March 2017 – The BTS Center

Living Religion Beyond Belief

Elizabeth Drescher (March 2017). Posted in 21stCenturyReligion, 21stCenturySpirituality, Bearings Review 2017.

A few weeks ago I gave a talk at a local chapter of Sunday Assembly, a gathering started by British comedians Pippa Evans and Sanderson Jones that was briefly known as “the atheist church” and that, ironically, draws on the “seeker sensitive” church planting methods of conservative megachurch pastor Rick Warren. A few months into the meteoric rise of Sunday Assembly... Read more

Giving Up for Lent … Or Maybe Not

Mark Collins (March 2017). Posted in 21stCenturySpirituality.

The sight of my marked forehead on Ash Wednesday brings the inevitable question: “What are you giving up for Lent?” I have a stock answer: Lobster Newburg and healthy thoughts. Truth is, I genuinely struggle each year, knowing that whatever I choose to give up will be short-lived and followed by a guilt chaser. Yes, I am aware that Lent is not just a period... Read more

This is the Way We’ve Always Done Things …

Tuhina Rasche (March 2017). Posted in ChurchChange, DigitalMinistry.

This is the way we’ve always done things. Now, there’s a phrase that brings about a sense of impending doom in my heart, especially when it comes to the practices of communities of faith. In part, our love of familiar practices comes from finding comfort in the apparent stability of structures. Yet as a Jesus-follower, I sometimes wonder if finding comfort... Read more

Into the Mystery of Collective Ministry

Corinna Guerrero (March 2017). Posted in 21stCenturyMinistry.

My favorite definition of “minister” comes from the verb, not the noun. Emphasis is placed on the action, not the subject: “To minister” means to assist where help is needed. This is completely different from the notion that I was raised with as a child in a Roman Catholic household headed by two parents who were “culture Catholics”—a phrase used within our... Read more

#NeverthelessSheResisted

Creating Space for Women's Thriving in the Church and the World

Kelly J. Baker (March 2017). Posted in 21stCenturyCulture, Bearings Review 2017, ChurchChange.

Three weeks ago, Senate Republicans silenced Senator Elizabeth Warren for criticizing attorney general nominee Senator Jeff Sessions. Warren had attempted to read civil rights activist Coretta Scott King’s 1986 letter against Sessions’ nomination for a federal judgeship. Scott’s concerns over whether Sessions would support the civil rights of all citizens seemed... Read more

Bearings: Navigating Life-as-MinistryMarch 2017

Bearings: Navigating Life-as-Ministry
March 2017