What can we learn by tracing a line through Bubbles from HBO's The Wire, Jesus on the Cross, and the writing of St. Paul? That churches at their best are like a 12 Step Meeting. Vince's own experience has taught him that maybe it's worth expanding our understanding of the 12-Steps beyond just Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Sex Addicts Anonymous. Maybe all people need the 12 Steps.
Read MoreThe legacy of churches is ushering in social change, BUT the legacy of churches is also being on the wrong side of history. Texts from the Bible have been misused throughout history to stifle change and maintain the status quo, but in-context readings of even the most challenging-to-modern-sensibilities Bible passages reveal the heart of the earliest Jesus communities to be about justice, equity, and inclusion.
Read MoreLiving to prove ourselves is exhausting. St. Paul and modern psychological research on shame & vulnerability both demonstrate this. The better alternative is one of the great tasks of life to learn to live out, but it can change communities from the inside out.
Read MoreWhat if our church was known for activating people to genuinely feel like they can make a positive difference in our wider community, city, and world? The earliest churches had this legacy as the way they operated subverted their hierarchical culture. Perhaps today, what it takes to activate people is subverting consumerism in our culture.
Read MoreVince kicks off our 40 Days of Faith Prayer Experiment for Lent 2018, getting us to dream big together about the impact our church can have on our wider community. What if we could help more people in Lincoln Square build rich interpersonal networks?
Read MoreIn America, we've all inherited a belief that romance is THE destination of our journeys of life -- that a soulmate is what will complete us.One of the biggest reasons this church exists is to create space for people to experience connection, support, and companionship, so that romance is not the only thing we think to turn to.
Read MoreThe last in our experiment with guest speaker Dr. Karl Lehman on Positive Memory Prayer -- Can this model of prayer be done alone? What if finding positive memories is hard for us? And more...
Read MoreWeek 3 of our experiment with Positive Memory Prayer from guest speaker Dr. Karl Lehman, in which we learn how to pose simple troubleshooting questions to Jesus when prayer doesn't feel connecting and then just note what comes into our awareness (instead of trying to "make prayer work")
Read MoreWeek 2 of our workshop experiment with Dr. Karl Lehman on Positive Memory Prayer, in which we learn how to turn a time of remembering a positive memory into a time of interacting with Jesus
Read MoreWeek 1 of guest speaker Dr. Karl Lehman guiding us in applying brain science to prayer. This Sunday we learned about turning on our relational circuits by describing in detail a positive memory to someone else.
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