Chapter 6G in Traditional Quaker Christianity is on eldering and oversight. Those correspond to roles that come from the New Testament, and they’re called various things in different Christian traditions. Eldering and oversight are also interpreted very differently in different Christian traditions. Eldering Sometimes eldering is described as “nurturing ministers.” We’ve talked about the position […]
Category: Season 3
Spirit-led Teachers
This time we’re looking at section 6F in Traditional Quaker Christianity, which is really just a quote from Barclay’s Apology. The section is titled “Spirit-led Teachers.” The quote reflects the semi-Gnostic perspective the early Quakers found in the Gospel of John. Gnosticism makes a strong distinction between spirit (good) and material (bad). Really, the point […]
Advices and Queries
This time we’re talking about advices and queries, which is section 6E in Traditional Quaker Christianity. British Friends have a little red book called Advices and Queries. Other Quaker groups don’t tend to publish them separately—they’re a section in the Book of Discipline or the Faith & Practice. Advices The first advices came from the […]
Business process
Section 6D in Traditional Quaker Christianity is called “Clerking: an Aid for Decision Making,” meaning it’s about business process. Quaker business process is generally pretty much the same at least across the Western world. We’re less certain about how it’s done in Africa and Latin America. The book makes several assertions about business process that […]
Recording worship
We’re going off-book this time, because we felt like it. There’s a taboo on recording worship during waiting worship. This is especially the case with photography. This comes up most in regard to Quaker weddings. In non-Quaker weddings, it’s really common to have photography all throughout the wedding. Non-Quakers couples often have photos of themselves […]
Individualism and community
This time around we’re discussing individualism and community in the Quaker tradition. Section 6C in Traditional Quaker Christianity quotes heavily from William Penn’s True Spiritual Liberty. The opening paragraph of this chapter is gold: Western individualism, which elevates individuals above the group, destroys community, eats away at our concern for others’ welfare, and too often […]
The Church Visible and Invisible
This time, we’re discussing the Church visible and invisible, a phrase that goes back to Augustine, but about which early Friends were certainly concerned too. This is section 6B in Traditional Quaker Christianity, and the reading is mostly taken from Barclay’s Apology. The Church Invisible In discussing the Church visible and invisible, we’re starting with […]
What makes someone Christian?
What makes someone Christian? There are many ways to define Christianity and church. Accusations of apostasy and heresy flew back and forth between Quakers and everyone else and occasionally still come at us.
Traveling in Ministry
This time we’re talking about traveling in ministry. Quakers have traveled in ministry from the very beginning. It really started as sort of ministry campaigns, traveling in pairs. That’s a Biblical practice: Jesus sent the Apostles out in pairs in Luke 10. Early Days These early campaigns would have people traveling in ministry for months […]
Speaking in Meeting
Section 5C in Traditional Quaker Christianity is on speaking in meeting, so that’s what we’re talking about today. Should I speak? Speaking in meeting is, as we’ve discussed before, meant to be oracular. We have to do some discernment about when to speak or not to speak. In this episode, we talk about how we […]