parables of a prodigal world

Evangelical: “Hey, man, have you been saved?” Buddy: “Huh? Uh, oh yeah, one summer, up at camp… we were out in a boat, and it was a really nice night… I stood up in the boat, and I can’t swim–” E: “No, no, no, no, no… I mean, have you been born again ?” B: “Uh, I don’t think so…” E: “No, you know, have you been washed in the blood?” B: “I hope not…” E: (Raising voice, frustrated) “I’m trying to tell you the Good News! ” B: “Alright. What’s that?” E: (Shouting) “You’re going to hell!!” (Pause) B: “What’s the bad news?” [HT: Brother Maynard ] Grace and Peace, Raffi

My grandmother and grandfather used to tell me the story of how they were each the sole remaining survivor of their individual families subsequent to the Armenian Genocide of 1915 . They grew up in the same orphanage, and were eventually married. I grew up hearing those stories. Everybody Armenian kid I knew heard similar stories from their grandparents. Those stories defined us, quite literally. Those stories were good enough for us. But they're haven't been good enough for the world... Until now?... It's time... Grace and Peace, Raffi

With that single tweet, my good (cyber)buddy Jonathan Brink announced the launch of his twainchild, Missional Twibe , and may very well have dealt a death blow to Missional Tribe . A bit of background for those just joining us.... Missional Tribe was launched a little over 3 months ago by the collaboration of some other good (cyber)buddies, Brother Maynard , Kingdom Grace , Sonja Andrews , Bill Kinnon , Peggy Brown , Rick Meigs and Brad Sargent . "The Seven" were convinced that what the missional conversation needed was a centralized place to discuss, share stories, watch videos, ask questions, and grow together; where all of this can easily be tagged and indexed for rapid access in the future. The Missional Tribe social network was born on January 6, 2009. I immediately loved it. From simply reading and commenting on posts and in the Forums, to creating your own dedicated Missional Tribe blog ( which I did ), there was quite a lot to keep good, missional-minded folks like...

I've been thinking/praying all morning about what I'm gonna write for J.R. Woodward 's The Good News Series. My post is due up on the 30th of April (see full list of contributors here ). There's several themes that I'm contemplating. So I thought I'd get your take on which one you'd rather see. 0 ( online surveys ) Poll's open 'till midnight on the 27th. I'll do the theme with the highest votes. Thanks for helping out. Grace and Peace, Raffi [NOTE: RSS readers might need to click through to the original page.]

I was representing a client before the Social Security Administration. We had just emerged from a hearing before an administrative law judge where we had succeeded in obtaining disability benefits. I asked my client to wait for me in the lobby while I finalized some paperwork. The pressures of the ordeal, coupled with the realization that she was now officially considered “disabled” by the government of the United States, reached a critical mass: my client began to cry. I didn't notice her crying, consumed as I was with the red tape required to formalize her scarlet letter. One person did notice, though. She was an elderly woman awaiting her turn before the judge, mired in her own stress and fear. She approached my client, sat down beside her, hugged her, and offered her a shoulder to cry on. Speaking to my client gently, the elderly lady then began to pray with her. By this time I had noticed the scene. My first thought was, “Why is this lady doing this? She obviously has her own ...