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Thanks to some long term planning, long term saving and some very generous friends (thank you:-) who helped with our flights and car hire, we have been enjoying a 2 week family holiday in Orlando.I have overcome a childhood fear of roller coasters and heights and have been on every roller coaster I could find…a spiritual experience. Anyhow a couple of days ago we saw a small plane doing some sky writing. The message, “To Jesus love God”.
You might be able to make out the word Jesus in the photo below. One of those things that made me think “only in America” ;-)
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He’s one of my biggest heroes, and one of my most major influences for current life, church and ministry, thank you Todd Hunter.You probably have heard that Todd Hunter has taken up the position of national director of Alpha USA. Todd previously was left the presidency of Vineyard USA in 2001 to join Allelon Ministries International as a director, helping it become a comprehensive resource for emerging church leaders.
His move to head of Alpha USA has been a surprise to many of you, and us :-) We have been talking to Todd about an interview and asking him some tough questions, and we suggested we open the interview to you all, which he is up for. So please post your questions below in the comments.
We will ask the questions to Todd in person in June, and record the interview, then rip it to an MP3 for you to download for free later in June. We’ll give you the link for the download when the interview is done.
We have already asked Todd some questions, so please read them in the continuation section before posting yours incase they have already been asked :-)
To read about Todd Hunter becoming the new USA Alpha president, go here
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This book by Stan Grenz is now a classic, and if you are looking for a readable overview of the how we got to post-modernity, it’s well worth the read.
buy here
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I got this from a friend, and have edited the names and locations to protect people, but it is so profound, I hope you take time to read it and let me know your thoughts?
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Jason …Here is what I am discovering inside me the last 8 months. Incredibly personal so forgive me….
It sucks to feel like a sellout. I’ve popped into blogs, conferences, coffee meetings you name it and I don’t want anyone to know who I am. A couple of years back I was invited to an event called ******** in *****. I was with Bill Bright back then. We were launching this thing called Global Pastors network an online training tool for pastors. They needed sponsers for their event, I saw names like (most famous emerging church speakers) and many others. I thought I needed to be there so we ponied up a couple grand and sponsered them. The organizers took the money of course but then decideded we couldn’t actually be a “sponser” because we weren’t the kind of people they wanted to assoicate with….finally they allowed us to “exhibt” at the event after the two grand (btw, right next to the band that was selling marijuana at their booth, one of my greatest ministry memories). I get there and through a guy named ***** I end up on a panel. Talk about over your head. It was the last day of the event.
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Teenage Christians steal music too – extensively, it appears
Seems there is no difference between christians and non-christians when it comes to stealing…
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Old one, but still funny…and reveals the exclusion of many churches.
—–I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to
jump off. I immediately ran over and said “Stop! Don’t do it!”
“Why shouldn’t I?” he said.
I said, “Well, there’s so much to live for!”
“Like what?”
“Well … are you religious or atheist?”
“Religious.”
“Me too! Are you Christian or Jewish?”
“Christian.”
“Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?”
“Protestant.”
“Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?”
“Baptist.”
“Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?”
“Baptist Church of God.”
“Me too! Are you Original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of
God?”
“Reformed Baptist Church of God.”
“Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed
Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?”
“Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!”
To which I said, “Die, you heretic scumbag!” and pushed him off.
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I got to spend some great time discussing this book with one of the authors, Alan Hirsch. Here is something he wrote in reply to me..
“Interesting! This sounds awfully like a good old closed set doesn’t it. Defining who is in and out by belief systems. Too weighty for me, I believe a missional church needs to travel light. I work from central organizing concepts, or nodes of theology, and then let
these inform others. Mine are:
1. Authority of the Scriptures for all matters of life and faith (this doesn’t go into what we mean, it just accepts this and allows for delving into it). Its the starting point.
2. Jesus as the centre…(a Christologically structures Monotheism if you want the technical version)
3. The resuurection as the primary miracle; if you can believe this one the others are a cinch
4. The Trinity: not sure about all the weighty scholastic defintions of this, but I accept it and if it is messed with, then biblical Christianity falls apart.From these we let the others take their reference point. In other words they are secondary, and worth discerning, must not placing as a deterent to belonging.
Alan
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Winn is on my doctoral programme and has just written the most amazing paper on why the church has too low a view of the bible, despite thinking it has a high view. Enjoy as PDF here
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A childhood dream came true for me today, at the Kennedy Space Center, and I saw a real rocket launch. How can humans cooperate on the scale of the international space lab, in such an inspiring way, yet also be a species that can butcher and destroy each other so appallingly. I was inspired at what we can be when we work together and try to achieve something purposeful, and reminded of how petty we are most of the time.
Space Shuttle launch pad
A real rocket launch! An atlas satellite launch, viewed from 10 miles away. Yet it was still very noisy, very bright and very cool :-)
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