The title should be enough, that should be the end of discussion. However, since we are prone to get stuck in patterns based on fragmented readings of scripture we have to go deeper than just this statement. We have gotten stuck on a handful of bible verses about submission and male dominance instead of letting…
I posted a short update to Facebook a few days ago that was accused of being to new agey. Why? Because instead of thanking god for what is happening in my life right now I said: isn’t it great when the universe conspires to give you your deepest desire. Have I started worshipping the universe?…
This is a blog post that should not need to be written. Art and artistic expression has been part of the church since it’s inception. And while art often is a physical expression (but not always, for example poetry) it is not carnal as defined by the false dichotomy of carnal/spiritual or materialistic as in…
Ministry is an interesting word for many reasons, the most important reason is that it does not mean what most people assume it means. For me as a Swede it has double significance as it is one of the Christian buzzwords that do not exist in the Swedish language. The closest we get to the…
Grace, it’s such a beautiful concept. Grace an (undeserved) gift freely given. We read in the scriptures that god loved us before we knew about god, before we saw god, before we had our first god experience. God’s grace is scandalous, outrageous and completely free, for EVERYONE. There are NO exceptions! There are no…
The holy grail of church planting in my opinion is the building of a community. The way we traditionally do this is by planning activities in our church buildings and we put on meetings. That is we create structured environments in which people can meet and greet. I am not saying there is anything wrong…
In evangelical circles we keep saying this, Church is the people not the building, but do we really understand it? The word church comes from the german kirche which in turn comes from the greek word kurios meaning lord. So the word church means “those who belong to the lord”, well you could of course…
It’s not! Ask yourself this, are you a Christian? If so, why are you a christian? Is it because you believe certain things? The right things? Is it because you do certain things? Or are you a Christian because there is a divine reality of love and you live or at least wish to live…
While one can assume that Jesus may have been a religious man, Jesus himself is not a religion. He did not come to start a religion, he did not found a church and he did not write a sacred text nor did he ask anyone else to do so. I think if Jesus had intended…
I have been returning to thoughts about this the last couple of days in several conversations with friends. As an officer of the Salvation Army I think it is an important question that needs to be contemplated often. For many people Salvation is a word that is not used much, it is an antiquated religious…
The last couple of days there has been a post circulating on the internet with a bunch of statements allegedly made by the current Pope. People are upset that a pope would say such things (although he didn´t) and what it would mean for Christianity at large. Other people are praising the Pope for these…
It may seem an obvious statement for anyone who, like me, have studied the scriptures at any depth. Jesus was a Jew and most Christians would readily admit this fact. But as obvious as it may be we still tend to think of Jesus as a Christian, because, lets face it what else would he…
So this last week I have been reading the long anticipated book: Notes from (over) the edge by Jim Palmer. This is a very different book than Jim’s other work. It feels like Jim lifted the curtain and let us peak behind into his mind and his thinking that has fuelled the rest of his…
We all know we need closeness, connection and human touch, here are ten reasons why we should intentionally introduce embracing, hugging and cuddling as a practice in our lives. After you read this post of why, think about how you will implement the art of long embraces and cuddles in your daily life and community.…
In recent conversations the topic of pleasure has come up time and time again. It seems that from a Christian point of view we are as a community ambivalent about god’s view on pleasure. It seems that somewhere deep down we do believe that although god is good and want good things for us, we…
A depressing title I know, but please bear with me and hear me out. After four years in a church plant where we desperately are trying to model and live out an authentic Christianity at the same time as we are trying to build a church community, I have come to realise that authentic christianity…
The last week I have been contemplating this question: What does it mean to be a Salvationist? A Salvationist (for those of you who are not in the Salvation Army), is a soldier in the Salvation Army, but what does that mean? Is being a Salvationist believing certain things or doing certain things? Let me…
I am watching a fellow Salvationist lament on the LGBTQ oppressive teaching they are getting at a Salvation Army event. I grieve with here and cringe inwardly at the damage being done in yet another Bible study where no consideration is being given to the possibility of HBTQ people in the room. At the same…
In John 3.16 we read that god so loved the world (kosmos) that he gave his only begotten son…. And it seems to me that all through scripture we are reminded again and again that kosmos, that is all of creation, is longing for redemption. When god creates the world, as we read in Gen…
The Church is in trouble every time it instructs us to disregards our hearts or tell us that our hearts are evil/wicked. If Life is to be our religion and being alive is our spiritual practice; If the church is build by authentic relationships and if becoming and being all that I am is my…
If my calling is becoming and being all that I am then it falls naturally that my ministry, my service to god is to, within the scope of an authentic relationship, help you to become and be all that you are. This is not first and foremost a call to spiritual leadership, with one spiritual…
Holiness and calling are two central points of a Salvationist theology. Many books have been written on holiness, most of them describing holiness as a tool to get rid of/become sin free and while many of these books describe holiness as an internal process the result becomes an external system of sin management. As if…
I was approached last week by a Soldier that was concerned about my reading and quoting philosophical works in my blogs and my sermons. He quoted the oft quoted: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what…
Jesus main message, according to most bible scholars, was that of the kingdom of god, or life eternal (aionos zoe). In most churches this has degenerated into an oversimplified message of “pie in the sky when you die”. When Jesus very clearly describes the kingdom as an event, as something that is about to happen and…