Char Brodersen

"Christianity in its essence is a risky religion, packed with the kind of ethical implications that are dangerous to status quo's, established regimes, and reigning systems. "Perhaps we ought to impute a far more considerable role in history than we usually do—and ascribe a far more damaging influence—to those people who perform the function of making Christianity a safe religion, accommodating it to the existing order of the world, and rendering it more compliant toward the powers that be." -Herbert Butterfield

@edstetzer Thanks for being there. It was a great night! Our boys attend @PacificaOC and we are really thankful for what’s happening there as well.

Indeed. Lord, have mercy!

Brittany's passing has left a deep void for her family. Isaiah and their daughters are facing immense challenges, both emotionally and financially. Your support can make a real difference. Please consider donating or share to help. Thanks for the kindness gofund.me/cbb009843

Oppression is literally a crushing of the image of God in humans. To say or do nothing when power is abused is to contribute to the defacing of God’s image in others. In other words, it is to join with the enemy of God, who sought to destroy that same image.

"I learned early that the methods of my work must correspond to the realities of the Kingdom. The methods that make the kingdom of America strong – economic, military, technological, informational – are not suited to making the Kingdom of God strong. I have had to learn a new methodology: truth-telling and love-making, prayer and parable. These are not methods very well adapted to raising the standard of living in suburbia or massaging the ego into fashionable shape. But America and suburbia and the ego compose my parish. Most of the individuals in this amalgam suppose that the goals they have for themselves and the goals God has for them are the same. It is the oldest religious mistake: refusing to countenance any real difference between God and us, imagining God to be a vague extrapolation of our own desires, and then hiring a priest to manage the affairs between self and the extrapolation. And I, one of the priests they hired, am having none of it. I am being subversive. I am undermining the kingdom of self and establishing the Kingdom of God." — Eugene Peterson, The Contemplative Pastor

@carmenjoyimes Thank you, Carmen! It is always such a pleasure to have you on the show. Looking forward to the next time.

Last week I had the joy of joining @Charbrodersen on KWAVE radio's Pastor's Perspective to answer listener questions. I learn so much from his pastoral approach! Doing this is helps me develop better ways to answer tough questions. youtube.com/watch?v=Qg_0mZ…

I re-read the book of Judges recently. Because of other conversations taking place in our church about women in leadership, I was keenly aware of the trajectory of the treatment of women in the book of Judges. Early on: a woman is a praise-worthy judge (Deborah!); a woman (Jael) acts courageously to kill a wicked general; then an unnamed woman flings a stone from a tower to kill a bully. But things get worse. Women play the role of temptress in the Samson story. By the end of the book, an unnamed concubine is given over to a mob of lustful men, and she is killed. Her body is then sliced into pieces and sent throughout the nation to spark outrage. Think of it: Women go from being a judge to being a prop. And what's the headline of the book of Judges? "The people did what was right in their own eyes." Left on its own, the trajectory of a sinful culture results in the degradation of women. It is the redemptive action of God in the world that elevates and empowers women. For all the insinuation that women in church leadership is the result of "cultural corruption" , I have become convinced it was the influence of sin that excluded women in the first place.

A reflection from @Tish_H_Warren on the third Sunday of Advent ✨ “It is the love of God, in the end, that wins the day. The love of God is the blazing fire that purifies us, remakes us, and sets right all that is broken in us and in the world. The love of God brings us to repentance. The love of God sets the oppressed free and makes all things new. The love of God insists on truth and justice. The love of God reveals every hidden thing. And it is this love that is coming for us.” ✨ Read more Advent reflections in her book ‘Advent’ from the Fullness of Time Series: ivpress.com/advent-fts?utm…

It is a fragile god who needs weapons, wars, and political power to preserve and enforce their will. It is a powerful God who is born in poverty, washes feet, heals the sick, advocates for the oppressed, embodies compassion, is unjustly killed, and still changes the world.

Agreed. Well said.

In order that the Church may truly be sign, foretaste and instrument of God’s purpose to consummate all things in Christ, it must in each place be credible as such a sign, foretaste and instrument in relation to the secular realities of that place.

We do not find Paul concerning himself with the size of churches or with questions about their growth. His primary concern is with their faithfulness, with the integrity of their witness.

@gpackiam Well said.

I’m trying to let the strength of my opinions match the depth of my knowledge of the subject. (I said this today in reference to a building remodel at our church— but it just might be the wisdom I need for other things too!)

Church, we are not powerless in a broken world. By God's grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are called to be agents of redemption, carriers of healing, ministers of reconciliation, and makers of peace. Let it be.

Scott is a good friend and a member of our community in Santa Rosa. Would you consider supporting him? gofundme.com/f/father-of-fo…

A church that sees the cross of Jesus as the central event of history can never identify any political order with the reign of God.

Woah! Christ have mercy!

I could not agree more!! 🙌

@gpackiam But I think I like the subtitle for the 2nd better. Maybe a hybrid? 1 with a 2.b option?? 😂

Which title and sub do you like better and what do you think the book is about (based on the title you like)? 1. Finding Our Way Home: How Christians Can Become Credible Again 2. This is the Way: How an Ancient Creed Can Save the Modern Church