time for a change...

i told you i've been thinking about making a switch from guerillahost to shadowing god

so here's the official announcement:

my new blog address is shadowinggod.com

it still has all my former posts (albeit with a few bugs that i'll have to work out, etc) but ultimately i feel like it better reflects what's truly important to me (and i think wordpress is ultimately a better app than blogger anyway).

thanks for four years of frequent visits, comments, and prayers!

d

How I want to Be [an excerpt from "Letter to Diognetus" (4th Century)]

Christians live in their own countries, but only as aliens.

They have a share in everything as citizens, and endure everything as foreigners. Every foreign land is their fatherland, and yet for them every fatherland is a foreign land.

They marry, like everyone else, and they beget children, but they do not cast out their offspring. They share their board with each other, but not their marriage bed. It is true that they are “in the flesh,” but they do not live “according to the flesh.”

They busy themselves on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. They obey the established laws, but in their own lives they go far beyond what the laws require.

They love all men, and by all men are persecuted.

They are unknown, and still they are condemned; they are put to death, and yet they are brought to life.

They are poor, and yet they make many rich; they are completely destitute, and yet they enjoy complete abundance.

They are dishonored, and in their very dishonor are glorified; they are defamed, and are vindicated.

They are reviled, and yet they bless; and when they are affronted, they still pay due respect.

When they do good, they are punished as evildoers; undergoing punishment, they rejoice because they are brought to life.

They are treated by the Jews as foreigners and enemies, and are hunted down by the Greeks; and all the time those who hate them find it impossible to justify their enmity.

To put it simple: What the soul is in the body, that Christians are in the world.

The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world.

The soul dwells in the body, but does not belong to the body, and the Christians dwell in the world, but do not belong to the world.

The soul, which is invisible, is kept under guard in the visible body; in the same way, Christians are recognized when they are in the world, but their religion remains unseen.

The flesh hates the soul and treats it as an enemy, even though it suffers no wrong at their hands, because they rage themselves against its pleasures.

The soul loves the flesh that hates it, and its members; in the same way, Christians love those who hate them.

The soul is shut up in the body, and yet itself holds the body together.

The soul, which is immortal, is housed in a mortal dwelling; while Christians are settled among corruptible things, to wait for the incorruptibility that will be theirs in heaven.

The soul, when faring badly as to food and drink, grows better; so too Christians, when punished day by day, increase more and more.

It is no less a post than this that God has ordered them, and they must not try to evade it.

wow...that's a pretty meager defense by obama

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learning to cry, struggling to see

found this in an article by jim perkinson (detroit resident + theologian) concerning God and His compassion for the disenfranchised...




Our incarnate God spoke loud and long as a prophet (Luke 7:16-17, Matt. 21; 11; Rev. 3:14), immersed in the harsh everyday world of tenant farmers and tax collectors and wage laborers and HIV-leprosy sufferers and guerrilla fighters and poverty hustlers and dolled up, street-walkers.

He learned his message from bombastic, uppity women who would not keep quiet in the courtroom (Luke 18:18), would not take “no” for an answer when he was “underground” and trying to hide from the authorities up near the city of Tyre (Mark 7:24-30), would not refrain from wiping him with their hair at hoity-toity dinner parties (Luke 7:36-50), or contaminating him with uncleanness by touching him in the marketplace (Mark 5:24-34), would not even consult their husbands when deciding to “have” him, as a baby, by somebody else! (Matt. 1:18-24; Luke 1:26-38).

This God continued to speak even when he was no longer invited to read the bible in nice, respectable “churches” (John 7:11; Luke 4:16-30; John 11:54), pray for the nice sick daughters of the wealthy or their nice dying servants (Mark 5:21-24, 35-43; Luke 7:1-10), or give nice opinions on local events (Luke 13:1-5), because so much of what he had to say did not sound so nice to well-washed and perfumed ears (Matt. 23:1-39; Luke 11:37-54).

He spoke even when accompanied by crowds who smelled (John 11:39), who were presumed to be thieves (Luke 19:1-10; John 12:4-6; Mark 11:17), who organized parades on pretenses (Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:39), and misunderstood everything except that their own exploiters and oppressors were getting a public comeuppance in this guy’s words (Mark 12:37).

He spoke even when the CIA lurked (Mark 7:1), when the FBI jerked his chain (Mark 3:6; Matt. 12:14), when the spin-meisters sought to catch him in damming sound-bites (Mark 12:13; Luke 11:53-54), when the police threatened arrest after a day-long takeover of the national shrine (Mark 11:18; Luke 19:47-48).

He only ceased speaking when the kangaroo court demanded that he speak (Mark 14:60-61).

Then, in the final moment, far from a quiet, complacent passing on, in full control of pain and pathos like some god-in-human-drag, “slumming,” for a brief season, among such poor wayward creatures, this God yelled, yowled, cursed, swore, cried out, groaned, moaned, made it plain this blood-letting was a divine abomination, and even, like job, finally dared put God “himself” at issue, if such doings as this were “the father’s will” (Mark 15:33-39).

(Maybe - even more than substitution - this incarnation was about solidarity.)

theology of the city

i'm doing a little work this week on the theology of cities...salvation for cities...urban renewal...second hope for a soured city...etc.

it's fascinating stuff, but really difficult to find anything worth reading on it.

so, i'm doing a lot of prophetic reading, a lot of study in ezra/nehemiah, and a lot of comparisons between genesis 1-4 and revelation 21-22.

and it's been very cool (though, it's a little early to share any real conclusions yet).

my big feeling, though, which has been haunting me over the last few months is this:

the church is broken
just as the world is broken
and we're refusing to acknowledge that our mission to redeem the world alongside god
is more important than anything

than anything at all whatsoever

what so ever

and i'm feeling really buggered up by our lack of concern to heal the world
and our lack of impatience with the church-as-it-stands
and our lack of passion, verve, commitment, intelligence, and frustration
focused on seeing things transform for the better

success!

two interesting (albeit overstated in the title) tidits...

#1 the winds was given a Jackson Award earlier this month for being the best "house of worship" (which is, of course, funny in-and-of itself notwithstanding the nifty plaque they sent us yesterday)

and...

#2 we just passed 40,000 views on ustream (indpendent of our vodcasting/podcasting stats) since June of this year.

not bad, eh?

thinking about shadowing god

the name "guerillahost" was a split second decision when i first came to westwinds.

i've always like the guerilla approach...hidden within the landscape...no full frontal assault...just normal, but more than normal

and host, of course, refers to the sacrament...though (if i'm honest) i really only picked it because "church" "christian" "faith" etc. were all taken

anyway,
"guerillahost" has become dear to me
only because i've been using it for almost 4 years

but it's always bothered me that the name doesn't make immediate sense
and that people often think of me as a gorilla

so i'm thinking of switching my blog over to "shadowing god"
which, if you've followed my theological ruminations lately
you'll know is dear to me in many more significant ways

no changes yet

but i am contemplating one soon

d

waldorf nativity!

sunday - after we showed our christmas eve promo film - bruce and sharon huntsinger went home and made waldorf salad.

for me.

that - my friends - is the true meaning of christmas.

40 inspirational speeches in 2 minutes

sell your xterra?

my friend ben just sent me this funny craigslist ad...




OK, let me start off by saying this Xterra is only available for purchase by the manliest of men (or women). My friend, if it was possible for a vehicle to sprout chest hair and a five o'clock shadow, this Nissan would look like Tom Selleck. It is just that manly.

It was never intended to drive to the mall so you can pick up that adorable shirt at Abercrombie & Fitch that you had your eye on. It wasn't meant to transport you to yoga class or Linens & Things. No, that's what your Prius is for. If that's the kind of car you're looking for, then just do us all a favor and stop reading right now. I mean it. Just stop.

This car was engineered by 3rd degree ninja super-warriors in the highest mountains of Japan to serve the needs of the man that cheats death on a daily basis. They didn't even consi der superfluous nancy boy amenities like navigation systems (real men don't get lost), heated leather seats (a real man doesn't let anything warm his butt), or On Star (real men don't even know what the hell On Star is).

No, this brute comes with the things us testosterone-fueled super action junkies need. It has a 265 HP engine to outrun the cops. It's got special blood/gore resistant upholstery. It even has a first-aid kit in the back. You know what the first aid kit has in it? A pint of whiskey, a stitch-your-own-wound kit and a hunk of leather to bite down on when you're operating on yourself. The Xterra also has an automatic transmission so if you're being chased by Libyan terrorists, you'll still be able to shoot your machine gun out the window and drive at the same time. It's saved my bacon more than once.

It has room for you and the four hotties you picked up on the way to the gym to blast your pecs and hammer your glutes. There's a tow hitch to pull your 50 caliber anti-Taliban, self cooling machine gun. I also just put in a new windshield to replace the one that got shot out by The Man.

My price on this bad boy is an incredibly low $12,900, but I'll entertain reasonable offers. And by reasonable, I mean don't walk up and tell me you'll give me $5,000 for it. That's liable to earn you a Burmese-roundhouse-sphincter-kick with a follow up three fingered eye-jab. Would it hurt? Hell yeah. Let's just say you won't be the prettiest guy at the Coldplay concert anymore.

There's only 69,000 miles on this four-wheeled hellcat from Planet Kickass. Trust me, it will outlive you and the offspring that will carry your name. It will live on as a monument to your machismo.

Now, go look in the mirror and tell me what you see. If it's a rugged, no holds barred, super brute he-man macho Chuck Norris stunt double, then contact me. I might be out hang-gliding or BASE jumping or just chilling with my ladies, but I'll get back to you. And when I do, we'll talk about a price over a nice glass of Schmidt while we listen to Johnny Cash.

To sweeten the deal a little, I'm throwing in this pair of MC Hammer pants for the man with rippling quads that can't fit into regular pants. Yeah, you heard me. FREE MC Hammer pants.

Rock on.

christmas wish (oh...yes)

readamaniac

been spending A LOT of time reading these last two weeks...here are some samples


the graveyard book (novel), by neil gaiman...excellent - highly recommend...creepy book about a kid raised by ghosts in a cemetary

god and empire (theology), by john dominic crossan...excellent - highly recommend...except for the parts where he denies jesus' deity and resurrection (tough to overlook, admittedly)

satan and the problem of evil (theology) by greg boyd...excellent - highly recommend (for dorks)

a feast for crows (novel), by george rr martin...amazing - best series ever (soon coming to HBO)..."high" fantasy for renaissance fair clowns

a little book you'll actually read on... (series of short books) by mark driscoll - not great, don't recommend

rejesus (theology) by alan hirsch and michael frost...pretty good, though a little academic...standard fair for folks at the winds...recommend for keeners

the watchman (graphic novel) by alan moore...overrated, but fun

death by love (theology) by mark driscoll...excellent - recommend (a head-ier version of the same concept for our "images of atonement" series and teaching atlas)

the drama of scripture (theology) by craig bartholomew and michael goheen...solid, helps make sense of narrative theology...recommend

a spiritual formation workbook (discipleship) by james bryan smith and lynda graybeal...recommend - excellent workbook for a formation group (used by several ww satellites)

reimagining church (theology) by frank viola...strangely compelling despite its many, violent, biases...do not recommend unless you've spent the last 15 years studying church history, theology, and know your bible inside and out...viola tells a million little white lies that - if undetected - could be very damaging


anyway...lots more to go this holiday season (i'm on a roll and LOVE this part of my job)

d

religion (a blog post from Moby)

August 12, 2005

so, do you think that it's time to invent a new religion?
i mean, i know that sounds absurd and absurdly presumptuous.
but what do we know now that is different from what we
knew ages ago?
that the universe is gigantic?
that the universe is old?
that we are made up of matter that used to be other things?
that our actions are seemingly insignificant from a universal perspective?
that matter, at it's most basic level, doesn't do what
we think it would/should do?
i sound flippant.
but really, given what we know about the universe and about ourselves, isn't it absurd to hold on to conventional ideas about our significance and identity and relevance and so on?
again, i sound flippant.
i don't mean to.
but it's hard to describe this in a journal(not blog)entry.
i actually think that the teachings of christ accomodate most of the new ways in which we perceive ourselves and our world.
the problem is that although the teachings of christ accomodate this, contemporary christianity does not.
here's more seriousness dressed up as flippancy:
christ: acknowledging quantum realities.
christiantiy: depressingly newtonian.
does that make any sense?
well, to me it does.
and to some of you it might make sense, also.
i'm sorry that i'm being light and flippant.
i should just be straightforward.
we know things about our universe and about our world and about ourselves that make our previously held ideas about human significance utterly absurd. in order to move forward we need to accept that how we understand ourselves in the future has to be informed by what we know about ourselves from a quantum perspective.
and luckily, there's not a christian(or new testament)perspective that compels us to hold on to much of tradition.
many christians might disagree, but i would ask them to cite scripture to support their dissent.
i know, 'quantum perspective' sounds nonsensical and nerdy.
but we need to move on(no political pun intended).
we all know better.
we're all holding on to past conceptions of human endeavours and human significance, and they're outdated and erroneous and anachronistic.
our human significance is both far greater and far smaller than anything than we've hitherto recognized.
that is the truth.
we are paradoxical little creatures.
we need a new way in which to look at ourselves and in which to understand our lives and our significance.
there, that's all i have to say for now.
thanks for listening.
i guess i'll write more later if anyone's interested.
if not: uh, go, uh, team.

moby

Good Samaritan (again...funny)

Bad Vicar (very funny)

the private lives of toys

founds this on the weburbanist...very amusing

anna prays for lunch

my wife is dead sexy (waldorf salad recipe)

i'm blest with an awesome wife...she makes the stepford wives look like a collection of rejected-hilary-clinton-imitators...and not because she's old-school or subservient, either

she's just plain awesome

fun. cool. smart. playful. mischievous. great mom. hot-as-*%*%

you get the idea.

anyway - from time to time she'll make my favorite recipe. she hates it, but out of her deep love for me, she'll make it and force me to fall in love all over again.

waldorf salad.

but not just any waldorf salad...oh no...traditional waldorf salad is crap...this is an ancient mcdonald family recipe dating back hundreds of years to the old country

(ok - that last part was a lie...it's just really, really good waldorf salad)

for your culinary enjoyment here is the recipe:

2 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
2 cups green grapes, seedless
2 chopped red apples
1 peeled mandarin orange
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup walnuts

in a bowl combine
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 TBSP sugar

mix all ingredients together...

...and pass out in the alaphylactic shock of pure bliss

(p.s. if you tell anyone i posted a recipe on my blog i'll never agree to pray for your sick grandmother again)

d

wow...big thanks

yesterday at the winds we received a special offering for our pastors as a christmas gift.

from carmel and i, i'd just like to say thanks to all of you who gave (and gave generously) to us and to our staff. it is very touching to receive such a tangible demonstration of your appreciation for our ministry.

you are too kind.

thanks, too, to all the staff at westwinds who (along with our heroic elders) have walked through fire with us. i think it's safe to say we've put our ghosts to rest, our past behind, and are looking forwards to increasingly wonder-filled days of serving jesus in a one-of-a-kind church.

everything we've won through together has come at a personal cost to you and your families. i am proud to serve with you.

again - thanks to everyone who has made this year at westwinds such a fantastically monumental year of advance.

d.

A Russian church for a Saudi mosque?

This delightful story just came in thanks to getreligion.org: The Saudis have recently asked permission to build a mosque in Moscow, a city where there are only four mosques and 2 million Muslims. The Russians, however, are saying they want, in return, an Orthodox church in Saudi Arabia.

As we all know, the Saudis have a habit of constructing mosques in dozens of world capitals while forbidding houses of worship for any religion whatsoever outside its Wahabist brand of Islam. They've gotten some bad PR locally for some of the hate language in textbooks at the Saudi Academy in northern Virginia. Not only are hapless Christians terrorized and jailed for daring to hold private prayer services in Saudi Arabia, but God help them should they try to convert someone to their religion. And that's for a fellow People of the Book: One can only guess at what the treatment of Buddhists and Hindus must be like.

Wouldn't it be so ironic if the Russians were the first Christian body to win acceptance of the right to build a church in, say, Riyadh? (Some of the Russians are calling for a church in Mecca, but the chances of any other religion getting a foothold within walking distance of the world center of Islam is less than zero.) Of course we all know the Saudis aren't about ready to let Bibles or other religious literature, let alone a church, anywhere near their homeland, but all the same, it's amusing to see the Russians give the Saudis a taste of their own medicine.