Pastor Joe Burnham and a Reconstructed Abundant Life
If I could pass on one word of advice to everyone who picks up the Bible, it would be, “Remember, context is king.” Another way of saying it would be, “Don’t ignore the forest for the sake of one tree … or, quite possibly, a single leaf.”
“Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s.” I’m not sure how many times I’ve seen those words pop up on Facebook over the past few years. Typically it comes as a dismissive defense against any serious attempt to wrestle with the entanglement of faith and politics. It compartmentalizes the two, putting politics in one box and faith in another.
But is that was Jesus is saying? Is Jesus suggesting that we have distinct spiritual, social, political, and work lives? Or have we taken a couple verses from a much larger story and incorrectly applied it to a single context?
Abundance Reconstructed is a topical curated monthly email from Joe Burnham. It explores faith in the midst of Christian deconstruction and reconstuction.
The newsletter includes original writing from Joe blended with recommended resources like books, podcasts, and articles.
Read this post if you want to learn more about Joe’s experiences with Christian deconstruction and reconstruction.
[Read more…] about Abundance ReconstructedToday is the 45th anniversary of my baptism, something that took on a whole new meaning the summer in Burgos, Spain. I was there for a retreat exploring the mystical poetry of 16th Century Carmelites led by my dear friend, former nun, and mystic, Kimberly Braun.
[Read more…] about Baptism Beyond TimeIs celebrating 500 years since Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church the celebration of an irrelevant reformation? While those with a vested interest in Luther and/or Protestantism will offer a quick and bold, “Of course it’s not irrelevant!” and will most likely add, “The Gospel is never irrelevant!” the lack of conversation I’m hearing about the anniversary in the broader culture makes me wonder if such a response lacks adequate reflection.
Below is an edited version of the opening section of my 2016 dissertation, Re-Storying God: Re-Imagining the God of the Bible and Re-Enchanting our Neo-Secular Selves. Hopefully, it will add some food for thought as we consider what might be an irrelevant Reformation.
