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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some exciting new eikon church updates
Fri, Aug 13 2010 02:04 PM
| general life, personal, church, news, emergent, little rock, jesus, eikon, worship
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it's been awhile since i've offered a substantial (or any, really) update about what's going on with eikon church. well, big things are happening, so i thought i'd pause the ryan-blog-rants-and-ramblings train and get us all on the same page.
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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beetles, shaved heads and "that time of the month": a look at biblical pragmatism
Wed, Jul 28 2010 08:01 AM
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let's talk menstruation, shall we?
ok, so we can talk about more than that, but certainly, it does play a part. we'll get to that later, though.
in the meantime, how about a little biblical interpretation to tide us over?
raining misinterpretation: shining light on the most misunderstood scripture
i hate the rain. when the dark clouds begin to roll in, i have a sinking feeling. even more so than now, i particularly hated rain when i was a kid. rain meant no baseball game. it meant a ruined birthday party. it meant a soggy wait at the bus stop. even now, though, it means muddy little footprints from the girls. it means poor driving conditions. most importantly, though, it means unintentional puddle baths for my birkenstock-clad feet.
i'm not alone. culturally, we just generally hate rain. studies have shown that business productivity drops on rainy days and we even have phrases—such as "don't rain on my parade"—that offer a pejorative connotation of rain. which leads us to biblical interpretation, naturally. ok, maybe not naturally, but it certainly does shine a light on something i've been thinking about recently.
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the religion of atheism: how disbelief has become dogma
Mon, May 24 2010 01:35 PM
| videos, t.v., emergent, jesus, eikon, chuch, christian subculture, theology, current events
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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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agreeing to disagree, pt. 2: principles of civil discourse from don miller
Wed, May 5 2010 08:02 AM
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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.
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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praise the lord!: in pursuit of the american dream
Tue, Apr 20 2010 07:57 AM
| personal, church, emergent, jesus, confessions, christian subculture, theology, popular culture, politics
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a couple days, i had a twitter conversation (or as much as you can possibly have on twitter) with a good friend about the concept of amassing wealth and living "comfortably". specifically, the following values (in the context of "personal responsibility") were offered by him: "saving for retirement, living comfortably w/in means, & taking care of the poor." my response was twofold. the first:
sounds good in theory. problem, though, is 2 of those are american values & only 1 is a jesus value.
his response:
so you're going to give away ALL your $ & not pay bills or for food or shelter? Our difference of opinion is bible interpretation.
to which i replied:
poor interpretation is what has led hordes of really well-intentioned people to chase the american dream instead of jesus.
ding! ding! ding! fighters return to your corners! ;)
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letting go: jennifer knapp confirms she's gay to christianity today
Wed, Apr 14 2010 07:58 AM
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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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derek webb performs unreleased caedmon's call track, 'god's hometown' —OR— a scary tale of christian subculture
Mon, Apr 5 2010 08:19 AM
| personal, church, travel, emergent, jesus, christian subculture, music, music you should know, favorites, popular culture
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we had the pleasure of taking a quick trip to memphis a couple days ago to see derek webb and sandra mccracken perform at the famous levitt shell (the site of what many historians consider the first "rock n' roll" show featuring elvis presley…for you trivia nerds…). the concert was free and the weather was great, so all the planets seemed to align (i'll get to where things got out of whack a little later…). webb is a great live act because of the conviction he brings to his performances and—even with his lone guitar—he brought just what i expected.
watch and download rob bell's latest film, 'resurrection'
Sun, Apr 4 2010 01:24 PM
| videos, personal, church, emergent, jesus, eikon, christian subculture, theology, worship, favorites, free stuff, websites
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there are few sure bets in this world. yes, we can count on nic cage being just a little more creepy in his next film than the last. and yes, we can count on—regardless of years of reason to believe the previously stated fact—hordes of people flocking to the theater to see said next film. but otherwise, very few things, indeed, are worth betting the farm on.
enter rob bell stage left.
apple to fox news: you keep your glenn, we keep our money
Thu, Apr 1 2010 08:02 AM
| personal, t.v., emergent, theology, popular culture, politics
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it isn't rare to find me applauding the efforts of apple. simply put, they have a superior line of products. in terms of everything from hardware to the operating system to overall innovation, it isn't difficult to understand why, year in and year out, apple is voted by peers as the most admired company.
but in this case, my applause and admiration is for something, ultimately, more important than just computers or phones or product beauty. in a bold statement, apple has decided to boycott fox news by withholding millions of advertising dollars.
why? look no further than our pal glenn beck.
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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brian mclaren talks a new kind of christianity
Mon, Feb 8 2010 08:54 AM
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only a minute or two into the story of my theological journey over the last 5 or 6 years, a little book called a new kind of christian enters the story and serves as the genesis for my ongoing narrative. that, of course, was written by brian mclaren nearly 10 years ago and it continues to resonate with a whole new generation of people investigating this whole jesus idea.
on tuesday, the conversation deepens with the release of his new book, a new kind of christianity.
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.
orthodoxy vs. monodoxy
Mon, Jan 11 2010 10:01 AM
| personal, church, emergent, jesus, eikon, christian subculture, theology
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here's a little something i wrote over on the eikon blog. as we're still in the initial phase of connecting and sharing our values prior to our official start day (which is coming very, very soon…), a recent tweet prompted me to further flesh out our perspective on the nature of orthodoxy and shared beliefs.
so, enjoy.
so, enjoy.
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dissolution of marriage: a case for a church-state separation
Tue, Jan 5 2010 07:49 AM
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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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an advent reflection: in anticipation of life (and death)
Tue, Dec 22 2009 03:12 PM
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over the last couple weeks, many of you have worshipped with us as we've engaged in this season called advent. through our modVent gatherings, we've eagerly anticipated the coming of the messiah. as we've learned, of course, advent simply means coming. during this season, we await the coming of a baby, in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes. who is the savior. who is the one sent from god.
advent is about life. it's about redemption. it's about hopeful expectation. but advent is also about death. we not only await the coming of the christ child, but we await his death on a cross. we look ahead to the time of jesus' atoning sacrifice in which he suffered in order to restore the brokenness of all creation. death, indeed, is a part of the cycle of anticipation.
advent is about life. it's about redemption. it's about hopeful expectation. but advent is also about death. we not only await the coming of the christ child, but we await his death on a cross. we look ahead to the time of jesus' atoning sacrifice in which he suffered in order to restore the brokenness of all creation. death, indeed, is a part of the cycle of anticipation.
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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pro-abortion, anti-communion: when religion becomes a weapon
Wed, Nov 25 2009 08:47 AM
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religion can be used as a lot of things. it can be used as a way to bring seemingly disparate people together. it can be used as a mode of transcendent conversation. it can be used as a way to connect thousands of years of generations of people and to bring hope to people who might otherwise feel hopeless. certainly, it can be used for many, many great and noble things.
but it can also be used in very dangerous and divisive ways.
sadly, those who choose to use religion as a weapon of politics has become more and more frequent and severe.
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when churches attack!: scaring the hell out of the masses, pt. 2
last week, on halloween, i blogged about the phenomenon over the last 20-30 years of churches putting on what's commonly known as hell houses. to put it lightly, i didn't really give them a glowing endorsement. :) you can read it in its entirety here.
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when churches attack!: scaring the hell out of the masses
wanna talk eternity? hell yes?
hell no, actually.
tonight, across the country, there's a wave of church productions that will be saying no to hell as well. eternity house. hell house. i'm sure there are other names than those out there, but maybe you've heard of one of these in some similar iteration.
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friedrich nietzsche was exactly right about christianity
indeed, friedrich nietzsche was exactly right about christianity.
well, not about everything. but certainly, he got a few things right.
while i have had the, um, pleasure of dabbling into a very small amount of nietzsche's philosophies during my time at the seminary (mostly in relation to moral/faith development), i don't claim to be an exhaustive authority on all things nietzsche. what i can say, though, is that nietzsche, among others who have offered critiques, spoke very sharply about a certain notion of god and christianity. i'm not saying that he particularly liked some other notion of god, but it seems fairly clear that nietzsche primarily responded to a certain brand of god that didn't seem compatible with philosophical modes of engaging/viewing people and the world around him. (some have even argued that in spite of his famous god is dead declaration that nietzsche wasn't an atheist, though i digress.)
the gospel according to breaking bad's walter white
less than two weeks ago, i could tell you 1 fact about amc's emmy-winning drama, breaking bad: it was called breaking bad. oh wait, one more: it was on amc. i was pretty sure.since that time, i've devoured approximately 20 hours of the show, comprised of 7 season one episodes and 13 season two episodes.my initial response to this acknowledgement (or confession, if you will) might be that i was totally
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the creation conflict: don miller talks community
i posted this earlier on the eikon blog and i thought it was worth sharing here.several years ago, someone made a statement that i have repeated many times since and has shaped my view of god and others: isolation is the enemy of god.there's a lot going on in that statement and today, in a live-streamed talk by don miller, i was once again reminded of that declaration.miller—author of the best-selling
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the theology of killing: jesus and our brother romell broom
right now, at the southern ohio correctional facility in lucasville, ohio, 53-year old romell broom is awaiting his execution.for the second time.yesterday afternoon, an "execution team" (wow...there's a team we can all rally behind...) spent over 2 hours trying to find a usable vein that would accept the IVs that carry the 3 lethal chemicals that induce death. each time the executioners attempted
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smashing assumptions: billy corgan talks god
this appeared on the eikon blog yesterday and i thought i would repost it here. enjoy.last week, billy corgan—of smashing pumpkins fame—launched a new website, everything from here to there. in his first post, corgan expresses the purpose of the site, stating,The purpose of this website is to discuss openly and without fear concepts of Mind-Body-Soul integration. If you are drawn to the Hidden
watch the first 13 minutes of 'collision: christopher hitchens vs. douglas wilson"
Sun, Sep 6 2009 07:06 PM
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on october 27, collision: christopher hitchins vs. douglas wilson releases to dvd and limited theater runs in major markets. hitchens—self-described anti-theist, political journalist and author of the best-selling god is not great—in 2007, engaged in series of written correspondence with wilson—author, satirist and evangelical theologian—debating whether or not christianity is good for the
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from the eikon blog: bazan breakup?
Fri, Sep 4 2009 10:10 AM
| reviews, personal, church, emergent, eikon, christian subculture, theology, music, music you should know
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i wrote this piece for the eikon blog yesterday and i thought it was worth sharing here. david bazan's new album, curse your branches, is a truly incredible album and asks a lot of hard, but necessary questions. so, enjoy.-----------------------------------------------You've heard the storyYou know how it goesOnce upon a gardenWe were lovers with no clothesFresh from the soilWe were beautiful and trueIn
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an open letter to those who have been burned by church
Tue, Sep 1 2009 08:56 PM
| rant, personal, church, emergent, eikon, confessions, christian subculture, theology, popular culture
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thanks to a tweet from @emergentvillage, i came across a great blog post from curtis honeycutt (@curtishoneycutt) today speaking to—as the title suggests—those who have been burned by church. it's a beautiful, vulnerable, honest conversation with an ever-growing group of people. so, if you've ever felt put off, not by jesus, but by the church, take a minute to read this. curtis, no doubt, shares
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of prophets |||amp; pundits: a few words about criticism
Fri, Aug 28 2009 12:35 PM
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despite a couple bunch of interruptions, many of you have kept up with my track-by-track analysis of derek webb's latest (and arguably greatest) album, stockholm syndrome. while this post serves as yet another break in the series, I thought a recent conversation was a fitting interruption.whereas I usually refrain from and frown upon broad prefaces and disclaimers on blogs, let me offer a genuine disclaimer
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drops like sketchnoting: rob bells talks creativity and suffering
rob bell just kicked off a new speaking tour called drops like stars (which i hope to attend some time in the fall). the tour and the corresponding book deal with something that, to me particularly, is a fascinating topic: the inherent link between suffering and creating. without too much detail, it simply looks amazing.i stumbled across the blog of designer mike rohde who was in attendance for the
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move over pat robertson: john piper talks gay tornadoes
Thu, Aug 20 2009 11:09 PM
| rant, personal, church, emergent, christian subculture, theology
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the internet was sucked into a swirling vortex of crazy today: john piper blogged. oh, john piper didn't just blog about any ol' thing. he blogged about tornadoes. wait, not just any tornado. piper blogged about the gay tornado. you know, the one god sent to wipe out the 2009 assembly of the evangelical lutheran church yesterday in minneapolis. duh.ok, a quick background might be helpful. over the
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brian mclaren: an open letter on healthcare to conservative christians
i would have titled this rant 3, but this isn't a rant at all (unlike rant 1 and rant 2...). this is a thoughtful, seemingly prayerful olive branch extended by brian mclaren. many people won't be able to get past the first two words of my title—brian mclaren (which he basically acknowledges)—but for those who choose to read it, i think it's exactly what i'd like to say if i would pause in my moments
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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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you are what you eat: john calvin, tony campolo and logical conclusions
let's begin with a cliché, shall we?you are what you eat.it's cliché because it's true. certainly we become what we consume. or, maybe more to the point, we are externally what we are internally.it doesn't take long in reading my blog or having ongoing theological conversations with me to find that tony campolo has greatly shaped the way i engage theology, scripture and others. the consumption of
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poets, prophets and preachers: what else do you want to hear?
with the overwhelming amount of information i consumed at poets, prophets and preachers, i could easily blog about it for the next 6 months (that's barely an exaggeration). i'm gonna go out on a limb and say that most people would soon grow weary...so, i looked back over my notes and i thought i might just put up a list of words and phrases and thoughts that had special significance. here's what you
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poets, prophets and preachers: chocolate covered turds and death by paper cuts
much like with my last post concerning poets, prophets and preachers, it's very difficult to distill the overwhelming and transformative information that was presented into a single, readable blog post. so, once again, i'm choosing a particular session that had significant insights and personal meaning to me.in this case, it was the final session called The One Thing I’ve Never Heard Someone Talk
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quote of the day: the wisdom of parker palmer
i've read a couple of parker palmer's books (the courage to teach and to know as we are known) and they were both deeply transformative and spiritually enlightening. his latest book, a hidden wholeness: the journey toward an undivided life, looks to be another great one worth reading.i came across a quote from the book on zach lind's blog, finding rhythm. it's an incredible quote that is common from
derek webb stockholm syndrome update: new track released - what matters more
Fri, Jul 3 2009 08:29 PM
| church, emergent, christian subculture, theology, music, music you should know, favorites
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as we speak, i'm sulkingly watching a twitter feed following the search term "derek webb". why? because tonight was the big climax to the big derek webb marketing/controversy/scavenger hunt thing, which culminated in a secret show at the rutledge in nashville. the big surprise, apparently, was that webb had vans ready (so it seems from people's semi-vague tweets) to take people back to his home (where
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the god of the bottom
Mon, Jun 29 2009 07:23 PM
| church, emergent, eikon, christian subculture, theology, books
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while i'm not necessarily suggesting some kind of weird, mystic thought connectivity, it certainly seems as if god uses streams of interconnected pieces of thinking to foster my own theological growth and investigation. over the last several days, that very thing has occurred.several days ago, i listened to a podcast that featured an interview with len sweet, a self-described theologian, author and
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twitter me this: iran, protests and social media
Wed, Jun 17 2009 09:34 PM
| technology, emergent, popular culture, websites, politics
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for those of you who decided to disconnect from absolutely any media outlet, social media site or the entire communicative human race over the last several days, let me catch you up to speed with what's going on in iran right now.last friday (june 12), iran held presidential elections. incumbent mahmoud ahmadinejad is a real piece of work (famous for denying the holocaust, calling for the dissolution
isn't it ironic: indie sensibilities and the rise of hip hop
Sat, Jun 13 2009 11:42 PM
| mustaches, emergent, music, popular culture
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isn't it ironic? coincidentally (i swear i didn't plan this...), 14 years ago today, alanis morissette released her breakthrough (and still amazing) album jagged little pill and, of course, posed this very question. further, of course, we all know that absolutely nothing in that great song was actually ironic. strangely coincidental, but certainly not ironic.so, again, i pose the question, isn't it
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postmodernity according to gillian welch and madonna
Sat, Jun 13 2009 12:55 PM
| emergent, theology, music, popular culture
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chalk this up as my absolutely random post of the week. hey, it's saturday, why not?quite some time ago, i discovered a hilarious children's book being published by paste magazine called an indie rock alphabet book. basically, each page pairs up a letter with an indie artist and makes some quirky rhyming sentence. for example, birthdays, puppy dogs, breakfast in bed...nothing could be better than radiohead.
quote of the day: death of emergent?
in the last couple days, the ripples from a blog post by nick fiedler (of the nick & josh podcast) has swept through the emergent blogosphere. his post, titled the great disappointment (a post about emergent) basically expressed his disappointment with returning to the states after spending a significant time traveling abroad and feeling like emergent had somewhat stagnated.naturally, it stirred
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supreme court nominee sotomayor: facts vs. experience vs. truth
Sun, May 31 2009 04:41 PM
| emergent, theology, popular culture, politics
| permalink
let me be very clear: i know very little about supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor. here's what i do know, though:1. her name sounds like a character from some kind of international spy movie. i'm thinking like some kind of unassuming hispanic housewife turned international spy. there would be plenty of shooting poisoning russians and maybe even some kind of battle with polish hackers...2. white
knock knock: jesus and the other jesus
Tue, May 26 2009 10:04 PM
| church, emergent, christian subculture, theology
| permalink
i don't like to begin posts with these types of disclaimers, but, more and more, i find a certain segment of my readership, shall we say, likes to assume the worst about things i write. so, the following is not a condemnation of any other churches or lofty claims about my own spirituality. hopefully, i'm approaching this with a matthew 7:4 type of attitude... so, here goes.let's talk revelation. :)
the common
for quite some time, there's been a bit of a debate—primarily in the blogosphere—about whether or not true community can happen online. moreover, some have argued that not only can a true sense of community not happen online, but that virtual forms of "community"—like blogs, twitter, facebook, etc—actually work to kill true community.i tend to fall somewhere in the middle of the debate. whereas
from the eikon blog: organic community
Mon, May 4 2009 10:13 PM
| church, emergent, eikon, christian subculture, theology, blog stuff
| permalink
hello all,thought i'd take a quick moment to implore you to check out the eikon blog if you haven't before or check back if it's been awhile. i just put up a post about organic community and a bit about what that means.also, we're about to begin work on the real deal eikon website (finally), so that should be exciting. keep checking in on the eikon blog for news on that.alright, as you were.
of gays and gods: thoughts about closed-ended questions
how's that for a title of a post?? :)there are two responses to questions that are absolutely unhelpful: yes and no.these answers do very little to engage a thoughtful dialogue and ongoing conversation. they're highly sought out, though, given a culture—highly prevalent within the church—of closed-ended questions.closed-ended questions are questions that elicit a single word reponse: either yes
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two futures: a call for nuclear disarmament
Wed, Apr 29 2009 09:54 PM
| videos, personal, emergent, christian subculture, theology, politics
| permalink
it's no mystery to my regular blog readers: i'm anti-war.under any circumstances.let me offer a singular reason for this proclamation, from which many other reasons flow.i follow jesus and i believe the things he said.that could be the end.but, there's more.even in the event that the world is at peace in regards to physically fighting a war (which i don't foresee for a very long time), it still doesn't
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god is not a white man
Wed, Apr 29 2009 09:38 PM
| videos, church, emergent, humor, christian subculture, theology, music
| permalink
well, i don't think this post/video will be nearly as provocative as the title suggests. although, it is certainly the content of said post/video.the michael gungor band—who, quite honestly, i know very little about—has released a video for a song called white man. in it, they declare, in fact, that god isn't a white man. neither is he an old man or even a man. they go on to make various declarations
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thoughts on the death and resurrection of jesus
you know, i started writing a lengthy piece about the significance of the death and resurrection of jesus and while it would have been fun and hopefully informative, i thought there was some content already out there in the blogosphere (and beyond) that was worth sharing.tony jones wrote a couple posts—why jesus died and why jesus rose—in which he attempts to offer a "minority" view of the atoning
theology thursday
Thu, Apr 9 2009 07:10 PM
| church, emergent, eikon, christian subculture, theology, popular culture
| permalink
this weekend, people who follow in the way of christ celebrate a very pivotal and unparalleled day known, of course, as easter. over the last several weeks, in conjunction with the lead-up to easter, there's been quite a bit of social and cultural commentary related to matters of faith.my office is a great place because it's sort of a microcosm of society and culture. while we have a lot of young people
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from the eikon blog: graphics and god
Tue, Apr 7 2009 11:06 PM
| art, emergent, eikon, graphic design, theology, popular culture
| permalink
i just posted another piece on the eikon blog about the intersection of faith and culture concerning motion and print designer barton damer. damer is two things (among many other things): an unbelievably amazing designer and a christ follower. so, i wrote a little about the interplay between the two that is found in his life and work.so, go check it out here!
quote of the day
"You’re only as young as the last time you changed your mind." -timothy leary (truth is, indeed, everywhere...)
from the eikon blog: thile theology
i just posted a piece on the eikon blog that i wrote about the intersection of faith and culture concerning the punch brothers' 40-minute epic piece the blind leaving the blind. punch brothers is fronted by former nickel creek wunderkind chris thile. thile, on this album/track, is the most open and honest about his move away from his childhood faith than any of his previous efforts and therefore, offers
the recession and the affluent church
it only takes about 2 seconds of watching any news channel to receive a panicky reminder of the reality of the recession. likewise, it takes maybe half that time to be reminded about it at church. whether it's a sermon reference or a bulletin announcement or just a couple people having a conversation before the service, the economy is on the mind and lips of people everywhere.to me, the interesting
nailing jello to the wall: defining emerging church
Tue, Feb 17 2009 09:35 PM
| videos, personal, church, emergent, christian subculture, theology, worship
| permalink
i've talked before on here about my mixed readership. on one hand, many of you read my blog in order to engage with my theological musings, while others of you could give a rip about this whole jesus thing. undoubtedly, most of you fall somewhere in the middle.for those of you who aren't theology nerds like myself or for those who aren't really connected to the church, maybe you've been scratching
theological lumping
Fri, Feb 13 2009 11:09 PM
| personal, emergent, blog stuff
| permalink
recently, i had a conversation with a good friend (and regular blog reader) about my regular references to various names in the theological sphere of the emerging church conversation. he jokingly brought it up, but it was sort of a "ha ha...but seriously..." kind of conversation.in essence, he was referring to citing authors, bloggers and thinkers in various posts here on my blog such as tony jones,
woe to those who have blog synergy
Sat, Feb 7 2009 09:36 PM
| personal, church, emergent, eikon, christian subculture, theology
| permalink
today i had blog post inspiration synergy.this morning: came across luke 6:26: woe to you when all men speak well of you...this afternoon: had a conversation with my mom (of all people...) about a respected friend saying very hurtful and negative things about me to others.tonight: cranked up the ol' ipod, turned it on 'shuffle songs' and up popped derek webb's nobody loves me.synergy, indeed. :)so,
tired, worn |||amp; haggard: our brother ted
Tue, Feb 3 2009 09:46 PM
| church, emergent, confessions, christian subculture, theology, politics
| permalink
before the current 15 minutes of media attention of ted haggard disappears, i might as well jump on the blog bandwagon...no, actually, while the blogosphere (and media, in general) have been abuzz about ted haggard and last week's premiere of alexandra's pelosi's hbo documentary, the trials of ted haggard (which, unfortunately, i haven't seen), i've wanted to spend a little time in some serious reflection
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rob bell talks faith and art with patrol magazine
Sun, Feb 1 2009 06:08 PM
| art, emergent, christian subculture, theology
| permalink
the admired/despised/loved/hated/prophet/false prophet/messiah/antichrist rob bell sat down with patrol magazine for a conversation about faith and art. as always, bell has some deeply insightful and introspective commentary concerning these issues (particularly the brief discussion of the needlessly controversial sculpture my sweet lord by new york artist cosimo cavallaro). you can read it in its
beware the sound of one hand clapping: intelligent design
Fri, Jan 30 2009 10:43 PM
| reviews, emergent, christian subculture, theology, science, politics
| permalink
this will be the first of a 3 part series of posts titled, beware the sound of one hand clapping. the title comes from a line in the 2007 documentary, expelled: no intelligence allowed. what i'd like to do is offer a very quick intro to the series, present a brief review of the movie and then get into the brunt of the topic.this series spawns from a quote by stephen c. meyer, director and senior fellow
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inaugural jesus
Wed, Jan 21 2009 08:07 PM
| videos, church, emergent, christian subculture, theology, politics
| permalink
unfortunately, i wasn't able to steal any time away yesterday to offer some thoughts on the historic magnitude of the day. if you've followed my blog for long, you will know that yesterday was an emotional and proud day for me, having been an obama supporter from literally day one of his candidacy. far beyond people's political affiliations and preferences and loyalties, yesterday was a moment that
quote of the day
Tue, Jan 20 2009 05:01 PM
| church, emergent, eikon, quotes, christian subculture, theology
| permalink
unfortunately, i can't cite the source of this great quote because i saw it on twitter at some point and now i can't locate it. it was retweeted and it wasn't from a person i follow, hence the inability to find the source.one of my guiding life theologies is the implications of incarnational living, modeled after the life of christ. so, i thought this was a really great and beautiful way of talking
introducing eikon church.
in late 2007, our family packed our bags and moved to little rock. our extended family is here. our friends are here. but, ultimately, that isn't why we came.well over two years ago, a small nudge to move back to little rock unexpectedly became an overwhelming and life-changing dream to start a church in the downtown little rock area. knowing the church makeup in little rock, we knew there was a large
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evangelicalism smackdown: the battle for the bible belt
Sun, Jan 11 2009 12:20 PM
| personal, arkansas, church, emergent, little rock, humor, christian subculture, theology, politics
| permalink
there's always those cliché types of comments that people make that lay claim to various assertions. for instance, you'll hear something to the effect of, "oh my gosh, i saw the most hilarious thing last night!" really? it was the most hilarious thing that exists in the pantheon of hilarious things? or, you'll hear people lay claim to such things as, "things have never been this bad, so we must be
doesn't revel when others grovel...
Mon, Jan 5 2009 10:03 PM
| personal, church, emergent, work, christian subculture, theology
| permalink
let me first say that i don't have many/any rules for my blog. i try not to censor myself and i try to let it be a free-flowing thought stream, of sorts. other than that, really, i don't have any "rules." as close to a rule as i get, though, is a decision to not talk about work-related matters too much. it's no big deal to talk about general work issues, but i make it a rule to never talk about advertisers
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emergent jesus
Mon, Jan 5 2009 12:04 AM
| church, emergent, humor, christian subculture, theology, websites
| permalink
as i've pointed out before on here, i'm very thankful to have a wide array of readers. probably half of you enjoy (and look forward to) reading my blogs that focus on theology, whereas probably the other half of you scroll past those long, theological forays. i'm very thankful for the readership diversity.so, this and what i hope is a series of posts, will probably have very little interest to you
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rick warren, lesbian rock stars and generative friendship
Wed, Dec 24 2008 09:17 PM
| personal, church, emergent, christian subculture, theology, websites, politics
| permalink
for the last week or so, i have watched/read with increasing amazement at the intensity of the rick warren/obama inauguration story. for those who may be hiding under a rock, here's the basic gist of things:rick warren, pastor of saddleback church in southern california, has been invited by barack obama to deliver the prayer of invocation at obama's upcoming inauguration. media/blogosphere/gay community/conservative
theology on tap
Fri, Dec 19 2008 12:29 AM
| church, emergent, little rock, christian subculture, theology
| permalink
if you've been following me on twitter lately, you may have noticed that i've been obsessive with vino's lately. in the last 10 days, i have either eaten there or taken out food 4 times. this is great for my social life, but not so great for the ol' love handles... there's no reason why i've been on this kick, other than once i get something i like, i tend to be drawn there often until i get burned
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penn |||amp; the gideon
yeah, that sounds like some kind of lost bible story just waiting to be discovered in some scroll: penn & the gideon...anyway, most of you know penn jillette, one half of the comedy/magic duo penn & teller. one of the most prominent aspects of his personal (and sometimes professional life) is that he is an ardent atheist. he isn't just your 'hey, i don't believe in god' kind of atheist. he's
more goodness from tony campolo: power vs. authority
Thu, Dec 11 2008 11:53 PM
| recommendations, church, emergent, christian subculture, theology, family
| permalink
recently, i wrote about a podcast with tony campolo in which he contrasted power and love. it was a deeply affective topic for me and his depth and insight carried over into something i heard from him today.i managed to track down an mp3 of a sermon he preached at the denver seminary's chapel service in october. in it, he talked about the difference between power and authority. it's absolutely brilliant
quote of the day
the library is the napster of book selling. —doug pagitt(obviously meant as humorous...)
my guiding theologies: scripture
alright, here's part 2 (or 3 if you count the intro...) of my blog series, my guiding theologies. enjoy. (and feel free to comment)statement: scripture: the bible is the foremost guidebook from which flows my understanding of the way i engage others, relate to my wife, raise my children, lead others, interact with christ and inform every other aspect of my life.what: as stated, i view the bible as
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power vs. love: the psychology of a man |||amp; his bride
i am a subscriber/regular listener to tony campolo's podcast, across the pond (here's the itunes link). as i believe i've stated on the blog before, campolo is one of my top few favorite theologians/speakers/authors/etc.—bar none. his thoughts on a number of issues have really helped me to put shape to some of the things that i've been working through over the last 4 or 5 years.today on the podcast,
my guiding theologies: christ
ok, so, if someone could remind never to promise anything in my blog posts, that would be great. as you may recall, in the intro to this blog series, i said that "beginning tomorrow" (which would have been friday) i would be kicking off the series... well, not so much... how about beginning right now??...statement: christ: the life, ministry, mission and values of jesus are the foremost guideposts in
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10 reasons why men should not be church leaders
i blogged about eugene cho's website a couple days ago and upon a return visit, i came across some more thoughts on the need for equality for women in church leadership (and beyond). one of his most visited blog posts is a satirical list of the 10 reasons why men should not be ordained. obviously this is a joke, but it serves to show how ridiculous the arguments against women being able to lead the
UPDATE: mark driscoll: the sad gospel of male chauvinism and female denigration
Fri, Nov 28 2008 04:16 PM
| personal, church, emergent, christian subculture, theology, websites
| permalink
a few weeks ago, i posted this discussion about mark driscoll's proclamation that stay-at-home dads were on a short track to hell (with video). i'm not surprised to find that there's been others in the blogosphere (and beyond) who didn't really receive his commentary with open arms (and rightfully so). honestly, after re-watching the video and re-listening to his thoughts, it makes me even more sad
my guiding theologies: intro
for quite some time, i've wanted to do a series of posts that discuss the core values—the guiding theologies—that guide and shape my life. i prefer to use the words guiding theologies, as opposed to simply core values, because theologies describe the nature of god, of whom we were created to be like. values, often, simply suggest things that we choose, whereas guiding theologies are things that
beautiful summation of the christian faith by tony jones
i don't twitter. if you would have asked me a month ago about twitter, i would have told you how retarded it is...now, though, i'm fighting the urge to jump on board. (don't...do....it...ryan...) i've been casually following a couple people here lately on twitter and i actually came across a very striking and beautiful tweet through tony jones's blog (and you can follow him on twitter here).apparently
advent songs: scrooge, the music snob, approved.
Mon, Nov 17 2008 09:59 PM
| recommendations, emergent, theology, music
| permalink
i've blogged at least a couple times about noisetrade.com and i continue to check regularly (they also have a blog/rss feed if you're interested in keeping up) for new music. if you didn't read about noisetrade, in essence, it's a free/pay-what-you-want music download website. founded by derek webb, it's really a cool way for artists to get their music out and for people to check out some music they
the real atlas: sad analogous observations
i came across this on telegraph, a news site out of the uk. it's a really fascinating map software that depicts the nations of the world, not by their physical size, but by their demographic importance on a range of subjects. there are some interesting analogous observations that really aren't that difficult to make.as a standard, here's just the standard map that is produced by this software.
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boo on women...
Fri, Nov 14 2008 09:26 PM
| church, emergent, christian subculture, theology
| permalink
...so says the southern baptist convention/lifeway resources. well, to be fair, they're actually saying boo on women pastors and the publishers who choose to feature them on the cover of their magazine. what you see to the right is the cover of the september/october edition of gospel today. their cover story dealt with breaking the glass ceiling of female leadership/pastors within the church. great
mark driscoll: the sad gospel of male chauvinism and female denigration
i just spent literally an hour writing this blog post and when i got done, i decided what i wrote wasn't helpful, at best. so, if you want to read it, you can do so here, but otherwise, here's a much more helpful post:basically, i came across this video today that was posted by mark driscoll (pastor/founder of mars hill church in seattle; author and speaker who is adored by his "charismatic calvinist"
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great quote
Sun, Nov 9 2008 04:05 PM
| general life, church, emergent, quotes, christian subculture, theology, politics
| permalink
i've heard this many times before, but a pastor at church today used this and it really jumped out to me.politics. religion. relationships. true in any context.when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. —bernard baruch
24 karat bull.
Tue, Nov 4 2008 09:24 PM
| church, emergent, humor, christian subculture, theology, politics
| permalink
it's story time with uncle ryan. gather round kids.once upon a time there were a group of people of god who were living in very dire times. the political climate was uncertain. economically, things were tight and religion was a very divisive issue. in the midst of all these crises, instead of putting their faith in god to see them through, the people turned to a golden cow. they gathered round this
why i can't not vote for obama: a manifesto of hope
Fri, Oct 31 2008 12:24 AM
| personal, church, emergent, christian subculture, theology, family, politics
| permalink
in 5 days, i will go to my local polling station and cast a vote for barack obama for president of the united states of america. a dirty and heated presidential race will finally come to an end.i'm most glad that the hateful and deceptive emails and divisive political climate will somewhat recede. after receiving yet another email full of lies and hate toward barack obama, i felt compelled to sit down
the church, politics and lies
Mon, Oct 20 2008 08:46 PM
| church, emergent, christian subculture, theology, worship, politics
| permalink
it's truly amazing what people will do when they think you're headed straight down the path to hell. in our case, some are under the impression that voting for obama is said path. we've had a couple people in our life, specifically, who have tried various things to make us "see the light" and realize that voting for obama is sinful or, at best, a crime against humanity.yesterday, we were given a small
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old cowboys never die..ok, wait, this one did...
apparently i'm a couple months behind on my cowboy obituary list, because i missed this one. on august 13, a fashionista of epic proportions rode off into the sunset (ha ha....get it out...rode off into the sunset...you know, like a metaphor for dying....but, you know, he's a cowboy....get it...ha ha...). after 107 years of rocking some sweet button snaps, jack weil passed away?"but who is jack weil,"
church quote
Thu, Oct 9 2008 09:45 PM
| personal, church, emergent, quotes, christian subculture, theology
| permalink
i'll be the first one to admit that i can be one of the biggest critics of the american church. quite frankly, we deserve it. moreover than just criticism, we need is a group of reformers, much like those around 400 years ago, who are bold and committed to truth enough to make some hard statements and challenge believers to make some much-needed changes.anyway, i won't get off on too much of a tangent,
healthy, wealthy...and wise?
hey, i don't know if you guys heard or not, but somebody told me something about you and me—you know, taxpayers—giving a bunch of rich white guys at some place called wall street 700 billion dollars... no, no, that's right: 700 billion dollars. oh, you think we should use our taxpayer dollars for ridiculous stuff like healthcare and education and global aids relief. clearly you're retarded. that's
pro life, pro obama
Wed, Oct 1 2008 09:55 PM
| recommendations, personal, emergent, theology, websites, politics
| permalink
a few weeks ago, i blogged about my feelings concerning abortion and my general ethic of life in which i'm pretty sure i just ticked off both sides. some people, in reading that blog and already knowing my feelings about these issues, have questioned my choice to support obama—or any democrat, for that matter. "how could you vote for somebody who wants to kill babies?" (sigh...)well...thanks to my
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plumcots and possibilities
i recently began doug pagitt's new book, a christianity worth believing: hope-filled, open-armed, alive-and-well faith for the left out, left behind, and let down in us all (that's a mouth full...). i hope to get back to it soon (via a little freenobling) because in just getting through the first chapter, there was already so much good stuff.in just the first couple pages of the preface, he offers
find your own calcutta.
recently, tony campolo, on his weekly radio show across the pond (itunes link), sat down with shane claiborne, author of jesus for president and irresistible revolution, for a total of three full episodes. they were so good, i have considered posting them here on the blog. (rather than doing that, though, i would recommend subscribing to the podcast via itunes or via his rss feed.)they discuss quite
god hates blogs: the scurvy dogs
Tue, Sep 23 2008 06:42 PM
| church, emergent, work, humor, christian subculture, theology, politics
| permalink
ah, the pirates. we can't forget the pirates.the pirates' hilarity was the yin to the westboro crazies' sad yang. oh wait, the westboro people hate china...so forget the chinese philosophy reference...anyway, the pirates completed the circle of absurdity friday and made for a good time. as stated in the first post of this series, the pirates weren't just your average run-of-the-mill wackies who just
god hates blogs: the demigods
Sun, Sep 21 2008 09:08 PM
| church, emergent, work, humor, christian subculture, theology, politics
| permalink
truly, this is sad.it's sad. and it's anti-god.as eager as i was to go see the commotion behind our office, when my coworker told me who was out there, i was almost dreading seeing the reality of the situation. sure, we had a good laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation and at how absurd the westboro baptist people were, but it was still sad and heartbreaking and deflating and embarassing.these
god hates blogs: demigods and scurvy dogs
Sun, Sep 21 2008 02:07 PM
| church, emergent, work, humor, christian subculture, theology, politics
| permalink
as my last blog teased, it was quite the day friday at the office. wow...i honestly don't even know where to begin. to avoid making this a ridiculously long blog, i think i'm going to revert back to the 3-post experiment that i tried last week. most likely, i'll write them all today, but it will at least break them up into digestible chunks. this first post will basically set the scene and be more
god hates upcoming blog teasers.
Fri, Sep 19 2008 11:26 PM
| church, emergent, work, humor, christian subculture, theology, politics, blog stuff
| permalink
ok, quite the day in the neighborhood today... hopefully tomorrow i'll get a chance to write all about it on the ol' blog, but in the meantime, here's a couple pics to serve as a teaser...check back tomorrow!
the dangerous power of labels
lately, i've been experiencing a little frustration about a recent conversation of which i was a part. this conversation, while significant, was merely a symbol of a growing frustration i've had for awhile. now, i will pause and say, for those who don't know me all that well, that not many things bother me or get to me. and in this case, it isn't like i'm losing sleep or have some kind of deep-seeded
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god the mother? nooma she | 021 rob bell
Wed, Aug 20 2008 09:52 PM
| church, movies, emergent, christian subculture, theology, favorites
| permalink
several years ago, i had the opportunity to read good news for women: a biblical picture of gender equality by rebecca merrill groothuis. i would highly recommend this book, especially if you struggle or are just downright opposed to female leadership within the church. growing up, i never saw women in church leadership and i was always a little confused about that. i just assumed that that was "correct",
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instead of a show by jon foreman
i'm getting ready to write a review of jon foreman's (lead singer of switchfoot) four ep seasonal series, fall, winter, spring & summer (maybe i'll get it up in a day or two...). until then, though, i had to share a song from the latest of the four, summer. the song's called instead of a show and it has some pointed lyrics, to say the very least. i won't say too much now, but you can read the
gay divorce?
Fri, Jul 18 2008 06:09 PM
| church, emergent, christian subculture, theology
| permalink
i'm a [semi] regular reader of dan kimball's blog and he has recently begun a good (and foreseeably much-needed) conversation concerning gay marriage and divorce. dan lives and pastors in santa cruz, california, where gay marriage was recently legalized. since that time, many gay couples have taken the trip down the proverbial aisle. in a post-worship gathering open forum, someone submitted the following
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heresy and can lights
Mon, Jul 14 2008 08:23 PM
| church, emergent, christian subculture, theology
| permalink
yesterday morning, our family visited crossbridge church where my uncle, ron byrd, is the church planter and pastor. in keeping with the curse of being a pastor who is not currently pastoring, listening to sermons is primarily a launching point for my own sermon ideas. typically, it's not a thing of me thinking, 'hey, i need to rip off this sermon,' but more of a thing where some little side note or
pay phones and the emerging church
i am currently reading tony jones' new book the new christians: dispatches from the emergent frontier (thanks to christen and lucy for the father's day gift...) and having just barely cracked the book, i've already found something that was very profound and a great analogy to help communicate the necessity of the emergent conversation.i thought it might be most helpful to just copy his analogy verbatim
almost-god
i have to confess to something that is really pathetic. i'm calling it freenobling. here's how it works: you go to barnes and noble, find a comfortable chair and begin reading a book. repeat as needed to finish said book. yes, indeed. freeloading at its best. so, i'm currently anticipating trip #4 in which i will continue to read shane claiborne's new book jesus for president. in just under a hundred
classic christianese moment
Wed, Jun 11 2008 10:33 PM
| emergent, christian subculture, theology
| permalink
wow. classic exchange tonight.i've been wanting to read tony jones' new book the new christians since it came out recently. tonight, i decided to go get it. i went to a couple bookstores and they either didn't have it or it cost more than what i wanted to pay, so i went to the third option to see if they had it. i won't name the place, but let's just say it's a large christian bookstore chain and it's
