In our emphasis on the life of the Spirit, we as Friends sometimes fail to give sufficient attention to the goodness of God’s creation, and the truth that we are embodied creatures. We are created by God to be not only spiritual, but physical. Just as the Word was made flesh in the person of …
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but …
I recently received an email from an American Quaker who had read my recent post, Freelance Ministry or the Body of Christ? They wrote:“I am totally in agreement with what you advocate — and my behaviors as minister among Friends are strictly Lone Ranger-mode. It’s not only my culture, it’s how I survived childhood. Those …
Read more “Lone Ranger Culture and Growing the Body of Christ”
Now you are the Body of Christ and individually members of it. – 1 Corinthians 12:27 Since becoming a Christian in the Quaker tradition, I have witnessed the wide range of character of many different congregations. There are the obvious differences, like attendance, geography and theology. There are differences in class background, age and the …
Within the Roman Catholic tradition, there are a number of monastic orders that maintain a certain level of autonomy and distinctness from the wider Church. Each of these orders has a particular sense of call and a special gift that they lift up for the wider Body. This special purpose, the particular giftedness and mission …
I am encouraged to see a number of signs that unprogrammed Friends are developing a renewed focus on evangelism. Liberal Friends in the US and UK are developing the Quaker Quest program as a pathway to numerical and spiritual growth, and Conservative Friends are also increasingly emphasizing outreach. In the last few years, all of …
I was pleased to read this post by Matt Hisrich, published today on Earlham School of Religion‘s blog, Learning and Leading. In his post, Matt observes the historical tension between centralized structures and decentralized models for decision-making and governance. He makes the connection that these tensions are equally present in secular government as they are …