Crossings Knoxville

The ways the Bible talks about money, tithing, and generosity is more complicated than churches often make it. Should an ancient agricultural tithe that funded temple personnel apply to us today? How might we return to God what is God and bring money back to its role as a material instrument?

What does the Bible really say about things like sin, salvation, giving, and the nature of Scripture itself? It's complicated. How can we approach the Bible more humbly and appreciate its many different aspects? How can we engage multiple different readings at the same time without claiming the "right" answers for ourselves?

Join us as Matt Nance asks "Why is it so hard to fully abhor violence as a Christian? Why doesn't God just say, 'My way is peace and non-violence?'" and Emily Stott asks "How do I know that I'm finally home?"

Join us as Jennifer Long asks “Is this what you have called me to?” and Michael O'Malley asks “How can I follow the teachings of the early church in the book of Acts while owning a home amongst an ever increasing economic divide?"

God’s story constantly reminds us that faith is a conversation and questions are welcome. How do honestly ask our most important questions? Join us as Kristin Smith asks “What is prayer?” and Rafael Rodriguez asks “What am I willing to sacrifice for unity?"

Part 7 and final teaching in our study on the Book of Daniel. The book of Daniel concludes with a series of apocalyptic visions that take a more pessimistic stance toward power and empire. At the end of Daniel, we are left with a series of questions: how do we continue to negotiate our expectations and proximity to a power that can at times do good and bad? How can we engage in "strong misrea...

How do we feel when we realize the limits of power? What do we gain when we place our hope into people that are so restricted? What do we lose? What are we placing our hope in that, no matter what, we just aren’t willing to give up? And is that thing worth it?

The story of the writing on the wall in Daniel 5 reminds of the illusions and facades power often presents to us. But a simple change in the camera angle reveals how temporary power really is. The Writing's on the Wall - OK Go

How do we resist the desire to see those in power convert to our way of thinking? What would change if those who have seriously wronged us changed? How do we maintain identities as exiles when we have access to power but also feel isolated from our own faith traditions?

As Wil Gafney said, Daniel 3 is anti-impirical text disguised as anti-impirical text. It is an unapologetic story of resistance against the violent, controlling, powerful empires of Daniels time and ours. Though we’d rather identify with the heroes/victims of the story, it might be wise to pay attention and take caution regarding Nebuchadnezzar’s final demand that all turn to Yahweh.

What do we believe about power and the reality it attempts to create? How can we maintain proximity to power and work with it while still keeping our distance and ability to critique it? How can we learn to trust in God's reality beyond the unreal power of this world?

How does the book of Daniel encourage us to live as exiles in our current times? How do we learn to switch between our multiple roles and identities for the good of the world while also maintaining our integrity?

In our final week of Sacred Ladders, a study of Sacraments, we look at the history and varied practice of ordination (or Holy Orders). What does it mean that we are within a tradition that celebrates the “priesthood of all believers” and what might we miss out on by having such low barriers to ordination?

The third teaching in our Sacred Ladders series is about the sacrament of confession/reconciliation. We don’t have a formal practice of confession like some faith traditions, so this study asks questions about we might be missing out on because of that. What might a renewed practice of confession look like and why does it matter?

This teaching is our second in our series called Sacred Ladders. People have different experiences of baptism. Here, we take a look at the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 as a good example of an invitation to the sacrament of baptism. But what if baptism is more of a mutual experience than we often allow it to be?

This teaching is the first in our study called Sacred Ladders where we explore four sacraments of the Christian faith. This week we begin with the Eucharist (Common Meal). How do we entertain the mystery? How do we experience the grace of community at the Common Meal Table?

The 24th and final teaching in our series on the book of Luke. Why does Luke end his book so abruptly? How might we all encounter the Jesus Luke sees differently? How do we live out the commission and values of this Kingdom Luke presents to us?

Responses to the resurrection range from disbelief to a race to see it firsthand. But Luke's telling of it reminds us that experiencing the resurrection is most tangibly experienced around the table.

As we enter Holy Week, what would it mean to avoid making sense death and suffering? How can we see God as both with us and forsaking us? How do we maintain faithfulness even after the worst things have happened?

The way Luke writes about Jesus trials may give us a framework for how to approach life when it seems unfair.

Luke Study Week 20

What happens when God’s place of encounter becomes a place of exploitation? Jesus and the temple authorities confront each other with competing visions of the temple and how it mediates God’s presence to his people (and others). In the end, the invitation to encounter God will overcome any obstacle obscuring that invitation.

When was the last time you prayed to, “God Our Mother Hen”? What does it mean that the God of all creation both creates tears AND cries them? And what is Luke trying to communicate through a more subdued version of the Triumphal Entry that leaves out the palm branches and the hosannahs? Maybe knowing a God who cries is the beginning of our recognition of the things that make for peace.

What parts of faith do we pay attention to because they hold special value to us? What parts have we become numb to? How can Lent help us understand our lives and limits better?

It’s Crossings 17th birthday. It’s also the Sunday before Ash Wednesday and Lent. The concepts of birth and death may seem like opposites, but maybe they are linked more than we think. Paul gives us a vision in 2 Corinthians 4 to describe what life could look like as we make our circles around the sun.