Political Life Begins in the Church

Here, Patrick Schreiner writes, “The most subversive thing we can do is exist as the kingdom of God amid the kingdom of man. This was Jesus and Paul’s main political action. They came announcing a new way and forming a new community. We too witness to the world about the king and his kingdom where justice, peace, and harmony reside. Jesus didn’t seek to change the structures around him. He preached another politic, another way. And this alternative politic is manifested where? In the community of believers we call the church.”

What You Probably Don’t Know About Your Pastor When He Preaches

Hint: it is a lot more than you may think.

Beware of the Birds

“Every Sunday morning, they perch among us. Listen closely and you can hear their wings flapping overhead. Singing voices have quieted, the preacher mounts his summit, the book is laid open. As the people fidget in the pew, readying to hear God speak through a man, the crows and ravens stir in anticipation. Caws and muffled croaks murmur in the rafters. Some sound eerily like a chuckle. Jesus heard them as he got up to preach.”