Acts 29: A Never Ending Gospel (Bruce Epperly)

In last week's posting Bruce Epperly brought to an end our journey through Luke's Acts of the Apostles, a journey that reminds us that the Christian faith is an adventure.  It's not something to be taken lightly.  But, the Book of Acts ends with Paul in prison, but with the hope of release, perhaps to continue his planned journey to Spain.  In this final posting of this series, Bruce points us forward through history to our own day, where we continue writing the 29th chapter of Acts.  This may be the final contribution for a while, but it has been a blessing to have Bruce be a regular contributor to Ponderings on a Faith Journey.

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Acts 29: A Never Ending Gospel

Bruce G. Epperly

The final words of Acts of the Apostles describe the Apostle Paul teaching and preaching from prison "without hindrance." The message of Acts from start to finish is that God's good news is unfinished and unhindered; it breaks down the barriers of alienation, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. The good news of God’s presence in the world breaks down the separation of mind, body, and spirit; of contemplation and action; of mysticism and mission; and of reason and ecstasy.

Today, we are writing our own Acts of the Apostles in the ongoing journey of Christian faith and mission. In partnership with God, we are the creators of an unfinished gospel that lives on in our lives and witness. For the author of Acts and for us, divine inspiration does not end with the closing of the canon. God is still speaking, still revealing, still inspiring, and still healing, and we are part of the never ending story of God's movements in our lives and in the world. Like those first Christians, we are making it up as we go along, creating our faith traditions in concert with divine inspiration and our personal, cultural, and planetary context. Like them, we – that is, progressive, moderate, and open-spirited evangelical Christians - are at the margins; our voices are seldom heard on network television or cable news, muted by our own reluctance as well as the strident voices of those who claim to represent Jesus today. But, our story goes on: in fact, the margins may in fact be the frontiers that call us to adventure.

Today, we are creating Christian faith as we go along - a new vision of faith, open to diversity, embracing pluralism, discovering the promise of post-modernism in small stories and life-changing experiences that evolve into a life-transforming faith. Our faith stories honor and nurture experience, but also balance experience with agile and innovative theological reflection in dialogue with the novelties of our time. Acts 29, the unwritten chapter of Acts, is our chapter. Just as God calls every generation to be faithful in its time, God calls us to be faithful "for just such a time as this." This is our time of possibility, adventure, risk, and vocation. This is our time to create, in the dynamic divine-human call and response, a lively spirited-centered, pluralistic, evolving and emerging faith. Our faith is not based on labels that confine, but stature that includes and our emerging and evolving faith embraces Pentecostal ecstasy, evangelical intimacy, moderate rationality, and progressive open-endedness. We are spirit-centered in our openness to following the Spirit's guidance and then creating along with the Spirit new circles of healing and transformation.

This morning, I heard Rev. Harry Knox of the, Director of the Religion and Faith Program of the Human Rights Commission speak of a "fourth great awakening" as the emergence of the gifts of LGBT people for the church. I agree with Rev. Knox’s affirmation, for this awakening of the gifts of LGBT people is emerging alongside a new integration of mysticism and mission, spiritual healing and medical accessibility, tradition and experimentation, theological reflection and emotional ecstasy; all elements of an ever-widening circle of love. These movements reflect a holistic vision of embodied, emerging, evolving, and liberating faith.

Yes, the story of Acts 29 is still being written. It is your story and mine - it is the story of all those who awaken to God's unhindered Spirit and claim our role as partners in the never ending divine-human journey that lies ahead.

Bruce Epperly is Professor of Practical Theology and Director of Continuing Education at Lancaster Theological Seminary. He is the author of 17 books, including Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living and Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry.

 

Transforming Acts: Adventurous Theology for the Twenty-first Century (Bruce Epperly)

For Disciples, the Book of Acts, has been a central text.  Early Disciple leaders like Alexander Campbell looked to it for a model of church life and expansion.  Acts has also become a key text for the missional movement, and I have looked to it as a guide for our congregation's expansion of ministry in the community.  So, I was pleased when Bruce Epperly suggested writing a series of columns on this most important text.  With this post, we begin a journey through Acts!

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Transforming Acts:

Adventurous Theology for the Twenty-first Century

Bruce G. Epperly

Annie Dillard advised people attending church to put on crash helmets and wear seats belt in the pews because what we invoke in church is life-changing and life-shaking. God, like Aslan the Christ-figure described in C.S. Lewis’Chronicles of Narnia, is not tame, but transforming, lively, and awesome. When God shows up in the confluence of divine call and human response, surprises abound. The fourteen billion year and one hundred billion galaxy adventure of our universe should fill us with awe and wonder, not only at the grandeur of the universe but the Creative Wisdom that brought forth – still brings forth - majestic galaxies and the intricacy of our own bodies, minds, and spirits.

Over the next several weeks, I will be reflecting on Acts of the Apostles as a primer for today’s adventurous Christians. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel proclaimed that one of the primary religious virtues is “radical amazement” and this sense of amazement is what we find throughout Acts of the Apostles. Some suggest that Acts of the Apostles is an idealized account of what the church can be when it is truly spirit-centered; others see Acts as a description of the honeymoon period of the church, when the church was unfettered, free, and open to divine surprises at every turn. Still, Acts of the Apostles is an important text for Christians today. It is an invitation to a holy adventure in which we expect great things from God and great things from ourselves. It is an open door to experiencing beauty, wonder, and miracle in our own lives. Our universe is far from domesticated and leaps of quantum energy enliven our own lives and the world around us. Today’s churches need to be surprised and set free to find God in the most expected places, including within the church itself.

The author of Psalm 8 captured the wonder of the universe long before the first moon landing or photographs from the Hubble telescope.

O Lord, Our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You set your glory above the heavens….

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

The moon and the stars you have established;

What are human beings that you are mindful of them,

Mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,

And crowned them with glory and honor.

In the immensity of the universe, in which our solar system is but a dot, God is working in our lives, giving us the gifts of creativity, artistry, technology, and spirituality. A great God, beyond imagination, is moving in our little world, is calling us to be partners in the creative process. Despite its cosmic insignificance, our little world is the portal to the divinity who makes holy all planets and galaxies.

I believe that Acts of the Apostles is a guidepost for adventurous living and a challenge to Christians to open their imaginations and hearts to God’s presence, moving in the cosmos, our congregations, our lives, and the planet. Acts presents us with a Spirit-filled world and invites us to embrace a Spirit-centered life of prayer, healing, hospitality, adventure, diversity, and justice-seeking.

I see Acts of the Apostles as a post-modern gospel, describing a church at the margins, making it up as it goes along, open to astonishment and new ways of seeing God’s presence in the world. The margins for these first people of the Way of Jesus were also the frontiers of faith. Just as the Spirit is unfettered, so too is the Way of Jesus that takes us into all the world and embraces creation in all its diversity of race, culture, religious practice, and life style. Our parents in the faith balanced fidelity to the God of Jesus Christ with an awareness of religious and cultural pluralism. They knew they had to break through their own parochial understandings of God to be faithful to God. They knew that they had to relativize – and challenge – the Laws of God given to Moses to follow in God’s new pathways of the Spirit. In the spirit of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, they did not reject God’s covenant with the Jewish people, but saw that evolving covenant as unfettered and all-embracing, welcoming and declaring “clean” all the nations of the earth. That is our calling, too – to embrace the past as we awaken to new dimensions of fidelity for our time.

So, be ready for a spiritual adventure! Strap on your safety belt as you open yourself to God’s vision for our time, reflected in the transforming words of Acts of the Apostles. God is still moving in our world; God is still speaking in our lives; God’s faithfulness is everlasting and God’s mercies are new every morning. We need not be afraid of pluralism, for God is our companion as we faithfully and creatively respond to wondrous diversity of human culture and spirituality. We can become the people of the Way – the everyday mystics, healers, and visionaries – as we venture forth into the frontiers of the twenty-first century.

Bruce Epperly is a seminary professor and administrator at Lancaster Theological Seminary, pastor, theologian, and spiritual companion. He is the author of seventeen books, including Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living, a response to Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life. His  Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry, written with Katherine Gould Epperly, was selected 2009 Book of the Year by the Academy of Parish Clergy.    His most recent book is From a Mustard Seed: Enlivening Worship and Music in the Small Church, written with Daryl Hollinger.

A Good Enough Theology: Can We Learn from the Fundamentalists (Bruce Epperly)

Later this week a group of Christians will gather in Raleigh, NC to celebrate a Big Tent Theology.  Alas, I can't be there, but Bruce Epperly has been laying out what for him is a "Good Enough Theology."  To this point he has explored the Quaker, Pentecostal, and Evangelical contribution to the development of this "Good Enough Theology."  In addressing the question of the fundamentalist contribution, he addresses their concern for sound doctrine and attending to scripture.  In this piece, Bruce reminds us that we needn't be absolutists to be concerned about such things.  I invite you to engage the question that Bruce has raised.

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A Good Enough Theology:

Can We Learn From Fundamentalist Christians?

Bruce Epperly

Can progressives learn anything from fundamentalists? Most of us progressives would answer in the “doubtful” category or with a strident “no.” We take pretty much opposite positions on homosexuality and marriage equality, science, politics, scripture, and the quest for certainty. Fundamentalists claim certainty; we live in a world of possibility and probability. Fundamentalists live in a world of absolutes; we live in a world of change and relativity. Yet, a good enough theology, a theology with stature, is open to truth and healing wherever they are found – in the sanctuary and the laboratory, in prayer and pharmaceuticals, in Christianity and other religious traditions, in ancient wisdom and emerging faith, in the old time religion and open-source faith. Still, while we are in a very different place theologically, there may be a couple things we can learn from the faith of fundamentalists.

First, a clarification: fundamentalists are not as fundamentalist as they think! Fundamentalists, in spite of their, affirmations to the contrary, actually do interpret the bible – they interpret it through the lens of infallibility. Fundamentalists, in spite of their protests, also pick and choose in their interpretations and their judgments about scriptural authority. Like liberals, they believe that not all scripture passages are created equal. For example, fundamentalists may enjoy a good Easter ham and fundamentalist women cut their hair. Fundamentalists often work hard to minimize the universalism of some of the apostle Paul’s affirmations, interpreting them to apply only to believers, rather than following a literal reading of the text. So, fundamentalists and progressives begin on common ground – they both interpret scripture and emphasize certain passages – from a particular perspective not necessarily reducible to what can be found in the words of scripture. We all have “theological locations” and it is important to be aware of them rather than absolutize them.

Still, fundamentalists take truth and doctrine seriously and invite progressives to do so as well. Fundamentalists are clear about the importance of “sound doctrine” in shaping the Christian life. If we relegate doctrine to a matter of indifference, our faith will suffer. Sadly, in their quest for a theological big tent, many moderate and progressive Christians have downplayed the importance of doctrine and theological reflection.

The fundamentalist reminds us that theological reflection is important, and in this we can learn from them. We don’t need to be absolutists to take doctrine seriously. We can even posit a variety of doctrinal possibilities as elements in a holistic theology, even if some traditional doctrines are a matter of theological indifference to us. With Whitehead, I believe that our deeply held convictions about reality shape our character. Good theology shapes who we are and what is important to us, behaviorally and politically.

Fundamentalists remind us of the importance of sharing our beliefs with boldness in the marketplace of ideas. While progressives may take issue with what they perceive to be their sense of certainty and their strident tone, progressives can learn from fundamentalists that sharing the faith matters. Being a Christian – or a certain kind of Christian – is not a matter of indifference; it may be a matter of life and death, of meaning and meaninglessness in this life and the next. Progressives can recognize that what we believe about God truly matters and that we need to make known in the marketplace of ideas our theological affirmations about grace, revelation, salvation, healing, and God. We can be passionate about sharing our faith and theological vision, without arrogance.

Perhaps we all need a good dose of wonder (see Psalm 8): in the context of a 100 billion galaxy universe, each galaxy with a billion stars and a fourteen billion year cosmic journey, we can proclaim “how great Thou art” and do our best to live humbly and lovingly.

Bruce Epperly is a seminary professor and administrator at Lancaster Theological Seminary, pastor, theologian, and spiritual companion. He is the author of seventeen books, including Hly Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living, a response to Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life  . His Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry, written with Katherine Gould Epperly, was selected 2009 Book of the Year by the Academy of Parish Clergy.

His most recent book is  From a Mustard Seed: Enlivening Worship and Music in the Small Church, written with Daryl Hollinger.

A Good Enough Theology: Evangelical Passion (Bruce Epperly)

What is a "Good Enough Theology?"  And in defining this notion of theology, where might evangelicalism fit?  One of the things about evangelicalism, is that it is a hard term to pin down.  I'm a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary, an evangelical flagship institution, but Fuller is quite different from other institutions in the evangelical community, such as Dallas Seminary or even Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.  There are conservative evangelicals and there are those, like me, who want to retain our connection with evangelical sensibilities and would be comfortable with the designation "liberal evangelical."  Then there are those who see themselves as "evangelical liberals," a designation that Bruce Epperly, the author of this series of posts, is quite willing to affirm.  If you are a liberal or progressive Christian, what might you take away from the evangelical mindset that can broaden and deepen your faith?  That is the purpose of Bruce's essay today (and next week he'll be bringing in fundamentalism). 

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A Good Enough Theology: Evangelical Passion

Bruce Epperly

For the past two weeks, I have affirmed that a good enough theology has the stature to embrace diverse theological and spiritual approaches. We can compare theological wholeness, or stature, to a balanced diet – recognizing favorite foods, but also including side dishes that not only add flavor but vitamins and minerals. We need basic foods, good theology, but also good seasoning, liveliness. As a progressive Christian, I recognize that I need to include the heart as well as the mind, contemplation as well as action, passion as well as intellect, to have a complete and balanced theological diet. Last week, we reflected on the gifts of the Quakers: the vision of God’s presence in everyone, the importance of contemplative prayer, and commitment to action for justice based on recognizing God in every face. Today, I will reflect on the evangelical passion for a personal relationship with God and Jesus.

Recently, I had a conversation with a member of a liberal/progressive congregation. He commented that although his pastor is a good preacher, he virtually never mentions Jesus in his sermons. I have heard this observation/critique many times from liberal/progressive congregants. They hear Jesus occasionally mentioned as the example of a “way of life,” but seldom as a contemporary reality - a personal reality - that can be experienced in daily life. While liberals and progressives are rightly concerned about making an idol of Jesus, seeing Jesus solely in individualistic terms, or promoting a relationship with Jesus that leads to denigrating other religious traditions, I believe that the evangelical passion for Jesus, for a personal relationship with God, contributes energy and vitality that balances and adds life to intellectual and contemplative faith experiences.

Now, many liberals are uncertain about using the word “evangelical.” For them, it connotes social and theological conservatism, televangelists, and religious exclusivism. In contrast, I like the word “evangelical”: perhaps, because I was raised in a small town Baptist church, perhaps because it points to the importance of passion in faith, perhaps because it reminds us that we have good news to share. While labels can be limiting, I am particularly fond of descriptions such as “evangelical liberals” and “spirit-centered progressives.” I claim them both, and believe that there is good news to be found in embracing both evangelical and Pentecostal perspectives as part of a good enough theology. (We will speak of spirit-centered faith next week.)

Anne Lamott uses the term “Jesus-y” to describe her faith, and that works for me. As a progressive-oriented Christian, I claim that Jesus is alive, not just as the proponent of a way of life, but as a personal reality within the dancing (perichoresis) trinity of divine creativity and companionship within God, us, and the world. In unity of spirit with God, Jesus is as intimate as our next breath. Yet, Jesus’ intimacy invites us to a global spirituality. As our companion on a holy adventure, Jesus calls us to “follow” him in growing in wisdom and stature – in embracing God’s presence in the outcast, the diseased, the stranger, and the enemy. Jesus says “I am in the least of these” and you love me best by loving them. Jesus “walks with us and talks with us” in the midst of life’s challenges.

Loving in the spirit of Jesus means a lot of things, too, certainly it means hospitality and healing; it also means sharing “good news.” And, sharing good news involves both a “what” and a “how” – as progressives we can be as passionate about our faith as those who call themselves evangelicals because we have good news to share. Just look at Eric Elnes’ Phoenix Affirmations or the principles of progressive Christianity, articulated by the Center for Progressive Christianity; just look at my Holy Adventure (Upper Room, 2008) and you will discover that we have a faith we can share, a faith that changes lives. Claiming the following visionary affirmations can change your life and the lives of countless seekers:

God loves us and is present in our lives.

God wants you to have abundant life.

God rejoices in your creativity.

God’s grace embraces, forgives, and makes whole.

Jesus shows us a way to healing of mind, body, spirit, and the planet.

Wherever there is truth, God is its source, in all its many forms.

Jesus is your companion in life and death.

God’s spirit is constantly inspiring us.

God wants us to be partners in healing the world.

This list is far from exhaustive and you can make up your own progressive affirmations of faith; but one thing is clear, living with any one of these affirmations will change your life. These affirmations “preach, teach, and transform.” They call us to a full-voiced Hallelujah!

And, they call us to share our faith in the spirit of hospitality, healing, and respect – learning as well as proclaiming in the spirit of young Jesus at the temple. We can have passion, share good news, and also listen to the gifts of others as part of our affirmation of God’s global and graceful presence.

We progressives have a theology that transforms: if we can personalize this theology, experience it through contemplative practices, and embody it in socially-transforming actions, we can proclaim faith with passion. We can be evangelical as well as contemplative and theologically open-minded. A balanced theological diet of mind, heart, and hands gives life, vitality, and witness to the world, and us.

Bruce Epperly is a seminary professor and administrator at Lancaster Theological Seminary, pastor, theologian, and spiritual companion. He is the author of seventeen books, including  Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living, a response to Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life. His Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry, written with Katherine Gould Epperly, was selected Book of the Year by the Academy of Parish Clergy.  His most recent book is From a Mustard Seed: Enlivening Worship and Music in the Small Church, written with Daryl Hollinger.

A Good Enough Theology: Spirit-Centered Progressivism/Embracing Pentecost (Bruce Epperly)

We continue the journey into what Bruce Epperly calls a "Good Enough Theology."  Last week, Bruce looked at the contributions of the Quakers, especially their use of silence and waiting upon the movement of God, for guidance.  This week, Bruce goes in another direction and seeks insight from Pentecostalism, a movement that affirms God's empowering presence now, in this day.  Although it has its own set of problems -- I know of these first hand as a former Pentecostal -- it has also reintroduced into the mainstream of Christianity the experiential side of Christian faith.  It has also reminded us that God is still present and active.  Bruce believes that progressive Christians can profit from attending to the strengths of this movement.  I invite you to read and to share your thoughts.  Oh, and next week he turns to evangelicalism!

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A Good Enough Theology:

Spirit-Centered Progressivism/Embracing Pentecost

Bruce Epperly

Good theology embraces the whole person - body, mind, spirit, relationships, and the planet. It is committed to growing in wisdom and stature through its interactions with the religious world, literature, secularity, and science. A balanced theological diet embraces the Pentecostal spirit as a catalyst for intellectual as well as experiential growth. (Next week, look for “one thing we can learn from fundamentalism.”)

Today’s Pentecostal Christians trace their beginnings to the day of Pentecost, described in Acts 2 and the spiritual adventures, described throughout Acts of the Apostles. Acts of the Apostles describes a lively and expanding faith, constantly being driven beyond its theological and cultural comfort zone and continuously open to experiencing signs and wonders.

While progressive and liberal Christians are often accused of expecting too little from God, Pentecostals have little humility when it comes to expecting God to show up in our daily lives. According to Pentecostal Christians, God regularly appears as a source of healing, inspiration, revelation, ecstasy, and mystical experience. The hallmark of Pentecostal faith can be found in these words from Acts 2:

I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy,

And your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I shall pour out my Spirit;

And they shall prophesy.

Pentecostal Christianity is driven by the spirit to embody new possibilities as they are revealed to us. Faith embraces the non-rational as well as the rational, emotion as well as intellect. While there are Pentecostal excesses (for example, identification of prosperity as a sign of divine blessing; seeing speaking in tongues as God’s primary gift and judging as spiritually deficient persons who lack such gifts; and an over-emphasis on the supernatural as violating cause and effect relationships), Pentecostals follow where God leads: in contrast to fundamentalists, who follow a rigid understanding of scripture, Pentecostals ordained woman as pastors and spiritual leaders, because they believed that Spirit trumped scripture, and God’s Spirit called forth women to lead.

Acts 2 presents a dynamic, fluid church, making it up as they went along – integrating theology, spirit, social concern, and hospitality.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together…, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the good will of the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Pentecostals then and now have expected great things from God, and great things from themselves as mediators of God’s blessings. They have been leaders in reclaiming the healing ministry of the church as well as inviting people to be open to the unfettered movements of God’s spirit in dreams, ecstatic experiences, and spiritual discernment. Pentecostals balance the horizontal this-worldly orientation of progressives with their openness to the breaking in of the spirit. While progressives affirm that God works through the normal movements of cause and effect, nevertheless, progressives are invited to awaken to dramatic, yet naturalistic, movements of God’s spirit – to be open to signs and wonders within the everyday world. The natural world is always more, not less than we can imagine – what we describe as “miracles” may be quantum leaps of transformational energy, emerging in the divine-human all and response. A dynamic law-abiding universe is, in fact, a greater revelation of divine love and care than one in which God breaks in supernaturally and arbitrarily.

Pentecostal spirituality reminds us that God inspires us in many ways: through the mind and theological reflection, but also through dreams, intuitions, synchronous encounters, visionary experiences. Of course, as I Corinthians notes, each of these needs to be integrated with solid theological reflection, and this is where the gifts of progressive and process-oriented theology make a difference – progressive and process-oriented theology affirm that God is present, inspiring us in every aspect of our lives, but that divine inspiration is always contextual, always related to the good of the community, always aimed at wholeness and beauty. God seeks abundant life, but “prosperity” is not automatic, or solely the result of our faith in a linear fashion; the prosperity gospel is not individualistic, but embraces the whole earth. God wants all creation to flourish, not just the favored or faithful few.

Like the Quakers, Pentecostals invite us to see “more” and expect “more” from our world. They remind us that there is a “burning bush” on every pathway and that God is constantly speaking in our lives. Progressives can embrace this dynamic theology, balancing it with our sense of social justice and our vision of God’s universal revelation and care. The ever-present, still speaking God of progressive faith, calls us to see holiness in the ordinary and wonder in our daily tasks. Truly this makes for a good enough theological diet; a good enough theology to live by.

Bruce Epperly is a seminary professor and administrator at Lancaster Theological Seminary, pastor, theologian, and spiritual companion. He is the author of seventeen books, including  Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living, a response to Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life. His Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry, written with Katherine Gould Epperly, was selected 2009 Book of the Year by the Academy of Parish Clergy.  His most recent book is   From a Mustard Seed: Enlivening Worship and Music in the Small Church, written with Daryl Hollinger.

Why Progressive Theology is Important -- Christian Faith and Global Spirituality (Bruce Epperly)

With Anne Rice's recent revelation that she's not leaving Christ, but is leaving Christianity, perhaps she'd change her mind if she were to read Bruce Epperly's series on Progressive Theology!   In this essay, Bruce addresses the Christian hunger for mystical or spiritual experiences.  In doing so, he writes about the ways in which progressive Christians can with discernment make use of a variety of resources, including those that emerge out of other faith traditions.  I invite you to read and respond to this word of guidance.

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Why Progressive Theology is Important:

Christian Faith and Global Spirituality

Bruce Epperly

In the last few weeks, I have reflected on the importance of progressive theology for the future of Christianity. It is clear that theology is important and can be the difference between life and death, individually and globally. What we believe shapes our character, actions, political involvements, and vision of the future of the planet. Today, I would like to reflect on spiritual experience from the perspective of progressive Christianity. If, as a recent Pew Center Report suggests, over 50% of mainline Christians claim self-transcendent or mystical experiences, then the experiential side of religion is key to the future of progressive Christianity. Indeed, while today’s seekers are intellectually curious and want good theology, they are, on the whole, interested in experiencing the faith they affirm.

Most progressives are open to a variety of religious experiences. In the spirit of the Prologue to John’s Gospel (John 1:1-18), most progressives affirm that “the true light, which enlightens everyone” is the source of the many paths to the divine as well as the insights of agnostics and atheists. As progressive Christians, we look for truth wherever it is found, whether in the sanctuary, Benedictine monastery, Zen center, yoga retreat, or healing touch training program.

We are open to God inspiring us through Quaker silence, Gospel rhythms, Pentecostal tongue speaking, evangelical prayer, and Ignatian imaginative contemplation as well as Hindu meditation, Native American and traditional African practices, and Sufi dancing. While such openness has been critiqued as “designer religion” or “cafeteria Catholicism,” I believe that the progressive spirit reflects Paul’s vision of God as the one “in whom we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)

Paul’s sermon in Athens (Acts 17:16-34) reflects the dialogical nature of progressive spirituality. On the one hand, Paul accepts the wisdom of Greek philosophy in his description of God as the reality in whom all things live and grow. He also affirms the universal and intimate divine-human connection – “for we are God’s offspring.” (Acts 17:28) There is always a point of contact between God and humankind, which is the source of the spiritual quest in all its forms.

Paul’s words are an invitation to an open-spirited, Christ-centered approach to the varieties of spiritual practices. So, in light of Paul’s affirmation of global revelation and divine intimacy, it is possible to integrate Christian prayer with Buddhist meditation; liturgical worship with Hindu breathing techniques; political action with Gandhi’s satyagraha (soul force) just as he integrates the wisdom of Christ with the wisdom of Greek philosophy. This is not a corruption of our faith, but an expansion of our faith, a growing in wisdom and stature.

Paul also reminds us, by his “distress” (Acts 17:16) that not all philosophies and spiritualities are compatible with following the way of Jesus and that Christians must be willing to evaluate critically the various religious paths in light of God’s world-affirming and healing revelation in Jesus of Nazareth. For example, progressive Christians can gain wisdom from the new age text, The Secret, in terms of its emphasis on positive thinking and visualization, while challenging its affirmation that “you create your own reality” and its tendency toward individualism and rewards-punishments thinking, which often leads to blaming the victim for her or his failures. Progressive Christians can learn much from Hindu meditation without adopting the theory of reincarnation or explanations for people’s suffering in this lifetime in terms of past life behavior.

Progressive Christianity is open to the world in all its wonder and complexity. As my teacher John Cobb asserted, Christ is the way that includes no way. Christ’s transformative power can inspire us to embrace a variety of practices in light of our commitment to the dynamic, all-inspiring, abundance-seeking God of all creation. Yet, our openness to global spirituality also calls us to deepen our theology and spiritual practices as Christians. In a global age, with many spiritual paths, we need to take Christian theology and spirituality more, rather than less, seriously. We need to articulate Christ-centered and Spirit-centered visions of the divine, which inspire us to seek justice, affirm diversity, and commit ourselves to healing the planet. Our theologies and practices as Christians are the center points that enable us to integrate creatively the diverse spiritual visions and practices of our time. Deep theological and spiritual commitments enable us as Christians to grow in wisdom and stature as we welcome and embrace the many faiths of our world. This is the way of peace both within our hearts and in our relationships with other spiritual pilgrims.

Bruce Epperly is Professor of Practical Theology and Director of Continuing Education at Lancaster Theological Seminary and co-pastor of Disciples Community Church in Lancaster, PA. He is the author of seventeen books, including Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living and

Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry.

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Why Progressive Theology Matters: The God of Possibility (Bruce Epperly)

There is the assumption on the part of many that liberal or progressive Christianity talks more about what it doesn't believe in than what it does believe in.  Bruce Epperly is one of those progressive theologians who is concerned about probing what is possible to believe in today's world.  Today's essay speaks of the "God of Possibility," a piece triggered by the meditation written for this blog by seminarian Dwight Welch.  I invite you to read and engage in the conversation -- Who is the God of Possibility?

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Why Progressive Theology Matters:

The God of Possibility

Bruce Epperly

Yesterday I received the latest edition of the United Church of Christ Desk Calendar. The cover announced the following: “Imagine What’s Possible. God is still speaking,” – a reminder of the UCC affirmation from Gracie Allen, “never place a period where God has placed a comma.” Imagine what’s possible! Look beyond the data and bottom line, and awaken to God’s holy adventure!

In the past few months, I have reflected on naturalistic visions of healing and miracles. On the whole progressive Christians have taken the position that God works within the naturalistic matrix of cause and effect to transform bodies, minds, spirits, and communities. Divine power is always relational and contextual, rather than unilateral and coercive. In a recent “Ponderings on a Faith Journey” essay, Dwight Welch insightfully noted that continuity of divine action and human experience does not rule out extraordinary awe-producing events. There is enough wonder in the world without needing to invoke supernaturalistic explanations.

As a spirit-centered progressive, I affirm that God is present in every moment of life. With the causal interdependence of life, there is no ultimate distinction between sacred and secular. While most moments appear ordinary, deep down every moment reflects God’s movements within the each moment of experience and the causal interdependence of life. All moments can potentially be “thin places,” epiphanies and energetic vortices, revealing God’s vision for ourselves and the world. In the continuity of life, there is an ongoing call and response, which invites us to look deeper for God’s touch in our lives and experience the divine aim at beauty and complexity of experience.

For good reason, progressives have shied away from focusing on discrete and supernatural “acts of God.” However, our reticence to identify certain moments as uniquely God-inspired should not prevent us from opening to greater expressions of divine power in our lives and in the world. A key question for progressives is “what can we expect from God and what can we expect from ourselves in the dynamic divine-human call and response?” Although we cannot ever fully discern the divine intention, progressive theology can affirm that God, like ourselves, is a visionary and volitional being in such a way that some moments more fully reflect God’s vision and energetic activity than others. This is a matter of divine choice and personal and communal openness. These moments do not violate the causal relatedness of life, but express a deeper energy and vision within the creative interdependence of life. These are moments of incarnation and possibility that lure us forward toward new and life-transforming adventures.

Progressive theology is forward thinking and forward looking. This present moment and the future are not fully determined by either God or prior causes. In the spirit of Alfred North Whitehead, the limitations of the actual world are the source of possibilities that invite us to go beyond the familiar to embrace a world of adventure. These possibilities are never abstract, but always concrete and continuous with the environmental given. From the womb of possibility come bursts of energy and creativity that can transform our lives and the world. Our openness to God through spiritual practices – prayer, meditation, mindfulness, energy work, social concern, hospitality – opens persons and communities to more transformative possibilities and greater energy to embody these possibilities. God is moving within each moment of experience providing lures for adventures and making a way where there is no way.

These days, two of my best friends have life-threatening cancer. Two years ago, our son was diagnosed with a rare cancer. In all three cases, I committed myself to praying for them in words, visualizations, and hands-on and distant energy work. My prayers are part of a larger matrix that includes chemotherapy and other medical interventions along with their own spiritual practices, healing relationships, and God’s movements through each and all of these.

There are no guarantees of cure, but I believe that a naturalistic approach to divine activity suggests that prayer and optimism open the door for new energies and more lively expressions of divine activity.

As progressives, who are often daunted by the budget bottom line and the medical diagnosis, we need to be hopeful realists, fully aware of the current situation, but equally aware that each moment can be a revelation of divine vision, possibility, and energy. Imagine what is possible when we awaken to God’s movements in the concrete moments of life!

Bruce Epperly is Professor of Practical Theology and Director of Continuing Education at Lancaster Theological Seminary and co-pastor of Disciples Community Church in Lancaster, PA. He is the author of seventeen books, including Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living and Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry.   For more on his vision of divine activity, healing, and wholeness, see God’s Touch: Faith, Wholeness, and the Healing Miracles of Jesus and  Healing Worship: Purpose and Practice.

Why Progressive Theology Matters: God is Still Speaking (Bruce Epperly)

There is a verse that appears near the close of the book of Revelation, which suggests that anyone adding to the book faces divine curses.  Some have taken this little message to be speaking of the Scriptures as a whole, so that if you share any revelatory materials beyond this passage, then God will get you.  In other words, God has spoken once and for all and is now forever silent.  But is God forever silent?  Could it be that God might still be speaking?.  Remember that this passage only works because of its placement at the end of the canonical books of the New Testament, a placement that was in doubt as late as the fifth century.  But, if God is still speaking, how is God speaking and what does this mean for us?  Bruce Epperly once again points us toward progressive theology, suggesting that it has resources that might help us hear God's voice today. 

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Why Progressive Theology Matters:

God is Still Speaking

Bruce Epperly

My denomination, the United Church of Christ, proclaims “God is still speaking” in much of its literature, but is still trying to figure out what this statement truly means for moderate and progressive Christians. I believe this statement takes people in the United Church of Christ and other denominations much further than its original intent: it asks us to become practically-oriented mystics. In fact, the affirmation that “God is still speaking” is at the heart of a spirit-centered progressive faith that can transform the face of North American Christianity. In light of the recent Pew Center report, indicating that 50% of mainstream Christians have had mystical experiences, today’s progressive and moderate Christians are challenged to claim their spiritual experiences and develop open-ended practices appropriate to progressive Christian theology.

Today, progressives need to claim a holistic spirituality that embraces action and contemplation, and mysticism and social transformation. Progressive theology has untapped resources for holistic mysticism and spiritual transformation. First, of all, progressive theology affirms the universality of God’s presence and revelation. God is moving in and through all things; no one is exempt from revelation. God touches everyone and everyone can touch God. Second, progressive theology affirms that God is alive and constantly creating in our world. The affirmation that “God is still speaking” embraces and joins spirituality and social transformation. God is constantly doing a new thing in widening the scope of liberation and healing for us and all creation. God’s new vision invites us to go beyond biblical literalism and exclusiveness to affirm God’s presence in science, medicine, evolutionary theory, and gender and marriage equality. But, just as important, God is inspiring us in new ways as individuals, calling us to explore new dimensions of spiritual formation and healing and wholeness. Third, the dynamic divine-human “call and response” brings forth constantly new possibilities for creativity and adventure in spirituality, politics, and relationships. Our changes inspire God to act in new ways and divine activity inspires us to embody new paths of faith and action.

The God who is “new every morning” and “new every moment” invites us to novel forms of spirituality and social concern appropriate to our time and place. A joke among United Church of Christ folk is “God is still speaking, but is anyone listening?” Listening to God implies that we trust God’s voice in our lives as we open to the many media of revelation – in moments of quiet contemplation, intuitive experiences, dreams, encounters, literary work, meditative practices, yoga and energy work, and calls to service. Listening to God inspires us to let our lives speak through actions that transform our relationships and social structures.

Today, progressive Christianity needs to come out of the closet and claim its spiritual gifts and resources. Our churches need to become laboratories of the spirit, inspiring our care for this good earth. Today’s Christianity needs holistic spiritual practices, embracing the traditions of Christianity in a new and creative ways, and open to the insights of non-Christian spiritualities.

Progressive Christianity can be a leader in dynamic global spiritual formation that embraces the quests of seekers within and beyond the church.

Bruce Epperly is Professor of Practical Theology and Director of Continuing Education at Lancaster Theological Seminary and co-pastor of Disciples Community Church in Lancaster, PA. He is the author of seventeen books, including Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living and Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry.

An Alternative Way of Worship for Progressive Churches (Keith Watkins)

With Bruce Epperly writing a series of posts on the importance of Progressive Theology, perhaps it is appropriate that we also have a conversation about worship in progressive churches.  I know of no one better equipped to lead this conversation than Dr. Keith Watkins.  Since I didn't go to Christian Theological Seminary, I didn't have the opportunity to study under Keith.  However, over the past 20 years or so, Keith and I have developed a strong friendship and have conversed regularly over the years, whether in person or in other forms, about worship.  Therefore, because of this, I have been his student and he my teacher.  Keith is now an emeritus professor, living in the Pacific Northwest, but still actively teaching us about matters of worship, ministry, theology, history (and of course bicycling) through his new blog Keith Watkins Historian.  In the post that I am republishing with Keith's permission, he lays out the foundations of what will be an extended series of posts outlining what progressive Christian worship might look like.  In a response to my comment at his blog, he makes clear the direction:  "In each entry I intend to state clearly what I believe to be the way churches like ours should plan and conduct worship. In the process, I will give a rationale supporting my proposals."

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An Alternative Way of Worship
for Progressive Churches
By Dr. Keith Watkins

“What you should do, Keith, is develop an alternative liturgy for people like us.” My friend made this proposal as we were driving to his home following the celebration of Holy Communion at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California. In earlier conversations, we had talked about our frequent disappointment with Sunday morning worship in churches of our own communion. He presumed that my long career as professor of worship, and my continuing interest in progressive Protestant church life, qualifies me to develop suggestions.

During the next few weeks, I intend to offer my reflections upon these matters. My goal is to outline characteristics of the church’s definitive liturgy of Word and Sacrament that meet three criteria: shaped by the historic tradition, expressed in the culture of our own time, and performed in a manner suitable to the occasion. In this first column of the series, I give a preview by noting characteristics of worship at All Saints Church, which I believe are consistent with these criteria.

First, the celebration conveys the sense that what is going on is important—important enough for the leaders to be well prepared and skilled in the performance of their respective parts of the liturgy. The liturgy is always well staged so that the visual and dramatic character of the event reinforces the meaning of the words and actions. The principal leader was at the top of his form. Although he and other leaders expressed a sense of personal presence, there was nothing trivial or inept about their words or actions.

Second, it was clearly an occasion of public worship rather than religious lecture, concert, seminar, support group, or political rally. By using the word worship, I mean that the primary orientation of the event was toward God who was addressed in the prayers, especially the prayers over the bread and wine during the communion. The scripture reading and sermon were presented in such a way that they prepared the congregants for their parts in the words and actions of praise. By public, I mean that participation was open to everyone. Except for the informal words and parish notes midway through the service, nothing was said or done in ways that implied congregants had to be insiders in order to understand and participate.

Third, the liturgy was fully consistent with the long-standing pattern of worship that began early in Christian history and, with important revisions, has continued in most churches ever since. At the same time, the liturgy at All Saints was revised in ways that allow it to be more appropriate for congregants at this progressive church. Contrary to the Prayer Book pattern, only one Scripture lesson was read rather than three. The ancient Nicene Creed was omitted. Most interesting to me was the fact that the Eucharistic prayer was carefully modified so that it more fully manifested conditions in the world and implications of the proclamation that had preceded this part of the liturgy.

While Episcopalians, as part of the Anglican Communion, maintain the tradition that the words of the Eucharistic prayer are to be read from the Book of Common Prayer, All Saints clergy make subtle variations in the early portion of the prayer while leaving unchanged the theologically important words at the prayer’s center. An exchange of e-mails with one of the church’s clergy indicates that the modifications of this prayer are developed or chosen with great care. Although the words of the service indicate an immediate awareness of current conditions, there is nothing left to chance in what was said and done.

Fourth, the style of the event was consistent with the geographical and cultural location of this church. All Saints Church is located at the very heart of Pasadena, California. This wealthy, politically important city east of Los Angeles is the center of major educational institutions, including Fuller Theological Seminary, museums, governmental buildings, commercial activities, and major churches. In some ways, this part of Los Angeles County, with its leaning toward politically progressive convictions, is the counter balance to politically conservative Orange County. Several years ago, a National Public Radio program featured All Saints in Pasadena and Saddleback Church in Mission Viejo as contrasting versions of churches that are appealing to younger, unchurched people in Southern California. All Saints Church appears to be advancing despite the malaise that marks many progressive churches. One reason is the skill with which the classic liturgy is adapted to the congregation’s natural constituency.

Fifth, the liturgy conveyed a sense of movement and energy. In part, this was because the order of service expressed the theological logic of the historic liturgy. The pacing, staging, language, and music of the morning were chosen and conducted in such a way that everyone was moved forward to a dramatic finale in communion. When we left church that morning, we felt as though we had actually done something that moved us from spiritual malaise to a sense of union with the God who comes to us in Jesus Christ.

Keith Watkins is a historian and theologian who has devoted his life to the study of worship and the the practical life of religious institutions. His graduate studies in Berkeley (Th.D. from Pacific School of Religion) focused on nineteenth-century liberalism and American religious studies. During his 33-year career at Christian Theological Seminary , he specialized in the history and theology of Christian worship. His books Liturgies in a Time When Cities Burn,    Faithful and Fair: Transcending Sexist Language in Worship, and The Great Thanksgiving: The Eucharistic Norm of Christian Worship, which illustrate this interest. His continuing interest in religious history is evident in his 2009 book A Visible Sign of God’s Presence: A History of the Yakama Christian Mission.  His blog, Keith Watkins Historian can be found here. 

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Why Progressive Christian Theology Matters: The Primacy of Love (Bruce Epperly)

As we wander through these summer months, Bruce Epperly is drawing out attention to the question of whether and why progressive theology actually matters.  In today's piece he reminds us that the basic theological confession about God is that God is Love.  It is something, he says, we too easily forget in our quick embrace of God's power.  I invite you to ponder this question -- what is the primacy of love?  How does focusing on love change the way we envision God? 

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Why Progressive Christian Theology Matters:

The Primacy of Love

Bruce Epperly

In his latest book, The Nature of Love (Chalice Press), open and relational theologian Thomas Jay Oord asserts that “if love is at the center of the biblical witness and the core of Christian theology, it should be the primary criterion for theology.” Yet, as Oord notes, “those who write Christian theologies have often not placed love and its implications at the center of their work.”

Theologians have often forgotten that the proposition “God is love” is the primary description of God’s nature. In contrast, many theologians are willing to jettison love rather than power when it comes to describing what is most central to God’s nature. To compromise on divine power is unacceptable even if this means God is responsible for tsunami and earthquake; while compromising on God’s love for broken and wayward people seems in line with orthodoxy. When power becomes definitive of God’s nature, justice is, then, viewed primarily in terms of punishment rather than healing and transformation and divine knowledge is described as controlling rather than freeing and supportive.

Progressive theology affirms “a metaphysic of love” (Charles Hartshorne) in which God’s power is defined as relational and healing rather than unilateral and coercive. One of my teachers Bernard Loomer spoke of two kinds of power: relational and unilateral. Unilateral power is, by definition, coercive; it controls and shapes, but does not receive. The goal of unilateral power is to exert as much influence as possible without being influenced by others. It speaks but does not listen; it creates but does not respond; it demands but does not negotiate. Uninterested in the unique experiences of others (its subjects), it desires conformity and obedience, rather than creativity and adventure. One of the worse things that can happen, from the perspective of coercive power, is for God to be surprised or influenced by creatures like us.

In contrast, relational power is responsive as well as creative; it welcomes the influence of others. It embraces the gifts of creation and encourages freedom and creativity. It embraces surprise as the opportunity to exert its own freedom in novel and innovative ways. My teachers John Cobb and David Griffin describe God’s power as “creative-responsive love.”

When power is defined in terms of love, its primary goal is healing and transformation. God’s power is, as Peter Schmiechen describes it, entirely “saving power.” God is on our side, forgiving even the faithless and violent as a means of their healing. Loving power, however, is not weakness: it is persistent and challenging of alienating behaviors. As I Corinthians 13 proclaims, loving power never ends.

Loving power is reflected in Jesus’ approach to healing and wholeness. The healing narratives reflect Jesus’ affirmation that his mission was to promote abundant life. Jesus did not blame the victim, nor did he identify disease with divine punishment. While Jesus recognized that behaviors and attitudes could play a role in disease, even those who struggled with their faith or previous misdeeds received his blessing.

Loving power is reflected in Philippians 2:5-11. Here God’s power is revealed in presence and relationship. Every knee shall bow – yes, every knee! – not out of fear but out of gratitude for a love that knows no end and that rules by letting go rather than demanding obedience. Often love is seen as something weak by those who see power as definitive of God; they want a God who can rain down hell-fire and brimstone and punish the opponent. Often they exhibit this same behavior in relationship to their opponents, drawing lines that divide rather than circles that include. Love is powerful; it is willing to go to the cross to bring wholeness to humanity; it is willing to forgive the enemy; and it is willing to become “unclean” so that others find healing.

Today, in this time of cultural and religious polarization, we need to emphasize the love of God and the embrace of otherness, rather than denunciation and division. Only the vision of a truly loving God, for whom love is the primary motivation in the use of power, can help us find a spiritual and cultural common ground. As progressives, we need to let the light of love shine, as we tell the good news of an infinitely creative, adventurous, persistent, and loving God.

Bruce Epperly is Professor of Practical Theology and Director of Continuing Education at Lancaster Theological Seminary and co-pastor of Disciples Community Church in Lancaster, PA. He is the author of seventeen books, including  Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living and Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry. Those interested in his work on healing may consult God’s Touch: Faith, Wholeness, and the Healing Miracles of Jesus   and Healing Worship: Purpose and Practice. His most recent book, From a Mustard Seed: Enlivening Music and Worship in the Small Church written with Daryl Hollinger, will be released by Alban Institute Books in August.