Beyond US & THEM ‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎(Paradoxy blog)‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎

• Beyond Us & Them, the official Paradoxy blog, includes articles from the author and others on incarnational Christian community, conflict transformation, and other related subjects. To comment, click here.

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  Conflict as Holy Ground? In recent months, several people have asked me to unpack my oft-spoken statement that "conflict can be holy ground." They wanted to hear more because the statement runs so counter to the ways we have been taught to think about conflict: that conflict is a bad thing, that it is bad for relationships, that it is a sign of dysfunction in communities, especially in faith communities, where it may even be seen as a sign of sin...or at least bad manners. And because we think that there must be only one right answer to anything of any real importance, we believe that the object in conflict is to win: to prove ourselves (and those who agree with us ...
  Posted May 12, 2013, 1:04 PM by Ken Howard
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  Occasionally, a little note makes all the effort worthwhile... I recently received this brief note from one of my readers, the Rev. Dr. Lawrence Cameron, that I just couldn't stop myself from sharing. You know, sometimes a single thank you can make all the effort worthwhile... Brother Ken, A million, zillion, infinity thank yous! Your article on the Bible and Same-Sex Relations was a new and welcome light. I have wrestled with this subject for many a year trying to remain faithful to the Biblical Witness. What I read against was often compelling and what I read in favor was always weak and dismissive of the texts. Yours was a great piece! I thank you and can not tell you how liberating your work is for ...
  Posted May 10, 2013, 1:30 PM by Ken Howard
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  The Bible & Same-Sex Relations: A Biblical Analysis from an Incarnational Perspective I recently reconnected with a classmate from my high school days. Our first several exchanges focused on updating each other on what had happened in the decades since our graduation. Once we discovered that both of us had become Christ-followers, the discussion turned to sharing our respective points of view on a variety of subjects – prayer, spiritual life, the Bible – and eventually to the issue of sexual orientation. My former classmate was surprised to hear that I had a very high view of the inspiration of Scripture, yet favored the full inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the life of the Church. He asked if I would mind explaining my thinking on this subject in a plain and ...
  Posted Feb 15, 2013, 6:53 PM by Ken Howard
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  Vestry as Body of Christ - an incarnational approach to governance The following article, by Ken Howard, was written by request for the Episcopal Church Foundation Vital Practices Vestry Papers issue on Vital Vestries (January 2013). Scroll down to read or click here to read the article in its original context.Judging by what I hear from my clergy colleagues, I think it’s safe to say that vestry meetings are not most people’s idea of a good time. And from the comments I hear from lay people at diocesan gatherings, lay folk don’t often have joy in their hearts about vestry meetings either. This probably explains the rolled eyes I often get when I tell them I look forward to vestry meetings at St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in ...
  Posted Feb 14, 2013, 7:45 AM by Ken Howard
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  "Wheat & Chaff Together: The Paradox of Our Common Humanity" - a sermon on the 1st Sunday of Epiphany “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire…[He will] clear his threshing floor and…gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” – Luke 3:15-17,21-22It’s easy to imagine a text like this becoming the pretext for a certain kinda sermon – the kind that makes your average Episcopalian distinctly uncomfortable: Fire and Brimstone”… “Hellfire and Damnation” … “Longer than 12 minutes”… That kinda sermon. Well, that’s not how I preach. But you know what? I don’t think it matters. I think we’re gonna feel uncomfortable anyway. It’s the text itself that makes us uneasy, not the sermon: the way we read the text ...
  Posted Jan 13, 2013, 4:20 PM by Ken Howard
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  Contemplating the tragic mass-shooting in Newtown, CT... Contemplating the tragic mass-shooting in Newtown, Connecticut...At least 26 people dead, 20 of them children between the ages of 4 and 10. Also dead are the 20-year old shooter and his mother who taught in the classroom where most of the children were killed.Since I heard about the shooting, this Bible verse, from the story of the Nativity of Jesus, has stuck in my mind: "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." - Matthew 2:18, cf. Jeremiah 31:15I will have more to say later. Meanwhile, I ask you to pray. I ask you to give thanks ...
  Posted Dec 14, 2012, 7:28 PM by Ken Howard

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