this, that and the other

this looks like one hell of a read.

that is reason #3,612 that i am no longer affiliated with the southern baptist convention.

the other makes me as happy as a puppy with two peters.

this is the church, this is the steeple...

for years my spiritual director has encouraged me to "study and experience the church at large and bring what you learn home." i've always been obedient to the first half of that exhortation by investing myself in ecumenical community, exploring the franciscan tradition and dabbling in episcopalianism, but i've often found the second half quite difficult since i've long suspected that i'm more of a third order franciscan or conservative anglican than i am a christian church preacher.

i suppose that some background here would be helpful. my ecclesiological home is the independent christian churches, churches of christ. i was raised in a Christian Church, baptized in a Christian Church by my Pa Pa who served as recognized elder for twenty years and still fulfills the role of elder in my home congregational, i attended a Christian Church Bible college - where my spiritual director continues to teach, and i have served in several Christian church congregations throughout the midwest and new england. for those of you who don't know (and i'm assuming that's a majority), the Christian Church is a tradition that grew out of the revivals (esp. the cane ridge revival) that fueled the second great awakening and was shaped by the leadership of thomas and alexander campbell (who reacted to their presbyterian backgrounds by embracing arminian theology and propagating an ecclesiology that was shaped as much by american individualism and democracy as it was by biblical precedent) and barton warren stone (who by most accounts was a hell of a preacher and a horrible theologian). our tradition is known for point blank primitivism (which means we're one of many groups who thinks we can restore the apostolic church), constructing a hermeneutic out of pithy sayings (including: "where the Bible speaks, we speak, and where the Bible is silent, we are silent;" "we are not the only Christians, but Christians only;" "in essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things love;" and "pimpin' ain't easy, but it's necessary") and a deep, abiding desire for church unity as it is expressed in John 17 where Jesus asks God to enable the church to "be one, even as we are one."

i have to be honest with you here, i've never felt a particularly deep connection to our tradition (which, defying our desire for unity has split into three distinct branches, including: the disciples of Christ (liberals!), the independent Christian churches, churches of Christ (lukewarm accommodators) and the Church of Christ, non-instrumental (fundies) ) but i my deep respect for my home congregation as well as the indispensable relationships i've built with people in "the restoration movement" (yet another one of our handles) has effectively constrained me from altering my affiliation. i suppose i should also note that the powers that be within my tradition have not always approved of me, since i am more calvinist than arminian, completely open to liturgical traditions and once had a tendency to wear shirts that read "stone sucks and campbell blows" and "ask me about the movement." the fact that the powers that be have often treated me a little like a loose cannon and have occasionally limited my ability to lead has really pissed me off on occasion, but, in all fairness, i've never been much of a "movement" man myself. i've never ducked my tradition or denied my affiliation, but i've never sought to distinguish our traditions contribution to the american church or sought to serve exclusively with our churches either.

"so what's the point of this?," you ask. good question. the point is simply this: for the past year or so i've really been interested in honoring the investment that churches and individuals within "the Christian church" have made in me by intentionally connecting with churches and individuals that share my theological background and, perhaps, even investing in our tradition's expressions of Christian mission. since i started seeking such connections, i've been surprised by the number of Christian church (i'm thinking here of the boston partnership, josh jackaway, aaron monts and the whole crew at his blog as well as many others who shall remain nameless) and church of Christ non-instrumental folk (including steve and chrissy) that i have been able to meet with and dream about serving beside. moreover, as i read about other organic expressions of our tradition, such as apex and the home churches featured in this intriguing article, i am beginning to suspect that these little communities might just be a wonderful incarnation of Christ's call to unity and hope that our tradition still has something unique to contribute to the catholic church.

"study and experience the church at large and bring what you learn home." these were wise words indeed. i am thankful for the new horizons of experience that l'arche, the emergent conversation and many, many personal relationships have provided, but, at the same time, i am still committed to honoring and investing (if not technically serving) in my ecclesiological tradition.

how has your journey influenced your relationship with your ecclesiological tradition? i'd love to hear your stories and any additional thoughts that this post might provoke.

overheard...

"no longer is the church solely in the business of saving individual souls from damnation, but it embodies the 'great event' of the cross by making free space for redemptive community" (charles marsh, the beloved community, pg. 45).

this evening, as i sat with my feet on the windowsill, i was completely arrested by this quote. i think this movement from the "business" of proclamation to the "embodiment" of the gospel that energized the black churches during the struggle for civil rights is also the movement of the Spirit that will truly mobilize the emergent church for mission. together, let us ask God to make this particular movement a primary characteristic of the emerging church.*

*i intend the latter term to be interpreted in the broadest manner possible.

for the record…

the musings sidebar has been cleansed of lazy ass bloggers. now on, blogs that are inactive for more than sixty days will be deleted.

i would also like to welcome the mill street community blog to the fold. the mill street crew is a liturgical, intentional community that is rooting itself in the gloucester crossing neighborhood of beverly. i think you’ll enjoy hearing the collective musings and stories of this community.

snoogans.

a recommendation, invitation and quotation

while stumbling about the new book area at the beverly library this saturday i stumbled across killing yourself to live by chuck klosterman (which i loved. i am beginning to think that klosterman is the new and improved, non-fiction version of douglas coupland, whose jpod, i can review with a single word: ehh…>) and the beloved community: how faith shapes social justice, from the civil rights movement to today by charles marsh.

although i have only completed the introduction of the latter work, i can already tell that it is going to be a book that i will love. within the first five pages marsh asserts that his book “seeks to reinvest the civil rights movement of its deep soul be interpreting the civil rights movement as a theological drama.” as marsh unfolds the stories of the leaders of the civil rights movement and explains how their individual stories converge with the arc of God’s great redemptive narrative, i suspect that i might learn something about how my story can be completely superseded by, yet play a significant part in, the divine drama. i would love for someone to read this book with me so that we can engage in meaningful conversation about it.

here are a couple of quotes from the first chapter that i found particularly interesting:

“american Christians can blame secularists for many things but surely not for the trivialization of faith in the modern world: christians in north america have surpassed all competitors in that booming business. our patriotism has become a cult of self-worship consecrated by court prophets robed in pinstripe suits. forgetting the difference between discipleship and patriotism, the God most Americans trust is a simulacrum of the holy and transcendent God, a reification of the american way of life. ‘the church has an obligation not to join in the incantation of political slogans in the concoction of pseudo-events,” thomas merton wrote in his 198 book, violence and faith, ‘but to cut clear through the ambiguity of both slogans and events by her simplicity and her love’” (marsh, the beloved community, pg. 7).

“while the (civil rights) movement is often celebrated in the public sphere as a great civics lesson of a nation’s common hopes, it teaches us equally important and urgent lessons about the integrity of our differences. the black churches of the civil rights movement did not relinquish their specific theological commitments when student volunteers arrived, many of whom were not christian, but they found ways of including new friends in their worship without erasing the real differences between them” (ibid, pg. 6).

i hope that a couple of you accept my invitation to read this book with me and enter into a bit of dialogue about its major themes. expect to see more marsh quotations in the near future.

snapshots of psychosis

kevin smith clark often refers to me as a “crazy magnet.” occasionally i have 24 to 72 hour runs where i bump into so many psychotic people and have so many odd encounters that i begin to think he’s right.

currently, i’m on a crazy run like you wouldn’t believe. within the last twelve hours i have:

overheard a cell phone conversation in which a jimmy buffet-esque drunk uncle derided his nephew’s decision to join the marines by openly wondering “what are you going to do in iraq? kill some (insert the plural form of an extremely offensive racial slur here) and buy some camels?” he then asked his nephew if he was drunk. when his nephew apparently responded that he was not, the uncle declared that he was “a total pussy.” apparently, our buffet lovin’ friend was “drunk every night when i was twenty five.” he continued by asserting that “hell, now i’m thirty eight, have two kids and you’re still more likely to find me drunk on a weeknight than sober.” based on my experience, this confession was something short of shocking. the uncle concluded the conversation by asking his nephew to meet him at the bar of the historic hawthorne hotel in salem for drinks. when his nephew declined, the uncle reminded him that “you are such a pussy” and affirmed that “if i was at your house right now, i would ejaculate in your face.” i could also tell you how this paragon of virtue played a tinny, taped recording of the red hot chili pepper’s breaking a girl every time a reasonably attractive women walked by, but i fear that would be piling on.

early this morning, around 3.25 a.m. i received a drunk dial from a friend or family member who should be thankful i am concealing their identity. actually after the phone shook me out of sleep and i was startled by the name on my phone display, i was even more confused to find that the person on the other line was not my anonymous family member or friend but an acquaintance of that person who haltingly suggested that i talk to this person because “she/he is convinced that she/he is getting married tomorrow and is completely pissed that you are not going to make the wedding.” after i stumbled out of bed and let the dog out to do her early morning duty, the anonymous friend or family member wrenched the phone from their friend berated me by saying “i can’t believe that you’re not going to make my wedding” and confirmed that she/he was “wearing green shoes but one of them was missing.” at the mention of green shoes i tersely recommended that the person get some sleep and snapped the phone shut. now i cannot decide whether i should tare into this stupid son or daughter of a bitch for drunk dialing me at 3.25 in the morning or whether i should make an exploratory call to the betty ford clinic.

as soon as i got into the office, one of my co-workers – who likes show tunes, multiple piercings and calling in for free concert tickets on Mike 98 FM – admitted that he/she “often feels like a homicidal maniac.” moreover, he/she told us that if we “hear of someone going on a homicidal rampage through ryalside (a local, blue collar neighborhood), you’ll know who’s to blame.” after my wide-eyed co-worker and i received he/she’s confession, i appreciated the wisdom of krista’s pre-designated inner-office hiding places for the first time.

overheard…

in leadership formation and the declining cost of information stephen shields makes a cogent argument for contextualized leadership training. shields believes that the economic and spatial accessibility of biblical studies and theology resources makes attending distant seminaries and bible colleges less and less necessary. thus, instead of leaving the ministry contexts we are called to in order to study, shields believes most people would be better served by staying where they are, digging deeply into biblical studies and theology and – this is the most important part – finding a mentor or spiritual director that will help us develop the character that pastoral ministry requires. i think that this type of contextual leadership training will be one of the most positive legacies of the mega-church movement. over the past four years i’ve become personally acquainted with the leadership development program instituted by one innovative mega-church and have been completely overwhelmed by the quality of training they provide. i realize that all contextual leadership programs are not created equal, but i still think this trend is one that will be beneficial for the church at large.

in last month’s next-wave drew mosier penned a somewhat similar article on how technology is changing the face of theological formulation. if you dig shield’s article, you’ll enjoy drew’s insightful piece as well.

finally, elijah wyman, a local musician and friend of the sinners and saints community recently penned this piece that challenges us to relinquish our fear of pain and learn the fundamentals of happiness. i realize that there is a good deal of wise, godly instruction in this article and am only a little short of desperate to practice the fundamentals that elijah professes. thank you for turning us on to the sacramental truths that are buried inside your, and our, suffering ew.

tonight, too-night

the emergent cohort is gathering at 7 pm to discuss theology, drink beer and swap stories. we’d love for you to break up the sinners and saints co-hort hegemony by joining us at bukowski’s* (50 dalton street, boston, 02115) around 7 p.m.

if you have questions, need further directions or would like to learn why we believe judas is in heaven, feel free to contact me at gentry13@gmail.com.

*bukowski’s is a cash only establishment. please plan accordingly.

church marketing SUCKS

a few moments ago, while perusing out of ur, one of my favorite God blogs on the net, I noticed an article that mentioned church marketing stinks. although i’ve never been to church marketing stinks, i have visited church marketing sucks on several occasions and have been intrigued by their analysis of church growth trends and the discussions such analysis has provoked.

surprisingly, after clicking through the church marketing stinks link and plugging churchmarketingsucks.com into the old address bar I realized that they are dissimilar urls that lead to the exact same website. i suppose that church marketing stinks is the label they use for conservative, non-cussin’ ee-vangelicals that comprise the overwhelming majority of CT’s core audience and church marketing sucks is the label they use for more progressive, f-bomb dropping emerging eh-vangelical types.

apparently the creators of this website think it is acceptable to utilize the very same niche marketing techniques they criticize in order to increase their hit count and their search engine placement. let it be known that i find such hypocrisy deplorable and will never visit their site again.

to be chuck klosterman or saint francis, that is the question

stories. stories. everyone wants to talk about stories lately.

an almost infinite number of books from the evangelical milieu, including to be told, the story we find ourselves in and epic, focus on helping develop our personal stories and sanctifying our narrative arc. moreover, this weekend at the boston faith and justice network kickoff bart campolo promised us that if we invest our lives in justice and the poor he cannot promise us notoriety, riches or success but he can promise us great stories. bart believes that the only thing we will do in heaven, besides praising God, is tell these wonderful stories.

in my spare time I spend a lot of my time reading, you guessed it, stories. i read sweeping narratives of great cities and the unmistakably unique individuals that shape and are shaped by their urban settings, i devour crazy stream of consciousness books such as killing yourself to live which reads like 235 pages of kick-ass liner notes and i read about the incarnation of the gospel that was so evident in the civil rights movements.

i am always adrift and occasionally feel like i am drowning in stories. but here’s the thing, i have serious doubts whether my story is worth telling. even more difficult, i seriously question whether my story is what this life is all about.

if i read the Christian Scriptures at least somewhat correctly, it appears that God’s story is to be sole focus of a Christ follower’s life. but there are many, many days on which i don’t feel like listening to God’s story, much less allowing that story line to supersede my own. i want to be enamored, enlightened and engulfed by God’s story, but i am usually far more interested in the unexpected conflicts, peculiar plot twists and ambivalent resolutions that compose my little life.

i realize that allowing my own story to be eclipsed by God’s story will result in a life that is more beautiful, good and true. but i am loathe to surrender my role as director and screenwriter to my executive producer.

for the record, i realize that these tendencies are sinful and i am crying out for sanctification.