Hit the Back Button to Move Fwd by Gavin Richardson

what we've learned is : "children will become like the people who teach them"

i am a big fan of ted talks, no news there. this particular talk eluded me till now. erin was shown this as part of a one of her ceo training programs. i'm glad she did. you will to

Jesus is the shirtless guy : following is the new leading

i'm pondering this quick little ted talk by derek sivers this morning. i caught this idea to be quite radical in shift in the way we look at leadership.

"it was the first follower that transformed the lone nut, into a leader... if you really care about starting a movement, have the courage to follow and show others how to follow."

as with most things it has me pondering of faith.. wondering if Jesus is the nut, then who is the follower who showed us how to follow? Saint Paul? some of the Disciples?

where am i in this? am i the guy that's trying to get attention by some silly song and dance or do i need to figure out how i show to follow better?

i think if we asked Christ about the idea of following to lead he'd be pretty stoked by it.

a heretics advent : how do you give thanks

A Heretics Advent from Gavin Richardson on Vimeo.

i read this little parable for our youth the first sunday of advent. we were coming off the thanksgiving holiday and it seemed poignant. i share with you to ask the same thing i asked of our teenagers. 'what are you doing to not live into this parable.

here's what i am encouraging you to check out.

• 61st Avenue umc & the last minute toy store: little ole’ 61st ave umc is putting together its annual “last minute” toy store to help families in hardship provide some toys, food, and sometimes a christmas tree for over 3,500 children here in nashville. toy store starts at noon on friday and goes thru Monday. join me on friday by driving yourself over. volunteer orientation starts at 12. The Toy Store will stay open till around 6:30pm when the last shoppers go thru.
• send a message of hope to our growing church in cote d’ivoire, west africa. there is a lot of need, and when there is need a little hope goes a long way. send some encouragement.
• check out advent conspiracy, get yourself aware of the conditions people live in outside your world. spend less, give more, love all!
• maybe you are just a cool person who cares
• volunteer at the community care’s fellowship or nashville rescue mission
• become aware of local and global issues.. maybe the world AIDS or water problem

kleenex & tissues : talking about the holy spirit

kleenex & tissues and the Holy Spirit from Gavin Richardson on Vimeo.

last week i went to hang with my friends at the nashville cohort. we had our annual, 'what are you thinking about' session. one of the questions had to do with the our understanding of the Holy Spirit and how to communicate to others what that is.

certainly as methodists we have our 'strangely warmed' historic experience that we can be comfortable with a physical reaction in our bodies to the spirit's movement, but for so many people our modern idea of the Holy Spirit comes from azusa street & the birth of pentecostal movement.

my odd connection in our conversation this day was to say, this is basically a kleenex & tissue issue. when you grab something to blow your nose what do you call that thing? many times you'd call it a kleenex.. however, kleenex is just a brand name for a tissue. however, we often don't distinguish the two as different. they are one in the same. the tissue has been has a history longer than the kleenex, but we still mix the two. same thing with the Holy Spirit.. sorta..

we've allowed the pentecostal movement to lay claim to the Holy Spirit and brand it as what we often times know today. so there is a need to, as we talk about & experience the Holy Spirit, to let folks know that we are experiencing the 'tissue' not necessarily the kleenex.

theology of twitter : spirituality and social media

emergent conversant, fellow social media friend, steve knight put together this presentation on a theology of twitter. it has some great content. maybe the greatest content is him quoting me from my spirituality and social media series i did with matt cheuvront.

The Theology Of Twitter

View more presentations from Steve Knight.

radical discipleship : shane claiborne at duke chapel

one of my youth sent me this.. its really great when your teens send you stuff.

look back into the past : the things that were about this time years ago

in my on going toss out of lifting up some of the archives of this blog from similar time period over the years.

• i jumped in on some oovoo conversations with marketing & tech type people (pretty sure i was the only youth minister participating in the event). that was fun, but oovoo hasn't taken off. tokbox seems to be the next multi person video conference center.
• some ponderings from the desert fathers & mothers on parenting & youth ministry
• everyone can use some new 'faith filled' pick up lines
• an early morning reflection on the homeless in my city
• remember when the nfl was going to sue churches if you had a super bowl party.. seems they have learned from that pr nightmare
• i was again likened to a celebrity.. well, he wasn't so much celebrity then, he's more now
• church shopping & the devices of the entertaining church
• i took the strengths profile test that our church is big proponent of. can you guess what i came out as?
• my abbey journal kept while on retreat at gethsemani. good times, need to get back soon.
• in what is the only time you see capital letters use consistently, my pastor michael williams guest blogged on the theological conversation with miroslav volf
• this is what happens when you are friends with jonathon norman
• thoughts on how justice issues can become an idol unto themselves
• some ponderings on contemporary worship in my church context & how our greater church sold their soul to contemporary worship
• starbucks goes down!

war & christianity : the many voices

i found this little video looking for a psalters song. it has some interesting thoughts on war from people whom i listen too, contemporary and old school.

blogger meet up : the bishop robert schnase

if you are in the nashville area, a blogger, and got some free evening time on wednesday evening. come over to the congress on evangelism for a blogger meet up with bishop robert schnase. amy posted info at the methoblog.

Several of us attending the upcoming Congress on Evangelism in Nashville are pulling together a blogger meetup at the supper break time on Wednesday, January 7. We haven't yet set the location; one factor in that decision is how many people we expect to have. So, please email me at aforbus(at)umr.org by Friday, Jan. 2 if you plan to attend the meetup. Bishop Robert Schnase will be part of the gathering.

UPDATE: We've decided to meet later, to get around the time crunch of the supper break. We are going to meet up after worship and go somewhere that'll let us sit around and talk past 9:00.

bishop schnase is the toast of methodism with his fruitful congregations book & resource. i first ran into him at the umerging event back in 2006 when he sat in as a q&a with bishop scott jones. that was a heated little conversation, but in the following years i believe we all understand each other more. i liked bishop schnazz then & i expect to like him more after hanging out.

monday music : zehnder music review

a first for the monday music is to review some new music. this stuff came to me via the ooze. i've often wondered what would emergent music sound like? after brian mclaren wrote his manifesto to worship songwriters some years back i have been looking out for those who might fit into taking that seriously.

the zehnder guys give their angle on it. here is a video of them doing the song of peace hymn.

So Who's Zehnder? (found at their website)

Twins Tom and Tim Gibbs Zehnder compose, arrange, perform and record as an indie worship band based in Los Angeles. Tim plays bass and doumbek, Tom plays guitar and djembe, and the two raise their voices together in elaborate duets. They serve a local church with their music, L.A.'s Immanuel Presbyterian Church.

A few accolades: "Zehnder communes with those who hear their music." -Ched Meyers | Author/Speaker/Theologian | Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries "Take a unique harmonized vocal sound and a punchy groove and combine that with provocative lyrics and you start to get a sense of Zehnder." -Rev. Dan Hoffman | Co-Executive Director | Hollywood Urban Project

For more about Zehnder

i am not the aficionado of music, but what i liked about these guys is that they take some chance with their lyric. its not repetitive chorus which gets taken into a quick circulation of the worship spectrum, but there is rounded thought mixed in with their lyric. i would liken their songwriting to more a folk songwriter. the sound of the group i might describe as an experimental acoustic. even their rap song "justice jam" (which is probably my favorite) is bass lined with a chello (or what sounds like chello).

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.

monday music : Jesus is our jubilee

not being a nashville native i have adopted some of the norms of the nashville culture. one of the norms of being in nashville is that you don't "out" the celebrities. they are regular people and you let them be regular. since nashville is a country music home this is rather easy for me. being from the philadelphia area there was maybe one country station and going to alabama i tried to give country a go, but it didn't take. some of the icons i can point out, the dolly or... well, the dolly.

this not 'outting' the celeb became a big thing when i was working for awhile at rei in brentwood (a camping co-op store for those that don't know & a tn town where a lot of celebs reside). people would come in and i'd ask them if they were a member (a common question when you visit a co-op) and i'd get their name, jackson, brooks, etc. i knew of people, so i would realize that they were somebody.

i lost my cool though, once.

i had this very ordinary guy stop in buying some stuff. i rang him up, his co-op membership was under his wife's name, not a problem. he gave me his credit card and i looked at it for signature and matching name. when i saw his name it said 'michael card'.. my eyes widened and i looked up at him and sneaked the question "are you, the michael card, the musician?" he answered back "yes" and didn't look to pleased about it. so i needed a recovery.. i responded back with what was amazing brilliance "i know one of your old piano teachers." note: this was not a lie, rolland puckett who went to church with me. rolland is an older gentleman who was a concert pianist and would play his steinway in the church sanctuary at night. i'd sneak in and listen to him, it was a real joy and we had a good friendship. anyway, back to michael. he replied back "really?" i said, "yes, rolland puckett is a very good friend." michael's shoulder's let down, we talked about rolland a bit and the gear that he was purchasing for a 2 week romanian mission he was undertaking at that time. i was on cloud nine. went home and told my brother who i ran into and he was stoked too. i told other folks about my run in with michael card, but they were like "who?" yes, he's more the artist for the church geek.

michael was never the most well known artist. he didn't fit the trendy mold of contemporary christian music. his stuff was challenging too. none of his stuff is fluffy & couldn't really get adapted to the growing worship music scene. he talked with a lot of the words and metaphors you see in the emergent community now, only this was steeped in more liturgy and lived out in the early & mid '90's, long before that stuff start.

so, in this time of advent i share with you michael card's song jubilee. i would also suggest his song with phil keaggy 'poem of your life'

things on tab : stories sex religion church teens and technology

as part of my new integration of lifestream stuff into my blogs newer look. i've been plugging a lot of stuff into my gavin del.icio.us account. so you can track back to these and other links of interest long after this posting (and others) have cycled out of view. i'm working on figuring out how i like stumbleupon or digg.

• simply my favorite story of a teenager & faith that i've read in a long time. here is his official website & a powerful youtube video testimony
• in similar news, jolly blogger announces he has cancer
• a big deal with the episcopalian church break up is, what to do with the property? the umc has the same set up, so this is interesting news for me.
• the wifey wanted me to read this.. its true, i have bad sleeping habits. sage advice?
• i'd say this is pretty darn cool for perkins school of theology
• poor pastor, at least he's got his congregation
• muslim teenagers growing up in america. not so easy to keep to traditional rules
• 10 questions that separate girls from women.. how do you answer?
• some united methodist churches talk merger
• inside of the bernard madoff's 'scam of the century' (though, this century is kinda young)
• phyllis tickle and peter rollins talk emergence shop
• a lot of folks upset or happy about rick warren doing the invocation. this one caught my eye though. ben witherington always has a thorough thought on the subject
• if you missed my sex week challenge article
• reverend mommy's prayer musings and her last supper lunch box
• locking down your own data
• turbulent cleric on reimagining the world a sermon of sorts
• asbo jesus at it again
• sky lowe mccracken highlights the troubles of a methodist university
• chris brogan on the distinctions of a blog post versus twitter post & how to see that in the whole social media spectrum
• is a green shift in home ownership going to save economic times?
• jason's many hats
• newspapers are still figuring out the whole conversation thing, by techcrunch
• top 10 photography tips and tricks plus why you should shoot in raw format
• josh's guide to God blessed college football bowl games

ordinary radicals review : my life as i knew it

some time back i ordered my own copy of 'the ordinary radicals' a documentary by jamie moffett and focusing on the people and experiences that circled around the jesus for president book tour.

i was super stoked about the documentary. had these ideas of all the different people it would profile and story.

when i got the documentary i watched it at the first opportunity. my emotional reactions were somewhat uneasy, there was some stuff in there that made me uncomfortable, which i felt strange about because all the concepts and ideas were things i have been familiar with through readings of shane's books or others. many of the people in the video i had heard of and got what i would expect. but some of the lesser known, or unknown folks, stories were way powerful.

the documentary got really long for me. almost 2 hours in length it felt long. i might have done a shorter movie length with continued stories on a website. that might allow for more adaptability and continued conversations.. might even have a place where people upload their own videos of stuff they are doing.

at the end of it all the documentary ended up in moorestown, nj which was funny to me. i went to church at first umc in moorestown, growing up next door in cinnaminson. i spent many years with the people of moorestown. they were doing a contrast of moorestown and camden, which only are about five miles apart (with cinnaminson in part of the middle of that 5 miles). camden is notoriously one of the most violent and poverty stricken places.

what is funny to me is that i hung out in camden too. it was for various reasons, but i remember doing a driving lesson through parts of camden to pick up the next student. there was shopping spots and even a night club as i remember visiting. in my early days of hs we played various schools from in and around camden in sports (that changed when our schools restructured the whole league system). the waterfront was built up with the aquarium and concert amphitheater to check out. then there were my emt days where we went to cooper hospital over and over again. though i knew camden to be a dangerous place by reputation it was never some huge stark contrast.. but then again, back in those days moorestown isn't what it is today either. the divide of haves and have nots may have just gotten so much bigger.

back to ordinary radicals. its a good movie, great for stirring conversation. wish it was shorter to get allow people to get to that conversation without feeling they are leaving something out. as for teaching spots it has some great testimonies to pull from to share specific thoughts on empire, money, mission, homelessness, government, and more.

nt wright and brennan manning sit down at a bar : post-postemerging faith

well, they might not have sat at a bar. this little video is making the rounds courtesy of emergent village. i am a fan of nt wright as you might have known from when he came to nashville. cool thing with this video is that i think i have the same shirt as the bishop. however, brennan manning is on a style all his own.

tuesday randomness : the link love

i've got a bunch of things on tab to look through.

• develop some creative messaging for your outreach
• how did obama tap into social networks power?
• my virtual barbie is better than yours!
• hip-hop poetry books for children
• txt messaging may be able to curb obesity.. i told them to check out tweet what you eat
• homeless youth television
• ypulse mashup millennials myths panel
• consider alternative gifts, donate to save darfur
• video discussion by phyllis tickle on 'the great emergence'
• highs and lows of teenage faith development
• are youth starting to use twitter? not that i've seen..
• still staring at multiply to decide if i want to sign up..
• my friend jacob's church plant made our methodist news
• adding basecamp to gmail.. cool!
• using exposure bias to improve photo detail
• the election has spurred all kinds of racism.. sad, predictable, but sad
• obama & the facebook generation

missional church : the exhaustive resource

jr woodward of 'dream awakener' has posted an exhaustive (honestly, its an amazing) collection of brain trust on the missional church. i'm privy to have a link in there for my notes spent with scot mcknight & his missional Jesus seminar back in april.

you should definitely bookmark his post. i know i have.

jesus for president : shane claiborne

 

yesterday i went with my church clergy to hear shane claiborne as part of belmont university's sermon series. here were some of the fun quotes from that morning out of the office.

• My pastor. It gives me hope to here this message and see all these young people.
• SC. We vote everyday with our lives. Advise everyone. Endorse no one.
• SC. The bible doesn't say God so loved America but God so loved the world.
• SC. We are supposed to live in ways that don't compute.
• SC. Im not so sure how we as Christians became so normal.
• SC Song. Come patriots bring your flags. We're doin a foot washin and will need some rags.
• OpeningPrayer. How could we worship a homeless man on Sunday and step over one on Monday.

i've heard shane a few times in the last two years. this presentation was a little different. partly, i believe, he was speaking more to the empire and work for the poor. most of the other times it was more about reframing church. i like his message. it is terrible for me though as someone who is trying to go back and write down notes.

in other fun. we discussed politics & faith, using jesus for president as part of our framework. i'm still chuckling at thomas for saying 'shane is a better christian than Jesus'.. he had a good point, regardless of the point, the statement just has be cracked up.

shane claiborne : speaking in nashville

sorry for you folks looking for info on shane claiborne speaking in nashville this week. here is where he will be speaking tonight. here is info on his website. he will be at belmont tomorrow.

update: i will be going to see him at belmont tomorrow. so look for me if you are there

a photo remembrance : the stache lives

so was i flipping through some old photos. this one caught my attention. it's jonathon & jay, but rocking their excellent facial hair (which they don't rock anymore). this was a stop at jacobs well church in kansas city when we were up there for the umerging conversation back in 2006. made some excellent friends that week. had some blogging fun with other friends, and the jay stache became such a powerful entity in the emerging church we had to give it forums to speak.

anyways, a little stroll down memory lane.

the ordinary radicals : proud owner

i ordered my own copy of 'the ordinary radicals' today. for some reason i noticed today, and not others, that the nashville showing is just for belmont univ students. lllaamme! so i bought my own copy. it's only 20 bucks and i suppose it could be a quick back up for youth if needed.

The Ordinary Radicals - Trailer from Jamie Moffett on Vimeo.

the hope : three great crisis

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

donald miller : arts & spirituality

donald miller giving a talk to folks at willow creek on arts, the artist, and spirituality.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

david dark : the message in culture arts

david dark shares some of his experiences of finding significant messages in the cultural arts

reimagine : mark scandrette

mark scandrette doing his slam poetry from 'the church basement roadshow' tip from bob, my pics from the roadshow

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

emergent revival : the church basement road show

so monday night i convinced wifey to join me at the church basement roadshow as it pulled through town. i had agreed to help with set up and whatever else being a part of the cohort. got to catch up with some fun peeps i don't hang with enough, lilly & sally come to mind. jay gave a quick run down. reba was there, though i didn't get to say hi to her in the chaotic fun. there were other friends that actually don't have a blog to link to, so just know they were there. since it was saint b's dixon was obviously there, but too busy to have good times chat. apparently holly, whom i've never met before and only read her blog occasionally, is now in town which was a new surprise.

this was by far the most creative book tour i've been an attendee of. the mix of old school 1908 revival, the fun play with personality and cultural norms, the impassioned storytelling, singing the revival song (especially after lilly, wifey, and myself had a conversation on singing not being the only worship way), the overlaying theological questions to faith and practice explored, and fellowship. i even got to toot on the trombone.. too bad i played sax in junior high, the woodwinds are significantly different than the brass instrument in playing, so it sounded more like fart sounds to me.. which, i guess is amusing in itself.

we bought the balm of gilead, hook line and sinker. way to go tony, mark, & doug. brilliant!

more fun photos from the church basement roadshow

the hand that steadies : where are you

non-religious but spiritual : learning to talk again

today we had a great day of conversation. i hooked up with friend jim palmer for a day of conversation 'connecting with non-religious yet spiritual people' and some 25 folks. i tried to broadcast it over ustream, which, it might have actually done. i think though our church wireless wasn't quite up to task for it though. i did record most of it on simple video, so maybe i can put some out there in future days. jim has given a little synopsis of the conversation.

i really enjoyed our time together today! let me try and summarize some things that came up, and then ask for your feedback on a few items.

in summary....

1. all people have "spiritual" interests and desires (i.e. desire for peace,love, freedom, and contentment). unless you live on an island, every person has had exposure to religion. some people have spent more time and energy seeking God and spiritual things through religion than others but all people are influenced by the presence of religion in society and culture.

2. "religion" is defined as a fixed or defined system of beliefs, practices, and structures meant to aid people in knowing God.

3. a "non-religious" person is someone for whom that organized system of beliefs, practices, and structures is not beneficial for their "spiritual growth and desire to know God. in cases where those religious beliefs, practices, and structures are oppressive, legalistic, judgmental, shallow, hypocritical, and demeaning, people are deeply wounded and damaged from their previous religious involvements, and are therefore often resentful of those individuals and churches involved.

4. a highly organized form of church is only one form of church. this form of church works for some people but not all people. an increasing number of people no longer subscribe to the idea that "church" must involve a building, organized programs, and weekly worship services.

5. the panel today is representative of many non-religious people:

Mike - Buddhist AND Christian
Jeffrey - Don't label me anything, get to know me.
Carlene - Don't put yourself or others in a box.
Doug - Love is my religion.

6. unconditional love and acceptance, and cultivating true relationships/friendships is what's most "relevant" to non-religious people. these cannot be accomplished or achieved within the typical systems, structures, and programs of organized church life. in other words, the true essence of "church" is not even possible AT church (services, classes, groups, meetings, programs, etc.).

7. religion often labels/stereotypes people, too quickly judges and condemns others who are different, and insists there must be "winners" and "losers." religious energies are often focused on converting people to different beliefs. what gets lost in all of this is truly understanding people as they are or where they are, and how they got there.

8. some people seek to "reform" organized forms of church to make the message of Christ more accessible to non-religious people. others choose to operate outside organized forms of church.

i want to encourage you to read the books: Authentic Relationships, and Divine Nobodies. Consider this Yahoo Group an open forum for the following:

- continuing the conversation of "connecting with the spiritual interests of non-religious people" - offering your feedback and input about today's gathering - sharing how things are evolving in your own personal life and/or in your faith community as it relates to this topic - sharing your input and feedback about the books - passing along other helpful resources

another gathering is scheduled for the fall. if you are interested in helping in any way, let me know. i am also working on a similar event in which the panel will include clerics from Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and an Atheist. let me know if you have any interest in helping with that.

you can also always email me at jim(at)divinenobodies.com

thanks! jim

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

shane claiborne : way of life

shane claiborne on urban ministry. tip dale

tuesday randomness : link love

for your review

• zombie protestors in nashville
• church teamwork
• how to shoot band promo photos
• shane claiborne's scandelous sermon at nywc '07
• what every good marketer should know
• parenting & jr. high dance
• small time ministry with big dreams
• not too fat for me
• turn point & shoot camera into super-camera
• found who i am voting for in '08 wooo!
• interview with phyllis tickle
• small churches should embrace cheap technology
• scot mcknight at shift conference
• wayne on the complications in myanmar
• infinite world of the web

where do we get this time to work on the internet?

phyllis tickle : the new rose

rachel got me thinking of this video of phyllis tickle sharing insight into the new rose or the great emergence.

come converse with us : connecting with the spiritual interest of non-religious people

Connecting with the Spiritual Interest of Non-Religious People

A Conversation among Christian Leaders in Middle Tennessee

 

(Facilitated by author/speaker, Jim Palmer)

~

June 13, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

First United Methodist Church, Hendersonville, TN 

The way many people process life and matters of ultimate reality have changed, and represent an increasing number of people in Middle Tennessee. Here's a sampling of those changes…

God Peace, Doctrine Truth, Christianity Christ, Blue Green,   Church Community,  Worship Centers Coffee Shops, Holiness Compassion, PC Mac,
Teaching Conversation, Membership Friendship, Functionality Beauty, Books Blogs
Knowledge Freedom, Answers Questions, Religion Spirituality, Doing Being
Style Substance, Outreach Missional, Plastic Digital, Heaven Earth
Exclusive Universal, Certainty Wonder, Consumerism Activism, Polished Real
Excellence Authenticity, Programs Doing Life, Homogeny Diversity
Orthodoxy Love,  Accountability Acceptance

The working question for June 13 is: What does this change mean, and how do I and my faith community respond?

~~

About Jim Palmer: After receiving his M.Div. from TEDS, serving on staff at Willow Creek Church, and planting/pastoring a non-denom church for six years, Jim left professional ministry and immersed himself in a world of non-religious people. As an author, he has been chronicling his journey out of organized religion: Divine Nobodies: Shedding Religion to Find God (and the unlikely people who help you) and Wide Open Spaces: Beyond Paint-by-Number Christianity. Jim's new book will be out the end of 2008. Through trial and error, Jim pioneered a form of church for non-religious people, which functions as a social network in the Nashville area.

Two groups have increasing contacted Jim through his writing: people interested in knowing God but turned off by organized religion, and people in ministry who desire to connect with them. The half-day gathering on June 13 is meant to stimulate conversation among pastors, church planters, church staff, and key volunteers around the topic of how churches can better relate to people who want to know God but currently wouldn't consider the idea of "going to church."

Jim and friends will share and guide our conversation and interaction for the gathering. Each participant will receive two free books: Divine Nobodies by Jim Palmer, and Authentic Relationships by Wayne Jacobsen. A light lunch will be offered. The cost is a $50 minimum donation. Because the gathering is designed to be interactive, participation is limited to the first 25 people. Please register by email before June 1 by contacting Jim at: [email protected] Each participant will be given preparatory assignments, and a dedicated Internet forum will be utilized for participants before and after the June 13 gathering. For directions to the gathering, go to www.hfumc.org (contact me for more church info)

tuesday randomness : linkage of a different kind

so some things to look at when you have free time like so many of us. i need to send out tips for some of these.. i just don't know who. so apologies for not giving appropriate props today. i still love and appreciate you for being so wonderful

• beth gives her rundown on general conference
• post general conference poem
• 10 reasons men should not be ordained
• hauerwas, moral superiority of gays
• necessity of christian culture
• the theo-celebrity deathmatch continues
• the future of emergent gathering...
• who didn't see this coming? apparently car dealers
• 21 ways to shoot better photographs
• dan kimball visits the holyland.. in orlando
• latest worship resources from jonny baker
• if i wasn't already at camp i'd imagine going
• ultimate fooseball
• what will you buy to stimulate the economy?
• the ultimate dance off
• 10 ways to work on subject matter in linkedin (big for me, i have no idea what to do with linkedin)
• blogging getting a second wind? you decide
• which comes first the gathering or the crowd?
• make some stop motion video
• can twitter be liberated? i didn't know it was captured
• a new american
• top down vs bottom up polity in the church
• is facebook now part of a murder?
• apparently you are not God's favorite

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

they like jesus but not the church : some poison

so all this various things have been swirling around me more the last few weeks about those who are without church. or as i know church to be, that of a spiritual community. why folks walk away and never come back. plus, hanging with dan kimball last weekend didn't help either. as i pondered i realized this isn't such a new thing.. i remembered this gem from my boy brett.

shift conference twit

this post will stick to the top of my header while i am at this shift conference. look below for some more rounded postings. also, out of ur blog will be doing some live blogging as well.
shalom, -gav

where is the twit?

follow me on Twitter