Covenant Blogs

oops...

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:52:40 -0600

we were down for a couple days. Sorry about that. I didn't know until I got an email about it. problem solved. we will now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

covenantblogs.net news feed and more...

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 14:42:54 -0600

Hello all, just a quick update to say that I added the news feed to the overall aggregator so that those of you who just follow along via an RSS reader will also be able to see news and info about updates, etc. Also, several of you have requested to join covenantblogs.net over the last few months and as of today you should all be in. Please send me a quick email if you don't see your posts showing up. I apologize for the dealy in getting you added. Finally, yes, at some point we will update this site, I promise! Grace and Peace, Aaron J.

Ok, finally an update

Sat, 29 Jul 2006 12:05:53 -0600

Well, covenant blogs has been humming along just fine for quite some time now. In fact its been so long that we are going to skip over version 2 right into v. 3. So stay tuned, in the next month or so there will be a whole new world of covenant blogs at your finger tips. Anything you'd like to see added? now's your chance...

Dennis Wadley

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 15:07:15 -0600

I strongly encourage you to read Dennis' last featured post regarding the reality of the events in "The Constant Gardener." Also, please take a moment to thank Dennis for contributing the first series of featured posts. I have greatly enjoyed them and hope you have as well.

Peace,
aaron

The Constant Gardener...a Reality In South Africa

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 14:46:49 -0600

(4 of 4 featured posts by Dennis Wadley) If you haven't had the chance to see the movie, The Constant Gardener, I highly recommend it. It is a story about a woman who believes that drug companies are testing pharmaceuticals on Africans. (Skip this next sentence if you haven't seen the movie and intend to, as it will give away too much important info) It turns out that the drugs being tested were actually killing the people in the study. Seem implausible? It is a powerful story but it is also a reality in Africa.

Giving Thanks When Things are a Pain

Mon, 23 Jan 2006 09:00:47 -0600

(3 of 4 featured posts by Dennis Wadley)

This week has been packed with little pains. Most of them are not the kind that hit you over the head, but rather they are the annoying kind of struggles that take up your time and disturb the flow of life. Here’s a glimpse of what has been nagging us:

Cars: One of the Bridges of Hope vehicles blew its air conditioner (not a nice thing when the summer temps in South Africa are hitting the 90’s). We found out that it will cost over $1,000 to fix it, so at least for now, we are sweating it out. Another of the vehicles decided to quit working on the highway yesterday. That same vehicle just recovered from a major water leak and an exhaust pipe the fell off. Our personal car also visited the shop last week…what a pain.

updates and more...

Mon, 16 Jan 2006 10:40:22 -0600

Well, we have had some exciting news here at Covenant blogs. My co-editor, Aaron Olson, was blessed with a beautiful baby girl last Tuesday. There are pictures of Grace here. We are extremely excited for the Olsons!

While we could say this is what has caused the delay in the release of Covenantblogs 2, its more the result of the general busyness of this season. But never fear, we have made progress and those updates will be coming. Give us a couple more weeks...

Also, Dennis Wadley's second post is up today. I encourage you to read it and add your thoughts and comments.

The Power of Prayer in a Hurting World

Mon, 16 Jan 2006 10:00:43 -0600

(2 of 4 featured posts by Dennis Wadley) You know how prayer so easily becomes trite little “god phrases” linked together so that they sound spiritual, but somehow they are devoid of not only power, but even meaning? Sometimes we need to shake up our prayer life, or jump start it, if it has died on the vine!

James has some pretty intense things to say about prayer. Read James 4:1-3 over a couple of times:
“What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn't it the whole army of evil desires at war within you? You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can't possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don't have what you want is that you don't ask God for it. And even when you do ask, you don't get it because your whole motive is wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”

Please don’t rush through this…pause right now…really…slow down and read the last two sentences slowly and with strong emotion, that’s how they were written.

Faith and Works

Mon, 09 Jan 2006 09:51:24 -0600

(1 of 4 featured posts by Dennis Wadley) To give you a bit of perspective on where we live, South Africa has an estimated 6.5 million people suffering with HIV/AIDS. That is more than any other nation on earth, though South Africa's total population is only 43 million, less than the population of California and Illinois combined. There are already over 1.5 million orphans in South Africa, more than the entire population of Idaho, as a result of the AIDS pandemic and that number is expected to grow to 5 million by 2010. After generations of racial oppression, bolstered by a theological framework which helped establish white supremacy, there is a staggering 47% unemployment throughout the nation and that number soars to nearly 80% in the urban slum we are working outside of Cape Town. It is our hope to build bridges into the lives of those who are suffering in order to create long-term, self-sustaining solutions to the deep problems of our world. We do this primarily by equipping churches to minister holistically (spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally and socially) to their communities through Community Health Evangelism.

Upcoming Featured Posts

Sat, 07 Jan 2006 09:26:34 -0600

I am excited to announce that Dennis Wadley is going to be doing four featured posts on Mondays beginning January 9. "Dennis and Susan Wadley (and family) moved to South Africa to work on the Bridges of Hope efforts in February of 2003. Bridges of Hope, a social-action ministry founded by Community Covenant Church, Goleta, California, has joined the battle against AIDS in Africa. Bridges of Hope partners Christians from around the world with the people of those nations most affected by the AIDS epidemic, to create long-term, self-sustaining solutions to the challenges they face." You can learn more about Bridges of Hope at www.bridges-of-hope.org.

I hope you enjoy Dennis' posts and join in the discussion as we engage with and learn about the Wadley's ministry in South Africa.

A small crash and more...

Thu, 05 Jan 2006 11:23:59 -0600

well, we had a small crash of the database today causing the site to be inaccessible. However, it was easily repaired and the site is hopefully working normally.

In other news, over the next two weeks or so we are going to be making updates to the site and adding some new features. Stay tuned!

Happy New Year!

Bonhoeffer on Advent

Tue, 13 Dec 2005 00:49:03 -0600

The following is a sermon giving by Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Dec. 2, 1928.

The Coming of Jesus into Our Midst

Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

When early Christianity spoke of the return of the Lord Jesus, they thought of a great day of judgment. Even though this thought may appear to us to be so unlike Christmas, it is original Christianity and to be taken extremely seriously. When we hear Jesus knocking, our conscience first of all pricks us: Are we rightly prepared? Is our heart capable of becoming God's dwelling place? Thus Advent becomes a time of self-examination. "Put the desires of your heart in order, O human beings!" (Valentin Thilo), as the old song sings.

Congratulations Another Think!

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 22:11:08 -0600

Congratulations to Another Think! He is one of the 15 finalists in the 2005 Weblog Awards Best Religious Blog of 2005 category! Also, while browsing the other finalists I noticed that two other Covenant Blogs participants, Liz Verhage and Scot Mcknight, are both contributers to another finalist, the Generous Orthodoxy Think Tank blog.

Congratulations! If you want to vote for Another Think or others you can do that here: Best Religious Blog. If somebody else is nominated that I missed, please let us know in the comments!

Attention Covenant Bloggers:

Thu, 29 Sep 2005 15:13:26 -0600

(From Covenant Home Altar) The editors of the Covenant Home Altar are looking to expand our pool
of writers, and want to invite you to consider contributing devotions to an upcoming issue. The brevity of Home Altars devotions (about 175 words each) seems to be a perfect match for bloggers (even though the Home Altar appears in the antiquated paper and ink format.) The Home Altar follows the lectionary, so the Scripture texts are assigned, but there is a great deal of room for creativity in writing.

For more information, contact:

Bob Smietana
Features Editor
The Covenant Companion
5101 N. Francisco
Chicago IL 60625
773-907-3329

How you doin'?

Sat, 06 Aug 2005 19:05:57 -0600

Welcome to everyone who has come to the site because of the article in the Covenant Companion. It is our hope that you find this site helpful in keeping up to date with all the Covenant bloggers. We would love to have you join in the conversation by submitting your own post!

I also want to welcome the newest members of covenantblogs.net:

Buffalo Covenant Church - NY
naked religion
Patman's rants
The Well
The Land of the Ultra Rev.

Welcome!