Christopher B. James
@chrisbjames.bsky.social
practical theologian, missiologist, professor, author: church planting, ecumenism, ecclesial ecologies, cities, common good, theological education
Reposted by Christopher B. James
These past months I’ve been so grateful for the overwhelming support I’ve received - thank you to everyone who joined the team to flip this seat. Together, I can know we will win!
October 9, 2025 at 8:19 PM
These past months I’ve been so grateful for the overwhelming support I’ve received - thank you to everyone who joined the team to flip this seat. Together, I can know we will win!
With the departure of TEDS, Wisconsin will have one fewer seminary. But there's still www.madisonseminary.org!
Madison Learning Community | Seminary in Madison WI | Bible Classes
Madison Learning Community is an initiative of University of Dubuque Theological Seminary offering seminary-level courses to Madison, WI-area pastors, church leaders, and others eager to deepen minist...
www.madisonseminary.org
April 22, 2025 at 5:07 PM
With the departure of TEDS, Wisconsin will have one fewer seminary. But there's still www.madisonseminary.org!
I get that politicians in Washington are afraid of the repercussions they'd face if they stood up to Trump. But, look, that's the oath. That's the job. We need the bravery and sacrifice we demand of people in uniform. We need love of neighbor over self-preservation. Be a hero or a disgrace.
April 18, 2025 at 3:24 AM
I get that politicians in Washington are afraid of the repercussions they'd face if they stood up to Trump. But, look, that's the oath. That's the job. We need the bravery and sacrifice we demand of people in uniform. We need love of neighbor over self-preservation. Be a hero or a disgrace.
Every pastor: "We don't know where you're going, Jesus, how are we supposed to know the way to get there?"
Jesus: It's me. I'm the way. No strategic plan or 3-step process will take the church where I intend. Follow me into the unknown.
Jesus: It's me. I'm the way. No strategic plan or 3-step process will take the church where I intend. Follow me into the unknown.
April 14, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Every pastor: "We don't know where you're going, Jesus, how are we supposed to know the way to get there?"
Jesus: It's me. I'm the way. No strategic plan or 3-step process will take the church where I intend. Follow me into the unknown.
Jesus: It's me. I'm the way. No strategic plan or 3-step process will take the church where I intend. Follow me into the unknown.
In case you missed it (or your preacher did):
Sunday's lectionary reading about a falling tower that killed some people & repentance, and with the parable about a fruitless fig tree given one more year to bear fruit, wasn't about how individuals need to stop sinning and be better, or else...
Sunday's lectionary reading about a falling tower that killed some people & repentance, and with the parable about a fruitless fig tree given one more year to bear fruit, wasn't about how individuals need to stop sinning and be better, or else...
March 24, 2025 at 11:58 PM
In case you missed it (or your preacher did):
Sunday's lectionary reading about a falling tower that killed some people & repentance, and with the parable about a fruitless fig tree given one more year to bear fruit, wasn't about how individuals need to stop sinning and be better, or else...
Sunday's lectionary reading about a falling tower that killed some people & repentance, and with the parable about a fruitless fig tree given one more year to bear fruit, wasn't about how individuals need to stop sinning and be better, or else...
St. Patrick was not Irish. First, he was in Ireland as an enslaved person, and later as an immigrant.
March 17, 2025 at 9:01 PM
St. Patrick was not Irish. First, he was in Ireland as an enslaved person, and later as an immigrant.
The steadfast love of the Lord is like the decimals of pi. It is irrational.
March 14, 2025 at 3:59 PM
The steadfast love of the Lord is like the decimals of pi. It is irrational.
Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it. Those who do study history are doomed to watch others repeat it.
March 13, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it. Those who do study history are doomed to watch others repeat it.
Reposted by Christopher B. James
reposting the Georgetown letter o.p. @joshchafetz.bsky.social with #AltText.
this is how you do it. do not obey in advance, and outsmart them at every turn.
#HigherEd
#AcademicSky
this is how you do it. do not obey in advance, and outsmart them at every turn.
#HigherEd
#AcademicSky
March 6, 2025 at 8:26 PM
reposting the Georgetown letter o.p. @joshchafetz.bsky.social with #AltText.
this is how you do it. do not obey in advance, and outsmart them at every turn.
#HigherEd
#AcademicSky
this is how you do it. do not obey in advance, and outsmart them at every turn.
#HigherEd
#AcademicSky
For us, "gods" are spiritual beings, separate from earthly powers. But in the worlds of the Bible, Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar & Caesar all claimed divinity & demanded worship. "Have no other gods before me" meant not only monotheism but also denying the principalities & powers what they craved.
March 6, 2025 at 9:22 PM
For us, "gods" are spiritual beings, separate from earthly powers. But in the worlds of the Bible, Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar & Caesar all claimed divinity & demanded worship. "Have no other gods before me" meant not only monotheism but also denying the principalities & powers what they craved.
What protections do recent religious freedom rulings provide for Christian universities who celebrate diversity, seek equity, and practice inclusion as part of their religious mission? #law #legal #religiousfreedom #dearcolleague
February 22, 2025 at 7:43 PM
What protections do recent religious freedom rulings provide for Christian universities who celebrate diversity, seek equity, and practice inclusion as part of their religious mission? #law #legal #religiousfreedom #dearcolleague
Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves, friends.
February 22, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves, friends.
"This isn't very entertaining," I said to a friend.
"I think there's something deep going on and we might be missing most of it," he said.
"Oh," I said.
So, I leaned in to learn more.
Like most art and wisdom, it's out in the open, but only understood by those willing and prepared to listen.
"I think there's something deep going on and we might be missing most of it," he said.
"Oh," I said.
So, I leaned in to learn more.
Like most art and wisdom, it's out in the open, but only understood by those willing and prepared to listen.
February 11, 2025 at 2:01 PM
"This isn't very entertaining," I said to a friend.
"I think there's something deep going on and we might be missing most of it," he said.
"Oh," I said.
So, I leaned in to learn more.
Like most art and wisdom, it's out in the open, but only understood by those willing and prepared to listen.
"I think there's something deep going on and we might be missing most of it," he said.
"Oh," I said.
So, I leaned in to learn more.
Like most art and wisdom, it's out in the open, but only understood by those willing and prepared to listen.
To believe that God is near is to anticipate the possibility brushing up against the divine. To anticipate it is to becomes sensitized. Trading stories about such brushes with the Spirit generates further faith and heightened anticipation. Attention and perception are intimately connected.
February 3, 2025 at 7:51 PM
To believe that God is near is to anticipate the possibility brushing up against the divine. To anticipate it is to becomes sensitized. Trading stories about such brushes with the Spirit generates further faith and heightened anticipation. Attention and perception are intimately connected.
Christians can't approach immigration as just a question of statecraft because it is a basic dimension of who they are.
They are called "foreigners & exiles" in this world (1 Ptr 2:11), permanent "foreigners & strangers on earth" (Heb 11:13) because their "citizenship is in heaven" (Phil 3:20).
They are called "foreigners & exiles" in this world (1 Ptr 2:11), permanent "foreigners & strangers on earth" (Heb 11:13) because their "citizenship is in heaven" (Phil 3:20).
January 29, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Christians can't approach immigration as just a question of statecraft because it is a basic dimension of who they are.
They are called "foreigners & exiles" in this world (1 Ptr 2:11), permanent "foreigners & strangers on earth" (Heb 11:13) because their "citizenship is in heaven" (Phil 3:20).
They are called "foreigners & exiles" in this world (1 Ptr 2:11), permanent "foreigners & strangers on earth" (Heb 11:13) because their "citizenship is in heaven" (Phil 3:20).
Jesus almost got killed after his first sermon. The crowd was loving it until he suggested that God loved people of other nations, too. Luke 4, look it up.
January 22, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Jesus almost got killed after his first sermon. The crowd was loving it until he suggested that God loved people of other nations, too. Luke 4, look it up.
It was beautiful & powerful act of Christian witness.
To be clear, though, she didn't "call him out to his face;" she pleaded for mercy in the name of the God he invokes.
It was not an act of condemnation. Calling him to repentance was an act of mercy. Also, the hard heart seals its own fate.
To be clear, though, she didn't "call him out to his face;" she pleaded for mercy in the name of the God he invokes.
It was not an act of condemnation. Calling him to repentance was an act of mercy. Also, the hard heart seals its own fate.
January 22, 2025 at 2:22 PM
It was beautiful & powerful act of Christian witness.
To be clear, though, she didn't "call him out to his face;" she pleaded for mercy in the name of the God he invokes.
It was not an act of condemnation. Calling him to repentance was an act of mercy. Also, the hard heart seals its own fate.
To be clear, though, she didn't "call him out to his face;" she pleaded for mercy in the name of the God he invokes.
It was not an act of condemnation. Calling him to repentance was an act of mercy. Also, the hard heart seals its own fate.
Important contrast. Former evangelicals used to mostly be mainline Protestants now they're mostly non-religious.
For people who were raised in an evangelical household, but left that - where do they end up?
In the 1970s:
56% became mainline Protestants
20% became non-religious.
In the 2020s:
18% became mainline Protestants
59% became non-religious.
In the 1970s:
56% became mainline Protestants
20% became non-religious.
In the 2020s:
18% became mainline Protestants
59% became non-religious.
January 7, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Important contrast. Former evangelicals used to mostly be mainline Protestants now they're mostly non-religious.
Reposted by Christopher B. James
Help us honor a Distinguished Book in the social science of religion. Nominations (from friends, publishers, or authors) must be received by Jan 20! Details at sssreligion.org/awards-grant...
Distinguished Book Award - Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
sssreligion.org
January 2, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Help us honor a Distinguished Book in the social science of religion. Nominations (from friends, publishers, or authors) must be received by Jan 20! Details at sssreligion.org/awards-grant...
Proud to know two of the leaders quoted in this article who are providing hope in the midst of such pain and grief.
“For every person that says, ‘Where is your God now?’ There are 10,000 good, caring people in Madison,” Andy Remus said.
After shooting, Wisconsin school and church lean into Christmas message for comfort
Decked in holiday light displays and a Nativity scene, the evangelical, nondenominational church with over 1,200 members also hosted a vigil service Tuesday.
religionnews.com
December 30, 2024 at 2:58 PM
Proud to know two of the leaders quoted in this article who are providing hope in the midst of such pain and grief.
The thing about Christian hope is you can simultaneously say: "Socio-politically, 2025 is going to be the worst year of my lifetime to date-and precursor to far worse" and "My hope is not disturbed for it is placed in a crucified and risen Christ, firstborn of the new creation."
December 27, 2024 at 8:39 PM
The thing about Christian hope is you can simultaneously say: "Socio-politically, 2025 is going to be the worst year of my lifetime to date-and precursor to far worse" and "My hope is not disturbed for it is placed in a crucified and risen Christ, firstborn of the new creation."
The worst idols
are the ones that
demand child sacrifice.
are the ones that
demand child sacrifice.
December 16, 2024 at 9:07 PM
The worst idols
are the ones that
demand child sacrifice.
are the ones that
demand child sacrifice.
Forgiveness doesn't require forgetting. In fact, it is precisely a peculiar type of remembering.
December 16, 2024 at 3:42 PM
Forgiveness doesn't require forgetting. In fact, it is precisely a peculiar type of remembering.