this is a busy travel season for me (6 trips in 8 weeks), but i'm excited about the possibilities this next trip to colorado springs holds for me. i'll be spending most of the next three days with my friend caleb and the team at navpress, a sizeable publisher focusing on spiritual formation in christian spirituality, as we talk through a potential series of book/teaching concepts.
i believe strongly in what i'm doing these days - and, by extension, in much of what we are doing at westwinds - and the fact that god may use some of these things to help others is both humbling and exciting.
thanks for your prayers, all
Monday, April 28, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
slides for tomorrow's fusion
this slide shows the migration (and decline) of christianity from its origins in jerusalem upwards and westwards to its present epi-center in africa.
note that the americas do not appear on this map, but that the migration is the same. it flourished in north america, has largely declined, and now finds its center in latin america.
similarly, this slide shows the movement of christianity beginning in the southern hemisphere, moving north, and now rapidly moving south again.
adapted from dan kimball's book (the emerging church) this slide shows the default worldview of those born into the modern world.
for me, and people like me, this basically represents the way our parents think about the world and about church.
it is not wrong.
the slide merely depicts their "defaults" which are very different than my own/our own.
again, from kimball.
this slide shows the defaults of most of my peers; and, more significantly, the default of MOST EVERYONE who will be born from now on (until the next major cultural shift).
this is important because it means that this is the default view in which our faith must be inculturated with increasing saturation in the future.
meaning, if you're wired the other way you'd better - at least - become familiar with this so that you know what you're up against.
some may say that their kids, or even their youthful peers, do not have these defaults. they are probably right. my aim is not to say that everyone has these, just that an increasing number of people are born into a world which values these things (over the other things). there will always be exceptions to this. but the exceptions don't make the rule. the world is headed this way and we must learn how to live as followers of jesus in it.
this slide shows how these two defaults overlap. we are not wholly in a world of pluralism etc. yet.
for as long as i'm alive i believe i'll be caught between these two worlds.
...but my demographic pocket will probably be the last to live in that tension, as perhaps the baby boomers were the first.
15,000 hits on ustream
...wow, i just logged onto ustream to review our loveshack gathering and notices that 14,334 people have watched fusion online.
wow.
we have a weekly attendance of adults and children at westwinds of approx. 850 people.
every week our p/vodcast is listened to by about 1500 people.
and our video of fusion has impacted almost 15,000 people.
now, keep in mind that westwinds is in jackson, mi (pop. 30,000 + ) and if we're famous for anything here, it's for closing down factories and closing up shops we only opened 3 months ago.
so for us to have such an impact is truly a miracle.
our thanks goes to god for this, but also to the many hundreds of people who've been faithful to westwinds (through all our ups and downs) for years.
thank you, long timers, for stickin' it out with us.
wow.
we have a weekly attendance of adults and children at westwinds of approx. 850 people.
every week our p/vodcast is listened to by about 1500 people.
and our video of fusion has impacted almost 15,000 people.
now, keep in mind that westwinds is in jackson, mi (pop. 30,000 + ) and if we're famous for anything here, it's for closing down factories and closing up shops we only opened 3 months ago.
so for us to have such an impact is truly a miracle.
our thanks goes to god for this, but also to the many hundreds of people who've been faithful to westwinds (through all our ups and downs) for years.
thank you, long timers, for stickin' it out with us.
i knew that was good stuff...
i love to read
my two great literary loves are science fiction and theology (which explains 'beneath still earth', if you've had the privilege/nightmare of reading it).
over the course of my life i've often begun thinking about something in the bible, something i've not heard articulated before or something i think we've missed out on as a church.
for example, in the mid-nineties when all the world was goo-goo about generation x i began to think that there was something more going on than just a generation swing. i did some work and arrived at the conclusion that "postmodernism", that giant of epistemology/literature/architecture was - at least - subtextually involved.
also, about five years ago i began to think that the way we talk about salvation needed an overhaul. i had done too many alter calls producing no-alterations, and asked for too many people to accept jesus as their lord and savior who did so...but not really; so, i began to investigate ignatius, athanasius, and chrystostom and - lo and behold - found my efforts at working with theosis to be far more successful (in both the long and the short run) than my efforts at substitutionary atonement (and, yes, i am aware that "my efforts" are all but insignificant when compared with the work of the spirit upon someone's life...so, all of this is only relevant insofar as it compares to my shred of contribution)
also, about two years ago i began to think differently about "the world" and we did our series "kosmos" at westwinds about God's dream to redeem the earth not just blow it up
anyways, i say all of that to say that i've always felt surprised/validated to find out that others are thinking the same things i'm thinking - all over the world, from every denomination and tribe. usually, i find this out after i've been called a crack-pot by few local-yokels, but still it feels good to know i'm not nuts.
my recent time at q
along with the following books i've just read
finding our way again
recovering the scandal of the cross
missing the mark
surprised by hope
anyways - it's been cool to find out (after the fact) that somehow, somewhere, god has been speaking to complete strangers along the same lines as i've heard him speak to me.
my two great literary loves are science fiction and theology (which explains 'beneath still earth', if you've had the privilege/nightmare of reading it).
over the course of my life i've often begun thinking about something in the bible, something i've not heard articulated before or something i think we've missed out on as a church.
for example, in the mid-nineties when all the world was goo-goo about generation x i began to think that there was something more going on than just a generation swing. i did some work and arrived at the conclusion that "postmodernism", that giant of epistemology/literature/architecture was - at least - subtextually involved.
also, about five years ago i began to think that the way we talk about salvation needed an overhaul. i had done too many alter calls producing no-alterations, and asked for too many people to accept jesus as their lord and savior who did so...but not really; so, i began to investigate ignatius, athanasius, and chrystostom and - lo and behold - found my efforts at working with theosis to be far more successful (in both the long and the short run) than my efforts at substitutionary atonement (and, yes, i am aware that "my efforts" are all but insignificant when compared with the work of the spirit upon someone's life...so, all of this is only relevant insofar as it compares to my shred of contribution)
also, about two years ago i began to think differently about "the world" and we did our series "kosmos" at westwinds about God's dream to redeem the earth not just blow it up
anyways, i say all of that to say that i've always felt surprised/validated to find out that others are thinking the same things i'm thinking - all over the world, from every denomination and tribe. usually, i find this out after i've been called a crack-pot by few local-yokels, but still it feels good to know i'm not nuts.
my recent time at q
along with the following books i've just read
finding our way again
recovering the scandal of the cross
missing the mark
surprised by hope
anyways - it's been cool to find out (after the fact) that somehow, somewhere, god has been speaking to complete strangers along the same lines as i've heard him speak to me.
Friday, April 25, 2008
sleepy, tired, poor
i've just finished a 3 day stint racing to finish our next teaching atlas. in the past 72 hours, i've slept 6.
(so...if you fall asleep while i'm preaching sunday, i will harm you...not because of insult, but because of envy)
anyways, while working away i was stymied a few times by lack of creativity. now, that's a little weird because creativity is usually sorta my thing.
but when you're tired
and pressed for time
and feeling a little anxiety
creativity tends to get a little shy
why then got me thinking about our extraordinary staff at westwinds - ben, lori, norma, angie, 3-headed-monstoriolis - and how pressed, tired, and anxious we've been since [a] first learning of randy's cancer, [b] having to lay off half our [previous] staff, and [c] learning [again] about randy's cancer.
coupled with the financial wormhole we've been in since 2004, it's no wonder that our staff is feeling sleepy, tired, and poor.
usually, when you have no money you can compensate by coming up with creative alternatives to the things you'd spend your money on if you had it. you can make cool art for your house instead of buying it, write your own stories instead of getting the latest bestseller, play outside instead of going to the movies etc.
usually, when you have no time to do everything you need to do you can compensate by coming up with creative solutions that allow you to do the most important, most invigorating things first without totally letting everything else suck.
usually, when you're in any kind of a bind the way out requires creativity.
our staff excels at creative solution-making, expression, relationship, and liturgy.
it's why i love them so much.
but...i can't help wondering how much longer we'll have to trade on ONLY our creativity before it runs out like the money, like the time, and like everything else.
if creativity is always our compensation package,
what happens when we deplete our resources for creativity?
this, by the way, is why we value creativity SO HIGHLY at westwinds
why we celebrate it
and why we look for staff to continue cultivating it
because, at the end of the day, it's the only thing we have to work with
(so...if you fall asleep while i'm preaching sunday, i will harm you...not because of insult, but because of envy)
anyways, while working away i was stymied a few times by lack of creativity. now, that's a little weird because creativity is usually sorta my thing.
but when you're tired
and pressed for time
and feeling a little anxiety
creativity tends to get a little shy
why then got me thinking about our extraordinary staff at westwinds - ben, lori, norma, angie, 3-headed-monstoriolis - and how pressed, tired, and anxious we've been since [a] first learning of randy's cancer, [b] having to lay off half our [previous] staff, and [c] learning [again] about randy's cancer.
coupled with the financial wormhole we've been in since 2004, it's no wonder that our staff is feeling sleepy, tired, and poor.
usually, when you have no money you can compensate by coming up with creative alternatives to the things you'd spend your money on if you had it. you can make cool art for your house instead of buying it, write your own stories instead of getting the latest bestseller, play outside instead of going to the movies etc.
usually, when you have no time to do everything you need to do you can compensate by coming up with creative solutions that allow you to do the most important, most invigorating things first without totally letting everything else suck.
usually, when you're in any kind of a bind the way out requires creativity.
our staff excels at creative solution-making, expression, relationship, and liturgy.
it's why i love them so much.
but...i can't help wondering how much longer we'll have to trade on ONLY our creativity before it runs out like the money, like the time, and like everything else.
if creativity is always our compensation package,
what happens when we deplete our resources for creativity?
this, by the way, is why we value creativity SO HIGHLY at westwinds
why we celebrate it
and why we look for staff to continue cultivating it
because, at the end of the day, it's the only thing we have to work with
Thursday, April 24, 2008
atonement (fusion series)
our next fusion teaching series was going to be about a four week look at genesis 1-2, but we felt led in another direction.
which means i've had to cram about three months worth of work into about 4 weeks. it's cool, though, 'cause i believe it's the right choice.
anyways - we're trying to be a little smarter about how we do the teaching atlases (specifically in terms of man-hours for angie + norma) so we're using blurb this go-round to see if we like it. the problem, though, is that there's a price-point at a certain number of pages...so i've had to cut some things out.
they're reprinted below if you're curious
Parables, Testimonies, & Prayers
This Teaching Atlas contains several subsections of genres other than (pure) theology. Allow me to briefly articulate my rationale for why (and how) I've included them here.
PARABLES
I've often been bothered by the separation of the church and the academy ñ meaning, it bugs me how 'dumb' we can be in the church.
Once upon a time, theologians and academics helped pastors better understand the Bible, the Gospel, and the Kingdom of God. In turn, pastors would translate that understanding into ways that normal people could understand.
Things don't work like that anymore, though. Typically, pastors only learn from theologians within their own denominations, who own rehearse the pet doctrines of their tribe in increasingly monochromatic tones.
We don't read the whole Bible anymore, and (by-and-large) we ignore the people that do, those who devote themselves to a deepening understanding of the richness of scripture and God's redemptive work in the world.
One of my long-time passions has been reading and learning from the brightest theological minds. I've always tried to take the best thinking available on any given topic and bring it into my regular life as as pastor.
But the more I've invested in theology, the more I've come to understand that we are often incapable of discerning the subtle differences that make the gospel so rich.
To be fair, I think it's impossible to really ìgetî how different something is from what you've always heard in church...and yet also ìgetî how much it is the same all in 30minute chunks once-a-week.
Parables, Testimonies, & Prayers
This Teaching Atlas contains several subsections of genres other than (pure) theology. Allow me to briefly articulate my rationale for why (and how) I've included them here.
PARABLES
I've often been bothered by the separation of the church and the academy ñ meaning, it bugs me how 'dumb' we can be in the church.
Once upon a time, theologians and academics helped pastors better understand the Bible, the Gospel, and the Kingdom of God. In turn, pastors would translate that understanding into ways that normal people could understand.
Things don't work like that anymore, though. Typically, pastors only learn from theologians within their own denominations, who own rehearse the pet doctrines of their tribe in increasingly monochromatic tones.
We don't read the whole Bible anymore, and (by-and-large) we ignore the people that do, those who devote themselves to a deepening understanding of the richness of scripture and God's redemptive work in the world.
One of my long-time passions has been reading and learning from the brightest theological minds. I've always tried to take the best thinking available on any given topic and bring it into my regular life as as pastor.
But the more I've invested in theology, the more I've come to understand that we are often incapable of discerning the subtle differences that make the gospel so rich.
To be fair, I think it's impossible to really ìgetî how different something is from what you've always heard in church...and yet also ìgetî how much it is the same all in 30minute chunks once-a-week.
So...here is my problem:
how do I help our people understand the rich and textured theology delivered by the best and brightest minds in simple enough ways that they ìget it?î
Well, one of the ways that has been very effective over the years is through the use of stories. Consider, for example, the story of the bridge operator whose son is caught in the gears of a bridge.
TESTIMONIES
These testimonials are real, though the names have been changed to preserve the privacy of my friends. They are the brightest spots in my ministry memory. In many ways, they are the reason I first began exploring the richness of Christís work on the cross. Time and time again I would hear people testify to Godís saving work in their lives in simple, yet unfamiliar (evenÖ ëunChristianí) ways. It became obvious to me that God was doing something beyond my theology; so, equally obvious, I recognized my need to dig deeper into scripture to find out what was happening in these lives and how I might increasingly facilitate similar experiences of transformation.
Each of these testimonials has a ìIíll never forget statementî that, in many ways, has been the jumping off point for our exploration of Jesusí atoning work here in the Teaching Atlas.
As you read this stories, consider whether or not they sound familiar to you. Do you know anyone like these people? Have you heard others talk about faith this way?
See, in many ways, everything said here is totally normalÖbut if you look closely youíll realize that the ways these people talk about faith is not the way we usually talk about faith in church.
They have found themselves at-one with God through Jesus Christ.
But none of them ever mentioned that ìJesus Christ died for my sinsî or that ìHe paid the price.î Yet, all of them express deeply biblical and theological truths about Godís reconciliation through Christ Jesus.
I include these stories to demonstrate that God is working through many different streams of at-one-ment.
I include them prior to the theology upon which they are based to reflect their un/familiarity ñ familiar language, but unfamiliar significance. The words immediately ring true, but I had to go find them in the Bible to make sure they were ìsufficientî for salvation.
PRAYERS
These prayers are mine. I wrote them while reflecting upon the different theologies of at-one-ment weíve been studying in this Atlas.
But, thatís not to say they are mine and mine alone.
Quite the contrary ñ like many other prayers, these prayers could easily be yours, if you choose to pray them.
In fact, Iím hoping you will.
They are written in such a way as to invite you deeper into the followership of Jesus Christ; so, if youíve been following Jesus for decades they would be appropriate for you to pray ñ and, if youíve just begun following Jesus, they would still be appropriate for you to use as statements of your engagement to him.
My hope is that you will both pray these prayers (as your own), and pray your own prayers as well. Perhaps your prayers will be slightly ñ or even dramatically ñ different. Regardless, the two prayers taken together may well serve you in your efforts to know him more.
And I encourage you to do so.
which means i've had to cram about three months worth of work into about 4 weeks. it's cool, though, 'cause i believe it's the right choice.
anyways - we're trying to be a little smarter about how we do the teaching atlases (specifically in terms of man-hours for angie + norma) so we're using blurb this go-round to see if we like it. the problem, though, is that there's a price-point at a certain number of pages...so i've had to cut some things out.
they're reprinted below if you're curious
Parables, Testimonies, & Prayers
This Teaching Atlas contains several subsections of genres other than (pure) theology. Allow me to briefly articulate my rationale for why (and how) I've included them here.
PARABLES
I've often been bothered by the separation of the church and the academy ñ meaning, it bugs me how 'dumb' we can be in the church.
Once upon a time, theologians and academics helped pastors better understand the Bible, the Gospel, and the Kingdom of God. In turn, pastors would translate that understanding into ways that normal people could understand.
Things don't work like that anymore, though. Typically, pastors only learn from theologians within their own denominations, who own rehearse the pet doctrines of their tribe in increasingly monochromatic tones.
We don't read the whole Bible anymore, and (by-and-large) we ignore the people that do, those who devote themselves to a deepening understanding of the richness of scripture and God's redemptive work in the world.
One of my long-time passions has been reading and learning from the brightest theological minds. I've always tried to take the best thinking available on any given topic and bring it into my regular life as as pastor.
But the more I've invested in theology, the more I've come to understand that we are often incapable of discerning the subtle differences that make the gospel so rich.
To be fair, I think it's impossible to really ìgetî how different something is from what you've always heard in church...and yet also ìgetî how much it is the same all in 30minute chunks once-a-week.
Parables, Testimonies, & Prayers
This Teaching Atlas contains several subsections of genres other than (pure) theology. Allow me to briefly articulate my rationale for why (and how) I've included them here.
PARABLES
I've often been bothered by the separation of the church and the academy ñ meaning, it bugs me how 'dumb' we can be in the church.
Once upon a time, theologians and academics helped pastors better understand the Bible, the Gospel, and the Kingdom of God. In turn, pastors would translate that understanding into ways that normal people could understand.
Things don't work like that anymore, though. Typically, pastors only learn from theologians within their own denominations, who own rehearse the pet doctrines of their tribe in increasingly monochromatic tones.
We don't read the whole Bible anymore, and (by-and-large) we ignore the people that do, those who devote themselves to a deepening understanding of the richness of scripture and God's redemptive work in the world.
One of my long-time passions has been reading and learning from the brightest theological minds. I've always tried to take the best thinking available on any given topic and bring it into my regular life as as pastor.
But the more I've invested in theology, the more I've come to understand that we are often incapable of discerning the subtle differences that make the gospel so rich.
To be fair, I think it's impossible to really ìgetî how different something is from what you've always heard in church...and yet also ìgetî how much it is the same all in 30minute chunks once-a-week.
So...here is my problem:
how do I help our people understand the rich and textured theology delivered by the best and brightest minds in simple enough ways that they ìget it?î
Well, one of the ways that has been very effective over the years is through the use of stories. Consider, for example, the story of the bridge operator whose son is caught in the gears of a bridge.
TESTIMONIES
These testimonials are real, though the names have been changed to preserve the privacy of my friends. They are the brightest spots in my ministry memory. In many ways, they are the reason I first began exploring the richness of Christís work on the cross. Time and time again I would hear people testify to Godís saving work in their lives in simple, yet unfamiliar (evenÖ ëunChristianí) ways. It became obvious to me that God was doing something beyond my theology; so, equally obvious, I recognized my need to dig deeper into scripture to find out what was happening in these lives and how I might increasingly facilitate similar experiences of transformation.
Each of these testimonials has a ìIíll never forget statementî that, in many ways, has been the jumping off point for our exploration of Jesusí atoning work here in the Teaching Atlas.
As you read this stories, consider whether or not they sound familiar to you. Do you know anyone like these people? Have you heard others talk about faith this way?
See, in many ways, everything said here is totally normalÖbut if you look closely youíll realize that the ways these people talk about faith is not the way we usually talk about faith in church.
They have found themselves at-one with God through Jesus Christ.
But none of them ever mentioned that ìJesus Christ died for my sinsî or that ìHe paid the price.î Yet, all of them express deeply biblical and theological truths about Godís reconciliation through Christ Jesus.
I include these stories to demonstrate that God is working through many different streams of at-one-ment.
I include them prior to the theology upon which they are based to reflect their un/familiarity ñ familiar language, but unfamiliar significance. The words immediately ring true, but I had to go find them in the Bible to make sure they were ìsufficientî for salvation.
PRAYERS
These prayers are mine. I wrote them while reflecting upon the different theologies of at-one-ment weíve been studying in this Atlas.
But, thatís not to say they are mine and mine alone.
Quite the contrary ñ like many other prayers, these prayers could easily be yours, if you choose to pray them.
In fact, Iím hoping you will.
They are written in such a way as to invite you deeper into the followership of Jesus Christ; so, if youíve been following Jesus for decades they would be appropriate for you to pray ñ and, if youíve just begun following Jesus, they would still be appropriate for you to use as statements of your engagement to him.
My hope is that you will both pray these prayers (as your own), and pray your own prayers as well. Perhaps your prayers will be slightly ñ or even dramatically ñ different. Regardless, the two prayers taken together may well serve you in your efforts to know him more.
And I encourage you to do so.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
smoke and dust web site
for a long time i've wanted to shore up each of our teaching series at westwinds by having micro-sites online dedicated to our teaching content.
finally, we've found a simple way (using apple's iWeb) to do so.
to get all our v/podcasts, notes, prayers, illustrations, and a free download of the teaching atlas (pdf) go to smokeanddust.info
or just click on the link at the top of this blog
cheers!
finally, we've found a simple way (using apple's iWeb) to do so.
to get all our v/podcasts, notes, prayers, illustrations, and a free download of the teaching atlas (pdf) go to smokeanddust.info
or just click on the link at the top of this blog
cheers!
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