No, I didn't misspell that....
"Driver blames speeding on bad Oreo dunk"
http://www.komotv.com/news/offbeat/16941381.html
A friend of mine mentioned that this is the perfect opportunity for Nabisco to jump in with "pre-dunked" Oreos, specifically for drivers! It's all about safety!!!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier - REVIEW (part 2)
Lately, I've been struggling with how Christians relate to their community. More importantly, how I relate to my community as a Christian. In fact, I was talking to my wife about how many Christians turn "it" into a sales pitch...and that's not "good news" to most people.
Tony Jones in "The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier" tells the story of Trucker Frank. Frank, a middle aged divorcee, drives a truck between Minneapolis and Kansas City, and spends a lot of time at a Christian book store, becoming one of their best customers. He would often buy multiple copies of books and give them out. However, the new manager of the store basically banned the employees from spending time with Frank at the store...because of his "unconventional views".
In all fairness, as a business owner, I'd likely be concerned about a loiterer. But that's not the point.
Frank is looking for community. When a discussion arose at church about "exclusivity", Frank had a glorious insight that he shared. Specifically, the scripture being discussed was the section in Matthew 18 where Jesus talked about confronting a brother. I had always been taught that this was a key passage for not hanging out with non-Christians, or taking an unrepentant believer and kicking him out of the church community. Frank, also a retired pastor I should add, had a diferent take. Jesus said that these people should be treated like a tax collector or pagan. The way of Jesus is not one of excommunication, but one of forgiveness and reconciliation. He welcomed tax collectors (Matthew was a TC) and pagans.
Perhaps, instead of ostracizing, love really is the answer for getting someone back on track.
So, a step away from Tony for a second. The ministry of reconciliation that we are called to by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians is harder than it would seem. We (my wife and I) have a friend who was raised as a devout Buddhist. Her parents are still devout, even though she has put her faith in Christ. Her parents have been to "Interfaith" prayer meetings and think "We pray to the divine, they pray to the divine...it's al good." When people think that, what is there to reconcile? How, as follower's of Christ, can we..or should we...point that relativism can go too far? How do we promote belief in an all powerful, all knowing, all present, singular God, without turning it into a sales pitch? Now, the next question....Is it up to us to "sell" it? What is the role of God, or the Holy Spirit?
Back to the book....
Theology, discourse about God, is a central pillar of emergent thinking. Tony states that "theology is talk about the nexus of divine and human action." But, it isn't just talk. Any human endeavor about God..poetry, art, songs..is theology. Because it is experiential, theology is fluid. "As a result, emergent Christians often get labeled as "slippery". It is an attitude of reverence and desire to learn, not to argue. However, many Christians argue that the Bible has very plain and simple meanings. It doesn't. The more I read the Bible, the more I am drawn to its unfathomable complexity...the handiwork of God is evident. Jones says as much.
Jones does not spend a lot of time discussing theories of atonement, or even what is true or what isn't. He simply says that emergents are humble about claiming true understanding. This is not a denial of absolute truth, nor an embrace of full relativism, but landing somewhere in between the two poles.
He does deny Legalism....but, so did Jesus.
Tony spends several chapters describing the thrill of interpretation. I resonate with this!!! If the Spirit leads us into all truth, we must accept alternate interpretation at any particular time. Theology is fluid. There are times that I read a Bible verse and it means something totally different than it did last time. That does not decrease the value of my earlier interpretation; it enhances and increases the depth and complexity. I love it.
"Dispatch 13: Emergents believe that truth, like God, cannot be definitively articulated by finite human beings."
A rigid theology puts God in a box.
He closes the book with several chapters of case studies of emergent congregations, including Karen Ward's "Church of the Apostles" here in Seattle.
I really enjoy this book. Obviously, since it took up two full blog posts, it had an impact. Read it! Discuss it!! Let me know what you think.
Questions:
Tony Jones in "The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier" tells the story of Trucker Frank. Frank, a middle aged divorcee, drives a truck between Minneapolis and Kansas City, and spends a lot of time at a Christian book store, becoming one of their best customers. He would often buy multiple copies of books and give them out. However, the new manager of the store basically banned the employees from spending time with Frank at the store...because of his "unconventional views".
In all fairness, as a business owner, I'd likely be concerned about a loiterer. But that's not the point.
Frank is looking for community. When a discussion arose at church about "exclusivity", Frank had a glorious insight that he shared. Specifically, the scripture being discussed was the section in Matthew 18 where Jesus talked about confronting a brother. I had always been taught that this was a key passage for not hanging out with non-Christians, or taking an unrepentant believer and kicking him out of the church community. Frank, also a retired pastor I should add, had a diferent take. Jesus said that these people should be treated like a tax collector or pagan. The way of Jesus is not one of excommunication, but one of forgiveness and reconciliation. He welcomed tax collectors (Matthew was a TC) and pagans.
Perhaps, instead of ostracizing, love really is the answer for getting someone back on track.
So, a step away from Tony for a second. The ministry of reconciliation that we are called to by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians is harder than it would seem. We (my wife and I) have a friend who was raised as a devout Buddhist. Her parents are still devout, even though she has put her faith in Christ. Her parents have been to "Interfaith" prayer meetings and think "We pray to the divine, they pray to the divine...it's al good." When people think that, what is there to reconcile? How, as follower's of Christ, can we..or should we...point that relativism can go too far? How do we promote belief in an all powerful, all knowing, all present, singular God, without turning it into a sales pitch? Now, the next question....Is it up to us to "sell" it? What is the role of God, or the Holy Spirit?
Back to the book....
Theology, discourse about God, is a central pillar of emergent thinking. Tony states that "theology is talk about the nexus of divine and human action." But, it isn't just talk. Any human endeavor about God..poetry, art, songs..is theology. Because it is experiential, theology is fluid. "As a result, emergent Christians often get labeled as "slippery". It is an attitude of reverence and desire to learn, not to argue. However, many Christians argue that the Bible has very plain and simple meanings. It doesn't. The more I read the Bible, the more I am drawn to its unfathomable complexity...the handiwork of God is evident. Jones says as much.
Jones does not spend a lot of time discussing theories of atonement, or even what is true or what isn't. He simply says that emergents are humble about claiming true understanding. This is not a denial of absolute truth, nor an embrace of full relativism, but landing somewhere in between the two poles.
He does deny Legalism....but, so did Jesus.
Tony spends several chapters describing the thrill of interpretation. I resonate with this!!! If the Spirit leads us into all truth, we must accept alternate interpretation at any particular time. Theology is fluid. There are times that I read a Bible verse and it means something totally different than it did last time. That does not decrease the value of my earlier interpretation; it enhances and increases the depth and complexity. I love it.
"Dispatch 13: Emergents believe that truth, like God, cannot be definitively articulated by finite human beings."
A rigid theology puts God in a box.
He closes the book with several chapters of case studies of emergent congregations, including Karen Ward's "Church of the Apostles" here in Seattle.
I really enjoy this book. Obviously, since it took up two full blog posts, it had an impact. Read it! Discuss it!! Let me know what you think.
Questions:
- How important is the "sales pitch"?
- What excites you about the Bible? Anything?
- Any topics here you'd like me to cover more in depth? I've got blogging ammunition for years with some of this.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier - REVIEW (part 1)
I don't normally do book reviews on my blog, but this is SO important, given what I like to think of as the main subject matter of my blog.
For the last eight years, I have been in a radical transformation in my faith, my worldview, and my interpretations of things of which I'd always thought I was certain. My spiritual mentor at the time told me that I was solidly postmodern. So, this transformation has been to learn (or "figure out") what that means.
It was around that time (2000/2001) that I was introduced to something "new", called Emergent. I found myself reading and absorbing theology in ways that made sense to me. Started reading McLaren, Kimball, Pagitt, as well as rereading classic "church fathers", monastics, and seeing things in a new light. Understand, please, that I do NOT agree with everything I read, so, if you disagree with anyone mentioned in this article, don't paint me with a guilty by association brush, okay. But please, respect the conversation, that's all I ask.
So, for the last eight years my spiritual life has been exciting and vibrant again!!! I have made new friends who challenge me all the time to think in new ways. But, I have also run into the dark side of things Emergent. Many who I respect greatly have been labeled as heretics. Most of these so called heretics are not heretics, but questioners of the status quo..not to disprove, but to deconstruct and understand. That's one of the things that excites me so much. That's my kind of intellectual exercise.
One of the voices in the Emergent conversation is Tony Jones. Regular readers of my blog will recognize the name. Others may not know of Tony. Tony is the national coordinator of Emergent Village, a very loose knit organization coordinating events and fundraising around emergent issues. Please note, Emergent is not a denomination or an organized committee making decisions on what is "Orthodox" or even, necessarily, pointing out flaws in other groups. The closest description is a conversation among friends -- a generative friendship, as it were.
Tony's latest book -- The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier -- is an introduction to the history of the emergent movement, a dissection of the characteristics of those of us who consider ourselves to be "emergent" and, without using defensive language, a logical, and even Biblical, explanation of some of the beliefs that are core to emergents. These are not "Articles of Faith" or a "doctrinal statement" that must be signed in order to join. These beliefs and understandings are commonalities that are displaying after 10 years of this Emergent conversation. It struck a chord with me, and I now recommend it to anyone who questions what Emergent is about.
Tony begins with a description of the issues facing churches on the "left" (i.e. Mainline protestantism) and on the "right". (i.e. Evangelical protestantism) Of course, this separation is classically referred to as Liberal and Conservative. "Both are beholden to a scheme that philosophers call foundationalism." (Defined as the "theory that at the bottom of all human knowledge is a set of self-inferential or internally justified beliefs".) Unfortunately, it is becoming clear, through an infinite regression of questions to find the self-evident foundation, that no such "foundation" exists. Note: this isn't about God...everyone on both sides agree that God is an unshakeable foundation. However, when people often start discussing "iron-clad" beliefs, the questions eventually drop to an answer of "Just because it's true, okay?"
Looking forward to the conversation!!!! I'll post part two soon.
For the last eight years, I have been in a radical transformation in my faith, my worldview, and my interpretations of things of which I'd always thought I was certain. My spiritual mentor at the time told me that I was solidly postmodern. So, this transformation has been to learn (or "figure out") what that means.
It was around that time (2000/2001) that I was introduced to something "new", called Emergent. I found myself reading and absorbing theology in ways that made sense to me. Started reading McLaren, Kimball, Pagitt, as well as rereading classic "church fathers", monastics, and seeing things in a new light. Understand, please, that I do NOT agree with everything I read, so, if you disagree with anyone mentioned in this article, don't paint me with a guilty by association brush, okay. But please, respect the conversation, that's all I ask.
So, for the last eight years my spiritual life has been exciting and vibrant again!!! I have made new friends who challenge me all the time to think in new ways. But, I have also run into the dark side of things Emergent. Many who I respect greatly have been labeled as heretics. Most of these so called heretics are not heretics, but questioners of the status quo..not to disprove, but to deconstruct and understand. That's one of the things that excites me so much. That's my kind of intellectual exercise.
One of the voices in the Emergent conversation is Tony Jones. Regular readers of my blog will recognize the name. Others may not know of Tony. Tony is the national coordinator of Emergent Village, a very loose knit organization coordinating events and fundraising around emergent issues. Please note, Emergent is not a denomination or an organized committee making decisions on what is "Orthodox" or even, necessarily, pointing out flaws in other groups. The closest description is a conversation among friends -- a generative friendship, as it were.
Tony's latest book -- The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier -- is an introduction to the history of the emergent movement, a dissection of the characteristics of those of us who consider ourselves to be "emergent" and, without using defensive language, a logical, and even Biblical, explanation of some of the beliefs that are core to emergents. These are not "Articles of Faith" or a "doctrinal statement" that must be signed in order to join. These beliefs and understandings are commonalities that are displaying after 10 years of this Emergent conversation. It struck a chord with me, and I now recommend it to anyone who questions what Emergent is about.
Tony begins with a description of the issues facing churches on the "left" (i.e. Mainline protestantism) and on the "right". (i.e. Evangelical protestantism) Of course, this separation is classically referred to as Liberal and Conservative. "Both are beholden to a scheme that philosophers call foundationalism." (Defined as the "theory that at the bottom of all human knowledge is a set of self-inferential or internally justified beliefs".) Unfortunately, it is becoming clear, through an infinite regression of questions to find the self-evident foundation, that no such "foundation" exists. Note: this isn't about God...everyone on both sides agree that God is an unshakeable foundation. However, when people often start discussing "iron-clad" beliefs, the questions eventually drop to an answer of "Just because it's true, okay?"
Just because. Part of me wants to say, "That's Faith." Another wants to ask, "Why?" That makes me emergent.
Tony also throws out this challenge. "The church that doesn't challenge its members to face the core ethical issues that confront them everyday at work is the church that has abdicated its responsibility. Many evangelical churches have emphasized the vertical, just-me-and-Jesus relationship to the exclusion of the horizontal relationships with other human beings and with all of creation." He goes on to say that this "individualism" precludes many evangelical churches from affecting the very changes that rally its members." He also makes reference to this attitude being responsible for their inability to diagnose and solve systemic social issues.
Brian Mclaren makes similar claims in "Everything Must Change" and I wholeheartedly agree. This lack of a societal heart change, this missional view, is one core difference between "modern" and "postmodern/emergent".
So, who are emergent Christians. Tony identifies 3 characteristics:
- People who feel great disappointment with modern American Christianity
- A high desire for "inclusion"...openness, non-judgmental..but not necessarily relativistic.
- A hope-filled orientation. (page 72)
Throughout the book, Jones has "dispatches", effectively sidebars with key points. In reference to the emergent view of culture, dispatch 6 says "Emergents see God's activity in all aspects of culture and reject the sacred-secular divide. I struggle with this. I agree, but do not completely reject a sacred-secular divide. I do reject that it is as stringent as the moern church has made it, but I do not, out of hand, reject it.
"Everything we do in the emergent church is surrounded by an envelope of friendship that is based on lives of reconciliation.", Tony writes. He continues with another charge, “In fact, I’m not even sure it’s even possible to be an orthodox Christian if you’re not living a life of reconciliation.” I’m still, personally, trying to get my head wrapped around that one. What does a life of reconciliation look like? Do I live it? Guess what….more blog fodder. Anyway, it is these views of reconciliation and openness that allows most emergents to have conversations around spiritual issues (i.e. atonement, baptism, orthodoxy) and secular issues (i.e. abortion, AIDS, politics) and reconcile them back to the truth of the message of Jesus. It paints a framing story for the conversation.
End Part 1.
Questions for reflection:
· What strikes you as interesting in what I’ve written so far?
· What areas do you want me to attempt to expound upon?
· How do you respond to the claims Tony makes about “lives of reconciliation” and “rejecting the sacred-secular divide”?
Looking forward to the conversation!!!! I'll post part two soon.
Monday, March 10, 2008
The Blind Men and the Elephant?
Alright, I'm working on the blog posting with my review of Tony Jones new book. I'll just say, "It's Excellent" and let you stew on that for awhile.
Meanwhile, I wanted to give everyone an update on my work situation.
It's like the story of the blind men and the elephant. You know, the one where they all feel a different part and have a different perception. Only, this story has a twist.
The elephant left.
So, the blind men are all staggering around, tripping over furniture, and running into each other. They've heard there's an elephant in the room, but no one can seem to find it. Utter chaos.
Welcome to my job. So, what am I in this story? Easy. I'm the fly on the wall watching stunned at the chaos, and shouting with my insignificantly small voice, "The elephant left, Stop, Stop, Stop!!!!" One person heard me, and said, "You're WRONG!!! We were told there's an elephant!! And we will find the elephant!!!" To which I respond, "And what do you intend to do when you FIND the elephant?" The blind man laughs, and says, "We will do what we have always done!"
I really don't know what that means.
Brad
Meanwhile, I wanted to give everyone an update on my work situation.
It's like the story of the blind men and the elephant. You know, the one where they all feel a different part and have a different perception. Only, this story has a twist.
The elephant left.
So, the blind men are all staggering around, tripping over furniture, and running into each other. They've heard there's an elephant in the room, but no one can seem to find it. Utter chaos.
Welcome to my job. So, what am I in this story? Easy. I'm the fly on the wall watching stunned at the chaos, and shouting with my insignificantly small voice, "The elephant left, Stop, Stop, Stop!!!!" One person heard me, and said, "You're WRONG!!! We were told there's an elephant!! And we will find the elephant!!!" To which I respond, "And what do you intend to do when you FIND the elephant?" The blind man laughs, and says, "We will do what we have always done!"
I really don't know what that means.
Brad
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