Three Micro Book Reviews

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

Midrash on the Juanitos: a didadtic novella by Russell Rathbun Cathedral Hill Press, 2010; 146 pages I am an unapologetic fanboy of Rev. Russell Rathbun — his writing, his preaching, his church, and his friendship. (Full disclosure: Russell and I are working on a lectionary-based preaching website that will launch next month.) I endorsed his first book by calling it “A Confederacy of Dunces for Christians,” and I still think it’s an under-appreciated satiric gem. His latest is, as the... Read more

Dictionary of Everyday Theology and Culture

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

I’m happy to be a contributor to the latest installment in the Navigators Reference Library, the Dictionary of Everyday Theology and Culture, edited by Bruce Demerest and Keith Matthews. Here are the opening lines in my four entries: Community In Latin, communitas, means “the same,” and that evolved into communis, which means, “common; shared by all.” Modern sociologists differentiate between community and society. While the latter implies a looser connection between people, community tends to mean that people are more... Read more

When Bill Maher Loses the Storyline

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

Bill Maher regularly loses his composure over one, and only one, issue: Religion. Two opening caveats by me: 1) I like Maher’s show, watch it regularly, and secretly long to be invited on as a guest; and 2) I’ve not seen his “documentary,” Religulous. I’ve got nothing against it, and I’m sure I’ll see it someday. But I’m disinclined to make time to watch it based on the tepid reviews it received, and because of the way that he talks... Read more

Why I'm Staying Put

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

I’ve known a lot of people who’ve belonged to “intentional communities,” known in its most intense form as New Monasticism. And I know very few who’ve stuck with that way of life. One of them is Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and he’s recently released a book about staying put, The Wisdom of Stability: Rooting Faith in a Mobile Culture. Jonathan lives at the Rutba House in Durham, North Carolina. My own experience of living in an intentional community is basically limited to... Read more

Advertise Here

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

Do you you think that the readers of The Tony Jones Blog would be interested in you, your website, book, conference, grad school, college, or something else? If so, drop me a line to talk about advertising in the right sidebar. Rates are very reasonable, and the salesperson is super nice! 🙂 Read more

Ending Genesis

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

At Solomon’s Porch, the faith community of which I am a part in South Minneapolis, we are coming to the end of a long slog through the fifty chapters of Genesis. If you’re unfamiliar, at SP, we tend to work through a book of the Bible as a community, with the weekly “sermon time” being first shaped by a Sermon Discussion Group on Tuesday night and then a community-wide discussion at the weekly Sunday Gathering. I didn’t make every Sunday... Read more

World, Meet Albert!

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

We’ve had Albert for a month now and, thanks to the mad photo skilz of one Courtney Perry, I am able to introduce him in all his photogenic glory: Read more

The New Christians at Audible.com!

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

My book, The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier is now available in audio form, read by me, at Audible.com. Get it today for $7.49! Read more

My Conversation with a Beaver

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

So, there’s a family of beavers that live in a slough on my family’s land in northern Minnesota. And they take advantage of the culvert that runs underneath our road to raise the water level in the slough. I had the opportunity to sit down with the patriarch of the colony. Here’s how the conversation went: TJ: Thanks for taking the time to sit down with me. Look, we’re really frustrated that you keep clogging up the culvert. If the... Read more

Get Your Hipster Emergent Glasses…CHEAP!

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

So, in all of the hullabaloo about stereotypical emergent white hipsters with cool eyeglasses, I forgot to tell you that you can save $12 off any purchase from 39DollarGlasses.com by using code “Twitter”. It’s where I get my glasses! Read more