Mustard Seed vs. McWorld
July 30, 2004
Have you read anything by Tom Sine? I just finished my first book of his, called Mustard Seed vs. McWorld, and while it started off a little slow, by the end this book picked up a lot of steam and really challenged me. He speaks of “dualistic discipleship”–which is the kind practiced, frankly, by almost every Christian I know, which is the kind of “discipleship” which fails to challenge most of society’s prevailing notions. The “American Dream” is accepted as normative. We have to do so much of life in effectively the same way that the rest of the world does (yes, I acknowledge that we can be a witness in the workplace, of course), and then Jesus and His kingdom gets the leftovers. Toward the end, he gets into talking about cohousing, and doing it in a Christian context. Cohousing in general seems a great idea–”American Dream” notwithstanding–I wonder if doing it in an exclusively Christian context would be something we ought to think seriously about. Anyway, it’s a good and challenging read, one that doesn’t typically make “the list” of “emerging church” reading, but it belongs there.
Much ado about NOTHING…
July 29, 2004
I have managed to avoid the temptation to actually watch the Democratic National Convention, due in no small part to the fact that that temptation is about as strong as my temptation to, I don’ t know, head-butt my garage about 10 times. Is there anything of substance going on there at all? NO. It’s all smoke and mirrors (and probably 95% of the Republican Convention will be the same). Want a good read? Read Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, particularly the section about the “news” and about the pitiful attention spans of the American people, and how much dumber we are now than we used to be. Seriously.
If I want a dose of stupid, I just turn on the TV. If I want a dose of stupid and ignorant, I turn it on and watch the Socialist National Convention…oh, sorry, the Democratic National Convention.
The Holy Spirit: A Nice Option?
July 26, 2004
Is it just me, or does the Holy Spirit seem to be treated by non-charismatic evangelical churches (and I won’t get into how He might be treated in charismatic ones) as more of an “accessory” than the real and necessary Power in everything that we do?
Gettin’ in the groove…
July 26, 2004
Is proving difficult. I’m sure that there is a necessary discipline to sitting down and pounding out a blog thought or two several times a week, but I haven’t gotten into that groove yet. But I’m gonna try, I really am.
George asked about my trip out west. I went to the E Free Church’s National Conference, and took in Ed Stetzer’s day-long seminar on planting churches in a post-modern society. Mixed reviews. I think he’s onto some good stuff (I haven’t read his book), but then on the other hand he talked fairly modern at points. He also didn’t care too much for most of the pomo-church writers I’ve read, at least other than Dan Kimball.
Our family took in some sightseeing on the way back from Salt Lake City, most notably the Badlands and Mount Rushmore. You ought to go to Rushmore if you get the chance. Be careful though, little feet, where you go; I’m standing in a gift shop in Deadwood, South Dakota (noted final resting place of Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok, but population of only a couple thousand), and I get a tap on the shoulder. Turns out it’s a couple that are members of my church. Talk about small world–and about the fact that they found us there, instead of in one of the many casinos lining the streets of Deadwood.
I have a theory about “small-world experiences”. For every one you have, you miss five more by two minutes or a block. Seriously. Only reason Vern and Patty were there was because a restaurant where they were going to eat was full, and told them to kill 30 minutes. Had they eaten in the restaurant, we’d have passed right by, just a few yards away, and never known they were there. For all I know, there was another family in Deadwood that same evening, good friends of ours, and they were on the wrong end of the street to see us. You just never know, right? That’s my theory, one that I’m sure someone will now take and get a zillion dollar government grant to research…
Back in the saddle…
July 11, 2004
What an interesting time to receive the most responses to my blog that I ever have–right when I am hundreds of miles away from my trusty computer for the better part of two weeks! My family and I just completed a journey of over 4800 miles, from western PA to Salt Lake City and back via the Badlands. I highly recommend the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore. At any rate, given the response of 5-6 people to my poll (okay, so that’s not USA Today’s readership, but Al Neuharth started somewhere), I’m eager to blog with more frequency. Thanks to all who took the time to respond!
This phrase comes from the 1978 "Jonestown massacre" in which most members of the Peoples Temple cult, blindly following their leader Jim Jones, committed suicide by drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid.
Osborne: A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God
Schlossberg: Idols For Destruction
