God Is Everywhere Present - Jan Richardson

My Emancipation From American Christianity - John Pavlovitz

It's getting harder and harder to love all people and still fit into what has become American Christianity, so I am creating distance between me and a system that can no longer accommodate the scale of my God and the scope of my aspirations. 

All those times when I felt like an outsider in American Christianity, I used to think that it was just me, that it was my problem, my deficiency, my moral defect.  Something rose up from the deepest places within me and shouted, "I can't do this anymore! I can't be part of this!"  These moments once overwhelmed me with panic and filled me with guilt.

What I've come to realize is that I have simply outgrown American Christianity.  I've outgrown something that simply no longer feels like love, something I no longer see much of Jesus in.

If spirituality is worth holding onto, it should be a place where the marginalized feel the most visible, where the hurting receive the most tender care and where the outsiders find the safest refuge.  It should be a place where diversity is fiercely pursued and equality loudly championed; where all of humanity finds a permanent home and where justice runs the show.

It's getting harder and harder to love all people and still fit into what has become American Christianity, so I am creating distance between me and a system that can no longer accommodate the scale of my God and the scope of my aspirations.

In my heart and in the hearts of so many like me, the Spirit is boldly declaring this emancipation from the small, heavily guarded space that wants to contain it and taking us out into the wide, breathtaking expanses of unfettered faith.  There is something much greater beyond that is worth heading toward; something that looks more like God and feels more like love.

The full article is available here

The Business of Worship Music - Leonard Vander Zee in The Banner

There’s an old saying that Christians absorb more theology from what they sing than from most other sources. If that’s the case, then, considering the CCLI top 25, we’ll soon be in a theological desert.

Contemporary Christian musicians are not any more immune to the lure of money than you or I are. And they can make lots more by writing songs that are like the ones in the top 25, with similar emotive words and chord changes. The logic of all this is that the songs will begin to sound strangely similar. From there it spreads to Christian music and hymnal publishers.

I fear the same thing may be happening in many local churches. There’s a strong urge to model our worship on what we see as successful and what we hear on Christian radio. As a result, what many congregations sing in worship is overly influenced by a business model rather than what’s theologically rich and spiritually healthy for the life and worship of the congregation.

I’m not saying that all the songs and artists in the top echelons of the CCLI world are shallow or imitative. But I’ve heard from talented songwriters who produce theologically robust and musically inventive music that there is enormous pressure from publishers and distributors to go with what sells. And the results are plain to see.

So what’s the answer? We first need to acknowledge the problem, and it’s not trivial. There’s an old saying that Christians absorb more theology from what they sing than from most other sources. If that’s the case, then, considering the CCLI top 25, we’ll soon be in a theological desert.

Once we recognize the problem, pastors and music leaders in congregations need to be much more careful about what their congregations are singing. It may take some work, but I know of contemporary-Christian-music-singing churches who carefully plan worship music with musical and theological sensitivity. The material is out there, and sometimes it comes right from budding artists in their own congregations.

The full article is available here

Jesus' Agenda - Nancy Rockwell at Patheos

So many of our candidates profess to be Christian evangelicals – it would be a welcome wonder if one of them were to have the courage to stand up in an ad on TV and read Jesus’ agenda.

In Luke 4, Jesus makes his public announcement of his ministry. He said that he was sent by God's Spirit to bring good news to the poor, release to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the acceptable year of God, the year of Jubilee.

Not much of this is being focused on in the campaigns this year.

One or two candidates are focusing on the economy and how it effects the poor, but most have a focus on terrorist aggression.

There is more emphasis on keeping the oppressed out of our nation than on helping them go free. And as for the Acceptable Year, which biblically is a year of redistribution of wealth and land; that's a non-starter.

Jesus’ words challenge us to choose to hear that the good news is not for us individually, apart from one another, or privately, through our personal belief.  Rather, the good news is for all, and is revealed in us and through us, as we reach out to embrace one another’s needs.

The full article is available here

Donald Trump & The Travesty of Christian Tribalism - Rev. Dr. David Gushee at Religion News

The early church, moved by the Holy Spirit, became a post-tribal community that brought together Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, people of every language and tribe and nation.

There is a great word for the kind of faux religiosity trotted out by Donald Trump in his visit to Liberty University, and not only by him. That word is tribalism.

The particular tribe that Mr. Trump was ham-handedly courting was white evangelical and fundamentalist Christians. He is not alone. Every Republican candidate courts this tribe, which constitutes a substantial share of GOP primary voters.

Tribalism thrives on us vs. them thinking. Our tribe is better than your tribe. God is on the side of our tribe and against your tribe. This land has always belonged to our tribe. Other tribes are outsiders; perhaps we will tolerate them, but they do not belong here in the way that we do. We will muscle them aside and let them know who is in charge here. And if an obvious member of another tribe dares to come into one of our tribal gatherings we will let them know that they are not welcome.

Of course, it should go without saying that Christian tribalism is a complete travesty. The Christian faith is centered on Jesus, who taught love of all, including stranger and enemy, and who died for all. The early church, moved by the Holy Spirit, became a post-tribal community that brought together Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, people of every language and tribe and nation (Galatians 3:28, Ephesians 2:11-22).

Anyone who offers or falls for “Christian” tribalism separates himself from the God revealed in Jesus Christ.

The full article is available here

#BlessingNotBurden on the Campaign Trail - CRC North America

We want presidential candidates to tell the truth: immigrants are a blessing.

Why? There is a false understanding that people who immigrate to the United States are a burden. Belief in such a myth perpetuates the brokenness of our immigration system.

The truth is that people who immigrate to the U.S. are a blessing, and our broken immigration system often causes their families pain and prevents them from fully flourishing as God intends. We need you to ask candidates to speak publicly that immigrants are a blessing to the U.S.

To learn more about how to participate, view this Blessing Not Burden on the Campaign Trail info sheet.

Productive Dialogue on Immigration - Onward for Sojourner's

Immigration has always made America stronger.

In today’s climate, when discourse seems increasingly polarized and our communities are ever more global, it’s particularly important to understand how our immigration policies affect those around us.

Whether a child who's separated from her parents because of their legal status, a promising young student determined to study physics and robotics, or an elder seeking care at the end of life, our immigration policies are at play.

Onward's goal is to encourage productive dialogue – in places of worship and book clubs, at the kitchen table or in the blogosphere – about what we can do to make sure that everyone is treated with respect and compassion, wherever they are from.

Drawing on stories about real people (as well as an occasional animated short or a feature film), we hope these resources can help shine light on what, together, we can do to make sure our systems are consistent with our democratic values and our quest for a shared and prosperous future.

View the website and all of its resources here

Responsive Call To Worship: God, Help Us To Be Open (based on Proverbs 19:11)

Reader: God, the noise in our lives is loud.
ALL: Open our ears to your still, small voice.

Reader: God, the darkness within and around us feels threatening.
ALL: Open our eyes to the light of your presence.

Reader: God of overflowing mercy, we cling tightly to so many things.
ALL: Open our minds and hands in generosity and joy.

Reader: God of all people, we're often told that we need to fear those who are “other.”
ALL: Open our arms to the stranger, the refugee, and the oppressed.
Open our hearts to the expanse of your love.

Reader: God, replace our anger and fear with your peace.
ALL: Open our souls to receive your grace as we give you thanks and praise.

5 Things to Know about the Paris Climate Agreement - Do Justice!

The Paris Agreement is a big deal, and the Christian Reformed Church knows it. 

You’ve likely heard a lot lately about the Paris climate talks that wrapped up a few weeks ago, and you’ve likely been left wondering what it’s all about. The follow up from Paris has seen lots of high talk from government officials and lots of complicated jargon, but little plain-English explanations of what the agreement actually says and what it means.

The Paris Agreement is a big deal, and the CRC knows it. That’s why we sent a delegation to be present at the negotiations in order to provide a public witness and to report back on the proceedings.

The work of turning the words of the Paris Agreement into action is already underway in the CRC.

So in case you’ve been wondering what this whole Paris Agreement is all about, here are five things you need to know:

1. It is monumentally historic
Never before has every nation of the world adopted an agreement on climate change. Rather than prescriptive demands imposed upon nations, the Paris Agreement is based on nationally determined commitments that each country submitted based on their individual circumstances.

2. It sets a clear long-term temperature goal for the world
The Paris Agreement committed to keep “global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.” This new goal is a big deal and took most experts by surprise. It is a testament to the advocacy of low-lying vulnerable nations and NGOs that pushed hard at the talks for a more ambitious long-term goal as a matter of survival for their people.

3. It calls for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the century.
“Net zero emissions” simply means that by the end of the century, the world will have reduced its greenhouse gas emissions significantly, and what is still emitted will be sustainably offset by things like forests and oceans which absorb greenhouse gases (especially carbon dioxide--the most important greenhouse gas). The UN panel of expert scientists (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has said that the world must reach net zero emissions by 2070 to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate change.

4. It mobilizes billions of dollars for poor and developing nations
The Paris Agreement commits funds to be provided by developed nations to assist developing nations in the transition away from fossil fuels and in adapting to the effects of climate change that they are already experiencing.

5. It is the starting point, not the finish line
The agreement is a framework; a mutual agreement on how the world will move forward in the coming decades to address the challenge of climate change. Governments, lawmakers, and advocates (that’s you!) will now need to do the hard work of following up the important words of the Paris Agreement with even more important action.

The full article is available here

New Year, New Conversation about Immigration - Blessing Not Burden

"Scripture teaches that immigrants are made in the image of God and that a faithful response to a stranger is to extend welcome.

In the Bible, strangers are often used by God to bring blessing.

We have experienced the blessings that immigrants bring to the U.S., our communities, the economy, the church, and our lives.

So when we hear immigrants described as burdens, we're committed to change the conversation -- whether in our homes, churches, or congressional districts.

We commit to speak the truth: Immigrants are a blessing, not a burden."


Add your voice to the millions calling for just and sensible immigration policy that reflects that immigrants are a #BlessingNotBurden.

Join in changing the conversation about immigrants in the U.S. by signing the pledge at blessingnotburden.org/#sign

The Miracle of God Comes Through Us - Eberhard Arnold

From Charity to Advocacy to Deep Solidarity - Joerg Rieger in Patheos

Deep solidarity puts us in mutual relationship, helping us realize how much we share in common.

Charity, though widely appreciated, is neither the only nor the most faithful response to the problems of the world.

Jesus preached good news to the poor. What is good news to the poor? Is it that they can expect to be the recipients of handouts and donations? Or is it that they will no longer need to be poor?

Charity, however, is a place where we can start addressing the problems of the world when the eyes of those who engage in charity are opened to the causes of the problems they are trying to address.

Charity that is tied to a deeper understanding of the problems of the world often leads to advocacy, which means speaking out against the injustices at the root of our problems.  Such advocacy is solidly grounded in many religious traditions, including Hebrew prophets and Mary's Magnificat.

Jesus preached and embodied the good news to the poor by engaging in what I have been calling "deep solidarity."  It is a matter of understanding that nothing will change for the better unless we are addressing the problems of the world together.  Deep solidarity is the recognition that we are all in the same boat.

The ever-growing need for charity should make us aware of the extent of the problem of injustice and that there is no easy fix.  Those of us who still enjoy positions of privilege should begin putting them to use for the community and those who are struggling rather than solely for our own personal benefit.

The full article is available here

The Gospel and The Poor - Dorothy Day

The Work of Christmas - Howard Thurman

A Prayer For Justice Seekers at Advent - Do Justice!

Connection & Wholeness - Margaret Wheatley

Together We Can Banish Some Darkness - Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

In A Hurry - Eknath Easwaran

Reflection and Renewal: Your Love Won't Let Us Go (based on 1 John 1:9)

Loving God, you never give up on us.  Even though we fail, wound and withhold love, you love and forgive us. Even though we judge, neglect and withhold compassion, you love and forgive us.

May your all-encompassing love shine through in all that we do. Keep our eyes and our hearts open.

 Amen.

Energizing Visions - Henri J. Nouwen

Benediction: Every Part Of Our Lives (based on Luke 1:31-38)

based on “Mary” liturgy by John Birch

In every part of our lives God; may our ears hear your voice, may our hands do your work, may our feet walk your path, and may our hearts share your love for all people.

Fidelity To The Gospel - Walter Wink

Preaching the Whole Magnificat - Nadia Bolz Weber

What Mary sings of is not an endless cycle of retribution, but a total dismantling of the entire system.  The child she bears is not coming to make the oppressed the oppressors.  He is coming to disrupt the whole notion of oppression itself. 

Mary's song isn’t a docile picture of obedience singing about how great it is to be pregnant.  Mary is singing of nothing less than complete overturning of the social and economic order.

There’s a reason why the Magnificat is said to have terrified the Russian Czars. Because, the message is that if you find yourself rich and powerful then … watch out!  This young little Jewish girl is not singing about a whole lot of good news for you.

What Mary sings of is not an endless cycle of retribution, but a total dismantling of the entire system.  The child she bears is not coming to make the oppressed the oppressors.  He is coming to disrupt the whole notion of oppression itself.  This divinely vulnerable love is the only way out of our cycle of power and oppression.

I’m certain that the reality of empire and oppression and poverty and the abject powerlessness of her very self in her very context was not lost on the mother of our Lord.  Quite the opposite.  I think she knew.  She knew that because of her lowliness and poverty and insignificance  – because of this and not in spite of this that God was and is doing an entirely new thing.

Never had the poor been so exalted than for God to slip into their skin insistently blessing the whole world in a radical way.  She knew you simply can’t speak of such things.  They have to be sung.

The full article is available here

John The Baptist and Mary's Magnificat: The Economics of Hope - Nancy Rockwell in Patheos

The repentance John advises to the crowds is economic change. The dedication Mary sings about is the same. These actions are hopeful, and in their view, fit preparation for the redemption of the world.

Each advent, John the Baptist steps up, announcing that the economics of the empire and the temple are a corrupt system. People listened to him because they already knew this to be true.

We've gotten so used to thinking of John the Baptist as a secondary figure to Jesus, the message was meant only to point towards Jesus. In this we sell him well short.

The corruption of the temple economy was at the center of John's attention. His leaving Jerusalem, his camel skin clothing and his diet of honey and locust were signs of his refusal to participate in that economy.

Yet for all of his fiery conviction, John's answer to the corrupt economy is practical, reasonable, and most of all, full of hope: You who have two coats, give one away to someone who has none, he says. You who have two loaves of bread, do likewise. Behave fairly, treat people justly, no matter what job you have.

Changing the economy is John's answer to Herod's imperial acts of terror and the Temple Leader's economic exploitation. He teaches that we can build a world of hope among us by meeting each other's needs.

Mary of Nazareth, Jesus’ mother and John’s cousin, and the other Forerunner who is our Advent guide, rings out the same message, telling about how God scatters the proud in the imaginations of their hearts, who brings down the powerful from their thrones and lifts up the lowly, who fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich empty away.

The repentance John advises to the crowds is economic change. The dedication Mary sings about is the same. These actions are hopeful, and in their view, fit preparation for the redemption of the world.

The full article is available here

Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome - Reba Riley

59% of all Millennials who grew up in church drop out either permanently or for an extended period of time.

When I read surveys and studies about America's changing religious landscape, I don't see statistics. I see Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome.

It is real, pervasive, and quite possibly one of the reasons why the percentage of adults who describe themselves as Christians has dropped by nearly 80 percentage points since 2007.

Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome is:

• A condition of spiritual injury that occurs in the context of religion, faith and/or the leaving, losing or breaking thereof
• The aftermath of said spiritual injury
• A diagnosis intended to aid in serious spiritual healing.

Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome can be seen in the many people tired of being spiritually bruised, of their faith being used to justify unloving policies, and some of whom give up on faith altogether.  In fact, 59% of all Millennials who grew up in church drop out either permanently or for an extended period of time.

For me, questions about faith weren't being asked or answered by the theology preached by family's church of my childhood.  It felt like the deconstruction of an entire world view all at once.

No one ever told me it was ok to explore outside the lines of my upbringing.  No one told me that God was big enough to handle all of my doubts, questions, wondering and wandering or that God would meet (and was already residing) wherever I was - or wasn't.

For me, the term Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome framed the pain I couldn't express.  It helped to identify the reason why I couldn't pray or darken the door of a church.  In the midst of such tumult, it is important for each individual to remember that they are not alone in their upheaval. When I have shared my experience with others, so many have had the same experience and say, "[t]hat's me."

I found my way through Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome by finally understanding that God was everywhere and in everyone whether they knew it or not.  I finally understood that we are all connected.

At last I understood that we cannot experience God without one another, because God is love. If faith is love in action, God is in love in action times infinity.

Full articles are available at Time Magazine, HuffPost Religion, Religion News and Faith Street.