Hit the Back Button to Move Fwd by Gavin Richardson

@stickysheep : new venture from the brilliant mind of @johnwellis & myself

john ellis and i started hanging out about two years ago and chatting on all things business, church, marketing, web, technology, family and more. eventually some of our thoughts and conversations about the business church marketing technology stuff had us thinking, "we need to write this stuff down. there might be two or three people who want to hear this." so we started writing a book (scary i know). as we are developing the book we have gone and launched "sticky sheep" our concepts home portal. so if you are interested in some of the new ventures of me and/or want to get a glimpse of this collision of business and church then subscribe. i plan on doing a weekly wrap up, such as this, of what have been my musings over there as well.

this week in sticky sheep

• sticky paper is great, but it's getting seen that is the stickiest
• giving up control to the freshman team sticks
• what is the best ever social media campaign

you can also check us out on facebook & twitter of course.

"As I Grow Older" : on with my dream

recently in my change of life i wandered to a different part of the book store, leaving the religion section behind this time. i bought a poetry collection of langston hughes. hughes i remember from my college studies as he was one writer that "i got".. (even though i'm not black or at any level oppressed.) i loved his jazz feel to his poetry & never felt it was trying to impress me with overthought just honest reflection and emotion.. maybe i'm feeling down now and a bit beaten so it works for me. today i'm sharing this poem from hughes call "as i grow older." i know contextually we're not in the same place, but it feels the same.. that's the beauty of art.

As I Grow Older 

It was a long time ago.
I have almost forgotten my dream.
But it was there then,
In front of me,
Bright like a sun--
My dream.
And then the wall rose,
Rose slowly,
Slowly,
Between me and my dream.
Rose until it touched the sky--
The wall.
Shadow.
I am black.
I lie down in the shadow.
No longer the light of my dream before me,
Above me.
Only the thick wall.
Only the shadow.
My hands!
My dark hands!
Break through the wall!
Find my dream!
Help me to shatter this darkness,
To smash this night,
To break this shadow
Into a thousand lights of sun,
Into a thousand whirling dreams
Of sun!

chris brogan & trust agents : stories & philosophy of social media

today i spent my morning (and greater part of the rest of the day) with chris brogan. if you do not know who chris is, my quick description would be that he is the mayor of twitter & one of the most recognized people in the world of social media 'who gets it.' i stumbled across his blog some years ago and have been a constant reader since, many times sharing his postings via google reader or twitter. he's good stuff. so good, i even payed a decent penny to attending this sucker.

anyways, he has a new book out called 'trust agents' and was in nashville as per a promise in a psuedo book tour live web event. a crew of local tech geeks & other business types showed up to hear from the guru for a special 1 hour pre-web conversation with chris & then got to be front and center for the rest of the web event (which was an interesting thing to be a part of).

here is the footage i took from that 1st hour with chris. its on my mini tripod, so the angle is something you might have to get used to, but its doable. with that said, he's tall, but not nearly as gigantic as he looks in video.

Chris Brogan : Trust Agents conversation : Nashville 2009 from Gavin Richardson on Vimeo.

you can follow the twitter stream of thoughts and conversation by visiting #cbnash at twitter search. check in next week for some expanded thoughts off some of the footage i have from his live web session.

Your Jesus is too Safe : Jared C Wilson names 'em for Us

i've known jared c wilson for around 3 or so years now via the blogosphere and the nashville faith communities. corresponding over the blog postings & lately over twitter. so when he asked about reviewing his upcoming book "your Jesus is too safe" as part of a greater blog tour, i was quite honored to jump into it.

to be honest, i wasn't quite sure what to think of "your Jesus is too safe" before i opened up the book. so much is written about Christ you wonder what else there is to say some days. it did not take long for me to really get into the concept of the book. jared owns up to the many faces/ideas/concept/perceptions of Jesus that pervade our culture & theology today. granted, not all Jesus's i was familiar with, but hippie Jesus & 'get out of hell free' Jesus i've come across before. and as a youth pastor for so many years its been hard to break people out of those simple/cliche caged mindsets... and that was just the introduction

so diving into the book i found the greatest gift for where i am today in spiritual formation & teaching. jared really goes through and names, and claims, many of the personifications of Christ that we know & feel about this man, but we have not the reflection or words to say often enough. it was also a great gift to look over the whole book and say, 'here is why Christ is so complex' in that he has so many dimensions to his being. in my own self, and my observations of others, many times we cannot sufficiently express what we feel in emotionally or spiritually. whatever the reason, hyper technology, over programmed life, lack of vocabulary, etc. its a gift when we can 'name' for ourselves (or have help from others) in expressing the richness that is bound within us. so, in my humble opinion, jared has done a great gift in reflecting upon the many depths of a Christ many of us know.

not being an academic, i can appreciate not feeling like i have to translate every word/phrasing or looking up historic accounts that are code words for the academy. in my world, those things have little meaning except to establish some heirarchy system. so, in personal reading preference, i appreciate "your Jesus is too safe" being a thorough book in exploration & having some real connections to history & theological discourse, but not being presented in an academy format. i'm just not smart enough for that.

in strange observation notes. i carried this book with me for much of the summer to youth events and personal retreats/vacations and the book with title and cover always seem to get some interesting reviews and commentary. 'what is that about?' 'what kind of Jesus are they talking about?' which would start some conversations over the Jesus i am naming for myself, and how i've found patterns in my life in pilgrimage for Chris. those times, are priceless. which would inevitably lead to the last question 'can i borrow that copy when you are done with it?'

more explaination of technology & virtual community : shane hipps day

zach lind did this little video interview for his podcast expanding a little more on what shane was getting at with technology & the virtual community.


Shane Hipps and Zach Lind Discuss Virtual Community. from Zach Lind on Vimeo.

enough review : the advice you probably already knew but forgot

a few weeks back i was sent a few copies of 'enough, discovering joy through simplicity and generosity' which is the latest book by adam hamilton. as with many of my reviews, its more about my emotions reading through the book than the content. sorry, i try to balance it out, but sometimes to no avail. if you want something a bit more lengthy & thorough then catch up with my friend shane raynor's review.

it is a little bit more than 100 pages and a small size paperback retailing for 8 dollars. which is pretty attractive to me in that the topic is not one i'd normally invest in, but i would consider this one. it was a pretty easy read. i started it, put it down after the intro and then finished the rest in one sitting. if you have ever heard adam preach you can really hear him preaching withing the pages (at least i was).

it is obviously a writing that reflects on our current economic crisis. much of the advice rendered through the pages, that is actual financial navigation void of spiritual framework, is stuff you would hear from a credit-less advocate (ala, dave ramsey who is actually mentioned once or twice). adam brings up some old school ideals of 'layaway' which i remember all to well. he breaks out the classic thought of "wants" vs "needs. in the beginning adam brings up our reshaping of "the american dream" from living well and improved from your parents conditions to this idea of having more stuff. my default to talking about consumption is 'the story of stuff' which has similar parallels. still, i was rather intrigued with naming how that ideal has changed.

hamilton moves from the need to manage money and then into giving with the tithe as an example. its in the ending chapters that adam really hits his stride, or it just took me two or three chapters to get into his rhythem. i was thinking at the end of the reading if this was the next consecration/pledge campaign for a church.. i sure hope not, but it is possibly. this doesn't feel good as a curriculum/training book. its a good conviction book, but it is still much of the same advice i've heard for years. people know these practices, complain about the various problems, get this kind of advice from various outlets, we just continue to forget about it. sage advice, but we will probably still learn the hard way.. or maybe we are already learning it.

reclaiming wesley : a little creativity from the methochurch

saw this today over on kevin watson's deeply committed blog. its a promo for reclaiming the wesleyan tradtion from out of discipleship resources (a division of the general board of discipleship). i recognize one of the voices as my friend bill lizor who is part of the division on ministries with young people.

i like the over feel of the video and i like how it plugs reclaiming wesleyan tradition. it mixes the success of the guiness commercial ads without the moving mouths and a succinct history & message. well done. my big issue (as i always seem to have an issue) is that the video has been on youtube since the summer and only has 67 views (at the time that i viewed it). we need some help getting our agencies ingrained in the social media spectrum.


in other oddities, i noticed, what seems to be the 'pee standing up pastor' (viewed over 200k times) talking about john wesley (viewed 1500x more than the reclaiming wesley video has).

youth ministry 3.0 : emerging youth ministry observation

i was given youth ministry 3.0 by the folks at youthworker movement and asked to give a recommendation on whether it is a must read, okay read, and on down the line.

knowing mark oestriecher through some mild interactions and consistent reader of the marko blog, even read the precursor postings that lead up to the writing of this book i was very excited to get a hold of a copy and start reading.

some of my thinking points

• i read this book in one sitting.. not sure, but i think that is a first.. it isn't a long overly drawn out book, which i can appreciate. the basic framework of the book goes through a basic understanding of adolescent development then history of youth ministry leading into the futurist thoughts on where this new phase we will be finding ourselves in regards to youth ministry. i call it futurist in that some of the basic methods for analyzing the future trends is looking at the historic path and the consistent behaviors of the target group.
• some of the voices that marko uses for giving language to this future are the like of kenda creasy dean and many from the emergent/emerging/missional church generative friendship. so if you are familiar with what they are saying then you will probably find threads you already resonate with in y3.0.
• the adolescent section dragged for me. being an early childhood and human development person in college all the adolscent stuff was basic.. but, for those who have no training or education in human development and/or life stages then its a good primer to get you started in the know. i've leaned on my adolescent development knowledge for years and still have my text books (which might be in need of some updating).
• the history of youth ministry is brief and very general. it basically covers the evangelical spectrum and grazes a few thoughts on mainline christian practice. now, this could be attributed in part to that evangelical contexts were the first to be doing a 'youth' ministry. if that be the case it should be explored what spiritual formation when a youth was immersed into a full life of the church instead of being separated out. some of this could be hashed out reading four views of youth ministry
• i cannot express how much i support some of the ideas that marko shares in being ready to deconstruct the old forms of youth ministry. he doesn't put out what youth specialties will be doing next as the next form or youth ministry, as he confesses he doesn't even know, but that a change is happening and to ignore it will only lead you aimlessly into the wendy's black hole (you'll have to read the significance on that one). marko's greatest gift to the youth ministry world is giving some language to those are feeling frustrated that what you have been doing does not work to bring about some change. change is not hard within a church context, but you need to be able to speak to it.
• i was super pleased to see the word 'discernment' in the book. as i was reading and hearing marko say 'i don't know how this will turn out' or 'can't tell you what it will look like for you' i was sitting saying, you need discernment.. a few pages later, that is what marko suggested (and i was well pleased). the practice of discernment with your adults and youth alike is a powerful time of reshaping and anticipating the needs of your youth community. the youth minister will/should become more of a spiritual director in this regard cultivate a community that is intune with their cultural context. i would suggest additional reading of practicing discernment and the art of spiritual direction
• i like the idea of encouraging folks to become a youth culture anthropologist. its not hard to start into things like that. getting on the ypulse email list, cpyu email list, using google reader to subscribe to some blogs (like mine, haha) and news outlets, then using google news to send you news articles on keywords (ie. youth culture) is an easy way to observe some of the trends. beyond what i have mentioned personally subscribe to wired magazine, which throws out gems like snack culture. i also pick up a futurist magazine every now and then. a cheaper thing i do is watch my youth cruise through youtube and their behaviors.
• the "communional" idea is worth more discernment. the best part is that marko gives his own language spin to it. language will take you far in moving forward in shifting sands of youth ministry.

so as the folks who gave me the book asked. would i say this is a must have? no.. conditional that you are reading a whole lot from other places. is this a good read? certainly.

is it worth your time? if you are feeling that you are not making a dent and wondering if there is a different way? for sure. if you are looking for some language to help reshape some change this is a good starting point.

unfettered hope : technology and commodification of parents

...the development of the technological milieu has caused parents to lose the natural authority they held when their children needed them to learn skills to survive. The device paradigm of our culture has also eroded parent-child relationships, for young people can easily envision their parents only as the device from which they can derive commodities of toys, money, clothes, or technological gadgets.

from unfettered hope, by marva dawn

living biblically : immersion

talking high definition : being digital

one of the troubles of reading old technology books is seeing how things were projected and knowing how they turned out.

The reason is that computers are becoming more and more video enabled, equipped to process and display video as a data type. For teleconferencing, multimedia publications, and a host of simulation applications, video is becoming part of all, not just many, computers. This is happening so fast that the snail's pace of television development, albeit digital, will be eclipsed by the personal computer.

"being digital" by nicholas negroponte (copyright 1995)

so is it isn't hard to believe that, though television has become pretty cool with hd technology, it might actually be lacking in its user ability to control and create that has brought about the trend that youth are watching their tv online. funny too, that grainy youtube videos are the industry standards and okay by most/all web users.

a definite thumbs up : churched by matthew paul turner

i recently finished reading "churched, one kid's journey toward God despite a holy mess" by matthew paul turner. matthew i know through our cohort and was able to catch a glimpse of the essence of churched a few weeks back. so i was actually looking forward to reading a preview copy.

i wasn't disappointed. i call this a definite thumbs up read.

basically 'churched' is a early childhood memoir of growing up in the world of the fundamentalist church. a world that i am quite foreign to. so for me it was an eye opening and question raising memoir. "really?" "what's that all about?" for those that are part of the world they may not be a happy reader, matthew is not mean about his experiences, but in the light of a mirror i cannot imagine these reflections being taken in without some apprehension. for those who grew up in this world and have found themselves out of it, i can only imagine you will see yourself in these pages as well.

'churched' is not a huge theological book, certainly not an academic book.. which i gladly welcomed into my world. i enjoyed some stimulating thoughts mixed in with engaging stories. the book moves well and is not super long (only 200 some pages) so it isn't overloaded with too many stories.

mostly, my fav part, is the writing matthew has in this book. i totally moved into the witty one liners and sarcastic humor mixed in with his story telling. from being told that he is his own worst enemy & going immediately into counseling to being the best christian in a graduating class, not to mention the descriptions of the various teachers in his life.. its very close to how i operate and would write a memoir, if i was really capable of writing a memoir.

if i had to critique any part of the book, it is possibly that there is not much explanation of why each story was significant and how it plays into future life, as a separate entity.. but i was not one who cared for that, so it is not a critique of mine. that short capsuling just is not there. what is there is that all the stories comprise into a whole narrative of who the person is now and how they are reconciling their way into a life of faith, and more importantly, a community of faith.

if you are in nashville, go check out matthew at davis kidd tonight at 7pm.

churched : a funny

"I had only been a Baptist for a few weeks, but it was already clear that God who came to the Baptist church was a lot more particular than the one I heard Methodists talk about- or he was schizophrenic. Of course, at the time, I hadn't taken any psych courses, so I concluded that the Baptist God just did things differently than the Methodist God."

from churched, by matthew paul turner

i thought that was really funny

see what i found : politics and childrens books

last night the wifey and made a stop to the barnes and noble children's book department. i miss children's books, they are so much more prophetic than so many of these theology books. these two books caught my attention. two books about political candidates?.. what are your thoughts?

being churched : matthew paul turner

today at our nashville cohort, matthew paul turner (whom i have two of his books showing themselves on my book shelves at the office) read two chapters from him upcoming release "Churched, One Kid's Journey Toward God Despite A Holy Mess."

as with his other writings, churched is incredibly funny in a memoire fashion. he had us in stitches telling stories of his childhood, growing up in a fundamentalist christian environment. it will come out in hardcover in october, and though i do not buy many hardcovers (primarily because of the cost) i will be grabbing a copy of churched. i would encourage others to consider it as well. join in his facebook group for updates and touring info

justification : love

There is no justification for love, for if there were, then it would not be love. If we love because we are compelled through force, then it is not love. If I give some money to the poor only because someone is holding a gun to my head and demanding the action, then this is not a loving action. Neither is it loving if I act in order to gain a reward, even if the reward is simply the feeling that comes from doing the act. As soon as we say that we should love, then love disappears, for love is the law that has no law, the way that knows no 'should'. Love is the law that tells us when to subvert the law, when to obey the law and when to break with laws, yet love is a lawless law that cannot be argued for.

how (not) to speak of God, -peter rollins

mass of links : something i really should organize

in my ever growing list of links. i realize i should probably at some point organize them, or offer commentary of my own.. naaah...

• myyearbook.com continues to grow. will it be the next myspace / facebook?
• the new romantic engagement process.. not so much
• andy is moving to nashville.. yeah! more music city bloggers
• jim palmer on the church basement roadshow.. i think he nibbed one of my pics. good thing we are friends &:~D
• top twittering church leaders... why am i not on this list?
• andrew wrapping up business of the church series: strategic planning
• allen on how the church is very political
• bw3 breaks down 'the shack' in the way only he can do.. really loong, but great, thoughts
• josh on scriptures that you can laugh at
• simple youth ministry is into the txt game. bit more expensive than my plan
• i have the blogger part taken care of, so if i were a woman, i'd go to this..
• so what your telling me is these sexy teen dramas are bad?
• teens and their tattoos. just don't get the tramp stamp kids
• start of a new job position, teenage green marketing manager. watch for it
• what if rock horror picture show was remade with teen cast? imagine
• i still like the children's book. but for my lazy day, this will do
• most modern libraries in the world.. the one down street from my house is not on the list, though they just got some renovations. i was really hoping
• i'm a new contributor to the technopastor. look for me to.. well give much of the same babble
• go ahead and get started on next years vbs. i enjoyed it!
• i don't know if they set the pace or just take the lead in adopting technology
• wisdom of crowds, customer evangelism.. your consumer is important, you should listen
• to be a rigid parent or not to be & have some rebellious child. that is the question
• is today's generation more or less colorblind (cough.. racist)
• my wrestling will be more family friendly now.. now erin might actually like it (she is my family and it will be her friend)
• sync any desktop cal with google cal.. nice!
• brains (featured above) courtesy of asbo jesus
• rowan williams address to the lambuth conference. brian mclaren got a chance to talk as well
• 10 secrets to better blogging.. dang, are they secrets now?
• the difficulty of singing contemporary
• wasting your money on short term missions..
• print made us more individualistic. great book that i loved
• worshiping the messenger, missing the message (possibly the best title ever jim)
• sam is noticing that people are interested in gen y.. y?
• say it aint so thunder! say it aint so!
• what makes a congregation distinctly methodist? hmm... exactly
• how your church can break into social media and get free pub!
• "typical baptist" (okay, shaun gets the best title award)
• best hardware & software.. stuff you should have or strive to have.
• chris on 50 steps to establishing a social media practice

oh shit it's Jesus : reviewing sorta

one of the latest batch of books sent to me via the ooze was a real eye catcher. partly because it was on the top of the stack. it was "oh shit it's Jesus, the relevance of Jesus without all the religious crap." i had fun showing it to many of our church staff and other laity that happened to be around (it was right before vbs, so there were quite a few people). i even started reading it myself. however, i have yet to finish myself and i'm not sure i will.. why? people keep taking it to read.

one of the first things that caught my eye with the book is that it has no publisher. i went looking for the publisher mark and found nothing. then reading into the book apparently no one wanted to touch the book. not even a self-publisher company. they equated it to 'the shack' in some ways that is was controversial enough that publishers didn't want to touch it.. i could get that. throwing 'shit' in a title isn't exactly literary norm.

however, in the youth office it has become a funny book for us. lots of giggles. so it wasn't surprising that one of the interns showed his college friend the book during vbs week. she sat down and read it in one sitting, which essentially rendered her useless during vbs but she picked an okay day to do that. i told her she had to write me a review for it.. not sure she took me seriously... i wonder why?

she loved the book. the writing for her was simple enough (ie. no heavy terminology) and flowed well. she felt like the book made some good points that she could identify with.

i was intrigued to get past page 9 which is where i ended the one time i opened the book and subsequently fell asleep on the couch. but it was our mission experience week, not a whole lot of time to read when you are in my position. so in a conversation about books i said to one of our adult youth ministers "i've got a book for you" and showed him the book, which he laughed out loud at. then he took the book and i haven't seen it since. i'll probably see it again but not sure when.

i asked him what he thought of the book so far. he was less than impressed. "it takes some easy pop shots" which for him were not enlightening or challenging. at that point he was hoping for me. but he reads on.. i assume he is reading on. otherwise i'd like my book back. haha!

more on the links : and it's not golf

time just seems to be going everywhere but into blog posting. no biggie, just means i'm working with the youth who i am sorta paid to minister with. so for the time you can see some of the fruits of work & readings. this is my latest collection of stuff.

• television and our children's children
• imvu another up and coming virtual reality world
• theology of mission
• lyfe : connecting God to us
• phyllis tickle on the new emergence
• android (which i was reading about in wired) hits snag
• reduce camera shake
• pete rollins interview on church beyond belief
• teen pregnancy pact info.. penelope's celeb parent porn
• celebs reason for teen pregnancy pact
• the pregnancy pact is called into question
• fewer peeps going towards tech degrees
• teens feeling the recession pinch?
• parents leading teenagers back to the newspaper
• pagans and patriarchs
• wordle.. just try it
• incarnation in virtual world
• interval training is the way to go.. if only i exercised
• what communication lessons i learned in marriage counseling
• a church dominated by the young and unexperienced
• build your own photo wire wall
• words for non-believers
• church practice gutenberg mindset in google world
• map-it your brainstorm session
• waking up to pluralism
• the creative worship tour
• are you young umc clergy? this is for you then
• the new classics.. and what kat thinks of some of them
• i am thinking of a bamm experience for myself
• what books have changed your life?
• pastors need to theologian in weekly columns.. they still do this?
• diary of an outreach flop
• i don't get radiohead, but this is a cool stage set!
• thomas's welcome message
• mitch on facebook past, myspace present, linked-in future.. hmm
• scot on the whole dobson obama junk
• white people like to compare folks to hitler.. and acting poor
• does the church have a responsibility to encourage carpooling?
• for teens email just doesn't cut it.. duh! i've know that for years
• ypulse on some hypothetical questions of youth, social media culture
• teens crashing pools using google earth.. hmm.. smart.. maybe use street view too
• bullying becoming a younger thing
• my faith isn't the only way.. neither is yours
• cutting understanding the self-mutilating teenager

bishop nt wright : colbert report

last night many of you probably caught nt wright on the colbert report. for those that didn't, here's the fun. if you were not sure what exactly was said, go check in with jake, he transcribed the conversation.

my beautiful idol : my review

via the ooze i was given a copy of 'my beautiful idol' to read and give my review.

i threw out some excerpts from the book early in reading. at that point i really enjoyed reading and there was some anticipation of what was happening next. where does this journey go, etc. it is a memoir of faith trying to be lived out in actions and some of those actions would be considered nutty by some, noble by others. i really liked seeing into some of the 'noble' actions and their less noble feelings. especially the attempt to be like henri nouwen. but like the impact of stories of people like henri nouwen or shane claiborne doing counter cultural attempts to the standard move upward in the celebrity/corporate world. the heart of their story and motivations is not that we all follow in their footsteps to enact their exact same things. so you get failed attempts at being who you are not.. and this went over and over and over

as i closed the book i was let down. the first half of the book was riddled with some fun stories, leaps of faith, and honest self-examination. but 230-250 pages in i was pretty much over with the self-exam that moved into self-deprecation. it just got old for me. maybe i need some epiphany to feel good. maybe the self-actualizations were not that profound for me. maybe i have my idols that are not allowing me to see past my own self.. maybe..

was it a good book? if you like memoirs then sure. it is written well and moves quickly. it has some cool spots too. i know i was really intrigued reading his understanding of speaking in tongues. something i am not familiar with as spiritual practice. but memoirs haven't traditionally been my book. i like to be challenged in thinking and this didn't take me there in the end.

blake has a more favorable outlook on the book. search for other reviews to see if i am full of crap.

mark yaconelli : youthworker movement podcast

episode five of the youthworker movement podcast is up and going. subscribe via itunes

mark is the director of the youth ministry spirituality project and the author of "contemplative youth ministry" and "growing souls." i met up with mark to talk contemplative youth ministry approach & growing souls. how does a youth leader care for the soul of themselves and the youth in their charge. we also bring back some 80's music. interviewed at the national youth workers convention in atlanta, november of 2007.

contact me to get plugged in or ask questions on the podcast. i could use hearing from some friends.
email at: gavoweb(at)gmail.com or call: 615-357-3275

tuesday randomness : link love

a run down on semi-interesting things

• young adult ministry ideas
• five social networking sites of the wealthy via revcamp
• evangelical manifesto and covert colonialism
• the things i am playing around with on my mac now
• some results and next steps to the umc young clergy project
• for writers in the nashville area
• i have this problem too, glad i'm getting answers
• teens are buying less? really?
• fraggle rock on broadway
• the rich drink better but not more beer.. which is better? hmm
• how to reduce your church meetings
• what the church can learn from wikipedia
• are we methodists liked because we are too easy?
• greatest criminal to ever live? via jordon
• old article about online religion
• young girls are bound to suffer from depression
• 7 pleasurable ways to improve your reading
• 12 traits of successful bloggers
• needing to design a sunday school room
• christian hospitality gone wrong
• questions that spark fresh ideas
• seth on new standards for meetings
• pray for our enemies
• gen x & millennials meet boomers
• the lost art of meditation for the youth worker
• a most helpful chart for navigating movies
• throw dave a bone
• who are your mentors?
• play your instrument better via online
• review of gene robinson's book
• 20 questions to ask when contemplating stopping blogging

an evening with bishop nt wright : round up & audio

last night erin & i headed down to west end, along with quite a few hundred cross cultural types to hear from n.t. wright, the bishop of durham. he's on a book tour for "surprised by hope" which i am to read sometime this year. i was stoked to hear of his coming and by the turnout last night, quite a few others were as well. it was a nice evening out catching up with many friends. even erin had fun meeting up with the various friendships through blogging. being at the methodist church it was nice to see some metho-types in the audience as well. after-wards we went out for drinks at the broadway brewhouse, with the joneses for a new draft beer to town. the new beer, boulevard brew, out of kansas city. it is quite good, though it probably won't take over from my early 20's drink of choice back in nj.

back to last night. i am still processing. i don't know if i have knowledge and language command to navigate what i heard in teaching and not making it sound like some purgatory realm. one thing erin & i liked was nt's distinction that we are not building the kingdom but building for the kingdom. his analogy was a rock sculpture shape a rock, and that is what they do, but it is the architect who puts into its place where the true beauty shows.

many friends have already started to throw down their thoughts. so i give you a round-up of those conversations

• jared wilson - a long write up, but worth the time (i wanted to meet jared, but with the amount of folks random meeting just wasn't in the cards)
• thomas mckenzie - if you can impress thomas, then you have done something
• cameron conant - reflection from one of the more self-reflective people i know
• phil wilson - who has a mix of emotions, as his grandmother passed away last night as well
• fellow um'er gary - he found the article quote that nt used in highlighting the 'western' misunderstanding of heaven, brilliant
• sally chambers - in her poetic self
• pete wilson - via jared wilson
• matthew paul turner
• george stull
• stephen : rebelling
• the tennessean forums topic on this

another fun thing. i received an email from a older gentleman asking my response to his comments on the tennessean article i was quoted in. for the record, my church is "first" united methodist, not "faith" united methodist. common mistake.. not really, but oh well.

some of my conversations in the being interviewed were that. 1. this isn't such a hard concept to grasp as we have always had a teaching of holiness movement and means of grace that is intended to be kingdom building 2. it isn't so hard to imagine methodist's interested in anglican folks as we are only 300 years removed from those anglican traditions of church. not to mention, we are a revival movement from that church body, so any revival in that church is probably something we are going to be interested in. but as with any of my "news" spots, my one liners are lame or total bs.

i do take down some audio of the bishop's talk. the sound system was not in fine form. john, who was operating the system and a old family friend told me after-wards someone came in and messed it all up after he had it perfect. he was so mad. so the audio isn't the best volume quality, but if you can plug into some speakers you can hear just fine.

• N.T. Wright - Surprised By Hope Talk (around 50 mins, in m4a format, play in itunes, 25mgs)
• N.T. Wright - Surprised By Hope Talk (around 50 mins, in mp3 format, 60mgs)
• N.T. Wright - Surprised By Hope Q&A (around 25 mins, in m4a format, play in itunes, 12mgs)
• N.T. Wright - Surprised By Hope Q&A (around 25 mins, in mp3 format, 28mgs)

free ministry marketing ebooks

i'm flipping/clicking through the "ministry marketing coach's" new ebook facebook for pastors. it looks pretty comprehensive that i'm expecting to learn one or two new things. this is the 2nd of a free ebooks, the other one is 25 marketing tips, which are generally good practice for communicating about your ministry.

• download facebook-for-pastors-by-chris-forbes.pdf
• download 25FreeMarketingToolsEBook.pdf

road trip with the new christians

this is a really cool video of tony jones spending time with trucker frank. checking out the changing landscape from seeing town dynamics, talking community, and the message.. a lot is packed in here

my beautiful idol : reviewing

here are some excerpts from "my beautiful idol" by pete gall. i'm reviewing it, along with other bloggers, as part of the ooze's select bloggers reading list/group. so far, when i've had a chance to sit and read i've rolled through pages. these are some spots that i marked for further thought & sharing.

.. if i do my job well [advertising agent], I'll help derail the lives of kids who are no match for the power of my message and my thinly veiled invitation to foolish, sinful choices. Not everyone is offered such a clear-cut opportunity to choose the right path, and the clarity of it makes me think about the second half of my prayer that day on my way back to my dorm room after the accounting test - the part about "then you can have me." I know, deep down, that the truth of my success is that God let me walk with my idol until I could see it well enough to put it down and head the other direction.
...
.. I can see people watching TV at the corner bar noticing the news article about that one. They'd have to admit that for whatever else a person may say about the people of God, Christians do make a difference and do display acts of loving generosity. That's a "brand" people would join, would want to be associated with, would use to tell themselves and others the story of who they are. That would be a need worth creating, worth pointing out, worth creating a hunger for.

so far when i sit down to read i'm rolling through pages. much like a donald miller or shane claiborne writing of life experiences, the deep meaning is more hidden into story. which i can respect, it reaches different people in different ways. i am quite over some of the guy girl relationship stuff. i think what i like most so far.. the chapters are short. i like that a lot.

are we really that different : we are close

i know this stuff happens, but i was intrigued to see that the us & uk covers for "surprised by hope" are so very different. are we really that different that marketing takes on such a drastic change? honestly though, i would rather have the uk cover. i think i have the same book cover they are selling in the usa, except it is by max lucado.

don't forget. nt wright in nashville talking about the same book with two covers.

my recent book identity

You're Watership Down!
by Richard Adams

Though many think of you as a bit young, even childish, you're actually incredibly deep and complex. You show people the need to rethink their assumptions, and confront them on everything from how they think to where they build their houses. You might be one of the greatest people of all time. You'd be recognized as such if you weren't always talking about talking rabbits.

Take the Book Quiz.

n.t. wright in nashville

Cokesbury and West End United Methodist Church invite you to enjoy an evening of conversation and fellowship with N. T. Wright

Tuesday, April 22, 2008, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

The Anglican Bishop of Durham, Church of England, Wright is called by many the world's leading New Testament scholar. He will discuss his latest book, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church

"Surprised by Hope is a bold and vigorous articulation of the 'blessed hope' of the Christian witness. Grappling with a vast array of controversial topics, this book is sure to surprise you and will, no doubt, fill you with hope."-Richard Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline

"Tom Wright gives us a powerful account of 'the hope that is within us.' Here, in Wright's masterful work, Christian hope is defended, explicated, and proclaimed with all the wit, wisdom, intellect, and grace. This is quite simply the best book we have on the substance of Christian hope."-Will Willimon, Bishop, The United Methodist Church, and author of Conversations with Barth on Preaching

"N. T. Wright brings his enormous erudition to a most urgent contemporary question, the cluster of issues around the future and hope and resurrection, and life in the kingdom. Wright makes clear that resurrection hope cannot be understood by reference to universal categories, but only by the particular narrative of Jesus. His book is an important interpretive contribution to an ongoing theological pastoral task."-Walter Brueggemann, Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary

"This book is N. T. Wright at his finest: dismantling the tired old theologies of escapism and evacuation to help a whole generation of us more clearly grasp a Jesus revolution for here, now, today."-Rob Bell, author of Velvet Elvis

Tuesday, April 22, 2008
7:30-9:30 P.M.
West End United Methodist Church
2200 West End Avenue
615-749-6123

i am putting it on my calendar. anyone else in the nashville area care to join me?

if you are into this thing: you might be interested in this thriving church thing with tom bandy. i might go if the schedule permits. thrivingchurchbrochure.pdf

surely you don't mean me?

michael spencer @ internet monk has a fab post on why he doesn't read my blog.. this really hit home though michael.

3. Your level of knowledge regarding the subjects you write about is so low that a discussion isn’t moved forward by what you write. This is why I don’t blog very much on baseball- which I love. I don’t know enough to make it worth someone’s time to read what I write. Many bloggers aspire to be pundits, theologians and culture commentators, but they simply haven’t done their homework. They don’t know the subject, they haven’t read the books. They don’t have a freshman major’s level of understanding. If you don’t believe me, read 95% of what’s written about philosophical topics like “postmodernism.” The blind leading the blind, to much applause. Unlike what appears to be the case with some famous bloggers, most bloggers don’t have a staff paid for by denominational funds to do their research.

Even though I am a seminary grad with post grad hours and extensive reading, and even though I teach Bible professionally, I know the difference between myself and Ben Witherington III, which some bloggers clearly do not. Reading some rookie blogger tear into a guy with three Ph.d’s is, at the least, unlikely to yield any real insights.

dang, i claim my stupidity, all the time. you should see the email exchange i had with dr. aj levine on a part in her book "the misunderstood jew." her response to my question, or maybe more a clarification..

Thank you for your note.

I think the sentence to which you are referring is this:

" The occasional king who burns down a city or bridegroom who shuts the door in the face of five virgins who have run out of oil — that is, the parables in which the difficult readings cannot be swept away — tends not to get much sermon time, especially in liberal Christian settings. "

I'm sorry if I was unclear -- my pint is that is, parables of judgment tend not to be the focus of sermons in liberal settings, and by liberal I mean the type of church is which the focus is more on social justice, inclusivity, the condemnation of the ills of society, etc. (all splendid concerns, of course)  than on personal soteriology, divine judgment, eschatological punishment and reward, etc. (i.e.,  I am defining 'conservative' along the lines of Missouri Synod Lutheran, most of the leaders of the SBL, the PCA, Churches of Christ, etc., noting that there are exceptions to any label and that all generalities are inexact.

Does this make sense?

my response back

thanks dr. levine,

that is the sentence and no need for apologies. i think being the decently read, but not formally schooled lay/staff person i get myself in places where i have to interpret to my capabilities and something of what i thought just didn't jive. so i asked

thanks for the clarification. it is certainly different from the assumptions i was coming too, so i am glad i asked and grateful for your time in responding. i cannot honestly say, "sure it all makes sense".. but let me consult my harvey's theological terms book to remind myself of the "big words" that, i know i know but could never tell you exactly what they mean. does that make sense? 

&:~D 

again, thanks for your time
shalom

because she is cool like that!

smiling back at you ...

and never hesitate to ask questions.

oh, sorry for the tangent. i'd agree with michael and it is okay dude, you don't need to read my blog. i might have started it actually shape other peoples thoughts but quickly realized that was stupid, so it is me being me and what God has shaped me into. i figure there are a few people out there that would care for that.

 

linkage of all kinds of stuff

• put together your own green youth ministry or church retreat.
• using a blog for ministry
• bishop willimon on his blogging experiences
• how not to take photos
• corporate responsibility and the freegans
• building christian community online part 2, part 1
• jim wallis & diana butler bass on cnn
• hauerwas on bonhoeffer lying and truthful speech
• the rules for library management (i know a lot out there need this)
• tony jones interview from the non-emergent side
• revfife on the recent nt wright interview by abc news on heaven
• whiffle ball game leads to charges, watch out youth folks! tip mcb

thoughts of the day

• i am pondering what sort of relations do a postmodern model of youth ministry have with a methodist church and it's laity driven history.. and the trouble that brings about because it goes against just about every other model of youth ministry out there..??
• i am wondering what all i need to do to start doing a to-do-list to make sure i get stuff done during the rest of this week.
• i am thinking i want to get a new little tv for our bedroom, one that has a remote that works and the sound doesn't go funny when you have at a low volume.
• not sure what books i want to try to finish reading this week... it is a pretty open week work wise, so i've got some opportunities here.
• with some odd church activities tomorrow, we have no regular programming.. do i go and do some observations of other churches or just take the night off...??
• i am going to move into using the prayerbook from the iona community this week.. that is generally a month or two earlier than i have done in the past (usually start in summer)..

the problem with the Lord's prayer

The problem with the Lord's Prayer is neither its content nor its historicity, but its familiarity. Many congregants don't actually think of the meaning of the words or, if they do, find only comfort rather than a challenge. Little children still happily conclude that the deity's name is "Harold" fear that the major sin they might commit is trespassing on someone else's lawn, adn earnestly hope that they are never led "into Penn Station." When placed in a first-century Jewish context, the prayer recovers numerous connotations that make it both more profound and more political. It fosters belief, promotes justice, consoles with future hope, and recognizes that the world is not always how we would want it.

the Misunderstood Jew: the church and the scandal of the Jewish Jesus, by AJ Levine

how true.. and it made me giggle too

update: those crazy folks at church of the resurrection are talking up the Lord's Prayer as well.

a bummer of a day

  Originally uploaded by hfumcyouth

so my illness has continued into today. it hoped to shake it yesterday, but we ended up having our wednesday night programming so i was at the church through the day. no rest, but we did have a small, but good podcast.

i went to the doctor today. got me a steroid shot, which i asked if they wanted to administer it baseball style or in my arm.. the needle was apparently long, so they opted for my hip. i did get a chuckle from the doc with my comment.

directions from there, rest, drink lots of fluids and stay away from people. so what is a blogger person to do while they are napping away the day and not hanging with people? upload pictures of course.

so i've been uploading pictures from last weekends retreat. i posted yesterday the videos that we had created from the retreat.

i started reading "the misunderstood jew : the church and the scandal of the Jewish Jesus" by aj levine, which, so far, i really like.

devices of the entertaining church

Many of the mutations of, and manacles on, churches discussed below arise because pastors, congregational leaders, and denominations worry about declining membership numbers. The loss of members causes a panic, which tempts us to react with strategies conceived according to the device paradigm: What device should we institute in order to produce the commodity of higher numbers? We try various devices, including extreme changes in styles of worship, the initiation of multiple programs to attract the neighbors, marketing strategies, firing the present staff and hiring a more charismatic one, and so forth. Lametably, these devices mimc our culture's behavior and thereby change the identity of the congregation so that it becomes merely a mirror of the society instead of an icon of God.

What is especially tragic about these panicked moves is that leaders don't realize that churches' declining numbers are part of a larger societal pattern manifested by almost every major social group.

Unfettered Hope, by Marva Dawn

i got to thinking of this when reading into john's highlight of 'the entertainment driven church' which pulls from a post by michael patton & michael spencer. to speak to my quoted writing, michael patton speaks about one of his visits to another church.

I went to a church that was just the opposite. It was a popular non-denominational Evangelical associated church. It was much more alluring in its style, having a much more amplified voice with regards to recognizing newcomers. From the moment we got in the parking lot, there were signs welcoming us along with parking lot attendants waving. These guys were so enthusiastic you would think that they had been trained at Disney World. The signs pointed to valet parking for first time guests. I would have taken them up on the offer, but pride always rules (oh . . . and then there is that awkward feeling that you are supposed to give them some money even when they say they don’t take it).

which reminds me of this gem 'king of the hill' episode where the hills go church shopping.

note: is it odd that the only site i could find this video on, due to the removal from copyright infringement at most sites, is a claimed Christian site?

in the mail today

look what the mail brought me today. this was not the primary book i was looking for, but i got sucked into the free shipping deal that amazon gives you. so, figuring i would pick up this book at some point i thought i would go ahead and take the plunge. the actual book i was looking for came in the mail as well, but it has become an unintentional surprise for erin. so you will have to wait to hear what that one is.

funny was that we had some conversation about jim & sojourners yesterday at the cohort. we mentioned his recent appearance on the daily show. a few things from that conversation, don't try to be the funny man on the daily show, stick to your message, answer the question you want to answer not the one asked. that is how you play the game. &:~)

why eikon?

tonight we started "eikon" an arts initiative within & outside our youth community. eikon, we hope, will become small communities of artisans that help us to practice a medium as well as frame our art as spiritual practice. tonight we started our photography community with around 20 youth & adults. i was pretty stoked for the number, but mostly i was stoked for the people that showed interest. i thought i'd share some of the why behind "eikon" since it was apparently asked about around the gbod.

To be an Eikon means, first of all, to be in union with God as Eikons; second, it means to be in communion with other Eikons; and third, it means to participate with God in his creating, his ruling, his speaking, his naming, his ordering, his variety and beauty, his location, his partnering, and his resting, and to oblige God in his obligating of us. Thus, an Eikon is God-oriented, self-oriented, other-oriented, and cosmos-oriented. To be an Eikon is to be a missional being - one designed to love God, self, and others and to represent God by participating in God's rule in this world.
-a Community Called Atonement, by Scot McKnight

i thought this did a pretty good job of defining some group identity

i am pretty stoked to see what God does with this grouping

 

a strange meet up

this afternoon i am meeting up with my district superintendent and a group of other eclectic pastors, many i call friends. we were 'required' to be part of this group as we are teaching our ds about progressive ministry anythings. a learning group of sorts. however, when i said sure to the group (in honesty, i am laity and i don't see myself being required by my ds to do anything) i thought we'd be talking culture, technology, mission, monasticism, worship, etc... but instead we have been required to read this book together.. and we have to write a one page paper on a required chapter (mine is chapter 9). this is our 2nd meeting of this gathering and i am confused to know what to expect or think. i don't even know if i will enjoy it it.. though i probably will enjoy somewhat if some of my buddies are there. i even like our ds, he's a dreamer and i can appreciate that. might even be an ambitious slacker.

vaction reading : divine nobodies

over vacation one of the friends i took with me was jim palmer. i hadn't anticipated taking jim.. i just anticipated taking his first book "divine nobodies." i have known jim for almost three maybe four years now. we met for the first time at an early version of our nashville emergent cohort. i like to say we have been friends ever since, though we would both have to agree, we don't hang out enough.. like quite rarely as of late. which is just what it is for now.

in saying that i took him on vacation with us is sharing that an encounter with jim is an encounter into someone who has made themselves as transparent as one can be. i think i do a pretty good job on the blog of being transparent, but he's got me beat. with his transparent nature and honesty comes a reflection of humility in a person who has lead a life complete with fracture and triumph, misdirection and reorientation, pride and compassion, moving into that love that we all hope for in our own lives. the premise of the book can easily be figured out by pondering the title and subtitle "divine nobodies, shedding religion to find God and the unlikely people who help you." it is one mans journey down that "religion" path of linear steps and success markers. only to come to a place where life, that everyday life, comes through and makes all that painful to the soul. through that there are normal everyday people that come and go in life that reflect Christ to their fellow ordinary people, or "nobodies" as "the world" is concerned.

i feel like i know my friend so much more now than ever. he would tell stories of people, which generally revolved around the nashville area (but not all) and i'd wonder.. "is that my mechanic?" "which waffle house is that?" (i have a good guess on that one, jim actually lives nearby)

through this he challenges his upbringing of the "religion" steps and success (which made me think of this article over and over again) on what it means to be Christian plus who you & i can learn from. it made me think, when people talk about those "God" moments most are centered around children, nature, and music.. at least that is my viewpoint. no one ever looks for or will claim those learning moments talking to a server or gas station attendant.. why?.. why not?.. for this reason i would say that all should give some thought to the divine nobodies in their life or their role as a divine nobody in others lives. read the book if you are confused by that, you might need to experience jim pilgrimage down the path to this point to be able to see your own. i know i am better for having taken him on vacation.

it made me thank all the staff that served us a little more. pay attention to someone who was generally invisible to others. tipping a little better.. which makes me think of a point in the book i continue to ponder...

[speaking of wanda the waffle house server, after being tipped with a tract]... Wanda got me thinking about whether any theology can be "right" if it doesn't motivate you to treat people with love and respect. Let's just hope on Judgement Day that God doesn't leave it in the hands of the waitresses, cashiers, and all the other invisible people in our world who are on the receiving end of what's truly in our hearts. (pg41)

it helped me to discover as divine nobodies some fabulous new friends on our trip (they really were on the trip, not a book persona). same with just a conversation on the plane. both things i am not normally apt to do myself due to my underlying shyness.

the idea is not new. one can go back to what i have mentioned before as the role of porter in the monastery. they greet everyone as Christ is within each person and they try to reflect the same. i like the idea of claiming to be a nobody.. i often times try to pump up the stats on my resume when it just isn't necessary. i know, but i still do it.

one this is for sure, the world needs more divine nobodies.