St. Stan, Church Growth Movement, and Liturgeo

Stanley Hauerwas is concise, to the point, and packs a punch as usual. Worship really is the work of the people.

Filed under: Hauerwas, prayer, preaching

Stan the Man On Prayer …

I think I’ve linked to this one before. There are many times I say, “come here, let’s pray real quick”. This is good advice to the contrary.

Filed under: Hauerwas, prayer

Killing Hitler with the Mennonites

Menno Simons

I have always been fascinated with Christian pacifists. When I was young I became acquainted with a Mennonite sect who lived near my home town. The men wore beards, the women wore black caps on the crowns of their heads and they lived separate from the surrounding community. They were farmers and since my dad was in agri-business he knew something of their habits and reputation. They were good about paying their bills and valued customers in the community.

They cooked great food with lots of butter. Most of them had what many people back home called “yankee” accents. (I found out years later that many of them came from Kansas and some from Indiana.) The children rarely attended high school. The entire Mennonite community was friendly even if a little standoffish.

Filed under: Hauerwas, from the profane to the sublime , Hitler, mennonites

Hauerwas on “Presence”

This is an excerpt from a special that was on PBS about alzheimer’s disease and the care of those who are stricken with it. There is much to learn here about helping one another through all kinds of challenges in life most of which are much less tragic and daunting than dementia.

As we help those we love who suffer, struggle or hurt, what do we really have to offer them? What does the incarnation have to teach us? (John 1:14)

Filed under: Christian Time, Hauerwas , Hauer

Hauerwas on Prayer

Stanley Hauerwas is an interesting combination. He is the son of a bricklayer from East Texas and received his Ph.D. from Yale. He is a pacifist but he cusses like a sailor. He is an academic theologian, ethicist, and philosopher who has taught at Notre Dame and Yale. He is also, apparently, someone who takes God and prayer seriously.

Not long ago he was described as “America’s Best Theologian” by TIME Magazine. He responded simply by saying: “Best is not a theological category.”

Filed under: Hauerwas, from the sublime to the profane, prayer , prayer, Stanley Hauerwas

Stanley Hauerwas: What is the church?

“Worshiping together and supporting one another in community, Christians are a sign to the world. Sustained by the miracle of the Holy Spirit, the church is a palpable presence proving, by its existence and unique character, that the way of the world is not the only way—and certainly not the true way—to live.”

Filed under: Hauerwas, from the profane to the sublime, from the sublime to the profane