Monday, August 30, 2004

Wild Waves

What a great weekend - I got to hang out with some up and coming freshmen students who are going to be the first students in our invert discipleship program. I was the "speaker" and helped to show the students how valuable they are and what Christ has done for them and how they can join with Him in His mission of love to the world.

It was a fun weekend, too. Speed waterslides, Micah and I doing the wave in front of 3 sections of empty stands, Jesus play - really great - I should post a link to it some time, getting Tanner to fake cry - really well! So I'm going back to my sunburn and try to relax a little today!

Yaconelli - Core Realities

I just finished this book - the Core realities of youth ministry by Mike Yac -

Fantastic book - I am going to use it this fall in developing what a discipled person in our youth ministry looks like. It is a yout hministry book, not a devotional or spiritual living book, so it's not really for everyone to go out and buy - it is for YP's who want to bring their youth ministry to the generation instead of forcing the generation to conform to a modern version of the gospel.

His core realties are:
foundation - the Bible (good start!)

1. Veracity
2. Authenticity
3. Audacity
4. Humility
5. Diversity
6. Sanctuary
7. Initmacy
8. Mystery
9. Creativity

It's good stuff - if you are a YP you will be encouraged and entheosed (excited by God) after and during this book.

Jesus Iverson

I think Allen Iverson represented America so well at the summer games - he has a bad rap from a lot of older sports fans, but he gets the job done and does it well. There was never any complaining or anything. Iverson has paid a high price for refusing to conform to the mold of the marketable NBA star that the execs want - but he has followed his path and done his thing very well.

He kind of reminds me of Jesus.


feel free to comment and tell me how sacreligious that comparison is...

Friday, August 20, 2004

McLaren, "The Strategy We Pursue"

This is an interesting article presented to the Billy Graham Center Evangelism Roundtable dealing with the gospel in a post-Christian culture.

It is an interesting read and has some heartfelt and lofty dreams within.

Perhaps most refreshing is his intelligent take on the Passion of the Christ. I love how McLaren is able to vocalize my interior uncomfortableness.

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Christ Clone Trilogy

First review is three books: The Christ Clone Trilogy by James Beauseigneur.

1. In His Image
2. Birth of an Age
3. Acts of God

These three books really have to be read together in order to keep you knowing what on earth is going on. The books take a postChristian look at what the end of the world will be like. I loved them because Beauseigneur sees things and apporaches things that I had never seen or thought of before. I fully recommend them, unless you are the kind of person who reads this stuff and looks for biblical inaccuracies, then don't bother. I'm a recovering point-out-the-mistakes-turkey myself, and allow me to tell you that life is so much prettier when you just appreciate an effort of art.

The books trace the end of the world, when the antiChrist rises as a child cloned from cells from the shroud of turin. The child grows and takes power and lives through the end of the world as we know it*

The book also explores various theories of creation and the validity of God and Christ. It seems rather convincing too - hence the author's note which relieves himself from fundamentalist Christians attacks on his fictional work. It still takes an escapist stance to a certain degree, but not to the extent of the now infamous Left Behind series.

Good books, refreshingly written by a skilled writer(unlike some Xn published books) that takes you into a world and a story that helps you stay awake at night reading - and helps you to follow God instead of following a theory of the end of the world.

Go ahead - read them all.

I'm back...welcome to the madness

Hey everybody!

I'm back from a sleepless week at camp - good week though, saw God move and answer prayers. I love just getting away and being with teens and having the priviledge of watching them follow God and His dreams for them.

I'm going to blog like a dog I hope, I've got some catching up to do and some books to put in...

I'm preachign this weekend and running an "emergent" service - even though there is so much about it that isn't there yet, hopefully it will be a chance to see it a little and get people talking about possibilitites.

Ok - time to churn out the posts -

James <><

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Jesus hates it when you smoke...

Hey, I just came across this, and thought it was absolutely worthy of mention on the reorientation. A lot of people ask me why they can't smoke, especially when the Bible doesn't say anything about camels (or does it...?), but now I have a rock solid answer right here in this ash tray!



Get your own for a paltry $12 by clicking on the title link!

Monday, August 02, 2004

Books...the aftermath!

This is going to be a place where I link to book reviews that I am going to be doing...process is this - I will read the books, listed in the sidebar, and then post links to reviews here. The actual reviews will appear as regular posts in the blog. This will just be a clearing house for them.

Enjoy!

Guestbook!

Hey everyone!

If you are visiting, I'd like to start a guestbook that will record the places and stuff that everyone is visiting from.

So please sign up! and let us know a little bit about yourself!

-James