The Inn at the End of the World: Reflections on an Inclusive Faith - Softcover

Kent D. Moorehead

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1592991793 ISBN 13: 9781592991792

Publisher: Inkwater Pr, 2005

Synopsis

Great work! The witness of a compassionate pastor and great storyteller. Kent Moorehead joins a select band of gifted preachers, that I have known, who were also gifted writers. I have waited eagerly for this volume and it does not disappoint.

-Bishop C. Dale White, Author of Making a Just Peace

As a long time amateur student of comparative religion, I welcome with considerable enthusiasm The Rev. Dr. Kent Moorehead's exposition and analysis. His focus on the religion of Jesus rather than the religion about Jesus is most refreshing and informative. Th e postscript is truly inspiring, including a powerful last paragraph.

-Eugene L. Saklad, Ph.D. is a founding member of Shir Hadash, The Reconstructionist Havurah of Greater Boston and lay leader of Am HaYam Cape Cod Havurah

Kent Moorehead puts it plainly: "Jesus' call to world community is not for the faint of heart." If you are weary from the work of inclusion, or need encouragement to stay the course, these meditations provide rich spiritual food.

-Kathleen J. Greider, Ph.D. Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling, Claremont School of Theology, Author of Reckoning with Aggression: Theology, Violence, and Vitality

A profound analysis of the malaise of "exclusiveness" that infects much of Christianity. Moorehead peels off the layers of our protective Christian rhetoric that hide our failures to be true neighbors, and the radical character of the Gospel comes forth with new light. I highly recommend these essays which are both writings and journeys of the soul. This book gives exemplary content to the phrase, "learned ministry", which was the hallmark of Walter G. Muelder to whom this book is dedicated.

-Robert Cummings Neville, Dean of the Marsh Chapel and Dean Emeritus of the Boston University School of Theology, Author of Preaching the Gospel Without Easy Answers

About this title

About the Author

The Rev. Dr. Kent D. Moorehead is a retired United Methodist Minister, having served churches in Ohio, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. The author of more than a dozen articles in magazines and theological journals, as well as the editor of Achieving an All-In Victory (a collection of the sermons of Dr. Henry Hitt Crane), has served as an op-ed writer for the Cape Cod Times as well as speaking at a number of churches and community forums. A graduate of Albion College and Boston University, he has lectured in homiletics at Boston University School of Theology and has given lectures at Fordham University and Rhode Island College. While at Mathewson Street Church in Providence, Rhode Island, he served for three years as the president of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches. Kent and his wife, Beth, live on Cape Cod, where they enjoy hiking, kayaking, cycling, and the delightful birds of the region. Beth has a daughter, Christine, and a son, Jeff . Kent has two sons, Gary and Glenn.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

There was a titanic struggle in the early church to decide "who's in and who's out." It is a debate that is still with us. It is the age-old question of how to maintain the integrity of the faith while responding to new and different conditions. James Russell Lowell expressed it beautifully when he said, "New occasions teach new duties." Paul had been actively reaching out to the gentiles, saying that they could be part of the church. There was a major element of the church that said the church must remain pure and that before one could be a part of the Christian fellowship, he or she had to become part of the Jewish faith. Peter seemed to be in the middle. (Most preachers can relate to that). He was leaning both ways, saying, "let's keep it Jewish," because he loved the faith of his ancestors, and yet thinking perhaps we should open up a bit. After all, he had seen the diversity at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-12), and he had been with Jesus and seen him reach out to all manner of people. Then he had an odd vision, which he believed was from God. Peter said he saw a large sheet being lowered down from heaven, and in the sheet were all kinds of animals, birds of prey, and reptiles. He heard a voice saying, "You can eat what you want." The Jewish dietary laws concerning clean and unclean animals considered many of the animals in the sheet unclean. We have it on good authority that when the list came out, many animals understandably applied for unclean status! Seriously, Peter said that he could not eat and that nothing profane or unclean had ever touched his lips. The voice responded, saying, "What God has made clean, you must not call profane." From then on, Peter asserted that the church must reach out to those who he previously, but no longer, considered to be unclean. This vision changed the church, and it reached out to the gentiles, and the world has never been the same. Peter's ancient vision is our modern hope.

Edition details

• Publisher: Inkwater Pr
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1592991793
• ISBN 13: 9781592991792
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 136