Gathering In Light

All Songs Considered

Great New Tunes for 2009

Last year, I felt, was kind of void for me when it came to new music. That is one reason why I asked my good friend Matt Hoopes to guest write his list (and also I was interested in learning about new artists). But already for 2009 I’ve been

Church in Mission

Is It The End Of Our SUV Lifestyle?

I just finished reading Tom Sine’s recent book, “The New Conspirators: Creating The Future One Mustard Seed at a Time,” for a review in a Friends’ periodical. It’s a book I highly recommend for those of you involved in ministry currently, or are interested in getting into ministry

The Political

Witnessing History: Barack Obama Becomes President

Yesterday, we witnessed history-in-the-making; NY Times headline reads: Obama Takes Oath, and Nation in Crisis Embraces the Moment. Wherever we were, whatever ethnic, political or religious backgrounds we have, we were all aware of the momentous occasion and place in history January 20, 2009 will forever hold. I was glad

Featured

What is a Quaker? Reflections on What We Might Become

A few weeks back I was invited to talk with some college-age Friends during a weekend retreat. It was my first visit to Plainfield, Indiana and I had a nice time meeting these students and their adult leaders from Western Yearly Meeting. I was invited to sit on a panel

Blog Entries

Barclay Press: Convergent Friends and Quaker Renewal

I’ve published another Barclay Press article, this time it’s a very basic (though a bit long) introduction to convergent Friends called: Beyond the Boundaries: Convergent Friends and Quaker Renewal. I wrote it with Evangelical Friends in mind, I know all of you who read this blog know about

Featured

A Tribute to Herbert R. Dymale

The other day a friend emailed to let me know that our Bible and Theology professor from Malone College (now University), Herbert R. Dymale, passed away this last week. Dr. Dymale was a hero for many of us who had him over the forty years he taught at Malone. Here

Ben Lomond Quaker Center

Join Us at the Convergent Friends Retreat in February

Robin, Martin and I will be co-leading a weekend retreat on convergent Friends we’re calling “Reclaiming the Power of Primitive Quakerism for the 21st Century” at the Ben Lomond Quaker Center this February 20-22. We’re getting pretty excited about the weekend. Basically, it’s going to be a

Blog Entries

Dress-Down Friday | Peace in the Holy Land

We got back safely into LA this past Monday from a great vacation with our families in Ohio, but since then it has been a whirlwind week of things to do. But just because there’s lots to do doesn’t mean there aren’t cool things happening around the

Featured

Heeding God’s Call – Peace Gathering in Philly

Next week I will be going to Philadelphia for the peace gathering there: Heeding God’s Call.  There’s never a bad time to reflect on God’s call to peace and discuss ways in which we can be involved in working alongside that mission, but it seems especially timely

Featured

On Disciples: Forgiving George Bush And/Or the Church

I ran across a website yesterday via Good Magazine called “Forgive George.” It’s not really surprising to see something like this, with the inauguration only a few weeks away, the end of Bush’s presidency is on every one’s mind (there are a number of “tribute” sites to

Blog Entries

Newbie’s Guide to Seminary

Over the course of the last couple years I’ve done a number of posts on tips and tricks with regards to studying, using computers more efficiently, and productivity/organization. It’s not a main focus for my blog, but when I am inspired with an idea and I see

Church in Mission

MacIntyre And Church Renewal

I came across this Alasdair MacIntyre quote not long ago and thought it was a fitting reflection for the much-discussed topic of church renewal. Part of MacIntyre’s point is to say that if a tradition is to overcome its own crisis of knowing, it will be through the revision

Featured

Guest Post: Matthew Hoopes’ Top 5 Albums of the Year

Since he spends so much time immersed in music, I asked my good friend, and fellow Canton, Ohio native Matthew Hoopes of Relient K to share his top 5 Albums of 2008 with the gathering in light community. This is his first guest post here, and it’s a a

Featured

Dress-Down Friday | Happy First Birthday L Edition

This is a “Dress-Down Friday” in honor of our daughter L, who’s celebrating her first birthday today. I can’t believe it has been a year since the arrival of this wonderful gift from God. This past year has been incredible! Over the past year we’ve experienced the

Blog Entries

New Gathering In Light: 3rd Edition

Three years ago I bought gatheringinlight.com and started hosting my own website and blog. It was an attempt to establish more of a presence online, work on my writing, and try to make connections with other people interested in the same kinds of questions I am. Over the course

Featured

Reclaiming the Power of Primitive Quakerism for the 21st Century

Robin, Martin and I are leading a weekend retreat at the Ben Lomond Quaker Retreat Center this coming February on convergent Friends, we’ve humbly titled, Reclaiming the Power of Primitive Quakerism for the 21st Century. I’m looking forward to taking an entire weekend to focus on building community,

Church in Mission

Finishing Two Quarters with Everett Cattell

Image by Midnight-digital via Flickr This past Friday I dropped my paper in an envelope, paid the $2.63 postage and sent it off to Elkhart, IN at 4 pm, an hour before the deadline. Leaving the post-office, I felt much lighter. Not only was a six-month weight off my

Blog Entries

The Unlikely Hero of Psalm 85:1-2

Image via Wikipedia “LORD, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin.” (Psalms 85:1-2 NRSV) Jacob wasn’t exactly a hero in the biblical narrative, at least when you look at even a

Blog Entries

Upcoming Blogging Hiatus

I’ve decided I need a little break from the blog these last couple weeks of the quarter. I’m currently working on my 40+ page paper on Everett Cattell’s life and contribution to Quaker missiology and I need to clear everything else of my desk. The paper is

Blog Entries

Through Flaming Sword: Spiritual Autobiography of George Fox

My guess is that many younger Evangelical Quakers know little about George Fox‘s life, ministry and faith or have found reading through his Journal a rough go (myself included). I think Quaker historian Arthur Roberts newly updated and classic text, “Through Flaming Sword” will help to change this. This

The Cultural

You Are Not What You Buy (BND 2008)

Looking for something interesting and provocative to take part in this Thanksgiving? Forget standing in a line outside of Walmart at 4 am on Black Friday, instead consider taking part in “Buy Nothing Day.” This is a two-day event put on by Adbusters every year to make the point that

Blog Entries

Dress-Down Friday | Going Up In Smoke

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmIA8_54fDk&w=500&h=419] It’s Dress-Down Friday again, I hope you’ve got your sandles (or at least some flip-flops) ready. Good has an interactive map looking at where Americans smoke the most: Still not sure what to

Africa

Christmas Album Raises Money For Children

Peace on Earth Vol. II is a collection of Christmas music put together for the express purpose of raising money for The Children of Uganda Fund. There is a whole laundry list of issues facing Ugandan children, especially those in the north, among the most prominent issues are Malaria and

Church in Mission

“Dear Woman, why do you involve me?” Mission Without Guarantees

In the fourth of his missiology lectures (see more on his third here) Steuernagel reflected on a few passages where we see Mary interacting with her son, Jesus. In John 2:3-5 it says: “When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.

Barack Obama

Dress-Down Friday | Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2169237&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00adef&fullscreen=1 London (harder, better, faster, stronger) from David Hubert on Vimeo. This week has been fairly busy for me, I’m