Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

Phyllis Tickle

  • A Ridiculously Basic Introduction to Emergence Christianity

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    3 min read

    Before I begin, I need to give a whole bunch of caveats. First, this is not only ridiculously basic, but inappropriately basic. The subject is too big to cast in just a few sentences. Second, you should probably just go out and buy Phyllis Tickle’s book of the same name and read it yourself. Third, I have…

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  • Feeling the Movement

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    2 min read

      Here in Memphis, I’ve joined together with many Christians to celebrate Phyllis Tickle at the Emergence Christianity conference (hash tag #EC13). We’re hearing presentations from Mrs. Tickle about the subject of the book of the same name (Emergence Christianity) and responses from dozens of people involved in emergence. I’m loving it! There is plenty…

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  • For All the Saints

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    2 min read

    We often refer to two different strains of Christian faith: Catholic and Protestant. These two traditions have very different understandings of saints. To Catholicism (such as Roman Catholics), saints are our intermediaries. They have been elevated by humanity for their godly and miraculous works. Protestantism (such as Presbyterians, Lutherans Baptists, etc.) has downplayed the role…

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  • Belief v. Action

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    5 min read

    In church circles there is a lot of exercise around the idea that there is dichotomous relationship between our beliefs and our actions. This is particularly evident between the groups Phyllis Tickle refers to as the Social Justice Christians (ie. the Mainliners) and the Conservative Christians (conservative evangelicals and Southern Baptists). In this paradigm, one…

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  • The New Authority: Trust

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    5 min read

    It comes down to trust.  Our current behavior demonstrates that we don’t trust the system, we simply rely on it and expect it to function.  Then when it doesn’t, we condemn it.  Sometimes we even argue that the system can’t do it.  And even then we still don’t hold the community responsible for cleaning up the mess. Perhaps this…

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  • Wishing It Doesn’t Make It So

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    4 min read

    Whether or not you follow the politics of the Anglican Communion is probably related to whether or not you have a mental illness.  Nevertheless, my people have been engaged in a struggle that represents the very understanding of authority in the postmodern age.  Which is actually pretty cool, in that geeky sort-of-way. Here’s my basic overview: Since…

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