No that's not the year I'm going to reference.  Rather it's the amount of days that this blog has been in existance.  1441 days today.  

Labels: ChOG theology, culture, mindset changes, missional

Here is a good post by Ben Edson on communitas. I just started Exiles by Frost, so I haven't gotten to the part that Ben is talking about. Ben's last paragraph really resonates with me.

"This is where i think that my vocation is, to be a point of dialect with the communitas and normal society, between the emerging church and the church catholic. I think that this is a step on from some of the early emerging churches, who were not interested in dialect, but only communitas. This is not a a value judgement as we would not be able to have the current dialect without the earlier experiences of liminality."

I sit back and wait for good times to create a new ChOG dialect. It's hard to learn a new language, much less create a new one.

(Anyone want to right a book with me? I got one brewin.' )


ht: jonnybaker

Labels: books, ChOG practice, ChOG theology, migration, shifting

So I'm thumbing through some mail at the office. Do you guys get as much junkmail at the office as I do? Man! I come across "The Gospel Trumpet." I say out loud, "Wow, it's still around? who knew? And why am I getting it?" (What, You don't talk out loud to yourself? Whatever.) So I start looking at this Gospel Trumpet. There's readership from all over the world apparently. I picked this up in the Tesimonies & Letters section where there were correspondence with people from Ohio, Texas, Kenya, Ukraine, and Nepal.

Then I came upon this article with the picture to the left as the heading. Very creative idea. Basically the article says don't watch tv or movies, or be hip or cool, because that is of the Devil. These things are rated N for none. They don't watch tv, or movies and say there is much harmony in their family because of it. There are tons of scripture references. I've got to be honest. I laughed as I first started reading. You'd think I was watching something on youtube.
Here's the deal. Much of the article, I actually agree with. TV and movies can distract us from God, true. I don't have cable for two reasons. 1. I don't have much time to watch it after ministry and a nightly cage match with my boys. So I don't want to pay for something I won't get much bang for my buck. 2. If we had it, it would be on all the time. It would distract us from the important things, like knowing my friends and family.

Here's why I speak up about this article: Tone and ChOGness. I call into question the tone, because I wonder if this brother talks to his neighbors, or people in the world around him that don't follow Jesus in this same arrogant, self righteous tone. I just wonder. I taste an opening of separatist with a fighter pilot finish. Both leaving a bitter aftertaste. Do we in the Church of God come across in this way to other Christians, and to those that are not-yet-Christians? It's one thing to abstain from things in the culture, but for me, from a distance from this brother it seems that he would not only smash a tv with a 20pounder, he would do the same thing verbally to someone. That's just what I "heard" as I read the article.

I just wonder. I reminds me a little of the Nooma - Bullhorn. I just wonder if that's the perception that the world has of us. As the church what smell are we giving off to those in the world around us? [reference to last post] Is it the aroma of Christ , or do we smell like we ate a spiritual burrito supreme, soft taco, and Baja Blast Mt Due? Just a gut check. (Bwaaaaaaaaoooop) "oh man, excuse me!"

Labels: ChOG theology, churchese, huh?

Here is an interesting find by Lloyd Moritz over at ChOGBlog. It talks about Charles Shultz's roots in the Church of God. This post brings up an interesting question. In an EPIC world {Experiential, Participatory, Image rich, and Connective}[Len Sweat], are we as ChOGers ill-equipt to relate to the world around us? How creative and artisitc is your congregation? We've got a few people. Our building isn't, it looks like every other Indiana Limestone church built in the 50s. Except we've added on since then, something that most of those vintage churches have not done.

What's your church's creative score? 1 to 10: 1 being stick figure, 10 being Di Vinci

Is there a difference between your church and your specific area of ministry? Why is that? What would that score be?

Labels: art, ChOG practice, ChOG theology, creativity