I’m done fighting for a seat at that table. The one filled with (usually) white men, all reading the same books, spouting the same talking points, quoting each other back and forth. It’s the table where the men – a small, select, vocal group in no way representative of men in the Church overall – sit around and discuss who is in and who is out, who is right (usually them) and who is wrong (every one else) and, a... Read more
The community I am part of in Minneapolis, Solomon’s Porch, is fortunate to have musicians who create the soundtrack of our community. I wanted to share one of our Christmas songs as an encouragement and an offering for any communities to use as they see fit. The people pictured in the video are the creators and performers. The text is from the first chapter of Luke when Mary receives the message from the angels about her pregnancy. Read more
During this season of Advent, I’ve been reflecting a lot on the idea of incarnation — specifically, these words from author and activist Parker Palmer: “The Christmas story is … about God taking the risk of showing up in the flesh, and all that comes with it. I think that’s a risk that we’re all called to — the risk of incarnation, the risk of embodying our values and beliefs, the risk of manifesting our identity and integrity in the... Read more
Continuing in the series of processing through the reasons of why I resonate with the Emergent Movement (See week 1 and week 2), I’m left pondering being theologically countercultural. One of the first things I noticed as I began reading emergent books and blogs, visiting emergent churches and events, and meeting emergent people, was that there seemed to be a uniqueness about them and the way they were. I have heard of a church that jokingly refers to themselves... Read more
Upon receiving a welcome email with a username and password, I paused to reflect. A frighteningly wonderful realization surfaced: I’ve walked alone to discover a virtual community. This marvelous opportunity to join the writers of Emergent Village once again affirms what my life has been shouting for years — my peers truly dwell in cyberspace. Despite my failures to connect at the local church level, despite the mundane state of all things Michael, my spiritual journey entails this virtual community.... Read more
there is so much meaning that meaning itself has ceased to exist. somehow, due to the overuse of ideology, concepts, ‘truth’ and other colloquialisms there is no more reality to experience.the cliche has become too cliche. it is not that reality does not exist. but it is that reality has been hidden behind that which we assume has been reality all along. and then when we peel the curtains back, due to the pregnancy of over-meaning, reality is yet again... Read more
Last week I was in New York City, and on a rainy night I took a walk from the East Village up Broadway towards Time Square– to see the famous Christmas window displays at Macy’s that I’ve heard about since childhood. Everyone talks about the magic of Christmas in New York. Although I imagined snowflakes gently falling, It was unseasonably warm and humid and I had to strip down to a t-shirt as I strolled past the Tuesday night garbage... Read more
“Nones” were the subject this past weekend of a New York Times op-ed piece (Dec 10, 2011) by Eric Weiner, entitled “Americans: Undecided About God?” “Nones” refers to people with no religious affiliation. In this article Weiner has a challenge for church folk to seek a “new way of being religious…this new way would be straightforward and unencumbered and absolutely intuitive. Most important, it would be highly interactive. I imagine a religious space that celebrates doubt, encourages experimentation and allows... Read more
My life changed forever the day I wandered into an abandoned dance studio just west of the Las Vegas Strip on a Wednesday afternoon. It was my first professional improvisational comedy class at The Second City. I had no idea that my life was about to shift so dramatically. I had always been fascinated with improv and sketch comedy. As a kid, I used to sneak out of my room at 12:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings to catch the last... Read more
Over the last couple of years I have been suggesting that we are living in the fourth cultural epoch of North American culture. We have seen the Agrarian Age, the Industrial Age, the Information Age and now we are entering the Inventive Age. Each of these ages has particular ways of thinking, valuing, appreciating aesthetics and way of using tools. And all parts of culture including religious communities are created from these cultural situations. In Community in the Inventive Age,... Read more
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