DisciplesWorld - July/August 2009

The new issue of DisciplesWorld has arrived, and I'm excited to say that it's a strong issue, filled with interesting articles. It also marks the beginning of a reimagining of the magazine, with a new tagline: "your world, your faith, your life." (Personally, I'm not much into taglines, but evidently they must appeal to some people because they seem to pop up everywhere nowadays.)

The theme is "Celebrating Disciples Diversity," which is timely given that the recent General Assembly was in many ways a blatant attempt to do just that. (Given that it was my first assembly, I'll leave it to others to judge how successful the attempt was -- though I will say that I heard grousing from some who said that only some diversity was celebrated.) The magazine does an excellent job of trying to model this diversity in its coverage -- featuring articles or sidebars with a taste for Disciples racial, gender, age, economic, and social diversity. With limited space, it's impossible to represent such diversity fully, but I think the editors did an excellent job given such limitations.

I won't describe much about the articles, except to recommend them for their thoughtfulness. They will stimulate thinking and discussion, especially editor Verity Jones' excellent cover article. Jones both applauds our diversity and raises an inconsistency it points to -- what does it mean for a church that talks so centrally about unity among the church, but whose churches often fall into racial/national categories? Is it enough to be a big umbrella? Or as Verity puts it: "How can this crazy, hodgepodge of a denomination hold together when core faith beliefs are at stake?" (This is, by no means, an idle question.)

Also of note in the issue, Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President, has an article talking about the Mission Alignment Coordinating Council I blogged about a few days ago. It covers much the same ground -- even has the same scripture -- as the letter she sent to congregations.

Ron Allen, a Disciples seminary professor at Christian Theological Seminary, has an article on theological diversity among congregations. It is a laudable attempt to approach the issue with a fair and equal hand. He attempts to draw a spectrum of theological interpretation apart from the usual conservative/liberal dichotomy, which is helpful, suggesting a difference between "the multi-authority approach" and "the single-authority model." While I appreciate the effort, Allen's analysis is incorrect because "the single-authority model" (which is obviously not Allen's personal preference) is just as reliant on multiple forms of authority as "the multi-authority approach" -- adherents usually protest (much too loudly) that they don't, but it is obvious that they too rely on extra-Biblical traditions and experiences; they're just different from the extra-Biblical traditions and experiences given credence by others.

If I had to take a stab at what Allen is trying to get at, I would suggest that the dichotomy he is pointing to are between people who believe the Bible is the Word of God and those who believe the Bible is the Words of God. More aptly, and Allen might appreciate this given his academic focus, the difference is between those who believe the Bible is the logos of God versus those who believe it is the logoi of God. The former, the logos of God, suggests that people believe the scriptures are part of God's revealed reason; the latter, the logoi of God, suggests that people believe the scriptures are literally God's specific revealed words.

If all of this has your head spinning, then let me just suggest you skip the article or read it with a great big shaker of salt.

Later in the magazine, there is an excellent reflection on coping with the death of a child. My instinct is that it is also somewhat applicable to dealing with other forms of grief, so I recommend it. And if you know someone who is grieving, you might pass it along to them.

The closing piece, by Lillian Daniel, is an excellent source of "food for thought." She raises the intriguing question of how we approach our faith -- are we tourists, or are we adventurers? Tourists, she writes, sightsee, take pictures, and then go home. Adventurers have experiences that are much less controlled or predictable. I highly recommend you all read it.

DisciplesWorld is also sponsoring a couple of new online endeavors. The editors have begun a blog about the magazine, "Between the Lines." They have also created a social network for interested people, "The Intersection." Who knows what will become of these things, but no one can accuse them of sitting still or being behind the times.