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remembering Robert Webber

i am saddened, but not surprised, to hear of the passing of robert webber. for those that don't know webber is considered a worship expert, frequent speaker, and author of the ancient/future series. he had been sick for some time and would communicate his progress or regress over his email list as he was able. his condition seemed to be on the positive late in winter, but the overall prognosis was never that... well, positive.

i met robert once, that being at the '04 emergent convention, when i really didn't know what emergent was but i was way familiar with his ancient/future worship book. it helped me (and jonathon as well) put words to many of things we were experiencing with monastic spiritual practices blended with prayer stations in a worship experience we didn't know what to do with but felt faithful to practice. i'll always remember the seminars i sat in on and getting a chance to talk shop with him in the lobby of the renassaince hotel here in nashville. he was way kind and listened to us as we jabbered on about what we were living in.

as with the passing of stan grenz, another fun connection from that '04 convention, robert is missed but will live on in my memories and through the legacy left from his words, spoken and written. i've uploaded his ancient/future worship lecture that i first heard him in back in '04. i am sure this is some copywright infringing, but it seems right to share a bit of the robert i knew and will miss.

ancient/future worship - emergent convention '04 - robert webber (about 1hr, 74mgs)

worn out by sabbath & weekend in pictures

this weekend after prom erin, myself and brian (one of our other ym's) took some of our graduating seniors on our first sabbath retreat. we're starting this for a couple of reasons, 1. we want they to understand sabbath rest (even if we don't observe it to the extent of orthodox jews) 2. we want them to have some sacred space to relive some of those connections they have made over the years. this our first senior sabbath was a "girls" weekend. we headed for the lake on saturday morning, let them get cozy while erin made lunch, brian and i went to rent a boat. we spent the day on the boat which was cool and hot depending on the cloud cover. i was the brave, or stupid, one that jumped into the lake. it's kinda cold still this late in spring. got ourselves some dinner and hung out around a hot tub or reading books till we all fell asleep rather early. we closed out after breakfast, with them blowing out the sabbath candle we had lit as our observation of sabbath. then began the long trek home.

it was such a nice day out today that we dissed our regular programming for impromtu game of kickball. this has to be the first time we have played kickball this academic year cause our 7th graders really impressed me.

after youth it was a rush into the sanctuary for a special music worship/concert to benefit one of the special funds of our church that helps to pay for some of the needs (medical/physical) for people in our congregation and community. the youth praise band kicked off the music, they rocked the house.. sorta.. they were excellent, but the crowd was probably unsure what to do with a youth praise team so early in a venue.

some of the other groups blended out the sound. two of our girls were in the vivaldi girls, a small orchestra that one of our members has put together. my buddy travis, who is also one of our ym's & focuses on the youth praise team & jr. high (how brave) was part of the core collection of musicians that put this thing together. i was happy for him to see it come off well. i know many cooks in the kitchen made for some craziness. but, as with many things, it all comes out in the end with God's work. my treat of the night came when two of my youth mom's surprised us by singing a latin song from the balcony. it was wonderfully beautiful. cool part was that at this point i had moved up to the balcony so i got to hear it really well. i don't know how much of this thing was worship, but for me this song helped usher in my connecting moment for the night.

it is prom season

guess what, it is prom season folks! yup, that spring time rite of passage for teenagers. i got invited over to one of youth ministers homes for pictures as some of the girls picked their house for pictures. classic thing was they had a meeting months ago to decide on their agenda and where they wanted to do all this.

see some more pics @ my flickr

myspace videos

jaws found these cool adcouncil videos on myspace & other online networks, check his site for more

friday five

this friday five comes via the revgalblogpals

1. wearing? jeans i have worn just about every day this week and an old allman brothers concert t-shirt. eat a peach for peace everyone! i will change later when i head off to prom pictures

2. pondering? what i am going to have for breakfast, or is it too close to lunch? i really am hungry all of a sudden

3. reading? finishing "the secret message of Jesus," started "how (not) to speak of God," carrying half-way read "unfettered hope" & "branded"

4. dreaming? that somehow my house will be clean without me lifting a thing

5. eating? good question.. i do have a lunch date with one of my home school kids, they want mediterranean.. i guess i am out of here!

thanks all!

the way of swag

hung out at the upperroom today for some way of pilgrimage retreat talk (come to nashville october 11-13th). cool thing with todays meeting the stuff is just off the press. so we got our little book swag on. i must say, they turned out way cooler than i could have imagined. i like the feel the size (i already know the content, which i obviously like). i has some great endorsements. even from fav mark yaconelli. i hope all you youth folk will start to use this as a transformational part of your youth ministry. pastors who actually read this blog, equip your youth persons with this. you won't be disappointed. if they don't get it, send them to nashville in october for the retreat and i'll have jonathon drool on them about his theo man love crush on hauerwas. they still won't get pilgrimage, but their only option to get away from jonathon is to promise to start using it.

on putting up barriers

rejection hardens people, but acceptance makes transformation possible.

-brian mclaren, the secret message of jesus

nets team

i was wondering if anyone set up a nothing but nets team that i can help with? if not, maybe i'll start my own. call me coach then.

myspace not right

one of my myspace kids brought this to my attention

like a modern john hughes film

you go girl.. boy! apparently, in california, a transgendered student is running for prom king.

When school officials announce the name of the Fresno High School prom king on Saturday, Cinthia Covarrubias will be wearing a tuxedo just like the six boys vying for the honor. Administrators agreed to reverse a district protocol this week that limited males to compete for the title after Covarrubias was nominated by her classmates.

"I would never have run for anything if I had to wear a dress," said Covarrubias, who considers herself transgender, an umbrella term that covers all people whose outward appearance and internal identity don't match their gender at birth.

Gay youth advocates called it a landmark victory for campus gender expression and said they believe it's the first time in the U.S. that an openly transgender student has run for prom royalty.

not sure about prom royalty, it is just high school. tip journal student ministries weekly email.

post earth day funny

from truthdig thanks nashvilleistalking

just another manic monday

so mondays are supposed to be my day off.. "what is that?" you ask. i ask the same thing often. i spent my day off sitting in on a meeting with the youth 2007 management and design team. as i might have mentioned before i'm helping with setting up the "worship feast" area. and since i consider our space to be set-apart from the rest of the event i tuned in and out of the meeting. 2 hours later i was budged and reminded it was my time to give my report. five minutes later i was done and back to my tuning in and out.

it was good to see friends though, probably the real reason i actually went to the meeting. i got to meet mike ratliff and try and recruit him for our mission trip.. no luck on that, but i'll keep trying. apparently he's new to the gbod.

stopped by cokesbury and bought some new reading to add to the old reading i am still reading. again, i hadn't picked up a book in awhile so i had too. of notable titles, how (not) to speak of God, they like Jesus but not the church, Christianity for the rest of us, peculiar people by rodney clapp, and some other smaller book... i started reading "how (not) to speak of God" while eating dinner, i am thinking i will really like that one. that excites me as it is peter rollins first book (that i know of).

the evening off i spent at the gas station, the youth ministry of one the local churches in hendersonville. first time i had been in this church, i met up with my umc cohort jennifer from good shepherd umc. i stopped in for a showing of invisibile children, something i feel strongly for and have highlighted here in the past. they were having a screening of the ic movie while promoting the upcoming displace me experience.

got home around 9, the wife and i took the children for a decent walk. decent enough where the children were wiped out. now i'm back to reading some of those books.. catch yall later. shalom, -g

what is grosser than gross

okay, so i thought this was gross, but the folks as westboro have proved me there is grosser than the gross Christianity i saw yesterday. if you are confused by the tune, think back to 1985... tip to turbulent cleric who apparently mentioned this in a sermon or talk.

what is it with guys and church

can someone help me understand this. i have just been puzzled with the whole guys don't like church cause it is too feminine (rockalive for article). thus, since it is too feminine they are pulling themselves out to sub-church groups or "masculine" alternatives that will only ostracize them from families more.

it is puzzling when just 10 to 15 years ago we had a resurgence of men getting more into family life and remaking commitments with the promise keepers. why did we need that if we were in such a good place beforehand? or maybe this is the pendulum swinging to the far opposite side? i suppose godmen is the alternative spiritual growth center for a man who doesn't want to remember vows of marriage and commitments to children they bore. maybe it is just me that finds the link of the founder of godmen to be a prominent part of pk to be ironic.

i know some others have blogged about this prior months, and i have tried to express my confusion before. i stopped because i couldn't offer any response.. so now, i still have no response, only confusion in observing some very confused men trying to maintain multiple identities. one of the masculine machismo that wild western movies (and their current day hybrids) plus other culture machines versus the gospel message of Christ which says to be humble and servant, loving and a peacemaker...

i suppose we can look to erik erickson's theories, men never made it through crisis "successfully" in their adolescence of 12-18, their identity vs confusion stage. which is highlighted by "peer relationships" which could translate as community within our church context. todays man never figured out their identity in youth when it comes to the church community? if they missed that mark, then they would still be trying to make up for an unsuccessful experience in adolescence.

hmmm... maybe, i'm still confused.

the loss of psalm

i was reminded tonight of a parallel that i made in reference to those addicted to meth. the parallel being that if you look at those addicted they are without a song, or as i had said, a psalm. those psalms that show that you are alive, feeling, loving, hurting, and dreaming.

so i was intrigued to read a similar thought of shane claiborne's on taking up violence.

there is a common thread in many of the most horrific perpetrators of violence that begs our attention – they kill themselves. Violence kills the image of God in us. It is a cry of desperation, a weak and cowardly cry of a person suffocated of hope. Violence goes against everything that we are created for – to love and to be loved – so it inevitably ends in misery and suicide.

thAy did it

the university of alabama had it's yearly a-day game today. actually it is going on right now. there was quite a bit of buzz going on around the game as people were trying to get a record crowd for the game. i remember the a-day game when i was on campus, it was cool to go and sit around the stadium, take up more seats than you need and get a tan. the buzz this year is due to nick saban being on campus now. the fan goal was to fill the stadium, 92,000 seats. i think the university would be happy with more than the average attendance over the years, around 12,000. my bro and his wife organized a group of folks to head down there. erin & i have commitments this evening that have kept us in town, but i am watching it. looks like the turnout is around 70k with the lower bowl and as much as the tv coverage shows of the upper bowl being filled. as far as the game.. nothing terribly exciting so far. crimson 10 white 7 at the start of the 3rd.

bookmark safety

the illinois library association apparently made friends with myspace. i actually got them from ypulse. these are some myspace bookmarks you can print out that give tips for actual social life... bullying and safe online time.

Download Blogging_Bookmarks.pdf

gross

why am i so grossed out by this? the flippant arrogance? the assumptions? the "in the old days" nostalgic attitude? thanks josh.. i think

spiderman is from new york

i am sorta wondering what the inspiration for broadway shows is going to be in the future. with the success of the lion king and piano man it seems anything is up for inspiration as spiderman will be the basis for the next broadway sensation.. maybe

just the best movie eva

i am taking a break from cleaning up the house and treating myself to what is the best movie of all time! i think it was the first pg-13 movie, certainly it was the first i ever saw. it has everything, cold war tension, cool high school kids, dorky high school kids, and a completely exaggerated plot line that you can't help but cheer "wolverine."

the good ole days

you remember your fun. i am remembering our good times.. haha!

i am me, sorta

john, did you create this? awesome! i just knew lorna and i were kindred spirits. i must say, i hit a tiebreaker (never knew that could happen) and i chose my broken shift key over the books i read.. i wonder what would have happenend had i picked the books.. hmmm..

You scored as Gavin Richardson. You are Gavin Richardson!  You didn't let problems with punctuation, capitalization, or that drunken night in Tijuana stop you from becoming a successful youth pastor and acclaimed author. Lorna Koskela 92% Gavin Richardson 92% Art Ruch 58% Abi Carlisle-Wilke 50% Jonathon Norman 50% Allan Bevere 50% Keith McIlwain 50% John the Methodist 33% Theresa Coleman 25% Which Methoblogger Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

we can agree this is not gospel

i know many of us are in different places when it comes to homosexuality. i think one thing we can agree the gospel doesn't tell us to do harm.

The groups say that the number of victims of "sexual cleansing" is growing on a daily basis.

"In the past three months, more than 30 gays have been executed in Baghdad. The bodies have been found tortured, mutilated - sometimes with signs of rape," said Mustafa Salim, spokesman for the Rainbow for Life Organisation (RLO), a Baghdad-based gay rights NGO.

i know this is the actions of muslims against other muslims who "denies the Islamic religion." the parallel, we may not kill (then again, with hate crimes, we do). our actions in the name of Christianity sometimes border on cleansing.

tip to josh for the article

the King of poker

I Lost It

in other related cruise topics. i was listening to espn radio the other day. the topic they got on was the diversity of tom cruise characters. think about it

• taps - cocky army cadet
• risky business - cocky hs pimp
• few good men - cocky lawyer
• the firm - cocky lawyer
• days of thunder - cocky race car driver
• far and away - cocky irishman
• rain man - cocky brother
• the color of money - cocky pool player
• mission impossible - cocky secret agent
• minority report - cocky police officer
• top gun - cocky fighter pilot
• eyes wide shut - cocky social deviant
• born on the 4th of july - uhhh.. got me there
• vanilla sky - cocky celebrity weirdo with fake face
• jerry maguire - cocky sports agent
• cocktail... do i need to go further?

new way to exploit

yesterday i talked about the younger culture is turning towards the internet to show their emotions and grieve through this (and other) event. with any good use of something comes the abuse. i mentioned this, but wired did a list of domains that are currently for sale on ebay.. it's gross.

5) virginiatechlawsuits.com, vatechlawsuits.com, vatechlawsuit.com, vatechlawsuit.info, vatechlawsuits.info, virginiatechlawsuits.info
Registrant: Proxy, Inc. (a anonymous registrant service)
Registrar: GoDaddy
Starting Bid: $417,007
Buy It Now: $500,000
Bids: 0
This mystery profiteer hopes to corner the legal angle on the tragedy. "Unfortunatly [sic], we know that this is coming," he writes in his description. "Lawyers will jump on this thing real quick!...These domain names will be good for years to come; we all know how long a lawsuit takes." A clue to this seller's identity: mbradley005 in Sterling, Virginia.

6) vamassacre.com, massacreofvatech.com, massacreofvtech.com, vatechcarnage.com, vetechkillings.com
Registrant: Sam Zade, possibly of Feasterville, Pennsylvania
Registrar: GoDaddy
Starting Bid: Not listed
But It Now: $100,000
Bids: 0

Zade starts his pitch by telling potential buyers that these are "Great Domain Names for a Memorial Fund Development." Perhaps realizing that people might not see it that way (perhaps not), Zade later promises that "10% will be donated to the victims [sic] families. Our Hearts go out to all the victims and families of Virginia Tech Massacre!" He has two large American flags on his listing. 100 percent positive rating.

one has started to get a conscious

new way to grieve

i have been intrigued over the years how young adults have used the internet to express themselves. so it is no suprise that through a tragedy like we have on the virginia tech campus the young adult community responds in the ways they are familiar, the internet.

i jumped onto facebook to see what has been happening in the college community (the primary population of facebook). if you typed in "virginia tech" into a search you get over 550 groups with just about everyone being a vigil or support group. the one that i joined (screen capture) had over 11 thousand members, with pictures of victims and graphics joining the various universities and the black ribbon vt graphic.

nightline had a spot on how the students on campus were using facebook to talk to each other. a family posted the news of their son's death. with people leaving parting words in his comments section. wired has observations of how the internet jumped to accuse, people squatted up domain names related to the tragedy, they even have some instant message communications of the events.

my thoughts wonder, is this sufficient ability for action in dealing with the emotions of a tragedy like this? is it better than nothing?

with many sites devoted to the grieving process. knowing that the identity of the shooter has been released today. i have not looked for them, but i imagine that hate sites for the shooter are already being created

fun times at saint simons island

anyone up for a theology fun time at saint simons island? begin planning now. jonathon and i went to this last year and loved it.

crazy campaign ideas

i am not a political consultant, but going back to my pow camp to regain my roots would be a bad idea. i suppose for john mccain, he can do what he wants.

a source close to the campaign said the senator's decision to revisit his indescribable degradation at the hands of the Viet Cong was prompted by a desire to "get back to his roots," and "reconnect with the struggles that defined him as a leader."

"The fact is, Sen. McCain feels that he's changed somehow from the independent, eternally haunted outsider that he once was," the source said. "He hopes that revisiting the extraordinary horrors he endured so many years ago will reinstill in him the sense of purpose and commitment he is so respected for. And what better way to reignite the political fire within than by having sharpened rods of bamboo jammed under his fingernails?"

According to campaign documents released to the media, the visit will cost more than $10 million, most of which will go toward acquiring a Grushin S-75 surface-to-air missile, renovating McCain's cell to its exact 1970s-era condition, paying medical personnel to provide inefficient and cruel treatment, and hiring Vietnamese citizens to act as the Viet Cong.

:: full article ::

thoughts and prayers

  Half Mast 
  Originally uploaded by StrutterAtlanta.

i can't imagine the heartache and sorrow. the images are so similar to others i have tried to comprehend before. different from columbine, or other sites of school or business massacres virginia tech is a place that i have some familiarity with. i would go through town a couple of times a year when i drove from new jersey to alabama for my own college years. i even spent an evening at the wesley foundation on a road trip. i loved the stone buildings and colors on campus. i didn't exactly care for how the football team beat the snot out of my tide in the first music city bowl. sad now, the first memory of virginia tech will not be that beat down or the road trips, but the loss of life and acts of violence that brought death.

i pray for families and friends of the victims, i also pray for the family and friends of the shooter. there is only brokenness with violence such as this

doing the least of things for Kingdom

i cracked open some selected writings of the crazy wesley fellow. from one the more well known readings, where he's freaked that he might die while at sea, only to be comforted by the singing of the moravians.

I had long before observed the great seriousness of their behavior. Of their humility they had given a continual proof, by performing those servile tasks for other passengers that none of the English would undertake. For this they desired - and would recieve - no pay, saying "it was good for their proud hearts," and "their loving Savior has doen more for them." And every day had given them occasion of showing a meekness which no injury could move. If they were pushed, struck, or thown down, they rose again and went away; but no complaint was found in their mouth.

i wonder what the little things we have in our world that i and others shudder at doing because we are  proud "English" folks? what would the world look like if we took note from the humble people of the world in going about doing the small things?

day @ the academy

took a bit of the weekend to celebrate with some of the friends for my buddy chris's bachelor party weekend in annapolis maryland. i showed up on friday, spending time catching up with his fam and others, eating some excellent food. late night we took in a viewing of rad, the best cheesy 80's bmx movie ever! did you know you can still get a rad racing t-shirt? saturday was spent over at the naval academy watching the army/navy lacrosse game. we had to cut out after the 3rd period with a tie game. i had to catch my plane home. navy is ranked eighth in the nation, so it's no surprise that they eventually won. my brother is probably not too happy with that result. that academy is a unique place to catch a sporting event. so many young people all dressed up in the same outfits and dress uniforms. plus, you might think the whole student body is there making it was kinda weird to sit amongst all the navy cadets as we (my bro and me) cheered for army (the others just cheered).

some more pictures at my flickr

pull up your pants for God

now this is an interesting calling to ministry.

Robinson is black and aims his message at young black men, saying wearing trousers well below their waists diminishes them and their communities.

:: full article ::

fellow book people

jonathon was telling me about this site. for you people with many books that you wouldn't mind giving away to get some books you want.. well, this might be your site

short distance dedication for jonathon

this is for you jonathon, i can't think of a better gift, your favorite band and fuzzy people. tip ian

maybe you'd rather see their clocks rendition

from the hard drive

i have been cleaning up my various computers hard drives. not sure where i found this, but i thought it worth sharing. some of the most serious things are said in jest.

sadness

this afternoon after my morning meeting i'm driving up into hendersonville. i am traveling on the vietnams veteran hwy, the bypass that takes you into hendersonville and gallatin. while driving i see off in the distance the distinct smoke flume that i know as a house burning. i spent 2 years as a firefighter back in my new jersey days, so i've seen this before. i wondered about the homeowners their faces as they gaze upon their home, also things i've seen before.

the smoke started to thick and thin, so that told me that it was being put out. i was wondering if i would travel past the house (maybe i'm a rubber neck person, but i like to think it is more of an interest due to my past, how many trucks, what kind of lines they drew).

as i come up to my exit though the smoke seems that it could just be a brush fire from a huge building project... so i say, cool, all my images are not as bad as i saw them

only later to my dismay, and to many, the result is more saddening than originally imagined.

i know seeing this house from the river and how it is depicted in the movies. it's a cool little landmark for hendersonville to hang it's hat on. it's part of the history of the small town. after jonny cash died a few years ago the house was a big conversation piece. what would happen to it?  from what i heard the house was in need of upgrades and refurbishing. i think it was bought by one of the gibb brothers who had started to get work done on it, but it was going to keep the same unique look (and if you went up and down the river it was a unique home to check out). it is sad to know that the faces that did look and will look over the house will not just be a singular family, but the faces of a whole community that lost one of its landmarks and a community of fans.

youthworker redesign

later today i'll be downtown hanging with our conference camping committee. of all the committee's i sit on, i like this one. the people on it have been very active over the last few years & they are a lot of fun together. we will be meeting at the new youthworkermovement offices. excited to see that youthworkermovement has a new website design, very cool. jonathon, and i, will finally be contributing to the site as putting together their podcasts. you can check out our pilot episode, recorded back in the fall, but held off as the ywm went through this change, and then it was lost on jonathon's hard drive. he found it now.

you might be interested to know that i could have a run in with my favorite bishop

monday youtube

Easter "Not"

Happy Easter Everyone!

got some time on the hands, so i'm finding some refletions on Easter "NOT!"

• some dog wipes out the easter bunny
• these things are supposed to be a challenge
• the easter bunny hates you!
• eddie izzard on the season
• cheney kills the easter bunny
• peep wars

holy week meditations: happy 4 easter

Yeah!! Christ has Risen Indeed!

i don't know what in particular did this too me, my own meditations, prayers, the worship services, time around the church, wearing liturgic colors... i don't know why, but i was totally bummed out from thursday through saturday. for as long as i've claimed to be a Christian and participated in the life of the church and within the rhythm of the Christian calendar i've never been sooo bummed out and needing of Easter morning, than i was in need this year. i have no idea why, as far as i know everything i have done this lent and holy week i have done in prior years, but this year it was different. so let me tell ya, i was extremely excited to get to church today. i may not have sung it well, but i was happy to sing "Christ the Lord has Risen." alleluia! time to be happy again as Christ is alive

happy Easter everyone!