Reimagining and Retooling Faith For An Explosive World

"I have begun to fear we have a reckoning coming that echoes less King’s arc and more the apocalyptic imagery James Baldwin used in his book which I chose as the reading material while on silent retreat the week before my ordination to Christian ministry: God gave Noah the rainbow sign; No more water, the fire next time. So let me zoom in on the world in which I live and work and have the most influence, and that is the mainline Protestant church of the late 20th and early 21st century.   I want to offer five temptations that humanity has struggled with its entire existence, but which we post-moderns are wrestling with in particularly challenging ways right now.  And, lest you think I have given up all hope, I will conclude by offering what I think are antidotes to each and what people of faith, in particular, can do to help change the course of history for the good."

Hey, Check Out The New Neighbors!

"We have been remiss in not taking up the mantle and continuing the tradition of boldly welcoming those different from ourselves into our communities and listening to them, equipping them for leadership, following their wisdom, and becoming the church of the future. Let us not slip back into being a church that was destined to fade from the earth because of irrelevance, unresponsiveness, and irritability!"

Wait, Nobody Knows Me Here!

"The early church could have taken this terrible moment, being jailed and essentially punished and rejected by those in power, as a crippling blow to their movement and slunk off into the forgotten pages of history. But they didn’t. They took the rejection heaped upon them because they weren’t believing and thinking and acting like they used to, like the system expected them to, like a good religious persons should, let it fall harmlessly away so that they could receive the new power of God’s Holy Spirit to do a new thing."

Division, Discernment, & Discipleship: The Pathos & Power Of Justice Making

"Let me show my hand right away: a natural division will take place when deep discernment and demanding discipleship are called for, but there does not have to be divisiveness, though some will choose to make it divisive anyway."

“Nostalgia & Daydreams: How To Be Faithful Along The Way” ~ November 17, 2013 Sermon

Sermon For Sunday, November 17, 2013 Isaiah 65:17-25 “Nostalgia & Daydreams: How To Be Faithful Along The Way” Franklin Circle Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Cleveland, Ohio ~ http://www.FranklinCircleChristianChurch.org Rev. Allen V. Harris, Pastor & Preacher Twitter: @FranklinCircle ~ Pastor’s Blog: https://allenvharris.wordpress.com You can just hear Edith and Archie Bunker croon out those lyrics as…