Gathering In Light

As a doctoral student in missiology I like to keep up on the new things getting published on the subject. Here are a few new books that are out that have caught my attention. ((Books include referral code links to Powell’s Books an Independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon.)) Summaries provided by Powells.com.

In 1910 Protestant missionaries from around the world gathered to explore the role of Christian missions in the twentieth century. In this collection, leading missiologists use the one hundred year anniversary of the Edinburgh conference as an occasion to reflect on the practice of Christian mission in today’s context: a context marked by globalization, migration, ecological crisis, and religiously motivated violence. The contributors explore the meaning of Christian mission, the contemporary context for mission work, and new forms in which the church has engaged–and should engage–in its missionary task. From these essays, a vision of twenty first-centurymission begins to emerge–one that is aware of issues of race, gender, border spaces, migration, and ecology. This renewed vision gives strength to the future of shared Christian ministry across nations and traditions. Continue Reading…

One of the things that has been really inspiring me lately is Krista Tippett’s radio/podcast program “Being,” which as of a month ago was known more widely as “Speaking of Faith.” The show interviews a variety of people from various faiths and perspectives who are doing some really meaningful things with their lives. I’ve known about the show for years but nothing about it really grabbed me, but there is a gentleman in our meeting who has tried to get me to listen a few times and so finally I downloaded “Days of Awe” and listened to it on my drive out to Twin Rocks a couple weeks ago. In the show Tippett interviews Rabbi Sharon Brous from the Ikar synagogue in Los Angeles. I was completely inspired and moved by Brous’ discussion. I had to pause the iPod a couple of times just so I could reflect on what she said and inspect the ways in which it intersected in my life. Here’s a description of that episode show: Continue Reading…

I picked up a copy of Joan Chittister’s new book “The Liturgical Year” the other day at Powells. ((affiliate links connected to powell’s online bookstore)) Chittister, a long-time nun, writes in this book a theological and practical explanation of the liturgical calendar. I’m pretty excited about this book, as I’ve already talked about my interest and use of the lectionary, I think this will give me a better grip on how we can understand all of life as falling within the patterns and stories of the Scriptures. From the back of the book it says:

“There are years to mark every stage of life, from childhood to old age. And in the center of them all, unchanged for centuries is the liturgical calendar. Beginning at Advent and rolling through the following November, the churches liturgical year represents nothing less than the life of Jesus Christ – he whose life and attitudes Christians strives to emulate. It proposes, year after year, to immerse us repeatedly into the sense and substance of the Christian life, until, eventually, we become what we say we are: followers of Jesus all the way to the heart of God.”

And the Chittister quote that was the clincher for me is:

“The liturgical year is an adventure in bringing the Christian life to fullness, the heart to alert, the soul to focus. It does not concern itself with the questions of how to make a living. It concerns itself with the questions of how to make a life.”

I look forward to digging further into this book and discovering ways in which I might take on this practice.