This is exciting stuff. The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University now has their Jonathan Edwards site online. By 2007 they plan to have all 60,000 pages of Jonathan Edwards' writing online.
(HT: Justin Taylor)
UPDATE (5.12.05)
Justin Taylor has information from someone at the JE Center about things like cost and access to the online works of Edwards.
The Conservative Voice is speaking: Postmodern Antiquity: “Emerging Church” Claims Pre-Modern Roots
The final paragraph...
Fortunately, the movement has not yet taken definite shape. We can make it what we want it to be. True believers, I challenge you not to abandon the emerging church, but to seize the reigns of power and guide it toward God; and if we would do so, we must act now, while the anti-Christian liberals are still tolerant of our presence.
"The challenging context in which we live in the West requires that we adopt a fully missional stance. While some established churches can be revitalized, success seems to be rare from our experience and perspective. We believe that the strategic focus must now shift from revitalization to mission, i.e. from a focus on the "insiders" to the "outsiders"; and in so doing we believe the church will rediscover its true nature and fulfill its purpose. Perhaps an established church can plant a missional congregation within its broader church structures. Others might sponsor and support the planting of new congregations on their doorstep to reach those not interested in the conventional church. But it does seem to us that the real hope lies with those courageous leaders who will foster the development of alternative, experimental, new communities of faith."
"In our travels around the world we have encountered a new breed of Christian leadership, young and feisty, willing to experiment with audacious new versions of Christians communities within unchurched subcultures.... Some will fail; others will have great success. But it seems to us they are more likely to succeed when legitimized, affirmed, and supported by the more conventional, established churches and denominational structures in their midst."
(p. x)
This isbound to be a very messy and incomplete post. My thoughts are starting to gel, but I still have a long way to go. I expect this to turn into a string of posts on this topic.
I've been meditating on the difference between "missional" and "emerging." I'm particularly interested because I live in a place where I don’t believe an “emerging church” can thrive. I live and pastor in the suburbs (or exurbs) of Chicago. My town is less than 25,000 with no university or significant population from emerging generations.
The "emerging church" conversation (that I'm involved in) seems to be about reaching those who have grown up in or been significantly impacted by the culture of postmodernity (however you explain that). Though we have some people where I live who might fit in an emerging church, it’s nothing like more urban populations or university settings.
In my understanding, being "missional" is the conviction and action of being sent by God into culture (incarnation) with the message of redemption (as told and lived). It is not something we "do" along with other things we do, but it is who we are as the church. So by definition every church around the world should be missional. Someone might say that a missional church is simply a biblical church. (I like what Tim Keller says in "The Missional Church.")
If I have it gauged right, then, the emerging church is essentially about being missional in a postmodern context. You could have a missional church in a modern context, or whatever kind of context you can describe…you could be missional in that context. That makes sense out of those terms in my thinking.
So should we strive to be emerging, or strive to be missional which may or may not be emerging? Or is the idea of "emerging" taking missional and expanding upon the idea? Or should every church be at least emerging in part because every church should be missional and therefore reaching the emerging generations around them?
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Go to Part 2 > Missional Church: Driscoll & Emerging
Um...kicked out for politics? Ousted for political views? Seriously?
I just knew this would come as a result.
UPDATE (5.10.05): I really hoped there wouldn't be a single person who would dare try to explain away or defend such ecclesi-elastical sillyness. My hopes were unrealized.
UPDATE (5.11.05): Okay, something I'm not surprised to see. The pastor resigns.
Andrew Jones, the TallSkinnyKiwi, has offered a great post about Michael Horton's recent critique of the emerging church. TSK gives links to the Issues, Etc radio broadcasts featuring Horton (listen here), lists five good critiques from Horton, and sprinkles in a few personal responses to it all. I think Horton is right about a lot, and the emerging church should listen to him.
After spending about 6 years in Kentucky (3 of those in Louisville), I'm used to getting excited for the Kentucky Derby. Today is Kentucky Derby 131 at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
I know very little about the horses, jockeys, trainers, or favorites this year. But we gained great respect for the history and pagentry of the race. We even lived on a street named "Mint Julep" while in the bluegrass state.
If you have a chance today, turn on the tube and enjoy something different. Post time is 6:04pm eastern. Don't be late! These guys are fast.
I'm finishing up the fourth chapter of James in my sermon this Sunday. I've really enjoyed preaching through James, and have seen many important issues work through the life of my church.
The main commentary I've been using is the Pillar New Testament Commentary on James by Douglas Moo (who is obviously the long, lost twin brother of Stephen King with different writing goals).
I've also been using other commentaries. Kent Hughes, Thomas Manton, Peter Davids, and the New Bible Commentary among others. But none of them are as good as Moo. I'm very happy with it and encourage you to pick it up if you need a fairly critical commentary on James.
This is really cool. Andy deals honestly with the point that would have won him the match, and ends up losing.
Sportsline.com front-page story title as of midnight says "Roddick's good-guy move backfires." What a dumb thing to say. It's just good, honest sport. I guess for Sportsline winning and losing is the bottom-line. (See also Sports Illustrated article)
I just finished Mark Miller's book, Experiential Storytelling. I already gave one post on this book when I was part way through. Now, let me give a few quotes from the rest of the book, and then at the end I will comment briefly on my take.
On reimagining the sermon...
Why not take a breather for a time and let the story speak for itself in a language those gathered can understand? When presented without all of the trappings of exegetical interpretation, the biblical text is freed from the limits of our minds and is open to the organic beauty of the infinite word. (p. 87)
Benjamin Franklin quote...
Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn. (p. 94)
On the elements of experiential storytelling...
Remember to let your audience think for themselves. Do not make everything obvious by spelling out every detail for them. This is where you are going to have to trust that your audience members have imaginative abilities and a built-in mechanism that allows them to think for themselves. (p. 112)
My take...
I expected more. It was a fast read, with not a great deal of content. The book did spark some interesting questions in my head and I learned a few things along the way, but by the end I felt like it never took me where I needed to go. It never got me into "aha!" stuff. It never solidified anything I was already thinking.
It's possible the issue is partially with me, but the book is explained as a book about "rediscovering narrative," and I didn't read it that way. I felt the point the book ultimately made was to emphasize "sensory" stories over "verbal" stories. Verbal has a role for Miller, but for this book at least it's a diminished one.
I think a couple of quotes show that emphasis.
Studies have shown that only about 10 to 15 percent of what we "hear" comes in the form of spoken words. God has designed us to experience the world around us in all of its fullness, so most of our learning is nonverbal. (p. 103)
It is crucial that you do not interpret the experience for them. The whole point is the experience does the talking. (p. 113)
I think the book serves better as a tool for helping a handful of youth leaders supplement their normal communication of the truth with creative experiences. Because of the work it would entail, these youth leaders would probably need to be in large churches with lots of youth and a sizable budget. So there is a place for this book, but I'm not just so sure that place is on the bookshelf of the typical missional pastor.
The new BP article by Mark Kelly, on Hollywood and the new movie Kingdom of Heaven, isn't very interesting, but the opening paragraph is funny to me...
Evangelicals have tried for years to convinceHollywood it is more profitable to make decent movies for normal people than to grind out the gratuitous sex and violence that only sucks society deeper into the sewer. Mel Gibson finally got their attention when his “Passion of the Christ” grossed almost $612 million worldwide -- more than 20 times his original investment.
Please tell me I'm not the only one who sees the irony here. Roger Ebert wrote in his review of "Passion"...
The movie is 126 minutes long, and I would guess that at least 100 of those minutes, maybe more, are concerned specifically and graphically with the details of the torture and death of Jesus. This is the most violent film I have ever seen.
I think this is really, truly funny. But I also think it's sad and revealing.
We say things about movies like "Violence just leads to violence, so let's keep it clean." But how can we say that real violence doesn't tell a story far better? If it did for Passion then why not for Kingdom of Heaven or Gladiator or Braveheart?
The Bible tells bloody stories. It is not a PG-13 book. And if we are going to get our children and teenagers and everyone else to understand the Story of redemption, they are going to have to understand violence because the death of Jesus was incredibly violent.
Is it reasonable for Christians to encourage violence in movies since it reminds us of redemption?
Many of us have discovered Scot McKnight's blog, Jesus Creed, as he went through the process of reviewing Don Carson's Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church a few weeks ago. Having completed that task with thoughtfulness, he is now plugging along with some great insights on the emerging church and ecclesiology through a look at Doug Pagitt's book Reimagining Spiritual Formation. Really good stuff.
Even when I disagree, I'm better for having read McKnight. I highly recommend keeping up with his thinking.
It appears Chrisitan Counterculture, an online newsletter of sorts, is back online. Rob Schlapfer, who also runs The Discerning Reader online bookstore, has emailed out the Christian Counterculture May 2005 issue. With his Calvinistic background and new thoughts on the NPP and the emerging church (that have encouraged the war cries of critcs), this could get interesting. I'm going to be reading each issue.
Note the "editor's desk" section where Rob jabs at bloggers (some of them, at least). Also note a personal apology from Rob.
Kelly Boggs, an SBC pastor who writes a weekly article for Baptist Press, is picking a fight with the culture with his pool noodle again. His recent article, "Hollywood's Real Motive," has been aptly critiqued by Joe Thorn.
Joe writes...
I believe Boggs has once again ably misunderstood his culture, and is addressing a symptom instead of the disease. The diagnosis is wrong, and no remedy is prescribed.
One blogging pastor has resigned from his church. In a recent post he said many things, but finished with this. It means more coming from a guy who has been sticking it out for years rather than a seminary student who just learned something.
if you are reading this i'd like to remind you that church isn't aboutyou. it isn't about your needs or your comfort or your musical tastes. sure you need to find a place where you can find a family but it's hard for me to believe that jesus died on the cross so his kids could have the best sunday school in town.
Oh man. Wi-Fi in the house is awesome. It's just one more step into making every moment of my life Internet dependent.
I tried D-Link, but I hated it. I had to reset that thing 5 times a day. It only took me a couple of days to take it back to Best Buy and pick up the Linksys WRT54G (Arrh...arrh...arrh -- Tim Allen style). Great stuff, easy to set up (they necessarily treated me like an idiot), and the setup was automatic -- meaning they didn't make me try to find IP addresses and other monumental tasks.
After a week of constant disasters in computing (please don't ask...the wounds are too new), my Linksys has renewed my hope.
Check it out, yo: Baby Got Book (Quicktime version). I can't stop laughing.
(HT: I got an email from Richard)
One article that I have read several times on church leadership is "Marks of a Spiritual Leader" by John Piper. I find it refreshing when I'm dry and corrective when I'm astray.
Congratulations to Al Mohler, President of Southern Seminary, for being appointed to an historic position.
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s boardof trustees has elected President R. Albert Mohler Jr. to the Joseph Emerson Brown Chair of Christian Theology.
The chair has been held by other giants on the landscape of Southern Seminary’s history such as founding President James Pettigru Boyce and E.Y. Mullins, seminary president from 1899 to 1928. Mohler was elected the seminary’s ninth president in 1993.
“It is an historic chair in systematic theology and we believe an historic president like Dr. Mohler deserves to be teaching from this chair,” said Russell D. Moore, dean of the school of theology and senior vice president for academic administration, said after the seminary trustee action April 26. “This will be a great and momentous act in Southern Seminary history.”
Mohler responds...
“This means more than I can say,” Mohler said of the trustee action. “Especially with Dr. Boyce and Dr. Mullins holding that chair during their presidencies, it is an historical connection that speaks to my heart and to the sense of calling.
“It also is a reminder that the Lord has used significant individuals [such as Brown] to make this institution what it is. Some of these names are inscribed on buildings, some are memorialized in scholarship and professorships, and it is easy for us to forget what they meant and who they were.”
Read the entire Baptist Press article.
