Dignity San Diego

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Aug 24, 2005 in Church Technology, Sheep&Goats | 0 comments

“The Roman Catholic Church has a history of changing its position on issues. It just takes a long time. Look at the church’s stance on Galileo. It took them hundreds of years to finally apologize and admit they were wrong. In time, the Roman Catholic Church’s position will change [on homosexuality], but most likely, it will not be in my lifetime,” said Pat McArron, president of the local San Diego Dignity chapter and past president of the national organization. McArron has been active in the dialogue about homosexuality with the Roman Catholic Church for over 30 years. “Dignity was founded as a therapy group for homosexuals in 1969. Today, Dignity is a community of Catholics creating a place for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender people to feel comfortable. It has a two-fold mission: to provide a place of worship without recrimination and to speak to the greater Catholic community about the issues. “Our message to the Roman Catholic Church is pretty simple. Stop calling us objectively disordered. Stop looking at us as any more sinful than any other Catholic. Our sexuality is not an abomination,” said McArron. “We’ve seen a real disconnect between the people in the pews and the hierarchy of the church. The bishops and cardinals feel they need to toe the line. A lot of people in positions of leadership compromise their own beliefs because they are afraid they will lose their jobs.”

Full Article: Dignity San Diego

Radical Reformission

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Aug 24, 2005 in Church | 8 comments

Mark Driscoll’s (of Mars Hill Church, the church that is planting our church Kaleo) book is reviewed by Challies Dot Com a popular blogger. Read the review and subsequent discussion about Radical Reformission, part 2 and part 3. It’s kind of funny to have all these strangers dissect Mark and his intentions. While I do appreciate Challies balanced approach, many of the (visitors) comments are way off. Having been at Mars Hill back when it was under 100 people where I attended for 5 years, including time in the Driscoll home, it seems people really miss the mark on his intentions. Their comments poke at the book in areas that it has zero intention to address (church discipline, etc.) Also, (reformed guys) all seem to want it to be primarily a theological treatise, which it isnt’. If an author had to unpack every single comment the minimum book size would be 2,000 pages. Ah, aren’t we all wonderful critics.

Recommended Blogs to visit

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Aug 23, 2005 in Church | 1 comment

A Firm Nail
SteelerDirtFreak :: 21st Century Missional Redneck Geek (title really says it all)
21st Century Reformation
3:17
A Cognizant Discourse

Returning to the Eden Plan Spiritually

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Aug 23, 2005 in Church | 1 comment

I read an interesting quote from NT Wright, from an article titled: Faith can do what postmodernism can’t — ‘give life’ (found it while at A Cognizant Discourse). Here’s a quote that struck me:

“The whole New Testament is written from the point of view that new creation has already begun — that it began when Jesus of Nazareth came out of the tomb on Easter morning and that through His victory over sin and death there are indeed real possibilities which were not there before,” Wright said.

This new creation, he said, is most apparent in John’s Gospel.

He noted, for example:

– Mary Magdalene, the first human to encounter the risen Jesus, mistook Him to be a gardener, which echoes the Genesis 1 and 2 account of God in the Garden of Eden.

– Later in John 20, Jesus breathes on the disciples, thus reenacting the breath of life in Genesis 2.

– Jesus’ reinstating Peter and commissioning him to tend His sheep mirrors God’s commission to Adam in Genesis 2 to tend the animals.

“The whole chapter of John 21,” Wright continued, “has a sense of the disciples’ calling to live in a strange, unmapped, new land, in a world never previously imagined because it was never previously possible, in a world in which one can follow Jesus.”

It made me think of God’s original mandate for man to cultivate the garden until it filled the earth physically but now we are called to this same mandate spiritually.

Christian Writers

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Aug 23, 2005 in Church | 7 comments

Thanks to those of you who replied about the (Emergent) Christian Writers Needed. While my earlier post pays $, there is a local (San Diego) magazine called the Paper Lion that seeks writers to submit their work.

I am looking for articles that may inspire young Christian people to look for or search out this type of activity on a Friday or Saturday night. I am looking for good Christian articles for believers and non-believers. Articles that will get people to look for Jesus, if you will. Fictional stories that will make the readers think; “What am I doing for God?”" Where am I going when I die?”

Like I said, no earthly pay on this one, but if you’d like to get your work published, it is a good start….