Committed Christians go to conferences. Or so the narrative goes. Christian conferences are everywhere, all the time. They are at hotels, convention centers and churches. They also come in all shapes and sizes. You can go to a big conference or a little conference. You can go to a regional conference or a national conference. You can go to a three-day conference of a week-long conference. As American Christians, we love our conferences. And yet...
Last May we had our first meeting of the Ecclesia & Ethics conference. This conference was live, on-line, in real time via Webinar (gotomeeting.com). There were no airplane fees, no travel days, no accommodation fees, no annoying roommates, no special travel documents required, nothing like that. We simply asked that everyone make a small donation to one of our recommended charities, or another charity of one’s choosing. From our first conference meeting we were able...
This week I asked my friend and officemate here at the University of Aberdeen if I could re-post a great blog he wrote about the ethics of Tom’s shoes and consumerism in a globalized world. Enjoy! Driving through Aberdeen city centre this morning I noticed a woman walking to the office in a business suit. It isn’t my habit to check out office workers on their morning commute, but I was attracted by a distinctive white...
“This f-ckin’ sucks.” This is the phrase uttered over and over again by the four Navy SEALs pinned down in heavy enemy fire in Afghanistan during the firefight scenes in Peter Berg’s latest film Lone Survivor and it epitomizes the underlying thematic focus of the film. I’m not going to get into what the plot of the movie is because, essentially, I hate it when film reviews do that; if you wanted to read a...
This year, my wife and I had the pleasure of participating in the Christmas Eve services for the first time at our new church in Berkeley. We were originally planning on attending just one service, until one the pastors asked me if I was willing to be crowd control for the Family Service. I was hesitant to commit to another service, but I couldn’t help but wonder what was happening that needed crowd control. Were...
It’s been 27 days since most American’s have begun the bell curve that is participation in Christmastide, and the participation in Advent, for those who chose to devotionally and/or liturgically relive the anticipation of the coming of Messiah. Yet now, the gift wrap is all torn asunder, and presents have all been revealed. The holiday classics have all aired for the year. The eggnog carton is empty. The ugly sweater parties have ceased. The derives, caroling...
About the author: Lindsey has a BA in Sociology from Cedarville University and a MA in Education (math) from the University of Colorado. After having taught 5th grade for four years, she currently stays at home and spends her days wrangling three toddlers while anxiously waiting for the sound of the garage door. Growing up, we didn’t do Santa. My sisters and I didn’t write lists, my parents never took us to visit Santa, nobody ever...
For fun this week, and to take a welcome break from my studies, I have decided to take a look at one of the most inspirational Christmas songs ever sung. It would be easy to just celebrate the brilliance of such a sensational and stimulating ditty but, for a more challenging endeavour, I thought it would be interesting to jump a couple thousand years into the future and look at this tantalizing tune from the...
“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” (Luke 2:6-7 NIV) “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of...
Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of the devastating Sandy Hook shooting, when Adam Lanza opened fire on Sandy Hook Elementary School, killing 20 children and 7 adults before taking his own life. A year ago, the news was filled with memorials and tributes, tears and laments, as our nation grieved in solidarity with Newtown, Connecticut. Kenzie and I were deeply (and rightfully) impacted by the shooting and tried to make sense of it in light...
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