May 2011
15 posts
2 tags
Let mission drive us →
…The only way to welcome change is to have a strong understanding of the congregation’s mission, which is to say, that which commands its very existence. Without a dynamic mission that drives it, a congregation will drop to the de facto, implicit mission of having a community of like-minded people. If this is the goal, people will reject change, because as soon as they establish that...
What Missional Looks Like →
Living their values cooperatively
…The house sits on a quarter-acre corner lot in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood. The planning committee stipulated that they find a lot with outdoor gardening space and that it be accessible to public transportation. It’s a gritty neighborhood. Once grand, the area has fallen victim to urban blight, with its crime and unemployment rates among the city’s...
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A Tale of Two Robinsons →
“…These elements of social capital have long since been stripped from the Abandoned, and justice for the Abandoned requires substantial and personal reinvestment, family by family, block by block. I came away with a deepened attraction that Rev Ron Robinson is on the right path with his Third Place ministry in Turley, OK.
But there are two things about Ron’s ministry that fly in the...
Abandoned Places of Empire Movers →
“…Getting up and moving to abandoned places of empire is a radical idea. You’ve got to think Adin Ballou would have loved it. What places near you are abandoned? How can you engage them? What marks of the New Monastacism can you take up or take on?”
“I believe…people never mean half of what they say, and that it is best to...”
– Dorothy Day
“God will not lead you where He will not provide for you.”
– David Sills, “The Missionary Call”
Shalom as Freedom & Unity →
“I’ve just begun to more fully understand what it means to be a peacemaker. There is a big difference between being a peacekeeper (an appeaser) and a peacemaker. I’ve come to the realization that for much of my life I’ve been a peacekeeper but not a peacemaker. Here is a thought for you; sometimes in order to be a peacemaker you have to be a troublemaker. Ponder that one for a while.”
“Church isn’t where you meet. Church isn’t a building. Church is what you do....”
– Bridget Willard
“Can’t you see that the dream that sprouts in your heart is your mission on...”
– Alfredo Karras
“Somehow we’ve gotten the idea that the essence of faith is entirely a...”
– Dallas Willard
“May your life preach more loudly than your lips.”
– William Ellery Channing (Unitarian, minister, reformer)
Sacrifice?
I remember a several years ago, when everyone at a UU conference was talking about “Radical Hospitality.” There was some book out concerning the topic, so when I got home, I went on a used-book site and ordered a copy.
I don’t think I got the one they were talking about.
The book I wound up with was written by fundamentalist Christians. They would meet homeless people, and let...
“Say not, “I have found the truth,” but rather, ”I have found a...”
– Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931) 