CrossWalk Community Church Napa

In this final segment of the teaching series informed by Diana Butler Bass' Freeing Jesus book, we pay special attention on the spiritual presence Jesus promised would come, with a special nod to the Spirit's feminine characteristics.

John 14 offers a passage of hope that has also been used as a "clobber verse." In this teaching, we find help and hope from Diana Butler Bass - a different way of thinking about the word "except" that is truly liberating.

Any of the titles we ascribe to God or Jesus both liberate and limit. Lord is both wonderful and problematic, helpful in some ways and restrictive in others. But what if the Lord's Kingdom has been misrepresented to us? What if our vision has been overly influenced by our conquering past and world-dominating Super Power present (hint: it has). This teaching explores "the Lord" and leaves us unsettled. Good luck.

History changed the understanding of savior into an otherworldly superhero who came to save the day and will come again to do it again a final time. Too bad that's not how Jesus - or his original audience - wanted to be known. Imagine how history would have unfolded differently if the actual rendering of the word savior as healer would have dominated? How can we embrace this meaning today? What are the implications for our private lives and even global conflicts?

What does it mean for us to refer to Jesus as our teacher? When we appreciate that Jesus was referred to as "rabbi" we begin to get a better idea about who he was and what the relationship meant between the rabbi and their disciples.

In this teaching, informed by the book, Freeing Jesus, by Diana Butler Bass, we take a look at Jesus as a friend. Note: the whole service was about friendship, including a game of Name That Tune, a short film and meditation based on friendship, and the teaching. If you'd like to watch it, go to our Live videos and check out 2024-04-07.

The Easter story is tricky.  Do you think it's true?  What does that mean?  In this talk, we explore what it means to say something is true, give a nod to The Tower, offer a framework to understand and interpret mystical experiences, and consider what the point of Jesus was then and now.  Hint: it has a lot to do with love.

Sometimes we don't experience the full impact of the story because we constantly break it up into smaller chunks. This week, enjoy hearing Mark's version of the full story of Jesus' last week of life with some breaks for reflection, a meditation, and some music from Mark 11, 14 and 15.

The version of the death of Jesus as a sacrifice for sin is well known and has been effective in causing many to join the Christian faith. Yet there are aspects that are deeply problematic - so much so that many are leaving the faith because of ithem. The earliest understanding of the cross didn't see it as a means of forgiveness, but as a model for grace under pressure, consistent with the message Jesus lived and taught throughout his ministry. Perhaps the earlier message might woo people back to the faith they though they knew...

Sometimes not paying attention to the original language's meaning can lead to generations of misinformed and deformed faith...

God - however we understand who and/or what God is - is all about the Hebrew concept of shalom. Deep peace, well-being, wholeness are some words in English that don't quite capture it. And then there's the beautiful mind-bender part of shalom that somehow brings together seeming opposites. When we embrace this fully, we discover that the most awful parts of our past can be transformed into something meaningful in our lives - the gnashing teeth of the monster in our memory can be pacified. It's work, but we are not alone, of the Sprit of God, being all about shalom, is constantly with us, for us, helping us move forward to, well, more and more and deeper and deeper shalom.

Enjoy special guest teacher and CrossWalker, Rev. Dr. Angela Barker-Jackson, as she wraps up the Simplicity, Spirituality, and Service series dovetailing Bruce Epperly, James Cone, and lectionary texts.

Jesus had his mind blown during his baptism, which sent him into the wilderness to sort out who he was, who he wanted to be, and what he wanted to be about.  The temptations toward ego were strong, but he chose for God's shalom instead.  When he came out of his time away, he essentially invited any and all others to do the same.

While mysticism born from meditation, contemplation, and other spiritual disciplines always affects more than just the devotee, we need to be reminded that all of the great voices and leaders who advanced shalom in the world gave themselves to the service of others or causes greater than themselves. What they experienced of the divine compelled them to think bigger than themselves. Their view from the mountaintop above cast the vision for the valley below. What valley are you going through? What valley are we going through? How does the presence of God shape your vision? Read the full blogpost here.

How do we develop a faith that yields genuine compassion and not just inner peace? While daily practices surely help such development, perhaps it's the work we don't necessarily want to do that will transform us more into the form of Jesus.

Jesus didn't just grow older, he grew wiser. He didn't just gain any kind of stature he developed a stature of personhood that was favorable to God and all people. He invites us to do the same.

St. Francis, Clare, and Bonaventure fully devoted themselves to the Way of Christ. How did they do it? What can we learn from them?

God evolves with us, always calling us toward shalom with shalom. How will we respond?

Welcome to the first teaching in the new series, Simplicity, Spirituality, and Service, loosely based on Bruce Epperly's latest book by the same name. This week we are reminded of the essential component of Jesus' Gospel - the role of the Spirit - in forming our vision and steps to bring more and more shalom into our lives and world.

Enjoy these stories from CrossWalkers about their new beginnings! CrossWalkMoth is our play on NPR’s series that seeks to increase human connection through storytelling.