February 2012
13 posts
7 tags
Christian worship as "secular liturgy"
“Camp Hill Praise” by Jason TrommJames K.A. Smith wrote “An Open Letter to Praise Bands” over on his blog. James express his concern as follows:[M]y concern is that we, the church, have unwittingly encouraged you to simply import musical practices into Christian worship that—while they might be appropriate elsewhere—are detrimental to congregational worship....
6 tags
Maps, Compasses, and the Church
“Compass Study”Photo by Calsidyroase Earlier Seth Godin posted the following thought on his blog:The map keeps getting redrawn, because it’s cheaper than ever to go offroad, to develop and innovate and remake what we thought was going to be next. Technology keeps changing the routes we take to get our projects from here to there. It doesn’t pay to memorize the route,...
6 tags
Compartmentalization or integration? What is the...
Earlier this month, Mike Breen (of 3DM) wrote a blog post in which he asks: Is the church (and are we as leaders) sacrificing mission on the altar of family? (You can read the Mike’s post here.) I think Mike makes some important points. For instance: The tendency to compartmentalize our lives into mission (ministry) and family is largely a reaction to a ministry paradigm in which family was...
17 tags
Just in time for Lent! Join me (and many others)...
You can get your hands on a copy of The Metamorphosis Project in a number of ways. Here are just a few: You can buy an individual copy of the book from my CreateSpace storefront at 10% off the cover price ($9.99) by entering the coupon code “CL5YZ3MN” at checkout. S&H is extra. You can purchase five or more copies of the book (great for use in a small group or Sunday School...
8 tags
10 Blogs That I've Particularly Enjoyed As Of Late
Video! Audio! Disco! the blog of Josh Walters The blog of A.J. Swoboda Jesus Creed the blog of Scot McKnight Homebrewed Christianity a collaborate effort of Bo Sanders, Tripp Fuller, and Chad Crawford Reclaiming the Mission the blog of David Fitch The Crooked Mouth the blog of Andy Campbell (you need to check out his post “A Brief Guide to Donuts” which does for philosophy what Doug Ray did...
6 tags
Smallness does not equate to mission-mindedness
In all fairness this picture is of a “Life Group,” not a missional church or community. Yet, the picture stuck out to me. Here’s why: I had the opportunity to attend a gathering of a newly established missional community a week or so ago. The community gathered in a coffee shop, which was set up much like the space in the photo. The gathering time consisted of people arriving; purchasing food;...
7 tags
Common Ministry Paradigms
How does ministry (best) take place? I’ve been asking that question a lot lately, and here’s what I have come up with. (Please bear with me, as these are unrefined thoughts that have not yet been bounced off of anyone.) There are many ministry paradigms (probably as many paradigms as you have ministers). However, there are a handful of paradigms under which we might classify these other,...
11 tags
"Can't Buy Me Love," But You Sure Can Try...
This morning I stumbled across this iconograph from H&R Block. According to their data, the average person is expected to spend nearly $200 on Valentine’s Day this year (up from $116 last year). Another mind-blowing conclusion that is touted is that the economy has very little impact on Valentine’s Day spending. Source: Valentine’s Day spending via H&R Block My...
4 tags
Generation Flux and the Church
Our institutions are out of date; the long career is dead; any quest for solid rules is pointless, since we will be constantly rethinking them; you can’t rely on an established business model or a corporate ladder to point your way; silos between industries are breaking down; anything settled is vulnerable. [1] So writes Robert Safian in the article, “This Generation is Flux: Meet the Pioneers...
5 tags
Running Shoe Review: VivoBarefoot Evo Mesh
I’ve been a proud owner and wearer of Vibram Five Fingers. Originally, I purchased my Vibrams for casual wear. After a few months I decided to ditch my running shoes (at that point I was wearing a pair of Brooks Adrenaline 10). After a short run of less than a mile and a half, I felt good. So I began alternating between my running shoes and Vibrams. (I refused to run further than six miles...
3 tags
"Read the Bible It Will Scare the Hell Out of...
Today, on our way to Clearfield we passed a church whose sign contained the aforementioned message. The message raised a few questions for me: 1) What is it about the Bible that scares the hell out of a person? 2) Is this the intention/goal of Scripture? 3) Would this message make you want to read the Bible? Or would it make you want to stay clear of the Bible?
3 tags
A Lenten Devotional
THE METAMORPHOSIS PROJECT (Feb 2012) ABOUT THE BOOK For centuries, when people would enter into a relationship with Jesus, they would go through an extensive period of spiritual instruction that you and I know by the term “catechism.” During catechism classes the catechumen would learn about the nuts and bolts of the Christian faith. They would learn about the Bible, study...
7 tags
HOPE: What does it look like?
Last week I was approached by a fellow that I greatly respect in our community. Stepping through our door and into our dining room, his plea was simple, “Josh, we need to give hope to the kids of our community.” Hope was something that I had been thinking about quite a bit lately, so my ears immediately perked up. What is hope? And what does it look like for our community? I desperately...
10 tags
The Fallacy of "Mission Trip" Thinking
In July of 1997 I took my first “mission trip.” Our youth group and numerous chaperones packed our bags and headed to Jamaica with Yes!Ministries in response to a challenge that had been extended at the previous year’s Acquire the Fire. Long hours of preparation went into the trip. Countless fundraisers were undertaken. We traveled to various churches to share about the upcoming trip and to...
January 2012
14 posts
6 tags
House Resolution No. 535 Declares 2012 to be "The...
As many of you know, the Pennsylvania General Assembly unanimously passed HR 535 declaring 2012 to be “the year of the Bible” in Pennsylvania. The
8 tags
broken/fragmented
When you read Mark 1.18-25 who or what do you see? I see a God-man (Jesus) who is a teacher whose teaching is unlike anything that the people have ever experienced. This teacher, however, doesn’t just expound upon the scripture authoritatively. He speaks authoritatively to and confidently addresses the brokenness, the fragmentation of a man who interrupts the synagogue gathering that is already...
9 tags
The Value of Unplugging
Being a prude is something that I have never been accused of. Nor had it been suggested that I have an aversion to technology, social media and the like. I share those two bits of information only because they provide much-needed perspective for what I am about to say. A little less than two weeks ago I posted a response to what I believed to be a sincere question inviting honest responses....
7 tags
Lenten Meditations (Some Exciting News)
A few years ago I authored some curriculum that might best be described as a “discipleship intensive.” Beginning on Ash Wednesday and spanning 46 days, a group went through the curriculum together. Their involvement included completion of the “Project Manual,” which included: Daily lenten meditations. Daily Scripture readings. Participants read the vast majority of the Bible over the span of...
11 tags
Rockin' a Roku and Hulu+
Throughout our married life, Crystal and I have elected to forgo television to practice focus our time and attention elsewhere. A few years ago, however, we decided to take the plunge and once again “tune in.” Not wanting to pay a lot and hoping not to become TV junkies, we checked to see if it might be possible to get an antenna. Research revealed that an antenna was not a viable option, thus...
6 tags
Mission: Statement or Question?
The influence of corporate American on the Western Church is undeniable. Churches have often embraced the leadership structures of corporate America. Similarly, churches have borrowed the language and terminology of corporate America (e.g. churches have “executive pastors,” “boards,” “committees,” and “chief financial officers” just to name a few). The purpose of this post is not to deride the...
5 tags
The MacGyver Approach to Church
At this very moment I am sitting in bed typing away on my iPad while watching reruns of MacGyver on Netflix. As I watch I can’t help buy chuckle. In this particular episode MacGyver has been buried in an avalanche. Someone, using just the handful of items he finds on his person, he manages to survive. As a kid, I was amazed by MacGyver’s ingenuity and his ability to patch together a solution...
5 tags
A theory: Our prescribed acts of worship are born...
Some of you have heard my theory of church design: I think the reason why we pad our pews, bolt the furniture down to the floor, print up the service in a bulletin, then carefully, deliberately plod through the prescribed acts of worship is out of an inner fear. We tie everything down, we make church so predictable, so settled and fixed because, in our collective memories, we remember stories...
10 tags
1 Samuel 3 and listening to/for God
In a recent post (“Listening to God”) I explored some of the difficulties of listening for God’s voice and discerning what it is that one has heard. It was asked whether we as leaders and churches have failed our congregations by not equipping and/or training them to listen and discern God’s voice. No one responded to the post. Whether that means that there is in fact...
7 tags
Listening to God
At our January leadership team meeting I unveiled the now infamous “whiteboard of activity” – (you can find a picture of the whiteboard and some initial thoughts on that meeting here). One of the questions that I asked at that meeting was: If you didn’t have our mission statement in front of you and all that you had was our bulletin, announcements, programs, and other activities to try and...
6 tags
Are Christians experiencing boredom in the...
A friend asked that question after reading a tweet that I recently posted in reference to a recent blog post by Matthew Paul Turner. It’s an interesting question that I hadn’t considered. Possibly because although I’m somewhat on the fringes of Christian sub-culture, I’m still conversant enough with popular American Christian belief and thought that some of this stuff doesn’t seem all that...
9 tags
the church: self-absorbed egomaniacs or a...
1As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own. 2Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other. 3Try your best to let God’s Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace. 4All of you are part of the same body. There is only one Spirit of God, just as you were given one hope...
7 tags
When did I become the activity director for a...
When did I become the activity director for a cruise line? That’s the question I found myself asking as I looked at the four foot by four foot piece of whiteboard (see picture below) that listed all of the activities that we had asked the members of our congregation to participate in over the course of the last year. On the board were listed our regular, weekly gatherings: Sunday...
December 2011
21 posts
4 tags
Minding the Edge What I learned about leadership...
Those who are versed in the age old art of shaving with a straight razor are well acquainted with a common and necessary practice known as stropping. One takes one’s razor and runs it spine first along a taut piece of leather (prior to and immediately following a shave) because the very fine edge of the razor needs to be realigned at a very minute level, so that one can avoid cuts and get the...
11 tags
Ecclesiastes 3.1-13: An exposition on divine...
In Ecclesiastes 3.1-13 the Teacher declares: 1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to...
11 tags
My Top Ten Reads of 2011
10. The Paraclete Psalter: A Four-Week Cycle for Daily Prayer 9. Common Prayer Pocket Edition: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals 8. The Pastor: A Memoir by Eugene Peterson 7. Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire by William Cavanaugh 6. The Sound of Hope: Learning to Live in the Promises of God by Ed Love 5. Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its...
12 tags
My 5 Least Favorite Books of 2011
I read A LOT of books this year. Some were fantastic. Many were mediocre. And, inevitably, some could best be described as “underwhelming.” What follows is a list of the five books that I expected great things from, but in the end was left wanting. 5. The Seraph Seal by Leonard Sweet and Lori Wagner I desparately wanted to like this book. I’ve had class with Len and greatly...
5 tags
All I Want For Christmas...
Lately, I’ve been inundated with statements of what my children want for Christmas. Quinton’s three, which means that those statements vary daily, and sometimes from moment to moment. In similar fashion, I’ve found that I’ve been given all manner of suggestions as to what I might want for Christmas each time I tune into the radio or flip on the television for a brief bit...
Early Methodism and a discipleship that works
September 01, 2011 by Charles White John Wesley’s Church Planting Movement: Discipleship That Transformed a Nation and Changed the World When John Wesley was born in 1703, four million out of Britain’s five million people lived in absolute poverty—unless they found enough food for that day, they would begin to starve to death. When John...
4 tags
Do your part to kill SOPA
4 tags
Straight Razor Shave Kit
5 tags
3 Times a Loser: What we can learn from the...
Photo by fireflythegreat Earlier this evening I received a tweet with a link to the Mashable article “13 Tech Companies and Products That Went Under in 2011.” Curiosity aroused, I clicked the link interested to view the carnage that was about to unfold before me. Not surprisingly, Qwikster and the HP Touchpad were among the wreckage. I was shocked, however, to see that almost a...
“Well rounded gives you plenty of opportunities to shore up mediocrity...”
– Seth Godin (via tonysteward)
“Consider any vibrant group - political activists, nonprofit volunteers, or brand...”
– Tribes (Seth Godin)
10 tags
Amazon Wireless: A Review
Earlier this year, we were forced to switch phone carriers. Our carrier at that time (Nextel) had splotchy service in our area. While I greatly appreciated their pricing and customer service, at the end of the day, we needed to be able to make and receive calls in the area surrounding our home. For that reason we ended up searching for carriers. We considered switching back to AT&T, but saw...
5 tags
Pictures from the York Rescue Mission
See the full gallery on Posterous We spent the day preparing and setting up the new children’s area.
11 tags
Do you get the point?
Do you get the point? Or does the point get lost in the details?
5 tags
The Christmas Story: as told by children
While looking for a video to share at our mid-week Children’s ministry, I stumbled across this video. Certain aspects of the video are cheesy, but there’s something visually stunning and captivating about this video… The Christmas Story from St Paul’s on Vimeo.
7 tags
Sound bite: "dark nights are not problems, but...
One lesson we learn from the ancient mystics is that dark nights are not problems, but opportunities. Grasping this reality moves us beyond the question “How do we fix this?” to the question “What might I learn in this? Chuck DeGroat over at Christianity Today
hope
> **[…] if God’s Spirit is among the people of God, wherever they are (including in congregations), then these are the places where it is possible to incarnate a missional life. As with the struggles of Israel, this kind of missional transformation is costly and requires hard work. > ** Fred Romanuk and Alan Roxburgh, *The Missional Leader (SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006), 19.
7 tags
What are you reading?
Another semester is drawing to a close. That means that I will have greater freedom (for a month or so, at least) to read some of the things that I want to read. With that in mind, I’m looking for some book recommendations. What have you been reading? What ‘must’ read would you recommend? Which of your recent reads did you find to be most thought provoking? Which of your...
7 tags
'the Word spoken in Bethlehem echoes...'
That for which we prepare during Advent is not simply ane event that is done and forgotten, relegated to the storybook shelves or the historical archives. Instead, like a wedding vow that is spoken at the altar but resonates throughout the rest of the couple’s lives, the Word spoken in Bethlehem echoes — it literally re-verb-erates — throughout human history and into eternity,...
10 tags
The many paradoxes of life and ministry
Life and ministry are full of paradoxes. Judson Edwards, in a refreshingly short and delightfully easy-to-read text, The Leadership Labyrinth, explores just a few. If your a pastor, leader, or an average Joe — you should pick up this book and check it out. It won’t take you long to read, but it will cause you again and again to stop and ponder the paradoxes and what it means to...
13 tags
Let's talk money...
In the church when it comes to discussing money, especially the topic of tithing, we tend to do a pretty bad job. We often tend to one of two extremes: we either talk about it all the time (and in a rather obsessive way) or we don’t talk about it at all. The folks at 12Stone Church have taken a slightly different approach. (Don’t believe me? Take a few moments to watch the videos...
8 tags
Quinton's new bed
Notice the placement of the cowboy boots.
November 2011
27 posts
13 tags
Bethlehemian Rhapsody: a parody
Two of my favorite things: puppet ministry and parodies… Just had to share this! (A big thanks to Dr. John Tyson for turning me onto this).