Thousand Acre Church

There’s been an email going around called “The Obituary for Common Sense”.  I received it twice, both times from well-intentioned people (one of them was my mom).  If you haven’t read this clever piece by Lori Borgman yet, then you can read it here.  It was originally published on March 15, 1998 in the Indianapolis Star.  To […]

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This is part 2 of a list from Beyond Guilt: Christian Response to Suffering by George Johnson.  I’ve been reading this book as part of a class on social justice.  It is packed with short and powerful chapters.  This list stirred me a bit, mostly because I think its a fair (if harsh) assessment of the shortcomings […]

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Okay… I admit that the title of this post suggests that I think churches have evil intentions when they address poverty.  That’s not exactly what I intend to say.  But I can’t think of any way to title this post that is shorter (I’m open to suggestions) and still communicates the content of the post.  […]

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We’re reading a book for our JustFaith class by George S. Johnson titled Beyond Guilt: Christian Response to Suffering.  Here is the author’s take on the “give a fish or teach to fish” thing:
There is a saying that helps explain this challenge to work for justice, not just for charity.  It goes like this:  “If people are […]

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There is a danger in talking about injustice in the world.  Sometimes, well intentioned people think that by TALKING about injustices they are actually DOING something about them.  It’s the inverse of “Show me; don’t tell me.”  We become hearers (or speakers) of good words, but not doers of good works.  I’m afraid, by blogging […]

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