Paul Alan Laughlin's
     
Select List of Liberal-Progressive
Christian Organizations and Churches
        

Of course it is true that "Wherever you go, there you are."
But the fact is that, unless you've first spent some time in the
sanctuary within, you aren't really anywhere.
                                   - Sri Abhidharma Satyananda
                                   (Swami Mahajnana)

amovbar1

All of the following I know and trust either because I am
affiliated with them or as a result of the recommendations
of trusted associates and  friends.  Each name is
clickable and will transfer you to the appropriate
site.  But don't forget how to get back here.
Perhaps if you left trail of breadcrumbs . . . .

ball.gif Westar Institute

I place Westar at the top of my list because I first
learned about most of the rest of the organizations
on this list as a result of contacts I made as one
of its Fellows (professional scholars of religion).
Westar is dedicated to the advancement of religious
 literacy, and is the home of the famous Jesus Seminar,
as well as of Polebridge Press, which has published two
of my books and several of my articles (the latter in
its excellent periodical The Fourth R).

ball.gif ProgressiveChristianity.org
aka
The Center for Progressive Christianity

I first learned of this organization from Fred Plumer,
then a United Church of Christ Minister in Irvine, California
and now the Director of this organization.  Its "8 Points" is
the clearest definition of what it means to be a progressive
Christian that I've found.  Its Website lists those, as
well as affiliated churches and organizations.
   
  ball.gif The Progressive Christian Witness

This is a fairly new organization, a Web-based ministry founded
 by the Pacific School of Religion in California.  It is a wealth of
information and thought-provoking writings.
    
ball.gif  The Centre for Progressive Religious Thought

This is Australia's answer to America's Center for Progressive
Christianity.  Its founder and director is Rex A. E. Hunt, an
Associate of Westar Institute.  I learned of his organization
directly from him when he served as my navigator as
I drove us both to the San Francisco airport from the
the Fall 2005 Westar meeting in Santa Rosa, California.

  ball.gif FaithFutures Foundation

That is not a typo: the first two words are run together.
The Founder-Director is Gregory Jenks, whom I met when
he worked for Westar, before returning home to Australia
to do his own thing.  If you're getting the impression that
all of these organizations form a kind of network, you are
perceptive and correct.  Evangelical and Fundamentalist
Christians would call it a "conspiracy," a word that has,
after all, the root of "spirit" in it.
 
ball.gif  Snowstar Institute
This is Canada's version of Westar Institute.

ball.gif  The Sea of Faith Network
This organization is based in the United Kingdom, but has
branches in Australia and New Zealand as well.  It is
perhaps the most radical organization listed here, self-
described as post-modernist, religious, humanist,
and philosophically nonrealist.  The latter is a type
linguistic philosophy that maintains, among other things,
that many of the most important ideas in religious
 discourse (e.g., "God") point to no actual entities.
   
ball.gif  First Community Church, Columbus, OH

This is a large church with two "campuses" here in the
Metro Columbus area.  It has dual affiliation: United Church
 of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  My
good friend and crack amateur theologian, Grey Austin,
though not formally a member, teaches classes there frequently.
This church has also played host to such eminent theologians
as Bishop John Shelby Spong, Marcus Borg, Dominic
Crossan, and . . . me!  (Think of the money I save them on
travel and accommodations!)

ball.gif  C3 Ministry
aka
Christ Community Church,
Spring Lake, MI

I learned about this church--which affectionately (and now officially)
calls itself "C3"-- from my friend, Grey Austin.  He and his wife,
Barb, attend there several times a year either while visiting friends or in order to
hear one of the visiting luminaries in religion, theology, or biblical
studies.  The former Senior Minister, Ian Lawton, is a first rate theologian
and crackerjack preacher, many of whose sermons can
be found on this Website.

ball.gif First Congregational Church of Long Beach
This remarkable "open and affirming" (code for welcoming people
irrespective of their gender, sexual orientation, race, economic class,
etc.) church in California has Jerry Stinson as its Senior Minister.
Jerry, another Westar Institute Associate, is a remarkable person,
who leads his people in a ministry of social justice and insists on
complete inclusiveness and authenticity with regard to language
in worship.  There is a fair number of his sermons and other
writings on this Website.

 

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