Whether it’s from the self-help industry or Christian messaging, toxically simple takes on “how to rest & recharge” or on “the three steps to a (fill in the blank) life” abound. Hayley helps us scour the Jesus tradition for more realistic and helpful outlooks on life.
Read MoreOne tension it feels we must hold to live life well is (on one side) pursuing ideals, and (on the other side) choosing to embrace what is true right now and maybe can't be ideal. Hayley and Kyle discuss how to do that well without losing our minds or succumbing to cynicism.
Read MoreOn the weekend of Valentine’s Day, Kyle and a panel of folks from our church help us relieve the pressure everyone feels about romance being what will complete us. (For single people, of course, but also for partnered people!) Unfortunately, churches have reinforced this pressuring message just as much as 90s Disney movies, pop music, Hollywood, etc, and just called it “Biblical”. But it’s not!
Read MoreHayley, Kyle, and Vince discuss “shoulds” and false “right” pictures of community, American metaphors vs New Testament metaphors for community, practical ways to do community right now in the midst of shelter-in-place, and obscure references from the show Friends.
Read MoreSelf-sacrificial love is incredible. So many of the books and movies and tv shows that grab us are proof that it touches something deep in the human heart. The 40 days of Lent, which turn our attention to Jesus’ self-sacrificial love, are a wonderful time to lean into this. Vince suggests that, yes, in the age of the internet, there are more inputs than ever before to make us feel despair, but there are also more inputs than ever before to see Jesus through the story portrayals (and real-life examples) of self-sacrificial all around us.
Read MoreThe American Religious Right’s conflation of faith and partisan politics has been bad for the country and for faith... But, while Vince used to feel the best response to that was to strive to pursue an politically neutral faith (“both sides are equally bad/good when it comes to the model of Jesus”), he now feels that to be just as unsatisfactory... so what now?
Read MoreOn the Sunday we set aside every year to thank and celebrate our volunteers, Vince passes on some of his most recent reminders of why he loves this church and all of the volunteer efforts that make it happen (and not just because he’s supposed to). He also tells us what’s ahead this summer for volunteers: (1) our Kids Program is exploding (great problem to have!), and (2) how we're taking advantage of the Chicago summer.
Read MoreWhat can we learn by tracing a line through Bubbles from HBO's The Wire, Jesus on the Cross, and the writing of St. Paul? That churches at their best are like a 12 Step Meeting. Vince's own experience has taught him that maybe it's worth expanding our understanding of the 12-Steps beyond just Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Sex Addicts Anonymous. Maybe all people need the 12 Steps.
Read MoreWhat if our church was known for activating people to genuinely feel like they can make a positive difference in our wider community, city, and world? The earliest churches had this legacy as the way they operated subverted their hierarchical culture. Perhaps today, what it takes to activate people is subverting consumerism in our culture.
Read MoreVirtually everyone in America believes to some degree in ‘soul mate ideology’ (the belief that everyone has a soul mate out there and that true love is one’s only hope for happiness). But this belief is cruel to us! -- to single people and married people alike (and particularly to women). In our romantic/sex lives, how might we live out something less cruel and more fulfilling than soul mate ideology?
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