Honesty With Our Sin...

If my sinfulness appears to me 

to be in any way smaller or less detestable 

in comparison with the sins of others, 

I am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all. ... 

How can I possibly serve another person in unfeigned humility 

if I seriously regard his sinfulness as worse than my own?

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer in "Life Together"

The Near Future of the Church

The cultural trends and current trajectory for the local church that will endure, strongly indicates that it's participants will only get smaller, but more core-committed; less programmatic but more relationally organic; minimally corporate but more familial; intentionally counter-cultural ideologically and missiological; priestly and prophetic; theologically conservative and orthodox in it's praxis; teaches and lives Christ as Savior and Lord, as well as Prophet, Priest and King; exists peacefully with the tension of Truth and Love, Justice and Grace; is apolitical but socio-politically astute in regard to worldview; led by pastors who can seamlessly live Life and Faith among their people; and finally: is lovingly submissive enough to sacrifice "the blood of her martyrs as the seed of the Church" (Tertullian) - in order to be a more perfect Bride of Christ...

Conviction and Absolutes

When I was a full-time professor, I found it necessary, to teach my students to question convictions; that they held, and were absolutely sure of...

Then, when I became a full-time pastor, I found it necessary, to teach my parishioners conviction for absolutes; with surety, and held without question...

The former was necessary in order to uncover Truth...

The latter is necessary to cover in Truth...