Pretending on Sundays

Nick (Thinking PAdre) has put up an interesting quick thought (dated: Friday, August 26, 2005) on the plight of the "associate" pastor who fills in while the "SR" is gone.

I empathize because I think it's true. I wonder how many people are pretending to listen on a Sunday morning. I also wonder how many people are in denial about how many people are listening on Sunday morning.

Also - I think another major difference in teaching adults and teaching students is that students don't pretend if you are boring. They haven't been conditioned into pretending on Sunday mornings. This is just another reason why I consider it a priviledge to be around teens so much. They are so core.

I wonder what those of us who are YP's can do to keep the students from being conditioned into pretending on Sunday mornings?

Pat Freaking Robertson

I've tried my hardest to ignore this guy, but it's just becoming harder and harder. Last night I watched a bit of Hardball with Chris Mattehews and he had on a token evangelical pastor, a token liberal author and Jim Wallis, who wrote God's Politics (which I have not/proly will not read/but heard was really great). Anyways, Wallis was calling for Robertson to retire and to stop being a goofball blemish.

For those of you who don't know, Robertson called for the assasination of the leader of Venezula. Dumb. Plain dumb.

I wish that he would stop speaking for so many people. Just because you are a millionare that gets other people to still donate money to you to run your stupid TV show doesn't mean you speak to me.

As of right now I declare to the world that I am not a conservative evangelical who has Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, or any Dobson for a spokesperson.

Call me progressive, call me liberal, just don't call me part of the conservative evangelical right wing moron political machine.

Dang this ticks me off. Put down the megaphone Robertson - nobody's taking you seriously anymore.

SPAM Master

It had to happen sooner or later - the reorientation has been spammed! A bunch of comments came through that are just ads for other junk. I don't even know what/where they are, but I'll delete what I can.

Gretzky!!

While I was away at camp, the earth shifted. The universe changed. Reality was altered.

Wayne Gretzky is assigning himself as coach of the Phoenix Coyotes. This changes everything. He is taking on the role knowing that the general rule is that great players don't make great coaches but, aware of this, Gretzky intends to, once again, rewrite the rules of the NHL. Without argument Gretzky is the greatest to ever play his sport, many others have tried, but Wayne did it all - He would be the all-time point leader if he never, ever even scored a goal. Yet, he also scored more goals than anyone in history. And made more assists than anyone in history.


Indeed it is an exciting time to be a hockey fan.

This post is made with apologizes to dummies who think that Jordan was a better athlete than Gretzky...can Jordan even skate?

Mayfield Madness

Still recovering a bit from high school camp. I think there were a bunch of girls stampeding through my cabin at about 5 am on Saturday! Whatever...

I finished Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis really fast and will go back through it before posting on it. Currently I am still working on Andy Stanley's "Next Generation Leader" which is really not hitting it with me. No turntables, if you know what I mean...

I am also straining my way through Practicing Passion by Kenda Creasy Dean. IT IS ABSOLUTELY FAB!! If you are in youth ministry and believe there is more to this calling than lessons and games - this book is an absolute must.

A'ight - I'm out - trying to catch up!!

It's Official!

As of last Thursday night I am an official licensed minister in the Evangelical Chruch of North America. That means I can marry people, bury people, give them communion in church without any red tape and baptize people with the "official" blessing of the denomination. I really could have done all of those things before, but now I carry an implicit stamp of support from the denomination.

Denominations are great. Sure, they provide buttloads of red tape and reports and seem to be full of busybodies...but they are also full of really godly, wise men who encourage me and promise to pray for me and support me and keep me level headed; I do the same for them. Doug Padgit once compared a denomination to a family, with all the baggage and all the great stuff that goes along with that.

So that's it.

Communion anyone?

The Present Future, Reggie McNeal

McNeal's book A Work of Heart was assigned to me as a part of my capstone internship program at TFC, so I went into it with a bit of a negative attitude (which I have towards most things I am forced to do, something I still work on to this day), but it surprised me...a lot. It remains one of my favorite books of leadership in the church.

So, on that knowledge and from Nick's whole blog on McNeal's new book, The Present Future, I picked up McNeal's latest and here are some great quotes and things I learned. There are some parts that really affected some of my thinking that I won't post here, because some of the thoughts are deeper and longer. But, if you are concerned with the future of the church (meaning: you are called to lead her) then this book comes with two reorienting thumbs up!


On the "refuge" mentality: which is touchy because the former yp here at SACC named the youth group refuge, and now has named his new church refuge. So when James agrees against the refuge mentality, it's touchy. Welcome to the reorientation!
p.8 "Many congregations and church leaders, faced with the collapse of the church culture, have responded by adopting a refuge mentality"
p.9 "Evangelism in this world (refuge world) is about churching the unchurched, not connecting people to Jesus...Refuge churches evidence enormus self-preoccupation. They decieve themselves into believing they are a potent force."

p. 17 "He (Jesus) preached that God was for people, not against them. He defined the litmus test for genuine spirituality in terms of one's relationships."

p.27 "The North American church culture is not spiritual enough to reach our culture."

p.36 "The power of the gospel is lost on church memebers who can sign off on doctrinal positions but have no story of personal transformation."

on John 8,

p. 39 "In the ensuing dialogue with the crowd of would-be executionsers Jesus proved that he is for the woman, not against her. He becomes her champion...Then after everyone is gone he tells her, in effect, 'Why don't you quit living like this? It's going to kill you.' No shrinking back. No 'I'm OK; you're OK' stuff."

p.50 "I am proposing that missiology come into prominence, both as a theological pursuit and as a guiding operational paradigm."

p.71 "People don't want to be assimilated."

p.73 "I think the solution is an abandonment of the church culture idolatry and a radical reintroduction of spiritual formation."

p.81 "The devil knows more Bible than most church members in North America and can sign off on our doctrinal statements, but this knowledge has not transformed him."



One big idea I will share and hopefully you will go out and buy this book because of this: McNeal shares and semi-develops and idea for Spiritual Development Coaches within the church. Much like the "life coach" idea that is so popular (and effective) today. Insteads of a "mentoring program", what if the church had a small army of people who were qualified to be a spiritual development coach for younger beleivers? It'll get you thinking!!

Other reflections on Vancouver

Here are some links to some other peeps' reflections on the missions trip to Vancouver:

Theresa

Joyce

If there's more just post them in the comments.

PDX and back in 2.5 hours.

Last night Nate and I drove up to Portland and back and had the most awesome discussions. I am a process salvationist, which I'm not sure what that means, but it's where all of my suspicions about Jesus' teachings lead me. Nate is even more suspicious than me.

Nate and I have the kind of relationship where we are allowed to make observations about each other and each other's lives. It's really valuable to me - and it helps us to form sound theology as we wrestle through postmodernism and Christianity.

Last night we processed a bunch more of the theology of process salvationism in light of the redemptive movement hermenuetic and Nate's thoughts on the circle of eternal life returning to the garden (as it was in eden so it will be - ish stuff).

Anyways, we decided that one thing we'd like to see return to the church is the marker of baptism as the marker of a decision to follow Christ permanently. I had been taught that people should be given doctrinal classes before being baptized, but I really think the people who taught me were wrong. I think in a post-God society, baptism is an experiential way to show one's commitment to following the ways and teachings of Jesus.

For Nathan and I, we think people should be allowed to try out Christianity before having to say the "sinner's prayer." In fact, we kind of think baptism shoudl replace the sinner's prayer.

Put that in your denominational report and smoke it.

Becoming a Pastor

Since I got the little Nedstat button in the right hand column I can see how people are ending up at the reorientation. The funniest thing is that my most popular search that brings people here is "pastor jeremy gange"!!

One person ended up at my site when they asked yahoo about becoming a pastor. may God have mercy on the person who is coming here to find out how to be a pastor!!

I left my heart in Vancouver

I'm just getting over a minstry hangover.

We spent the last week serving and loving in the inner city of Vancouver, Canada. It was an experience that will, no doubt, provide for many opinionated blog posts.

Right now there is still much blur. Some students are posting and I'll link to them later, but right now I am back. And that's the best I can do.

The team felt overwhelmed by the concentration of addiction and poverty in the East Hastings area of Vancouver. Many expressed feelings of hopelessness and having no chance of making any difference. There was the feeling of trying to empty the ocean with a thimble. We all felt it. We all felt it deeply.

Yet we were reminded that our calling was to love. It was expressed in many different ways (serving, cleaning, feeding, praying, etc.) yet the core was the same.

We are Driven. by love and by Christ.

And after everything, love wins.

We did not condemn. We did not fix. We did not save the inner city of Vancouver.

We feel in love with it.

Cool Stuff

There's a new little check mark on the sidebar - it's a bunch of code from a guy I really like: Bob Hyatt from the evergreen community up in PDX.

The little checkmark is a boatload of information, like who visits my site, from where and when and blah blah blah. Really, it's just fun.

Anyways, I'm also realizing I need to organize my links in the right column. And, apparently, I need to write another blogpost on not cussing, b/c that really gets the comments flowing. Instead, I'm working on my new t-shirt company, which I have not given any advertising too. I won't even do that here...not yet anyways.

London Terror Attacks

We all awoke this morning to find that London has been hit by what seems to be an organized terror attack.

Our prayers will continue for our friends and our enemies.

Ferrrrrrrennnnneerrrs

When I moved into the US, I lived in GA, where I learned I was a ferrrrrnnnneeerr. Later, I learned that was slang for "foreigner."

So, I live my life as a missionary to teens in a country that doesn't think it needs missionaries. I am a missionary to a Christian country, is it any wonder that I am often frustrated?

Anyways -

July 1 was Canada Day. A day where Canada celebrates it is it's own country, as long as the Queen allows it to be so.

On July 1 I received an email from the Canadian Ambassador to America, Frank McKenna. He just became Ambassador on March 8th. I've lived here 5.5 years and he is the first Ambassador to contact me.

He invited me to register at a site called, Connect2Canada - so now I am connected.

Isn't great belonging somewhere?

Redemptive Movement Hermeneutic

As happens to me frequently, I think something, wonder if I am crazy, do some checking and then find I am not the only one that is crazy. I need to put that on one of my t-shirts.

The other day I was going to Mars Hill Michigan, where I frequently download the teachings of Rob Bell. I close to wholeheartedly agree with the teachings of Rob Bell. I find him not trying to be "emergent" but rather emphasizing living in the way of Jesus and following Him closely.

Anyways, I always get their url wrong, so I yahoo searched it and saw a link to it from a gender magazine. Thinking that was interesting I read the article. Ends up the magazine is very complementarian, which means they hold to an understanding of the Scriptures that ignores cultural influences. (For example, if it says women shouldn't be elders in the New Testament times, then women shouldn't be elders now either.) They also rip on Mars Hill and on Rob Bell personally. It's an interesting read if you'd like.

For a long time I have held to male only elders, though I thought women pastors were fine as long as the SP was male. I held to that, because I thought that if I allowed women elders, then I had to make other concessions to the Scriptures as well, including allowing homosexuality. So, I was, basically, opposed to women church leadership because I was pretty sure that God didn't like homosexuality.

Weird...now that I write it out. I'll have to call my mom - we talk about this often.

So, from the article I also found that Rob Bell holds to a hermeneutic called "Redemptive Movement" that has been brought further into the mainstream by a professor William Webb (who is working in Canada, thank you very much).

It seems this Redemptive Movement Hermeneutic is focused on the desire of God as it moves through the Scriptures. It then extrapolates to find the heart of God in the "ultimate" desire of God.

So, I have to do some more reading on this, but I think it might help me explain what I am thinking in process salvationism. I am going to have to email Brian McLaren and William Webb to find this out. But you can check out some of the links and comment about what you think...

Save the Forest

Last night we had a youth ministry Capture the Flag style game up in Millersberg - it was super fun - our group is really learning how to have fun together and play. When I first came to this church, little clicks were having fun together but there was no group - it's really turning around. For the Sonlife among us, we are developing a loving environment and a Biblical Ministry Image.

This morning I was unloading the shuttle bus of 1,000 feet of police tape and other pairfinalia. I picked up a box of fire wood at the store before heading out yesterday and when I was unloading it this morning I noticed, in big red writing, on the side of the box,

SAVE A TREE, BURN ME INSTEAD

.

Inside the box are some logs made out of wood. Apparently this is a special type of wood that is not made from trees. And, thanks be to the manufacturers, because they also made the cardboard box out of a material that did not us tress.

Gotta love that modern technology.

Breakout Chruches, by Thom S. Rainer

Based on the coporate mega-hit, Good to Great, this book follows the travels of 13 churches who went through dry times and came out ahead. While I am naturally adverse to using coporate business books as church growth material, I tried to approcah this book with an open mind, especially after hearing what the notorious Jeremy Gange had to say about it.

The book is a research report more than a prescription on how to grow your church. The research group of doctrinal students under Thom Rainer interviewed thousands of churches and 13 breakout churches looking for common themes. The 13 churches chosen had to fit certain criteria, including keeping the same senior pastor through the dry time into the breakout times. I thought that was awesome, b/c it gave hope to pastors to stay where they are and not be constantly looking for greener (easier) pastures somewhere else.

So, I would pick up the book if you are a church leader, or want to support your church leadership in moving from good to great.

There were, of course, a couple of things that didn't sit well with me. The biggest problem I had was with the statement that good was a sin if we are called to great. I just don't see that as I look at the Scriptures. It sounds really motivational and all, but is it real? So, this book is not the gospel for me, but it is encouraging in a John Maxwell kind of way...

Just a tool.

I'm nothing, hear me, nothing but a tool;
If God wants to use me I just say cool.
I'm not a ballonhead who thinks he's on the rise,
If you're thinking that then, pop, yo, surprise.

D-Boy

I woke up this morning, prayed, visited the lab at the doctor's to give blood, drank coffee, read Nick's blog, and went on with my day.

Little did I know that this morning God would be working in a man's heart to call the church, ask to talk to a pastor. Without going into personal details, this man has suffered some personal loss and came in to my office, prayed and became a Christian. It was unbelievable. I basically just sat there and watched the Holy Spirit enter a man. I ministered by offering kleenex, telling him how amazing God is, told Him about the story of the prodigal son, and hugged him.

no one has ever taught me how to share the gospel in the story of the prodigal son, it just came out because it just lives inside of me.

It's awesome to just be a part of God's redemptive plan.

Midnight Maruaders

So Saturday morning I woke up and found that the youth house (which I like to call the cave, in recognition of the saints who meet in the catacombs before us) was broken into on Friday night. Thieves made off with ~$1500-$2000 worth of music and AV kit. If you've ever been robbed from from a B&E you know that feeling of violation that you want revenge for. I find myself having to remind myself that the best life for me does not include revenge. In any way.

I think practicing the Jesus Prayer over the last while will help me through this. It really helps to turn my focus from myself to the reality of the God-world.

It's still annoying that people would steal from us. At least that's how I feel; they didn't really steal from us, they stole for themselves, trying their best to get their best life possible.

So the question I find myself asking is this: Do I love the people who stole from the youth house?

It's convicting.

Crap! I'm not postmodern!

Like everyone else that circles the emerging church blogs, I have taken the Theological Worldview test. Originally seen at the Dead YP site, I ended up Roman/Catholic and Weslyan. I'm cool with that. I have never prayed to Mary or the saints though, so that part of the quiz is a little off. Whatever.

Alright -

You scored as Roman Catholic. You are Roman Catholic. Church tradition and ecclesial authority are hugely important, and the most important part of worship for you is mass. As the Mother of God, Mary is important in your theology, and as the communion of saints includes the living and the dead, you can also ask the saints to intercede for you. Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 75% Roman Catholic 75% Emergent/Postmodern 71% Neo orthodox 57% Fundamentalist 50% Classical Liberal 39% Modern Liberal 36% Reformed Evangelical 32% Charismatic/Pentecostal 32% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

Authentic Sin

I wish we would stop referring to Christians as "sinners who are forgiven." I wish we would see the calling of being holy, separate as a way of life. Following Jesus instead of natural tendencies.

I am prompted to this wish by a few factors, reading the ooze.com forum boards about an article on slacker-leadership, my own blog post on cussing last( two weeks?) week, and feeling a growing distinction between those who live for and against Jesus. I don't work hard to classify people into Christian/not-Christian, but I do point out obvious traits that work for/against a person, or myself, being whole in all aspects.

It seems the current buzz-words of "real" and "authentic" are being thrown around in conjunction with sin. For example, it's considered real, by one forum poster, when people around a church swear and drop the "f-bomb" about once a week. That line of thinking says that those who don't swear are not real. That just doesn't line up with Scripture. Romans is clear that we should not go on sinning just so that the grace of "realness" abounds.

I dare say that "authenticity" and "realness" may be the false gods of our time. They are very good attributes, but they are not to be worshipped. Why should they be the measure of a Christian or a church? Of course, this coming from someone who really values an insistence on reality, I am not advocating for the fake church.

I am advocating for God's people to be holy and allow that holiness to be the "authentic" reality in their lives.

inVert

I'm planning for this weekend's culmination retreat for the inVert spiritual formation class. We're taking the 7 students on a weekend adventure with the focus on Discovering your LifeCalling through Spiritual Disciplines.

We're introducing the Daily Office, Sacred Reading, The Jesus Prayer and Spiritual Gifts, your SHAPE, your life missions statement. It should be an interesting weekend.

I also feel incredibly underqualified to lead this weekend. But, that seems to be a good theme for my life right now, I guess.

Miami Heat

So the Heat lost last night - it was really their own fault. Detroit kept them from putting the perverbial (props to Ricky B.) nail in the coffin.

So it's time for us Sahq fans to rest up and hope that Shaq has another great season in him. For the Heat, this offseason they need to:

> Figure out Zo's plans for next year
> Get a back-up playmaking point gaurd
> Figure out why Dooling takes those crazy shots
> Give Dwyane Wade a raise

New Links -

I've added a bunch of new links on the side column - Nick (thinking padre) and Jason, who I went to school with, Kimball, Mark O, also.

Cool blogs that resonate with me.

There are also some Albany blogs in there for the local love. REPRESENT!!

Anyways - today I am breaking a bit of a blogfast I guess - after a trip to Canada, a wedding and announcing my wife and I's new preganancy ----

It's busy season, but I have some heated blogs brewing that should come out soon.

Why do we swear?

Recently I've been thinking through swearwords. It's seeming to be a hot issue in my context right now. Students in the ministry often ask me, "Is it ok for a Christian to swear?" To which I wonder - what kind of a jacked up question is that?

There are several blogs out there that talk about variuos levels of swearing, from the god understands view to the there's swearwords in the Bible view. And there is a whole myspace blog (which will remain linkless) that is becoming dedicated to showing how much you can love Jesus and swear too....I put it under the God understands category too though.

While those explanations may be fine and good to others - it just doesn't make any sense to me.

I don't see how swearing helps you to be a better person.

And isn't that the point - that the way of Jesus is better? In the past few months I have been becoming more spiritual, more disciplined and I have become a strong believer in impulse control. What is the impulse reaction? And is it controlled or does it control.

I think for many potty-mouths the deeper question is what is controlling? Are there moments of loss of control, sure - but God doesn't want to understand - he wants to transform.

So, bluntly, swearing is stupid. Plain stupid. Whether or not it is a sin is a useless waste of time arguement - people who disagree with me can feel free to flame me on myspace, though. Swearing doesn't help your faith, so I'm not going to waste my time with it.

Welcome to the Family

And you thought your family had problems.

It had to happen...

This past weekend our church received our monthly regional Christian newspapers that sit in the office waiting room where people pretend to read them, but this one had quite the interesting article. The paper has had a couple of mentions of the emerging church movement, mostly observational, and they have finally published one in outright opposition to the emerging church. Titled, 'Emerging church' wrongly defines our faith, it is written by a woman named Deborah Dumbrowski.

The article is not a very strong arguement and relies heavily on words like "aligns himself with" and "is associated with" to put together a weak link of emergind chruch leaders. At one point, the article condemns Rick Warren for teaching after a yoga workshop - like he had authority in the schedule of a convention he was speaking at. So, it's ridiculous. Unfortunately, the article is not yet online, but hopefully will be, because I imagine it will generate some buzz.

However, the greater disappointment comes in the fact that the emerging church really has to work hard to get some decent criticism. The
American church, in varying degree, seems to be attacking the "emergents" in the traditional American way (if you don't understand it - kill it or enslave it).

Dumbrowski owns a small publishing company called Lighthouse Trails Publishing but has a separate research site designed to fight contemplative spirituality as a bridge to other religions.

So you can check it out and decide for yourself. Comment here if you'd like, I'll be busy doing my lectio divinia tonight, though....

Lambs Among Wolves

A couple weeks ago, I gave the teaching at our church - on youth, missions, sheep and the church.

It was a presentation of sorts on this summer's trip to Vancouver to become and serve the people of Vancouver.

The teaching was called, "Lambs Among Wolves", a phrase I totally plagarized from Jesus. so much ups to JC -

Anyways, you can listen to the teaching and talk about it here -

J@<><

Why Benedict

Figuring out a pope's name is rough - but I really don't think it gives the pope any street cred that he chooses his own nickname. But, how much street cred does a pope actually need?

Check this out: Why "Benedict"? (Keith Olbermann)

Big Question:

Who has more street cred, the pope or you?

Dangerous Wonder, Michael Yaconelli

Last night I blasted through Dangerous Wonder by Mike Yaconelli in preparation for Sunday's worship gatherings. You need to get this book into your hands.

Yaconelli is one of the most influential people in my life. His views on life and following Christ and youth ministry helped to form me and build me into the (hopefully) dangerous youth pastor that I am today. He passed away before I ever met him in an auto accident around the Oregon/California border. He might be the only person who I never met whose death brought tears to my eyes.

He was an excellent man and his influence lives on. You can visit his online memorial, hosted by Youth Specialties.

In the tradition of the reOrientation, here are some memorable and influential quotes from the book.

"I want a lifetime of holy moments. Every day I want to be in dangerous proximity to Jesus. I long for a life that explodes with meaning andis filled with adventure, wonder, risk and danger. I long for a faith that is gloriously treacherous. I want to be with Jesus, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry."

"...children's questions are more than a request for information. Their questions are an act of affection, of communion, and of trusting."

"The trouble with children is they believe you."

"...in the process of socializing our children to follow the rules, do we rob them of the discernment needed to know when to follow rules and when to break them?"

And finally, quoting Will Willimon,

Just when I get my church all sorted out,
sheep from the goats, saved from the damned,
hopeless from the hopeful, somebody makes a move,
gets out of focus, cuts loose, and I see why
Jesus never wrote systematic theology.
So you and I can give thanks that the locus of
Christian thinking appears to be shifting from
North America and northern Europe
where people write rules and obey them,
to places like Africa and Latin America

where people still know how to dance.

Benedict 16

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany has been selected by the Roman Catholic church as the new pope. - CNN

And we were all looking for a black latin american?




Just a few hours ago the cardinals elected the new pope. Many who read this blog don't give a rip, but I do. I think the last pope was a great guy to advance the kingdom of God, following a couple popes who had more struggles. Even as I struggle through some catholic doctrines, I think the catholic/orthodox/protestant convergence/healing that is occuring after ~1000 years of splitting is a really good thing.

A big question, thanks to Andrew Jones, has to be what does the catholic church do to engage the future?

ATF reflections

Here's some links to variuos reflections on Acquire the Fire on the weekend - and if you are an Albany HS'er be sure to check this thread on the Driven Forums.

Joyce

Fizzox

Brooke

Theresa

Add link to your in the comments if you've got'em!

Acquire the Fire

This past weekend I led the group up to PDX for a weekend Acquire the Fire conference.

ATF is run by Teen Mania ministries, and they do advertise the snot out of their products, but the weekend is the best I can get in the pacific northwest.

So it was a super weekend and many kids made new or renewed commitments to following Christ.

I don't have time know but I will post some links to reflections from students. Or, if you were there, then post your links in the comments here.

out like American Idol -

Church Marketing Sucks

Chruch Marketing Sucks is a website that is dedicated to making fun of churches that have spasm marketing campaigns. It is a major error the American church makes, mistaking evangelism and marketing for each other. It isn't even a site that says marketing is bad, it just points out how bad churches are at marketing.

I have blogged about this before, Christian Marketing Machine is Killing Kids, and I feel pretty passionate about it all.

So the quest for the reorienting church and Christian is, "How do we improve marketing while improving witness?" And, "What is the difference between the two?" And, "What are the results of bad marketing and/or bad witness?"

The Great Commission

After further reflection, I think the last post was a bit of a rant, but I am revisiting this thought day after day. I was reading last night, a book that I will definitely post on, and it asked the question, "how are postmoderns to fulfill the gospel?" And I couldn't help but deconstruct that thinking into asking why the word fulfill is used? I think the emerging church and its leaders must ask some big questions about the great commission, especially in light of the reforming of the gospel and re-understanding of salvation.


Is the great commission a task or a way of life? Are we to "do", "be", or something else with the great commission?

Will the great commission ever end, or will it continue in eternity?

I contend that the GC is a way of life. The kingdom of God is now and we are to be disciples. Disciples who make other disciples. Sorry, no mention of converts there. But, beyond this, if I beleive that the GC calls us to a lifestyle of making disciples, then I have to believe that this kind of activity goes on for eternity in heaven/new earth.


So, as a way of life, and not as a task, the GC will not be the prevailing theme of the emerging church, yet disciples, and converts (and yes that word is problematic also) will become.

So, go ahead and take it off your church letterhead, because no body is going to care about your task anymore. Just help people become

The Commission

What has become known as the Great Comission or, in Sonlife circles, the Everyday Comission does not need to be fulfilled.

I spent last night reading and working thorugh Robert Colemans' The Master Plan of Evanagelsim and grew increasingly concerned that modern American Christianity see Matthew 28:18-20 as something to be fulfilled.

It is, I believe, way closer to the truth to see Matthew 28:18-20 as a way to live. The goal is not world evangelism. World evangelism comes when people are living GC lifestyles. World evangelism is a by-product, not the goal. The goal is holy living (has anyone else noticed how Wesleyan I am becoming?). Connection to God. Repentance. Obedience.

So, people, please stop witnessing to people with hopes that Christ will come back if we just tell everyone about Jesus. That's stupid.

Just live. And be the witness. People don't need another prescription plan, they need to see Jesus - so ask yourself the question, as I am, where is Jesus seen in you?

Confession

I've been mulling this one over for a while. The use of the internet as a neo-confessional amazes me. And I think I am making some connections.

I believe the future holds a return to parish style ministry. Where I am not the youth pastor at South Albany Community Church, but I am the youth pastor from the south side of Albany. I live in and minister in the community. This, of course, requires huge institutional changes, the biggest of which is measurements of success, but that is a huge digression.

In conjunction with this return to parish style ministry, I think the present holds a revolution of confession. The glossed over stainless steel of modernism has been found wanting and the "next" want to see what the dirt under the concrete looks like. And they want to be comfortable in it. Together.

So, here's a remarkable website involving confessions: PostSecrets.




Confession make us weak. And that...

Passover

This past week we did a passover simulation at Traffic, the worship ministry of Driven High School Ministries (a ministry of South Albany Community Church, a memeber church in the Evangelical Church of North America...been working on my licensing, is it obvious?)

So it was one of the best nights of worhsip I've ever been in. We did an intergrated teaching with pizza and communion with twix and coke. It was one of those nights where it just seemed like everyone was there, really engaged. And then we ended up with some really worthwhile commitment times.

Tommorrow, the actual day for the passover (according to the catholic calander) I am celebrating the Seder with my small group. I've never done it and I am the small group leader...should be interesting.

It would be interesting to do a Biblical study on food and worship: is eating worship?

Shalom - (aren't we all in the mood?)

Terri Whoever

So there's all this buzz about Teri Whoever and wether or not they shoudl pull out her feeding tube.

Secret: I really can't car less.

It's so funny what can happen when the media controlled america goes out and starts reporting on a story that really isn't big news, and the country gets all worked up on it.

Honestly, my life doesn't change either way on this one.

So, go buy the latest green day album and get over it. She lives, she dies, two months later no one will remember her name.


this post brought to you by James' sympathy black hole.

Lent

I began Lent last night to identify with my Eastern Orthodox brothers.

In the middle of this over busy time (Good Friday services, Easter preparations, licensing work, missions trip organization), I'm looking for Lent to help me to move slowly and intentionaly.

No fancy mystery or interesting posts to look forward to. Just simple.

Becoming a real Pastor!

I have been working on my licensing for our denominational credentials and it occurs to me - how is this training helping me to become a minister in a postmodern generation.

I don't think the whole church will engage the emerging world until the educational institutions, including boards of ministry, are turned in that direction.

This is the reasons the western church is always a few years behind the culture - we are so deathly afraid of heresy that we end up Amish. Is heresy really the ultimate evil?

nope. The easter bunny may be though.


Also - Eastern Orthodox lent starts today. Gentlemen, start your engines.

Go to church

This is a special present for my dad - he always wanted this - you can click on the title link and make your own...



See ya Sunday!!

Jesus is not a Fat Coach

This is today's post of the day winner (ok there's no contest, it's jsut a cool post) - from Mandy ---

click on the title link and see how Jesus isn't a fat coach.

Are you a LOSER?

It's funny I found this after last week's traffic - I had to try it out, even though I dislike most of these silly little things. Sometimes even I have some stupid fun.




comment on your loser-status...

Film & Theology: Napoleon Dynamite Night

tonight is the Napoleon Dynamite film and theology night...

It should be cool,: great prizes... think fishing line, bicycles and teather ball!!

Who knew theology was this fun?

Emergent Celebrity

So there's not going to be an emergent convention for the next couple of years and I think that might be really, really good.

Emerging things seem to be such a market driven piece of property that it is becoming hard to know what is going on out here. To me, emerging is about a community becoming, not about attendance at conferences.

Which brings me to that which prompted this. Our church is looking at the addition of a worship pastor (focus on the pastor part more than the worship part) and one of the good looking applications was from a former YP who turned into a worship pastor. He had Sonlife advanced one and two, both of which I'd love to learn in, and He had been to the past two emergent conventions (which, from some reports were heavy on the convention and light on the emergent - which adds even more problems to my gut reaction). when I saw that I was, to my horror, jealous. I had to actually ask myself what was going on inside of me -

I figure that I had become enamored by the celebrity of the emergent group. They've got books and conferences and appearances on Larry King...and really...really...what does that mean?

I am going to try and get past the celebrity worship part of my life...which getting older is really helping...but it is going to read it's ugly head again (no offense intended to the good looking fellows at emergent). I don't think the fellows at emergent want to be celebrities, but that's what us americans do, right? Take a good thing and market it...

Just another step in the reorientation -

Hitch

Hitch - great movie - it's about a youth pastor who learns to stop making little people who love God and start just loving God himself and allows other men to follow him.

Except:
youth pastor is played by a date doctor
little people are played by single men
God is played by women

Nice movie.

Good theology.

Google Ads

Hey - new to the reorientation are google ads - it's a way for the reorientation to pay for itself so that I can move to a better blog hosting software.

Not that blogger hasn't been very very good to me...

So go ahead and click on the google ads - every click pays a little more into the reorientation, which helps get better websites!! And it ain't your money anyways -


ps. please don't do a bunch of clicks for no reason, that would be stupid and would violate the spirit of the agreement with google.

That's all - later-

The Relevant Church, Jennifer Ashley ed.

Great leaders don't always make great writers.

This book is a collection of stories from church planters of "emerging" churches. In some cases, really great, in other cases, it's like reading the diary of someone I want to emulate, but they just talk about crap. It's a really, really easy read, especially when you skim through the chemical waste.

This is the first book I've read from Relevant Books, which makes me nervous that Relevant Media Group has so filled a gap in Christian marketing that they think they can get away with anything (ring a Bell-South?).

Meanwhile, there are some great people writing in this book, and they have some great quotes, with the appropriate writer attributed.

- Brian Kay

"It is impossible to be a follower of Christ and not be a part of a local church. There, I said it."

"...others go from church to church in an effort to put together a smorgasboard of the best teaching, best music, best small group, best whatever. Church hopping is the only tolerated promiscuity in Christian culture"

- Alex McManus

" 'Creativity is the natural result of spirituality' "

"We would have to be Rafiki...we shake a coconut, throw some dust, do a little dance and can't figure out how to cover our butts."

- Jason Zahariades

"Yet, over it's ling history, Israel distorts its vocation as a blessing to the nations. Rather than being an inclusive transformative community, it accentuates its distinct ethnic identity in order to keep the other nations at bay."


not bad. but not that great.

reorienting the reorientation

some site changes - new links, a couple new blogs and a few sites that are interesting - massive change, ten by ten, 722.

got rid of the future books section - Lord knows I have a way to long reading list, but I am getting on with it. I'm going to keep the past books link for now though, we'll see how long it takes for me to get rid of that.

OK -

The evangelicals are screwed! Part Deux!

Last night Larry King hosted a discussion with a few of the most influential american evangelicals on his talk show. Each of them was a included in TIME magazine's 25 most influential evangelicals in America list, which is from their most recent issus, dealing with the power of evangelicals in the American political world.

On the show were Tim and Beverly LaHaye, Franklin Graham, T.D. Janks, and Brian McLaren. Of course, it was easy to see who was going to be relevant, and who wasn't.

The LaHayes are sure doing a great job at whatever it is they are doing, but heck if I know what that is!

Franklin Graham was his normal stuff, giving the gospel message in a very humble way, but giving it none the less.

T.D. kept his patience even though Larry King talked to him about the evangelical track record with racism (which in case you haven't noticed - sucks - America was not built on biblical principles, it was built on the backs of black slaves).

Brian McLaren, perhaps the least evangelical of them all, was what was expected as well.

No big surprises.

One caller in to the show did make me think though, and then another did too.

First, one caller commended McLaren and Janks for being open-minded. It made me wonder why we have to be polarized into open- or closed-minded...

I think it is the real call of Christians to be known as compassionate, which may well go beyond the open/closed minded discussion. Compassion is like the flavoring in the dish, because being open- or closed- minded without compassion is pretty much the same thing isn't it? And perhaps, people who commend Christians for being open-minded have no idea what they are talking about and really just admire the compassion with which the person responds.

Second, a caller asked McLaren about his view on the war. I love going to listen to Brian speak, simply to hear the people try to peg him down with their heretic darts. McLAren wasw wise though, and stuck by his views, being a little sneaky about not saying whether or not he supported Bush, but being outright in saying that he does not support Bush's actions in the world.

I think we're all very, very grateful for the initial good results from the election, so I have nothing but gratitude that went so well. And I think we're all so proud of the Iraqi people for, at great risk, going out to vote. But I think we still, many of us who are Christians are not spoken for, by a lot of the most public voices. And a lot of us are raising very deep questions about the U.S.'s role in the world, and is this really a sensible role for us to take.

So, it was an interesting night, and will be good conversation for the small group this week...

The evangelicals are screwed!

You are not going to believe this! Well, you probably will, but it will make you wish something bad.

James Dobson has gone ahead and labled SpongeBob as not only having an oddly square private region (which he did not say directly, but is rather true), but SB is a pro-homosexual advocate!




Man, those Dobson's just ain't going to be friends with me.

So, Dobson has called out SB's participation in a video which he says is going to promote homosexaulity. I know whenever I see a sponge wearing pants it makes me gay as a $3 bill. What a swearword joke. What's next? Dora is into beastiality!! Look at her relationship with that monkey wearing boots!!

This is why the general public hates Christians. We allow this guy to be the leader and he does stupid stuff like this. It is no surprise that the term "Christian" may be beyond recovery, as is suggested by McLaren.

So click on the title link and go down and watch the video...it's an absolute joke...Dobson picks out SB from all of the characters that have children's shows...simply b/c SB is easiest to pick on b/c he is known to adults.

It appears Dobson's real concern is in being known by adults, not saving the children from the evil homosexual spnge.

Hoser.

Countertop Theology

LJ, Heather and I have got four fish. They live on our kitchen counter (in an aquarium, duh) and we take care of them. We're even members of PetCo customer program now.

The reality is that we are revisiting what a Christian's interaction with creation says about God. How we treat living things has to say something about God. It is a major part of reorienting our faith to get out of an industrial age in our religion.

So we care for some fish, and it helps us to become the people that God originally created us to be. Working out our salvation with some goldfish. Taking a quiet time, where all I do is watch the fish and interact with them for a while.

emerging.

The postmodern novel will have no climax

It's just true. Look around and see what is happening in popular media and the way it is being reacted to. In the past, people wanted a story to take them somewhere uncomfortable, and then resolve it. Today, and in the future, people want to go somewhere and that's it.

What else is there?

Children, HIDE YOUR BLOGS!

Best compliment I ever got was from my current Senior Pastor.

After interviewing (auditioning?) for the youth ministry position (part?) out here in Oregon he called and told my wife that we "are....very...real."

We thought that was great, because that is the image that we really want to project. Moreover, it is who we really want to be. One of my big struggles is to balance that realness with love. I see lots of people who claim to be "real" but they're really just jerks.

Jerks in sheeps clothing, sounds like the Bible.

The way that the millenial generation (now showing in a youth group near you) uses the interent as a virtual confessional. It seems to be the modern equivalent to the Catholic confessional booth. Where you couldn't really see the priest, though you knew who he was. The priest was like a guide for your confession to God. Everyone has seen the movies, maybe some have actually been to confess, you know what I am talking about.

Recently, I was asked if the leaders in our church read my blog, or if I keep it a secret from them. I hope they read my blog. I doubt they even know what a blog is. But the bigger question exists still, "Do I get a rush out of confessing what might be read?" Even more so, is that a prevailing reason why this wired-confessional is working the way that it is?

Perhaps that is the way God designed human beings. It is supposed to feel good to confess our sins, not only to God, but to one another, to true friends. To be willing to admit why we hate ourselves and what we suck at, but can't seem to overcome, no matter how hard we pray. Maybe God was thinking we could help each other.

Nevertheless, the virtual confessional continues and I am amazed by it. Kids who want to allow people into their hearts, but are afraid that heart will get stomped on. Afriad because their heart has treadmarks on it already. Pre-stomped by friends, teachers, parents, pastors, themselves. If this is even a bit true, then it is no surprise that blogging is turning into a virtual millenial confessional. It is no surprise that kids hide their blogs from their parents/authority figures.

So what to do about it?

Post Industrial Christianity

Today I pray that I will be able to outlive industrial, market-driven Christianity. Pastors have attempted to become professionals and have given away what makes them distinct in the process. I digress...

>>>The United Church of Canada's pastors are seeking to join the Canadian Auto Workers Union. For protection from their congregations.

>>>Pastors read business management books as the key to becoming better pastors. I don't like this very much at all. It reminds me too much of a quote from the book "Dining with the Devil" by Os Guinness (which I have not read, have only read this quote),

Whenever I met a Buddhist leader, I meet a holy man, Whenever I meet a Christian leader, I meet a manager. ---comment of a Japanese businessman

>>>In an industrial society, value is measured by production. Western Christianity needs to be reoriented and corrected to see that production is not success in our mission.

>>>I think many leaders in modern western Christianity read the Great Commission to say to go into all the world and make lots of disciples. They have inserted the word lots. Of course, I hope that all would come to follow Jesus in the rythyms of God's grace and experience the best life possible, but we have added the word lots and created a culture, influenced by the modern, western industrial revolution, that values production.

Can I read a book by a youth pastor who has an average suze youth group? Good luck. The only one I have ever heard of is Tony Jones (and he is an excellent writer), and even he got ripped for writing prescriptive material when his youth group was just average size.

The world of western Christianity values larger churches and larger ministries more than smaller ones. We think the church in S. Korea with 75,000 members is a great thing. And we have no biblical reason for thinking this way.

If God thought this way,

There would have been more animals in the ark.
Earth wouldn't be so freaking tiny in comparison to the universe.
Jesus would have been taller.
Jesus would have had more than 3 people who cared about him at his execution.
Judas would have been fired/laid off/let go a whole lot earlier.
The number of people who became Xns at Pentecost (3,000) wouldn't relate so dang exactly to the story of the Levites when Aaron built the golden calf for the Israelites.

If God thought this way, he would actually want to know how many people you witnessed to before you died. Is that biblical? NO. NONONONONONONONONONONONONO. NO.

That's just industrial Christianity.


Addenum: I must be feeling good. I shaved all up and am ranting profusly. Must be that freezing cold Canadain air.

Postmodernism and the Death of Honor

This links you to a guy that I don't even know. He plays guitar for someone I do know. He is on myspace.com.

Here's the issue. He is claiming that he is a believer and follower of Christ, and a minister througth music, yet he objetifies women and degrades them by putting up pix that are "unmotherly" (OH YES! I made that word up!)

Here's the issues: I don't even know who this guy is, and I probably don't even think he is a bad guy. He is simply a perfect example of a personal (read:extra-biblical) version of Honor in a postmodern context. I actually wonder most, what exactly is going on inside his thoughts. He blogs on love and poetry, but, really, that kind of stuff is usually 99% crap.

I hope he is in process, I really do, but, the theology on his page is rather choiceful (another word I made up) and creates a religion that is a version of Christianity, but seems to be a choose your own adventure version of the Christian religion.

Again, I have no beef with whoever this is, I simply found his myspace.com and thought it was a perfect example of postmodernity and theology causing a trainwreck.

Addenum: Don't even bother commenting anything similar to "it's about a relationship, not a religion." That's 99% crap also. Christianity is a freaking religion. A relationship is what you have with a person, not a gathering of enabling criteria to live life to the fullest (that's Christianity).

2005 - the year of laugh my guts out

Drop your food. Pick up your mouse.

Two very funny lines today!

1. Over at B & E....

In which real world do you have to be home at 9? In the I'm on crack world?

2. And over at liquidthinnking, via someone else,

Dear Jon,

Remember: Whenever we say "Christmas," Christ always comes first. And whenever we say "X-mas," X comes first. Not many people know that Jesus Christ's real name is "Jesus Little." He changed His name to "Jesus X" to show that He was His own person and didn't need the white man's slave name... He was His own man. Which explains the meaning behind X-mas. It's just short for "X-Man's." Because the X-Men had superpowers... just like Jesus.

Jim

Very funny at 1:45 est.

2005

I'm in the EST zone and celebrated new year's early compared to normal. I'm going to stay up till at least three so that I can celebrate the new year in my new homeland...this was a shorter year for me, by three hours...

This is supposed to be a super introspective time and all, planing for the new year and making resolutions to break. But since I am on such a great vacation I haven't had a lot of time for quiet and introspection. A few years ago I would have felt guilty, Lord knows the old quiet times haven't been amazing, or daily. But these days I am much more relaxed and secure in my salvation and relationship with Jesus. I follow him, meaning I orient my life to do what he did and learn what he taught. It's not a set of practices that have to be kept (legalism rules, right), but it is my close friend, who creates a universe when he is bored. What a nut. And yes, I just called Jesus a nut...

So it's a new year and we're going to give this another whirl.

This year I hope to learn some real spiritual practices. Develpop a rule of life. Become even more mellow....or i will seem to those who look at me....they don't see the intense fire on the inside.

I'm out like 2004.

Poll

So here's a relevant poll:

Are people who write the word "effing" (in blogs, etc.) really just pansies for not writing what they really mean to say?



Vote by commenting. I'll vote while I am off in the north.

Emergence

I got thinking about this a bit from a statement that Tony Jones made saying that the emerging church will be missional. He talks about this in the context of church polity and government. His main thrust is that the emerging church must have a thin organizational chart in order to have thick relevance. Think Carl George.

I wonder if the emerging church will be missional or if the missional church will emerge. It's a little chicken and egg. It's also possibly limited. But it may be a way to know who is truly emergent and who is masked evangelicalism.

That is, I think one can test the emergence of any particular church/movement to see why it is emerging. Some possibilities may include: marketing, prosytltism, booming population, and missional posture.

Many churches will emerge. I think what needs to be said is that those which are emergent are missional in their reason for emerging.

I see missional as meaning relevantly engaging the world/culture and giving redemptive life away.

So, is a commercial ministry missional?
Is a Christian t-shirt missional?
Is James missional?
Are you missional?

If you aren't you die. Simple as that. You might look really alive. Really really alive.

But you and your religion are dead.

Therapy 2

I just emailed my best man from when I got married 5.5 years ago. Crazy, we ain't hardly talked since, b/c I moved, b/c...

I also think I have a fear that I have offended people when I haven't talked to them in a long time. I think it's stupid. I think it's the devil. I got to beat that.

Where's the friggin monkeys?
-lj

Therapy

I think the best thing about me is that I no longer think I am really great. I never would have said it, but if you knew me, you knew I believed it.

I think the worst thing about me is my memory. I can't remember anything unless I read it or see it. Only things that go in the eyes gets remembered by old James. Drives me crazy. I go to a movie and forget what I am watching during the previews.

Online Advent Calander

via Jonny Baker

This is a great daily site with online meditations and such in the form of an online advent calander. Much ups to the Episcopal Church, especially in comparison to the business model exhibited in my conference's website. When we were kids we used to get these with little chocolates in them. This version has a stained glass with different pieces having numbers on them.

Each meditation has a modern day icon, an opportunity for giving, a written meditation and links to the daily office.

Today's meditation contains the above picture of Joseph from a Russian nativity scene. I love how the internet is being used to help me become more spiritual. To think all that porn technology is helping people follow Jesus.


Eat it Satan.

Parables

I am having a bit of a borderline obsession with the parables. I think they might be where we can find the eternity of our faith. Which is an important question as we are struggling with the reorientation into a new way to be Xn.

So, those fantastic episcopals, with their homosexual ducks in northeast GA (another story), have a really cool online gallery of pictures of the parables. It's another great way to use art to connect you to the revolution.

Christmas Promo

Most Christmas, heck, most church, promotion is borderline cheesy clip art crap. Looking in on Jonny Baker I found a link to this promo line, that is actually interesting. And Mary is black - call me crazy, but that is so refreshing.

So, here's the picture that got me hooked:



And there is a whole gallery of them that will help people have proper reflection in the Christmas season. It's all pictures of Mary that will help you to think through what she expereinced in order to give mankind their Savior.

Sean Dayton

I've added some more blogs to the links on the right - needing to simplify my life y'know -

Also - this is a website for a kid who was in the first youth group I ever volunteered with. Great kid, although he is 20something now.

Anyways - you can enjoy some music and such from the great white north.

Great Weekend Part Three

Finally -

We had just a great neXus last night. A great group and did some Sacred Reading, I think it may have been the first time for everyone in the room, but Heather and I....but most people were sharing and all.

I tried doing some in small groups and had never done that - so it was pretty exciting...even though the focus was lost for a bit! I really enjoyed it though.

Just regular spirituality and community.

Not bad.

Great Weekend Part Two

Lj had a birthday on the weekend! He's two now and can already give the story of salvation and has a good theology of God's soveriegnty and the Satan's ultimate destiny. What a smart kid.

We got him a drum set that I'm sure our neighbors will come to love over the coming years.

He had a great time and had a bunch of little people running around our house with him.

Great Weekend Part One

Just had a great weekend -

Had an overnight retreat (advance!?) with the students in the invert program - it was all about exploring Jesus and his life on earth. Spent time in a mall, praying at 4 am, in a cemetary,at a bock dock, chasing a Santa parade.

It was a great weekend with a lot of growth.

And my team dominated the Cranium game!

the Word on the Street

It's not every day I'm going ot do advertisemenst for Zondervan, but click on the title link to see Rob Lacey, a theatre preformer who has created a Bible paraphrase that is able to be acted out. I got a DVD at the convention and it has some clips on it - very cool.

It's like the message, or the NCV, but a step further. The coolest part is that he says revelation sounds like John was on drugs. That is so true...

Calmed Down...

So it's been a week since I've returned and I'm much calmer now. The most frustrating part of my life right now is helping people distinguish between posmodernism the Christian marketing machine fad, and postmodernism the real cultural shift that is going on in western culture.

Bruce Mau, center for massive change, was on Charlie Rose last night, but I went to bed b/c the questions were boring.

I will likely go out and get his book though, mostly because he uses the word manifesto in the title.

Many posts are going to have to be done in order to keep up from the NYWC and the expansion of me that went on there - so...

Post-freaking-modernism

It's all I can do to keep from swearing.

In a nice, holy kind of way.

I'm at the National Youth Worker's Convention (a YS product!) and I can't get through a single theory session without hearing about postmodernism (henceforth referred to as poshizzle). The problem I have is that most of the mentions are talking about the fad that comes after seeker-sensitive (henceforth reffered to as la grand crapola - who's not a seeker).

I use the term in the sense of what comes after the last FIVE HUNDRED years of th development of the modernist system. It's not a fad - it is where I live.

Also -

I went to a reimagining youth ministry forum - dang - there's a lot of YP's who don't have their poshizzle together. A lot of the stuff that they suggested I already believe and practice. Not that I am the next DF, but I ain't no joke.

Alright - also - if you are a student reading this, comment on what you thought of the last Wednesday night - i'D LOVE TO see some reflections to match with
T-Uhden's.

Live from ATL - James <><

Listen, for the life of your soul is at stake!

Isaiah 55:3, The Living Bible

I somehow got a pre-release copy of a Leonard Sweet book. I copied it to word and printed it, I don't know how I got it - it seems to be a rought draft of an entire book! It is a book on leadership that examines Ernest Shackleton on his expeditions to and around the Antarctic. He seems to have been an inspiring and brave leader, whose story has much to teach leaders today. If you hate to read, you can pick up the movie, Endurance.

From what I can tell it's the book Summoned to Lead, which you can buy at Wal-Mart by clicking on the title link. This is the first Sweet book I have ever read and have since purchased another, Aqua Church, but it's a little down on my list.

Here are the interesting quotes from this rough draft of this book.

"the words 'ear' and 'wisdom' are the same in Sumerian."

"In postmodern culture ther is a new respect for 'losers' and 'successful failures' --those who didn't quite achieve their dreams, but generated a story in the quest."

"One of the reasons Shackleton 'failed' was because relationships were more important to him than achievement, colleagues more important than conquests and campaigns."

"Every person decides whether to leave footprints that will last beyond a lifetime, or that will sink in the sands of time."

"You don't lead. no one does. You only exercise leadership."

"The voice of a leader communicates truth beyond words, turth that sometimes goes beyond even the comprehension of leaders themselves. Leaders are those for whom voice- even more than words - is a way of life."

"You fight until hell freezes over. Then you fight on the ice." -Quoting US Senator Richard Russell

"perhaps sometimes it is best to be blind, so one can see the way things really are, and not be blinded by the way they look." -Quoting William Wharton

"Hire attitude and aptitude. Train for skill."

"[Jim] Collins describes such ['great'] leaders as 'modest and willful, shy and fearless.' These people 'llok in the mirror' to apportion blame for poor preformances, and 'look out the window' to credit success. These leaders have ambition, 'first and foremost for the company and concern for its success ranter than for [their] own riches and personal renown.' "

"Why pay people to work if you can't celebrate their work?"

"Men wanted for Hazardous Journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return. Honour and recognition in the case of success." --legendary Shackleton advertisement by Shackleton for 1914 Antarctic expedition

"People will put in time for a job; people will give their lives for a mission."

"We have as a Pilot one who sleeps in the back of boats."

"books have become cigars for the brain."

"Intuition comes to those who are prepared."

Bruce Mau Design

Here's a neat-o thing I've been pondering over - It's from a Toronto design company who are seemingly very progressive. It's called and Incomplete Manifesto for Growth.

I'd print it here, but that would make two superflously long posts and that doesn't jibe (mad props to TJ) for me.

In other news...

Christian Marketing Machine is Killing Kids

**Parental Advisory: This post contains possible sacrilegious material. Reading this is done at your own risk.**

It's true! The machine simply is a business, not some kind of "ministry", that is killing children. They present a Jesus that is part action star and part self-help psychotherapy counselor. That kind of image simply won't hold up. They give a false representation of Jesus and then reality hits and kids realize that Jesus is really calling people to a revolutionary way of living, not to Christian music festivals.

To illustrate my point, here are two t-shirts that Christians can buy



Does anyone actually think that Jesus' pecs were that large? He was a carpenter, not a steroid enhanced world's strongest man competitor! Come on! When Jesus was on the cross, he did not picture your face, nor mine - he was freaking dying the most painful death they could imagine - if you think he was pondering life's mysteries...try pushing a nail through your hands.




How can you be proud to be a Christian? That is like sinning to say that you don't sin anymore!! Who are you that wears this? W.

Further, I quote Mike Yaconelli, from an article called "Youth Ministry Rant" from the March/April 2002 issue of YouthWorker Journal...

Ever have a bad day? Well, I'm having one, so I thought I might start ranting. Dennis Miller does it all the time on HBO, so why can't I? After forty-two years in youth ministry, let's get ready to rant!

Is it just me, or are you tired of seeing grown adults with their hats on backwards?

Am I crazy, or does it bother anyone else that Christian music has an army full of pubescent, immature, dysfunctional little kids giving concerts and telling this generation of young people what Christianity is all about? Isn't it a bit weird to have a fourteen-year-old spiked-haired misfit telling other fourteen-year-olds how to live life when they live it in a tour bus?

Does the world really need Christian T-shirts?

Can’t we think of another word besides "extreme?"

I’m going to go crazy if I hear one more youth group going, "Give me a J; give me an E…"

What is it about the word "fire" that people in youth ministry like so much?

Has anyone seen a tattoo that actually looks good?

Can someone please explain to me what breaking a stack of bricks with your head has to do with Jesus?

Can anyone explain Carmen to me?

Can anyone explain Tulsa to me?

Can anyone explain The Prayer of Jabez musical to me?

What is with this new breed of youth workers who look like MTV clones but act like fundamentalists?

Remind me again why shaking the video camera while filming is cool?

Doesn’t it bother anyone that many older kids drop out, most of whom never to return to church and abandon their faith regardless of what techniques or programs we use?

What is the deal with Christian colleges, anyway? Shouldn’t they be graduating students who are revolutionary, anti-institutional, anti-cultural extremists? Isn’t anyone else upset that most of our Christian colleges are graduating compliant, materialistic, irrelevant students who don’t have a radical bone in their bodies? Who will push the envelope in the generations to come?

Why is it youth groups never go to the opera, art museums, jazz festivals, ballet, modern dance recitals, art shows, poetry readings, professional theatres, or lectures?

Do we really believe it helps young people to tell them that September 11th was actually the beginning of a revival?

Why does youth ministry worship thin, gorgeous, buff, cool, hot, sexy, beautiful people?

Explain to me what a "Christian Festival" is and why we need them?

Why would anyone who understands the Gospel encourage young people to play sports in America?

Why would anyone who understands the Gospel tell young people that God wants them to be winners, all-American, first, and top of the class?

Remind me again why we pray at football games. Does God really care who wins? Or loses?

Why are so many youth ministries concerned with putting on programs no one remembers?

Why do so many youth ministries spend all their time talking about God instead of helping young people experience God?

Do youth ministers really believe that "big" (as in big youth groups, big events) matters to God?

Sometimes I worry that Jesus has left the youth ministry building…and no one’s noticing.

Thank God, kids remember their relationships more than they remember programs.

Thank you, Jesus, that you've always worked through the small, the broken, the powerless.

Thank you, God, that you find a way to chase young people into the Kingdom, in spite of all the frivolous programs, institutional obstacles, and silly youth ministry stuff that often chase young people away.

Thank you, Father, that you tolerate our egos, put up with our neediness, ignore our fascination with what doesn't matter, and still find a way to use us to draw young people into your presence.

Thank you, most of all, that you're a God who’s big enough to even ignore our rants.

It's a good ending to that article. You can find it at youthspecialties.com. Hopefully the Christian Marketing Machine kills itself eventually and we can become as good of Christians as our brothers and sisters in Indonesia, China, Russia, Iran...


And that's all I have to say about that.

E.M. Blaiklock, The Archaeology of the New Testament

This is a really fab. book - I didn't underline anything because I didn't see it as a life-changing book - it was full, however, of background and contextual information. It had an especially great examination of Pontius Pilate's political career. The book is out of print, but available at used book stores, one of which is available in the title link. Why are good books ever out of print?

I have been working into my definition of turth that truth only exists in context. That mean there is no such thing as absolutely abstract, objective truth. I think this may make some people nervous....but it makes sense. Jesus was the truth - he was not a statement or a policy. He was a man in the context of men who brought them himself, which was/is the same as bringing the truth.

Truth...it's a tough one if you aren't going to tow the company/christianity line of absolute truth.

Jon Stewart

I am fond of Jon Stewart and his little Daily Show - we'll leave it at that....he has entered our home throught the new dish and is a welcome addition to the crap that is american politics. (I heard that - calling me a socialist behind my back...)

Anyways, he goes on crossfire and simply rips on these right/left guys and tells them they are ruining America. You can watch it here: crossfire vs. Jon Stewart

Also - from now on if you call me with a pre-recorded message I will not vote for you. I will vote against you. You don't even know me. As LJ would say....stupid politiks.

Branded, Alissa Quart

I picked up this book for $1!! - Unbelievable! It was recommended by a culture writer in YouthWorker journal and it was definately worth the read. The author came off a bit presumptious at times - working with the basic presumption that kids selling their souls to A&F is a bad thing, which I agree to, but many don't agree. Overall, an excellent survey of american teenage consumerism - with a superbly fantastic acknowledgment and assessment of their parents roles and influences.

Here's what she had to say:

"I was entering the world of the self-loathing, branded adolescent."

"US teens spent $155 billion in 'discretionary income' in 2000 alone..."

"The success of free software movements, including Linux and music sharing sites such as Napster, reveals a subversive, communal impulse, as do various Do It Yourself scenes in which teens attempt to make their ovwn cheap or free entertainments to entertain one another."

"...these names [brands] now define teen identities."

"...those under twenty-five are now the fastest-growing group filing for bankruptcy."

"Fantasy Credit Cards...mock passports from the country of the branded."

"Raised i nthe era of confessional literature [james: just look at most myjournals or xangas], having seen how secrets can be traded for celebrity, teenagers are selling their own experiences before they know they have a story that should be protected as their own or a self that has yet cohered."

"antitrend"

"The thousandes of kids...feel on some level that the world has always thought of them as a demographic for Pokeman or Nike on one hand, and as hooligans who need to be made to walk in straight lines on the other."

-Alissa Quart

Books...more aftermath!

I am no longer going to review books, I am going to read them and post interesting thoughts and quotes from them. Things that were remarkable enough to get underlined.

And these will go into the books section of the blog - with the link on the right.

West Coast Blogging

It's no secret I love west ocast living and west coast blogging is just another part of that. For a long time I have felt (God's pull) pulled to be out here and ministering in this social context. This is where the sun sets on the world and where the sun sets on the church - in a very real way...

I want to live as close to people who don't know Jesus as possible...I love the west coast.

Bar Code Art by Scott Blake

Came across this online - it's art made out of barcode, and there's even a barcode Jesus... kind of a neat artistic expression.

There's also a place where you can create your own ISBN number - it's what you've always wanted!

TONY JONES!

Hey Everybody!

Hey Dr. Nick!

I am now regularly reading Tony Jones' blog - he's an awesome guy who really let me start to see and understand what I had been sensing about postmodernism - I appreciate what he writes....although he is really smart. He understands postmodernism - not the way that the Christian marketing machine does, but the philosophy itself - but I will rant on that later...stupid Christian marketing machine, killing kids...

Anyways - I appreciate Tony Jones and I get ot sit in one of his seminars in about 34 days in PHATlanta!!

OH Meier and Frank!

I have reached a new level of craziness!

I went shopping on the weekend and found the best sale ever at Meier and Frank - so I'm giving them props! They are a store that sold me stuff that lets me be me and still live up to the dress code I have to do on Sundays...

Anyways - I am killer swamped today and can't post anything intelligent, thougth stuff is perkolating in my head -

VCR alert -hip hop honors next Tuesday night on VH1!

What is the Bible's gender?

I really do like this question - I think I'd go for interchanging he and she at random... not allow anyone to pin down a specific gender on the word. I am sure that gendering the Bible like this will make some people uneasy, especially (sadly) if given the female persuasion...

I was inspired by this question on Doug Pagitt's blog, check the title link.

I also like the "they" concept, as the Bible's own nature is an argument for community. Written by so many, inspired by a triune God - a story of people, not just a person - even if Christ is central...he is there for everyone else..

What do you think?

Dang! ... catching up in the blogosphere.

Since I am a bit of a ranter, and I am sick of a westernized version of the kingdom of God, I appreciated these comments.

Click on the title link to read David Hopkins go OFF!

This guy is definitely getting added to my links on the right!

TSK strikes again

tall skinny kiwi has this pic on his blog and I thought it was killer. It may offend you, but then if this sutff offends you, you probably shouldn't be here in the reorientation anyways.

Just a great night

Tonight we had invert and our first small group - it was just a great night. We had a bunch of kids growing and becoming and praying and following God.

I love being able to follow God and just enjoy the ride.

We sow in tears- we reap in joy.

John 8

If you can read this withouth being deeply affected by it...W.

I got this reflection from emerging sideways, an anonymus blog by a woman caught in a man centered church. Click on the title link and you can read her blog, I may even add it to my blogroll...



Wednesday, August 25, 2004
woman caught

i can't believe it... he set me up...

i thought he loved me... and he set me up.

i thought i loved him... he set me up.

me.

they dragged me...

not him...

just me.

he said he'd leave her for me... we'd start over... he set me up.

they didn't even give me time to dress...

i grabbed this sheet to cover myself...

i looked...

i felt... like a whore.

HE SET ME UP.

'love' he said...

he said he loved me...

he set me up.

used me like a prop for his friends...

BIG IMPORTANT FRIENDS.

too good to help me when daddy died...

had to do the best i could...

DAMN, he told me he loved me...

how could he use me like that?

what am i gonna do now?

i think i'll wait... til it's darker...

so no one sees what a mess i am.

darkness.

i can sneak home...

sneak...

i'm tired of sneaking...

and him... who was he?

'go' he said, 'go, and sin no more'.

those eyes... i've never seen anything like them before.

i've been with lots of men. felt their eyes on me.

but him...

he didn't look at me like a piece of meat.

those eyes.

that tear, running down his cheek.

it was like he felt my shame.

like he knew what it was like...

to be used...

to be exposed.

like he knew what it was like to hurt...

the shame... he knew my shame.

those eyes.

writing in the sand... he made them embarrassed...

even made them feel ashamed.

it got so quiet.

i looked up and all those self satisfied smirks wiped off their faces.

they just watched his finger in the sand.

what was he writing? i wish i knew.

shut them up though... such important men.

the town thinks so much of them.

but me... i know...

i know their dirty little secrets.

and they knew i knew, and they knew HE knew too.

who was he?

'i don't condemn you either.'

you know, i actually believe him.

the first man i've ever met who treated me with respect.

like i remember daddy did before he died...

so kind.

those eyes.

oh those eyes.

it's getting dark now.

i better get home...

get some clothes...

before momma sees me... like this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

oh momma... you're home.

yes momma... i'm a mess.

no momma... i'm not hurt.

yes momma... i was out in public like this.

yes momma... some people saw me like this...

...a lot of people saw me like this.

i'm sorry momma... i know it was wrong momma.

you heard?

oh momma... it was so horrible.

i thought he loved me... thought he'd help us momma.

he just used me...

trapped me...

set me up... and threw me away...

like trash.

i'm sorry momma...

i didn't mean to shame you.

i just didn't know how to make it better....

i thought this was the only way.

they were going to kill me momma...

stone me.

i thought he loved me...

said he'd leave her for me.

they tore me out of his bed momma...

they knew where i'd be.

he set me up momma.

they brought me to the temple, to a man momma. a rabbi.

i realized then that i was a prop momma...

a prop.

it wasn't ever about me...

just a piece of meat...

to trap him.

him...

this man...

this rabbi...

not like any of the other rabbis at the temple momma.

his eyes...

those eyes...

momma... you should see his eyes...

they asked him what to do with me...

me...

wrapped in this sheet...

my hair a mess...

covered in sex.

straight from his bed....

ashamed.

what to do with me...

should they stone me? they ask him.

and he says nothin' momma... nothin'

he kneels down and starts to write in the dirt momma.

oh i wish i could read..

wish i knew what he wrote momma.

cause those men... those important men...

their faces white...

they couldn't look at me anymore...

they ask him again.

can we stone her?

kill me momma...

he said only those who haven't broken the law could throw the rocks...

and then he went back to the dirt...

writing in the dirt...

when i looked up they were all gone...

just me...

just him...

and those eyes...

what's that in my hand?

my hand... oh yes..

a rock momma...

he gave it to me...

it was one they were gonna use to kill me...

i think i'll keep it momma...

to remember...

to remember...

those eyes.
this was written last november after this day of practicing the presence of god with mike yaconelli and fil anderson. we had focused on john 8 and i spent that afternoon writing. this is what i wrote.

Chris Got a House!

Hey all - exciting news!

My brother and his wife Sandra, whom I have yet to met and thus have a suspicion that she is a robot...just like Dick Cheney..... have bought themselves a house.

It looks nice...blah blah blah....happily ever after.

really, they still look exactly the same as they always have, just now they pay taxes...




That's them on the porch...and I think that big antennae in the background is for tracking ufo's...Crazy Canadians!

Can't wait to see them this Christmas!

Gillian and Phillip?

I'm told this is my sister, although I don't think it is her, my sister is still a freshmanm in high school, isn't she?

Anyways, big news is that we get to visit home this Christmas!! We are all very,very excited. It'll be 5 whole years for me since I left the great white north - I'm really looking forward to it all.

Oh yeah - I think the guy on the left is her boyfriend. Nice tie.

Youth House

well, it's coming -

Here are some pictures, just a couple more weeks and we'll be completely finished. Lots of work has gone in, both by students and pros from our church. It's been a good experience!

Enjoy~

LJ and the God-dog

Here's a great photo that I just got to see of LJ and Pete - Pete "belongs" to Bill and Jan - amazing friends of ours and LJ's godparents. So I'm guessing that Pete really is LJ's god-dog?

Guest Map

I've added a cool little thing on the right column in lieu of a gesutbook, which no one signed anyways!!!

You can click and place a pin on my map and put a little message on there - very neat-o!

If you want to you can even click the second button, which will remain for only a litmited time (until I figure out the code to rid my page of malicious advertising) and get yourself a guestmap!! Once I tak eit off, jsut go to Bravenet.com and you can get one.

Very cool..

What do I hate most?

Kind of a negative feeling? But here's what I hate most: fake.

The best compliment my wife and I ever recevied was "you guys are very...real"

It made my life.

So should it tick me off that people are one way to me and another way online? It drives me crazy. I understand the desire to "try" out new identities, but I say if your experimental identities conflict with each other you are very likely a skitz.

Just a little rant...

hey kiddies, what you post online - everybody can see!!

I see these ridiculously hypocritical myspace/livejournal/loadofcrap.com sites of people and it makes me want to start a new email ministry where I email inks to grandma and grandpa and mom and dad.

So anyways - we have the first youth worship service in the new youth house tonight and we are not ready - did you think we would be?

Later-
James <><