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http://groupblog.emergent-uk.org/
Our new Emergent group blog is up and running. We have over 20 people from around the world, as authors for the new blog. First article is posted on “What is Emerging Church?”. If the link in this post isn’t up yet, click the link on the side of this post under, Emergent Discussion. The idea of the group blog is…
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The Commissar lists the top ten rules of blogging. My favourite is, 1. Do not apologize for light blogging. “Hey guys, sorry for the light blogging, but I’ve gotta turn a few bolts here at the tractor factory, so I won’t be blogging much for the next six hours” Summary continues below…
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Ever wanted a great short explanation of postmodernism and why we bother to engage with it and why it’s so serious, and why it doesn’t mean we don’t believe in Jesus, the Church, and truth anymore. Well read this article by Brian McLaren. (Thanks to Tim Keel for the heads up on this)
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Reynolds Price, has translated Mark and John into modern english in a fresh and accessible way in this book. He then goes on to write his own apocryphal Gospel. This may be a way for many of us to get into the gospels again. To read and study them, let them come alive, and then write our own retelling of the story. Detailed review is below…
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I know it was over romanticised, and the real life Samurai the story is based on (Saigo, who rose from the bottom tiers of the warrior class, eventually leading the armies supporting the emperor against those of the shogun. His ascent was hardly smooth, though, entailing two exiles, a suicide pact that he survived, and three marriages) is a little more complex.
However I loved the film. It was deeply spiritual, full of imagery, metaphor, and reminded me again of the power of film/images. My soul was moved, fed and challenged. Themes of discipline as the route to a life well lived and prepared for the moment when purpose is revealed in our lives. Sacrifice, honor, integrity, commitment, submission…wow.
The closing line, the Emperor asks Tom Cruises’ character, “tell me how he died”, and the reply given is, “and I will tell you how he lived”. How are you and I living today. How are we working out what we believe, can it be seen in the very fabric of our lives, and will it be seen in the way that we die.
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It will take me some time to digest and reflect on our time with Alan Jamieson, and his summary of his research/book “Churchless Faith”, and the follow research and his new book (coming out next week). We’ll get MP3s of his session on line next week for you to listen to, and some other thoughts. Meantime here is a list of his findings of things people leaving church wished their church had done/been to help them stay involved. Where are you with these?
1. Provide places to explore, question and to doubt
2. Include a theology of journey
3. Understand the leaving process
4. Offer assistance in our faith struggles
5. Model other theological understandings
6. Focus on realities rather than ‘shoulds’
7. Have more room for emotions, feelings and intuitions
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This book is part of my doctoral programme, and one of the authors Alan Hirsch has been in touch with me, after reading this blog, cool :-) He has sent me some excerpts from the book, so you can try before you buy the book. Review and excerpts are in extended section of this post.
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Residents of the Russian capital entered the icy cold water of the Moskva River to celebrate Epiphany – one of the biggest events in Orthodox Christianity.
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Want to find a movie clip for a talk/illustration, then try this site. Search films by keyword, theme and topic.
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If you are someone leaving church, left church, still in church, struggling with the pain of being hurt by church, it’s people, members, and leaders, then this book is for you. If you are a pastor, leader, member, and are still involved in church, and are hurt by people who have left, then this book is for you too. Simply this small book (you can read it in less than an hour), is the most amazing study in brokeness and pain.
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