Cameron Jorgenson over at Summa Aesthetica has a beautiful Ash Wednesday devotion that I think everyone should be reading.

I too was “corrupted” by my Lutheran friend into practicing traditional Christian discipines, and attending Ash Wednesday for the first time. My Easters have never been as rich as they have been since I was “corrupted” by him into practicing the season of Lent.

It appears as if my post yesterday has caused a stir in some of my circle of friends. And out of that, all kinds of good questions have been put to me by these people (see some of the comments below). I think the stir has produced both positive and negative feelings as we all are wrestling with the Church, since we all are a part of it, and all love it. And my friends and I want to be a part of the constructive dialoguing that is taking place.

Good questions such as:

1) What exactly is the crisis in the church you are talking about? What needs to be reformed?

2) Is this paradigm shift you are talking about a fad, which is at the whim of the people, or a legit move into a new paradigm, led by God?

3) Is it possible that the very things you talk about as being a barrier to reform, such as arrogance and a clinging to power, actually a possible reality in those who want to reform? Meaning, there is as much a possibility that those who consider themselves reformers are actually trying to grasp for power in the new paradigm?

All good questions. Many of which I have thought about, and many of which I do not have answers. But this is a good place to dialogue on these things, and to critically inform one another as we attempt to bring light to the issues, in hopes of being a part of the great things God has been doing in the Church.

At this point, let me turn your attention to a few articles, and other bloggers, so as to create fodder for discussion.

What is the crisis?
One of the things that I see as a crisis in the church today is the issue of consumerism, church shopping, and the lack of commitment in community. All of which I struggle with myself, so as not to think I am only pointing fingers, when I am a big part of the problem. On this issue, check out the June 2003 issue of Christianity Today, Suburban Spirituality. Great critique of some of the issues that I believe are part of the crisis of the Church today. I would also point you to the blog of Tod Bolsinger, who is pastor of San Clemente Presbyterian Church. His site It Takes A Church has great material on it in regards to the purpose of community, “staying put”, and the Church.

Why Church?
Why do I think it is so important? I have grown up in the church my whole life, and being a part of church community is one of the most amazing agents in formation. I was challenged greatly by the January 2005 article, The Church, Why Bother?. It is a great look at the importance of being a part of a church community. Again Tod Bolsinger has great posts on the topic of community.

What is Emergent?
For those of you who don’t know what Emergent is, the November 2004 article, The Emergent Mystique, gives one a better understanding of what people are talking about. In regards to my own views as I mentioned yesterday. I am not saying, nor do I believe at this point that the “emergent movement” is the answer, or the next paradigm. But rather, it has been the one open place of dialogue for me where I can talk openly with other people who love the church, about the church. There are not many places you can do that without fear of some reprecussions, or with the fear of the Inquisition knocking down your door.

I hope these thoughts will give you food for thought. I would also point you to Cameron Jorgenson, who is a Ph.D. student at Baylor University. Cameron is interested in moral formation, and is one of the smart people when it comes to all issues. He will be posting some articles in the next few days and weeks on this issue of reform, innovation, etc. His site can be read at Summa Aesthetica.

Looking forward to hearing more….

That is the question that I have been pondering all weekend, after attending a four day conference in San Diego at the Emergent Convention, which is hosted by Youth Specialties and Emergent Village.

Hugh Hewitt posted a blog yesterday making the following observation:

“And speaking of change, I attended my old church and a new church today. I went to Washington D.C.’s National Presbyterian Church to see an old friend in ministry there, and then took the Red Line to Union Station to attend the 11:00 service at National Community Church, which meets in the multiplex there. While the mainline denominations are striving to keep and build their congregations, the energy of the new churches, as represented by the two-location NCC, is phenomenal. As with every other institution out there, Christian churches have to adapt quickly to a new culture or decline just as quickly as audience share has for old newspapers and the big networks.”

Fascinating and insightful comments from someone whose vocation is not within the church, but rather in the Main Stream Media, and the blogosphere. As Hugh pointed out in his latest book BLOG, the paradigm shift of the Reformation was not just a matter of Martin Luther, but rather, a combination of many factors occuring at the right time. Luther had forerunners who had attempted reform such as John Wyclif and John Hus. But it was Martin Luther whose attempts at reform were ripened and came to fruition with invention of Johann Gutenberg’s printing press.

Does the church now find itself in a position, where it is in transition from one paradigm shift to the next, in hopes of reformation, and has the shift that has already occured in technology and media ripen it’s attempt at this reform?

Thomas Kuhn in his seminal work on paradigm shifts, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions observes the following:

“The pre-paradigm period in particular, is regularly marked by frequent and deep debates over legitimate methods, problems, and standards of solution, though they serve rather to define schools than to produce agreement…….Novelty emerges only with difficulty, manifested by resistance, against a background provided by expectation.”

I very much see the church in a pardigm shift at this point, though as to where it is on the continuum from one paradigm to the next is anybody’s guess. Though I do believe the church has already moved from the pre-paradigm shift, into a more transitional period where it is waiting for a more cleary defined paradigm to come to fruition. This is something that we have seen already happen in the MSM (Main Stream Media), where the old guard of the major news affiliates and organizations has given way to a new reform by way of the blogosphere and the legions of bloggers. If one doubts this reformation, one only need to look at the statistics in Hugh’s book, BLOG, or to some of my more recent posts to see the demise of the MSM.

This was the first year at the Emergent Conference where there was a workshop held for bloggers, and the concensus coming out of that group (though it was somewhat biased) is that the blogs are driving the paradigm shift and the debates within the church as well. As a blogger myself, I want to humbly say that maybe the bloggers within the church might be overstating their case, but I doubt that is true since I have seen a complete technological reformation in the church in the last few years, from website design to blogging. If a church didn’t use to have a website (and they could afford one), I would have written them off with not concerning themselves with the issue of relevance. Either that, or they just don’t care. And to be the Church, a website is not required. I am now beginning to think that that is true of bloggers as well. If the church wants to continue to be relevant, and to enter into dialogue with the culture at large, which it is wanting to reform, then it must have bloggers within it.

This issue, and debate, is much too large for me to continue in one blog, but let me close with some thoughts about the Church as a whole:

Thought #1:
The Church’s hold onto it’s current or old paradigms, can often come from a position of arrogance, much like MSM’s arrogance in deciding which news it would, and would not report. I am sure the Catholic church was quite sure of its position as well, before a young, and vibrant monk posted his now famous 95 Theses’. What we praise as reformation in hindsight, is often more fearful when you are the institution that needs reforming.

Thought #2:
The Church, much like the blogosphere, is in transition from one paradigm shift to the next. I believe both have moved from the deconstruction phase, into a healthy reconstructive phase. “Only as experiment and tentative theory are together articulated to a match does the discovery emerge and the theory become a paradigm” (Thomas Kuhn: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions)

Thought #3:
The Church’s fear in shifting paradigms, is often rooted in it’s inability to cope with undefined rules, and to live with ambiguity and uncertainty. I think people who prefer the mystery and transcendence of God are much more able to deal with this reality. “Rules, I suggest, derive from paradigms, but paradigms can guide research even in the absence of rules….Indeed, the existence of a paradigm need not even imply that any full set of rules exists” (Thomas Kuhn: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions). I think the Church, as well as the blogosphere, is being guided into the new paradigm, where the rules are not as yet clearly defined.

Thought #4:
The Church’s inability and refusal to reform is often a grasping for power and position that it does not want to let go of. That seems so in opposition to Paul’s words to the church in Philippi in Philippians 2:5-11, where Christ is the very essence of what it means to not grasp at power. We saw this in the MSM, as old powerful networks begun to be toppled by younger networks in an unwillingness to reform in hopes of maintaining power. Aren’t we the same people who espouse the priesthood of all believers? Yet we are afraid of reform because of what that may mean to our own position in the hierarchal structure, and because we fear and don’t trust that people can find truth on their own without us? I think that is often arrogance and power on our part.

Thought #5:
I believe that most people and institutions in need of reform, are more interested in security, than reformation. There are those who are insecure of reformation because they don’t want to lose their power, their status, or their job, because reformation may mean the ousting of them or their paradigm. And then there are those who have a healthy sense of insecurity and uncertainity of what the future will hold for them, as they are the ones driving the reform. But they know, that the new paradigm, is better than the old paradigm. “Because it demands large-scale paradigm deconstruction and major shifts in the problems and techniques of normal science, the emergence of new theories is generally preceded by a period of pronounced professional insecurity. As one might expect, that insecurity is generated by the persistent failure of the puzzles of normal science to come out as they should. Failure of existing rules is the prelude to a search for new ones” (Thomas Kuhn: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions).

Thought #6:
The Church’s inability to want to reform is often related to it’s fear that without cleary defined rules, and air tight systems of theology, anything is up for grabs and seen as relevant. I would say that that is true. Anything is up for grabs in a transition period from one paradigm to the next, but that does not mean that you stop reforming. If the church did not continue to reform, we would not be where we are today. I think it is true, that those we hold up as reformers, we would also be against if we did not have the luxury of hindsight. This is true in American history, and it is true in church history. “In the absence of a paradigm or some candidate for paradigm, all of the facts that could possibly pertain to the development of a given science are likely to seem equally relevant” (Thomas Kuhn: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions).

Thought #7:
Though bloggers and the “emerging church” relish their status as outsiders, and of being on the fringes, at some point an effort must be made to reform not only from the outside, but from within. There must also be an attempt to let go of some of the more deconstructive attitudes and personalities that often inhabit the fringes,and to make an effort to be constructive in hopes of finding solutions. (Note to GodBlogCon: I learned some important lessons about what we want to repeat and not to repeat at the conference).

I do not know if my thoughts are right on these issues, but I am simply observing what is going on around me. And I believe that it is time that the Church and people within the Church have some important dialogues and exchange of ideas, otherwise the Church may begin to find itself irrelevant to those around us.

Notice, I have never said that the “emerging church” or “emergent church” is the key to the new paradigm, but I think we are in need of a new paradigm. And I can say honestly as a Christian, that God’s Word is never irrelevant, but that we as Christians, as the Church, are given the task to present God’s Word in a relevant way to those around us.

In closing, I think the Church, and the blogosphere, are much better served when there is constructive thoughts, ideas, opinions, and debating allowed within its ranks, rather than the constant attack of people who are always feeling like new ideas and thoughts lead ultimately to heresy, and that they are the ones sent by God, or other institutions, on a mission to defend Him. And just as the printing press was crucial to the Reformation, I believe that the blogosphere is going to be an important tool in the reformatin of the church. It already is, and it’s going to grow in importance as the two continue to inform each other. I can not help but sit and wonder at what the Apostle Paul would have thought of the blogosphere, and how he may have used it to the advantage of spreading the gospel.

Stay tuned as I continue to reflect on this issue…

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That is the closing question from Tim Stafford, senior editor of Christianity Today, in his latest article titled, “The Church, Why bother?”

As you may have noticed from my last post, the topic of community, and its relation to church has been on my mind a lot. Or more appropriately, our relationship to Christ, and the role that the church plays in that.

Without dissecting that too much, let me say a few things, taking off from a quote by the 3rd century bishop and martyr, Cyprian.

“YOU CANNOT have God for your Father unless you have the Church for your Mother.”
Cyprian, On the Unity of the Church

Obviously from this quote, it would appear that one cannot both be a Christian, and yet not seriously consider the role of the church body in your spiritual walk. Just as everyone has a mother and father, so is there also a link between you as a Christian and your churchgoing…your role in church community. And though some of us might not have an intact family of both mother and father, or though we might have a family that does not always get along, so it is with the church at times. But nonetheless, you are family. And nonetheless, as a Christian, you are part of the church family, in which you are a vital member of it’s body, as Paul so cleary demonstrates in I Cor. 12:12, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

Stafford, nor I would question a person’s authenticity in relation to their conversion, or salvific experience, but what would be questioned is one’s commitment to Christ, if he or she is not involved in a church body. A church body provides many things, from encouragement, to growth, to accountability, an avenue of worship, and on and on. These are things that one cannot attain, or hope to aspire to outside of a body of believers in the church.

Stafford says, “The church is the body of Christ, and it carries his wounds. To know Christ is to share in the fellowship of his sufferings–even if the suffering comes at the hands of the sinners who sit in the pews or preach from the pulpit.”

To skip out on church, so as to avoid pain, suffering, disappointment is impossible. But rather, as believers in Christ Jesus, we have the greatest potential to grow spiritually through the testing, and trying of our faith through enduring patience within the context of the church community. “Somehow long-suffering is appropriate to a place and a people who worship Jesus. ‘How could we experience him in his death,’ Lillian wants to know, ‘if we could not tolerate some little deaths of ourselves?’”

As Christians, we have the unique opportunity to be a light to the world around us by the way we not only live in peace and joy in community, but also by the way we live in strife, and suffering, and patience with one another. In the Four Loves, C.S. Lewis states CT ’03., “Nature cannot satisfy the desires she arouses nor answer theological questions nor sanctify us. Our real journey to God involves constantly turning our backs on her; passing from the dawn-lit fields into some pokey little church, or (it might be) going to work in an East End Parish.” There is something bigger out there, pulling us into something that may seem small, and rigid and cooped up, like a church, when in reality, church and the community within let’s us experience and fulfill our greatest desires of belonging, even though we may at times be disillusioned by the reality only we can see.

Bonhoeffer puts it this way CT ’03., “Only that fellowship which faces such disillusionment, with all its unhappy and ugly aspects, begins to be what it should be in God’s sight, begins to grasp in faith the promise that is given to it.”

These words seem very much like the words of most marriage counselors when a newly engaged couple arrives to their office. The couple may have all these lofty and unrealistic ideas and expectations of what a relationship should look and be like, without having even considered the hardwork and effort that is put into that relationship. In marriage, like in the church, we may expect a bed of roses and heaven on earth all the time, without realizing that those things are products of the hardwork, trials and suffering that are a part of the journey. For the counselor, this is their attempt to “burst the bubble” as they may put it, and help the couple correctly understand the greatest potential they have together when they understand the reality of all the hard work and joy and effort and happiness that is put into that relationship. With a correct understanding of disillusionment, where reality is put into context, greater potential is able to come to fruition. This is truly a movement from me, to we. And so this is often the case with our relationship with the church as well. A move more me in the church, to the we in the church.

In a CT article from June 23, 2003, titled “Suburban Spirituality, David Goetz states, “Disillusionment with one’s church, then, is not a reason to leave but a reason to stay and see what God will create in one’s life and in the local church. What I perceive to be my needs—’I need a church with a more biblical preacher who uses specific examples from real life’—may not correspond to my true spiritual needs.” CT ’03..

When we honestly reflect on our relationship with Jesus Christ, and the role our church community plays in that relationship, do we have a Gnostic faith as Tim Stafford states. “I would call it Gnostic faith. For them the spirit is completely separated from the body. They think your spirit can be with Jesus Christ while your body goes its own way.” Or, can we honestly reflect and say that their is an integration of both body and soul, of how we communicate and live before God, and how we communicate and live before those in Christian community.

Read in full the article The Church, Why bother?.

And for more quotes on the importance of the church in our spiritual walk, read Reflections: The Church.

Well, I’m not going to answer that question in this blog, but rather steer you towards some resources. As a lot of you know I have been struggling with what community is: What it looks like? How it works? Etc., Etc.

Most of these questions are coming out of my desire to better understand the role of the church in this postmodern age, and especially as I struggle to understand God’s desire for The Quest at Bel Air. As the church grows, it has been continually difficult for people to plug into community, or to feel any sense of belonging. Some of that responsibility falls on those sitting in the pews on Sunday, and their responsibility to get involved and take opportunities that are offered. And some of that responsibility falls on the church as it tries to figure out “who it is”, “what it looks like”, etc. Both parties, extending hands out to each other, and taking hold of one another. That seems like the proper analogy for me.

Well, I haven’t figured out these answers yet, but am searching. But today I was in Dallas, TX visiting my fiance’s parents. And we went to church at The Village Church where I heard a great sermon from the lead pastor Matt Chandler (check out the sermon for 1/9/05 when it posts). He’s in the midst of a series on love, and today he discussed the role of community in our love relationship with God. He began with a quote from John Calvin in Volume 4, Section 2, Chapter 1, where Calvin stated that God is Father, and the church is mother. (After further information, I have tracked that quote has been attributed to Cyprian, not John Calvin.

This quote got me thinking a lot about the importance of church, and the community found in church. Sometimes we can get so down on the church, and community, because we feel like our needs aren’t being met, so the first thing we often want to do is complain, or be bitter, or usually, go find another church.

But the quote from Calvin expresses the important unit of father and mother, and our relationship to God and how it is tied to the community of church. In Donald Miller’s latest book, Searching for God Knows What, he quotes Augustine as saying, “The church is my mother and a whore.” I can’t find that quote anywhere…so if it’s true, obviously I haven’t read Augustine well enough, or done my Google search that well. But I would say that that quote that Miller attributes to Augustine summarizes our feelings about church at times. We both adore her, and at times, can’t stand her. (If you know where this quote is located, you will have some type of prize).

These are just some thoughts to ponder as we all continue to ask questions about church and community and as Bel Air heads into a six week home group Lenten series. Hopefully this will be a time where people who feel outside of community can get plugged into it, and those who are in it can continue to grow and encourage the church.

If you are looking for some resources or a good book on the role of community in church, start by reading a book by the pastor of San Clemente Presbyterian Church, Tod Bolsinger. His book is titled It Takes a Church to Raise a Christian: How The Community of God Transforms Lives.

We seem to be people with a very short memory at times.  It was only a little more than three years ago that the Twin Towers in New York came crashing down in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, yet we seem to have moved on in certain respects which are beneficial, and in others which are not.

We have picked up and moved on, making new what was possible in the wake of the terrorist attack.  And we have also moved on in our discussions about God since then as well.  That was until an earthquake, followed by a tsunami wreaked havoc in parts of Southeast Asia.  And now God is all of a sudden back in the headlines.

God has always been there, but like the tourists lying on beaches, not knowing what lay ahead, so it is with God sometimes.  He is always present, but we tend to easily submerge him under the surface, and out of our minds, and out of our dialogues.  Then without knowing what happened, there God is in the forefront again.  Whether God is present in our minds and civil discourse may be a matter a free choice, or a matter of not knowing where else to turn when such devastating things happen.

The brilliant French Jesuit philosopher, paleontologist and biologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Pierre Teilhard de Chardin had a great quote when he said, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”  So though God may not be always be in the forefront of our discussions, unless there is a disaster, nonetheless He is always present.

And it seems that these last few weeks have awakened our spiritual beings with the plight of humanity, begging God, and anyone and everyone for some type of answer to what has happened.

Any tragic or devastating event can raise all types of theological questions, but the most pressing seem to be the following:

The theology and conversation pertaining to this disaster, and these theological issues is broad and diverse, but to begin a dialogue and discussion on these issues there are a few good sites to visit:

Dr. Mark Roberts
Dr. Al Mohler

I hope that these sites, whether you agree with them or not, spur you on to begin to ask questions in the wake of such devastating loss.

In the latest issue of Christianity Today, renowed theologian J.I. Packer addresses a question from a reader on whether or not all sins are equal.  This is a question that I get pretty often from students in The Quest Ministry, to non-students, to Christians, to non-Christians.  It’s a tough question, and I have thought about it a lot, but you should see what Packer has to say. 

I think there are a couple of things to keep in mind that I have thought of though when asking yourself this question:

1) All sins are equal in the sense that they are a violation of our relationship with God.  When we sin, we violate the boundaries in our relationship with God.  Read Romans 1.

2) All sins are not equal in relation to the violation and it’s consequences.  Packer will spell this out more detailed.  But for example: To think a murderous thought towards someone is not the same as murdering that person.

3) Jesus in Matthew 5:27-30 speaks on the relational aspect of sin.  Of tying a thought into actual sin.  In this context he is speaking of a man lusting in his heart, and committing adultery.  But this context does not so much relate to Packer’s thoughts.

4) Sin must be looked at from a personal, initmate aspect, and not from an impersonal violation.  When we think of cheating on a spouse, or having sex outside of marriage, we understand the intimate, personal relationship, and how sin violates it.  But often, when we do something like dowload illegal music, we do it very impersonally.  What we must realize, is that all sin, regardless of whether someone personal or intimate is involved, is a violation of our intimate relationship with God, breaking the fellowship we have with Him.

5) Saying that all sins are not equal, is also not a time for us to judge others, measuring their sin against ours.  For example, saying something like, “I haven’t had sex, or been drunk,” even though you may be a hypocrite and religious zealot who Christ has some harsh words for as well.

6) As Christians, we have to quit measuring our sense of morality and sin against that of the world, those around us, or even our past lifestyle.  I think we as Christians have a strong tendency to justify our own behavior because we may think that what we are doing is not as bad as what others are doing, or it’s the same as what others are doing, or it’s not as bad as how we used to live.  Living this way does not in any way help us or encourage us to live a more Godly life, where we look at God’s Holiness as something to be of great value.  Just look at Isaiah 6:1-7.

So check out his article, and let me know what you think regarding his words on whether or not All Sins Are Equal and I would be interested to hear your feeback and dialogue on this issue. 

I was having trouble linking the article:  Here it is,

Something quite doesn’t seem right this year at Christmas. I mean, it’s supposed to be the happiest time of the year, right. Well, everything doesn’t seem right, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, until I found myself sitting in traffic all day, as I drove around shopping for Christmas gifts. You would think that if I was in the car for hours at a time that I must have been driving all over California to purchase that perfect gift, when in reality, I must have driven only up and down Wilshire.

And as I was sitting in the car, I realized that I have totally lost what Christmas is all about. it’s not about shopping, it’s not about purchasing gifts, nor receiving them. Rather, it’s about being with family and friends, and worshipping the event of God becoming man. And it’s unfortunate that I need somone to remind me of this. This is a season where we set aside time to mark the event of dvinity dwelling in the flesh. How remarkable is that. (John 1: Phil. 2). Yet it seems like we would rather worship the all mighty dollar, and the conusmeristic attitude of the season.

My favorite song of the Christmas season is “The Little Drummer Boy.” Every time I hear the song I am literally, and quite easily moved to tears. I thought I might be alone in this, until I mentioned this to a friend, who immediately responded in like, and we both found ourselves in tears as we discussed the deep meaning of the song. Yes, forget what you think as a simple song, simply because most of the lyrics are Ra pum pum pum. Rather, it is a song, about a young boy, who has nothing to offer this baby child, but the gift of playing the drum. This little boy, offerring up to Jesus, all that he could muster.

That is what the Christmas season is about. It’s not about what we can give each other materially, but it’s about relationship, it’s about the giving of ourselves, and the gifts God has given us. It’s about offerring up to God all that we have to give him, which isn’t much, not about driving around in traffic, looking for that perfect gift.

It seems like this is something we should know as Christians, but sadly it is not that easy for us. Of anyone, we are the ones who are to point to the world around us of something greater, something transcendent, something more worth living for than the materials that we purchase and consume.

Though I still like to give gifts to those around me, and though I still have been running around crazily, trying to find that perfect gift for that special person, i think it’s important that as Christians we really, and truly embrace what the Christmas season is about.

We have the chance to be a light to those around us (Matt. 5:13-16), but sometimes I wonder if we lost that light, or cover it up, when we spend most of our Christmas season running around purchasing gifts, all stressed out. God coming down as a baby child, to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders (Isaiah 9:6) seems to be the last thing on our minds. It is this event, God taking on flesh that has given us life, by becoming a child, living a perfect life, dying on the cross, and paying for our sins, so that we wouldn’t have to.

This season we are doing something different in my house. It is probably for several reasons: 1) I have all that I want, and more thant I could possibly need; 2) There are no children in the house; 3) I’m spending my first Christmas away from my family. All those have contributed to us deciding that we would draw names, and purchase one gift for that person, under $20. And then whatever else we would spend, or would want to spend, we are contributing to some organization or foundation that we want to support. But this is this year, and that is not always how we have done it.

But I think it would be a great thing, no matter what you are doing this Christmas, to remember the real reason for the season as they say. Most of your Christmas shopping is probably over, so it’s a little too late to slow down. But if you haven’t, SLOW DOWN…SPEND TIME WITH THOSE AROUND YOU THAT CARE ABOUT YOU…REFLECT ON YOUR FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MEMORIES…AND REFLECT ON WHAT IT IS THAT GOD DID OVER 2000 YEARS BY COMING DOWN TO EARTH AS A CHILD.

For other thoughts on Consumerism and Christianity, check out these resources:

Rich Christians In An Age of Hunger
Suburban Spirituality