Announcing: The Purple Zone, New Website and Blog

I'm happy to announce the launch of my newest research and ministry project - The Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red/Blue Divide, equipping Christians and pastors during this divisive time in our nation.  I am exploring ways that pastors can preach and do ministry that is true to their gospel calling, while recognizing the many risks involved in courageous preaching and ministry.  

How can we be both pastoral and prophetic? This is one of the driving questions of my work.  The challenge of addressing controversial justice issues from the pulpit is fraught with risks, but also offers opportunities for proclaiming the gospel and building community in profound and contextual ways.

Drawing on data gathered from a survey I conducted of 1200 Mainline Protestant clergy serving congregations in the United States, this project surveys the landscape of preaching and ministry during this divisive time in our nation's history.  The goal is to help Christians and pastors think about how we can engage the gospel regarding controversial justice issues during this deeply divided time.

The Purple Zone is a resource for helping the church understand the challenges facing parish pastors and congregations, and establishing both scriptural and theological rationale and authorization for addressing contentious justice issues.

The Purple Zone aims to encourage and equip pastors and congregations to address the vital justice issues of our time by attending faithfully to God’s Word, listening intently to each other, navigating the risks, and attuning to the guidance of the Holy Spirit by prophetically “speaking truth in love” in ways that enable congregations to genuinely hear and respond to God's Word. Key to this endeavor is the use of a process called “deliberative dialogue” for finding hopeful avenues of action that engage both public theology and intentional civil discourse.

To learn more, visit https://www.thepurplezone.net/ 

And check out my new blog: https://thepurplezone.wordpress.com/

You can also "like" The Purple Zone Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ThePurpleZone1/

And follow the new Purple Zone Twitter feed for the latest on the intersection of religion, politics, preaching and the church:  https://twitter.com/ThePurpleZone1/

Finally, stay tuned for an article about how preacher's rank the importance of preaching about God's Creation based on results of my survey.

And thanks for keeping up with the EcoPreacher!