We are grateful for so many supporters who attended our Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, December 13, 2022. NEXT Church leadership shared a lot of information about our future along […]
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Looking for COVID protocol language? Here was what we used for the 2022 NEXT Church National Gathering. NEXT Church values centering those on the margins in our practice and planning […]
https://nextchurch.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/jet-preaching.png470958Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2021-05-10 16:56:502021-05-10 17:06:04Some Big Moves at NEXT Church
This intercessory prayer by NEXT Church interim communications specialist Rev. Katherine Lee Baker can be read or used in worship (with appropriate credit).
https://nextchurch.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/featured_prayers-of-the-people.jpg200398Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2021-04-22 19:07:132021-04-22 19:20:45Intercessory Prayer in the Time of COVID
That got me thinking about what these same folks thought about hell. Because it seems like it’s often the same folks who are judging which people get to go to hell or not are the ones causing hell on earth for people.
https://nextchurch.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/12/chris-barbalis-aX4zU9Rp7jo-unsplash-scaled-e1608490430648.jpg533799Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2020-12-16 18:34:302020-12-16 18:34:30A Significant Amount of American Christians are Inflicting Hell on Earth
Thus, I totally agree with Abdullah’s s suggestion that “we need a change of heart that leads to changes in our priorities and systems.” This change, however, starts from ourselves – the way we think, feel, and act. Then, we can proceed with changing our culture and institutions.
https://nextchurch.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/12/angela-benito-WgGJjGN4_ck-unsplash-scaled-e1608490462814.jpg600800Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2020-12-14 07:55:362020-12-14 13:14:44Creating a World that Works for All
We have come a long way from the “sending model” of mission and the Western Christendom worldview. Covid-19 introduced a new reality that challenged many of our cherished assumptions around mission, missions, and missional. It has shown us a way forward to faithful witness in our life and experience as church.
https://nextchurch.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/christian-lue-mJmYluOzx6g-unsplash-scaled-e1608490549475.jpg533799Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2020-12-10 06:42:312020-12-14 13:15:33Refugees, Resistance, and the Next Christianities
We are now being given an opportunity to reimagine life in a new way; in a godly way that more closely aligns with the way of Jesus Christ as we learn through Scriptures and see expressed through his followers within and beyond the walls of the church. It is a WAY which does not shut out but invites in; a WAY that seeks to heal the wounded and gives hope to the hopeless.
The translation of the Hebrew scriptures to Greek and the production of other scriptures in Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew were also practices of resistance against hegemony. Resistance literature holds out images of an ideal past and a utopian future. Do we not also feel a similar tension when we do a critical reading of biblical texts?
https://nextchurch.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/alex-sorto-4eFGytvxG54-unsplash-scaled-e1608490563118.jpg450800Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2020-12-02 07:14:452020-11-28 19:53:58Telling Our Story: Resistance Literature and the Biblical Narrative
Here in the United States, with the seeming end of the presidential election season and the promise of multiple vaccines, I was more than ready to be a drum major for hope into 2021 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic we have all been enduring. But another unexpected moment in the life of my home congregation in 2020 makes easy sentimentality impossible.
https://nextchurch.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/11/anne-nygard-0uRJY0sStM0-unsplash-scaled-e1608490584694.jpg533800Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2020-11-30 07:04:372020-11-24 17:14:09For a People Mourning Anticipating Advent
What’s next for NEXT Church
/in NEXT NewsWe are grateful for so many supporters who attended our Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, December 13, 2022. NEXT Church leadership shared a lot of information about our future along […]
Covid Protocols
/in COVID-19Looking for COVID protocol language? Here was what we used for the 2022 NEXT Church National Gathering. NEXT Church values centering those on the margins in our practice and planning […]
Some Big Moves at NEXT Church
/in NEXT NewsI write with a huge dose of gratitude to let you know that my tenure as director of NEXT Church comes to a close at the end of May 2021.
Intercessory Prayer in the Time of COVID
/in Liturgy & Worship, Liturgy & Worship General, ResourcesThis intercessory prayer by NEXT Church interim communications specialist Rev. Katherine Lee Baker can be read or used in worship (with appropriate credit).
A Significant Amount of American Christians are Inflicting Hell on Earth
/in Contemporary CultureThat got me thinking about what these same folks thought about hell. Because it seems like it’s often the same folks who are judging which people get to go to hell or not are the ones causing hell on earth for people.
Creating a World that Works for All
/in Contemporary CultureThus, I totally agree with Abdullah’s s suggestion that “we need a change of heart that leads to changes in our priorities and systems.” This change, however, starts from ourselves – the way we think, feel, and act. Then, we can proceed with changing our culture and institutions.
Refugees, Resistance, and the Next Christianities
/in Contemporary Culture, Mission EngagementWe have come a long way from the “sending model” of mission and the Western Christendom worldview. Covid-19 introduced a new reality that challenged many of our cherished assumptions around mission, missions, and missional. It has shown us a way forward to faithful witness in our life and experience as church.
Reimagining LIFE
/in Contemporary CultureWe are now being given an opportunity to reimagine life in a new way; in a godly way that more closely aligns with the way of Jesus Christ as we learn through Scriptures and see expressed through his followers within and beyond the walls of the church. It is a WAY which does not shut out but invites in; a WAY that seeks to heal the wounded and gives hope to the hopeless.
Telling Our Story: Resistance Literature and the Biblical Narrative
/in Contemporary Culture, Mission EngagementThe translation of the Hebrew scriptures to Greek and the production of other scriptures in Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew were also practices of resistance against hegemony. Resistance literature holds out images of an ideal past and a utopian future. Do we not also feel a similar tension when we do a critical reading of biblical texts?
For a People Mourning Anticipating Advent
/in Theological ReflectionsHere in the United States, with the seeming end of the presidential election season and the promise of multiple vaccines, I was more than ready to be a drum major for hope into 2021 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic we have all been enduring. But another unexpected moment in the life of my home congregation in 2020 makes easy sentimentality impossible.