achievable ends

It's Good to Have Brad Bergfalk Back

My boy's introduced the Kinnons to Brad and Roxi Bergfalk in Nairobi back in 2002. We were all there doing some teaching. (Well, not the kids - but the adults certainly were - the Bergfalks were working @ the out of town campus.) Brad had seen Liam's hair on a basketball court and assumed he was an American kid.

I've thoroughly enjoyed Brad's blog for the year's he's been writing it - but with his recent move back to the rainy Pacific Northwest (his childhood home) from Upstate New York - his blog had gone quiet.

Well, I'm happy to say (as is another ECC Brad who I read daily) that Brad's back with his NakedReligion blog. And he even makes me interested in a post about a baseball game.

A rookie player for the Mariners had his first at bat in the big leagues. He hit the ball into shallow right center field and the fans rose to their feet and cheered. And they continued to cheer as this young man stood on first base grinning from ear-to-ear. This was not about winning or losing. This outburst of support was for a rookie ball player who, standing on first base with sweat beading up on his brow, had his first hit in his professional career as a big league ballplayer. The score of the game didn’t matter (the Mariners did in fact lose again). In an act of utter humanity, Mariner and Red Sox fans alike reveled in the joy of this young man’s accomplishment.

Sometimes the score of the game doesn’t matter. Sometimes there are human moments where our common humanity and a job well-done transcends which team you cheer for.

It's amazing to me the number of Evangelical Covenant Church bloggers I read, including Jamie Arpin-Ricci, Erika Haub, John Frye (see Michael Spencer's interview with John), Brad Bergfalk, Brad Boydston and Scott McKnight. John Frye says this about the ECC,

The reason I like the Evangelical Covenant Church denomination (an institution) is because it has the life, energy and feel of a movement. The E.C.C. community is relationally driven. I believe the church is to be relationally driven, i.e., relationships with God, with one another, with those needing faith, and with creation. I think a relationally-driven Jesus community will emphasize expressions of radical love in word and action, will be uncomfortably embracing of the neglected and marginalized, will care deeply for people and their stories, that is, listen 90% in the relationship and talk 10%. There will be a lot of laughter, too, as we lived relaxed and hopeful in our faith.

Brad Bergfalk, NakedReligion, Blogger Friends

A Good Review of The Missional Leader

Tony Sundermeier writes a good review of The Missional Leader - a book from two of our friends, Al Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk. (My copy keeps disappearing.) Tony highly recommends the book but asks some tough questions about it, as well.

What Roxburgh and Romanuk have done is produce a top-rate strategy and plan that is deeply rooted in their missional theology; a plan that is very thorough, organized, and well thought out. This is in and of itself quite an accomplishment – it displays a rare combination of theology and praxis in a Christian culture that usually presents one aspect as separate from the other. And while they are very clear and articulate in directing the leadership enterprise toward congregational ownership and not adapting the plans and purposes of one singular leader,[17] there is still a technique driven tone throughout the book. It begs the question: are the authors simply repackaging techniques for a new paradigm? Are Roxburgh and Romanuck the next Dulles or Maxwell, the next Hybels or Warren? [Bill: Knowing Fred and Al, this line cracked me up - but he IS asking a good question.]

Regardless, I do believe that this book is absolutely crucial for churches and the leaders of the local church to engage with, implement, and reflect upon. The strategies are theologically sound, socially relevant, and ecclesiologically prudent. However, I wonder if Roxburgh and Romanuk are nonetheless guilty of practicing the same technical rationality that is implicitly viewed in a pejorative light throughout their book? In other words: can any of us escape our place in this technological society that is driven by technique and utilitarian pragmatism? Can we truly conceive of the church as an organism instead of an organization?

Read the entire review @ Tony's blog, please.

Alan Roxburgh, mission-shaped, missional, Fred Romanuk, The Missional Leader

Oh. Just. Shut. Up. Already.

Let me help you here. When a church names itself Relevant, it ain't.

Consumer Church, Great Sex?, Out of Ur

NZ's Paul Fromont on the Local Congregation

My New Zealander buddy, Paul Fromont, has a good post this morning on The Importance of the Local Congregation. (I'm pretty sure Paul's not talking about gigachurches here. <GRIN>) Of course, quoting Newbigin always wins points in my game,

Stanley Hauerwas has a wonderful turn of phrase, “… the way the gospel is known is by one person being for another person the story of Jesus.” He reminds us that “our responsibility is to be faithful to the task God has given us. The result [of that task] is God’s doing.”

Missionally speaking, the local church (and thus individual Jesus-followers too) is an important locus for the gospel. Lesslie Newbigin reminds us that this locus has two important dimensions, both of which, if they’re not present, undermine the proclamation of “good news” in the public arena. [emphasis in original]

Please read all of Paul's post.

mission-shaped, missional, Newbigin, Paul Fromont

And now...Gigachurch

Original link via the BHT. From the Minneapolis StarTribune:

"We don't want anything, no matter how small, to knock the worshipers out of the mood of the service," explained Anderson, executive director of worship.

It's a recipe for worship that has worked very well for Eagle Brook, the largest congregation in the state, which holds 10 services each weekend. No longer just a "megachurch," Eagle Brook now qualifies as a "gigachurch," the term for congregations of more than 10,000 members. It serves an average of 11,000 worshipers a weekend -- and swells to 17,000 on Christmas and Easter.

Pulling off those massive services without a hitch, week after week, requires an elaborate infrastructure and precision execution. At Eagle Brook, the drill is plan, plan, plan, then rehearse, rehearse, rehearse -- with the ultimate goal of making it all look spontaneous.

snip

...among the first arrivals is Steve Duede, who leads the Christian rock music crucial to the megachurch experience. His T-shirt and faded blue jeans are emblematic of Eagle Brook's laid-back approach. When frequent greeter Cindi Franer sizes up the crowd for first-timers, she often spots them because they're overdressed. "A coat and tie is a dead giveaway," she said.

Barry has spent the week developing video graphics to accompany the music. She and Duede will spend the next 90 minutes "working the plan" to achieve the desired effect.

"Our goal is that everything has a purpose," Anderson said. "We want the worship service to be vertical, not horizontal. Meaning we want people's eyes on the platform."

snip

(Pastor) Strand is holed up in a small rehearsal room going over his message. He wrote it two weeks earlier. In the interim, it has been critiqued by the other pastors, refined and critiqued again. According to Barry's log book, it will run 28 minutes and 45 seconds, every word of it spoken from memory.

Strand spends his Saturday ensuring that his presentation comes off as conversational. That would pay off later, when worshipers laugh at something that seems ad-libbed.

snip

After the first service, Barry, Anderson and Strand debrief. In addition to Strand's use of a different word in the 23rd Psalm, there are two other glitches: A song introduction that Barry expected to be eight bars long lasted only four bars, and the hourlong service started a minute late.

As their meeting ends, the sanctuary has been cleaned from the first service, more coffee is brewing and parking lot volunteers have reconfigured the orange cones from the exiting pattern to the entering. People start drifting in for the 6 p.m. service.

One service down; nine more to go before the weekend is over and planning starts for next week.

"We do all this so we can get out of the way and let people focus on connecting with God," Anderson said.

All emphasis added.

Consumer Church, Giga Church

A Little Monday Morning Randomness

I'm fighting an ear infection (which is a little problematic as Imbi and I fly to Colorado this Thursday) and am rather under the weather. So rather than attempt to write something, let me point you at some things I've been reading (as I've been awake since 4am...again.)

Michael Spencer's post on prayer profoundly impacted me this morning. (You'd need a pop filter on a mic to record that last line.)

My son, Liam, continues to prove he's a better writer and deeper thinker than me with his response to Brant Hansen's negative post on The Dark Knight. (I'll reserve final judgment until I see the flick myself - but I would tend to take a dialectical approach to this discussion. That being if I actually understand what that last sentence means.) To prove Li's a better writer than me:

Brant calls the movie a jolt of excitement for a dying culture. It is more a reflection of a culture trying to figure out what good and evil are or whether they even exist. It does unfortunately ring strongest as an ode to utilitarianism more than anything else. If you are going to treat Wall-E as a wonderful tribute to the importance of life*, than you should respond to this movie as a filmmakers questioning of relativism, utilitarianism, and the nature of good and evil. I’d love to say this movie was just entertainment but in the same way people get their theology from what they sing in church they get their philosophy from what they watch. We need to engage movies as such.

BTW, Liam wrote this in the wee hours of the morning after returning from a weekend canoe trip. Is my pride a little too obvious?

UPDATE 2: Brant comments on Liam's blog and also posts a very funny 2nd Batman response on how wrong his first post was/is. The funniest line, "No way am I going to question, for a moment, a movie featuring the guy on your lunchbox." Make a point of also reading Ed Brenegar's review - The Dark Knight of the Soulless. My only warning is that there may be spoilers in the review. (I skimmed the ending of the post when it appeared so.)

As a sort-of Anglican, I've been following Ruth Gledhill's coverage of the Lambeth Conference religiously and Facebook-stalked her to point her at these two good posts from the Anglican Communion Institute. One takes apart the Gafcon response to the latest Anglican Covenant document - and the other exposes the talking points that the TEC Bishops have been asked to follow whilst at Lambeth. It would almost appear that the ultra-Liberals and their conservative opposites are doing their best to kill the Anglican Communion.

My fellow Allelon buddy, Len Hjalmarson, provides a great quote from Reggie McNeal. Here's a part of it

The church was created to be the people of God to join him in his redemptive mission in the world. The church was never intended to exist for itself. It was and is the chosen instrument of God to expand his kingdom. The church is the bride of Christ. Its union with him is designed for reproduction, the growth of the kingdom. Jesus did not teach his disciples to pray, “Thy church come.” The kingdom is the destination. In its institutional existence the church abandoned its real identity and reason for existence.

Buried in my barrage of posts from Saturday was one I would ask you please read, Water and It Really Isn't Funny Part Two - a post on Christian Consumerism and the desperate need for clean water for 1.1 Billion people on the planet. At least watch the video in the post.

Jeff Sexton has been one of my favourite writing teachers (via Wizard Academy - a name that will freak out a few readers, no doubt) and he's doing great work with the brilliant web consultants at Future Now. He's got some great tips on copywriting for the landing pages on your site. The transparency example is particularly key. And using an example from the Wizard himself, Roy Williams, never hurts.

And if you're not afraid of Roy's title, follow the Beagle on Roy's latest Monday Morning Memo. (Click on the photo to begin the journey. And make a point of subscribing to the memo. You won't believe all that you can learn.)

I love Seth Godin's wisdom in his post, 12 proven ways to get your post to the top of Digg. A snip,

One difference between creating something you believe in and creating something that's popular is that popularity seekers follow established steps. Do this, do that, do the other thing... lots of traffic. Do this, do that, do the other thing, a quick boost in Google. DT, DT DTOT and get a standing ovation...

The problem with this, that and the other thing is that you end up with a career filled with it. Instead of creating long-lasting art, ideas that matter and things that spread organically, you end up with a bunch of calculated mini-hits.

And lastly, let me point you at the always readable Jollyblogger, David Wayne with a recommendation of his own - a podcast with Will Hinton and Andy Crouch. (I'll make a point of listening to it in the next hour or so, David.)

Truly random and hopefully helpful.

UPDATE: Let me add a link to the brilliance that is Brad "FuturistGuy" Sargent and Part 3 of his Paradigm Profiling in the Missional Zone.

Anglican Communion, Jeff Sexton, Jollyblogger, Lambeth, Roy Williams, Ruth Gledhill, Seth Godin, Wizard Academy

Dark Knight Pushback

Roger Ebert raves about it. There's talk of a posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger. My oldest bought advanced tickets and saw it @ 12:45am Friday morning. The middle child saw it late last night. They were both gobsmacked.

But.

In the midst of the hype/excitement, cultural maven Brant Hansen has a very strong...and appropriate response.

"The Dark Knight" is cultural rigormortis. It's what happens when we are done, and we are done. Jacques Barzun had it right, when he wrote a history of western culture up through the 1990s, and said, certainly, that our age is defined by boredom. We are excited by nothing, really, but maybe for a moment here, or a moment there, we can try to be turned on. Sex can do it (or fake sex, much more likely) but brutal violence can work, too, if for a short time.

Our culture is lying on the table, and "The Dark Knight" is just another jolt before the flatline resumes.

Please make a point of reading the whole thing. And watch this satirical response. [HT: Waving or Drowning.]

Dark Knight, Batman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

And on a Lighter Note - Rick Mercer for PM

It's time we replaced our PM with someone from the RMR party:

humor, Canadian Dollar, American Dollar

Water and It Really Isn't Funny Part Two

Along with much agreement in the comments, I got a little push back from a Christian author on my It Really Isn't Funny post - a post prompted by Ed Stetzer's humorous and revealing pics from the International Christian Retail Show.

The author wanted to set me straight on my numbers using the CBA's most recent stats on what breakdown is on the $4.5 Billion Christians spend at Christian Retailers (2006 numbers). Of course, I had to refer to this Disraeli quote in my response further proving that I am not a nice person. I also pointed to the fact that multi-nationals control much of the "Christian" music industry and book publishing industry. (I also pointed to my Retail Aversion Therapy post from my time in the UK this past spring.) Then I said this,

To put the $4.5 Billion in perspective, it's estimated that it would cost 10 Billion USDollars to solve the water crisis problem in the developing world. Cutting our purchases in half in "Christian Retail" - whether Jesus Junk or otherwise - and using that money for water projects would solve the problem in five years.

If we Western Christians chose to live simpler lives rather than just cutting back on our "Christian" purchases - and used that money for Kingdom purposes in the developing world, we could probably cut that time by 2/3rds.

Let me be blunt. When we stand before our Saviour, he isn't going to quiz on the latest and greatest books by Christian authors we've read, (NT Wright or otherwise) - or the Contemporary Christian Music we've listened to to assuage our souls - or even the wondrous edifices we've built in his name. He's going to ask us "when I was hungry, did you feed me, when I was thirsty, did you give me something to drink, when I was alone did you invite me in, when I needed covering did you clothe me, when I was in prison, did you come to me?"

I am skewered by these words as much or more than anyone else. And a change has to happen in my life - and I would hope - in the lives of my brothers and sisters in the West. (Here's a ridiculous thought. Perhaps we could stop all building of "Christian Worship Centres" in the west until such time as the water crisis is solved. )

Please watch this disturbing viral video below from World Vision UK. [via BB] Fellow bloggers, please embed it on your sites. Then let's all visit this site, Living Water International. Let us waste our resources extravagantly on providing clean water in Jesus' Name to the 1.1 Billion who don't YET have access to it. It is the least we can do.

Clean Water, Living Water, World Vision UK

Where are the Analogy Police...

...when you need them.

Brother Maynard makes this comment in his latest Random Acts of Linkage "...Christian satire is like shooting fish in a barrel." To further his point, watch this: [via: BB]

So the next time someone asks you what happens when you "become a Christian", tell them "Well, it's kinda like electrocuting a pickle." That's what I've always thought, anyway.

electrocuting pickel, stupid analogies

Yes. I am. A Heretic

And I so appreciate Brother Hutchens pointing that out to me this morning,

...egalitarianism is a heresy and no orthodox Christian can be an egalitarian.

UPDATE: The infamous TommyMertonHead has some fun riffing on Brother Hutchens comment.

heresy

Which God, Joel?

Condé Nast's Portfolic.com has an interesting article on Joel Osteen called God Wants Me to Be Rich. [HT: Challies]

Osteen hasn’t necessarily tailored his message for the downturn. Instead, he has continued his feel-good preaching, his exhortations to focus on the positive and banish negative thoughts, his reminders that God wants you to have a good job, a beautiful home, and decent cash flow. His vast ministry has become, in effect, shelter from the storm. “God wants you to have a big life,” Osteen reminds his flock. “That is his blessing. God has a big dream for your life.

The writer ends the 4,000 word article with this:

The highlight of every service is when Osteen asks those who are willing to turn their lives over to Jesus to stand up in the vast arena and make their commitment right then and there. It is an inspiring moment, filled with raised Bibles and palms outstretched to heaven; Osteen and some of the congregation are in tears. If we have been suffering, if we have been in pain, if we have dealt with financial insecurity, then this standing up, this raising of hands to heaven, this simple vow of faith, Osteen assures us, will start us on the road to wellness and prosperity.

For a moment, as the choir sings, “When the battle is over / and the fighting is done / we’ll lay down our armor / the victories all won,” and the orange, red, and purple stage lights are flashing, and a halolike luminescence surrounds Osteen as he promises to free us from our fears, to lift us above our doubts, to lead us to prosperity and joy, I think about my own worries, my debts, my career, my woes.

How tempting it would be to just stand and turn my will and life over to Jesus if, in exchange, I will be led down a righteous path of prosperity, taken in hand by Jesus, and Joel, and delivered to my gilded acre of the American dream. Yes, yes, why shouldn’t I stand? Because who am I not to want to be saved? Who doesn’t need a little bit of Joel in their life, tonight, every night, forever, leading us from this dark place to our promised land? Together, hands joined, shoulder to shoulder, we will march forward into our glorious future. Delete the negative thoughts, Joel preaches. Yes, yes, delete them. [emphasis added]

My only editorial comment on this would be attached to the photo to the right. I appreciate the attempt at truth in advertising in this shot from a bookstore display, but I do think Joel's theology is a lot more than 30% off. (And yes, I did use this shot and thought previously. It's the summer - repeats are allowed.)

Check out this shot from Ed Stetzer's TwitPics from earlier in the week, as Ed wandered the International Christian Retail Show.

There's a bit of theme running through ae this week. See if you can find it.

Consumer Church, heresy

Dion & The iPhone Challenge

My friend, Dion Oxford, has written a very good post @ Empire Remixed. He calls it the iPhone Challenge. Please give it a read. (The Toronto Sun's Mark Bonokoski did and wrote a column on it.) [HT: Len]

Dion Oxford, iPhone

A Favourite Shot...

...from this weekend, of my boys and me. Taken by Imbi as we arrived at the South Western Pennsylvania wedding of dear friends.

UPDATE: After reading Grace and Sonja's comments, perhaps I should have called this Don Guglielmo and his sons/bodyguards. Name translation here.

Bill Kinnon, Liam Kinnon, Rylan Kinnon

It Really Isn't Funny

Ed Stetzer is in Orlando this week and today is at what used to be called CBA, the Christian Booksellers Association convention. It's now the International Christian Retail Show - or more appropriately Jesus Junk for the Jaded Masses. Ed's been posting photos to TwitPic - with links showing up in Twitter. The photos are funny - but the reality is profoundly sad. (As Ed says, his Twittering might get him "in trouble.") Western Christians apparently waste 4.5 billion dollars a year on "Christian Apparel". Let alone all the other crap available at the ICRS. From their site:

We serve a big God, and we have a mission that is not of this world. You need to attend the International Christian Retail Show to work on how to achieve your mission and reach the fullest potential of what God has planned for your store in this New Day for Christian Retail. [emphasis added]

They recommend you

Fill Your Stores with the Products Today's Christians Are Seeking
Hundreds of the leading publishers, recording companies, and gift manufacturers, and other suppliers covered the 130,000- square-foot expanse of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL.

We Western Christians can never get enough Jesus Junk. God help us all.

Consumer Church, Jesus Junk, CBA, International Christian Retail Show, Ed Stetzer

Attractional in Comparison to Missional from Jared

Jared gets more link love from this tiny corner of the interwebs. Although I wouldn't necessarily have created the table the same way, I do like it a lot. Read his explanation behind it at his blog.

Jared Wilson, mission-shaped, missional

BroMayn Blogging on One of the Missional Godfathers

Lesslie Newbigin is oft times regarded as the Godfather of the present missional movement in the church.

Brother Maynard has been doing a very good job of introducing Newbigin to those who might not know this missionary, theologian and pastor.

Read A Biographical Profile and A Theological Profile. It will be worth your time. (Colin Greene discusses his work with Newbigin in The Café Interview @ Allelon.)

Brother Maynard, mission-shaped, missional, Newbigin

Ya Gotta Love JibJab

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

humor, Obama, McCain, Clinton, US Election

If You Were Looking...

...for an example of overstatement, this one just might make you delirious.

...whatever their futures hold, they leave behind them a gaping hole in the lives of thousands of people.

Really? A gaping hole? Because Delirious is breaking up? I'm sure Joyce Meyer is upset... But. A Gaping Hole? Not so much. [HT: Jan]

Delirious?, CCM, Joyce Meyer

Movie: The Visitor

One of the best movies Imbi and I saw at this year's Sundance Film Festival was Tom McCarthy's The Visitor. (McCarthy was responsible for The Station Agent - another indy favourite.) Gareth Higgins has a film podcast coming up where he discusses The Visitor - but he says enough here to tell you how much he liked the film. I would concur with his statement that it "might still end up being the most engaging film I’ve seen all year."

Make a point of listening to Gareth's podcast if you can - but you must see The Visitor. You might also want to check out the always informative and entertaining Kindlings Muse' Dick Staub and his film critic crew on this podcast - where The Visitor is discussed along with Wall-E, Iron Man and other films.

See the trailer below. (The Visitor starts off slow but ends with an emotional punch.)

Tom McCarthy, The Visitor, Sundance Film Festival

Some Conditions May Apply

Back in the day when we actively ran a post-production facility, hundreds of commercials were completed by our company. One of things I used to find particularly bizarre was the need to create what we called "mouse type" terms and conditions that sat at the bottom of the screen on the last shot of the commercial. They were virtually unreadable on our high end monitors, never mind at home - and they were never up long enough to read anyway. But they met some bureaucratic legal requirement imposed by our wonderful government. You'd often find the same thing done as super fast text reading @ the end of a radio spot.

Michael Spencer takes this metaphor and applies it to scripture in his brilliant, Read the Fine Print. Michael offers the fine print after Matthew 11: 28-30 (Jesus saying "my yoke is easy, burden is light.") Michael's fine print includes,

Actual offer applies to Jesus only in a mysterious, spiritual sense. Application of offer is restricted in most actual churches to persons fulfilling additional requirements as determined appropriate by theologians and church leadership. Persons wishing to take advantage of said offer should contact their local Jesus franchise and fulfill specific requirements.

Offer does not pertain to the Lord’s Supper in many places due to additional theological complications in church history.

Definition of “Labor and heavy laden” varies in individual cases and may not include sexual sinners, adulterers, criminals and addicts. Those interested in this offer who continue to experience serious sin problems should see their local franchise to discuss what variations on the offer are available to sinners without a testimony of deliverance.

Please read the entire post.

humor, Internetmonk, irony, Michael Spencer

Read Dave Fitch...

...on The Middle In: The Unique Missional Opportunity.

Dave's post makes me want to jump in the car and do the eleven hour drive to Chicago to shoot these stories. (With my dear wife in tow, of course.)

David Fitch, mission-shaped

Jared's Foolishness

One of my favourite bloggers is a fool. Sorry. I mistyped. He's a holy fool. He thinks he can sustain (and even grow) a church while giving away 50% of it's budget to missions and another 10% to church planting. What complete and utter nonsense.

How will they ever be able to afford to build a fantastic, air-conditioned building with theatre seating by giving that much of their money away? How will they be able to purchase the necessary laser light-show to entertain the masses whilst Jared preaches? (They won't even be able to afford 10 minutes of consulting time with Cirque de Soleil.) How will the church be able to pay Jared the salary he deserves so he can live in a gated community safe from the prying eyes of his parishioners? And what about the lease on the new Porsche SUV - a hybrid one, of course? (Wouldn't want to be seen wasting money on gas.) The church will never be able to pay for it.

Listen. I can understand the desire to give to missions. We all wish we could do that. But. There are realities of life in North America. We have real needs that must be met. Comfort is critical to the successful selling of the gospel in our culture. So. You have to make a choice. And. Really. Most of that money would probably get wasted on the mission field anyway. Those people don't know how to handle money. Not like us, anyway.

If Jared really wants to be successful in Nashvegas then he needs to read and study this very important post of mine - Suggestions from the Consumer-driven Life. I'll show him a little more action!

UPDATE: Of course, Michael Spencer has a completely different take. But then he would, wouldn't he.

church leadership, humor, Jared Wilson, mission-shaped

The Missional Long View (Part Two)

During the Rick Meigs' initiative Missional SynchroBlog, I wrote a post on The Long View. That post was partially prompted by a conversation Alan Roxburgh (A-Rox) and I had while wandering a beach in Portugal this past spring. I had the HD camera with me and recorded Alan against the ages-old Atlantic Ocean cliffs of the Algarve, encapsulating our conversation in this video below. (RSS Readers may need to click through to the actual post to see the video.)

As Alan says above, we have the privilege of being called to be a part of shaping a future we are probably not going to see. In light of that, I was struck by this comment from Kevin Kelly riffing on Freeman Dyson (in the NYTimes).

...while progress runs on exponential curves, our individual lives proceed in a linear fashion. We live day by day by day. While we might think time flies as we age, it really trickles out steadily. Today will always be more valuable than some day in the future, in large part because we have no guarantee we'll get that extra day. Ditto for civilizations. In linear time, the future is a loss. But because human minds and societies can improve things over time, and compound that improvement in virtuous circles, the future in this dimension is a gain. Therefore long-term thinking entails the confluence of the linear and the exponential. The linear march of our time intersects the cascading rise and fall of numerous self-amplifying exponential forces. Generations, too, proceed in a linear sequence. They advance steadily one after another while pushed by the compounding cycles of exponential change. [emphasis added]

Missional communities have within them the potential to exponentially infect the communities where they have been strategically placed by the hand of God. As they live out their lives now, embedding themselves into the very warp and woof of the community life - they embody the profound possibility of working as leaven - permeating the entire "loaf" of their community.

As Alan says in the video, this way of thinking runs counter to the ROI mindset of much Western church planting. (We have an expectation of Return on Investment when we provide funding for church plants.) The McDonalds/Consumer Church mindset of numbers now is what kills the spirit of missional church. As Dave Fitch writes, (blogging about missional leaders)

In my opinion it takes at least 5 years of "seeding a community" before one even begins to see an ethos of community and new life develop that can be a cultural carrier-transmitter of the gospel.

Only a long view allows us live in the midst of the now and the not yet. We have a real expectation and hope of seeing the Kingdom lived out in our communities - but we recognize that we may be like those in Hebrews 11 who do never see the fruit of their labour. Does this mean we abandon the life and return to a consumer church model? God help me, no! As I've said before, Hudson Taylor and David Livingston did not see the overwhelming harvest that continues to come from the seeds they planted as missionaries in China and Africa, respectively - but they lived with both an expectation and a hope for that harvest.

As the Christendom model of church wheezes to an end, not with a bang but a whimper, this next reformation sees us following the Spirit of God back into the neigbourhood - realizing that He is on the move - building his kingdom amongst the people in those neighbourhoods. As Colin Greene insists in Part Two* of the Allelon Metavista Café interview, this still means we must be able to effectively communicate the Gospel story - but much of the communication will come in how we live our lives amongst our neighbours. Might I again suggest that Luke 10 provides us with the Jesus-model of neighbourhood "ministry".

Kevin Kelly reminds us that long-term thinking entails the confluence of the linear and the exponential. We must live our lives faithfully amongst our neighbours. Not avoiding gathering as believers as we live our lives out day by day, but realizing that we, the tangible Kingdom of God in the midst our neighbourhood - exist for those very neighbours. And though we may not see it in our own lifetime, we have a real expectation for the exponential growth of the Kingdom of God in our neighbourhoods.

Fitch says this at the end of the aforementioned blog post,

Like a fermenting revolution evolving out of a tired and reified ancien regime, these tiny bands of Christians have come on the scene committed to live a life together of worship, spiritual formation, community, hospitality and service to the poor (of all kinds). In ways never imagined by the machinations of the mega church, many of these bands are already infecting their neighborhoods with an embodied gospel that cannot be denied, only responded to. Knowing Christendom is gone, they carry no pretension. Instead they embody the gospel in its most compelling, authentic, non-coercive form. This new wave of Christians is small in number and possesses little to no resources financially. Most do not impress with their grandiose visions. They do not hang in the halls of power. They do not make a show of their successes. Yet their vision of a simple Christian habitat as witness in the world reminds me of the Irish missional orders God used to effect a profound conversion of European society in the 4th century. We have seen the world changed like this once before (read How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill). Could we be in the early stages of seeing God move in a similar fashion once again? Let us pray it be so. [emphasis and link added]

INFORMATION: Note that the A-Rox video at the beginning of this post is available as a downloadable HD or SD file here. The Colin Greene video *mentioned above will not be available until after July 15th.

Alan Roxburgh, David Fitch, mission-shaped, missional

25 Years Ago on July 9th...

...this beautiful woman agreed to be my wife. I am truly blessed.

It's been a great adventure, Imbi. I look forward to the next 25. I love you.

25th Anniversary, Bill Kinnon, Imbi Medri

Grace, String Theory & A Little Music, Please

My friend, Grace, has a very interesting post on String Theory today. She asks these questions,

What if the fundamental substance of everything is vibrating strings, and what if these sound waves or strings are really the voice of God, meaning He not only spoke everything into existence in the past, but the essence of matter currently is His voice?

What if every created thing is the physical manifestation of His voice, and the actual physical substance we experience is, at the very innermost core level, the voice of God?

This reminded me of one of Roy Williams' Monday Morning Memos from a few years ago where Roy talked about String Theory. (I pointed this out in a comment on Grace's blog.)

Listen to a group of physicists talk about String Theory and it will slowly dawn on you that they're explaining the entire universe as nothing but the quivering, dancing echo of the voice of God. "Let there be light."

String Theory describes energy and matter as being composed of tiny, wiggling strands of energy that look like strings. And the pitch of a string's vibration determines the nature of its effect.

In essence, String Theory describes space and time, matter and energy, gravity and light, indeed all of God's creation... as music.

Which then reminded me of one of my own posts from '06 that riffed on Roy's memo. The rather long post is called The Power of Music in Church where I ponder,

Could it be that, we don't just resonate with music, we are, in fact, music. Our physical reaction to music (toes tapping, body swaying, hands clapping, people dancing) is just a function of how we've been constructed. Which would explain both the power of music in the church, and the reason there's so much discussion and disagreement about it.

Must be a day for following the beagle where 'er she leads.

Beagle, Kingdom Grace, Roy Williams, String Theory

Take One Tablet, But Don't Call Me in the Morning

Yesterday, the New York Times and a host of news followers of the Grey Lady trumpeted Ancient Tablet Ignites Debate on Messiah and Resurrection. The breathless NYT prose stating,

...it will contribute to a developing re-evaluation of both popular and scholarly views of Jesus, since it suggests that the story of his death and resurrection was not unique but part of a recognized Jewish tradition at the time.

Now, it's important to note that prior to the "discovery" of this tablet, so-called scholars strongly suggested that the disciples made up the resurrection as the idea didn't pre-exist the event. Now, the suggestion is that the disciples actually stole the idea from someone else. Triple D's link blog pointed to this post from Tim Etherington which pretty much sums up the entire "debate" on Jesus' resurrection,

If the idea that the Messiah would die and rise wasn’t part of Jewish tradition at the time of Jesus, that proves it must have been invented years later. And if the idea that the Messiah would die and rise was part of Jewish tradition at the time of Jesus that proves that it wasn’t unique and was adopted by Jesus and the gospel writers. Either way, whether there was or wasn’t an expectation that the Messiah would die and rise, Christianity is supposed to be false based on that. How you read the evidence is based on what you presuppose the truth to already be. [Emphasis added]

Perhaps these Dan Brown characters scholars should just be honest and say, "nothing will convince us of the resurrection of Jesus and we will use anything necessary to disprove it - arguing out of both sides of our mouths, if necessary."

For further reading, check out Ben Witherington on this tablet story.

Gabriel's Revelation, Resurrection Tablet, Messiah Story

Jordon On Marky D.

OK. So I'm not feeling well. And my thoughts garbled are. But I read can still.

And Jordon Cooper has posted a link to Relevant Mag's 7 Big Questions - which feature responses from Frederica Matthews-Green, Erwin McManus, Rob Bell and the always entertaining Sam Kinison Mark Driscoll.

Here's a Marky D. quote:

There is a strong drift toward the hard theological left. Some emergent types [want] to recast Jesus as a limp-wrist hippie in a dress with a lot of product in His hair, who drank decaf and made pithy Zen statements about life while shopping for the perfect pair of shoes. In Revelation, Jesus is a pride fighter with a tattoo down His leg, a sword in His hand and the commitment to make someone bleed. That is a guy I can worship. I cannot worship the hippie, diaper, halo Christ because I cannot worship a guy I can beat up.

Jordon responds,

I generally don’t care that much about what Mark says but after reading his comments, it almost sounds like he has William Shatner disease, that is he is becoming a parody of himself.

The always astute Coop pretty much sums it up. "William Shatner disease!" Beam Mark up, Scotty.

(BTW. Jordon is back blogging up a storm, now that the new baby is home.)

Jordon Cooper, Manly Men, Mark Driscoll, Untitled

I've Been Felled...

...by a wonderful summer head cold. My thoughts are profoundly garbled. Worth aren't reading they.

Metavista, The Café Interview up @ Allelon

Part One of the interview series, of Colin Greene talking about the book he wrote with Martin Robinson, Metavista - is up at Allelon. Part Two and Three will go up over the next month or so. Martin wanders over to the café in Part Three and joins the conversation.

The video was shot by Imbi and I in Lisbon, Portugal this past spring during the Eurochurch Conference. We set up on the patio of a café and the interview begins with Alan Roxburgh (now known as A-Rox according to Ryan Bell on Twitter) asking Colin about the origins of the book.

One of the historical interesting parts of the interview is in the discussion of the 18th Century earthquake that devastated Lisbon - and the impact that earthquake had on the Enlightenment. The issue of Theodicy was raised, as thousands of people were killed while attending church. (Oddly enough, the earthquake happened on the Feast of All Saints Day, 300 years to the day before I was born.)

Ala, Allelon, Allelon, Lisbon , Lisbon Earthquake, mission-shaped, A-Rox