by Alexei Laushkin If you follow the Protestant world much, you’ll undoubtedly be aware that Mainline Protestants will use the Old Testament and the Prophets to justify all sorts of public policy positions. I can remember being at an event early in my vocation and it was an evening service, the Prophet Amos was being read. … More Spending Some Time with Amos
re-posted from the Church of the Ascension blog. Habits and small practices. Our days are filled with them. C.S. Lewis reminds us that in little ways we either choose faithfulness or enter into the lack thereof. These decisions guide whether we become the glorious children of the life to come or we continue a sort … More New Habits of Solitude is that Even Possible?
If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. (John 20:23) These are words of life. Not just words that express some ideal, these are words to put the nature of sin in oneself to death by. We are to be marked by mercy, by … More On Forgiveness
We live in an age that does not have a very good concept or grasp of Christian commitment when it comes to loving our neighbor as our self. We interpret these words to mean that we should treat each other well not that we should commit to each other whether the relationship is going well … More Relational Commitment
This is not a post on the worth of persons. This is a post on marriage and celibacy as two main commitments one can make as a Christian. Marriage is meant for holiness and wholeness. Holiness as we die to self to make room for our spouse and wholeness as we let the Trinity make … More On Marriage
Christian spiritual formation can take on an other-worldly emphasis from time to time. The evangelical American subculture (true for Catholics as well) is filled with retreat centers and other places where participants are invited to come away from their day to day life and spend time with God. In and of itself these centers of rest … More Grounded Faith Formation
How do you make time for God? Many Christians have a great desire to spend time with God, but it never seems to translate to action. Sometimes, we convince ourselves that we lack the time; other times we are simply unsure of where to start or even how to cultivate the desire for a devotional/prayer … More Making Time for God
There is too much being written about how hard it is for men to relate to other men. Given that we live in a more socially mobile age, you get the impression that it must be almost impossible to have good, stable male friendships. That’s really not the case. Jesus tells us that we are … More On Friendships
Our lives are filled with liturgy, though not necessarily of a Christian kind. Our day to day wants, patterns, and focuses form a kind of regular lived out pattern or liturgy of practice. We often don’t recognize how deeply ingrained our liturgies are. At times they are centered around a particularly powerful draw (a TV … More Our Lives Are Filled with Liturgy
One of the consistent themes in the Old Testament is remembering. Remember what I did in Egypt, remember what I did in the desert, remember what I did in the midst of you. Deuteronomy 11:2 has an even more interesting theme: Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline … More On Remembering
The Missional Life 