Reflections on the state of the church

by Verity A. Jones

Last week, I was invited by the Christian Church Foundation (CCF) of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to speak to a gathering of development officers (fundraisers) in the church at their annual Disciples Development Conference. The location -- sunny Tampa, Florida --sweetened the pot. It's been very cold and wet in Indianapolis this winter.

I was asked to address the topic: The state of the church and current trends. I figured the good folks at CCF asked me to do this because, as someone both inside and outside of the denomination, they thought I might have more freedom to say some things than others. I don't know, but they gave me freedom to say what I thought, so I did.

Afterward, a number of people asked me for a copy of my remarks, and wondered if I might post it on the DisciplesWorld website or publish it in the magazine. But a speech like this isn't really newsworthy (for online or print news) and it's not really a feature article. So I inquired with the real News Muse, Rebecca Woods, news editor of DisciplesWorld magazine.

Now, Rebecca (and her family members!) have been trying to get me to start blogging for months (something I have been reluctant to do, the reason for which may be the topic of another blog). So when I asked her what I should do, Rebecca said, "Well, Verity! This is perfect for a blog!"

So here I go. My first blog entry is really just a link to a speech I gave about the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) entitled, The state of the church and current trends. But at least I'm getting started.

Global Ministries missionaries' Weblog

Was poking around on the Global Ministries web site and discovered they have a Weblog where missionaries post their stories, thoughts and observations.

If you've ever wondered what the life of a missionary is like, this blog appears to offer the unvarnished truth - good, bad, boring, exciting. Here is a sample entry from Marla Schrader, Global Ministries missionary in Palestine:

It has been more than three years since our family left Bethlehem during the Spring 2002 series of IDF military incursions into the West Bank and Gaza Strip. I left after a decade of mission service, while Leo, Jonathan and Anna Grace left their homeland. I will never forget that late May morning and how it took three adults to pry Jonathan's grip off the front door. So desperate was my three-year-old son's desire not to be uprooted from his home. We all left with the plan to return in 18 months, for surely the situation could not worsen. And then...it did.

Click here to visit the Global Ministries Weblog.

United Methodist official visits Phillipines, decries killings there

From the United Methodist News Service:
The Rev. Larry Hollon, top staff executive of United Methodist Communications, was part of a denominational delegation on human rights that visited the Philippines Jan. 3-7 to investigate the killings of clergy, laity and human rights workers. Here is what Hollon wrote about the situation there:

MANILA - After hearing one story and then another of murder and mayhem, the mind shuts down. It can take in no more.

The stories are told with simplicity, and those telling them are disarmingly unassuming. A mother speaks of a son who wanted to make the world a better place; a spouse tells of a hard-working father whose "crime" was seeking better wages; a father recalls a daughter teaching poor women simple, legal rights under law; a sister tells of her brother clergyperson who taught people they are valuable in the embrace of God. Each has been gunned down in circumstances more than merely coincidental.

To read the rest of Hollon's reflection, visit his Weblog.

Some light reading just for the hell of it

(not blogging about Pat Robertson, not blogging about Pat Robertson, not blogging about that idiot Pat Robertson, not blogging about...)

Hey... on a more interesting note, there's a new book out by Chuck Crisafulli and Kyra Thompson that tells you everything you've always wanted to know about hell but were afraid to ask. For example, 'hell' to the Vikings was called Helheim, and it was ice cold, not hot. Who knew?

Two of three places in the world named Hell (Norway, Michigan) are cold too. The other is on Grand Cayman.

And apparently there's an urban legend about the characters of Gilligan's Island - each is guilty of one of the seven deadly sins.

Just a little diversion on a Friday afternoon when I'm trying not to think about Pat Robertson.

Pastor launches Disciples blogring

Hurray for California pastor Katherine Willis Pershey for taking the initiative to create a blogring for Disciples bloggers. For more info or to join, click here.

Also, here is a link to a story on our web site about Pershey, who writes the Any Day a Beautiful Change blog, and the blogring. You go girl!

Happy Holidays!!

So the DisciplesWorld blog took a little Advent sabbatical. Well, I'm not sure what my other compadres at the magazine were up to, but those closest to me got to hear me ranting often about the latest 'christian' cause - pressuring big-box stores to put the words "Merry Christmas" in their advertising and in the mouths of their greeters and cashiers.

This year, I received a special Christmas gift (pictured at left) from relatives who appreciate my particular brand of Christmas crankiness.

We are called to spread the Good News from our doorsteps to the end of the earth. But expecting retailers to do our evangelism for us further cements the unholy link between the Incarnation and the Shopping Cart Nation.

Perhaps if we all purchased one of these to give to our atheist and Muslim and Jewish and Hindu neighbors....