speechless
- Steven Curtis Chapman, 1999
I want to invite you to pray with and for the speechless prayers of the Chapman family.
Read the story HERE.
Labels: in the news, prayer request, speechless, video
Why? Because it isn't my name.
[ click here for more ]
Labels: in the news, prayer request, speechless, video
Some time ago I came across a resource in the book "How Full Is Your Bucket?" by Tom Rath and Don Clifton. The authors do a good job of helping people recognize how each person we connect with desires for us to "fill their bucket," but it must be more than trite compliments and friendly-isms. For bucket filling to be meaningful to the recipient, it must be personalized and specific to what that person needs.Speaking of which, here are my answers.
By what name do you like to be called?
Tony. "T" is good, too.
What are your “hot buttons” – hobbies or interests you like to talk about a lot?
Who Jesus Christ really is; how amazing it is to be married to my wife; the blessing my boys are to me; the potential for the Church to be what Jesus dreams it could be; my good, good, good friends; the energizing people I work with; the God-sized movement we call Connection Church; creative TV/movies with good writing;
What increases your positive emotions or “fills your bucket” the most?
When people are authentic... it drives me crazy when others won't talk with you but freely talk about you. Also, acts of service and gifts rock. I also find that right after I pour myself out - like after preaching or cooking or something that requires a risk - I am most appreciative of genuine affirmation... but need about a day to be ready for criticism.
From whom do you most like to receive recognition or praise?
Those who know me best... although it is interesting to hear about first impresions from people I first meet.
What type of recognition or praise do you like best? Do you like public, private, written, verbal, or other kinds of recognition?
All of them rock, but each depends on the circumstance. I never know what to do with public praise because it's just weird to be celebrated... I like it, mind you, but it's weird since most of the good things that happen through my life are because of God. Private is nice when it's from someone I know well.
Feel free to add your answers in the comments.
Labels: fun stuff, pop culture, the internet
I know you may be familiar with the text you're about to read. The Byrds used it to give guts to the song "Turn! Turn! Turn!" back in the mid-60's... it's been shared at more than one memorial service as a means of comfort to tragedy... and even Kevin Bacon quoted it in Footloose when John Lithgow inappropriately told him the Lord was against dancing (even though the whole town was made up of professional dancing teenagers).Shhhh.There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
- a time to be born and a time to die,
- a time to plant and a time to uproot,
- a time to kill and a time to heal,
- a time to tear down and a time to build,
- a time to weep and a time to laugh,
- a time to mourn and a time to dance,
- a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
- a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
- a time to search and a time to give up,
- a time to keep and a time to throw away.
- a time to tear and a time to mend,
- a time to be silent and a time to speak,
- a time to love and a time to hate,
- a time for war and a time for peace.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
For a while, I have been practicing and putting intentional space in my routine to better hear from God and understand the "time" I'm in.Labels: be still, bible study, spiritual formation
You may or may not know this about me, but I spent several years in Student Ministry before doing what I do now. During that time I was a proponent of helping kids have fun on the journey of getting to know Jesus Christ better. In the spirit of such gurus as Mike Yaconelli and Wayne Rice, I found myself often looking for fresh concepts that pushed the envelope.Labels: because i'm a dork, fun stuff
Perhaps it would be easy for a Christian who feels he "gets it" to critique a Jew for this, but maybe one should walk in their shoes for a moment.A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. (Is 11:1)
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King [the Messiah] who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land” (Jer 23:5)
Imagine that you have tickets to see Bruce Springsteen in concert... live... front row... direct access (which is good in case he wants to pull you up stage during "Dancing In The Dark" and help launch your career as he did Courtney Cox) .
Only..."He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him." (Isaiah 53:2)
Labels: alternative spirituality, sabbath
Yesterday our area Papa John Pizza locations had a special "23 cent" special for a large, one topping pizza. It has something to do with the company making amends with fans because they put their logo on a t-shirt that razzed Cleveland basketball player Lebron James (#23), calling him a "crybaby."
Labels: in the news
I was talking with someone about an article I wrote for the newspaper recently and realized I didn't ever put up a link here to it. If you're married, I hope this speaks to you.Labels: in the news, marriage matters, parenting, pop culture

I didn't realize software had gone green. And given it's the honor system, there's something rather interesting about that, too.
I wonder, though, what future stipulations we'll see on software:
Um... yeah.
Labels: because i'm a dork, the internet
Labels: fun stuff, pop culture, video
The primary question being asked here is if there are certainties when it comes to theology. The secondary question seems to be how certain individuals in the Emergent Village might handle this question. And then there is the issue if some of the current conversation being had on this matters is constructive or destructive.
Obviously, I am under qualified to answer every one of these questions with accuracy. I can, though, offer my thoughts and feelings in the context I was asked - "With your contact with some from the movement..." As mentioned in the last post, I do have a bit of history here.
I remember when I received my first email to join in on a Google group for the Emergent coordinating group. While that was intriguing in itself, what was even more interesting is the fact that my email address was buried in a list of "who's who" in the "to:" line. Sure, there were some other guys and gals I'd never heard of before, but it felt kind of cool to be asked to sit at the cool table.
So I pulled up a chair.
I understand that the source of many questions about the Emerging Church and Emergent Village has to do with the voices that have been published. Keeping with the metaphor I've established, these people are like the upperclassmen at the cafeteria table who have been around the halls a bit longer than you. This doesn't mean you don't walk the same halls and can't come up with observations of your own, but there seems to be a bit of confidence in the things they say that cause you to think, "Hmm... maybe I should consider that."
In that analogy, though, I'm sure we all knew a few upperclassmen in high school who were just "off" a bit. Maybe they drank too much or were too consumed with one niche of high school at the expense of the rest... I'd argue that in any group of people you'll find extremes like this. For instance, there are some ultra conservative theologians who find that their "spokesmen" often speak for them, and other times they embarrassingly don't.
It's funny how quickly a "poster boy" can become a "wanted poster."
What I found through the Google Group is that there was clearly a line between the "Emerging Church" and (what would later become) "Emergent Village." To abuse another high school metaphor, the former group were interested in a "pick-up game" whereas the latter group formed a "team." There is still a friendship between both sides, but one has become more defined.
The reason I'm establishing this framework to answer the questions is because there is a difference between the Emerging Church and the Emergent Village... EC is the present-future of the church, whereas EV is an example/element of the present-future of the church. This has a few immediate implications:
From my vantage point, there are things we can be absolutely certain of when it comes to theology. There is only one Savior and His name is Jesus Christ... apart from His redemptive offer of grace alone through His cross and resurrection, we are stuck in our sin and eternally separated from a fully-alive relationship with the Trinity. I think you'd find that most EV people would agree with this... but not all of them do.
And that's the rub. Especially when one or more of them get published, seemingly speaking for the whole group. But they don't, much like a person in a church might believe a certain way about a certain thing that the rest of the church sort of smiles at but doesn't really endorse. Maybe it's an old lady who believes you need to pray in tongues during worship songs or a young guy who thinks that tipping is a greater principle than tithing since God says to give "cheerfully." Imagine if that person published a book and said they were a member of your church... others would assume the whole church thought that way.
What I'm getting at is that there seem to be several different people in the Emergent Village:
If you asked me to summarize that all, I believe we're talking about 75% in the first category, 15% in the next, and 10% in the last. That is completely opinion, though, so don't cite that.
Speaking of which, Tony Jones is a Christian. This means he's not into universalism, but rather he's trying to foster a framework for all this conversation to take place. The idea of such a deep ecclesiology might frighten some, but what is interesting is that Tony is the most cautious about it of all... fully aware that every slice of structure he helps coordinate has massive ripples to it. I don't envy that role, yet I pray for him in it.
So were the great theologians of the past wrong? To the people of their era they were... and yet here we are, basking in "recent" shifts in thinking like pre-millenial eschatology and the salvation by grace alone. Sure, those were always around... but it took some emerging theologians in the more recent centuries to help us understand what that all meant.
Which is odd how they're right to us, even though they were severely questioned in their day.
For all we know the next revelation in theology is on a blog named "Frank Likes Cheese," and since theology is just that - revelation (not reinvention) -we'd best be praying for Frank.
Labels: emerging church, exploring how big god is
A friend of mine who is also in pro-min (that's my new short way of saying professional ministry, but since I had to explain it I really lost any need to be witty, didn't I?) recently emailed me this query:
Hey Tony! How is all over there in church planting land?
I have been thinking, reading and discussing the emergent church stuff lately... With your contact with some from the movement, can I shoot you some questions? I will take that as a yes...because of the long pause :-)
With all the "postmodern" thinking and theological bent, I understand all the arguments for epistemology "beyond foundationalism" etc. but aren't there some certainties in our theology? I get the feeling that those in the E-Village do not want to nail down some doctrines of the faith based on Biblical and Historical roots. Specifically in regards to Jesus being the only way to have eternal life or the Scriptures being inspired and without error. Is universalism an option for Tony Jones, Brian McLaren etc.?
I have appreciated many of their thoughts about justice, the Kingdom, inclusion and love, but is it at the cost of Truth and Doctrines? Have many of the great theologians of the past been wrong all this time? What is your take on all of it?
Thanks man. I value your wisdom.
Ah... here's where the rubber meets the road for me, isn't it?
Let's start with some personal history.
This was refreshing.
At least... for a while.
More to come.
Labels: emerging church, exploring how big god is, favorite posts, practical theology, professional ministry
Labels: my mom
Labels: fun stuff
Now, what I really want to get to in this post is a bit of a rant.
It all started when I was at the hospital with my mom that first day and had to use the restroom. A gentleman whom I know only by his shoes came in and sat down to do his thing. Standard bathroom etiquette states in section 4 of sub paragraph D-6 that "One should always consider the climate. If a public restroom is quiet, you are to take part in quiet activities that utilize courtesy flushes when necessary." Perhaps this young man was unfamiliar with that text, which is why he decided to use his cell phone to play hard core rap music.
Allow me to highlight the experience a bit further... for when I say his cell phone I don't mean that he had downloaded some studio tracks that he was enjoying. Rather, I am referring to music he had recorded with his cell phone speakerphone and was now playing with the same speakerphone.
And when I say music he had recorded, I should more specifically qualify that it sounded like him singing to his own (or perhaps someone else's) background tracks that he recorded in "area microphone" fashion with his cell phone.
And when I say singing, what I am actually stating is that it was a combination of rap lyrics containing street language that encompassed how he felt about "the man" as well as several thoughts about female canines (that he seemed to have a love/hate relationship with)... which was an odd combination of thought, if you ask me.
Now, for reasons you don't need to know regarding how my body was handling lunch that day, I found myself unable to get away from this individual's unique musical stylings. This left me with a few options... do I listen in to the free concert? Or should I use some of my speciality ringtones on my own cell phone to audibly duke it out with him, stall to stall? Maybe I should just cover my ears and sing a song in my head that could help me combat it internally, doing my best to honor section 4, sub paragraph D-6.
I opted for the third option.
Now... you might think at this point that the rant of this post is everything I've just mentioned. Far from it... that is only the prelude to the rant.
Here's the rant.
The song that came to my mind as I covered my ears? Was it one of the fine pieces of music composition that has been deposited into my brain?
No.
None of that.
Nilch.
Nada.
Nay.
No.
This..
this is the exquisite piece of music that my brain drew upon.
Maybe you've seen these commercials featuring the slacker-esque guy dressed like a pirate and singing about how he should have gone to Freecreditreport.com. Or maybe you've seen the one where the same slacker-esque guy is singing about how his dream girl didn't have good credit and now he's living in her parents' basement.
He has a rap version like this, but I think I've only memorized the first one because it was the best representation for the company. I didn't think it was a very good idea for the guy in the second ad to essentially say, "If only we had checked credit reports first then I wouldn't have made the terrible mistake of getting married!" Bad move. If you had your own good credit, you wouldn't need her as a cosigner, would you? And how about some unconditional love, Romeo?
So back to my "stalling" situation... first I began humming the tune, only to realize that I knew the chorus. And once I started whispering it out loud, I recognized that I knew the verses, too.
Argh.
"Thankfully," the hospital had free wi-fi so I could afterward look up the information about who the catchy artist was (perhaps he had any other songs available, like something that took place in a mine shaft, for instance).
Many web sites have the guy in the commercials correctly listed as Eric Violette, but what they don't understand is that he isn't the actual voice on the commercials (he's a French-Canadian "comedian" who doesn't speak much English, so he lip-syncs that catchy tune with a slightly creepy/cheery/dazed-looking mouth). The songs were actually performed by a studio artist and written by David Muhlenfeld via "The Martin Agency" (who also did some pretty funny commercials for Geiko, too)
Surely this information has changed your life.
Ever get a song in your head you can’t get out?
Maybe those around you are experiencing this right now, from the thirty-somebody singing Phantom of the Opera songs at work to the teenagers performing High School Musical tunes out in the grocery store. There are obvious spiritual applications we can make about this, from the way sin can subliminally plant itself into our lives to how our thought life becomes influenced by the world (to the point where we say things like, "I know it's bad, but it doesn't affect me," which is a sign that it has, in fact, affected us).
I could go there... but I can't right now, because for some reason I have to go visit FreeCreditReport.com.
Thankfully the song hasn't affected me.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)
Labels: my mom, prayer request
In these days of political debates and "candidating to be a candidate," I am greatly puzzled at our snarky attitudes about anyone in power.Labels: in the news, leadership
Ever want to pick a fight with a strange kid in a Play Place?
Jesus Christ hears the cries of His people everyday and engages in a passionate, all-out search and rescue for us. His love is seen in His death by crucifixion and life through Resurrection, and yet it transcends it - for while these events happened in time they leap up into the "tubes" of eternity to connect with us on a daily basis. God's constantly dealing with a devilish adversary who smiles while hurting those the Lord cares about... and He doesn't want it to happen any further.For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph 2:8-10)
Labels: i love my family, something redemptive
"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
Labels: bible study, ways we treat each other
I'm sure those last two changed your life.
Labels: in the news
That said, I am very intrigued by the book Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck. DeYoung serves as Senior Pastor of University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan, while Kluck runs his own web site where he shares the latest things he's doing as an "author/speaker/screenwriter." Their collaboration on this book is an attempt to explain why ideas and people of the "Emerging Church" should be questioned, although most points made deal specifically with "Emergent Village."Labels: emerging church, good alternative reading