Worship and Mission in Emergent Churches
September 8, 2009
Andrew Wooding has a post up suggesting that “worship-shaped churches” tend to be bad at mission.¬† His description of “worship-shaped” pretty much nails Transmission on the head, and his analysis and critique seem pretty damning.
We’ve talked about mission a fair amount about during our planning meetings and retreats, but we have yet to produce an engaging, long-term missional focus.¬† This is something I hope we can talk about with Radical Living next Thursday, since they live and breathe mission the way we live and breathe worship.
What are your thoughts?
Reforming or Conforming?
August 8, 2009
So a few years ago I wrote a rather passionate post about the emergent church. I still think it’s a rather good piece of writing:
http://www.transmissioning.org/2007/01/27/kimball-macarthur-and-me/
Well, it turns out two years later, Phil Johnson felt the need to refute me in his essay “Joyriding on the Downgrade at Breakneck Speed: The Dark Side of Diversity,” published in Reforming or Conforming?
Check out the link – I’m in footnote seven.¬† Although I disagree with his presuppositions, it’s a very interesting read and worth a few minutes of your time.
Sitting Vigil in a Dying Church
January 6, 2009
So in Boston, the Catholic church has had to close a lot of its parishes, selling them off to raise money.¬† Four of those churches, however, have decided that they don’t want to go gently into the good night, and have been sitting vigil in the church buildings around the clock, prevening the diocese from locking the doors.¬† They’re putting on their own clergy-less worship service, and apparently the feeling of community has grown tremendously.
Personally, I’m a realist about church life – keeping a building open costs a lot of money, and building mainteance isn’t always the most Jesus-like way for a church to use its resources.¬† I don’t think that churches dying is a tragedy as long as new churches are planted.¬† Cells in our body die all the time and are replaced with new ones, and it’s a natural part of the life cycle.¬† That said, I think that these vigils are an amazing testament to the bottom-up nature of the Body of Christ.¬† Just like a mustard bush, the Church of God springs up like a weed in places that the gardner doesn’t always want it to, and it can be really, really hard to get rid of.
My prayers are with both those holding vigil and the diocesan leaders, and I’ll be watching how this develops with interest.
You can read more about it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/us/06vigil.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&em
Women’s Retreat for Abuse Survivors
August 23, 2008
We got this in the Transmission inbox a few days ago and thought it worth passing on. Most everyone knows survivors of abuse, whether they’re aware of it or not, and we at Transmission are no different. Blessings on the work CFM is doing.
Committed to Freedom Ministries will hold a retreat for women who are survivors of childhood abuse in the Bronx, Riverdale area. The retreat does not focus on the abuse experience, but on practical spiritual tools to move beyond the damage of abuse.
The retreat begins at noon on Friday and concludes at 3:00 pm on Sunday. The cost is $400, which includes lodging, meals, retreat curriculum, and retreat materials.
Please call 1-800-713-7837, visit our website committedtofreedom.org or e-mail information@committedtofreedom.org for more information or a registration form. Registration forms are available for download from our website. Registrations must be received by August 22nd.
Emad Youssef is my hero
August 23, 2008
Gothamist recently reported on an Egyptian food cart vendor who returned a $100 bill to a woman who dropped it.¬† When they asked him why he did it, he replied, “I’m Christian. In my religion, if I take somebody’s money, it’s haram.”
Although up until now I’ve only heard Jews and Muslims use the word haram (i.e. forbidden), I was super excited that Christianity is getting some positive press in NYC.¬† Woo Hoo!
Jesus for President Tour this Saturday
June 24, 2008
Hey, friends!
This Saturday, one of my personal idols, Shane Claiborne, is doing a book tour and rally at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church (7 West 55th St), at 7pm. I’ve read the book and it’s quite good, challenging what following Jesus means in an era when just about every politician, corporation, and military is claiming to have God on its side. This is definitely and event worth attending.
From the press release:
Claiborne, Haw and his wife Cassie and dog Lucy, along with two other friends, will be sharing ideas and inspiring other to re-imagine politics. They’ll be traveling in a bus running on used vegetable oil. The tour will feature teaching from both authors as well as storytelling, art, music, and worship that provokes the political imagination. Each city will also include special guest musicians and performers.
You can check out the website here: http://www.jesusforpresident.org/ Give me a ring if you want to go with me!
Oh, and don’t forget to keep July 2nd saved for our next Transmission!
Folks should watch this! It does a great job of looking at the systemic problems that arise from materialism and consumerism, and it reminds me why I have so much respect for Quakers, Amish, and Monastics. As Christians, we really need to consider the lilies of the field more often.
Thanks to Allen for sending this to me.
Bill Moyers and Jeremiah Wright
April 26, 2008
These are worth watching. Catch the whole show on PBS if you can!
Read the rest of this entry »
Featured on Village Voice Blog
April 18, 2008
Bowie Snodgrass, beloved community member, had a great interview for Naked City, the Village Voice’s blog on sexuality, as part of the series Sexiness, Next to Godliness: Religion and the Sex Industry. Go check it out: http://www.nakedcity.com/2008/04/god_loves_sex_workers.php
Reflections on Rev Wright
April 15, 2008
I suspect that Paul, our token UCC member, could speak on this more eloquently than I can, but I’ve been stunned at the way the controversy over past sermons over Rev. Wright simply won’t die down. Jeremiah Wright is, in my mind, a modern day prophet in the biblical sense of the word – an eloquent outsider who speaks truth to power and, just like the biblical prophets, he is now being persecuted for it.
The best, most concise articulation I have seen regarding why progressive Christians should be defending Rev Wright was written a week ago by Adam Clark. A sample:
Wright, however, is a preacher; his oath is not to the Constitution but to the Gospel. The statements of Wright may be out of step with the presidential politics of the Obama campaign, but they are not out of step with biblical faith. The forceful denunciations of America’s invasion of Iraq, her support for the unjust practices of foreign governments as well as the invocation of God’s wrath for the inhumane treatment of blacks and people of color are not the crazed anti-American ranting of an old uncle, but statements about the meaning of faith in a God who upsets the powers through identifying with the poor and marginalized.