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<p>Below is a list of weblogs by TCPC leadership as well as some of our other favorite blogs.&nbsp; Feel free to <a href="http://www.tcpc.org/about/send_email.cfm?person_id=241">submit</a> your favorites to us, including your own, so we can add them to the list!</p> <h4><a href="http://iallison.blogspot.com/"><img style="float: right;" title="love alike" src="../images/photo/LoveAlike.jpg" alt="love alike" width="160" height="204" /></a></h4> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>TCPC BLOGS</strong></span></p> <p><strong>TCPC Main Blog: <a href="http://tcpc.blogs.com/openpath/">Open Path</a></strong></p> <p><strong>Jim Adams: <a href="http://tcpc.blogs.com/better/">Better than Believing</a></strong></p> <p><strong>Jim Burklo: <a href="http://tcpc.blogs.com/musings/">Musings </a></strong><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Crosswalk America: <a href="http://tcpc.blogs.com/crosswalkamerica/">CrosswalkAmerica</a></strong></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>OTHER FAVS</strong></span></p> <p><strong>Phil Snider:</strong> <a href="http://philsnider.wordpress.com/">Writer, Speaker, Pastor, Husband, Dad</a></p> <p><strong>Religion Dispatches: <a href="http://www.religiondispatches.org/blog/">The Devils Advocate</a> </strong>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Mark Sandlin:</strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;</span><strong><a href="http://www.thegodarticle.com/index.html">The God Article</a></strong></p> <p><strong>Different Voice</strong>: <a href="http://www.differentvoice.com/">Resources and Training for Progressive Christian Education</a></p> <h4>Mike&nbsp;Morrell: <a href="http://zoecarnate.wordpress.com/">Zoecarnate</a></h4> <p><strong>Sea Raven:</strong> <a href="http://www.gaiarising.org/blog.html">Gaia Rising, Liberal Christian Commentary</a></p> <p><strong>Naomi Kirstein</strong>: <a href="http://skywoman.wordpress.com/">Skywoman</a></p> <p><strong>Ian Lawton: <a href="http://ianwlawton.blogspot.com/">Aussie Heretic</a> </strong></p> <p><strong>Alison Rockey: <a href="http://iallison.blogspot.com/">I Alison</a></strong></p> <p><strong>Lauri Lumby:</strong> <a href="http://yourspiritualtruth.com/">Your Spiritual Truth</a></p> <p><strong>Nathan Schneider: </strong><a href="http://www.therowboat.com/">The Row Boat</a></p> <p><strong>Spencer Burke:</strong> <a href="http://www.theooze.com/main.cfm">The Ooze</a></p> <p><strong>John Shuck:</strong> <a href="http://www.shuckandjive.org/">Shuck and Jive</a></p> <p><strong>Rev Chuck Queen:</strong> <a href="http://www.afreshperspective-chuck.blogspot.com/">A Fresh Perspective</a></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Michael Dowd:</strong> <a href="http://www.thankgodforevolution.com/category/blog">Thank God for Evolution</a></p> <p><strong>Chris Glaser:</strong> <a href="http://chrisglaser.blogspot.com/">Progressive Christian Reflections</a></p> <p><strong>Ron Cole:</strong> <a href="http://thewearypilgrim.typepad.com/the_weary_pilgrim/">The Weary Pilgrim</a></p> <p><a href="http://faithfulprogressive.blogspot.com/"><strong>Faithful Progressive </strong></a></p> <p><a href="http://consciouschrist.livejournal.com/">Conscious Christ </a></p> <p><a href="http://www.patheos.com/community/mainlineportal/">Patheos- Faith Forward </a></p> <p><a href="http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/the-living-hour-lords-prayer">The Living Hour and Lord's Prayer</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.livingnonviolence.com/">Living NonViolence:</a> <span>Information and inspiration on everyday nonviolence</span></p> <p><a href="http://www.theooze.com/main.cfm"></a></p>

<div id="header"> <div> <p class="h2"><strong><span class="h1">A New Christianity for a New World</span></strong></p> <p class="h2"><img style="float: left; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;" title="Bishop Spong" src="../images/photo/people/john_shelby_spong.jpg" alt="Bishop Spong" width="145" height="100" /><strong>ProgressiveChristianity.org is the new publisher for the Bishop Spong Website and subscription essay newsletter- <em>A New Christianity for A New World</em></strong></p> <p class="h2">Take a minute to <a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/">visit the new website</a> today and consider <a href="https://johnshelbyspong.com/sign-up/">signing up </a>for Bishop Spong's weekly insightful essays on religion and the news. They are delivered to your email inbox once a week. that means you get 48 original and current essays for only $29.95 per year. <a href="https://johnshelbyspong.com/sign-up/">subscribe here</a></p> <p class="h2"> <object style="float: right; width: 250px; height: 206px;" width="250" height="206" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/E8ieU1fVA-Q&amp;feature" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"> <param name="data" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/E8ieU1fVA-Q&amp;feature" /> <param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/E8ieU1fVA-Q&amp;feature" /> </object> </p> <ul id="dropdown"> <li id="menu-item-44980"><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/">Home</a></li> <li id="menu-item-44981"><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/about-bishop-spong/">About Bishop Spong</a></li> <li id="menu-item-44982"><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/calendar/">Calendar</a></li> <li id="menu-item-44992"><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/sample-essays/">Sample Essays</a></li> <li id="menu-item-44984"><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/essay-archives/">Essay Archive</a></li> <li id="menu-item-44983"><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/message-boards/">Message Boards</a></li> <li id="menu-item-44987"><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/store/">Store</a></li> <li id="menu-item-44985"><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/partner-organizations/">Partner Organizations</a></li> <li id="menu-item-44985"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bishop-John-Shelby-Spong/154857644568030">Bishop Spong on Facebook</a></li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><strong><span class="h1">Information on this change</span></strong></p> <p>In Januray 2011, ProgressiveChristianity.org took over the management and publishing of the Bishop Spong Newsletter- A New Christianity for a New World.</p> <p>First, I want to let you know how proud we are to have this opportunity to become the publishers for the John Shelby Spong newsletter. We have been working on this important project for over six months and we hope you find our service and final product beyond your highest expectations. As you might assume we have had our share of challenges, rebuilding a new website, moving material from one platform to a different one, and transferring data for thousands of subscribers from one secured site to another. However, we believe that we hired the best technical developers to do this job and the folks at Everyday Health, the former publishers, have been extremely helpful. So far, this transfer has gone as smoothly as could be expected and we are hopeful that your experience of this change is seamless as well. We are very excited about the future in our new partnership with Bishop Spong.</p> <p>ProgressiveChristianty.org (formerly The Center for Progressive Christianity, or TCPC) was started in the early 1990&rsquo;s and was officially incorporated as a 501-3c in 1994. You might find it interesting to know that Bishop Spong participated in several of those early conversations with our founder, Jim Rowe Adams. Since that time Bishop Spong has been an advisor, a keynote speaker and generous supporter for TCPC. It was therefore a natural progression for us assume the responsibility of publishing what we believe is one of the most important voices for a new Christianity for a new world. Bishop Spong has been an inspiration for hundreds of thousands of people evolving in their faith and we are honored to be working with him.</p> <p>Over that last sixteen years, TCPC has been providing resources for individuals and churches that are interested in a new Christianity in the form of articles, books, book reviews, speakers, liturgy and curriculum. We have published six books in partnership with two other publishers. For the last six years we have published a monthly newsletter featuring a variety of contemporary writers, introducing new books, and music. This past year we changed our name to progressivechristianity.org to better reflect our global mission and vision. We now have over 13,000 subscribers.&nbsp;</p> <p>So I hope you can see why we think this is a good fit and why we are excited about this incredible opportunity. Our mission has always been to create a format that fosters spiritual networking and resources for an evolving faith. We believe that our partnership with Bishop Spong will help us fulfill that mission. We hope you agree. We look forward to hearing back from you.</p> <h1>About Bishop Spong</h1> <p>John Shelby Spong, whose books have sold more than a million copies, was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2001. His admirers acclaim him as a teaching bishop who makes contemporary theology accessible to the ordinary layperson &mdash; he&rsquo;s considered the champion of an inclusive faith by many, both inside and outside the Christian church. In one of his recent books,<em>The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible&rsquo;s Texts of Hate to Discover the God of Love</em>(San Francisco: HarperOne, 2005), this visionary thinker seeks to introduce readers to a proper way to engage the holy book of the Judeo-Christian tradition.</p> <p>A committed Christian who has spent a lifetime studying the Bible and whose life has been deeply shaped by it, Bishop Spong says he was not interested in Bible bashing. &ldquo;I come to this interpretive task not as an enemy of Christianity,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I am not even a disillusioned former Christian, as some of my scholar-friends identify themselves. I am a believer who knows and loves the Bible deeply. But I also recognize that parts of it have been used to undergird prejudices and to mask violence.&rdquo;</p> <p>A visiting lecturer at Harvard and at universities and churches worldwide, Bishop Spong delivers more than 200 public lectures each year to standing-room-only crowds. His bestselling books include&nbsp;<em>Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, A New Christianity for a New World, Why Christianity Must Change or Die</em>, and&nbsp;<em>Here I Stand</em>.</p> <p>Bishop Spong&rsquo;s extensive media appearances include a profile segment on&nbsp;<em>60 Minutes</em>as well as appearances on&nbsp;<em>Good Morning America, Fox News Live, Politically Incorrect, Larry King Live, The O&rsquo;Reilly Factor,</em> William F. Buckley&rsquo;s&nbsp;<em>Firing Line,</em> and&nbsp;<em>Extra.</em> Bishop Spong and his wife, Christine Mary Spong, have five children and six grandchildren. They live in New Jersey.</p> </div> <div> <div> <div id="global"> <ul id="dropdown"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="content"> <div> <h1>An Authoritative Voice for Believers in Exile</h1> <p>For those seeking to experience Christianity in a new and vibrant way, <a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/about-bishop-spong/">Bishop John Shelby Spong</a> offers fresh spiritual ideas. Over the past four decades, he has become one of the definitive voices for progressive Christianity. As a member of Bishop Spong&rsquo;s online community, you&rsquo;ll receive insightful weekly essays, access to all of the essay archives, access to the TCPC Message Boards that will connect you with other believers in exile, and answers to your questions from Bishop Spong himself!</p> <p><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/calendar/">Meet Bishop Spong</a></p> <div> <h1>The Latest Essays and Q &amp; A:</h1> <h3><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/2011/04/14/exploring-the-story-of-the-cross-part-vi-the-enigma-called-judas/">14 April 2011: Exploring the Story of the Cross, Part VI The Enigma Called Judas</a></h3> <p>The anti-hero of the Christian story in general and of the crucifixion story in particular is one who is known as Judas Iscariot. Scorn and ridicule have been heaped on this figure over the centuries of Christian history. Much anti-Semitism has flowed from the depiction of this character. No one anywhere names his or her &hellip;</p> <p><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/2011/04/14/exploring-the-story-of-the-cross-part-vi-the-enigma-called-judas/">Read More&hellip;</a></p> <h3><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/2011/04/07/examining-the-story-of-the-cross-part-v-barabbas-%e2%80%93-another-interpretive-figure/">7 April 2011: Examining the Story of the Cross, Part V; Barabbas &ndash; Another Interpretive Figure</a></h3> <p>In Mark&rsquo;s original story of the Passion of Jesus, he introduces for the first time in any written Christian record the figure of Barabbas.&nbsp; In this story we are told two things:&nbsp; First, it was a Roman custom to release a prisoner at the feast of the Passover, one whose freedom the people desired.&nbsp; Second, &hellip;</p> <p><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/2011/04/07/examining-the-story-of-the-cross-part-v-barabbas-%e2%80%93-another-interpretive-figure/">Read More&hellip;</a></p> <h3><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/2011/03/30/my-friend-richard-lester-shimpfky-1940-2011/">30 March 2011: My Friend: Richard Lester Shimpfky 1940-2011</a></h3> <p>Recently, I preached at the funeral of one who had been a close friend for more than 40 years.&nbsp; His name was Richard Shimpfky.&nbsp; Let me tell you something of his story. I first met Richard when he was a senior at the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, where he was described by Clifford Stanley, &hellip;</p> <p><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/2011/03/30/my-friend-richard-lester-shimpfky-1940-2011/">Read More&hellip;</a></p> <p><a href="http://johnshelbyspong.com/essay-archives/">Visit Essay Archive</a></p> </div> </div> <div> <div id="search"> <h4>Search</h4> <p>Looking for something special? 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