By: Mike on February 22, 2018
I grew up in the 60’s when radio broadcasts came out of a large stereo console and the nightly news from a black-and-white TV that filled our living room with sounds and images about Vietnam and the Beatles. I was a young boy then but still remember feeling lonely when my dad went away on…
By: Jake Dean-Hill on February 21, 2018
Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter’s The Rebel Sell: How the Counterculture Became Consumer Culture was another interesting read. It was fascinating to learn about their perspective about the concept of the counterculture and how they believe it became consumer culture. Their chapter entitled Freud Goes to California was also very interesting, and as you can…
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on February 21, 2018
Before I was a therapist, I was a preacher’s kid, a Christian school teacher, pastor’s wife, and actively involved in church leadership. From 4th grade on, I have attended private schools, universities, and ultimately seminary. I often felt valued and impressed upon to be an active part of church and community leadership due to my…
By: Jim Sabella on February 21, 2018
“The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an Evangelical mind.” [1] Ouch! With that statement, Noll argues that though the evangelical church has grown on many fronts, it lacks when it comes to the “life of the mind.” He states: “By an evangelical “life of the mind” I mean…
By: Dan Kreiss on February 21, 2018
How could rebellion and non-conformity, the kind espoused by the Church in contrast to the dominant culture, actually be fueling the consumeristic culture it allegedly rails against? If, in fact, Heath and Potter are correct in this argument as found in their book ‘The Rebel Sell’, what efforts could ever unhinge the overpowering influence of…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on February 17, 2018
A couple of years ago, the Society of Vineyard Scholars hosted their conference in Raleigh at Raleigh Vineyard Church. Two of my dear friends were coming into town to present papers at this conference. As a part of this conference were worship services. One night I had come to the church to pick up one…
By: Kyle Chalko on February 16, 2018
William Cavanaugh in his book Being Consumed: Economics and the Christian Desire lays out a framework for how western Christians should respond to the economic system they live in. Should Christians be for or against (insert political/economic controversial issue here) is part of the premise of Cavanaugh’s book. However, instead of trying to give direct…
By: Chip Stapleton on February 16, 2018
‘People come to faith not just because they decide that the propositions are true but because they experience God directly . They feel God’s presence . They hear God’s voice . Their hearts flood with an incandescent joy.’ (Luhrmann, 223) The sentiment above, is one that has rung true in my experience. Simply put, there is more…
By: Greg on February 16, 2018
The breakfast tables were lined with row after row of everything that I would want (and more). It was ready and available for the choosing. I love when someone else cooks and does the dishes. This morning when I went to the breakfast buffet at the hotel I am staying at, I was a little…
By: Kristin Hamilton on February 15, 2018
“Do you get what you’re hoping for? When you look behind you there’s no open door. What are you hoping for? Do you know?” – Theme from Mahogany “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need.” – The Rolling Stones In…
By: Katy Drage Lines on February 15, 2018
Training I’m training my puppy how to jingle The tinkle bells to go outside. And I also strain to hear The voice of God Speaking to me, I wonder if perhaps, I’m losing my hearing. Or maybe God isn’t even jingling the bells. But sometimes it might be like The confusion I have When our…
By: Jason Turbeville on February 15, 2018
When I picked up Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire by William T. Cavanaugh two thoughts entered my mind. The first, thank God it is a short book, after the first few books this book seemed to be a breath of fresh air. Two, was this another book crushing the capitalists? On both counts I was pleasantly…
By: Trisha Welstad on February 15, 2018
We all consume. We all utilize commodities of the free market economy in which we live. There is a temptation to vilify or glorify the market and its outcomes based on consumer interaction with the created systems. Yet, to only dwell on the evil or good of the market is to miss a critical point…
By: Jean Ollis on February 15, 2018
“Furthermore, Paul says, the members of the body who seem weakest are the most indispensable. The poor and the needy are not just objects for individual charity; rather, they are indispensable because they are part of our very body. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice…
By: Stu Cocanougher on February 15, 2018
This week (February 13, 2018) the hosts of the ABC television show “The View” were discussing Vice President Mike Pence. Specifically, they were reacting to reports that Vice President Pence claims that Jesus speaks to him. Referring to Pence, co-host Joy Behar made the following statement: “It’s one thing to talk to Jesus. It’s…
By: Lynda Gittens on February 15, 2018
As a young child abused by a woman shouting in the spirit during one Sunday church service, if asked then, I would say there is no such thing as filled with the Spirit because God would not have allowed me to be hit in the head by a backhanded fist. My parents soon moved to…
By: Mark Petersen on February 15, 2018
Above the fold on the front page of today’s paper was an image many of you may also have seen. A woman, crumpling in grief, embracing a friend in the wake of yet another tragic school shooting, this one in Broward County, Florida. In our consumer economy based on an individual’s rights, the right to…
By: Dave Watermulder on February 15, 2018
One of my simple joys in life, after the kids are in bed and my wife is reading or watching one of “her” shows, is to go online and make travel plans. To research airfare and stopovers in foreign cities. To read about overland bus travel or the reliability of a railroad system. This is…
By: Chris Pritchett on February 15, 2018
According to William Cavanaugh, the world we live in doesn’t promote freedom but isolation. There’s nothing “free” about a market that promotes “autonomy” as it’s highest goal. Freedom is found in deep human connection, not in isolation. In his concise book, “Consuming Religion,” he makes four simple points: 1. In our free market society, we…
By: Mary Walker on February 15, 2018
You should not be surprised at my saying, “You must be born again.” The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it come from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:7-8). This is the problem of presence: that the…
