It struck me recently that the formation of new Christian communities is like the formation of rain in two ways. First, a droplet cannot form without a microscopic bit of dust in the atmosphere. Water molecules adhere to and form around them. So with new parishes. There must be a center, a nucleus, for disconnected [...]
Archive for November, 2008
Of rain and parishes
Posted in Parish Theory & Practice, Theology of Community on November 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A Practical Pietist (3)
Posted in Benevolence & the Diaconate, Establishments, Parish Theory & Practice, Thomas Chalmers on November 25, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Thomas Chalmers has been widely acclaimed for his views and particularly his applications of social concern. And within the current Reformed world, he is pointed to as an example for modern day ‘mercy ministries.’ Consequently, I’d like in this final commentary on Cheyne’s The Practical and the Pious to turn to the principles [...]
A Practical Pietist (2)
Posted in Establishments, Parish Theory & Practice, Thomas Chalmers on November 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Practical and the Pious – 2
Chalmers the Manager: Lessons in Christian Leadership
In the first part of my review of A. C. Cheyne’s collected essays, The Practical and the Pious: Essays on Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), we observed the way in which Thomas Chalmers was great Christian bridge builder in his day. He sought to [...]
A Practical Pietist (1)
Posted in Benevolence & the Diaconate, Commerce & Christianity, Thomas Chalmers on November 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Practical and the Pious – 1
Chalmers the Bridge Builder: Lessons in Translating the Faith
Margot Butt, in her essay entitled “The Chalmers Papers” includes an insightful quote from the daughter of Thomas Chalmers most like him in personality. Grace Chalmers wrote concerning herself, “I’ve always been a kind of outlier between the practical and [...]
Surviving Creative Destruction
Posted in Parish Theory & Practice, Theology of Community, Thomas Chalmers on November 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
In the modern day, old orders are forced to give way to new ones. This is the inevitable process of capitalism. In 1942, Joseph Schumpeter coined a phrase for this, that apparently became a buzzword in the dot-com boom of the 1990s. He called it “creative destruction.” It is a “process of industrial mutation that [...]
Brick and Mortar in a Digital Age
Posted in Theology of Community on November 4, 2008 | 2 Comments »
“By 2006, nearly 69 percent of households owned their own home, up from 64 percent in 1994 and 44 percent in 1940. The gains were especially dramatic among Hispanics and blacks, as increasing affluence as well as government encouragement of subprime mortgage programs enabled many members of minority groups to become first-time home buyers. This [...]
