Category Archive: Uncategorized

How Far is Too Far

By Marc Engelhardt –

Continuing the recaps from Christ in Common (the discipleship class that focuses on Foundation, Worldview, and Practice), we get to the section that many people in the class eagerly awaited: “How far is too far?” We didn’t get into this topic much until this point because I think part of the desire to know how far is too far is to have some sort of control and to make more law. Rather, the route we took builds on itself and shows us that this is about what works out best for us and those around us because of how God created the world to work, not some sort of wrong/right, sin/sanctified, punishment/blessing scheme. So, notice that this recap should not be taken out of the context of the rest of the recaps thus far, otherwise it can easily come across as a bunch of “do this and don’t do that” law.

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Peer Pressure

By Marc Engelhardt –

I know that eventually I’ll be labeled the “sex guy” if I keep making these posts, but there is too much good stuff that is discussed in our Christ in Common classes to not share the recaps. So, here is another recap that illustrates how we use Foundation, Worldview, and Practice for discipleship in our context. These recaps build off the previous ones, so check out my previous posts if you are lost.

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The Sexual Revolution: How we got here

By Marc Engelhardt –

(This post continues the recaps from Christ in Common, which is a discipleship discussion that takes place in my context. Christ in Common is a good example of how we purposefully approach the discipleship triad of Foundation, Worldview, and Practice. Remember, as recaps, these posts hit highlights of what the group discussed in person, so they are short and may seem to make some jumps occasionally. If you pull out the Word and study the Foundation mentioned, you should be able to fill most gaps.)

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Healthy Sex: Why Sex is Awesome

By Marc Engelhardt –

This post continues the recaps from Christ in Common, which is a discipleship discussion that takes place in my context. Christ in Common is a good example of how we purposefully approach the discipleship triad of Foundation, Worldview, and Practice. Remember, as recaps, these posts hit highlights of what the group discussed in person, so they are short and may seem to make some jumps occasionally. If you pull out the Word and study the Foundation mentioned, you should be able to fill most gaps.

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SEX is not a four letter word

By Marc Engelhardt –

In this post I’ll share one of the ways we do Foundation, Worldview, and Practice in my context. It comes from a class we teach called Christ in Common, which is a double entendre. The class exists because those involved have been brought into God’s family through Christ; he is the common thread among us. The class is also focused on digging into what it means to have Christ be the influential voice in the everyday things we face. I write these recaps for people who want to reference what was covered. The class itself is very community driven, meaning that many voices are shared and heard, and it isn’t just me lecturing. Since they are brief recaps, they don’t get into all the details of everything that was said, but they should give you an idea of the overall content and approach.

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Discipleship Triad

By Marc Engelhardt –

Allow me to introduce myself since I am new to the blog and I am going to write like I know what I’m talking about. My name is Marc. I am a pastor, and I have been in the field for 9 years (10 if you count the deferred vicarage). I have served both a very large church community and an itsy-bitsy church community (like 7 millennials in worship small). I currently serve a wonderful church community in SoCal. Those palarmes only take into account my post-masters work and not the 10 years I was doing a lot of the same things before I hit the seminary. Put it all together and I have a little bit of experience in a lot of different situations. In those situations, I have been reading and trying out ways to do the very best I can in the discipline of discipleship. I’m a bit of a discipleship nut.

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You’re Surprised?

By Jonathan Holmes –

I don’t go on Facebook very often. If I do, it is usually to find jokes and other humorous tidbits, or the occasional theological writing that a friend has posted that might be worth reading. Besides, The Jagged Word, of course. However, not everybody trolls Facebook for the same reasons I do. What, you’re surprised?

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Blacksmithing and Vocational Wilderness

By Josh Keith –

“Wilderness is a necessity… there must be places for human beings to satisfy their souls…” John Muir.

I feel that no truer words have ever been spoken. My forge is my wilderness, where I work on metal and wood to create useful tools that I hope are used and appreciated by my customers. I can’t think of a place where my soul is more satisfied than my forge, with my hammer in one hand and a white-hot piece of metal in the other just begging to be hammered. The heat of the forge, the weight of my hammer, the ring of my anvil, the sweat on my brow, and the blisters and callouses that make up what used to be my hands—these things are my wilderness, my soul, and so my soul goes into all that I make.

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I Hope I’m Better than My Dad Was…

By Jonathan Holmes –

Back in February, my son was born. He’s healthy, and a real chill dude. He only cries to get out of his crib; I think it’s more that he just wants to make sure that we hear him and don’t forget about him. After all, his life is dependent on my wife and me to care for him, especially now. He’s just starting to walk. I’m a proud dad, especially since we were told we most likely would never have children. That’s right, we stuck it to the science guys!

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