[The following is a guest post from our friend Steve MacDouell. Steve teaches at Fanshawe College, is the co-founder of Good City Co., as well as a Senior Editor at The Localist. He is from Woodfield—a neighborhood in Central London, where he enjoys instigating place-based projects, hosting workshops, and inviting everyday citizens to leverage their time, their ideas, and their creativity for the sake of their …
Discerning God’s direction in life is tricky business. The culture that surrounds us, the opinions and prerogatives of others, and the noise of our own hearts makes it difficult to hear God’s path many times. We need friends to help us listen to God, navigate the complexities of life, and go on the discernment journey with us. “Friendliness is common …
e·piph·a·ny manifestation or appearance a moment of sudden revelation or insight. My family will celebrate anything. No, really, anything. All the major holidays, of course, but also the first/last day of school, the longest/shortest day of the year, the hottest day of summer, the fact that it’s a Wednesday. We love to pull out the joyful in the midst of …
I’m an Anglican priest planting an Anglican church in Indianapolis. Most people who come to my church comment on our liturgy. “I love the liturgy!” or “The liturgy sure is… interesting!” are frequent comments. But to call my church “liturgical” and another church not liturgical is false, I think. Every church is “liturgical” in that we have a pattern to our worship …
Our friends at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary have been Praxis partners for many years and we were thrilled to have them partner again with us in 2018. Here Rev. Karen Rohrer, Director of the Church Planting Initiative shares important themes to consider in church planting. How can faith be found inside of empire? The book of Acts takes pace in empire—the Roman Empire—and …
There is an incredible invitation for established churches to follow the Spirit into a new future. It is tempting to focus on all of the problems established churches must tackle (organizational ruts, historical barriers, institutional mistrust, mission drift) and then start throwing quick fixes at the wall hoping to simply survive. Hoping that something will finally stick. The reality is, …
Several years ago I wanted to have indoor plants. So I chose to buy a Peace Lily because it’s one of the most “indestructible” plants. I researched aspects of taking care of the Peace Lily and, feeling empowered to care for this plant, I did everything I thought it needed: I would water it once or twice a week, I …
A few years ago, my wife and I were packing up boxes and preparing to move to a new home. We were just about finished but we still had to pack up a few boxes of miscellaneous decorative pieces in our living room. We ended up getting into a bit of an argument because I tried to pack a small …
Consumerism states that whatever dazzles us with words, with personality, with brilliant production, is worth our time. Churches have surrendered to this powerful inertia when they seek to find the relevant hot-spots for what people want, and then use them to design their worship gatherings. Many are questioning the use of these marketplace sensibilities. Is there another way forward? Is …
Scripture is quite clear about the Church’s responsibility to the foreigner: “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt” (Lev 19:33-34); “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the …