Body life #1 : Baptism is entry into a new people

This is the first in a series of six articles first published in Oikos. They are a simplification of John Yoder’s Body Politics Simplified – this time with a specifically house church audience in mind.
Our life together as a church is an important part of the good news we announce to people. This good [...]

Celebration of Discipline #3 : Fasting

This is a series of posts about my reactions to each of the disciplines in Richard Foster’s book.
I dread the idea of fasting. I don’t like denying myself. And I know, each time I read this chapter, I am going to be re-convinced of how important fasting is.
I am too dependent on my appetites, too [...]

Sharing in the church meeting

In our Vineyard church we sit around tables. Sometimes we’re called on to share what God’s been saying to us during worship or in a time of reflection.
I always find that harder to do than sharing in my old house church. I had put it down to not knowing people as well and being at [...]

Richard Foster’s Celebration of discipline #2: Prayer

 I think what surprises me about this chapter is Foster’s expectancy that prayer will, basically, work. I realise I was expecting cautious explanations of how if we look for our prayers to come true, we’ll be sorely disappointed.Of course, the Bible doesn’t say this, and neither does Foster.
He doesn’t give a recipe for success, but [...]

AMUC Camp

Perth people might be interested in going to the AMUC camp (AMong the Urban Community) this month. They have a blog on WordPress – http://amuc.wordpress.com . (My brother is one of the organisers.) The idea is that for a week you live in community with other Christians (sleeping on the floor of a church) and experience [...]

The death of Thomas Merton

We were listening to an interesting program about the Catholic spiritual writer Thomas Merton on Radio National.  (I did get annoyed at Rachael Kohn as usual, trying it seemed to make Merton a pluralist in her own image; but then maybe he was.) Kohn mentioned that he died too early in tragic circumstances.
‘Perhaps he killed himself,’ [...]

R.I.P. Robert Webber

I just learned, after reading it in passing on subrationedei’s blog, that Robert Webber died in 2007. In 2000, I read Ancient-Future Faith and was quite convinced by him and his emphasis on liturgy and creeds. I then moved right away from this in the direction of house church. (Yet my house church used the lectionary [...]

The trinity in poetry

I’m reviewing a book of poems by Jane Williams called The Last Tourist, and it has in it the best few lines of Christian poetry I’ve read:
the father
(surefoot thunderlove)
the son
(appleeye godling in manskin)
the holy ghost
(dreamspinner firetongue)
- Jane Williams “Judas Oracle”