weekend worship: reflections on the west memphis 3 rally
Tue, Aug 31 2010 07:51 AM
| personal, emergent, eikon, little rock, christian subculture, theology, favorites, arkansas, church, jesus, music, popular culture, current events, politics
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sunday night, we had one of my favorite worship gatherings to date at eikon church. there was a good energy, the music was unquestionably the best it's ever been and i think we really tapped into the heart of what it means to be a community of people connected by jesus. it was truly a beautiful night of worship.
and then there was that other worship gathering.
no, not the one i attended on sunday morning. and no, not some other church event i participated in some other time during the weekend.
i'm talking about the one saturday. at robinson center music hall.
yeah, that one.
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the tweet heard 'round the world: a few words about segregation and educational options
Mon, Aug 23 2010 09:04 AM
| christen, general life, personal, little rock, olive, christian subculture, theology, arkansas, lucy, family, popular culture, children, current events, max, politics
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By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled;
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard 'round the world.
so begin's ralph waldo's emerson 1837 masterpiece, concord hymn. the line that closes the stanza, of course, has become a cultural idiom. the shot heard 'round the world is in reference to the american revolutionary war, specifically the battles of lexington and concord. indeed, those shots reverberated around the globe and set our nation on a new course.
and then—on august 21, 2010—there was this:
worth not just a read, but extended reflection for LR people / RT @GOOD: Are students pre-segregated before high school? http://su.pr/9msbx1
ryanByrd
ryanbyrd
which was immediately followed by this:
in addition to what the @GOOD article says, it's also worth reflecting on "self-segregation" (parents who put their kids in private school).ryanByrd
ryanbyrd
ah yes, the tweet heard 'round the world.
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why we should stop letting black people live in the quapaw quarter
Mon, Aug 16 2010 07:56 AM
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our family moved, in early 2009, into the quapaw quarter (in little rock). we really enjoy being so close to downtown and our neighborhood is relatively quiet and friendly. there's a diversity of people here that you simply don't get in other parts of town.
but i'll get to that whole diversity thing briefly.
several months after moving in, we attended a 4th of july breakfast at the empress (our immediate neighbor) and had an opportunity to meet the large majority of our neighbors. i had a lengthy conversation with a man who, along with his wife of 30-something years, has lived in the quarter for well over 20 years. he offered a bit of history of the neighborhood and one particular story stood out among the others. he said that a little over 20 years ago, a gang of about 6 or 7 black guys jumped a white man (who lived in our neighborhood) while he was walking his dog. apparently the guy was pretty messed up and after a few days of intensive care, he died from internal bleeding. whereas several of the black guys were subsequently arrested, the two main leaders of the group got away and were never arrested.
he said, for obvious reasons, many people in the neighborhood were shaken up pretty badly and even after having some candlelight vigils and racial reconciliation-type conversations with some of the predominantly black churches in the area, tensions ran high.
he and i talked about some of the backlash and anger that, to this day, still exists in this neighborhood and we came up with only one logical conclusion.
ban black people from living in the quapaw quarter.
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anne rice's guide to quitting christianity and keeping jesus
Fri, Jul 30 2010 01:31 PM
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i've never read an anne rice book.
i've never seen an anne rice-adapted movie.
i've never been interested in vampires or books about vampires.
despite these things, though, i've been a distant and intrigued observer—over the last 10 years—as anne rice has come back to faith. growing up in the catholic church, at the age of 18, she left her faith in exchange for nearly 4 decades of ardent unbelief. after garnering legions of followers and authoring blockbuster books, she once again chose faith and for the past decade, she's been publishing books about the her faith and the life of christ.
but anne rice has never reached "christian celebrity" status like other celebrity purveyors of faith such as mel gibson, stephen baldwin or—god help us—chuck norris. despite her marked switch to literary works about the life of christ, she never seemed to fully embrace the prevailing values of white, evangelical culture, which is the key to unlocking full-on christian celebrity status.
well, the possibility of that status is official DOA.
anne rice is quitting christianity.
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more sheepishness: a few thoughts about our culture of fear
Wed, Jul 14 2010 08:02 AM
| christen, general life, personal, olive, christian subculture, theology, church, jesus, lucy, family, popular culture, current events, max, politics
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the bible's a funny thing. and so is following that guy jesus.
at best, they're frustrating. at worst, they're maddening. even illogical. counterintuitive.
you see, in scripture, we're referred to as sheep. basically, mindless followers that roam without proper self defense or the ability to find the way on our own. we just sorta hang out with the flock and go where the shepherd leads.
we're sitting ducks. but, you know, in the sheepish kind of way. (a shmuck?)
quite frankly, sheep should be frightened.
but the bible's a funny thing.
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feeling sheepish: a few thoughts about concealed weapons in church
Mon, Jul 12 2010 07:54 AM
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If you're like most Americans, there's probably been a time in your life when you've been sitting in church, listening to a particularly ennui-inducing homily or enduring another warbly version of "Holy Holy Holy" and thought, "Man! I could really reach for some steel right now, squeeze off a few rounds, and let these fools know what the score is!" Well, in Louisiana, Governor Bobby Jindal has recently signed into law a measure that would allow you to at least feel comforted by the presence of your gun in the house of the Lord.
so begins a huffington post piece (sometimes you just gotta grab a great quote and use it…) about the newly-adopted law in louisiana that allows people to pack heat into houses of worship. yes, the good, god-fearing
god bless america.
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picking up the pieces of my blown mind: apple announces iphone 4
Mon, Jun 7 2010 04:01 PM
| videos, personal, technology, news, awesome, favorites, popular culture, iphone, current events, blog stuff, apple
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more than once (to deal in understatement), i've been called an apple fanboy. there's a certain contingency of the unconvinced (the ignorant?) that assume if you like apple's products, you must be blindly being led like a brainless sheep. but, of course, there's another contingency. that is, naturally, the contingency of the convinced: the people who have seen, time and time again, that there is simply no company that creates consistently amazing, innovative and inspiring products like apple. none.
the tradition continues today with the announcement of iphone 4.
the religion of atheism: how disbelief has become dogma
Mon, May 24 2010 01:35 PM
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over the last several years, more and more, i've attempted to engage the world around me with a continual spirit of humility. simply put, i try to live by the mantra, i might be wrong. undoubtedly, i fail often. i fight the urge to be right. it's difficult to accept when others can't just adopt my viewpoint. it's easier to clone than to create.
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is barack obama a moderate republican?
during the 2008 presidential election, the national journal just coincidentally timed the release of their annual reports of most liberal and most conservative senators right before the primaries, revealing that barack obama ranked #1. < sarcasm > pure coincidence, of course… < /sarcasm >
naturally, that headline got a lot of traction, particularly in the midst of the lying and fear-mongering related to rampant reports of him being a muslim, his relationship with jeremiah wright and oh yeah, the fact that he's a black dude. once the headline hit, it became fuel for the fire of those who wished to paint obama as a radical left-winger.
naturally, that headline got a lot of traction, particularly in the midst of the lying and fear-mongering related to rampant reports of him being a muslim, his relationship with jeremiah wright and oh yeah, the fact that he's a black dude. once the headline hit, it became fuel for the fire of those who wished to paint obama as a radical left-winger.
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agreeing to disagree, pt. 2: principles of civil discourse from don miller
Wed, May 5 2010 08:02 AM
| general life, personal, church, emergent, jesus, christian subculture, theology, popular culture, politics, current events, lists
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yesterday, i posted some thoughts on the phrase, we'll just have to agree to disagree, referencing the following tweet by @midrash_lr:
my basic premise, of course, was that while i agree with the fundamental value inherent in his statement, it's a bit utopian. there are simply times when the conversation devolves into something other than a healthy exchange when one or both people cease to work within the spirit of mutual respect and learning.
Let's end, "We'll have to agree to disagree." This ends the convo. Instead let's try "good men can disagree" & ctn the convo.
midrash_lr
midrash_lr
my basic premise, of course, was that while i agree with the fundamental value inherent in his statement, it's a bit utopian. there are simply times when the conversation devolves into something other than a healthy exchange when one or both people cease to work within the spirit of mutual respect and learning.
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agreeing to disagree: exploring the limits of social engagement
Tue, May 4 2010 08:04 AM
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we all know the common saying, we'll just have to agree to disagree, at least in some iteration. of course, the phrase is used when two people feel like they've reached a point in the conversation where the wheels are spinning, but it's really going nowhere. no doubt, i've uttered this saying numerous times, particularly as of late.
of protest and privilege: tim wise talks tea party and racial divide
Tue, Apr 27 2010 12:59 PM
| rant, church, news, jesus, quotes, christian subculture, popular culture, politics, current events
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whether it's a primary motivator or a smaller piece of the puzzle, most objective, analytical observers of the tea party can see that racial undertones are, well, more than just undertones. they're relatively major players within this "movement". nearly 90% of those involved are white and generally upper middle class. i'm not sure if you've heard or not, but the dude they hate and rally against is a black guy named barack obama. you know, "that one".
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rampant religion roundup: lifeway christian stores, jennifer knapp and johnny piper
Fri, Apr 23 2010 02:38 PM
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last month, the calvinist legions of bloggers hit the interwebs to lambast their chosen messiah, john piper, for what they viewed as a theological slap in the face. piper did the (apparently) unthinkable and invited rick warren to be one of the featured speakers at his desiring god 2010 national conference (in addition to speakers such as the SBC godfather al mohler and the treading-on-thin-ice-because-now-you're-making-films-with-that-rob-bell-company francis chan).
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letting go: jennifer knapp confirms she's gay to christianity today
Wed, Apr 14 2010 07:58 AM
| news, emergent, confessions, eikon, christian subculture, theology, music you should know, favorites, church, jesus, music, popular culture, current events
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on a fateful day in 1999, fragile, protected-from-the-evils-of-the-world christians learned of the shock and horror they previously thought unimaginable: amy grant, darling of contemporary christian music, got divorced.
gasp!
shockwaves (yes, i too wish i was exaggerating) rippled through baptist churches from sea to shining sea. after cd-burning parties, a healthy dose of potluck dinner gossip and legions of once-diehard fans disowning their christian pop princess, the lingering effects of a fallen angel still remain in some corners of christendom today.
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when heritage is hate: virginia governor declares "confederate history month"
Wed, Apr 7 2010 02:42 PM
| rant, personal, arkansas, little rock, jesus, christian subculture, popular culture, politics, current events
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i grew up here in arkansas. in the south. in one of the so-called confederate states of america. growing up, these things were quite self-evident. from confederate flags waving proudly on bubba's chevy stepside truck to the idolization of the dukes of hazard's general lee to—on the very serious end of things—seeing nooses hung at church camp one year when a black student attended. yes, indeed, i grew up in arkansas.
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faith without politics is dead
Tue, Mar 30 2010 04:24 PM
| personal, church, technology, emergent, jesus, eikon, christian subculture, theology, politics, current events
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that's what the scriptures say, right? faith without politics is dead? like 2 peas in a pod. like peanut butter and jelly. like ren and stimpy.
ok, so maybe the bible says something about works… but come on, my phrase is much catchier and scintillating, right? you know, despite its surface-layer inaccuracies, i actually want to dive into that concept a little and show that i think the two are far from mutually exclusive.
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relief roundup: how to help haiti
Thu, Jan 14 2010 05:46 PM
| church, news, emergent, jesus, eikon, politics, current events
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here's another post from the eikon blog. in this case, john wrote a bit of a roundup of ways to help with the haiti relief efforts. it's often difficult to know what to do, in spite of the fact that we want to do something. so hopefully this serves a guide to giving and responding.
dissolution of marriage: a case for a church-state separation
Tue, Jan 5 2010 07:49 AM
| personal, church, emergent, jesus, eikon, christian subculture, theology, politics, current events
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yesterday on his blog, tony jones made a case for clergy stepping back in their roles as state-sanctioned marriage officiants. you can certainly read his thoughts about it here (and he goes in many other thoughtful directions that i'm not necessarily pursuing in this post), but i thought i would add a few thoughts to the subject. whereas i don't want to simply retread his points, i do want to underscore the thought and offer a bit more perspective.
in essence, clergy are the legal binding signature required for the state to recognize a marriage, thus granting special tax status and other distinctive legal considerations. ultimately, that means that clergy work as an agent of the state. they are explicitly partner to a state-sanctioned role and office. the problem as jones argues—and i would concur—is that throughout christian tradition, those in the role of priest or clergy were generally regarded as the ones who were oppositional (or at least suspicious) of the government powers that be. to further the argument, many argue (and make a strong, reasonable argument) that one of jesus' primary missions was to offer/model a way of living that freed people from the oppression of government systems (particularly, at that time, the roman government).
in essence, clergy are the legal binding signature required for the state to recognize a marriage, thus granting special tax status and other distinctive legal considerations. ultimately, that means that clergy work as an agent of the state. they are explicitly partner to a state-sanctioned role and office. the problem as jones argues—and i would concur—is that throughout christian tradition, those in the role of priest or clergy were generally regarded as the ones who were oppositional (or at least suspicious) of the government powers that be. to further the argument, many argue (and make a strong, reasonable argument) that one of jesus' primary missions was to offer/model a way of living that freed people from the oppression of government systems (particularly, at that time, the roman government).
a diagram of the same sex marriage debate
Thu, Dec 31 2009 10:53 AM
| personal, church, emergent, jesus, graphic design, christian subculture, popular culture, diagrams, politics, current events
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i came across this on clinical sexologist becky knight's twitter (@livingsexuality) and found it intriguing. at first glance, i thought it was a little one-sided, but i then noticed the credit at the bottom which reads, compiled from various facebook polls. that, in and of itself, doesn't mean a lot, but it is to say that these words and phrases and quotes come from the mouths (um, fingers, i guess…) of real, live actual people. these aren't just a bunch of assumptions, but actual things taken from facebook users.
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25 in the 2000s: things that shaped the aughts
Sun, Dec 27 2009 04:24 PM
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this is final post in an ongoing series called 25 in the 2000s. if you want a bit of information about the series, you can find the introduction here.
in another blogger's recent appraisal of the past decade, it was described as "the decade that snuck up on us." his main thesis was that the decade started off very well, with relative peace and tranquility. and then…9/11. from there, we've seen war, political scandal and various disease outbreaks. but the blogger concludes that, all in all, the decade has seen more light than dark. i share that point-of-view and look back rather fondly. both personally and in terms of news-worthy moments, i think it's been a decade worth remembering. in remembering, i decided to compile a list of anything that in any way shaped the decade. so, these aren't just news stories or technological advances or any specific "category" of list item. these are simply things that shaped the aughts.
a few thoughts concerning the shane montgomery arrest
Fri, Dec 11 2009 08:06 PM
| personal, church, news, little rock, jesus, eikon, christian subculture, theology, current events
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today has been a day full of assorted and disparate emotions. this morning, like many of you, i learned of yesterday's arrest of shane montgomery, the now-resigned church planter/pastor of the river church. while most people know the story at this point, in essence, shane has been accused of (and, according to some sources citing the arrest report, admitted to) sexual contact with a 15-year old male who he met online this past summer.
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25 in the 2000s: technological innovations
Wed, Dec 2 2009 09:29 AM
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this is part of an ongoing series called 25 in the 2000s. if you want a bit of information about the series, you can find the introduction here.
in technology standards, 10 years is a very, very long time. innovative people and programs are constantly looking for new ways to connect people, spread information and make life easier through advances in technology. in this list, i've used technology in the broadest sense: science, mechanics, computer, social media, etc. so, here's the best in what's happened in technological innovation over the last 10 years.
25 in the 2000s: religious stories
Sun, Nov 29 2009 01:29 PM
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this is part of an ongoing series called 25 in the 2000s. if you want a bit of information about the series, you can find the introduction here.
it seem as if the last 10 years have been a particularly explosive and salient time in the world of religion. from a new pope to the brazen use of religion in political campaigns to the culture of islamic suspicion since 9/11, religion has been at the forefront of conversation and headlines. in the following list, i'll talk about the good, the bad and the ugly of the decade in religion.
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25 in the 2000s: an introduction
Sat, Nov 28 2009 10:00 AM
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the year: 1999. your shopping list: several flash lights, 4 or 5 large packs of batteries, a few cases of bottled water, nonperishable food items, a swiss army knife and several boxes of zombie repellant.
why? y2k, of course.
yes, in 1999, the world prepared itself for the certain meltdown of all that we had previously known as organized civilization. now, we find ourselves in 2009—a decade later—still waiting for the world to come to a screeching halt. while we're waiting, though, i thought it would be a good time to bask in what has been a great decade: the aughts.
barna group research on homosexual faith perspectives
Wed, Jul 29 2009 02:24 PM
| church, emergent, quotes, christian subculture, theology, popular culture, websites, current events
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I read a fairly vast array of blogs. all the way from tony jones to even, yes, mark driscoll. i read the cry of social justice from the sojourners blog all the way to the calvinist smorgasbord of tim challies. on the more conservative wing of the blog spectrum, i semi-regularly read ed stetzer's (director of research for the evil empire lifeway) blog. stetzer—coming from a research point-of-view—is
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dick, sotomayor and gay marriage
Tue, Jun 2 2009 10:40 PM
| theology, popular culture, politics, current events
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just a couple days ago, i blogged about obama's supreme court nomination of judge sonia sotomayor. if you read that or have paid even an ounce of attention over the last several days, you'll know that there's been quite a bit of controversy and strong reaction over comments she made 8 years ago about her the judicial benefit of her experience as a self-described "newyorkrican."in essence, what has
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