Barnabas File

Old Testament Reading: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, NIV   9  Two are better than one,     because they have a good return for their labor: 10  If either of them falls down,     one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls     and has no one to help them up. 11  Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.     But how can one keep warm alone? 12  Though one may be overpowered,     two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.   New Testament Reading: 2 Corinthians 3:11, NIV   11  Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.     Sometimes we must unlearn old things so that we can learn new things.   One of the things I had to unlearn was that scripture ...

A Mythic and Rich Legacy The life and accomplishments of the saint we call Patrick have certainly been embellished and enhanced by early hagiography and centuries of veneration.  Historians assume that some acts attributed to Patrick were either done by others or are simply good stories that have become part of his legend.  In death, Patrick is undoubtedly a much larger presence that he was in actual life.  This is true with so many religious and historical figures.  They may have been decisive, even heroic, figures but we can no longer separate the person from the legend. Not only is Patrick an iconic figure, he has also become linked with what we know call Celtic Christianity.  Thomas Cahill’s book  How the Irish Saved Civilization  introduced the rich tradition of the Celtic and specifically Irish contributions to a mass audience.  George Hunter drew on similar ideas for  The Celtic Way of Evan...

In retirement, I do part-time work for two organizations.     One is located near Columbia, South Carolina, and one in Shawnee Mission, Kansas.    One is about an 8-hour drive from my home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the other about 10 hours driving time. I identify with the growing number of people who work remotely from their organizations. In a recent blog , Paul White shared these statistics:  In 1995 only 9% percent of American workers telecommuted, but in 2015 off-site workers increased to 37%. In 2016, 43% of American workers reported they spend at least part of their week working remotely. It has been estimated that 50% of the U.S. workforce has job responsibilities that are compatible with working off-site at least occasionally and between 80% and 90% of the U.S. workforce reports it  would like to  work remotely at least part-time. White’s blog deals with showing appreciation for employees, both those who work at the compan...

Community is at the center of what it means to be church.  A missional church that is engaged with its culture is constantly renegotiating exactly how community will be manifested but it will always be central.  In this second volume of the Missional Wisdom Library, Larry Duggins draws on Wesleyan theology to show how both prevenient grace (preparation for salvation) and sanctifying grace (growing in holiness) can be manifested in various types of community.  He writes, “As people of God, we cannot ‘save’ other people . . .  But we can work to bring people together in a way that makes it easier for them to encounter the grace of God in an environment that is encouraging, with people who can help interpret their experiences.” (pp. 80-81) Duggins points out that any community can be a place of grace and gives examples from churches, the workplace, around food (growing, cooking and consuming it), children’s activities and schools, and affinity groups....

In most churches, this is the time of year when we “begin a new church year.”   Of course, I don’t mean the calendar year or the liturgical year, but the year tied to the end of summer and the beginning of school.   Most churches base their Bible study, discipleship, and mission programs on the beginning of the academic year, so this is the time when we dust off the old and roll out the new. This is often we reconsider the way that we go about welcoming guests in our congregations.  Why “guests” rather than “visitors”?  If people are visitors, we may be implying that we don’t expect them back.  Guests, however, are those with whom we want to develop rapport in hopes of an ongoing relationship. We often use the word “hospitality” to describe what we are offering when new folks come to call in our worship services and Bible studies classes.  Although we move quickly to the techniques involved in making someone feel welcome, perhaps...

“When are we finished being formed as disciples of Jesus Christ? It’s not over until it’s over (in the ultimate sense). We are always a work in progress, with more room to grow. So every congregation needs ways to continue the journey.”—SHIFT I have always loved the analogy of the Christian life as a journey.  The paradox is that each of us begins that journey in a unique place but we all begin at the same place.  Not everyone has a Damascus road experience as the apostle Paul did but this does not make our decision less valid.  Some of us grew up in the church while others came to a commitment to Christ in our maturity.  We brought our own backgrounds, experiences, and God-given gifts into that relationship. At the same time, we all begin the journey as babes, unformed and untested. The wonderful thing about our journey with Christ is that it is ongoing and continuous.  As Mark Tidsworth points out in the quote above from SHIFT:...