According to WordPress, the title above has been a recent “Top Search” phrase that has led people to my blog. Well that’s fun. My only guess is that it’s because of my recent post “Sex & Crazy People“. Any other guesses?
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Weekend Must-Reads {09.09.11} | church leadership retreat edition
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.
It’s Official: House Show #3 on September 30
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
the cry of an anguished lover (may it be mine)
O my folly! The world of my plans, how narrow, and bare, and stale it is! And the world which breaks my plans, how living, and various, and wide, and glorious it is! And from every point in it a providence bears upon me, to make me the man you intend: here a claim, there a discipline, here love to cherish, there enmity to vanquish, and everywhere Christ.
“Be not anxious”, says Christ, not that he may make us careless, but that he may lift our faces out of the book of our calculations and sweep the cobwebs of self-obsession from our eyes. If I gave my attention to your handiwork, I should become your handiwork. Make me open to each thing and person in their turn, that I may not only love them, but be directed through the providences which speak in them.
—Austin Farrer
Mark’s Endings, the Church’s Beginnings, & History’s End
Having recently finished my own personal study on the Gospel of Mark, I just had a few thoughts on the ending of the book, what it meant for the early church, and what it means for us today. So, first, if you’ve never read the last chapter of Mark, let me encourage you to do so here.
You’ll see it’s really weird. There are reasons why most sermons on this part of Jesus’ story don’t often come from this book. It doesn’t have an actual Resurrection account. There seems to be some humor (the ladies ask “who’s gonna roll away the stone when we get there?” They look up and it’s rolled away and Mark adds, “it was very large”). The angels say “tell the disciples and Peter about all this”, but the women are scared and don’t say anything. And then it just ends (assuming the last part isn’t original, as we’re about to talk about). The ending seems to not carry with it the same reverence, awe, gravity, and seriousness of the moment that other Gospels seem to have. It’s almost playful. As far as Gospel accounts go, it’s definitely odd.
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Weekly Must-Reads {08.30.11}
Admittedly, this week’s Must-Reads are a bit random, but I think you all will enjoy them. There are no consistent themes this time around, just a little hodge-podge of humor, politics, theology, etc.. As usual, feel free to add your own links for myself and others to read in the comments section, as well as comment on these articles.
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This site is starting to make its rounds amongst our crew here in Philly. We’re obsessed, but it’s so worth it. I’ve taken some of the pictures and have them rotating as my laptop background to reflect my interest in books, writing, coffee and breakfast, history, my favorite board game, dressing nicely, being cool, facial hair, and shaving.
God, Math & the Multiverse | the Veritas Forum
I haven’t actually watched/listened to it yet, but it should be pretty phenomenal. Thanks for the link, Colin.
Making the Father Real (when you don’t feel it)
Late last night I finished my own personal study through the book of Mark. I wrote about my love for this book a while back in light of some reflections on Ash Wednesday, and having finished it again, it was confirmed once more that this indeed is my favorite Gospel.
As I was ending it, I really wanted to see my Father in these words and be moved by Him. This last stretch I read was from Jesus being handed over to Pilate through the Resurrection–arguably some of the most dramatic and supposedly heart-string-pulling moments for the Christian. I mean, Our Lord is being unjustly mocked! He is being crucified! He’s being raised!
And yet, I felt nothing beyond the scan of my eyes upon the page offering the simple intellectual reminder of these events.
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how I’m handling Hurricane Irene
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}
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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a simply beautiful prayer…
I saw this tacked onto the bulletin board of the psychiatrist at my previous employer. She is one of the best mentor I’ve ever had, and this is one of the most honest, simple, and beautiful prayers I’ve ever read. I feel it captures my relationship with my Creator more perfectly and more simply than most anything I’ve read (except maybe for this). May this encourage all you weary travelers out there:
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Amen.
from Thomas Merton’s “Thoughts in Solitude”
The Nature & Narrative of the Bible [a teaching I did at liberti church] {AUDIO}
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
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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My Ex-Girlfriend, the Blog: a story of relationship, loss, & finding again
[All links in this post open in new tabs. You’ve been warned.]
We know the story well. You start a relationship and it’s exciting at first: it’s new, it’s unfamiliar, and each day seems to hold a new discovery or a new inspiration. There’s a dynamic sense of interaction and give-and-take that inspires you to share more and more of yourself with this person. You learn more about yourself. You learn more about them with whom you are sharing this stuff. Your thinking sharpens and you spend much of the day musing about what you might tell them and when you might interact with them once more, wondering about how you might phrase something or to what detail to speak of a certain thought, feeling, or sentiment you had.
When days go by without interaction: you ache; they ache.
But then it happens. These interactions begin to feel a little more like a duty than a delight. You feel the weight of expectation and it begins to stifle the feelings you once had. Those days that go by without interaction feel more like reprieves than punishments. You feel the strings of your own heart beginning to unwind from the ball of yarn that is there’s.
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Yeah, Church Community Sucks.
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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Ruminations on Rhythm & Life
Do you have any rituals? Last week, I wrote about about how I would love to find a steady “rhythm” to my daily existence. Do any of you have that? Is it realistic to desire that? My roommate Tim gets up most every morning at around the same time, makes a french press of coffee and sits out our kitchen table and reads his giant red-leather ESV Study Bible. I love that. It’s weird whenever I come downstairs and he’s had to go to work early or something and isn’t doing that.
Me? A couple of days ago, I actually got to bed sort of early (for me) at around 11:15. I set my alarm for 7am, knowing I had to walk out the door by 8am. I figured I could take a shower and have some time to just relax and maybe pray or read my own Bible in the morning (for the first time in God knows how long).
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the long way home 
