I’ve been observing friends and colleagues who are planting churches around the country lately, from the suburbs to the city to what i’ll call the ‘hood. I don’t think “the hood” needs much definition; it’s usually neglected by the city, developers (unless gentrification is happening) and it’s often peopled by persons of color (although not always). Crime can be often an issue, and life there aint always easy, and poverty is common. At any rate, the question is, what are the implications of planting a church there? Read more…
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Another class-required review:
Let me begin with an affirmation of Hirsch’s book. He is essentially a mirror to evolving ecclesiology; articulating the trends as he sees them. This statement, however, is followed with a proviso; for while I regard Hirsh himself as a capable author, my beef is essentially with the self-avowed experts, those Hirschites who polemicize against all things remotely organized or institutional. Having personally been the target of some claiming the authority of the attractional / incarnational critique (who currently belong to no church, I might add) I have found the criticism to be not only unfair but somewhat elitist in tone, as well as reactionary and containing a polemical ring. No one likes a ranter.
Now, on to an engagement with Hirsh’s ideas themselves. Read more…
There’s been some trending away from the idea of “membership” in the church as an artificial stricture over what some claim ought to be an “organic” form. I understand and agree with this sentiment to some degree, but at the same time have qualms against it. Most of these thoughts are summarized in a previous post but the general gist of my opinion is capsulated by the words of a friend: (membership) is “the difference between guests and hosts, members and visitors, and discerning supporters and empty critics”. That rings true with me, as the church abounds in critics who have essentially given nothing of themselves to any particular body. But to be fair, I am open to disagreement and even (no surprise) criticism. So?
“Should a local church expect commitment to the same degree from everyone who attends?” This question was on a seminary forum for a class I’m taking. Since I posted the below response personally, I think it should be ok to reprint it here. And you don’t need to be workign on a degree to answer it. Here’s my answer, I’d love to hear yours: Read more…
It’s something else.
Had a stimulating discussion w/ the team @rooseveltcc about mental illness in the Northwest and how getting healthy becomes almost like a full-time job for those with mental illness. If I am candid enough I can say that I understand this, partially. I’ve suffered from depression and anxiety attacks since as early as 13, sitting in the middle school boys room hunched over, beset by some strange overwhelming, irrational sensation. Since then I would have 2 more major “episodes”, one in college and one post-college, which averages out to one every 4 years or so. The last time I had a depressive episode was Read more…
While it’s still been only recently that we shut down missio (last December) it is an anniversary of sorts in that the prior summer was when it really started to hit home: This isn’t going to work. It was the pits. And while it sounds cliche, it’s true, failure in starting a new church is like experiencing a death in the family. It hurts for a long time, and does things to your head, messing up your confidence, shaking some of that youthful cockiness you may have once had. Perhaps it’s for so much good. But in the end it still hurts – and you wonder if you’ve got damaged goods. Read more…
Soong-Chan Rah: Another Angry Asian Man?
Reading “Prof Rah’s” The Next Evangelicalism is like gargling with salt. It stings in the throat but at the same time clears the sinuses of the stuffiness and congestion of poorly thought-out racial dialogue. Sure, we like to talk about color-blindness, and melting pots, and model minorities, but do we know what we’re really saying when we talk about these things? Surely the Church – that glorious multicultural reality – is exempt from these faux-pas assumptions… Or is she? Perhaps a little deconstruction is in order – and maybe that aint such a bad thing.
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While I thought some of the acting was kinda kitschy and predictable, (yo holmes, I’m from the South Side, I represent) I found this movie pregnant with so many important themes. Faith, Place, & Race are three of them (and also happen to be the title of this blog) but it wrestles deeply with issues of urbanization, neighborhood, culture, and so many things. David Swanson gives a more complete review, titling it “urban exile” and I think that captures the essence of Gran Torino; being stuck in a place with people you don’t like and making the most of it. Staying put. And this is faith. What’d u think of the movie?
I found this article terribly compelling (thanks to Daniel Eng for the heads up) – especially the following snippet – this has everything to do with defining * success * in church, or entrepreneurship, or just plain life: Read more…
Tech writer Clive Thompson calls Twitter "ambient awareness"
I’m re-publishing this as a convo about Twitter is jump-started by Time mag’s recent cover story on the 140 character cultural phenom. A friend dialogues about it (Twitter) here too. But specifically I am interested in Twitter’s implications for how we do church. I don’t mean so much using Twitter IN church, but the implications for end-user innovation in how we do church. Or be church. What if the church became “open-sourced” and congregant or laity-driven innovation? Original post here: Read more…
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