Thursday, March 25 @ 7:00PM

As you may know, John has published a number of other books including:

- Barth for Armchair Theologians,

- The Character of Theology: An Introduction to Its Nature, Task, and Purpose,

- Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture),

And of course John co-authored Beyond Foundationalism: Shaping Theology in a Postmodern Context with the late Stan Grenz which has aided so many re-imagine theology.

I hope you’ll join in.

Peace, dwight

This book was born in the context of an eleven-year life altering experiment in ecclesial life, fleshed out in learning communities with thoughtful women and men who never ceased to ask insightful and revealing questions, and now it is being published by my new friends at Baker Books.

I hope you’ll take a look at it.  I’m very excited to offer my voice and contribute, even a small piece, to the ongoing conversation. . . let me know what you think.

Peace, dwight

The book will be titled, Routes & Radishes: and other things to talk about at the Evangelical Crossroads.   It is a co-authored projected exploring the history and future of the modern Evangelical movement.  Mark Russell, Michelle Sanchez, Allen Yeh, Chelle Stearns and me.

BTW though I got this this image from Zondervan’s web site I don’t have confirmation regarding it as the final cover . . . I’ll post the cover as soon as I see it.

Peace, dwight

You can find out more information on dates in other cites and ticket info here.

Peace, dwight

It gives me great hope for the unintuitive purposes of God through the church in the world.

While with Christian Churches Together I was able to facilitate a two hour conversation.  The title of the workshop they asked me to facilitate was “The Emerging Church Movement.”

One of the primary misconception I tried to address head on was the mistaken notion of the “Emerging Church.”  As I see it there is no such thing as “the emerging church.”  Of course there are local faith communities, pastors/priests, and community members who are influenced and shaped by the emerging conversation, but the emerging conversation is not a church.  The conversation does not have a theology, it does not have an ecclesial structure, no emerging constitution/by-laws, it has no formal authority/accountability structure, does not maintain offices or ordination, no formal member communities, thus it to call it a church assumes a kind of structure that I think is misleading.  I think it is more helpful to remember that every community or person influenced by the emerging conversation is also linked to a larger historic stream within Christianity. So a person or a local community is Presbyterian, Methodist, Mennonite, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, Coptic, Orthodox, Quaker, Free Church, Assembly of God, Congregational, Baptist, or whatever tradition and shaped by by the emerging conversation.

In fact I have found it fascinating that often as people participate in the emerging conversation they find that their unique narrative shaped by their respective tradition becomes even more important to them.  Often inviting deeper study of their tradition’s history, theology, distinctives, contributions and even their liabilities or short comings.  This is part of the reason why the emerging conversation continues to be thought of a as a missional network.

Peace,

dwight

“MEMPHIS — In the back room of a theater on Beale Street, John Renken, 42, a pastor, recently led a group of young men in prayer.

“Father, we thank you for tonight,” he said. “We pray that we will be a representation of you.”An hour later, a member of his flock who had bowed his head was now unleashing a torrent of blows on an opponent, and Mr. Renken was offering guidance that was not exactly prayerful.

“Hard punches!” he shouted from the sidelines of a martial arts event called Cage Assault. “Finish the fight! To the head! To the head!”

The young man was a member of a fight team at Xtreme Ministries, a small church near Nashville that doubles as a mixed martial arts academy. Mr. Renken, who founded the church and academy, doubles as the team’s coach. The school’s motto is “Where Feet, Fist and Faith Collide.”

Mr. Renken’s ministry is one of a small but growing number of evangelical churches that have embraced mixed martial arts — a sport with a reputation for violence and blood that combines kickboxing, wrestling and other fighting styles — to reach and convert young men, whose church attendance has been persistently low. Mixed martial arts events have drawn millions of television viewers, and one was the top pay-per-view event in 2009.

Recruitment efforts at the churches, which are predominantly white, involve fight night television viewing parties and lecture series that use ultimate fighting to explain how Christ fought for what he believed in. Other ministers go further, hosting or participating in live events.

The goal, these pastors say, is to inject some machismo into their ministries — and into the image of Jesus — in the hope of making Christianity more appealing. “Compassion and love — we agree with all that stuff, too,” said Brandon Beals, 37, the lead pastor at Canyon Creek Church outside of Seattle. “But what led me to find Christ was that Jesus was a fighter.”  [the article continues]

Broadbent’s research shows how communication technology is capable of cultivating deeper relationships, bringing love across barriers like distance and workplace rules.  What do you think?

Peace, dwight

‘”There are certain technical words within every academic discipline that soon become stereotypes and cliches. Modern psychology has a word that is probably used more than any other word in modern psychology. It is the word ‘maladjusted.’  This word is the ringing cry to modern child psychology. Certainly, we all want to avoid the maladjusted life. In order to have real adjustment within our personalities, we all want the well-adjusted life in order to avoid neurosis, schizophrenic personalities.

“But I say to you, my friends, as I move to my conclusion, there are certain things in our nation and in the world which I am proud to be maladjusted and which I hope all men of good-will will be maladjusted until the good societies realize. I say very honestly that I never intend to become adjusted to segregation and discrimination.

“I never intend to become adjusted to religious bigotry.

“I never intend to adjust myself to economic conditions that will take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few.

“I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism, to self-defeating effects of physical violence. But in a day when sputniks and explorers are dashing through outer space and guided ballistic missiles are carving highways of death through the stratosphere, no nation can win a war. It is no longer the choice between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence, and the alternative to disarmament. The alternative to absolute suspension of nuclear tests. The alternative to strengthening the United Nations and thereby disarming the whole world may well be a civilization plunged into the abyss of annihilation. This is why I welcome the recent test-ban treaty.

“In other words, I’m about convinced now that there is need for a new organization in our world. The International Association for the Advancement of Creative Maladjustment–men and women who will be as maladjusted as the prophet Amos. Who in the midst of the injustices of his day could cry out in words that echo across the centuries, ‘Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.’”

Peace, dwight

the journey of a diamond

“Her arms held a million wrinkles and 100 million memories as well.

As we (my mother and I) entered the room where she sat, she didn’t stop talking. Jabbering incoherently, her emotions were in obvious distress. Her mind overtaken by an enemy — dementia. Though verbal communication seemed impossible to reach her, she still understood the deeper language of the heart.

Love.

And as we sat and then later walked with her, we touched. Her hands, her shoulder, her face and each time we did…. she grasped hold of us –tightly — and pressed our hand to her face. And smiled. I felt peace slowly inch its way upon her as her spirit began to settle.

I longed to reach her. For her to understand me. To let her know how special she was, that she was loved. Yet, each effort I made left me feeling like my words simply confused and frustrated.

Better not to talk.

Suddenly, I had an idea! I crouched down to her level and looked her square in the eye. She met my gaze as I began to sing a song that in years past we’d often sung together.

She smiled as I sang and by the second verse she began to hum along.

My voice cracked. I could barely sing.

“Jesus loves me….this I know….”

Though there was much she had forgotten. This, she couldn’t forget.

We finished the song (somewhat) and got her ready for bed. Her 92 year old body was tired as we changed her and helped her lay down in her bed. I was reminded of my youngest daughter. They seemed very similar somehow. Their spunk, their heart, their love — it was the same.

We tucked our little grandma into her bed. Her body small. Frail. Weak. Loved.

Wrapping her blanket snugly around her face, I kissed her on the cheek. Her face broke into a huge smile as she reached out her arms for more. More, more, more. She soaked up love like a dry, thirsty sponge.

Then turning out the lights in the room, we walked out the door. Well…our bodies did. Our hearts stayed beside her.

Goodnight precious Grandma. Sweet dreams. I love you.”

Thanks Ruth.

Peace, dwight

CCT has invited me to facilitate a couple of workshops on Emergent.

From their “What We Do” tab on their site they state:

“The purpose of Christian Churches Together is to enable churches and national Christian organizations to grow closer together in Christ in order to strengthen our Christian witness in the world. The by-laws list seven specific tasks:

1. to celebrate a common confession of faith in the Triune God,
2. to discern the guidance of the Holy Spirit through prayer and theological dialogue,
3. to provide fellowship and mutual support,
4. to seek better understanding of each other by affirming our commonalities and understanding our differences,
5. to foster evangelism faithful to the proclamation of the gospel,
6. to speak to society with a common voice whenever possible, and
7. to promote the common good of society and engage in other activities consistent with its purposes.

To fulfill its purpose of growing closer to Christ and to each other, Christian Churches Together focuses, in its annual meeting, on praying together, discerning the guidance of the Holy Spirit through prayer and theological dialogues, and providing fellowship and mutual support. Out of this process, participants discern how and when to take action together in common witness to our society. In 2006, CCT began to address the scandal of domestic poverty; specific proposals for CCT actions will be brought to the next annual meeting for consideration and decision.

CCT encounters Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.”

Peace, dwight