tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217199.post112382375349935106..comments2024-03-24T11:30:08.199-07:00Comments on Can you believe?: Give a man a cliché...Johan Maurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13771067774042071617noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217199.post-37570205744567184252007-02-27T21:32:00.000-08:002007-02-27T21:32:00.000-08:00Somehow this post came up in my bloglines reader a...Somehow this post came up in my bloglines reader as new, soooo... a bit late and all, but I'd just like to say, this is really interesting, especially two years further into the Quaker blog phenomenon! <BR/><BR/>To have a clear and precise sense of identity, and yet be able to move beyond the obstacles, labels, and the hairsplitting into honest conversation.... That's a good and achievable goal!<BR/><BR/>I really liked the beginning of your post with Justo Gonzalez' point about the need for sharper analysis: water access, water pollution, adequate stock left in the fishery are all critical issues.<BR/><BR/>Finally, I must point out that WFMU is in East Orange, New Jersey, on the campus of Upsala College, and not in New York City. Just a hair to split for this N.J. native. (I'm sure Martin was too polite to point this out back in 2005!)<BR/><BR/>Keep up the fine work, Johan.<BR/><BR/>In peace and friendship,<BR/><BR/>-- Chris M.Chris M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05125825966802002625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217199.post-1123981932103104472005-08-13T18:12:00.000-07:002005-08-13T18:12:00.000-07:00Although I agree that as we get closer to the righ...Although I agree that as we get closer to the right path, our labels should dissolve, I'm not ready to dispense with them yet.<BR/><BR/>Given a prior commitment to goodwill and each other's well-being, those labels (applied carefully and not combatively) are very useful. Being "evangelical" has substantial meaning for me, although I'm never excused from the maintenance work of staying in a conversation that clarifies its meaning, and living in a discipleship that keeps it real. <BR/><BR/>Being "evangelical" means that Jesus is real and alive, not a cosmic metaphor, that he is the Christ, that the Bible has unique value for discernment and community life, and that I am obligated to present the Gospel challenge/invitation to the world, <I>whether or not </I> I have every issue of pluralism figured out.<BR/> <BR/>All of these issues are too important to let them dissolve in undiscriminating, abstract good feelings. However, evangelical distinctives need never prevent honest dialogue and cooperation on shared concerns.<BR/><BR/>I've been trying to work out how we could develop a clearing house of information on long-term threats to peace and justice to help mobilize the church. Such a clearing house that would actually cross all these lines that divide believers, particularly our cultural lines (these usually trump theological lines!), would be a real but worthwhile challenge to put together. <BR/><BR/>One idea I had would be an organization that might be called the Leadership Network for Strategic Prayer. (This title is deliberately chosen to cross cultural lines within North American Christianity, and Google doesn't reveal any existing org with that name.) It might operate similarly to the U.S. Church Leaders gatherings but would have a permanent secretariat to coordinate and monitor things. The U.S. Church Leaders, originally organized by, among others, a Quaker named Everett Cattell, bring together an amazing variety of denominational leaders from mainstream to evangelical to Pentecostal, Orthodox, Anabaptist, historically black, and Catholic constituencies. <BR/><BR/>Its secret for success was that it doesn't seek publicity; it has no political pretensions; it's basically an educational retreat to help these leaders survive their otherwise very pressured ministries. A Leadership Network for Strategic Prayer would likewise not become a huge ecumenical bureaucracy but a fellowship to help leaders inform and empower their own constituencies through messages that would be appropriate within those constituencies, but would have enough staff support to do the necessary information collection and filtering.<BR/><BR/>Another part of the vision is my experience with social exorcisms here in Oregon, which were organized by a diverse and informal group of pastors led by Gabrielle Chavez, a UCC pastor. I may say more about that later on, and even include some photos, but we got together at various times for public prayer actions linked both with the "war" in Iraq and the state budget process.<BR/><BR/>Amnesty International, Christian Peacemaker Teams, <A HREF="http://www.compassdirect.org/en/index.php" REL="nofollow">Compass Direct</A>, and other organizations would be solicited for their capacity to contribute data. So would organizations of Christian accountants, anthropologists, journalists, missionaries, development workers, and so on. I also fantasize that good working relationships would be developed with representatives of other faiths, not to muddy the identity or mission of the Leadership Network, but to develop mutually beneficial information channels and to head off situations where politicians play different religions against each other.Johan Maurerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13771067774042071617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217199.post-1123876590122775702005-08-12T12:56:00.000-07:002005-08-12T12:56:00.000-07:00Wow, that's neat that you pulled that old article ...Wow, that's neat that you pulled that old article and then found the author.<BR/><BR/>It should be a truism that our labels ("liberal," "evangelical," etc.) are just superficial differences in our way of reaching the same God. As we get closer to the right path, the labels should dissolve and we should see each other as simple brothers and sisters, pilgrims all together. <BR/><BR/>I wonder if labels are obstacles (put down by the Tempter?) that keep us from recognizing the church universal. There are certainly many people who profess God but who run from Him or their role in His Kingdom but these folks fly the banners of all of our labeled and categorized identities (I'm certainly guilty of this myself too much of the time!) Perhaps this is why I want to share the good news in my own tribe (liberal Friends) while building the bridges with the other seekers throughout the Church.<BR/><BR/>I'm starting to babble. Let me just say I do appreciate the idea that "different obstacles exist in different places." I realize that the way I live out my religion is certainly situational. Thanks for the post!<BR/><BR/>PS: WFMU rocks! My favorite DJ there is Bill Kelly (no relation). I download all his shows and almost always listen to them on my Palm Pilot the following week.Martin Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06999620933648327663noreply@blogger.com