CHICAGO (RNS) — New Testament scholar N.T. Wright has spent most of his life teaching people how to study the New Testament. And the most important thing, he says, is getting the context right. Without that context, it’s “fatally easy for people to distort bits of Christianity,'” Wright said. “If we ignore the context, we can make the New Testament stand on its hind legs and dance around the room and play to our tunes — and that that has always been the case, no doubt,” he told Religion News Service in a recent interview. “But the correction is always to go back to, ‘What was the context?’”Wright, a retired Anglican bishop and now chair of New Testament and early Christianity at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, is author more than 80 popular and academic books about Christianity and the Bible. The latest — co-authored with fellow scholar Michael F. Bird — is “The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First … [Read more...]
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Commentary 12 hours ago
The right mistakes
The great jazz musician Thelonious Monk once told one of his sidemen, “You’re making all the wrong mistakes!” Monk was known as musician who did things differently, who played with a kind of dissonance that sounded like he was making mistakes, but that actually worked. He generally made all the right mistakes. I read that quote and realized there are right and wrong mistakes. It’s OK to make the right mistakes; we just don’t want to make the wrong mistakes. I have made my share of wrong mistakes. When I… continue reading... -
Looking into the lectionary 13 hours ago
Christ the King Sunday — November 24, 2019
Jeremiah 23:1-6; Colossians 1:11-20; Luke 23:33-43 Christ the King Sunday bridges Ordinary Time and Advent, inviting us to shift our attention to preparation for the Incarnation, even as the retail machine already is shoving us headlong into Christmas. Jill Duffield’s lectionary reflections are sent to the Outlook’s email list every Monday. This Sunday also kicks off the week of Thanksgiving, with many in the pews focused on company coming or travel looming. For many, the reign of our Lord is not at the on the top of our minds as… continue reading... -
Book Reviews 2 days ago
To Count Our Days: A History of Columbia Theological Seminary
University of South Carolina Press, 424 pages Reviewed by Thomas W. Currie In the preface to this remarkable history of Columbia Theological Seminary, the author notes that institutional histories can provoke a yawn. This one does not. Indeed, by choosing to write about something “small,” Erskine Clarke enables the reader to see big things about the faith with which the seminary sought to engage the culture of its day, and how that culture, in turn, shaped the seminary’s witness. More than that, in describing the genesis and development of a… continue reading...
Parties in Stamford case had tried to expedite process in order to get a ruling on the merits of the case January 1, 1995 Uncategorized108 views The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission -- in sidestepping the question of exactly how deeply a session should be required to probe into the private life of a gay elder who has acknowledged being in a committed, life-long relationship but has declined to say whether he is sexually active -- has put the question off but has not put it to rest.- Ministering with the Earth January 1, 1998 Book Reviews95 views By Mary Elizabeth MooreChalice. 1998. 226 pp. Pb. $19.99. ISBN 0-8272-2323-4 Ministering with the Earth is a quiltwork, both the on-the-ground activity and Moore's book about so ministering. Moore, professor of theology and Christian education at Claremont School of Theology, is fond of the metaphor, suitably pastoral and feminist.
- Remembered Voice: Reclaiming the Legacy of 'Neo-Orthodoxy' January 1, 1998 Book Reviews96 views By Douglas John HallWJKP. 1998. 145 pp. Pb. $18. ISBN 0-664-25772-0 It was in this order. I first read Tillich's Dynamics of Faith. Riveting. Next came The Courage to Be. Gripping. Then I went back and read the first volume of the Systematic Theology. Things began to make sense. Next came Biblical Religion and the Search for Ultimate Reality. Positive.
Unified budget discussions will explore ways to fund the denomination October 18, 2019 Outlook Reporting2 comments The Moving Forward Implementation Commission has initiated a process for trying to develop a unified approach for budgeting for 2021-2022 – calling for a “one-day summit” on budget needs that would involve representatives from the Presbyterian Mission Agency, the Office of the General Assembly and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation.
That action – taken Oct. 17 during the commission’s two-day meeting in Baltimore – represents a continuation of conversations regarding financial sustainability in the PC(USA).
The Office of the General Assembly (OGA), which is funded through per capita dollars, is ...
Co-Moderators announce plans for new conference for commissioned lay pastors/ruling elders October 21, 2019 Presbyterian News Service1 comment BALTIMORE (OGA) — The Co-Moderators of the 223rd General Assembly (2018) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) believe it’s time to take a deep dive into training commissioned pastors. Ruling Elder Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and the Rev. Cindy Kohlmann have announced a new training conference to be held next spring.
The “Empowering Commissioned Pastors’ Conference” will be held May 13–16, 2020, in Richardson, Texas, and will be sponsored by the Commissioned Pastors’ Network of the Synod of the Sun. Kohlmann announced the conference during a presentation at the Mid Council Leaders Gathering in Baltimore....
All Greek to me May 14, 2012 Outlook Features1 comment
N.T. Wright explains the world of the New Testament in new book
Latina/Hispanic women gather for leadership training
( PNS) A first-of-its-kind event, the Leadership Development Institute for Latina/Hispanic Women in Leadership, is being held in Louisville Nov. 19-22. Sponsored jointly by the offices of Leadership Development and Recruitment for Leaders of Color and the Hispanic/Latino-a Intercultural Congregational Support of the Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries, the institute brought together about 30 Hispanic women from across the U.S. representing six different countries. The pastors, ruling elders and chaplains were all ordained by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “This event is unique in that it gathers Latina women leaders to do theology,” said the Rev. Alexandra Zareth, associate for Leadership Development and Recruitment for Leaders of Color. “The women are doing a type of liberation theology called Mujerista/Latina Evangélica. It makes space for voices of women whose voices are usually silenced, not heard. “This is a space that values context and … [Read more...]
Presbytery of Detroit is on mission to ensure all children have a bed of their own
(PNS) No one knows exactly how many children in the tri-county area around Detroit (Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties) are lacking a bed of their own, but it is likely the number is in the thousands, according to the nonprofit Building Beds 4 Kids. “One of the most basic needs of children in the child welfare system — ages 2 to 18 — is for a warm, comfortable bed and a good night’s sleep,” said the Rev. Dr. Kathryn “Kate” Thoresen, coordinator of the statewide Faith Communities Coalition on Foster Care and parish associate for foster and/or adoptive families’ partnerships at First Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Michigan. “We see that providing beds for every child who needs one is an effective way to prevent kids from going into foster care in the first place,” Thoresen said. “We are also discovering that there are many grandparents who are raising grandkids who suddenly need beds as well.” Thoresen and her husband, Tom, who have three adult children and two … [Read more...]
The right mistakes
The great jazz musician Thelonious Monk once told one of his sidemen, "You're making all the wrong mistakes!" Monk was known as musician who did things differently, who played with a kind of dissonance that sounded like he was making mistakes, but that actually worked. He generally made all the right mistakes. I read that quote and realized there are right and wrong mistakes. It's OK to make the right mistakes; we just don't want to make the wrong mistakes. I have made my share of wrong mistakes. When I was a rookie pastor, I told a parishioner that I had done something, when I really hadn't done it. I was going to do it. I had every intention of doing it, and doing it quickly. But in the rush of all things I had to do, this fell between the cracks. The fact that I hadn't done it was not an issue. The fact that I lied when I said I had done it was. It became a big issue. That parishioner never really trusted me again. Call it a life lesson, but it was a very expensive life … [Read more...]
Christ the King Sunday — November 24, 2019
Jeremiah 23:1-6; Colossians 1:11-20; Luke 23:33-43 Christ the King Sunday bridges Ordinary Time and Advent, inviting us to shift our attention to preparation for the Incarnation, even as the retail machine already is shoving us headlong into Christmas. This Sunday also kicks off the week of Thanksgiving, with many in the pews focused on company coming or travel looming. For many, the reign of our Lord is not at the on the top of our minds as we consider all the other issues and tasks barreling towards us this week. Some of us worry about the non-stop news of impeachment hearings hijacking any hope of a peaceful family gathering. Others wonder if they will be alone on a day billed as being all about family and friends. Overflowing tables and endless calls to purchase Christmas gifts cast in stark relief for a lot of our neighbors the growing divide between the rich and the impoverished. The cultural shift toward the holidays is in full swing, and subsequently few … [Read more...]
Scott Warren found not guilty on two counts of felony harboring
TUCSON, Arizona (OGA) - After only two hours of deliberation a jury delivered a not guilty verdict in the retrial of Scott Warren on charges that he harbored undocumented migrants in the Arizona desert in January of 2018. The first trial, which also included one charge of conspiracy to transport or shield undocumented immigrants, ended in a hung jury this past June. It’s reason to celebrate for advocates like the Rev. Alison Harrington, pastor of Tucson’s Southside Presbyterian Church, and others who have followed Warren’s trials and lobbied for the rights of those administering humanitarian aid along the U.S. and Mexico border. No More Deaths, the organization with which Warren was volunteering when he was arrested, was co-founded by Southside’s former pastor, the Rev. John Fife. “These days, victories are few and far between,” said Harrington as people gathered to celebrate with Warren outside the courthouse following the verdict. “It feels amazing to have a jury … [Read more...]
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