READING LIST
Up next
Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening ~ by Diana Butler Bass, 2012, religion
Diana Butler Bass offers a fresh interpretation of the "spiritual but not religious" trend and seeks to comprehend the decline in Christian attendance and affiliation that started decades ago — and has increased exponentially in recent years. Bass argues that we are at a critical stage in a completely new spiritual awakening, a vast interreligious progression toward individual and cultural transformation, and a wholly new kind of postreligious faith.
Reading now
Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in Twelve Simple Words ~ by Brian D. McLaren, 2011, religion
Just finished
Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus ~ by Robin R. Meyers, 2009, religion, 10/10
CHURCH
This morning I attended church at St. Marks United Methodist Church, where two churches are trying something different. The 4,200- member Christ UMC is sending a hundred of their members to work with St. Marks for a year. This morning, the two groups (along with a few visitors like me) worshiped in the fellowship hall at St. Marks, with a band and videos as part of their worship. Read more about it and see a two-minute video
here. Since Forrest Avenue UMC, where I was pastor from 1987 to 1991, was just down the street and
closed two years ago, I would like to see St. Marks UMC continue as a community church.
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I like the idea of a church keeping up with the times, but does it take away from the peacefulness of a service to have video going?
ReplyDeleteThe video is not going alongside a service, but is part of it. I think what's on that screen I photographed is streaming words of a song, which means people don't have to try to read tiny words in a hymnal as they sing along. Another time, a humorous video was used to make a point, with people saying what they want from a church service. That one ended with a little boy saying, "I want a pony."
ReplyDelete