brian mclaren talks a new kind of christianity
Mon, Feb 8 2010 08:54 AM
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only a minute or two into the story of my theological journey over the last 5 or 6 years, a little book called a new kind of christian enters the story and serves as the genesis for my ongoing narrative. that, of course, was written by brian mclaren nearly 10 years ago and it continues to resonate with a whole new generation of people investigating this whole jesus idea.
on tuesday, the conversation deepens with the release of his new book, a new kind of christianity.
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just another blog about vomity corpses: periodic table of smellements
my general rule in life is that when a chart includes "vomity corpse" and "bad crotch", it's a chart worth sharing. so, enjoy this periodic table from natalie dee of the consistently hilarious married to the sea.
democracy wins: derek webb covers the beatles' 'while my guitar gently weeps'
in early january, i blogged about derek webb's latest innovative project called democracy vol. 1. over the last several weeks, fans could cast votes for up to 12 songs that they wanted webb to cover. then, the 12 songs receiving the most votes would be covered by webb for the album. the album will then be recorded over the span on 2010, with 1 track being recorded and released each month.
instead of releasing the the full list of tracks, webb plans to reveal each track month-by-month. and today, we found out the first one.
i do confess: a big eikon announcement
Thu, Feb 4 2010 07:54 AM
| personal, church, little rock, jesus, eikon, confessions, worship
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last june, this thing called eikon kicked off, publicly, with a little cookout with some burgers, some beers and a handful of sorted people. since that time, we've connected with new friends and grown over the course of informational meetings, guided conversations and, over the last few months, a handful of worship gatherings. in just the last 6 or 7 months, we've come a long way in the initial phases of forming this thing we call a church.
what your pastor will (likely) never say publicly or to you privately
Wed, Feb 3 2010 12:46 PM
| general life, personal, church, jesus, eikon, confessions, christian subculture, theology
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life rarely offers those moments where the world literally fades away, blurring at the peripheral edges, and you're left with just you and one other person speaking words directly into your innermost places that no one sees. at the risk of sounding hyperbolic, that very scenario transpired last july in a performance hall in grand rapids, michigan. sitting in a crowd of a couple thousand people, words, thoughts, ideas floated in space and settled somewhere deep within me and unlocked something that would continue to resonate half a year later.
a final farewell from Fat Ryan -OR- my plan to lose the equivalent of a 10-yr old
Sat, Jan 23 2010 02:26 PM
| christen, general life, personal, humor, weight loss, family, popular culture, children, food
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hello friends,
Fat Ryan here. yes, this is the same ryan that's been bringing you this stunning blog content since the year of our lord 2007. yes, this is the same ryan that you see every day or that you interact with on twitter every day or that you think longingly of each day. but i'm now referring to that guy as Fat Ryan.
and the Fat Ryan is singing.
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relief roundup: how to help haiti
Thu, Jan 14 2010 05:46 PM
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here's another post from the eikon blog. in this case, john wrote a bit of a roundup of ways to help with the haiti relief efforts. it's often difficult to know what to do, in spite of the fact that we want to do something. so hopefully this serves a guide to giving and responding.
big love returns with season 4 and a new intro
ah yes…do you smell that? take a big whiff. it's the smell of love in the air. it's not just any little love, but big love.
that's right, ladies and gentlemen, hbo's hit drama (and my favorite show of all-time) big love is back in its fourth season. last night, the henricksons returned for what's shaping up to be, possibly, the most dramatic and anxiety-ridden season to date.
that's right, ladies and gentlemen, hbo's hit drama (and my favorite show of all-time) big love is back in its fourth season. last night, the henricksons returned for what's shaping up to be, possibly, the most dramatic and anxiety-ridden season to date.
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orthodoxy vs. monodoxy
Mon, Jan 11 2010 10:01 AM
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here's a little something i wrote over on the eikon blog. as we're still in the initial phase of connecting and sharing our values prior to our official start day (which is coming very, very soon…), a recent tweet prompted me to further flesh out our perspective on the nature of orthodoxy and shared beliefs.
so, enjoy.
so, enjoy.
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7 big ideas for little rock
Sat, Jan 9 2010 10:12 AM
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a couple days ago, i picked up the current issue of the arkansas times, which is their annual natives guide to pulaski county. the cover story was a series of "big ideas" written by various people of (quasi-) prominence in little rock and surrounding areas. the list included some ideas i love (bringing a nice independent movie theater downtown, churches without barriers), some good ideas that could use some tweaking/fleshing out (creating a light rail system, increased revenue sources for parks) and ideas that are just plain unfeasible (tearing down i-630, which is an excessive solution to a real problem). after reading their list, i put myself to the task of coming up with my own list of "big ideas" for little rock. here's what i came up with.
a vote for democracy: derek webb to release "democracy: vol. 1"
last year, when derek webb released his album, stockholm syndrome, several "tiers" were sold with various combinations of physical copies, digital copies, t-shirts, dvds, stickers and other assorted items. in several of the upper tiers, one of the intriguing inclusions was voting and, ultimately, free downloads of a promised 2010 project called democracy, vol. 1. this would be a monthly demo project in which he would record one cover of a song as voted by the fans.
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dissolution of marriage: a case for a church-state separation
Tue, Jan 5 2010 07:49 AM
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yesterday on his blog, tony jones made a case for clergy stepping back in their roles as state-sanctioned marriage officiants. you can certainly read his thoughts about it here (and he goes in many other thoughtful directions that i'm not necessarily pursuing in this post), but i thought i would add a few thoughts to the subject. whereas i don't want to simply retread his points, i do want to underscore the thought and offer a bit more perspective.
in essence, clergy are the legal binding signature required for the state to recognize a marriage, thus granting special tax status and other distinctive legal considerations. ultimately, that means that clergy work as an agent of the state. they are explicitly partner to a state-sanctioned role and office. the problem as jones argues—and i would concur—is that throughout christian tradition, those in the role of priest or clergy were generally regarded as the ones who were oppositional (or at least suspicious) of the government powers that be. to further the argument, many argue (and make a strong, reasonable argument) that one of jesus' primary missions was to offer/model a way of living that freed people from the oppression of government systems (particularly, at that time, the roman government).
in essence, clergy are the legal binding signature required for the state to recognize a marriage, thus granting special tax status and other distinctive legal considerations. ultimately, that means that clergy work as an agent of the state. they are explicitly partner to a state-sanctioned role and office. the problem as jones argues—and i would concur—is that throughout christian tradition, those in the role of priest or clergy were generally regarded as the ones who were oppositional (or at least suspicious) of the government powers that be. to further the argument, many argue (and make a strong, reasonable argument) that one of jesus' primary missions was to offer/model a way of living that freed people from the oppression of government systems (particularly, at that time, the roman government).
the coolest thing i didn't blog about in 2009 -OR- how i got published by spike lee
Fri, Jan 1 2010 07:49 PM
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to say that 2009 was a busy year for me would be a incredibly gross understatement. looking back, there are still several big things that i just simply couldn't find the time to blog about (some are still coming, hopefully). one of those things i found out way back in april, came to fruition in november and yet, i still couldn't steal away a few minutes to post the news.
a diagram of the same sex marriage debate
Thu, Dec 31 2009 10:53 AM
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i came across this on clinical sexologist becky knight's twitter (@livingsexuality) and found it intriguing. at first glance, i thought it was a little one-sided, but i then noticed the credit at the bottom which reads, compiled from various facebook polls. that, in and of itself, doesn't mean a lot, but it is to say that these words and phrases and quotes come from the mouths (um, fingers, i guess…) of real, live actual people. these aren't just a bunch of assumptions, but actual things taken from facebook users.
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2009 in review: albums
Wed, Dec 30 2009 04:16 PM
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i just wrapped up an ongoing series called 25 in the 2000s. if you want to catch up on the series, you can begin with the introduction here and the move to the following posts:
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2009 in review: songs
Tue, Dec 29 2009 03:58 PM
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i just wrapped up an ongoing series called 25 in the 2000s. if you want to catch up on the series, you can begin with the introduction here and the move to the following posts:
25 in the 2000s: things that shaped the aughts
Sun, Dec 27 2009 04:24 PM
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this is final post in an ongoing series called 25 in the 2000s. if you want a bit of information about the series, you can find the introduction here.
in another blogger's recent appraisal of the past decade, it was described as "the decade that snuck up on us." his main thesis was that the decade started off very well, with relative peace and tranquility. and then…9/11. from there, we've seen war, political scandal and various disease outbreaks. but the blogger concludes that, all in all, the decade has seen more light than dark. i share that point-of-view and look back rather fondly. both personally and in terms of news-worthy moments, i think it's been a decade worth remembering. in remembering, i decided to compile a list of anything that in any way shaped the decade. so, these aren't just news stories or technological advances or any specific "category" of list item. these are simply things that shaped the aughts.
25 in the 2000s: albums
Sun, Dec 27 2009 02:06 PM
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this is part of an ongoing series called 25 in the 2000s. if you want a bit of information about the series, you can find the introduction here.
i truly believe that the 2000s are the greatest music decade ever. that revelation should come as a surprise to those who know my deep and abiding love for the 90s. so that should make it even more emphatic. if you look back over the last 4 or 5 decades, there are very definable styles and descriptors. the 70s had disco, the 80s had new wave and punk, the 90s had grunge and pop. but nothing can be so finitely pinpointed over the past 10 years. and that's actually a good thing. of course, for music historians—who like to simplify and categorize—that's not so great, but the decade was, in fact, an outstanding time to listen to music. ultimately, what made the 2000s significant is that is was more of a melding of styles from the past several decades. it built on the dance music from the 70s while dabbling in the new wave of the 80s while still harkening back to plenty of angst from the 90s (and that's not even touching on the 50s and 60s which were so important in the decade in music). so, these albums represent all these things. it's a little all over the place, but that's exactly what made the 2000s a great time for music lovers.
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25 in the 2000s: songs
Fri, Dec 25 2009 04:25 PM
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this is part of an ongoing series called 25 in the 2000s. if you want a bit of information about the series, you can find the introduction here.
picking 25 songs from an entire decade is akin to putting 25 needles in a colossal haystack and saying, "find them." so, undoubtedly, my list is incomplete and flawed, at best. one point of clarification, though, for this list is that this—more than any of my lists—is a combination of a few factors. a good 60% of this list is purely what i like. so, there's some of these songs that i've not seen on anyone's list, but i just love them (i.e. roll to the middle by sara groves). another 30% consists of songs that had a significant impact. in others words, whereas i like every single song on here, there are songs that, even on the same album, i liked another song personally better, but the chosen song's impact was too significant to leave off (i.e. rehab by amy winehouse). the other 10% are songs that i haven't found myself putting into particularly heavy rotation, but they're just good, so i was compelled to include them (i.e. since u been gone by kelly clarkson).
