The once and present church
In 1991, Loren Mead wrote “The Once and Future Church,” a book about the future of ministry.
Latest Posts
What in the church is a council?
Here I will confess, if that’s the appropriate word, I myself am a lapsed Presbyterian. It’s the diction that did it, finally, the worn-thin, shabby, church-poor words, so overused they connote to me a poverty of spirit, not the richness of it.
— E.L. Doctorow, The Waterworks
Seeking firm footing amid shifting sands
Louisville, KY.
Doing ministry in a time of “shifting sands” has become the reality of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A).
Religious lobbying in D.C. has quintupled since 1970
WASHINGTON (Ekklesia)
The number of organizations engaged in religious lobbying or religion-related advocacy in Washington, D.C., has increased fivefold in the past four decades, from fewer than 40 in 1970 to more than 200 today.
Editor’s Outlook: Year in view 2011
2011. Good, bad or otherwise? For Presbyterians, 2011 was either the year of the breakthrough or the year of the collapse, either the year of clarifying or the year of confusing, either the year of ending the war or declaring war. It all depends on your perspective.
Emagazine Jan 9, 2012
Jack Haberer interviews Dr. Aziz in Pakistan (video)
Cuban, U.S. theologians call for reconciliation
HAVANA (PNS) The U.S. blockade of Cuba is a fundamentally theological issue because, in choosing isolation over reconciliation, the U.S. has chosen to serve mammon rather than God, Cuban Presbyterian theologian Reinerio Arce told Cuban and U.S. religious leaders here Dec. 1.
The dance of life and death
MATANZAS, Cuba (PNS) The liturgical dancers circle each other at a distance, then move closer together, then join in an intimate pas-de-deux.
Film in review: “We Bought A Zoo”
“We Bought A Zoo” will be a crowd-pleaser. It’s charming, it’s sentimental, it’s hopeful, it has plenty of star power, and it’s based on a heartwarming true story. A little unevenness can be readily excused.
Film in review: “War Horse”
It’s easy to like “War Horse.” Characteristically of Steven Spielberg films, cute children and precocious teenagers play a large part.
Film in review: “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
I remember reading this book when it first appeared in print, during the height of the Cold War.
Film in review: “The Adventures of TinTin”
Motion capture is the name of the technology utilized by director Steven Spielberg.
Film in review: “A Dangerous Method”
At the turn of the 20th century, there were a couple of brilliant minds developing what would become the established science of psychotherapy: Carl Jung in Switzerland and Sigmund Freud in Austria.
Faithmatters: Into the wounded world
A Presbyterian pastor seeking to work alone on sermons outside the office she kept in the church building was parked in a corner of an outdoor Starbucks courtyard in the Washington, D.C., area.
Union Presbytery movement revisited
Film in review: “Shame”
It’s been a while since a mainline movie was rated NC-17. And this one carries that rating for very good reason.
Film in review: “Melancholia”
OK, it’s both weird and non-linear. To the point of impressionistic, what with its long introduction/foreshadowing with the classical music and the things falling out of the sky and freeze-frame images, collaged as if on a cinematic canvas.
Film in review: “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”
This series is really enjoyable to watch. Robert Downey, Jr. makes a credible and athletic Mr. Holmes, a master of disguise and observer of nearly everything.
Film in review: “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”
Yes, it’s a re-make. The original Swedish film was such a sensation that the English translation of the book caught on, then the two sequels, and now we make an English-language version of the Swedish film, still utilizing the cold remoteness of winter in Scandinavia, even occasionally showing newspaper clippings in Swedish, but everybody speaks English, whether or not with a Swedish accent.
Rebirth and new life: evangelism and church growth
(General Assembly Mission Council) Work crews in Haiti clear rubble from a home outside of Léogâne. Less than a decade old, Church of All Nations, a church plant out of the Korean immigrant context, has not only taken root but is already bearing fruit.
Parsons and Valentine join NCC in speaking against Islamophobia
Editor’s Note: Gradye Parsons, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and Linda Bryant Valentine, executive director of the General Assembly Mission Council, both have signed this statement of the Interfaith Commission of the National Council of Churches regarding the decision of the Lowe's home improvement chain to pull its advertising from the television program "All-American Muslim."
Mission program grants awarded
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (General Assembly Mission Council) Four new church developments and two presbyteries will receive mission program grants from Evangelism and Church Growth of the General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC).
Cuban, U.S. Councils of Churches issue joint statement
HAVANA (PNS) The National Council of Churches in the U.S. and the Council of Churches of Cuba have issued a joint statement calling for reconciliation between the two countries and committing themselves to “pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit that our churches may bear witness to God’s will for justice in economic life.”
A “blue” Christmas this year?
At this time of year many people are preparing for the joyous celebration of Christmas.
Children are excited as they see the presents under the tree.
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