Jemar Tisby

First, I believe in the church. I will not break fellowship with her or any of her people based on politics. Jesus Christ himself prayed for the unity of believers. “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17:11b). Christ wants his church to be unified, so it is in the name of Christian unity that I must speak honestly.

Source: Jemar Tisby - "Trump's Election and Feeling 'Safe' in White Evangelical Churches", Reformed African American Network, 18 Nov 2016, https://www.raanetwork.org/trumps-election-feeling-safe-white-evangelical-churches/

Reformation Implications

The new religious identities and communities which emerged from these conflicts—Lutheran, Calvinist, Anglican, and the more radical groupings often lumped together under the name “Anabaptist”—did indeed share some beliefs and attitudes in common. They all prioritized the written Word of God in the Bible over traditional Church teaching and discipline, and they all vehemently rejected the papacy and the allegedly materialistic religious system which the papacy headed. But they were divided among themselves—often lethally—on almost everything else. Within a single generation of Luther’s protest, “Protestants” were excommunicating, fighting, and persecuting each other, as well as the common Catholic enemy, and many were calling for a reform of the Reformation.

Source: Eamon Duffy - First Things, "The End of Christendom" (Book review of Reformations by Carlos Eire), November 2016, https://www.firstthings.com/article/2016/11/the-end-of-christendom

Catholic Response to Alpha

While no magisterial statement has been forthcoming, Catholic officials have expressed themselves positively: Nicky Gumbel, an Anglican curate at Holy Trinity, Brompton who functions as a chief spokesman for Alpha, was presented on the strength of his Alpha involvement to the Pope in February 2004, an audience made possible by another senior churchman who is a firm advocate for Alpha – Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher to the Papal Household. (See Alpha News 2004) In France, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Archbishop of Lyon, recorded remarks on the Alpha introductory video, saying, “For the French church, Alpha is a great opportunity for our time. It is a wonderful gift that we have received from England.” (Ibid)

Additionally, Scotland’s Cardinal Keith O’Brien wrote in a brochure for an Alpha conference in Glascow, “I see the Alpha course as an initial and very important tool for … the ‘rechristianization of Scotland.’” (Ibid) In Austria, Salzburg’s Archbishop Dr. Alois Kothgasser observed about Alpha, “I rejoice that this course now also is increasingly spreading within the Catholic Church in Austria and that through it people find a living faith in Jesus Christ.” (Alpha für Katholiken 2003, p. 1) („Ich freue mich, dass dieser Kurs nun auch in der Katholischen Kirche in Österreich immer mehr Verbreitung findet and dass durch ihn Menschen zu einem lebendigen Glauben an Jesus Christus finden.“)

Source: Cardinal Philippe Barbarin - Alpha News 2004, as quoted in footnote 45 of "Evangelicals Cooperatively Evangelising & Discipling with Catholics in Faithfulness to Evangelical Distinctives", by Paul Miller

Jason Mandryk from Perspectives

There is power in united prayer. Christians are praying for world evangelization in greater numbers and unity than ever before. Already on the annual Global Day of Prayer, hundreds of miillions unite in prayer throughout the world. The motto of Operation World is, "When man works, man works, but when man prays, God works."

We can strategize, harmonize, dialogue and worship - we can equip ourselves with the best financial resources and the most astute missiology available - but without prayer, we will not see spiritual strongholds broken down, nor the unevangelized peoples experiencing the gospel. The state of the gospel changes by prayer.

Source: Jason Mandryk - "The State of the Gospel" in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (4th Edition), Chapter 55, p. 368

New Mexico Prays

New Mexico Prays is a cross-denominational, multi-ethnic, Jesus-centered prayer movement. We have 39 churches in 10 cities covering New Mexico in 24/7 prayer from the Assemblies of God, Calvary Chapel Southwest, Church of God (Anderson, IN), Church of God (Cleveland, TN) Messianic Jews, Catholic, Presbyterian, Christian Reformed, Church of God in Christ (COGIC), Full Gospel Baptist, Victory Outreach, Church of Christ, Ministers Fellowship International (MFI), Southern Baptist, and non-denominational. Join the movement today: NewMexicoPrays.org.

Source: New Mexico Prays - From http://www.NewMexicoPrays.org, as posted on FB by Trey Kent, 25 Jan 2017
http://www.NewMexicoPrays.org

Hidden Figures

Although these women encountered constant gender and racial discrimination, they refused to embrace a victim mentality or succumb to bitterness. Instead, they modeled all of the core skills of relational wisdom.

They turned to God for strength and guidance. They mastered their emotions and exercised astonishing humility and self-control. They related to insensitive co-workers with grace, patience and forgiveness, keeping their focus on serving the astronauts whose very lives depended on the accuracy of their calculations.

Source: Ken Sande - "Hidden Figures", Relational Wisdom 360 blog post, 16 Jan 2017, https://rw360.org/2017/01/16/hidden-figures/

Why did Paul have no peace?

(12) After leaving Ephesus, I traveled to the city of Troas to proclaim the gospel (good news) of Christ. When I arrived, I discovered that the Lord had opened a wide door for my ministry, (13) but I still had no peace in my spirit because I did not find my brother Titus there, as he had not yet come from Corinth. So I said goodbye to the Troas church and took a boat across the Aegean Sea to the Roman province of Macedonia (see Acts 20:1).

Source: The Apostle Paul - 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 (IEB)

"Why do you keep saying the same thing?"

With so much hatred, confusion, and despair we must keep our heart fixed on God and keep walking with Jesus and let his love pour through us to those God puts in our lives. I am strengthened by the story of the Apostle John who had lived in Ephesus into his extreme old age, and could hardly be carried to the meetings of the church by the disciples, and when in speaking, he could no longer put together many words, he would not say anything else in the meetings but this: “Little children, love one another!” When at last the disciples and brothers present got tired of hearing the same thing again and again, they said, “Master, why do you keep saying the same thing?” John replied with a saying worthy of him: “Because it is the Lord’s command, and it is enough if it is really done.”

No labor of love is ever in vain and love does indeed win because God is Love.

Source: John the Apostle - As quoted by Ryan & Noleen Thurman in their eNewsletter, 29 Nov 2016, http://us11.campaign-archive2.com/?u=2f84e6db2c8ce790e960d7e88&id=56a66dcd7d&e=41a5c4ce00

"I could not forgive that man" (if ...)

Police have said Stephens apparently chose the grandfather of 14 at random.

The daughters spoke proudly of the example their father set for them in faith and forgiveness.

"I promise you, I could not do that if I did not know God, if I didn't know him as my God and my savior, I could not forgive that man," Debbie Godwin said.

Godwin-Baines added, "It's just what our parents taught us. They didn't talk it, they lived it. Neighbors would do things to us, and we would say, 'Dad, are we going to forgive them really?' And he would say, 'Yes, we have to.' "

Source: Melissa Mahtani - "Cleveland victim's family: We forgive killer", CNN, 18 April 2017
http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/18/us/cleveland-victims-family-we-forgive-killer-cnntv/index.html

More Radical than Rod!

The most striking comments came from Randall Gauger, a bishop at the Bruderhof, who, with his wife, had lived for many years in a Bruderhof community in Australia. (They now live in a Pennsylvania Bruderhof community.) A bald man in his sixties wearing a tan sports coat, a black shirt, and a tan tie, Gauger described what he and his wife had done after “withdrawing.” They hung out with their neighbors at barbecues; they babysat and visited elderly shut-ins. Gauger became a police chaplain. Other Bruderhof members became firefighters or E.M.T.s. They collaborated with farmers on sustainable agriculture, partnered with charities, volunteered in “crisis situations,” and hosted thousands of guests, including politicians and Aboriginal leaders. “Would we have done as much as a solitary nuclear family?” Gauger asked. “I doubt it.” He pointed out that capitalist society caters to people with “extraordinary talents”: “Only in a communal church can the old and the very young, hurting military veterans, the disabled, the mentally ill, ex-addicts, ex-felons, or simply annoying people, like myself, find a place where they can be healed and accepted and, what’s more, contribute to life.” His criticism of “The Benedict Option” was that it did not go far enough. “Why stop at Benedict when we can go back to the original source of Christianity? Christians living in full community is how the church began . . . and the early church was far more radical than anything Rod has so far proposed.” Dreher, sitting next to him onstage, listened, enraptured, with his head on his hand.

Source: Randall Gauger - Bruderhof bishop, quoted by Joshua Rothman in "Rod Dreher's Monastic Vision", The New Yorker, 1 May 2017, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/01/rod-drehers-monastic-vision

Historical Background to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

In 1935, Abbé Paul Couturier, a priest of the Archdiocese of Lyons, sought a solution to the problem of non-Roman Catholics not being able to observe the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity. He found the solution in the Roman Missal as the Association for Promotion of the Unity of Christians had done seventy-eight years earlier in England. Couturier promoted prayer for Christian unity on the inclusive basis that “our Lord would grant to his Church on earth that peace and unity which were in his mind and purpose, when, on the eve of His Passion, He prayed that all might be one.” This prayer would unite Christians in prayer for that perfect unity that God wills and by the means that he wills. Like Fr. Paul Wattson, Abbé Couturier exhibited a powerful passion for unity and had sent out “calls to prayer” annually until his death in 1953.

Source: Rev. Thomas Orians, S.A. - "BACKGROUND: Brief History of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2017", by Rev. Thomas Orians, S.A., Associate Director of Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute, http://geii.org/week_of_prayer_for_christian_unity/background/brief_history.html

Paul & the Corinthians - Again

Paul here was writing to those who had already put their faith in Christ, yet were now estranged from him and his companions who were carrying the message of the Gospel. This fragmented relationship gave way to a disconnect from God's purposes towards them. To be estranged from God's ambassadors and community was to be estranged from God himself. Alternatively, to be reconciled to them was to be reconciled in Christ to God.

There is an urgency in Paul which invites his pleading with this fragmented community. Reconciliation and unity are not subsidiary realities to the Gospel, but at the core of salvation and what it means to be the church. If God was in Christ to reconcile the world to himself, and he is now in the church, then he must be at work within the church to reconcile men one to another.

God continues to work to reconcile the community of the redeemed and the church is still his chosen method in revealing himself. The message of salvation is incapable of being disconnected from its incarnation in the community of Christ. As Christ works through to us to plead to the world, he is also at work among us in a similar way with the plea, 'be reconciled to God,' and with it, 'be reconciled with each other.’

Source: A2J Community - Apprenticeship to Jesus Community, Phoenix, Blog Post "Unity Week Devotion - Day 5", 22 Jan 2016, http://www.a2jphoenix.org/blog/unity-week-devotion-day-5

Paul & the Corinthians

Saint Paul did not always have an easy relationship with the community at Corinth, as his letters show. There was also a painful visit to this community, with heated words exchanged in writing. But this passage shows Paul overcoming past differences. By living his ministry in the light of mercy received, he does not give up in the face of divisions, but devotes himself to reconciliation. When we, the community of baptized Christians, find ourselves confronted with disagreements and turn towards the merciful face of Christ to overcome it, it is reassuring to know that we are doing as Saint Paul did in one of the very first Christian communities.

Source: Pope Francis - Address to the Anglican Parish of All Saints in Rome, as reported by Vatican Radio, 26 Feb 2017, http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/02/26/pope_catholics_and_anglicans,_brothers_and_sisters_in_chris/1295193

NYPD Officer Shot by Teen

Quoting Steven McDonald, a NYPD officer shot by a teenager and paralyzed:

I forgave Shavod because I believe the only thing worse than receiving a bullet in my spine would have been to nurture revenge in my heart. Such an attitude would have extended my injury to my soul, hurting my wife, son, and others even more. It's bad enough that the physical effects are permanent, but at least I can choose to prevent spiritual injury.

Source: Johann Christoph Arnold - Why Forgive?, pp.180

What does "Christian" mean? - Taizé

In our city and our region, there are people who also love Christ, but in a different way than we do. Calling ourselves “Christians” means bearing the name of Christ. We receive our identity as Christians through baptism, which unites us to Christ. Let us try to give more visibility to this common identity, instead of emphasizing our denominational identities.

Source: Taizé - As quoted on FB by John 17 Movement, 2 Dec 2016

From the Paulists

Do we need energizing reminders in these turbulent times that this call to unity, this vocation, is more real and needed than ever? Yes, we do. And the signs are there that the Holy Spirit is alive and active, lighting the fire in our hearts for more visible communion with one another as followers of Jesus.

Such signs were manifest in Boston during the January 18-25 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. There was a prayer gathering in a different denominational church each night of the week. On the opening evening, Wednesday, Christians from around the city gathered in an Evangelical church. On Thursday evening, people came together in an Eastern Orthodox church. And on Friday evening there was an energizing service of song and prayer in a Pentecostal church.

Source: Thomas Ryan, CSP - "Keep the Fire Burning", Paulist Fathers blog post, 6 February 2017, http://www.paulist.org/the-conversation/keep-the-fire-burning/

From the NFL

Meanwhile, Qadree, a fifth-round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons out of Pittsburgh, figured he couldn't proceed in life or football without getting some closure after his brother's 2017 murder. The native of Niagara Falls, New York, also realized, because of his faith in God, there was no reason to be spiteful toward [the murderer, Denzel] Lewis, whom he attended middle school with and once considered a friend.

“I believe you can’t live with hate in your heart,” Qadree said. “You can’t move on from something with hate in your heart.”

Qadree could have expressed outrage over a senseless act of violence. Instead, his words showed compassion toward Lewis, who shot Harris to death in broad daylight. Qadree’s strength in a time of grieving helped bring an already tight-knit family closer.

Source: Vaughn McClure - ESPN, 8 May 2019
http://www.espn.com/blog/atlanta-falcons/post/_/id/34204/falcons-rookie-qadree-ollison-keeps-the-faith-through-brothers-murder

Zacchaeus

Luke 19:8-9 and Acts 19:18-19 both show the distinct Old Testament pattern of open, public confession and repentance:
Lk. 19:8-9--"But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, 'Look Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.' Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham."

Source: Dr. Gary S. Greig - The Biblical Foundations of Identificational Repentance as One Prayer Pattern Useful to Advance God's Kingdom and Evangelism, April 2001