Life In Greencastle

Sunday, September 2nd, 2012 @ 9:30 am in the fellowship hall Shane Claiborne - The Myth of Redemptive Violence This Sunday we begin a new format for our Adult Sunday Bible Study.   Throughout this fall, we are going to be interacting with and discussing "prophetic voices" in our culture - individuals who either entice us or force us to address a controversial topic of our modern world ... anything from how we treat the poor and disadvantaged members of our community, to our care (or lack thereof) of God's creation, to rampant materialism in the Western world. This week we begin with a man who has become a popular speaker throughout the country - at conferences and at churches.   He grew up in the evangelical wing of the Christian household, attending Wheaton College in Illinois and eventually working at one of the larger churches of America, Willow Creek.   While he was always known to be a bit different, his life and voice became even more radical following an...

"Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:  ... Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing;       now it springs forth, do you not              perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness       and rivers in the desert." - The 43rd Chapter of the Vision of Isaiah Usually once a week, Norma DeLabar stops by the church to tend to the plants in the narthex of our church and to attend to the children of our daycare by reading a story to them.  She brought some help this week.  Jim, her husband, was with her getting some minor tips on horticulture from Norma when I stepped out of the office to visit with them for a moment.  I asked Jim how he had been, and he immediately began talking about the lawns he had been mowing this past week. Those of you who know Jim know tha...

  "The world is a proud place, full of beauty, but the prophets are scandalized, and rave as if the whole world were a slum." - Rabbi Abraham Heschel Several months back, I threw out a seemingly simple question to a small group of us gathered in the fellowship hall:  "Who are our prophets today?"  I was hoping for a quick rat-ta-tat-tat of names from the group, a list of erstwhile voices, artists, and writers who serve as the bur in our cultural saddle and whose voices serve to wake us up.  Instead, I got a lot of blank stares for about thirty seconds, followed by a list of a few names here and there. Well, I pose the question to you.  Who are our prophets today?  Do we still have them?  Are there any voices in our world who can help clear our foggy vision and help us to see both the grandeur of God and the holy, terrific state of our world? Not too long ago, I would say the voice of the prophets was strong...