Just outside Grand Rapids, Mars Hill has been meeting in a vacant mall complex.  They do not have a sign anywhere; the only information is on the entrance doors.  We drove around the building the night before, and I am [...]