Posts tagged as:

notables

Last month, I sat in a coffee shop with my friend Joshua Longbrake while on a visit to Seattle. Even as we chatted a bit about music, our ears perked up simultaneously as the barista introduced us to the sounds of Dosh. He would tell you Pure Trash is his favorite, but I would tell [...]

goodreads

by john on 7/6/2009 · 0 comments

in books

I few years ago, I blogged about LibraryThing. It’s a site designed to share and network your book library with others. For some reason I can’t fully explain, I abandoned updating LibraryThing in the last year and became an active user on goodreads. I think it is because goodreads let’s me feel more connected and [...]

Chris Marlow is a friend here in Austin. (In fact, he’s about seven feet away from me right now.) I think I will even continue to call him friend after he moves to Raleigh at the end this month. A few days ago, he posted the interview below with author/activist Tom Davis. You can read [...]

speaking of resurrection

by john on 4/7/2009 · 2 comments

in midrash

Last week, I mentioned the value of expanding our celebration and reflection of Easter beyond a few hours on Sunday morning. For those traditions that follow the church calendar, the celebration of Easter goes on for six weeks until Pentecost. Christine Sine has developed another excellent resource — this time it’s a guide for reflecting [...]

ecclesia gathering

by john on 3/4/2009 · 1 comment

in midrash

For the next few days, I’ll be taking part in the Ecclesia Network National Gathering. We’ve set up a LiveBlog which will be updating with content from a handful of participants. Feel free to listen in.

leading and creating

by john on 2/26/2009 · 0 comments

in midrash

missional leadership is a creative art. It calls for leaders to create from within themselves, allowing the Spirit of God to make room in their lives to facilitate the writing of a new story. The leader is not the author of this new story. This is God’s story that is realized as the people of [...]

what the bible is about

by john on 2/23/2009 · 1 comment

in midrash

my new version of what the Bible is about reads as follows: it is about the mystery by which the power of God works to form this world into the Holy City, the New Jerusalem that comes down out o heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” — Robert Farrar Capon [...]

mere words…or movement?

by john on 2/4/2009 · 2 comments

in midrash

To organized opposition [Jesus] responds with the formal founding of a new social reality. New teachings are no threat, as long as the teacher stands alone; a movement, extending his personality in both time and space, presenting an alternative to the structures that were there before, challenges the system as no mere words ever could.” [...]

twestival anyone?

by john on 1/30/2009 · 3 comments

in midrash

I hold an ever growing conviction that to follow the Way of Jesus is to participate in bringing about the Kingdom of God wherever you see it is at work. Of course that happens through intentional church ministries, but the kingdom of God is not limited to that. One example of this would be Twestival: [...]

nt wright at harvard

by john on 1/12/2009 · 2 comments

in midrash

In November, N.T. Wright gave a series of talks at the Harvard University Graduate Student Christian Fellowship entitled Reconstructing Hope. Here’s a link to each talk: Why Do Good in a Hopeless World? What is Good in a World that Defies Hope? Doing Good: What Plus Hope Equals Change? I appreciated the content of the [...]

we are inoculating the world with a mild form of Christianity, so that it is now practically immune against the real thing. Vast areas of the Christian world are inoculated with a mild form of Christianity, and the real thing seems strange and impossible.” — E. Stanley Jones (80 years ago) in The Christ of [...]

of ethics and imagination

by john on 1/5/2009 · 0 comments

in midrash

the ethic envisioned by the New Testament writers is not an impossible ideal. If we fail to live in obedient responsiveness to their moral vision, that is because of a failure of imagination — or perhaps a lack of courage — on our part.” — Richard Hays in The Moral Vision of the New Testament

spirit led ecclesiology

by john on 12/17/2008 · 1 comment

in midrash

In my church planting journey, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in at least four different church planting boot camps. They were put on by four different organizations, so I feel like I’ve been around the block a little. This morning I finished listening to Spirit-Led Ecclesiology: Following the Spirit Through Church Planting. It was [...]

simple leadership

by john on 12/12/2008 · 3 comments

in midrash

The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.” – Seth Godin in Tribes