Category Archives: Body Politics
[Sermon] “Once You Were Not a People But Now You Are the People of God”
Mt Hawthorn Community Church, 12 September 2010 Reading But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness … Continue reading
Filed under Body Politics, sermons
The Office and The Gospel of Matthew: Venting and Truthtelling
Yesterday I watched an episode of The Office where the inept boss, Michael, discovers that all his staff have been complaining about each other to the Human Resources officer. The HR officer takes down some notes and files it away; … Continue reading
Filed under Body Politics, John Howard Yoder
Churches of reconciliation: the diverse church as good news for the world
Here’s the text version of the paper; the previous post offered a pdf version. WA TEAR Conference 19 September 2009 As TEAR people, you already know that the good news is more than personal salvation after you die. You know … Continue reading
Churches of Reconciliation: the Diverse Church as Good News for the World
Here’s the paper I gave at the TEAR conference yesterday: Churches of reconciliation I shall tell you more about it later in the week, but I told people it would be up here, so I thought I’d better make good … Continue reading
Political engagement: embodying the change AND speaking truth to power
Wonderful article by Jim Kumfer discussed last night at the Newbigin Group. (We didn’t get there, having locked ourselves out of the car and house as we were about to leave. D’oh.) Kumfer uses Yoder’s Body Politics to suggest that … Continue reading
Filed under Body Politics, John Howard Yoder, new monasticism
Footwashing, rituals and the monarchy
12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that … Continue reading
Filed under Anabaptism, Body Politics, history
Anabaptism for Baptists: a historical legacy and a theological challenge
This is a talk I gave to a Baptist denominational distinctives class yesterday. Introduction We could look at Anabaptism in two ways. Firstly, as a historical movement in the sixteenth century – the radical reformers. That history is a helpful … Continue reading
Filed under Anabaptism, Body Politics, John Howard Yoder, theology
Yoder on church growth, the Great Commission and mission
I knew that Anabaptist theologian John Howard Yoder’s “Baptism and the new humanity” chapter of Body Politics had key things to say about my previous post concerning the shape of the church and anabaptist versus emerging church ecclesiology – but … Continue reading
Why the church must be attractional: an Anabaptist critique of the emerging missional church via Milbank
A few weeks ago, Hamo wrote an interesting post called ‘Why the missional incarnational church is screwed’. He quoted at length from the postliberal theologian John Milbank: The church cannot be found amongst the merely like-minded, who associate in order … Continue reading
The no-adjective church
Chuck Warnock’s written a great post pleading for a ‘no-adjective church’ - or really, for church to mean what it should mean again: But, in the Book of Acts, they didn’t need adjectives. Church was a community, a refuge, a place of healing, a … Continue reading
Filed under Body Politics, church (ecclesiology)
