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Mark D. Roberts

Part 3 of series: The Challenge and Opportunity of Virtual Church Permalink for this post / Permalink for this series In my last post I began to respond to those who might think that this whole conversation about the reality of virtual church is just plain ridiculous. “After all,” one might object, “how can ‘church’…

If you read my blog yesterday, you saw my tribute to my father-in-law, Bill Swedberg. He died a couple of weeks ago. On Saturday I officiated at his memorial service. A few years Bill died, his daughter Debbie gave him a journal to record key aspects of his life. It was called A Father’s Legacy:…

Last Saturday I officiated at the memorial service for my father-in-law, Bill Swedberg. He died a couple of weeks ago at the age of 84, a victim of Parkinson’s Syndrome. The service was held at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, where Bill’s wife is buried (and also my father and my maternal grandparents).…

Has God Forgotten to Be Gracious? READ Psalm 77:1-20  Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion? Psalm 77:9 Psalm 77, written by Asaph, begins with a profound expression of anguish. The psalmist has found himself in a terribly difficult and painful situation. He has cried out to God, even…

Part 2 of series: The Challenge and Opportunity of Virtual Church Permalink for this post / Permalink for this series Yesterday I began a blog series focusing on the challenge and opportunity of virtual church. This series will be, in part, a conversation with the book SimChurch: Being the Church in the Virtual World by…

Part 1 of series: The Challenge and Opportunity of Virtual Church Permalink for this post / Permalink for this series A month ago I did a blog series on the topic: Is Online Church Really Church? Inspired by a conversation at the Christian Web Conference in Southern California, I wrestled with the notion of whether…

Today this website is a “stop” on a blog tour for a new book, SimChurch: Being the Church in the Virtual World, by Douglas Estes (Zondervan, 2009). This book offers an in-depth analysis of so-called “virtual churches.” We’re not talking here about what I’ve called “online church,” namely, real world churches that use the Internet…

A few weeks ago, one of my colleagues at Foundations for Laity Renewal forwarded to me a news release about Patheos and its effort to increase meaningful dialogue among different religious traditions. Keith Mirrer, our Director of Communications, keeps abreast of religious news stories and forwards to me those that are relevant to my work.…

Before I return to my usual blogging routine, I thought I’d post three more photos of New England, from my trip there a couple of weeks ago. First, the statue of Paul Revere, with the Old North Church in the background. A visit to these national monuments is worthwhile, not only because of their historical…

Drinking the Cup of Judgment READ Psalm 75:1-10  For the LORD holds a cup in his hand that is full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours out the wine in judgment, and all the wicked must drink it, draining it to the dregs. Psalm 75:8 In Psalm 75:8, the image of a cup filled…
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