Obama Inauguration Recap

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:06 pm By Tony Jones

Billions of words have already been written and spoken yesterday and today regarding the inauguration, everything from the Justice Roberts oath flub to Michelle Obama’s ball gown. I’ve got opinions, of course, but nothing particularly new to say. So, instead, I’ll just post a little around-the-horn from some of the more interesting items I’vbe read. 1) Over at Religion Dispatches, Michael A. Elliot points to Rick Warren’s sermon last Sunday, delivered at MLK’s Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. It seems... Read more

Comment(s) of the Day

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:06 pm By Tony Jones

As usual, lots and lots of mean-spirited commentary around GLBT issues here yesterday, but a couple of poignant comments stuck out under yesterday’s Comment of the Day and Sunday’s Announcing Queermergent. First, Kristi: done talking? done listening? i don’t understand what preson is done doing, i guess. and after looking at the original post, i do see that you were merely posting a link to someone, not giving your opinion on it. i just chatted for an hour yesterday with... Read more

Comment of the Day 2

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:06 pm By Tony Jones

Peter Rollins and Stephen Shields have begun a bit of a back-and-forth under the post, Ten Years of Emergent/ing. Here’s Pete’s response to Stephen, and here’s hoping they’ll continue the conversation (here or elsewhere): Hey there Would love to chat, and I am sorry that my tone in the comments sounded so strong! I am also aware that my own thoughts here may not be representative of how many people who adopt the term ’emergent’ think. However I guess one... Read more

Join Us on the (Internet) Radio

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:06 pm By Tony Jones

I’m a regular commentator on Doug Pagitt’s daily radio show, The Question. (Yes, I believe that is a velour shirt.) His show runs from 10-11am Central Time on Blogtalkradio, and I join him most Tuesdays from 10:30-11:00 to talk about religion in America. Today, of course, will be a special broadcast since it will be the thirty minutes prior to the historic inauguration of Barack Obama. Join us by logging in, calling in, etc. Read more

Comment of the Day

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:06 pm By Tony Jones

Preson takes issue with my post, Announcing Queermergent, as did many others. What’s interesting is that I merely pointed out this new group, with no editorial comment. Yet my even publicizing it raises the ire of many. I guess that simply acknowledging the existence of gay Christians is a bridge-too-far for some. Alright, I’m done. Many of us have been involved in this conversation for a very long time. We defended it with the hope that it would truly become... Read more

"We Are Caught in an Inescapable Network of Mutuality"

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:06 pm By Tony Jones

Over the past several years, on my various blogs, I’ve pointed to or republished the Letter from a Birmingham Jail, written to the white clergymen of that city, to honor the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. Here it is again, with my emphases added. I implore you to take the time to read it today. (It is especially trenchant for those of us who are white churchmen.) 16 April 1963 My Dear Fellow Clergymen: While confined here in the... Read more

Comment of the Weekend

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:07 pm By Tony Jones

Well, there’s a lot to choose from this weekend. Several of the Methodist ministers who were at the contentious conference last week weighed in on What Happened in Missouri. Of course, it’s disheartening to read on Susan Cox-Johnson’s blog that some in attendance didn’t think that I showed the appropriate deference to the bishop. Meanwhile, Pete Rollins rightly calls me out for my choice of “money quote” in Stephen Shields’s Ten Years of Emergent/ing. So, I’ll choose a comment from... Read more

Announcing Queermergent

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:07 pm By Tony Jones

Adele Sakler, whom I’ve known for a few years, has started yet another “hyphenated” group within the emergent network-of-networks. She’s calling it “Queermergent,” and, as you might guess, it’s focused on GLBTQ issues. Read more

Let's Be the Change

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:07 pm By Tony Jones

One of the theme’s of BO’s campaign for president that was most enthralling for me was the potential he holds to really bind our country together for the good of the whole. Whether it be the massive investment into roads, bridges, rail, and other infrastructure, or the call for a spirit of volunteerism and service, Obama promises to usher in an era of cooperation that all persons of faith should welcome. One of the first opportunities for us to link... Read more

Ten Years of Emergent/ing

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:07 pm By Tony Jones

Next Wave E-Zine has a ten year retrospective of the emergent church movement by Stephen Shields that is, as we would expect from Stephen, comprehensive and even-handed. Money Quote: And so the tenth anniversary of Next-Wave arrives at a critical moment for the emerging church conversation. Theological differences indeed threaten the short-term cohesion and long-term viability of the emerging church and yet in the midst of those differences, many claim some genuine ecclesiological and theological advances that may yet prove... Read more