Baptism is God’s immersion into our world. The Eucharist is our communion with God. What we do in the sacraments is our participation in the grace of God to transform the world; the sacraments are the gospel shape of what God has called us to.

To say that you need more than just the red letter words of scripture, is not to say that the way in which the voice of Jesus Christ vibrated the airwaves is unimportant, but that the effect of those vibrations, even if recorded perfectly, is just as open to misunderstanding as the reality of his crucifixion – the words he spoke are no more obvious or meaningful than the scars in his hands and side.

Christian unity is found in difference, not uniformity. Uniformity is threatened by the outsider. The unity of shared mission requires the outsider – fulfilling our part of God’s mission is only possible when the different gifts of every child of God are united to make us more than we could be on our own.

Baptism began as the Lord swept across the dark waters, was enacted as Christ entered the River Jordan and was perfected as Christ breathed his last upon the cross. The Eucharist began as God formed Adam and Eve from the dust of the earth, was enacted on the night in which Christ was handed over for our sake, and will be perfected when the one who testifies to these things says “Come!”

Worship is God’s act of creation/re-creation; it is the story setting what we do apart from the rest of the world and the training to become what God has re-created us to be; it is the performance of the biblical script, which engenders the type of life toward which God has called us.

Jesus of the gospels is historically plausible partly because to experience (to have direct present access to) an event is already to begin interpretation; to tell of an experience is to interpret again and to hear of an event is at least a third layer of interpretation. To see, tell, and hear all require the power of the Holy Spirit to give us eyes to see, words to speak, and ears to listen; to know the historical/theological/political Jesus requires that the grace of God reshape our imagination by the power of the Spirit.

Worship is the space of the most focused intentionality to do the work of God in a way that both illuminates and is illuminated by the light of the gospel story. Worship is the space that forms our ability to see the world as it has been shaped by the creative hands of God. It cannot then be an activity that is primarily passive and for; worship must be active and with.

Conservatism uses the language of faith as a shield. Liberalism loses the language of faith out of fear. Christian life embodies the language of faith in relationship.

Worship is the space we create to tell our story and empower our part of God’s mission. Every service ought to bring to life a particular piece of the Word of God for this time and place.