Emergent Conversation

Tony Jones offers two great articles (scroll down for the first one) on the Emergent movement. I am always struck by how the Modern world has a hard time not boxing people into definitions or labels. I know that living with some ambiguity was one of the hardest things for me when I joined this conversation, but now it is incredibly liberating.


BTW thanks to JR for the link to these articles.

Where do you fall in the Theological scale?

This is how I came out in the theological/doctrine test to see where I fall.



You scored as Emergent/Postmodern. You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology.
You feel alienated from older forms of church,
you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this.

Emergent/Postmodern		79%
Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan		54%
Neo orthodox		54%
Roman Catholic		46%
Charismatic/Pentecostal		43%
Modern Liberal		32%
Classical Liberal		29%
Reformed Evangelical		21%
Fundamentalist		11%

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

Pat Robertson--He will Pump You Up

You need to check out CBN's website, saying that Pat Robertson can leg press 2000 pounds. Nope, I did not make a typo, but I hope they did.

Youth Film Festival

Shannon joined me as part of my class headed to downtown Los Angeles for a youth film festival. The festival was hosted at the Bresee Foundation. This community center offers amazing services to the Pico Union, South Central LA, and Korea Town population. It was quite remarkable to see the many different resources and services they offer to a community that could easily be overlooked. I was impressed with the range of ages they serve. When you first walk into the building, you come across the medical clinic, which offers low cost/no cost medical attention to children. Down the hall is a Computer lab, offered to adults 18 and over. The cost to use this computer lab is $5 for a year!!! Down the hall from that is a Youth Center, filled with a pool table, games, food, and just places to hang out. The schedule of the center goes like this: from 3-4pm, the teens are able to come in, unwind, and just hang out. From 4-5pm is a mandatory homework time, monitored by the tutor volunteers. After 5 they have many different programs, workshops, and services for any and all to attend. The programs can range from tutoring, digital editing, college prep, chess clubs, and any other specialty offered through the volunteers. Once a week from 6:30-7 they offer a time for the teens to explore current questions on politics, religion, culture, and world news. Needless to say I was amazed to see such a wonderful place, transforming the community around them. I love the fact that it is a non-profit group, run by a church, but it is not merely a guise for evangelism. They are all about building continued relationships with the youth and adults of the community, seeing this as an active way to live the message of Christ in a broken world. Now I just need to find a place similar to this one that is close enough to volunteer on a permanent basis.

Joy of Being Active

Yesterday was a blast. Shannon and I hurried home from work, went grocery shopping, and picked up a soccer ball on the way home. We then went down to the Rose Bowl to just kick around the soccer ball before the sun went down. I can't wait to do more things like this when school is done. It is amazing how much public space is provided down at the Rose Bowl. The parks and fields provide endless opportunities for fun and play. Maybe I will run down there later this week to throw the baseball around. Who knows?

Evolution of Dance

I give props to Nick Connell for showing this one to me. Check it out

Detached and Hypocritical

Well, I am winding down the school year with my last class. I have loved the reading and reflecting I have been doing on the inner city, homelessness, and the response of the church, but I am still feeling detached and hypocritical about the whole thing. The problem is that I do not live in the urban setting that I am reflecting on. Yes, Pasadena is a city in many different ways, but it is a far cry from Skid Row. Here I am, born and raised in the suburbs of Southern California, and I am supposed to offer some insight to how the church should engage the problem of homelessness in the city. I am leaning towards reflecting on possible ways for the suburban church to respond in a holistic way, beyond mere guilt and shame for the "great white flight". Hopefully I will get some more direction before I start writing this weekend. Oh yea, and I have senioritis...I just want to be done.