Friday, January 30, 2009

Three Normative Contexts for a Life Shaped by Jesus

Sam Wells in his introduction to the 20th anniversary edition of Ched Myers Binding the Strong Man, suggests that Ched Myers believes that there are three normative contexts for a life shaped by Jesus. They are:

1) Being part of a group of disciples.
2) Attending to the crowd, being in relationship with the poor and oppressed.
3) Attending to Jesus' confrontation with the Jerusalem authorities of his day.

Or, stated in question form:

1) Am I part of a "group of disciples" in any meaningful sense?
2) Do I have friendships with people very different from myself, people to whom I say 'I am allowing myself to be changed by knowing you'?
3) Does the shape of my life reflect my longing to see God set people free, and do I challenge those who keep others in slavery?

These are excellent devotional reflection questions, but also useful as a hermeneutical lense for reading and preaching on Mark's gospel in this year.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Bishop's Report and Reflections on Holy Land Visit

Messages and Statements - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Report and Reflections from the Bishops' Academy Visit to the Holy Land [1]
January 2009

After two years of planning, bishops, their spouses, and staff members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) traveled to the Holy Land for the Bishops’ Academy, an annual gathering for study and worship. The trip was planned as a witness to God’s will for a just peace for all people and as an expression of accompaniment with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) and ministries of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).

Monday, January 19, 2009

Friday, January 09, 2009