• Bible Studies

    Hosea 11-13: God and Mammon

    Hosea 11-13: God and Mammon December 30, 2012 1.  Read Hosea 11:1-4. It is difficult to come to grips with all the different images of God in Scripture. Even though people can say it is like a painting or a tapestry that can only be expressed in a thousand different strokes or threads, it is a challenge – at least for me. Different characteristics have been prominent in different parts of my life. Maybe it is the same for you. Of course, it is complicated by the fact that in English we have so few words to describe God – God, Father, Lord – and in Hebrew there were at…

  • Fred's Blog

    Once Burned Twice Shy

      There has only been one article written about The Gathering since we began in 1985 – and that one had a negative slant.  It was titled “Hush-Hush: What Makes Christian Philanthropy Christian?”  This was the opening paragraph: “Two years ago they gathered at the swank Four Seasons in Seattle. Last year they gathered in Cancun. Next week to the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia they will doubtless come again bringing their checkbooks with them for a Nov. 1 and 2 conference. ‘They’ are scores of wealthy believers looking for ways to use their earthly riches to advance the heavenly kingdom. In a good example of upper-class understatement their organization is called simply…

  • Fred's Blog

    The Place Where Young People Go To Retire – Portland

      Every year we take small groups of Gathering participants on trips outside the country to visit work being done by people who are involved with The Gathering. Earlier this year we went to Cuba and decided we would do something inside the United States in December.  We had read about Portland through a series of articles in Christianity Today titled "This Is Your City" that had featured innovative cooperation of government corporate church and civic organizations. As one of the participants put it "This is what the church looks like in Babylon when it seeks the peace of a city in which it is in exile and not in…

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  • Fred's Blog

    The Second Act

      Some friends who have seen Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” have come away disappointed that the film did not emphasize his faith as much as they had hoped. To that objection Stephen Mansfield wrote an insightful review in USA Today: “The challenge is that Lincoln lived through widely differing stages in his journey of faith. There is always the temptation to see his entire religious life through the prism of only one of these stages. To do this means missing the grand tapestry of faith that Lincoln wove during years of spiritual struggle.” As I read the latest New Yorker article on Rob Bell titled “Hell-Raiser ” I wondered if the…

  • Bible Studies

    Hosea 1:1-3:5

    This is the beginning of Advent when we anticipate the coming of Christ – both his birth and His second coming. Because of that, Hosea is a good study for us as he describes conditions not unlike ours – instability, political infighting, chaos, power struggles, dissension, uncertainty, loss of faith in leadership, idolatry, corruption and disillusionment. But, his message is not just one of indictment but he is looking at the coming Savior and a new covenant of peace and security. 1.  A little historical context. After the death of David, the Kingdom splits into the Northern Tribes (Israel) and the Southern Tribes (Judah) each with their own line of…