The Chicago Invitation

I love to pray the Thanksgiving of the Reformed Church: Read more…

Sure, this holiday has become, for many, as secular as most of them. But we are not bound by such secularity. We can celebrate Thanksgiving by giving thanks, not to goodness in general, but to God, the Giver of all Good Gifts. Read more…

Perhaps you read the recent announcement of a new Coordinator of Multi-Racial Initiatives and Social Justice. This appointment was announced by the Director of Congregational Mission. I haven’t mentioned names because the persons aren’t directly involved in my comment. I expect that Earl James is a terrific person and Ken Eriks is a faithful servant. At issue is a profound shift in Reformed practice. Read more…

One of the claims made by the “missional” wing of the Church is that it recaptures the fervor of the Apostolic Church for a radical evangelism. In making that claim, they join a long line of movements in Church history who have implied similar parallels to the early Church. But was the Church of Peter and Paul as single-mindedly targeted on “mission” as is now claimed; or was there more of a balance between the missioners in the field and the in-gathered believers “back home”? After re-reading the Acts of the Apostles, I am persuaded that a very effective balance existed which enabled the overall mission to succeed. Read more…

The late great J.-J. von Allmen, in his classic book, Worship: Its Theology and Practice, makes the wonderful point that worship cannot be collapsed into mission and mission cannot be collapsed into worship. Neither should they ever be separated from each other. They require each other, and they require each other to be sufficiently distinct. Worship is worship and mission is mission, and the church must not favor the one over the other. Read more…

The minutes of the 2007 meeting of the General Synod use the term “missional” as a self-evident description of what the church is about. It is as though the official ecclesiological understanding of the church is “missional.” This must be challenged. Not because advocates of a “missional” understanding of the church do not have an honorable point of view, but because it is a point of view and one that is still contested. It certainly isn’t the official position of the RCA. Read more…

… well, I guess you had to be there …

“There” was the CI meeting, held on October 31 and November 1. I had a great time. I truly believe that all 20 of us in attendance did. It was, for me, engaging, stimulating, encouraging. We talked, listened, worshiped, prayed, laughed, ate, and drank.

I know that others will post their reflections. Soon the draft minutes will be complete and posted. So, keep checking the blog.

Dan Griswold