Christian Life
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Evangelicals and Catholics Publish Statement on Their Common Christianity
by Alexei Laushkin The call to unity is right out of the scriptures (Ephesians 14, John 17, Psalm 133) . It’s re-enforced out of our liturgies and our worship. In the past few years Kingdom Mission Society has partnered with Glenmary Home Missioners to host a dialogue between Evangelicals and Catholics. The heart of this…
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Christian Put Down Your Sword
The work of unity not the purpose/intent has changed. Our polarized climate has created two separate dominant paths for the future of the culture. These patterns existed before President Trump, but the end of his presidency, coupled with the insurrection, the life threatening pandemic, our moment of racial reckoning, and the inequalities of our nation…
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Father Paul Wattson and the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
by Rev. Nathaniel Pierce The Life of Father Paul Wattson Lewis Thomas Wattson was born on January 18, 1863, in Millington, MD, the son of the Rev. Joseph Newton Wattson, Rector of St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, Massey, and Mary Electa Gregory Wattson. After graduating from college he attended the General Theological Seminary in New York.…
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And Who is My Enemy?
by Alexei Laushkin It’s common place for Christians to reflect on the question of how we are supposed to love our neighbor, after all, who is my neighbor is a question asked of Jesus. The story of the Good Samaritan is launched with this question which we find in the Gospel of Luke: On one…
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Dialogue in an Age of Contention
by Alexei Laushkin Today, the U.S. House of Representatives takes up articles of impeachment against the President. It’s an interesting day to consider what dialogue has to teach us in an age where the words of Pontius Pilate to Jesus have particular relevance, “What is truth?” As Christians part of our answer is truth is…
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Meaning of Advent: A Season that Invites us into God’s Timing
by Alexei Laushkin This season leading up to Christmas, traditionally known as Advent, can be very busy, so much so that we can miss the staggering invitation, peace, and tranquility which is the timing and pacing of God’s kingdom. “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” captures this reality well. Consider some of these lines: And…
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So, How Do you Seek First the Kingdom of God?
By Alexei Laushkin Our lives are governed by desires and wants, goals and plans, and if we were to think about them we would soon recognize that for most of us these goals, wants, and desires change. Sometimes they change with the season of life we are in, sometimes they change based on circumstance, and…
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Living with Difference Closer to Home
by Alexei Laushkin How does God ask us to handle differences in how we relate to one another in the body of Christ? Many Mainline Protestant, Evangelical, and Pentecostal denominations feel painful tension when their desires for unity run up against seemingly irreconcilable differences. This tension leads to some difficult, but important questions. Questions like,…
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Ways of the Kingdom: Peace and Opposition
As we prioritize seeking first the kingdom of God, we are bound to experience two corresponding realities: a growth in our sense of peace, and at times an unusually strong opposition to every step that we try to take forward in this path. The opposition is usually to be found at the point where we…
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Why Do We Look at the Past
by Alexei Laushkin In Revelation 21:12 we find these words: And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. Deeds are significant in…