Wednesday, November 30, 2005

memorandum from captain random:

on monday afternoon thomas, one of my after school kids, said that he needed a copy of the boston globe for a school assignment. when i inquired about the nature of the assignment thomas said, "i need to cut out the right wing and the left wing." i found this statement more than a bit confusing, so i asked him to clarify. "the left and right wing of what?" i asked. "are you referring to advertisements or something?" "no," thomas tersely replied, "i am talking about right wing and left wing perspectives." "okay," i said, "what can you tell me about the right wing." "they hate change," thomas quickly replied. "alright," i continued, "what current political group embraces right wing policies?" "i dunno," thomas said thoughtfully, "the fascists?"

while sitting on a lifeway crapper yesterday, i read a couple of the brief biographies of emergent leaders that is included in gibbs and bolger's emerging churches. reflecting upon his early attempts to plant churches in san francisco, mark scandrette offers that "my retrospective assessment is that it is hard to create something healthy and sustainable during a personally deconstructive phase" (appendix a, pg. 305). i found this statement quite prescient. i think that a number of us who are involved in the emergent conversation would do well to spend some time reflecting upon this statement and asking the Spirit of God to lead us from a place of thoroughgoing deconstruction to a place of missional creativity.

i picked up a copy of lyle lovett’s Joshua, judges and ruth out of the bargain bin at vagabond records and have been thoroughly impressed with the album. I am constantly amazed by (a) the quality of contemporary Americana music, (b) the overwhelming riches of classic country – thinking of the carters, cash and even a little george jones here, and (c) the fact that most people back home and in the backwoods new england states leave these riches undisturbed in order to listen to hacks like kenny chesney, cowboy troy and rascal flatts.


i may or may not know someone who just named their firstborn son "ranger denny." for a long time i have thought that the creative name game was a little cracked, but now i've been converted! what wonderful combination of a civil service profession and common american name are you going to bestow upon your firstborn? kellie and i have settled on "crossing-guard carol" if we have a girl and "lifeguard lenny" if we have a boy.

in emerging churches karen ward of the church of the apostles in seattle likens the emerging church to "'a road of destination' where Christ followers, formerly of divergent pasts, are meeting up in the missional present and moving together toward God's future." isn't that a fantastic definition?

10 comments:

Agent B said...

That Scandrette quote really makes sense to me. Right now. Yes.

ahbahsean said...

Yeah Lyle Lovett!! You should see keep an eye out for a copy of The Road to Ensenada. That's a good one too...

John said...

I liked your thoughts about the whole moving from deconstruction to missional creativity...
I think that is right on.

Anonymous said...

so i was so excited when i viewed a trailer for brokeback mountain a few months ago. it was packaged together with a film i was watching called The Constant Gardner. After the film, which i watched with my step-dad and mom, both promptly criticized the forthcoming "backdoor cowboy" film. i was appalled. the movie seems to be interacting with a topic little discussed in the sexual reality in which we live. a film about men in love living lives attempting to cover what they feel to be truly them. I am sooo excited to see this film. i hope that it will breed deeper discussion among Christians in the world of sexuality: created or chosen to be. i fear however the general response will be similar to my oft-skeptical family.

g13 said...

wentz, thanks for stopping by. i wish the thoughts were mine, but they were 100% Scandrette's.

jackaway, i must confess that my initial response to the trailer had more in common with your parents than your own. thank you for convicting me of the unloving pretensions which inspired that part of my post. i will now delete it.

by the way, i thought a constant gardner was fantastic.

Before Girl said...

six comments and no one is disturbed about how gentry admits he reads while on the shitter. that's one of those things everyone does, but it doesn't have to be admitted.

g13 said...

krista,

i brought you some new shitter material today, but unfortunately you were not there to receive it. i think that you'll like it, but my recommendations usually fall flat.

hope you're doing well.

ahbahsean said...

I think his bathroom habit is only a problem when he tries to sell it as slightly used Lightway merchandise...

g13 said...

which has been done, ahbahsean, a number of times.

although i did not price it as "slightly used." i just wiped off the smudges and put it back on the shelf.

Before Girl said...

I don't read on the shitter, ever, even at home. Shitter's fer shittin' and then get out. Plus. a nurse friend of mine said that most people who have hemmorhoids get them from sitting on the bowl too long, and studies have been done to show that those who sit too long are readers on the toilet.