Monday, June 12, 2006
ta da!
so please check out this article. this is the church i went to while i was in santa cruz this winter, and i loved it a lot. dad thinks the name is ironic - vintage faith is a 2 year old church. anyway... those are my good friends in the picture and i think that's fun!
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
go-go gadget gospel
it's always good to start off a post with a song reference.
there's a lot of talk about how this emerging church is "the next generation." that is because this is important. it is important to remember that in the fall, our church will be the newest, the next, and not the first or the only. there have been many churches before us, and even many like ours. hopefully there is not another one just like our church in the same area, because that's redundant and there's no point in planting when there's a tree in your way...
but back to the point. it has been important for me, and i think for other kids who are church searching and finding these days, to find a church that has wisepeople. men and women who have been around the church block and the world and can lead me and offer solomon-like words of advice and wisdom to help me in my spiritual journey. where would i be without wisepeople like annie lamott, c.s. lewis, oswald chambers or the ever-prevalent donald miller? with that in mind, it is crucial that this emerging generation of church-leaders let themselves be pushed in the right direction, rather than assuming their way is the best. because even if it is, their way was thought of by someone else first, i'm almost positive of that.
so while our church will be lead by two crazy college kids who don't know what their doing, they are also two crazy pastors kids who have been around more than one or two church blocks and can always pick up the phone if they get lost. we're not trying to do anything new or different, just what feels right.
in conclusion: we have a name! The Abandon House. in the tradition of abandoning ourselves and our church and our faith to Jesus. so there, reality has a name.
there's a lot of talk about how this emerging church is "the next generation." that is because this is important. it is important to remember that in the fall, our church will be the newest, the next, and not the first or the only. there have been many churches before us, and even many like ours. hopefully there is not another one just like our church in the same area, because that's redundant and there's no point in planting when there's a tree in your way...
but back to the point. it has been important for me, and i think for other kids who are church searching and finding these days, to find a church that has wisepeople. men and women who have been around the church block and the world and can lead me and offer solomon-like words of advice and wisdom to help me in my spiritual journey. where would i be without wisepeople like annie lamott, c.s. lewis, oswald chambers or the ever-prevalent donald miller? with that in mind, it is crucial that this emerging generation of church-leaders let themselves be pushed in the right direction, rather than assuming their way is the best. because even if it is, their way was thought of by someone else first, i'm almost positive of that.
so while our church will be lead by two crazy college kids who don't know what their doing, they are also two crazy pastors kids who have been around more than one or two church blocks and can always pick up the phone if they get lost. we're not trying to do anything new or different, just what feels right.
in conclusion: we have a name! The Abandon House. in the tradition of abandoning ourselves and our church and our faith to Jesus. so there, reality has a name.
cincy churches & the indies
thinking about cincy churches and their ability to reach little fish & the indies
four good churches have received my attention: (the names have been modified)
the world wide equipping center; an old, established church trying to redefine itself
the grape growers mother ship; a jesus movement church plant
the traversals; a gen X church plant
the skyline (not the chili); a boomer/buster church plant
for now, the grape growers win
it is huge, but she found her tribe within the hugeness
the music & messages are not always her, but the tribe is there
the skyline never had a chance if for no other reason than they are KJV only (more on that at another time)
the traversals are too slick for the indies
it's big, reaching lots of people, but very corporate
the world wide equipping center has lost its way
too bad, it's ideal for indies
as a participant and observer of church changes for thirty years, I've learned there are no easy solutions when reaching the next generation, nor the one after that
just when you have it, styles change
when little fish and screaming jon embark on their church plant next fall they will lead in a style that is natural for them not everyone will like it, but some will...
four good churches have received my attention: (the names have been modified)
the world wide equipping center; an old, established church trying to redefine itself
the grape growers mother ship; a jesus movement church plant
the traversals; a gen X church plant
the skyline (not the chili); a boomer/buster church plant
for now, the grape growers win
it is huge, but she found her tribe within the hugeness
the music & messages are not always her, but the tribe is there
the skyline never had a chance if for no other reason than they are KJV only (more on that at another time)
the traversals are too slick for the indies
it's big, reaching lots of people, but very corporate
the world wide equipping center has lost its way
too bad, it's ideal for indies
as a participant and observer of church changes for thirty years, I've learned there are no easy solutions when reaching the next generation, nor the one after that
just when you have it, styles change
when little fish and screaming jon embark on their church plant next fall they will lead in a style that is natural for them not everyone will like it, but some will...
god's last name is not damn
and God's first name is not God
at a recent staff meeting one of our faithful servants complained about movies using God's name in vain
i interjected that i had never seen a movie that used God's name in vain
shocked faces from all, except our generaltional pastor
she knew i was up to something
i explained that God's name was YHWH, which translates as "I am" or "I am what I am" (no relation to Popeye) or "I will be what I will be"
one asked, "what about Jehovah? isn't that God's name"
another answered, "no, German theologians created that name by adding the vowels from "elohim" to the transliterated letters JHVH and created Jeohovah"
spirited dialogue from all
general consensus: saying "God Damn" is using the Lord's name in vain
i elaborated, often turmoil is created by complaining about non-issues
there are important issues that deserve time, attention, emotion but too often the time, attention and emotion is channeled to non-issues
i also suggested that instead of using the word "God" we might begin following the example of Madeleine L'Engle and refer to God as "El"
they only frowned
but maybe later they thought more about it
at a recent staff meeting one of our faithful servants complained about movies using God's name in vain
i interjected that i had never seen a movie that used God's name in vain
shocked faces from all, except our generaltional pastor
she knew i was up to something
i explained that God's name was YHWH, which translates as "I am" or "I am what I am" (no relation to Popeye) or "I will be what I will be"
one asked, "what about Jehovah? isn't that God's name"
another answered, "no, German theologians created that name by adding the vowels from "elohim" to the transliterated letters JHVH and created Jeohovah"
spirited dialogue from all
general consensus: saying "God Damn" is using the Lord's name in vain
i elaborated, often turmoil is created by complaining about non-issues
there are important issues that deserve time, attention, emotion but too often the time, attention and emotion is channeled to non-issues
i also suggested that instead of using the word "God" we might begin following the example of Madeleine L'Engle and refer to God as "El"
they only frowned
but maybe later they thought more about it
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