March 2012
30 posts
8 tags
Thoughts on "Church": Stasis vs. Flux
For Christmas my in-laws purchased a treadmill for Crystal and I. (Don’t worry, it was a welcome gift, and not one of those awkward, “You REALLY need to exercise gifts.”) Because they originally intended to purchase furniture for us, we did not actually receive the treadmill until earlier this week. All of this to say, it has been a while since I have run on a treadmill. (Let...
February 2012
20 posts
5 tags
Dr. Stanley Hauerwas: Reflections on God and...
Yesterday, J.R. Rozko posted the following on his blog: Whenever I drive for more than an hour by myself, I always try to think ahead about something good to listen to. I forgot to do that this time around. However, iTunes U came to the rescue and I stumbled upon a series of lectures that Stanley Hauerwas gave at my alma mater, Fuller Theological Seminary last year regarding his latest...
9 tags
For the coffee lover who has everything: check out...
This porcelain espresso maker by Arvid Haeusser looks… complicated. But it’s also sleek, pretty, and keeps your countertop clutter-free with its wall mount! Great idea for caffeine addicts with small kitchens. See more ARVID HÄUSSER PRODUKTDESIGN. All the top foodie finds. via holykaw.alltop.com A fantastic combination of art and functionality…
6 tags
I'm headed to the Ecclesia Network National...
A week from today the Ecclesia Network National Gathering kicks off in Chevy Chase, Maryland. The gathering itself looks fantastic, with the likes of Drs. Ivy Beckwith, A.J. Swoboda, and John Perkins slated to speak. (Unfortunately, I received word earlier today that Dr. Perkins has had to withdraw due to health reasons.) I had hoped to attend the gathering in its entirety. With Crystal’s recent...
11 tags
Reforming the Faith: A First Look
Reforming the Faith is my next publishing endeavor. Unlike The Metamorphosis Project, which I self-published through CreateSpace, Reforming the Faith will be published through a subsidiary of the Wipf and Stock publishing company. This has meant giving up some creative control and learning to trust others with something that I have poured my blood, sweat and tears into.While there is still a great...
9 tags
Lent 1b: Mark 1.9-15
The story of God’s people has three movements, and I’m not talking: beginning, middle, and end. We see the first of these movements, what we might call “covenantal relationship,” begin to take shape in Genesis 12, as God says to a man named Abram: “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will...
11 tags
Get The Metamorphosis Project for Kindle *FREE*...
On (Ash) Wednesday I made The Metamorphosis Project available to Kindle owners FREE of charge for a limited time. I’m humbled and amazed by the response thus far. A number have purchased physical copies of the book for family, friends, and their church. Others have sent emails expressing thanks and sharing some of the ways that the material from the first few days have challenged them. To...
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...