Tag: church
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Happiness, Meaning, and a Theology of Work
The Atlantic: There's More to Life Than Being Happy This is a fascinating piece on happiness written by Emily Esfahani Smith as she reflects on the difference between happiness and a meaningful life. I've got some thoughts below but here is one powerful excerpt: … This is why some researchers are cautioning against the pursuit…
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Can progressive economists join forces with the church? – Felix Salmon
Reuters: Can progressive economists join forces with the church? – Felix Salmon Last week I was invited to hear Joe Stiglitz talk on “God, hope, happiness, death, suffering, values, grace, and evil” at Union Theological Seminary. With a menu like that, how could I resist? The event was billed as an “innovative lecture series” combining,…
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With open arms and open eyes, churches minister to sex offenders
Kansas City Star: With open arms and open eyes, churches minister to sex offenders Within days of attending a Sunday service at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, a Johnson County man received an unexpected e-mail. Security officials at the Leawood megachurch wanted to see him immediately. They told him this summer that some…
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Stealing back “mission” from business?
"Mission is a word that originated with the Church. Business has stolen it. We need to take it back." I've lost track of how often I've heard or read this recently. I heard it again during a workshop at the Presbyterian Big Tent event in Atlanta. The speaker mentioned seeing a business mission statement at…
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Best of It: Definitions
[Series Index] John Stackhouse lays out some important definitions to begin Chapter 1 of Making the Best of It. Culture Culture is the response we give to two "make" questions when thinking about a particular society: What do they make? What do they make of it? As Martin Marty wrote, culture is "everything humans do…
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Church as a Family Business
My experience with any number of small declining Presbyterian congregations is that they all have a similar vision of themselves. The universal refrain is, “We are a warm, friendly family.” And it often is true. They are so warm and friendly toward each other that they have become insular. Their motivation for survival has become…