Category: church
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Glenn Beck Doesn’t Speak For Me. Or Does He?
By now Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally on Saturday is old news. The event has been sliced and diced every way possible. I have my own thoughts about the rally, especially the decision- foolish from my angle- to claim the date and location of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, but I’ll withhold…
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Missional Pietism
This week I’m taking the last of the four classes required by my denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), for those pastors who haven’t attended the denomination’s seminary. The ECC is a relatively small denomination and not widely known. Having been a part of the ECC for just a couple of years, I get regular…
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Down with the Homogeneous Unit Principal?
My latest article for Out of Ur was posted earlier today. In it I try to make the case that we need more churches willing to take seriously the reconciling nature of the gospel. This, I believe, ought to be reflected not just in our preaching and teaching but in our methods and strategies as…
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Rage: The Ultimate Conversation Killer
There is little I find as satisfying as an hour or two of good conversation. Of course both talking and listening must be present for conversation to take place. One without the other may be necessary at times but certainly doesn’t qualify as conversation. I’m lucky enough to have friends who value ideas, thoughts and…
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How Do You Perceive Diversity?
David Fitch, author and professor at Northern Seminary, has posted some though-provoking thoughts and questions about intentionally diverse churches: “The Diversity We Seek: The Danger of Manufactured Pre-Determined Diversity.” Please take a few minutes to read the entire thing; in this post I’ll interact with just a couple of his points that are especially relevant…
David W. Swanson 