Philadelphia

The Pain & Substance of Gratitude. Happy Thanksgiving.

/ Paul Burkhart / 6 Comments

Sorry that this isn’t your typical feel-good Thanksgiving post.

On Tuesday, my job had a large Thanksgiving lunch for all the staff and clients we serve. I got my food and sat down next to some of my coworkers and across from a client I had never seen before. She was very friendly. She didn’t ask me my name or anything; she just began asking me questions about what I was doing for the holiday, where I was going, if my parents were still alive/together, if I had any siblings, so on and so forth.

As she kept firing one question about my Thanksgiving week after another, I started to feel an awkward tension developing because I wasn’t returning any of these questions back to her. I wondered if my coworkers thought this was odd of me to do, but it was very intentional.
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Christmas Sing-Along House Show on December 9th!

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

The Birdhouse (the house/venue I share share with the manliest of men) is having another house show. All of them have been pretty fantastic, but I’m expecting this one to blow the others away, because this will be a Christmas Sing-Along show. Yes. You read that right. Each act will do some originals, but the majority of their set will be sing-alongs for all of us to join in. Here are the details:

The Birdhouse presents, vol. 4: Deck the Halls
Friday, December 9th at 7pm.
2204 Catharine St Philadelphia, PA 19146

If you’re interested in coming, check out the Facebook Event Page and RSVP. Also be sure to go to our website and listen/download recordings from the other shows (the album for the second show might be coming soon). Then come on by and bring any food, drink (especially cider), and merriment you may have to spare and enjoy the evening. This will be epic. Confirmed musicians for the evening (so far):

  • Josh Schurr
  • Luke Bartolomeo
  • Ashley Haugen and Jen Huber

Join Us for a Tour of Biblical History at the Penn Museum this Saturday!

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

For those those in Philadelphia or nearby, I’ll be leading a tour of The University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Archaeology of Anthropology focusing on Biblical History (mainly Old Testament). They have a very rich collection of items from the regions in which most all of Biblical History unfolds: Mesopotamia, Canaan, and Egypt. We will be following the unfolding storyline of the Bible as we travel to each section, learning the context and the history that set the stage for the faith many of us now call our own.

If you’re interested, meet us at 12pm on Saturday, November 19th in the courtyard in front of the main entrance (pictured above). The cost is $10 for adults and $6 for students (and well worth the price). The museum is located at 33rd and Spruce (map), right across the South St bridge. (Parking advice: park on the east side of the South St bridge in the Graduate Hospital area and then walk over the bridge). See you there!

art that makes me cry (thank you, Jen Huber)

/ Paul Burkhart / 2 Comments


This is another amazing piece called “Broken Hold” (original post) by one of my favorite artists and closest friends, Jennifer Huber (I’ve featured her art here before). In all seriousness, I just started crying looking at this and just had to post it. This particular piece reminded me a lot of one of my favorite songs by some other good friends of mine (who are also amazing artists), the band My Epic. You can find the song and the lyrics below. This piece especially reminded me of the last line of the song. Enjoy.

“Communion” by My Epic [Spotify] [YouTube]  Continue reading →

you can always tell the health of an urban neighborhood by…

/ Paul Burkhart / 3 Comments

… the number of trick-or-treaters.

I just frustrated a few middle schoolers (way too old to go trick-or-treating) who knocked on our door and were miffed that we had no candy to give. They were probably also confused by the fact that both my roommate and I had yelled “come in!” in reply to the door-knocks.

We had done this because last year my roommates and I bought a big thing of candy in anticipation of the trick-or-treaters and none showed up. And so we expected this year to be the same. We didn’t even think about the chance of any trick-or-treaters coming. But, alas, they won’t stop knocking on our door tonight; the street is teeming with them. At this point, we’re just ignoring the knocks, not wanting to incur the wrath of any more children.

So much must have happened in the past year in our particular neighborhood of Graduate Hospital in Southwest Center City Philadelphia. It’s exciting to watch all that is happening in this amazing city we call home.

Of Robes & Righteousness

/ Paul Burkhart / 2 Comments

Yesterday I went to two church services. The first was my home church, where I participated in one of the best services we’ve ever had (oh, Communion was so sweet!); the second was the church of one of my closest and dearest friends. I could have just met up with him after his service, but I decided to go anyway. Why?

I thought I was looking pretty good yesterday.

Of course, this wasn’t the only reason I went (it’s an amazing church and I’d definitely go there if liberti weren’t around), but it was a real factor. People had spent that morning complimenting me, and I both appreciated and enjoyed it. And so, I wanted to be seen. (Surely all of us have experienced this sometime, right? Come on, I’m just trying to be honest.)

During the service, I found myself thinking about this. There is a constant conflict we have with our embodied selves and the garments that clothe them. I’ve spoken of this tension before and how our responses to it often betray a hatred we seem to have for our bodies. Our clothing both reveals and conceals at the same time; it communicates things about us all the while hiding our greatest intimacies.

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Weekend Must-Reads {09.09.11} | church leadership retreat edition

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

This weekend I find myself with the honor, joy, and privilege of heading to a two-day long leadership retreat for my amazing church, liberti church: center city. In honor of this, I wanted to post articles by myself and others focusing on Church philosophy, community, and such. Some of them are a bit longer than usual, so feel free to grab a cup coffee before digging in. I hope you find these helpful and encouraging no matter where you find yourself in relation to the Christian Church. Have a great weekend. And be sure to stop by next week; I’m pretty excited for the stuff I’ve got planned for the blog then.

And Thus It Begins: liberti home meetings & my heart | the long way home

liberti: center city’s home meetings start next week. I wrote this blog post last year the day before I began leading a brand new group in the Rittenhouse neighborhood of Philadelphia. It’s wonderful to look back over the past year with these people and see that God has answered every prayer I had in this post. I’m still serving these amazing people as their leader, and I can’t wait to see them on Tuesday.

On the State of Contemporary Theology | Fors Clavigera – James K.A. Smith

Here, the author of one of my favorite books I’ve ever read, Desiring the Kingdom, offers his thoughts on the current state of theology, denominations, and theological education. A quick must-read for all.

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It’s Official: House Show #3 on September 30

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The Birdhouse (the house I have the privilege of sharing with some great guys) has been host to a couple of amazing house shows–that fact has never been in question. The only real question (since last December) has been “when is the next one going to be?” Well, we now have an answer to that.

The Birdhouse presents, vol. 3: The Comeback
Friday, September 30th at 7pm.

So if you’re interested in coming, check out the Facebook Event Page and RSVP. Also be sure to go to our website and listen/download recordings from the other shows (the album for the second show is coming soon). Then come on by and bring any food, drink, and merriment you may have to spare and enjoy the evening. This will be epic. Confirmed musicians for the evening (so far):

  • Lauryn Peacock
  • Drew Skinner
  • Kimberly Stoltzfus
  • Maxwell Greene
  • Paul Burkhart

how I’m handling Hurricane Irene

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

So with the looming threat of Irene on its way to Philly and all the east coast freaking out (I personally think it’s a bit overblown), how am I spending my rainy afternoon and evening? Recently I finished reading Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I was inspired to read this in the first place so that, upon completion, I could get together with a couple of my friends (the male of which introduced me, ironically enough, to my manliest movie ever, Top Gun–oh the volleyball scene!), and watch both the BBC miniseries and Hollywood iterations of Austen’s book.

Well, today is finally the day that I get to spend with Irene, Red Wine, Scotch, Beer, Nicole, Heath, and Colin Firth (oh be still, my beating heart!). Unfortunately, Keira will have to wait.

Prayer & the Christian Life [a teaching I did at liberti church] {AUDIO}

/ Paul Burkhart / 7 Comments

Last week, I posted the manuscript and audio from a teaching I did on the Bible from a series of seminars/discussions my church has been doing called “Summer Conversations“. This week I wanted to post the other teaching I did. This one was on the idea of Prayer. This was a really amazing thing to prepare for and the night went really well. Also, unlike last week, the audio turned out really clear.

Audio | download
Notes| download: pdf, Word, Kindle, ebook read: Google Docs, Scribd
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The Nature & Narrative of the Bible [a teaching I did at liberti church] {AUDIO}

/ Paul Burkhart / 21 Comments

This summer, my church has been doing a series of seminars/discussions called “Summer Conversations“. I was asked to teach at two of them. I am providing the manuscript and audio from the first night here. The second one I’ll post next week. This first “seminar” was on The Nature & Narrative of Scripture. The night went really well. The audio, on the other hand, did not. This recording is really tough to listen to. Fortunately, for this particular talk, I wrote everything out in manuscript form and stuck pretty closely to it (especially Part 1). So, feel free to download/preview these in whatever way/format is most convenient for you and may they enhance your understanding of our God and how He has revealed himself.

[Also check out the other talk I gave at liberti on Prayer and the Christian Life (much better audio)]

Audio | download
Manuscript | download: pdf, Word, Kindle, ebook read: Google Docs, Scribd
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I’ve got a new job in Philadelphia

/ Paul Burkhart / 9 Comments

In May 2009, I decided to drop out of seminary (for many reasons). Then employment drama ensued. I got a job, couldn’t start the job, then got a part-time position at the company, and then was finally able to move into the full-time spot I was originally hired for.

And it’s been wonderful. Over the past year and half, I was able to love my caseload of people and take them from broken and with nothing to on the path towards healing and recovery. I actually got to see change and growth up close–and it changed me.

But, it’s time to move on. As I’ve been praying for for a while, I recently got offered a job that is walking distance from my house. I finally get to realize my desire to not only live and spend my money in the city, but also to earn my money and serve the residents there as well.
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Yeah, Church Community Sucks.

/ Paul Burkhart / 6 Comments

Church plants are weird creatures. In the beginning, most everyone is new and has to do the awkward dance of forming relationships while at the same time trying to see a fledgling church survive. It takes a unique person to really be a part of a church plant, that’s for sure. You mostly have to be self-motivated and spiritually self-sustaining, because the usual church structures that motivate, support and counsel just aren’t there in the early days of a church.

Over time, during these early days, your relationships slowly develop. They are usually borne out from the fiery flames of awkwardness and uncertainty, and having to force yourself into social situations you would not normally put on yourself, but this difficulty forges these relationships deeply. You get to know one another very deeply very quickly and love each other through it. This creates a very deep bond, however unspoken it may be.
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a profound insight on cities & those that love them

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But cities were not simply condemned because they were big or ill tuned for the industrial expansion that had seized them. What was wonderful and exciting about them–the spontaneity, the togetherness of community, the creativity that comes from getting along and not getting along, the endless characters populating the streets, the chaos–never found a natural place in the American soul. The frontier spirit that was so intrinsic to the psyche of the country, the creed of individualism and ruggedness and privacy, of staking out your own piece of land and building your own house, hardly lent itself to the culture and spirit of the city.

— Buzz Bissinger, A Prayer for the City
(see the other books I’m reading here)

liberti east Easter outreach: help feed families in need

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

I have the privilege of being a part of an amazing movement of churches in Philadelphia, seeking to be the presence of Christ to this city and its inhabitants. This family of churches currently numbers three, each one serving a different area of the city (I go to the Center City one).

The church in the East part of the city has been gracious enough to spearhead an initiative for Easter where they hope to give away 1,000 Easter meals to familes in need. The baskets include a ham, sides, and desert for a family of four. They need people to donate money for the meals (they’re trying to raise $20,000), volunteer to fill the baskets and/or deliver them, and families who would like to receive one of these meals. Remember:

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” — James 1:27

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink…’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink…?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ –Matthew 25:34-40

For more information or to sign up for any part of this initiative, please visit:  http://www.libertieasteroutreach.com/
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