“We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.”1 © Vincent D. […]
Healing Our Vision in the Sorrowing City
It’s been over twenty years since the journalist Alex Kotlowitz published There Are No Children Here.1 In truth, Chicago has been in an undeclared state of emergency for decades, along with other cities like Oakland, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Newark. The murder rate in Chicago in 2012 was over 500, including at least 297 youth age […]
Mission Communities: Seeking a Fresh Approach
It is no secret to anyone in North American Christian circles that Christianity specifically, and organized religion in general, have fallen on hard times, from an institutional development point of view. In many rural communities the decline is part of a general demographic shift caused by the substitution of agri-business for family farming and the […]
Lutherans in Hyde Park: An Historical Analysis
Hyde Park is very much a company town,’ said Peter Cassel, director of community development for Antheus Capital, which owns more property in the neighborhood than anyone except the University of Chicago. ‘As the University grows, so too does the neighborhood.’”1 Company Town is the leading motif for this reflection on the rich history of […]
Leading From the Middle
“Where is the moral voice in Chicago?” That question was raised by an occasional attender of worship who is a key player in the not-for-profit world of the city. Where is the alternative vision to challenge the granting of privileges to corporations, selling off public services to private companies, hiring and appointing for political gain, […]
Concrete Jungles and Revolving Doors
For about four years now I’ve had a recurring dream. It’s a dream where I’m sitting in the dentist’s chair. The lights are bright; I can’t see very much. But I can see the mirror that the dentist is holding up in front of me. And in that mirror I see the reflection of what […]
Living Grace in the City
For Jesus the city was a place not of grace but of conflict. According to the Gospels, during his ministry in Galilee, Jesus avoided the cities in the region entirely. While they mention the names of numerous towns and villages that Jesus visited, the Gospels never speak of him going to either of the main […]
Same As It Ever Was
I remember reading Kant’s Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics in college. Today I pulled it out, blew off the dust (I ceremoniously sprinkle dust on all my books just in case I get the opportunity to pull one out in front of someone and impressively blow it off) and read until I landed on the […]
Are They Members? Welcoming the Ambivalent
Many churches intentionally welcome all people, citing especially persons of color, gays and lesbians, and those of differing socio-economic classes. Knowing that many people today struggle with the institutional church, our congregational welcome also singles out people who are ambivalent toward organized religion. It is surprising how often people name the significance of that brief […]
To Be Read Out-LOUD or Good Things Come in Three’s
Question: How do you talk about Jesus’ crucifixion at an open mic show with spiritual- but-not-religious types, many of whom have been badly burned by Christians and the church? Answer: It’s a trick question. You don’t talk about it – you embody it. The idea first occurred to me during the winter of 2008 after […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- Next Page »