http://segue.voxtropolis.com passionately living the inconvenient life Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:08:40 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Some things just don't make sense - factually, yet can be true none-the-less.  For instance: I am bad, but I am good.  The message of grace.  Declared good, despite the facts.  Through faith alone. The OT promised a return of Elijah.  John the Baptist was thought to be him, but said he was not.  Jesus ... http://segue.voxtropolis.com/2007/10/30/listening-for-the-scent-of-color-in-sweet-softness/ Our text group meets every Wednesday evening.  We would like to get a larger, more diverse input on our text each week before it is preached.  You are invited!  I'll give the text.  Read it.  Meditate on it. Study it.  Whatever.  Just write your thoughts on all or part of the ... http://segue.voxtropolis.com/2007/10/26/join-our-text-group/ Probably many of you have read Sally Morgenthaler's book, Worship Evangelism.  It was a thought-provoking study on how our Christian worship can reach the heart of unbelievers.  Then, recently, Sally recanted. (www.allelon.org/articles/article.cfm?id=402).  All should read her re-engineered view of worship.  She is a brave soul and a blessing to all of ... http://segue.voxtropolis.com/2007/10/14/worship-as-evangelism/ While attending a recent conference I frequently heard various speakers express their concern for Emergent Church leaders who seemed to have denied the gospel.  They quoted various authors to give evidence to their accusations.  The gospel was defined as the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that brought brings grace to ... http://segue.voxtropolis.com/2007/09/22/what-is-the-gospel/ Signs of Emergence, by Kester Brewin: Every once in a while an author emerges from the ranks of Christianity with a gift for not only capturing and articulating the issues of the age, but also in presenting a clear path for successfully negotiating those issues. Brewin accomplishes this masterfully. This ... http://segue.voxtropolis.com/2007/09/09/signs-of-emergence/ Is there room for 'awe' in a God who creates through evolution?  I have long wrestled with the biblical creation story and the evidences of science for evolution.  Francis Collins, the author of The Language of God, addresses this conflict in a fresh manner - shifting through all the hype and ... http://segue.voxtropolis.com/2007/09/02/the-language-of-god/ Wow. What a bombshell!  Or was it?  What was it about Mother Teresa that compelled us to build her into more than your usual saint?  Are we so desperate for modern-day spiritual heroes - evidences for the life transforming power of God - that we permit ourselves to filter out reality? Are there ... http://segue.voxtropolis.com/2007/08/28/mother-teresa-remix/ This books hurts, unassumingly at first, of course.  But then zero's in on those areas of the Christian life we love to ignore.   Chapter one addresses the obvious first question - why a book about justice, particularly in the burbs?  Justice, according to the authors, simply means 'acting right in ... http://segue.voxtropolis.com/2007/08/14/justice-in-the-burbs-by-will-lisa-samson/ "Does This Dress Make Me Look Fat? - a man's guide to the loaded questions women ask", by Stephen James & David Thomas (2007, Tyndale)   Christian authors, James & Thomas, discuss with consistently disarming humor, the common conversational perplexities between men and women.  Each of the seven chapters present a frequent, ... http://segue.voxtropolis.com/2007/08/05/does-this-dress-make-me-look-fat/ Most of us have wrestled with some tragedy through which we find ourselves angrily accusing God of not caring. We sit in judgment of God demanding answers to a myriad of tearfully asked questions: Why did You let such-and-such happen when you could have made a difference with just a ... http://segue.voxtropolis.com/2007/08/04/the-shack-by-william-young/