Reading, Reading and More Reading.

Each summer I select a slate of books to work through. In fact, I'll spend a good bit of my vacation - if and when I take some - reading. This summer I am delving more deeply in Missional Ecclesiology and Emergent literature. By "Emergent" I mean Emergent Village's recently published "An Emergent Manifesto of Hope."

I'm looking forward to all the non-definitions that are sure to be found in my fellow seeker's and friend's work. While I'm sure the book will light some of the path forward for many of us, I suppose others will be frustrated. Those who want all of life to be tidy and as unwrinkled as hospital corners, have a difficult time with those associated with Emergent Village. The reason is that we are all very different and that makes some people uneasy. Emergent Village is made up of conservative baptists and church of Christ folks from the south, Biblical liberals from the west, northeastern academics, mid-western radicals, staunch Republicans and vehement Democrats and that makes for an eclectic group that is no where near univocal.

Personally, that's why I'm engaged by it. I'm fascinated to meet and know other committed Christians who read Scripture differently than what I've been taught to read and hold to an alternative ecclesiology than I know. These people make my experience and knowledge of God richer. So I read them, praise them, disagree with them, and love them as the Father loves me - or at least I try to. And at the end of the day we're all trying to walk in the way of Jesus.

On the missional front, I've got a copy of Alan Roxburgh's new book, "The Sky is Falling" and Patrick Kiefert's, "We Are Here Now." In my book, the best emerging church practitioners are deeply and intentionally missional. The two should go hand-in-hand.

I'm also in an online group that's reading Rob Bell's "Sex God" and I've also got to finish BarackObama's "The Audacity of Hope." I had to Obama down recently as I waded my way through Jones' and Lakeland's Constructive Theology, the writings of Freidrich Schlieirmacher, Church Dogmatics by Karl Barth, Luis Pedraja's Teologia, and the sermon's of John Wesley.

So, what are you reading this summer?

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

I'm thinking about moving this blog to another provider. I've loved blogger, but I think wordpress might be a little easier to use. Any input?

GO SPURS GO

I've been a San Antonio Spurs fan for years--since the heyday of David Robinson. I love the team and have celebrated each of their three championships with great joy. And yes, I want them to win it again this season! However, since my wife--who is also a Spurs fan--is from Phoenix we decided to root for whichever team won this Western Semifinal to win it all. The Suns are probably my second favorite team and I have no problem cheering for them as long as they're not playing San Antonio.

It's been a great series! It reminds me of basketball before the Jordan area, when some players couldn't be touched, making for a "soft," "finesse" game. I haven't enjoyed basketball this much in a long time.

And, oh, the Spurs aren't dirty. GO SPURS GO!!

The Worship Industry

This video - featuring Brian McLaren - is for all my friends who are worship leaders. Each of them works hard to draw people into a communion with God and the pressure is often frustrating.At the very moment that someone in a church is praising them for how they experienced God that day, another person is waiting to fillet them about what they "didn't get."

I hope this video gives us all some hope and direction about what worship should and can be, and how we as worshipers can bless our leaders (leaders, pastors and teachers) by freeing them to simply be open and honest in all of church life.