Advent 2012: “Kingdom in the Streets” (Ken Medema)
One way I like to think about humanity is that we are a cord of three strands: priorities, passions, and practices. Our priorities are our deepest convictions about the good, the right, and the beautiful. Passions are the energies that drive us to act. Practices are what we in fact do. As Christians the gospel of Jesus Christ is the source and goal of these three “p’s.” Advent is one of the two times in the church year especially designed for reflective examination of our life in light of the gospel. In the Bible “heart” is what NASA would call the “Command Center” of the person. Intellect, emotion, and will collaborate to integrate and choreograph a life of integrity and coherence. Unfortunately, we often find our Command Center dysfunctional with each of its three elements pu...