Sunday Afternoon (9/23)

Hi all:

With the congregational meeting, we tried to squeezed an hour discussion into 20 minutes. Let's see if we can use this blog to extend the conversation a little.

Today we spoke of "meta-narratives" that inform our society. The big stories that we live by, or at least that many people live by. We came up with a few:

Violence is redemptive.

God is on our (whoever the "our" is) side.

The rich are rich because God has so blessed them; the poor haven't been so blessed.

Are there others that we missed? These are the principalities and powers that we may have given our allegiance to without even knowing it. And, as far as conversations with non-Christians are concerned, we may be presenting more than the Gospel. Or significantly less, as the case may be.

We didn't talk about what stories Christians need to affirm as followers of Jesus. The individual stories/narratives that indeed are--or ought to be--part of our set of "reality assumptions."

Wow, we did a lot in 20 minutes, didn't we? Let's see what happens this week!

Pastor Terry

Sunday Afternoon (9/16)

Hi all:

This morning we looked at two issues, viz, what non-believers believe, and what believers don't believe. Was there perhaps enough in common for true dialogue to occur? I spoke of the religious speaker who addressed a group of university students. One student says "I just want you to know, I don't believe in God." The speaker replies, "Tell me more. Maybe I don't believe in this God either."

We asked what we would tell Mehta (author of "I Sold My Soul On eBay") our community was about. We said, "People who follow Jesus the Christ." We added to this the understanding that to follow Jesus means to take seriously his teachings and his presence. I suggested that many Christians either emphasize the teachings to the exclusion of the presence (and end up in a kind of Jesus Memorial Society), or the presence to the exclusion of the teachings (and end up with a Messiah who just happens to champion their particular cultural/economic/political agenda).

Great discussion last week on the blog, and this morning in the class. Keep it going!

Pastor Terry

Sunday Afternoon (9/9)

Hi all:

Today we explored what assumptions we have of human beings, and most of the class seemed to assume that all human beings are seekers. We couldn't agree what people are seeking after, however. Peace, security, meaning, connection, relationship, and truth were some of the candidates suggested.

We also looked at ways in which "faith" is understood and utilized by people. Believing propositions, experiencing transcendence, or living in a larger narrative of meaning are three such ways to construe faith. (see George Lindbeck, The Nature of Doctrine, 1984.)

Well, what do you all think/feel/believe/wonder? Happy blogging!

Pastor Terry

Welcome to our class blog! I'm new at this whole "blog" thing, but I'll do my best to make things meaningful.

Sundays September 9, 16 and 30, the Pastor's Class will explore some of the issues brought out of our reading of the book, I Sold My Soul On eBay: An Atheist's Views on the Church. (BTW, the book is available for purchase in the church office for $15.) As Christians we are called to reach out to all people, but often we don't even know the people around us: what they think, what they believe, what they feel about the church. The author describes himself as a "friendly atheist," and seems to me to be a genuine seeker with perceptions of Christianity and the church that we may find revealing, and maybe even helpful.

I wonder if we won't read something of our own spiritual journeys in this book, and find some of our own continuing questions. I hope this class is meaningful for us all. I'm looking forward to it.

Pastor Terry