Clergy Debt Study

From our friends in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church:

An interesting study on debt in clergy.

And an interesting debt calculator.

And an interesting Consumer Purchase Payment Calculator.

All good tools.

Practicing Our Faith

A website worth looking further at:

www.practicingourfaith.org

Evangelism

OSJ had a conversation tonight about evangelism. Here's my attempt to summarize what evangelism looks like for OSJ:

OSJ members will seek to build relationships with individuals and communities outside of the church and invite them to enter into new life in Christ by participation in the community of the church. Among other means, this invitation to enter into life in Christ will take place by living a holy life that is attractive to others (simplicity and hospitality being two key markers of this holy life), reaching out in mission and service and sharing our motivation for doing so (the love that God has shown us in Jesus Christ), entering naturally into conversation about Jesus Christ and the things of God, emphasizing through actions and words God's grace and mercy to transform here in this life, engaging fully the resources which already exist in the traditions and liturgies (both formal and informal) of the church, and when necessary and appropriate, reminding people of their mortality.

How does this do at summarizing our conversation tonight?

Communities of Shalom at Drew University

A website of interest to OSJ: http://www.communitiesofshalom.org. Worth exploring further at a later date.