What do we mean by unity of the body? And in particular into a church landscape that is changing dramatically.
Subject Archives: General
The dangers of a ‘religion’ gate
What one person means by using a word is not necessarily the same as the next person. Perhaps it is possible to use the word ‘religion’ (or ‘church’ gate) in a way that would be helpful, however…
The dangers at the top of the mountain
In the short article on gates or mountains I try to address the inherent dangers that I see if we use / overuse the ‘mountain’ terminology. In Scripture, we read that Jesus calls for the mountains to be lowered and the valleys brought up. There is to be a levelling. This ‘flat’ approach has to [...]
kenarchic politics (3) making the poor a priority
This third guideline for kenarchic politics is to make the poor our priority. This is very simple to state, but its implications are once again overwhelming in their reach. Jesus made it clear that his good news specifically belongs to the poor. This is unavoidable in his teaching, and inescapable from his practice. His proclamation [...]
kenarchic politics (2) care for creation
The direct connection between Jesus’ life and the creation is clear. In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth. Given that Jesus reveals God as fully characterised by love that pours itself out as gift, this is where it began. The creation is God’s loving gift. So we are its stewards. Paul says [...]
How do we enter the gates?
If we have a world-impacting faith we have to think through how we enter these gates and what should we be expecting to be the results. Eschatological visions of how things will be transformed at the parousia will have a bearing. A pessimistic pre-millennial view will suggest we should not be looking for much to change, and perhaps even to expect the world to become increasingly a dark place.
A world impacting faith
The faith we have is a world-impacting faith. The claims of Jesus are not the claims that are simply outworked in private. They are in the public arena. This surely is why Paul’s proclamation is made in the most public of spaces.
Gates or mountains?
Language is important even if it is not possible to totally determine what is understood by a particular usage of specific terminology. Let’s try here to bring some things together in one place regarding terminology.
Abraham’s promise
There were promises made to Abraham that we can summarise under two headings: land and people. Repeatedly he was told that he would be given land and that his descendants would be very numerous. But there is one new promise that is given to him in chapter 22 of Genesis that I believe is very important for us.
Gates: an introduction
In seeking to analyse what can help facilitate transformation I am suggesting that there are three aspects that can be pursued. The final one, being the subject matter in hand, that of occupying the gates.
Editorial Vol. 1.4
With this fourth magazine, I will have successfully moved all the articles from the original forum. That forum (and now this magazine) was designed to help us explore how to interact with the gates of society. Hopefully it presents perspectives and when there are different viewpoints expressed that the differences will only help enrich rather [...]