A lesson from my dad
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NOW Available: Information for your congregation: Bulletin inserts summarizing the January Fellowship Gathering
WHAT HAPPENED at the Covenanting
Conference of the Fellowship of Presbyterians meeting in Orlando?
Your fellow church members will be wondering.
The national newspapers may or may not provide sketchy reports.
Hey elders: Try a little humility
WASHINGTON, Iowa (Special to Presbyterian News Service) Effective elders are humble elders, the Revs. Mark Martin and Gary Burnett told elders attending Elder 102 training, sponsored by the Presbytery of East Iowa, at United Presbyterian Church in October.
Fellowship sheds a tier
The Fellowship of Presbyterians has revised the options it will present as possible courses of action for congregations to consider at the Fellowship’s next meeting, in Orlando Jan. 18-20.
Bad medicine for marriage
The Covenant Network (CN) long has pursued the daunting agenda both “to work for the removal of ordination barriers to the full participation of LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered] Presbyterians, and to support the mission and unity of the denomination.”
Williams confronts Mugabe with descriptions of abuse
HARARE, Zimbabwe (RNS/ENInews)
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has asked Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe to intervene to stop attacks on Anglicans by allies of an excommunicated bishop who has seized church property and intimidated clergy and worshippers.
Cyberspace: young bullies’ new playground
It was Jill Brown’s experience as a church youth worker and volunteer that led her to start paying attention to how teenagers use Facebook, text messaging and other social media tools. Because she wasn’t their parent, teenagers would sometimes talk to her about their online experiences.
Gathering Those Driven Away: A Theology of Incarnation
by Wendy Farley
Westminister John Knox Press. Louisville, KY. 438 pages
reviewed by DEBRA AVERY
Anyone who comes to this book with the hope of finding THE answer is likely to be surprised.
Practicing Witness: A Missional Vision of Christian Practices
by Benjamin T. Conner
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Paperback. 129 pages
reviewed by JEFF KREHBIEL
Two of the most important movements in the mainline church in recent decades have been the focus on Christian practices represented by the Valparaiso Project on the Education and Formation of People in the Faith (represented by Practicing Our Faith, 1997), led by Dorothy Bass and Craig Dykstra, and the emergence of “missional” theology out of the Gospel and Our Culture Network, led by Darrell Guder and George Hunsberger (represented by The Missional Church, 1998).
Unexpected Destinations: An Evangelical Pilgrimage to World Christianity
by Wesley Granberg-Michaelson
Wm. B. Eerdmans, Minneapolis. 312 pages
reviewed by JOSEPH DELAHUNT
Wesley Granberg-Michaelson stepped down recently from his position as general secretary of the Reformed Church in America.
Justice in Love
by Nicholas Wolterstorff
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 282 pages
reviewed by DAVID LITTLE
Sometimes, a book comes along that entirely reshapes consideration of a key topic in theology and philosophy. Such a book is Nicholas Wolterstorff’s “Justice in Love.”
Tutu: Authorized
by Allister Sparks & Mpho Tutu
HarperOne. 368 pages
reviewed by CAMERON BYRD
Toward the end of this book, written on the occasion of Bishop Desmond Tutu’s 80th birthday, the authors raise this question: “What kind of person do we have here in this humble high school teacher who became a lukewarm priest and eventually grew into a turbulent peace activist and Nobel Laureate (1984) and is now entering his octogenarian years not just as a man for all seasons but for all faiths and all humanity?”
Outlook 2011 Fall Book Roundup
Beauty Will Save the World:
Rekindling the spirit needed for mission to flourish
“The PC(USA) is ____________ .” What would you use to fill in the blank?
A people who
Sometimes we make church too complicated. And in the process of impressing ourselves and others with our erudition, we lose focus.
Stupid is as stupid does — and, too often, we do
It’s time to recover the word my mother taught me never to say: “Stupid.”
Former GA moderator Silas Kessler dies at 100
The Rev. Silas G. Kessler Louisville, Ky. (PNS) The Rev. Silas G. Kessler, the senior former General Assembly moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), died Nov. 15 at the age of 100 in Hastings, Neb.
Pakistani parliament criticizes murders of Hindus
Pakistan's parliament has condemned the killing of three Hindu brothers at a medical clinic in what observers said was an unusual show of support for religious minorities.
Religious leaders reflect on pope’s visit to Germany
Berlin (ENI) Religious leaders representing the Protestant and Catholic churches in Germany called this week for further ecumenical cooperation and said that the two churches should stand together as a common base for Christians.
Russia Mission Network holds 7th annual conference
OMAHA, Neb. (Special to Presbyterian News Service) Joy of the familiar and joy of the new marked the seventh annual Russia Mission Network conference, which recently concluded here.
Weekly Uniform Lessons From Two New Contributors
The Outlook is excited to bring print and digital subscribers weekly uniform lessons from two new contributors.
Of chicken coops and yurts: seeking new models for the church
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – What is the most common type of job at which young adults are working? Retail – including, for many, Sunday morning shifts.
Fellowship hires operations chief
The Fellowship of Presbyterians has named a chief operating officer, Brenda Smith.
Pope to make second trip to Africa
Vatican City (ENI) Pope Benedict XVI began his second papal trip to Africa on Nov. 18, visiting the West African country of Benin for three days, where he was expeced to address economic justice, peace-building and interfaith dialogue.
Hardwick named to GAMC theology post
Louisville, Ky. (General Assembly Mission Council) Charles B. Hardwick of Bloomington, Ill., has been named director of theology, worship and education for the General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC).