Relevancy22: Contemporary Process Christianity: Post-Evangelic Topics and Theology: Church Resources

Quotes & Sayings

We, and creation itself, actualize the possibilities of the God who sustains the world, towards becoming in the world in a fuller, more deeper way. - R.E. Slater

There is urgency in coming to see the world as a web of interrelated processes of which we are integral parts, so that all of our choices and actions have [consequential effects upon] the world around us. - Process Metaphysician Alfred North Whitehead

Kurt Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem says (i) all closed systems are unprovable within themselves and, that (ii) all open systems are rightly understood as incomplete. - R.E. Slater

The most true thing about you is what God has said to you in Christ, "You are My Beloved." - Tripp Fuller

The God among us is the God who refuses to be God without us, so great is God's Love. - Tripp Fuller

According to some Christian outlooks we were made for another world. Perhaps, rather, we were made for this world to recreate, reclaim, redeem, and renew unto God's future aspiration by the power of His Spirit. - R.E. Slater

Our eschatological ethos is to love. To stand with those who are oppressed. To stand against those who are oppressing. It is that simple. Love is our only calling and Christian Hope. - R.E. Slater

Secularization theory has been massively falsified. We don't live in an age of secularity. We live in an age of explosive, pervasive religiosity... an age of religious pluralism. - Peter L. Berger

Exploring the edge of life and faith in a post-everything world. - Todd Littleton

I don't need another reason to believe, your love is all around for me to see. – Anon

Thou art our need; and in giving us more of thyself thou givest us all. - Khalil Gibran, Prayer XXIII

Be careful what you pretend to be. You become what you pretend to be. - Kurt Vonnegut

Religious beliefs, far from being primary, are often shaped and adjusted by our social goals. - Jim Forest

We become who we are by what we believe and can justify. - R.E. Slater

People, even more than things, need to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. – Anon

Certainly, God's love has made fools of us all. - R.E. Slater

An apocalyptic Christian faith doesn't wait for Jesus to come, but for Jesus to become in our midst. - R.E. Slater

Christian belief in God begins with the cross and resurrection of Jesus, not with rational apologetics. - Eberhard Jüngel, Jürgen Moltmann

Our knowledge of God is through the 'I-Thou' encounter, not in finding God at the end of a syllogism or argument. There is a grave danger in any Christian treatment of God as an object. The God of Jesus Christ and Scripture is irreducibly subject and never made as an object, a force, a power, or a principle that can be manipulated. - Emil Brunner

“Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh” means "I will be that who I have yet to become." - God (Ex 3.14) or, conversely, “I AM who I AM Becoming.”

Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. - Thomas Merton

The church is God's world-changing social experiment of bringing unlikes and differents to the Eucharist/Communion table to share life with one another as a new kind of family. When this happens, we show to the world what love, justice, peace, reconciliation, and life together is designed by God to be. The church is God's show-and-tell for the world to see how God wants us to live as a blended, global, polypluralistic family united with one will, by one Lord, and baptized by one Spirit. – Anon

The cross that is planted at the heart of the history of the world cannot be uprooted. - Jacques Ellul

The Unity in whose loving presence the universe unfolds is inside each person as a call to welcome the stranger, protect animals and the earth, respect the dignity of each person, think new thoughts, and help bring about ecological civilizations. - John Cobb & Farhan A. Shah

If you board the wrong train it is of no use running along the corridors of the train in the other direction. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

God's justice is restorative rather than punitive; His discipline is merciful rather than punishing; His power is made perfect in weakness; and His grace is sufficient for all. – Anon

Our little [biblical] systems have their day; they have their day and cease to be. They are but broken lights of Thee, and Thou, O God art more than they. - Alfred Lord Tennyson

We can’t control God; God is uncontrollable. God can’t control us; God’s love is uncontrolling! - Thomas Jay Oord

Life in perspective but always in process... as we are relational beings in process to one another, so life events are in process in relation to each event... as God is to Self, is to world, is to us... like Father, like sons and daughters, like events... life in process yet always in perspective. - R.E. Slater

To promote societal transition to sustainable ways of living and a global society founded on a shared ethical framework which includes respect and care for the community of life, ecological integrity, universal human rights, respect for diversity, economic justice, democracy, and a culture of peace. - The Earth Charter Mission Statement

Christian humanism is the belief that human freedom, individual conscience, and unencumbered rational inquiry are compatible with the practice of Christianity or even intrinsic in its doctrine. It represents a philosophical union of Christian faith and classical humanist principles. - Scott Postma

It is never wise to have a self-appointed religious institution determine a nation's moral code. The opportunities for moral compromise and failure are high; the moral codes and creeds assuredly racist, discriminatory, or subjectively and religiously defined; and the pronouncement of inhumanitarian political objectives quite predictable. - R.E. Slater

God's love must both center and define the Christian faith and all religious or human faiths seeking human and ecological balance in worlds of subtraction, harm, tragedy, and evil. - R.E. Slater

In Whitehead’s process ontology, we can think of the experiential ground of reality as an eternal pulse whereby what is objectively public in one moment becomes subjectively prehended in the next, and whereby the subject that emerges from its feelings then perishes into public expression as an object (or “superject”) aiming for novelty. There is a rhythm of Being between object and subject, not an ontological division. This rhythm powers the creative growth of the universe from one occasion of experience to the next. This is the Whiteheadian mantra: “The many become one and are increased by one.” - Matthew Segall

Without Love there is no Truth. And True Truth is always Loving. There is no dichotomy between these terms but only seamless integration. This is the premier centering focus of a Processual Theology of Love. - R.E. Slater

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Note: Generally I do not respond to commentary. I may read the comments but wish to reserve my time to write (or write from the comments I read). Instead, I'd like to see our community help one another and in the helping encourage and exhort each of us towards Christian love in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. - re slater

Showing posts with label Church Resources. Show all posts

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Open and Relational Theologies - More Resources for the ORT Christian and Non-Christian

We live in an open and relational creation. All are invited in regardless of faith or non-faith. Though developed for the Christian faith Relevancy22 is not here to proselytize but to expand the commonalities between the Christian and the World of God. An open, relational creation and future is one such commonality. All is possibility and all is relational. This isn't a Christian philosophy but a process-based philosophy as developed by Alfred North Whitehead in the early 1900s. Like Einstein's insights, theology, like science, is rapidly expanding these former thinker's ideas into all areas of study and observance. Aptly, process thought is a way to describe the world in its societies, geographies, times and locations. Insomuch as God is an open and relational Being so too is God's creation. How man has responded to these qualities has been reflected over the eons in a multitude of ways: from beliefs and religions, to community, to academic application. An Open and Relational way of being and thinking is not a Christian thing, but a creational / world thing. Welcome to all who would explore this world of being-ness which is becoming". - R.E. Slater

Open and Relational Theologies

This group fosters discussion of a wide variety of theological issues relevant to those who in some way embrace open and relational theology. Such theology includes ways of thinking found in traditions such as Process, Openness, Feminist, Evangelical, Postmodern, Liberation, Womanist, Wesleyan, Continentalist, Analytic, Existential, and Narrative theologies.

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God is Open - the Open Theism Circle

Our main body of posts should be neat things we have discovered in the Bible, not theological debates.

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Open Theism

Open Theism affirms that: 1) God and creatures enjoy mutually-influencing relations 2) the future is partly open / God does not fully settle it 3) love is uniquely exemplified by God and is the human ethical imperative

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Process and Faith

Process & Faith is a multi-faith network for relational spirituality and the common good. Process Philosophy and Theology offer a comprehensive vision of the world and better hopes for the world, inviting a sense of wonder and a recognition of the sacred, based on the interconnectedness, intrinsic value, and beauty present in all living things.

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The Uncontrolling Love of God Conversations

This group was originally started as a weekly skype/video discussion of Tom Oord's book The Uncontrolling Love of God. It has evolved into an ongoing discussion around the uncontrolling love concepts. We welcome all people to join the conversation. It would be helpful for all participants to have read The Uncontrolling Love of God. Besides that, we ask that conversation be charitable yet engaging.

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r/cruciformity

This discussion group explores cruciform theology. At the fore is the idea Jesus reveals the nature and character of God, one of self sacrificial love and of power shown in weakness on the cross. Difficult issues like violence in the Old Testament and why there is evil in the world bring open and relational theologies into the conversation.

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Healing with God Can't

This group explores what it means to believe God doesn't cause or allow evil but works with us and others to heal. Members assume no one has all the answers, but we can find insights when sharing our stories and working toward wholeness. Much of the discussion arises from ideas in the book God Can't, written by Thomas Jay Oord.

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Bibliographies

John Sanders - Open Theism

This bibliography is arranged in five categories: (1) multi-views works, (2) works supporting open theism, (3) works engaging open theism, (4) works against open theism, and (5) doctoral dissertations and masters theses engaging open theism. Updated November 2018

Monday, July 17, 2017

The Importance of Lay Volunteers to the Church of God (Francis Chan Reflects on His Own Journey)

Pastor, Author Francis Chan, San Francisco, CA

Another short post today on the importance of growing and involving volunteers vs paid staff. It has been my experience that lay volunteers get more done, with better results and everyone wins.

R.E. Slater

July 17, 2017

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Francis Chan Gets Powerfully Honest

On Why He Left His MegaChurch

link to article

by Judy Clair

July 5, 2017

Wow, you don't often hear a pastor saying this. In a powerfully honest talk to Facebook employees on last Thursday, best-selling author and former pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA, Francis Chan shared why he really left the megachurch.

"I got frustrated at a point, just biblically," Chan told the group at Facebook, as the Christian Post reports. "I'm going wait a second. According to the Bible, every single one of these people has a supernatural gift that's meant to be used for the body. And I'm like 5,000 people show up every week to hear my gift, see my gift. That's a lot of waste. Then I started thinking how much does it cost to run this thing? Millions of dollars!"

"I was like, 'God, you wanted a church that was known for their love. You wanted a group of people where everyone was expressing their gifts. … We're a body. I'm one member, maybe I'm the mouth. But if the mouth is the only thing that's working and … I'm trying to drag the rest of the body along, chewing on the carpet …"

Chan got really vulnerable about the pride that came with the success of his book, Crazy Love, and how he desperately wanted to return to the person he once was. "I freaked out during that time in my life," Chan recalled. "The pride … [going to] a conference and seeing my face on a magazine … and hearing whispers … and walking in the room and actually liking it."

"Everything you (God) said you hated, that's me right now," he realized. "I gotta get out of here. I'm losing my soul."

Now Chan is doing something completely different from his former megachurch venture. Called "We Are Church," Chan is leading a group of 30 unpaid pastors who are pastoring about 15 different house churches in the San Francisco area. Each church is set up to be small, to build real community and prompt people to use their gifts.

"We've got a few hundred people now and it costs nothing," Chan explained. "And everyone's growing and everyone's having to read this book (Bible) for themselves and people actually caring for one another. I don't even preach. They just meet in their homes, they study, they pray, they care for one another. They're becoming the church and I'm just loving it and realizing that these 30 guys [are] leading this and the women as well."

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Introducing Animate's "Faith Formation Series" for Adults, Teens, and Kids by Sparkhouse

Animate - Faith Formation Series - Intro Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5SLfvMcCZvk

For more information -

http://wearesparkhouse.org/

Published on May 2, 2012 by wearesparkhouse

Seven leading Christian voices.

Seven big conversations about faith.

All you need is seven weeks.

Animate is an exciting series that leverages the knowledge and experiences of a diverse set of leading Christian voices. Together, they helped us create a new introductory course that creatively explores central topics of Christianity.

The first course in the series is Animate: Faith. The session titles are listed below. Learn more at www.wearesparkhouse.org.

God | Faith Is a Quest

Brian McLaren

Religion | Spirituality Is Not Enough
Lillian Daniel

Jesus | The Revolution of Love
Mark Scandrette

Salvation | Abundant Life Now
Shane Hipps

Cross | Where God Is
Nadia Bolz-Weber

Bible | A Book Like No Other
Lauren Winner

Church | An Imperfect Family
Bruce Reyes-Chow

Holy Moly - David & Goliath

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNBt6IjYlnE&feature=relmfu

Updating outdated flannel graphs to today's new media Holy Moly is a new Sunday school curriculum that irresistibly captures the imagination of kids by bringing the Bible to life! Kids walk away from class excitedly retelling the stories they just learned and eagerly awaiting what's next.

Each lesson invites kids into the story with animated Bible story retellings, reinforces the lesson through the colorful pages of the Holy Moly Storybooks and Holy Bible, and encourages creativity and imagination with activities that bring the stories to life.

Holy Moly Field Test

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAYKwyVW8zg&feature=relmfu

When we created our new Sunday school curriculum, Holy Moly, we had a feeling kids would be jumping out of their seats with excitement for God's Word, we just didn't expect quite so much jumping.

Check out clips from this recent Holy Moly Field Test. We went directly to the source to be sure we were on to something good. It's probably safe to take the excited squeals as a "yes!"

Holy Moly is coming out in May. More info coming soon! Stay tuned.