I often give lectures at retreats on Christian spiritual formation attended by church goers and pastors—all people hoping to grow in their faithfulness as disciples of Jesus. At every retreat a few people—often sitting next to the women in the back knitting—will be bent over their desks with intricate mandalas in front of them and…
7 Books for [Contemplative] Church Planters
The words contemplative and church planter do not frequently appear together. Church planters are sometimes caricatured as driven, gregarious, extroverted individuals who magnetically attract the team of followers who help them launch a new worship service. But that’s not the only way–and I would say not the best way–to plant a church. At Pittsburgh Theological…
Mental Illness and the Church’s Response
Christians care about human suffering. The biblical narrative recounts that Jesus restored sight to the blind, enabled the lame to walk, and drove demons out of the possessed. His disciples carried on that work, and for thousands of years Christians have attended to healing and wholeness for body, mind, and spirit. But, not all shapes…