e-Soundings

What’s your “Follow up” for after Christmas?

With a little preparation, the covenant community of Christ, the church, can offer a safe and healing place, a place to start over again and incorporate important changes in our lives. It can a place where life can move closer to God’s dream for all of us if we can help it be that way. Read more →

Dr. John Cobb says "The liberal church is dying (1)” ....Will you die with it?

In his recent book “Salvation(2)”, Dr. Cobb asks the penetrating question: “What is the (liberal) church doing that you can’t get without going to church (3)” (and he cites his own son as a example of someone who had a... Read more →

The 21st Century "Tsunami": Church survival with an "Ancient/Future" solution... (pt. 2)

Seven things you and your congregation can do after the quarantine. Last week in this Blog, we explored eleven major, profound changes and one foundational societal shift as part of the “Tsunami of Issues” battering us from every side. They were grouped into three areas:  Digital/Tech/Knowledge Revolution, Personal/Family Struggles and Social/Political/Global Issues.                   (Read that Blog here.) Such times of overwhelming crisis have faced us before.  The church in particular, and “religion” in general, have offered a place to stand, some “holy ground” on which to gain a new identity and to be renewed in God’s Holy Spirit. It is from these ancient roots that the “new” solutions to our challenges will arise... Read more →

E-Z Small Groups – 3 Steps to Starting New Groups & Keeping Sm. Groups VITAL

   It’s no secret: Small Groups take a substantial investment in start-up time, leadership training and “overhead/maintenance time.”  The lead pastor is usually instructed to commit significant time or hire a specialist staff member. ... There are three simple and straight forward that if done enthusiastically, can drastically reduce the amount of overheard needed to keep small groups going.  Read more →

Living with Christ in our super-sized "Gutenberg Moment"

We are living in a "Gutenberg Moment"* that dwarfs other such moments by it’s breath-taking power to change life on earth. In the past, such moments end up disrupting everything. Nothing is the same. Everything before is changed. The digital... Read more →

Who are all these people?

After church on Sunday (July 23), you may have noticed a group of people under our “Gathering Tree” in front of the Sanctuary. They were all ages and dressed in various ways: casual, shorts & sandals, work clothes and one... Read more →

Is your family a "Resurrection Family"?

Last week the Pope shared historic speeches to the U.S. Congress and the United Nations. To me the most moving words were spoken in the context of worship, reflecting Jesus Christ and proclaiming the hope and power of the Resurrection.... Read more →

Hints to Power Up Your New Year's Resolutions

All too often we commit the classic mistake of thinking we can do this alone. Of course, that makes it easier to ignore our failures. But in so doing we lose the great power that comes from our community of caring friends. To really succeed in our changes we need a “higher power” and a small group of people around us to hold us accountable to our commitments. Read more →

Are you making any headway against the Christmas shopping onslaught?

Christmas can become a creative time that gets people talking to each other again. It’s the beginning of the effort to recapture our closeness with each other. Read more →

Why Dec. 25th? - Isn't that a mistake?

Christmas calls us to not give in to our mistakes and our failures, but instead to use the power of God, the power of new birth and resurrection to overcome them. Read more →