Generous Orthodoxy - Discerning God's Work In The World: Tips From The Times For Preachers: December 2005

Fleming Rutledge is a preacher and teacher known throughout the mainline Protestant denominations of the US, Canada and parts of the UK. She is the author of six books and has received a grant from the Louisville Foundation to complete a book about the meaning of the Crucifixion.

One of the first women to be ordained to the priesthood of the Episcopal Church, she served for fourteen years on the clergy staff at Grace Church on Lower Broadway at Tenth Street, New York City.

A native of Franklin, Virginia, Mrs. Rutledge has been married for forty-five years and has two daughters and two grandchildren.

More About Fleming >

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash

Can anyone doubt where Cash would be standing on the issue of the death penalty, which is dominating the news this week along with the debate about torture of America's "detainees" (prisoners)? Here is what Merle Haggard said today about the Man in Black:

"He wanted worse than anything to be the spokesman for the guy that was suppressed. He emotionally connected himself to inmates."

Inasmuch as... (Matthew 25:40)

And did you know that Merle Haggard first heard Johnny Cash perform when he (Haggard) was an inmate at San Quentin? He was doing a three-year term for escaping a local jail. "Man, it was an emotional experience for me."

Wall Street Journal December 3-4

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The purpose of this feature is to stimulate preachers' thinking about what God is doing to alleviate suffering and overcome oppression, and to illustrate how local congregations might join in that divine work.

Many people have asked me how I keep up with the news. The answer is that I read, read, read. It is not possible to get news in depth from television. Perhaps this running selection of excerpts from various news sources can be a stimulus for pastors. The idea is to use some of these illustrations to show where Christians can align themselves with God's justifying purpose. He is already at work. How can we join him where his purposes are going forward?

Do not fear plagiarism. I will be working much of this material into my own sermons, but I will do it in my own way and readers will do it in theirs.