Best Contemporary Theology meme
January 16, 2007
Bob Carlton tagged me on this Contemporary Theology meme project. The idea is to list the best “theology” books written in the last 25 years (i.e. since 1981). Here are Ike and my lists:
Isaac’s List
- Liberating Rites by Tom Driver
- Irresistable Revolution by Shane Claiborne
- Sexism and God-Talk by Rosemary Radford Reuther
In terms of “things that might be less recognizable as theology,: Ike says:
- Deeply into the Bone by Ron Grimes
- The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time by Douglas Adams
- The Concubine by Elechi Amadi
Bowie’s List (caveat: I never did like systematic theology all that much, but here are three books that I’d include)
- Liberating Rites by Tom Driver
- Small Pieces Loosely Joined: A Unified Theory of the Web by David Weinberger
- The Wedding Dress by Fanny Howe
My three brothers would probably insist that the Ishmael series by Daniel Quinn be included on such a list (in a heartbeat)… so I gotta give them a nod too.
Hey, yo, Transmissioners - what would you list?
We Forget.
January 13, 2007
two poems from our Advent stations apt.church. I found them while cleaning up my place. written by two of our participants. collage below by Gareth, our friend from Moot.
In darkest despair
In brightest light
Oh holy star
Oh sacred night
I cry out to you Lord
Take this pain away
Bring unto us
The dawn of a new day
We are a forgetful people.
God is faithful –
we forget. God sustains –
we forget. God provides –
we forget. God delivers –
we forget. God’s ways endure
– we forget. God made us
in His image – we forget!
Peace on Earth originally uploaded by bowiesnodgrass.
newyears-day
January 1, 2007
newyears-day, originally uploaded by pinholepirate.
Many faiths and traditions,
my tradition and faith:
lately I can’t seem to have
one without the other.
Like the communion wafers
passed out as a meal,
and the unfrozen pita bread,
church has grown stale.
Too many 18th and 19th
century quarter notes.
The pipe organ was once
a technical innovation.
I’m not anti-establishment,
but let’s also establish
new mysteries to assure us
of Your Holy Presence
by Bowie Snodgrass
Spiritual Resolution Questions for 2007
December 26, 2006
What will be your spiritual and wellness disciplines?
Where will you seek wisdom and creativity?
How will you strive for justice and peace?
How will you be hospitable and big hearted?
What will be your ministries in the world this year?
January Transmissions
December 21, 2006
Hey, all~
So I’ve heard two requests for things from the Transmission community. First, I heard a request to dig deeper into all this Christianity stuff. We claim that we are a community for people who are not being fed by traditional church and yet we haven’t yet really delved into what it is about modernism and traditional church that leaves us so unfulfilled. It’s high time to start wrestling with some of our major presuppositions and other religious baggage.
Second, I heard a request for more contemplative, emotional worship. We definitely tend to stay inside our heads and it would be really nice to leave some space for prayer, song, and communion with God.
These two needs seem to be somewhat at odds with each other and yet, ironically, I find myself agreeing with both of them. Here’s what I suggest for January:
January 3: The idea of personal diety is central to western and near-eastern religions, and it’s also the idea that is most frequently challenged and attacked. What better time to unpack this than on the tenth day of Christmas? The idea of Christmas, the idea of incarnation, suggests that God is both transcendent and immanent, both redeptive and incarnate, both like us and very unlike us. Is it reasonable to think of God in human terms? Does ascribing thoughts, feelings, and will to God make any sense? Are we making God into our image instead of the other way around? I feel the need for a little Depeche Mode…
January 17: The next Transmission after that is in the season of Epiphany, the season when wise men saw a star in the heavens so arresting that they left their homes to follow it. Epiphany is all about kneeling in awe and worship at the foot of a manger. Let’s use this day to get away from theology and just spend some time worshiping together. We can bust out “Brightest and Best” and “We Three Kings.” We could dig up some praise and worship music or we could dig up some old-fashioned monastic mysticism.
What do you think?
Missing Him
December 19, 2006
I have a “rock n’ roll” version of this Vineyard praise song that just came up on my iTunes. It reminded me of Him and just how much I miss His presence in my life. Too buried in finals and my thesis project, I forget that’s He’s just one word (or in this case one song) away and all I have to do is call out and He’s with me. I miss Him and thank Him for always being there even when I am not paying attention.
“More love, more power
More of You in my life
More love, more power
More of You in my life.
I will worship You with all of my heart
And I will worship You with all of my mind
And I will worship You with all of my strength
For you are my Lord
You are my Lord.
WIS-TIPS the wake down
December 18, 2006
by Bowie Snodgrass
these short days are pregnant with expectation
of what is real, unrealized, and unrealistic
John proclaimed bold and true
the coming of the kingdom
- and ended up beheaded
the dangerous call of the gospel
- is unsettling
enough of settling down
I am poised for adventure
and like a lion - persistent in its pursuit
we are called - to roam and roar
he walks with a limp -
his eyes sparkle with insight -
she plays Bach with her feet -
hands strained behind her back
in New York City
we carry our worlds
in pockets and bags
enough of being earnest
it’s time to entertain
when it’s GAME OVER
agree to PLAY AGAIN
I am throwing down
- I am standing up!
preach in broad strokes
and live in the nuance
traditions are meant to be kept
stories are meant to be meant
something new is about to begin
now is a time to dance and sing
note: written after David Fleenor’s ordination; Bp. Packard preaching
Church Marketing Sucks
December 13, 2006
ChurchMarketingSucks.com is one of my favorite websites
And, on a related note: Presbyterian Polis has been doing a series on Innovative Business Ideas for Churches (thank you Bob C. for the fyi)
Here are three pieces I especially liked from this series –
#6 - Communication, Marketing and Social Networking
byte: Even before I went to seminary (1978-81), I felt that relationships were central to life. But I never found much affirmation for that idea until the last few years as those who see themselves as either ‘post-modern’ or ‘emerging’ are emphasizing the social relationship aspect of the church.
# 3 - The Cluetrain Manifesto
byte: If you read The Cluetrain Manifesto, and I hope you will, you will not agree or understand everything in it. I didn’t. But you will be challenged to make our life in the church more human, and less organizationally artificial.
#5 - Mavericks at Work
byte: From my perspective, everything is a risk. You risk trying new things. You risk doing the same things over and over again expecting different results. Risk in inherent in life. From a spiritual perspective, risk forces us to deal with the question of ‘Where is God in my risk taking?’
+ + +
so, where is God in your computer usage? your business, political, or financial savvy? your pop culture critiques? your creative endeavors? Your so-called po-mo life?
Two Visions of the Emerging Church
December 11, 2006
Embracing Worship 2.0 – an Architecture of Participation
by Johnny Baker, excellent column published in Church Times
Brian McLaren shared this poem with me at the end of October, after it was shared with him on a recent trip to Mexico City. It resonated with me so strongly that I recently got permission to publish the English translation (trans. by Amy Stabeno and Elisa Padilla). Many thanks!
Do You Know Someone Like this?
A poem by Pablo Alaguibe
Could there be someone out there,
someone else,
who would be interested
in participating in an experiment
of Christian community
’model 2006,’
Read the rest of this entry »
Yay, Advent!
December 4, 2006
When I was at Church of the Apostles a few weekends ago, I was impressed with something they did called “open space.” Basically, after the service broke down: Some people started group discussions, others knelt at altars, and others just sat and listened to the music. It was cool. One of the dangerous things about innovative ritual is that not everyone will want to participate and COTA made it possible for everyone to be comfortable doing whatever they felt a need to do.
I’d like to do something similar this week at Transmission - so far our rituals have been focused and participatory, but I think Advent lends itself to a plurality of activities because Advent is an extremely complex time with lots of layers of meaning. It’s a time of hope, a time of darkness, a penitential time, a time for shopping, and much more. Rather than trying to pick a theme for the service and going with it, we thought we’d go ahead and use ALL the themes, giving each theme a separate station and not trying to reconcile them with each other.
So here are some station ideas - please contribute your own as well, and we’ll try to incorporate them!
~Advent represents preparation for Christmas, and thus for Jesus.
~Advent acknowledges that the world is a dark, scary place. Frankly, we still need hope and we’re still desperately praying for deliverance. It’s not just about waiting for the birth of Christ, it’s also about waiting for the second coming of Christ.
~Advent is about tension with our own society. It is difficult to observe Advent since the secular world considers this to be “the Christmas Season.” There’s something amazing with spirituality vs materialism and jesus vs santa.
~Advent is about mulled cider and pumpkin bread.
~Advent is about supercessionism. Have you ever actually read the lyrics to O Come O Come Emmanuel? How do I sing that song with a straight face around my Jewish friends?