God's Blogs

That God. He sure is a busy Divinity! Now he is blogging. Well, He isn't blogging (not that I know of), but there is a book with that title.

God's Blogs, by Lanny Donoho, is a funny but also poignant collection of what God is thinking, or rather, is blogging. I guess this might lead to WWJB (What Would Jesus Blog) before too long.

Here is a bit from it,

Hey!

Kids!

My Kids!

There are a bunch of things that really aren't that big a deal to Me.

It doesn't matter much to Me whether you immerse or sprinkle.

I'm not concerned if you eat wafers or bread crumbs, or drink wine or grape juice.

You can wear jeans or shorts or a tux to church.

Not a big deal.

You can sing hymns or choruses or chant.

You can use King James or The Message or read from the original Hebrew if you want.

You can meet Sundays or any other day.

You don't impress Me any more by being a preacher than you do by being a plumber or a nurse or a cook or a guy who goes from house to house every day spraying for bugs.

I don't love you any less if you are divorced than I would if you had been married for fifty years.

If you have made a million mistakes and done things you think I would never forgive...

Not that big of a deal.

I'M your Dad!

I can't not love you.

Concert

I met Ryan Sharp in New Mexico at the Emergent Gathering. I got to hear a him play a bit, and have checked out his myspace. He is touring the US as The Cobalt Season and coming to Houston for two shows this week:

Tuesday night - The Harbour Living Room, Baytown, TX (7pm-9pm)
Wednesday night - Taft Street Coffee House, Houston, TX (7pm-10.30pm)

Ryan is an awesome singer songwriter type, in the indie folk style like Pedro the Lion, Sufjan Stevens, and Damian Rice.

So come him them out, I am going on Wednesday and its going to be great.

Worship House Media

There is a great, new website for media resources for your worship gatherings. It is Worship House Media. They just went live.

I've looked around the site a bit. Some of the companies that contribute products I recognize, and some I do not. They have some good stuff there and will probably become the place to go to get the latest creations. I haven't had a chance to buy and download anything, so I don't know how well that works yet. They seem to only offer downloadable videos in MPEG 1.

A place like Worship House Media is a long time coming and no doubt will become a huge part of the creative worship community.

Small Pieces Loosely Joined

So here's what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight.

That's from our friend Paul. He wrote it in a letter to Jesus lovers in the Corinth area a few years back.

No he didn't say it quite like that. That is from The Message. No he didn't say it like it is written in the NIV or the King James Version. He said it, or wrote it in Greek. (Not the stuff the kids speak today.)

I've come to love that verse in the past few years. And I hate to pull one verse out of a much larger thought and make a point, but I'm gonna anyway and I'll hope you and the great apostle will forgive me.

That verse, 1 Corinthians 14:26, is part of a much larger thought on spiritual gifts. To me, 12, 13, and 14 all go together. Many of us are familiar with chapter 13, the love chapter. Love is kind, it does not boast, and on and on. Chapter 13 is like the meat of a three chapter sandwich. Chapters 12 and 14 are the pieces of bread. 13 is the good stuff, but you need 12 and 14 to make it complete.

Anyway, chapter 14, verse 26, is a great guide for worshiping the Divine.

"When you gather for worship..."

Whose worship gatherings look like that? Sure, their house churches didn't compare in numbers to some of today's gatherings. What if you go to a church with 800 folks there? How can everyone "be prepared with something that will be useful to all"?

I'm not against large groups getting together to praise Yahweh. I mean, does anyone consider heaven and how many folks will be getting together on that first Sunday? Talk about adding extra chairs!

The idea I keep returning to is everyone was to be prepared.

I'll confess, I'm not too crazy about one guy standing up there telling us how it is and we nod our heads, and another guy leading the singing and we leave 'filled with the Spirit' and go home.

Not to say there aren't great folks in those roles now, but we've sort of given up ownership of that. We've sold out. We hire people to teach us and lead us because we are too busy or just don't want the job.

Yeah, I know it isn't easy. We complain because it isn't done how we want it, then we are too lazy to get off our rear to do anything about it.

The other side of that coin is people who don't want to give up that control. They become the official spokesperson and it helps to keep challenging views out of the limelight.

Fortunately, there is a soft wind of change blowing. And much of it has to do with the web. We are becoming small pieces loosely joined.

David Wienberger wrote several years ago how the internet is changing our culture. We know it, but I don't think we realize just how much it is true. His approach is not of a religious view, but it is easy to see the spiritual connection.

The old model is about control: a team works on a document, is responsible for its content and format, and releases it to the public when it's been certified as done. Once it's published, no one can change it except the original publisher. The Web ditches that model, with all its advantages as well as its drawbacks, and says instead, "You have something to say? Say it. You want to respond to something that's been said? Say it and link to it. You think something is interesting? Link to it from your home page. And you never have to ask anyone's permission." Then it adds: And how long will it take to do this? I dunno. How fast do you type? By removing the central control points, the Web enabled a self-organizing, self-stimulated growth of contents and links on a scale the world has literally never before experienced.

...We are the true small pieces of the Web, and we are loosely joining ourselves in ways that we are still inventing.

And I say we are the true small pieces of God, and we are loosely joining ourselves in ways that we are still inventing.

Busy Tonight?

A few us are getting together tonight to go eat dinner and then experience Doxology. This is not an official cohort meeting, but if anyone is interested in joining us, please feel free. I know this is very last minute, but it just sort of came together.

The plan is to meet at Chuy's (Westheimer near Kirby) at 7pm and then head over to 2115 Taft St.

Feel free to come to dinner, Doxology or both. If you don't know anyone going, don't let that hold you back. We don't bite!

As far as a cohort meeting, lets think about doing something soon. Perhaps the end of October. There should be something more definite in a few days.

Doxology - Three Chords and the Truth

I've spent several days with Doxology flowing through my heart and dancing in my mind. I've thought about it in the quiet times. I've heard it whisper to me in the loud times. I'm beginning to understand that I don't really understand it.

I've held off writing about it until I could write something profound. Well, here it is...

Doxology.

That's it. It is what is profound.

At least, it has been for me. I know others I have spoken with feel the same. I've read comments from people I don't know echo those thoughts.

But what is it?

Yes, it is an art exhibit. You can go to Xnihilio gallery at 2115 Taft Street and see the exhibit. More importantly, if your looking, you can see yourself. And Jesus. And how others see themselves and Jesus.

You can go by yourself, but don't. I mean, maybe sometime, but not the first time. Take someone with you. Take many with you.

You see, Doxology is also about conversation. It is about community. It is what Jesus was about. Yeah, he took time to be alone, but his life was immersed in life.

An underlying theme of Doxology is truth.

So tell me the truth...how do you see truth? How do you know truth? Why do you believe what you believe? Is it a prescription? Did someone tell you to 'take this'.

Does experience play any part in the truth?

Rob Pepper challenged himself to see the truth. Maybe it just wasn't adding up. Maybe he was tired of being fed something that tasted a little bitter. He challenged God to show him the truth. I don't think God showed him the truth. I think God let him experience the truth (or glimpses of it) and in turn, Rob is hoping we can do the same.

Here is an example. This is his experience of the crucifixion.



Now, my photo of it doesn't do it justice. You need to stand in front of it and dive into it.

How many times have you sat in church, feeling bad for Jesus dying for us? What a painful thing to endure. Not just hanging on the tree with nails stuck through him. Not just the beatings he went through. Followers abandoning him. Friends abandoning him. It was all such a terrible thing. The truth is, I've felt pity for Jesus.

I have never thought of it as beautiful. That is, until now.

When I saw his vision, his experience of this same scene, it was breathtakingly beautiful. I don't ever remember hearing those words used to describe his death.

As I was looking at this spectacular moment, I could feel differently, but I wasn't grasping the words. But that is the best part. In that moment of weightlessness, that second or two, like when you are flying and just before the plane touches down on the runway and the pilot leaves you suspended there...sort of free from everything, I was standing there, just hovering above the ground. Not bound by laws of nature or laws of men. It was...spectacular. I was close to feeling like that moment at the Crucifixion. Free.

The words did come. Not mine, but those of Mark Fletcher, the vicar of Church on the Corner. He helped me to get a better feel. He wasn't telling me what the truth was, rather, he was sharing with me his experience of the truth, which helped to give words to my experience.

Here is some of what he experienced and wrote down...

There is insight here into a cosmic liberation. The earth shakes, the sun is eclipsed and Rob sees the joy of creation as it feels the chains of bondage loosen. The Mountains and the hills break out before us, and the trees of the field clap their hands. While the human onlookers reel in shock and grief, unable to comprehend it is creation itself which speaks of the wonder of this moment.

In the story, I've either focused on the suffering of Jesus, the miserable folks around the cross, or how the earth started shaking like it was all over. But nature, the earth, was rejoicing. Creation had waited patiently for this moment, had dreamed about this moment. Here is the birth of life and the demise of death.

The truth is...here is Glory!

Doxology Pictures

Okay. I finally have some pictures from Doxology posted. If anyone wants them in a higher resolution, I would be happy to provide them to you.

I'll have some thoughts on the event soon.

Go see it. No, go experience it.

Doxology

I have so much I want to tell you about Doxology. I will have much more soon. I'm still processing. I should have more reflections and pics up later today.

But forget what I have to say...just go!

Going to Synagogue

If you are coming around these emergent parts, chances are good you have questioned from time to time what this whole church thing should look like. You know, why does anybody do what they do in their church services. (Does anyone else hate the word services?)

How did we get here? Why do so many churches put a lecture at the center of worshiping God?

Travel back in time, say nearly 2000 years ago, and the emerging first century church folk are pretty radical compared to what was in existence. Before the house churches the place to "go to church" was the Synagogue. Imagine the tension that existed.

But how did the Synagogue come to be?

Wade Hodges has more on this.

"One Time, In And Camp..."

No, not band camp. And camp. You know, and camp. Or is it or camp. Which camp are you in? And camp or Or Camp.

Are you liberal or conservative? Protestant or Catholic? High church or low church? Sacred or secular?

Is it possible to be a bit of both.

Liberal and conservative? Sacred and secular? Make up your own.

Ian Mobsby has a piece over at emergingchurch that looks at all of this.

At present I can't tell you what his blog looks like. I am online at Panera and when I click on his blog link , I get blocked by their firewall that says.."Site Restricted. Reason for restriction: Forbidden Category "Cult/Occult"

Oh, I have one...cult or denomination?

Update:On the back cover of God's Politics, by Jim Wallis there is this quote from Bono:

The Left mocks the Right. The Right knows it's right. Two ugly traits. How far should we go to try to understand each other's point of view? Maybe the distance grace covered on the cross is a clue.

Cup of Community

There is Starbucks and then there is Taft Street Coffee.

Don't get me wrong, you can find me happily in many of the Starbucks all around town, but when you get a chance to go to 2115 Taft street, do it.


It's not that the coffee or Chai Tea is better. (Even though it is.) And yeah, they have some great books you can get cozy with. Of course you can get online and listen to the usually perfect background music playing. There is a gallery, a recording studio, and Ecclesia meets there. It is a community center.

While I was there today standing at the counter, a guy starting chatting with me about my camera. His name is Ben and he is from Imago Dei. He and some other folks had just driven in from Portland to help out with the damage done by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. They will be in the area for a couple of weeks. You can follow their progress.



Ben was also kind enough to give me some camera tips and tricks. Thanks.

Good luck and God bless ya'll.




And it is here that Doxology will live for the next month.

Opening reception is Friday, October 7th. (6-10pm) All are invited.

Taken to Taft

I'm off to 2115 Taft Street. Know the place? You should. Home to Ecclesia, great books, coffee and conversation and soon Doxology.

I'm going to pick up some promotional items for Doxology to distribute about this fine metropolis of ours. They probably wouldn't mind if you wanted to do the same. Don't forget, it is a few days away.

I'll put some pics up later tonight.