One of the great pleasures of this church plant has been a new way of thinking about evangelism. Brian McLaren refers to evangelism as "developing spiritual friendships" and I am happy to be all about that.
For years, the idea of evangelism has been taught as a sort of sales pitch. A bunch of people either unsure or defensive about the validity of their product, tried to get people to buy into Jesus by presenting a slick and aggressive salesman's approach. This almost never worked.
It's a great thing to invest in people and develop friendships with no agenda. To go to lunches and grab coffee and sing songs into the night simply because you love the people you're with and want to share more of yourselves with each other.
Of course, love has its own agenda -to seek the best for the other. And here, evangelism comes full circle. Instead of selling products we're sharing goods, sharing the good that is within us, the God that within us by giving us His Spirit, with those who have yet to encounter Him.
At BookPeople, the question is often asked why the turnover isn't higher. After all, the pay is half what we could get by walking down the block and working at Barnes and Noble. But the difference is this, as corny as it may sound, at B&N they sell you a product, at BookPeople we share something with you.
Being a BookPerson has taught me a lot about what it means to be a Jesus person. BookPeople's slogan is "a community bound by books". A group of people that came together for love of words, not to sell a product. The Immanuel Community is about something similar. A group of people brought together for love of the Word, the Word who was with God and who was God. A group of people excited to share that Word with those they love.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Thursday, February 8, 2007
What American Accent Do You Have?
Your Result: The Inland North
You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
A Case For The 90's
Anybody who is anything more than a casual listener of mainstream music has a decade that they insist produced almost no good music. I've heard it said again and again, and the decade that suffers most tends to be the 90's. Just the other day, another friend (and fellow music lover) of mine made this same case and challenged me to come up with definitive albums that the 90's produced. Here are 20 artist/bands and the albums they produced:
The Bends/OK Computer -Radiohead
The Soft Bulletin -The Flaming Lips
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea -Neutral Milke Hotel
Slanted & Enchanted/Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain -Pavement
Nevermind/In Utero -Nirvana
Endtroducing -DJ Shadow
I See A Darkness -Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Fear of A Black Planet -Public Enemy
Siamese Dream -Smashing Pumpkins
Odelay -Beck
The Three EPs -The Beta Band
Being There/Summerteeth -Wilco
Check Your Head -The Beastie Boys
Bone Machine -Tom Waits
Automatic For The People -R.E.M.
Either/Or -Elliot Smith
Grace -Jeff Buckley
Achtung Baby -U2
Ten/Vs. -Pearl Jam
The Score -The Fugees
Sound off. Let me know if I made my case.
The Bends/OK Computer -Radiohead
The Soft Bulletin -The Flaming Lips
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea -Neutral Milke Hotel
Slanted & Enchanted/Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain -Pavement
Nevermind/In Utero -Nirvana
Endtroducing -DJ Shadow
I See A Darkness -Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Fear of A Black Planet -Public Enemy
Siamese Dream -Smashing Pumpkins
Odelay -Beck
The Three EPs -The Beta Band
Being There/Summerteeth -Wilco
Check Your Head -The Beastie Boys
Bone Machine -Tom Waits
Automatic For The People -R.E.M.
Either/Or -Elliot Smith
Grace -Jeff Buckley
Achtung Baby -U2
Ten/Vs. -Pearl Jam
The Score -The Fugees
Sound off. Let me know if I made my case.
Monday, February 5, 2007
But Until Then...
So, I can check e-mail and even post a blog, but I have yet to learn how to do all the fancier little things that make a blog more personal (besides the writing itself). I don't know how to make a space for "What I'm Listening To" or "What I'm Reading", though I'd like to do both. Any friends looking to give a tutorial this week? Let's grab coffee (on me).
But until then, let me just tell you what I'm listening to and what I'm reading.
The Apples In Stereo. Frankly, I'm not sure how I missed this band. They're apart of the whole Elephant 6 thing, and I'm obsessed with Neutral Milk Hotel and I love bands that excel at the art of pop rock (Beatles meets Beach Boys w/out ripping off either) and all that to say that I REALLY should have discovered these guys sooner than a few months ago. They have a new album coming out tomorrow. Go pick it up. It's fantastic.
Peter Adams. If I were a young and aspiring musician, I'd have to struggle not to hate this guy. At 21, he records this brilliant album in his dorm room. You'd never know it. It's one of the most lush homemade indie productions I have ever heard and one of my favorite albums in awhile. You can't buy it in stores. Go to his website and get it there. It's worth it. I'd make Andrew Bird/Jeff Buckley/Radiohead/Neutral Milk Hotel comparisons if I didn't think that would turn you off.
The Arcade Fire. Specifically the album they are releasing in March of this year. It is fantastic. More of the same, but not in a bad way. Actually, one difference: this was the first time that they reminded me of Springsteen. No, not in a bad way (I never mean that in a bad way you "too hip" indie kids).
So, that's what I'm listening to. That and the new Shins and The Good, The Bad, and The Queen, both of which you can read about anywhere and don't need me to tell you about. They're both excellent. And I've always got something by Springsteen or The Kinks or Van Morrison or The Beatles playing.
As far as what I'm reading...
Snow. Written by Orhan Pamuk. I haven't read much by Pamuk (Black Book was good, but didn't have me running out for more), but I'll be reading more now. This book is incredible. Magical. Lyrical. Rich. Like Garcia Marquez or Saramago.
Acts of Faith. Philip Caputo. Less personal than What Is The What (which is, in my opinion, the best book out there about the current situation in the Sudan), but a better overview of the Sudan as a whole. I recommend reading WITW and AoF back to back. I found it rewarding. I will certainly be picking up Caputo's memoir on Vietnam. He reminds me of Graham Greene.
How (Not) To Speak of God. This book is frustrating me, but who says you should always read books you agree with (I'd say just the opposite, in fact). This is one of the authors I was referring to a few posts back (on the limitations of God). The guy is crazy smart and innovative. I like the way he thinks, even if I don't draw the same conclusions.
I'm always reading whatever I can get my hands on by NT Wright (quite a bit) and Peter Forsyth (harder to come by). Wright's new one on evil is as good as you'd expect it to be (which is very good indeed).
I've got a reader for the new Michael Chabon that I am excited to start. I love the initial premise (what if the Jewish state were established in Alaska instead of Israel, as Franklin Roosevelt once suggested?). Also thinking about rereading Franny and Zooey. Again. And am always dipping into old favorites like Flannery O'Connor and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Let's do this again sometime. At least until that tutorial.
But until then, let me just tell you what I'm listening to and what I'm reading.
The Apples In Stereo. Frankly, I'm not sure how I missed this band. They're apart of the whole Elephant 6 thing, and I'm obsessed with Neutral Milk Hotel and I love bands that excel at the art of pop rock (Beatles meets Beach Boys w/out ripping off either) and all that to say that I REALLY should have discovered these guys sooner than a few months ago. They have a new album coming out tomorrow. Go pick it up. It's fantastic.
Peter Adams. If I were a young and aspiring musician, I'd have to struggle not to hate this guy. At 21, he records this brilliant album in his dorm room. You'd never know it. It's one of the most lush homemade indie productions I have ever heard and one of my favorite albums in awhile. You can't buy it in stores. Go to his website and get it there. It's worth it. I'd make Andrew Bird/Jeff Buckley/Radiohead/Neutral Milk Hotel comparisons if I didn't think that would turn you off.
The Arcade Fire. Specifically the album they are releasing in March of this year. It is fantastic. More of the same, but not in a bad way. Actually, one difference: this was the first time that they reminded me of Springsteen. No, not in a bad way (I never mean that in a bad way you "too hip" indie kids).
So, that's what I'm listening to. That and the new Shins and The Good, The Bad, and The Queen, both of which you can read about anywhere and don't need me to tell you about. They're both excellent. And I've always got something by Springsteen or The Kinks or Van Morrison or The Beatles playing.
As far as what I'm reading...
Snow. Written by Orhan Pamuk. I haven't read much by Pamuk (Black Book was good, but didn't have me running out for more), but I'll be reading more now. This book is incredible. Magical. Lyrical. Rich. Like Garcia Marquez or Saramago.
Acts of Faith. Philip Caputo. Less personal than What Is The What (which is, in my opinion, the best book out there about the current situation in the Sudan), but a better overview of the Sudan as a whole. I recommend reading WITW and AoF back to back. I found it rewarding. I will certainly be picking up Caputo's memoir on Vietnam. He reminds me of Graham Greene.
How (Not) To Speak of God. This book is frustrating me, but who says you should always read books you agree with (I'd say just the opposite, in fact). This is one of the authors I was referring to a few posts back (on the limitations of God). The guy is crazy smart and innovative. I like the way he thinks, even if I don't draw the same conclusions.
I'm always reading whatever I can get my hands on by NT Wright (quite a bit) and Peter Forsyth (harder to come by). Wright's new one on evil is as good as you'd expect it to be (which is very good indeed).
I've got a reader for the new Michael Chabon that I am excited to start. I love the initial premise (what if the Jewish state were established in Alaska instead of Israel, as Franklin Roosevelt once suggested?). Also thinking about rereading Franny and Zooey. Again. And am always dipping into old favorites like Flannery O'Connor and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Let's do this again sometime. At least until that tutorial.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Let's Talk About Sex
I should begin by saying that I hesitate to even post this. People I care about who aren't Christians and who come to different conclusions than me are bound to disagree with me. I'm comfortable with that. Some may also feel harshly judged by it. Even unloved. I'm more than uncomfortable with that.
This is about sex. And sex is a touchy subject. The church's stance on sexual purity is seen as outdated and naive, at best, and puritanical and harsh, at worst. It has, unfortunately, too often been used as a way for those who have waited for marriage to feel superior to those who have not. And yet, as with all sin, I think that sexual impurity is more about God's best intentions for us and not about feeling a constant sense of superiority or shame.
When my dad talked with us about sex, he talked about super glue. He talked about what would happen if a man superglued his hand to a table and then had to go through the painful process of tearing it away. The fact that something of himself might get left behind.
God created sex to bond together two people who are already bonded in every other way. Sex works as a sort of spiritual adhesive, and so it makes sense to have sex with someone you wouldn't mind (or, better yet, have committed to) getting stuck with.
In Milan Kundera's book "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", Kundera postulates that our lives, our actions, and our decisions are "light" and insignificant and that we, as humans, find this "lightness" unbearable. I would be the first to agree that this "lightness" would be unbearable, but I would argue that there are other options.
Sex, like all of God's gifts (and let me take this opportunity to part ways with any Christian who would argue that sex is anything but fantastic), is substantive and substantial, it carries a weight that is less cumbersome and more concrete. To quote Marty McFly, "that's heavy."
This heaviness only dissipates when we imbue it with lightness, each time we give more of it away, it becomes lighter, lacks substance, and the result is unbearable.
Fortunately, God Himself carries with Him what the Bible describes as the "weight of glory". And the coming of His Son, Jesus, was about offering us this glory, placing it within each of us, so that our unbearable lightness might be weighted down and make us whole again.
If you've made it this far, you see this is about a whole lot more than sex. Sex is one way that we try to too often try to become a whole person, and the pursuit only makes us lighter. The same can be said of a whole lot of other, equally empty, pursuits and habits. This is about how light and casual we make our lives and actions and decisions and how weighted and meaningful God means for them to be.
I started with the subject of sex because I came across this article (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2092-2545852,00.html) and because I've been reading Lauren Winner's book "Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity" and because I see and know and love people who treat this lightly and then find it unbearable. Because I'd like for those people to not feel that way.
I'm not here to judge people, or to hold past mistakes against them. I'm not here to argue abstinence only legislation or to hold myself up as some shining example. I'm certainly not here to say that sex isn't fun and exciting. I'm saying that sex can be so much more than what we too often make it. It doesn't have to be casual, it doesn't have to be "light". It's not supposed to be.
This is about sex. And sex is a touchy subject. The church's stance on sexual purity is seen as outdated and naive, at best, and puritanical and harsh, at worst. It has, unfortunately, too often been used as a way for those who have waited for marriage to feel superior to those who have not. And yet, as with all sin, I think that sexual impurity is more about God's best intentions for us and not about feeling a constant sense of superiority or shame.
When my dad talked with us about sex, he talked about super glue. He talked about what would happen if a man superglued his hand to a table and then had to go through the painful process of tearing it away. The fact that something of himself might get left behind.
God created sex to bond together two people who are already bonded in every other way. Sex works as a sort of spiritual adhesive, and so it makes sense to have sex with someone you wouldn't mind (or, better yet, have committed to) getting stuck with.
In Milan Kundera's book "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", Kundera postulates that our lives, our actions, and our decisions are "light" and insignificant and that we, as humans, find this "lightness" unbearable. I would be the first to agree that this "lightness" would be unbearable, but I would argue that there are other options.
Sex, like all of God's gifts (and let me take this opportunity to part ways with any Christian who would argue that sex is anything but fantastic), is substantive and substantial, it carries a weight that is less cumbersome and more concrete. To quote Marty McFly, "that's heavy."
This heaviness only dissipates when we imbue it with lightness, each time we give more of it away, it becomes lighter, lacks substance, and the result is unbearable.
Fortunately, God Himself carries with Him what the Bible describes as the "weight of glory". And the coming of His Son, Jesus, was about offering us this glory, placing it within each of us, so that our unbearable lightness might be weighted down and make us whole again.
If you've made it this far, you see this is about a whole lot more than sex. Sex is one way that we try to too often try to become a whole person, and the pursuit only makes us lighter. The same can be said of a whole lot of other, equally empty, pursuits and habits. This is about how light and casual we make our lives and actions and decisions and how weighted and meaningful God means for them to be.
I started with the subject of sex because I came across this article (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2092-2545852,00.html) and because I've been reading Lauren Winner's book "Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity" and because I see and know and love people who treat this lightly and then find it unbearable. Because I'd like for those people to not feel that way.
I'm not here to judge people, or to hold past mistakes against them. I'm not here to argue abstinence only legislation or to hold myself up as some shining example. I'm certainly not here to say that sex isn't fun and exciting. I'm saying that sex can be so much more than what we too often make it. It doesn't have to be casual, it doesn't have to be "light". It's not supposed to be.
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