Heather A. Goodman's blog

Ever wonder why the greeters at the doors of your church don't welcome you with a smack on the lips? (In 2 Corinthians 13, Paul exhorts the believers to greet one another with a holy kiss.) Or why we don't share everything in common as the brothers and sisters in Acts 2 did?

All of us practice contextual theology. Contextual theology recognizes that:

Bring out your togas. We're going Greek today.

Sandi told the story of a woman who had an affair with a ministry partner. Kelley talked about protecting our brothers in Christ. Sadly, it's a theme we see in many churches--what happens when ministers, both men and women, aren't careful.

It surprised me to find that this is a theme God addresses.

I read in a book the other day* about a celebrity who told an editor, "I just want to be an actor!" "No," the editor corrected. "You want to be famous."

Add that to a collection of thoughts and stories swirling through my head recently about what it means to be humble. A sampling:

Imagine with me if you will the new earth.

Picture lush gardens amid the most beautiful architecture. Ivy and morning glories wrap around chiseled, stone walls. Silver and glass walls glisten in the light and reflect the surrounding trees. Rose bushes, sans thorns of course, border a bamboo hut.

Picture flowing streams of water and juicy mangoes ripening on the trees.

"I'm only human," we snap at our accuser.

Or, "He must be an angel." This to explain the man who snatched a child from in front of an oncoming car, putting his own life in danger.

We've forgotten what it means to be human.

We've forgotten God created us in His image (and is restoring Christians to that image). We've forgotten He gave us the responsibility of caring for this creation.

We've forgotten that we are immortal.

Where is this going, you may ask. What are these crazy cats doing? By all that is good and holy, where's the structure in this thing?

That's what you may think the first time you hear jazz.

About a decade ago, the catchword became relevance. "But is the ministry relevant?" we all asked. It was--and is--a good question. After all, Jesus became man in order to be relevant. The man knew his communication theory.

Though the term's not as in fashion anymore, the way we act and think betrays our commitment to relevance, especially in science and art (I use the term here broadly). The problem is, when we stop here, we get caught up in trends and fads. As Christians, we are relevant, but we should be beyond relevant.

Tapestry began as women came together to discuss sharing ministry ideas and resources on the Internet, particularly through bible.org. We came to realize that it would be profitable to discuss these issues with women serving God in various ministries throughout the world.

Thus, the blog.