Everything Must Change … in Louisville
Yesterday I was warmly hosted by Highland Baptist Church ... morning services and then an overflow crowd for an evening forum on Everything Must Change. Among special surprises of the day ...
- At the evening EMC forum, the band and choir performed a beautiful original song inspired by Everything Must Change. I'm hoping I'll get an mp3 or video to post soon. For me, as you can imagine, it was a "chill up your spine" moment.
- Being just down the street from a leading conservative Southern Baptist seminary, we weren't surprised that a number of students came who were enthusiastic about countering my message with their own during the Q & A session. They did a good job of letting their opinions be known, and proved themselves loyal advocates of their tradition. God bless them. The conversation challenged everyone present to think more deeply about God's love for our world, and our role in God's work.
- After morning services, new friends Joe and Terri Phelps brought me out to Port Royal, where we spent a delightful afternoon with Wendell and Tanya Berry. The ewes were lambing, the birds were feasting at the bird feeder, the Kentucky River was rolling by, the cornbread was delicious (made from locally-grown ingredients and supplied by fellow-guests Eric and Brooke), and the Berry's couldn't have been more hospitable and charming ... It was an unexpected treat and a long-time dream come true for me to meet one of my favorite authors. If you've never read a Wendell Berry book - I recommend you start with his poetry (like The Timbered Choir), his essays (like Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community) or best - one of his novels (maybe Jayber Crow or The Memory of Old Jack).
Speaking of Everything Must Change,Bob Carlton alerted me to two links that sound like they're taken from the EMC script ...
This one by Thomas Friedman ...
This one by Paul Gilding ...
Today we begin the "New Ways of Being Church" conference at Louisville (Presbyterian) Seminary. Like the Albuquerque gathering later this week, this event is sold out.
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Songs for a Revolution of Hope …
Many of my readers aren't aware that I write music as well as prose ... I had the chance a while back to put together a collection of original songs with a number of friends, led by singer-songwriter Tracy Howe. The songs are a kind of musical accompaniment to my books The Secret Message of Jesus and Everything Must Change. Tracy recently re-did the webpage, where you can buy the CD ($14.97) or download it ($8.97).
There's another video after the jump ...
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Guilt by Association? Inquisition by Proxy? Or magnanimous friendship in the way of Christ?
In contrast to Mark Galli's generousview of Evangelicalism ... there are quite a few folks who continually try to constrict the boundaries ... first by attacking those with whom they disagree, and then by critiquing anyone who associates with those with whom they disagree. For example, someone recently went after author Frank Viola simply for calling me a friend ...
"It’s amazing that Frank Viola would write Pagan Christianity and then assert that men like Brian McLaren are his friends. McLaren promotes more pagan practice and doctrine then [sic] the whole of the Church has since Constantine."
Quite a claim! I've never asked Frank how much or little he agrees with me, nor has he asked me how much I agree with him. Instead, we have developed a mutually respectful friendship based on our common humanity within God's beautiful creation, and based on our common desire to love God and neighbor in the way of Jesus Christ. One can imagine a similar blog-comment back in Jesus' day:
It's amazing that Jesus would speak of the kingdom of God and then assert that he is a friend of people like that Syrophonecian woman, that Samaritan woman, that Roman centurion with the sick-but-now-healed servant, that loud-mouthed scoundrel Peter, or any other of the notorious sinners with whom he has eaten meals and shared time.
So, Frank - and others who have been criticized for associating with sinners like myself -- I'm terribly sorry this happens. I hope you know you're in good company.
By the way, Frank's new book From Eternity to Here is an edifying read (and a bargain at parable.com) ... Here are two relevant quotes (after the jump):
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Well said, Mark Galli …
Mark Galli offers a magnanimous reflection on the Evangelical/evangelical future here:
What I will do, to my dying day, is work with anyone who knows he was lost but now is found, whose Bible is worn because she repeatedly looks there for God to speak, who finds the Cross the most meaningful of symbols, for whom the Resurrection is not just a doctrine but a power, and who wants nothing more than to find new and creative ways to share the evangel of Jesus in word and deed. I'll work with these people no matter what scholars decide to call them.
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Sold Out … and good news …
I just got this note from Fr. Richard Rohr - about our gathering of 900 Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox Christians in Albuquerque in a few weeks:
We are now sold out, but loads of people are begging for entry.... Maybe next year we will need to use the convention center!
Just so you know, next year (2010) we're aiming for April 9 - 11.
Good news - CAC is also offering a webcast of this year's conference for $50 registration fee: http://www.cacradicalgrace.org/conferences/emer/webcast.php.
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