Check out this song, just in time for Christmas, from friend Brian McLaren.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Check out a new version of "Stand By Me"
This is from the producers at www.playing for change.com. Great video!
Monday, December 15, 2008
A new way to revitalize Detroit?
Does acre upon acre of barren blocks offer a chance to reinvent Detroit?
An interesting question in today’s Detroit Free Press offers a fresh look at a generation old problem of what to do with empty land currently taking up great blocks of space in Detroit. Our Solomon’s Porch coffee house discussion will look this week at one person’s take at a solution. The Free Press article can be found here.
Information for the discussion:
-A new map shows how to tuck the land mass of Manhattan, San Francisco and Boston into Detroit. All three urban areas would fit snuggly within Detroit’s 139 square miles with room to spare.
-Detroit’s population has declined from a high of 2 million in 1950 to under 900,000 in 2008
-the writer’s conclusion: hopes and plans to repopulate the city and redevelop the city’s vacant land are unrealistic, at least for another generation. Some redevelopment deals will succeed, but realistic Detroiter’s should seize the opportunity to become a leaner, greener city for the 21st century.
-When speaking of the best use of vacant land, urban farming is generating the most buzz. What if Detroit could provide a significant amount of fruits and vegetables for its population and the surrounding areas?
-All the mayoral candidates are mum on this topic at the moment. Why do you think that is?
-Did you know that Detroit was once called the city of Elms, a green city known for its parks?
-studies concluded in the fall of 2008 that all of Detroit’s current population needs around 50 square miles for living space. The remaining 89 square miles could be used for other purposes.
Faith issues: How are we called, if we indeed are called, as people of faith, to participate in the revitalization of Detroit’s vacant land? Would advocating for the greening of Detroit be connected to care of Creation? What sort of voice should people have that live outside of Detroit proper but are affected by the issue of vacant property and population decline in our largest city? What other uses of the land make sense to you? How should the church be involved in this process?
Bring ideas to these questions as well as some of your own to our Solomon’s Porch coffee house discussion tomorrow night at First Cup coffee house starting at 7 pm.
An interesting question in today’s Detroit Free Press offers a fresh look at a generation old problem of what to do with empty land currently taking up great blocks of space in Detroit. Our Solomon’s Porch coffee house discussion will look this week at one person’s take at a solution. The Free Press article can be found here.
Information for the discussion:
-A new map shows how to tuck the land mass of Manhattan, San Francisco and Boston into Detroit. All three urban areas would fit snuggly within Detroit’s 139 square miles with room to spare.
-Detroit’s population has declined from a high of 2 million in 1950 to under 900,000 in 2008
-the writer’s conclusion: hopes and plans to repopulate the city and redevelop the city’s vacant land are unrealistic, at least for another generation. Some redevelopment deals will succeed, but realistic Detroiter’s should seize the opportunity to become a leaner, greener city for the 21st century.
-When speaking of the best use of vacant land, urban farming is generating the most buzz. What if Detroit could provide a significant amount of fruits and vegetables for its population and the surrounding areas?
-All the mayoral candidates are mum on this topic at the moment. Why do you think that is?
-Did you know that Detroit was once called the city of Elms, a green city known for its parks?
-studies concluded in the fall of 2008 that all of Detroit’s current population needs around 50 square miles for living space. The remaining 89 square miles could be used for other purposes.
Faith issues: How are we called, if we indeed are called, as people of faith, to participate in the revitalization of Detroit’s vacant land? Would advocating for the greening of Detroit be connected to care of Creation? What sort of voice should people have that live outside of Detroit proper but are affected by the issue of vacant property and population decline in our largest city? What other uses of the land make sense to you? How should the church be involved in this process?
Bring ideas to these questions as well as some of your own to our Solomon’s Porch coffee house discussion tomorrow night at First Cup coffee house starting at 7 pm.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Can different faith expressions live together under one roof?
Lately I have been thinking a great deal about how different people, sometimes from different generations, approach Christianity and how it is to be lived out. When new approaches enter into the fray there usually is some sort of backlash against those who are attempting to look at the same story and how it speaks to us today from a different perspective. Sometimes this happens within a church context that is attempting to invite newer voices to the table of discussion. It is often hard for these new expressions to gain validation as they attempt to figure our how these new communities experience faith, life and how faith and life connect in their context. Doug Pagitt, author of “A Christianity Worth Believing”, writes of a perspective from a church that is creating a new way in the midst of the old one. I think what he writes about can be of benefit to those of us who are journeying together at St. John’s and asking God what sort of new thing we are attempting to create.
Pagitt writes the following after giving a sermon to a church like the one described using Saul as an example. He writes, “Saul was a man of deep faith and conviction who was persecuting the new movement because it seemed to abandon what he believed to be the true, faithful way. Saul was not trying to kill the things of God; he was trying to keep them alive. But we know that he was literally killing what God was doing-and the people who were doing it.” (page 215)
Pagitt continues: “I hoped the people would recognize that in the earliest days of Christianity-just as it is now-people who were motivated by the certainty of their belief assumed that they were perfecting life with God when in actuality they were blocking fresh expression of what God was doing. I hoped they would see that even when we question the conclusions of others, we can do so without questioning their faithfulness. I hoped by telling the story of the faithful but misguided attempts of Saul, I could encourage the people to be more patient, more grace-filled, and more open to those who held to a different version of the Christian story.” (page 216)
The question becomes, how do we live in the tension of new approaches while acknowledging both the old and the new faith expressions are attempting to be faithful to how God in working in and through the process? Is it possible to keep the process expression driven and not personality driven? I believe it can happen, but the further question that haunts me is simply can people parse their faith into process driven discussions without the personality of the person coming through? Does this need to happen? When two “rival sides” journey together with how God can be expressed in a faithful way through those who follow, how can we effectively mediate a productive, worthwhile discussion that enables both expressions to be recognized and honored in a meaningful way?
Let me know what you think.
Be blessed.
Pagitt writes the following after giving a sermon to a church like the one described using Saul as an example. He writes, “Saul was a man of deep faith and conviction who was persecuting the new movement because it seemed to abandon what he believed to be the true, faithful way. Saul was not trying to kill the things of God; he was trying to keep them alive. But we know that he was literally killing what God was doing-and the people who were doing it.” (page 215)
Pagitt continues: “I hoped the people would recognize that in the earliest days of Christianity-just as it is now-people who were motivated by the certainty of their belief assumed that they were perfecting life with God when in actuality they were blocking fresh expression of what God was doing. I hoped they would see that even when we question the conclusions of others, we can do so without questioning their faithfulness. I hoped by telling the story of the faithful but misguided attempts of Saul, I could encourage the people to be more patient, more grace-filled, and more open to those who held to a different version of the Christian story.” (page 216)
The question becomes, how do we live in the tension of new approaches while acknowledging both the old and the new faith expressions are attempting to be faithful to how God in working in and through the process? Is it possible to keep the process expression driven and not personality driven? I believe it can happen, but the further question that haunts me is simply can people parse their faith into process driven discussions without the personality of the person coming through? Does this need to happen? When two “rival sides” journey together with how God can be expressed in a faithful way through those who follow, how can we effectively mediate a productive, worthwhile discussion that enables both expressions to be recognized and honored in a meaningful way?
Let me know what you think.
Be blessed.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Check out this cool new idea from Detroit
Freinds:
Last night I attended a human rights conference in metro Detroit. One of the people I met was Amy Tarrant. Amy is starting a business centered in an new an exciting way to be a Detroiter. Her concept that thoughts are vibrations, think happy thoughts, live the vibe in welcome in this part of the country. Her company, Vibrate Peace Detroit, is attempting to bring an alternative message and image to Detroit. Today I am wearing one of her cool t-shirt designs. Check them out and support her if you are able. I think we need more people like Amy doing creative things like this.
Be Blessed.
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