Author Archives: joshrhone

Who Am I? I am not the first person to ask that question, and I am confident that I won’t be the last.

If you approach that question relationally, you might receive an answer that goes something like this: My name is Joshua Nathaniel Rhone. I am the progeny of Douglas and Karen. Sibling of Zachary and Caitlin. Husband to Crystal. Father to Quinton.

From an educational standpoint: I am Joshua Nathaniel Rhone. I am a product of Centre Elementary School. A graduate, and co-valedictorian, of the Clearfield Alliance Christian School. I hold a B.A. in Religion, from Houghton College. I am a full-time grad student at George Fox Evangelical Seminary.

Professionally: I am the Rev. Joshua Nathaniel Rhone (please refrain from calling me “reverend”). I am an ordained minister in the Wesleyan Church. I pastor an incredible group of people at the Mount Union Wesleyan Church.

From a “this-is-what-I-like-to-do” standpoint: I am Josh Rhone. I love to read, especially within the fields of theology and philosophy. I enjoy taking photographs. I am always up for a cup of strong coffee and a good discussion. I have recently taken to writing down my thoughts and musings.

Spiritually: I am Josh Rhone. Follower of Jesus. Recipient of the unmerited, undeserved favor of God.

Some might look at such a list and suggest that I am the sum total of all of these relationships, experiences, and influences. Yet, I’m not so sure as to whether that is an apt and appropriate suggestion. Instead, I would contend that, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am Thine!”

The denomination’s new clothes: Is our missional language simply a trendy alternative to the church growth rhetoric?

A little more than five years ago, I remember sitting in a meeting with my then district superintendent in which I was encouraged to sit down with my local board of administration and draft mission and vision statements so that we could break the one hundred and fifty person barrier to become a model of

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The prophet: the man or woman of the moment

No prophet ever sees things under the aspect of eternity.  It is always partisan theology, always for the moment, always for the concrete community, satisfied to see only a piece of it all and to speak out that at the risk of contradicting the rest of it.  Empires prefer reasoned voices who see it all,

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The birth of prophecy

Prophecy is born precisely in that moment when the emergence of social political reality is so radical and inexplicable that is has nothing less than a theological cause.  Theological cause without social political reality is only of interest to a professional religionist, and social political reality without theological cause need not concern us here.  But

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The prophetic task

The task of the prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us. Walter Brueggemann in The Prophetic Imagination, p. 3. Posted via web from joshrhone’s posterous

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