Eastern Iowa

eastern iowa emergent cohort

1. Emergent Nazarenes Backlash
   
   Check out the new Half-Baked Theology podcast episode two. We discuss this YouTube video among other things. I talk with Kyle Stickens and Travis Marshall. Kyle is a recent Organic Church planter, and Travis a pastor of a non-traditional church with a focus on community needs versus congregation needs. We debate the transitional capabilities of the general Church of the Nazarene as well as institutional obstacles to Building for the Kingdom of God. New music is “Closer Than You Think”, a song from a one time project by Switchfoot lead singer Jon Foreman and Nickel Creek guitarist Sean Watkins.
   
2. Half-Baked Theology Podcast debuts!
   
   In this inaugural episode, Lon talks with Eric Lapp and Tim Stidham about the Emerging Nazarenes, the opposing Concerned Nazarenes, and the Unconcerned Nazarenes. Other topics include Pauline Christology, N.T. Wright's escatology and the new iPhone and software coming soon. The show is capped off with music from Derek Webb, This Too Shall Be Made Right. Check it out here.
   
3. Film Imitates Life
   
   A pastor friend of mine told me that the 1952 movie High Noon, was the story of one of his pastorates. A few years ago I saw the movie Babe and told my sister in law it was a movie about social justice. The movie takes place in Australia, so I said, "Australians are very political." She and her husband have never let me live that statement down.
   
   The other day I watched the old Dr. Seuss story, now made into a movie, Horton Hears a Who! This is a story about maintaining the status quo in groups. It is a tale about a band of souls united for a common purpose, but somewhere along the way they lose their vision, become apathetic, and the movement becomes stagnant. What's worse is that they get comfortable there. Incredibly, some actually thwart efforts to get things back on track. In this movie, the ones trying to help (Horton and the Mayor) are labeled as "boobs" and pursued like early church heretics burned at the stake. I was moved to tears in this animated story of an elephant because it imitates life too well.
   
   I saw this process first hand at a legislative law making session at the state capitol today. These rabble rousers showed up out of nowhere and started making accusations, and demanding things that threw the proverbial monkey wrench into the works. Our elected representatives surprisingly gave them more power than they deserve and slowed down an already slow process.
   
   The same friend from High Noon showed me the well known bell shaped curve, the life cycle of too many churches. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry when I see it. What you miss when you see the facts of the graph is the stories of power brokers, and party line politics, and heartache.
   
   Today I listened to an interview with Phillis Tickle about her book, The Great Emergence. She contends we are at a hinge in history, much like the Reformation, the Great Schism, etc. Times in history where our entire culture (and thus, faith) was (and is now being) rewritten. This seems to happen about every 500 years, give or take. Listening to this podcast affirmed that I'm not a boob. We all need that once in awhile. I'm looking for a few like minded souls out there. Any takers?
   
4. Happy New Year
   Happy New Year To All:
   
   I am really kind of wondering where people are at with committment to posting to the blog. I know everyone has been crazy busy but I would like to see more diveristy in hte posting. I don't want to be the only one.
   
   Please think about it as we begin the new year.
   
   Ruth
   
5. Holiday musings
   I have  no idea whether it is my turn to post a gain but since there aren't others clammoring to do so , I will .( what a run-on sentence).
   
   
   First of all I want to  wish everyone a blessed holiday season. There are many occasions to gather with  friends, congregations, members of other faith traditions and our families( biological or  created).  As we venture what some  Christians celebrate as Advent we are reminded that it is a season of expectation- of waiting and watching. A season of  believing in those things whose form we may not be able to see.
   
   
   Remember that throughout our faith traditions we are constantly told that things may not be as they seem through our earthly eyes. We are called to mystery, confusion and joy in equal parts throughout our lives.
   
   
   My hope for the new year is that we can become more accountable to taking time out of our otherwise busy lives to post here as we are able.  I  would  like to see an honest open discussion of what we are called to  do with the  knowledge that the  message of our faiths is  alive in each one of us. We have the responsibility to make the changes we hope to see.
   
   
   If we shake our heads and  fingers at the  institution that is only half of the battle- God provides us with  glimpses of Wisdom so we can do something about them- not only discuss them and preach to the  choir but to enter into a personal dialogue with what such information is  calling forth from the depths of our hearts and souls.
   
   
   We are called to community- not  a self-protecting individual exegesis of what Wisdom might mean. There is  evil in the world( perhaps not where may think it is) but it not just individuals making bad choices. It is the collective actions that we as faith communities take or don't take. There are  collective sins  and the only way to respond to them is to collectively choose to  do things another way.
   
   
   Enough Preaching
   
   
   Peace and Grace
   Ruth