Conservative and Traditional

Okay, i'm a little slow, freely admit it. it came to my attention while speaking with a friend of mine this morning there is a distinction to be made between "traditional" and "conservative." perhaps there is a political side to this distinction, i do not know. but in local churches there are people who hold to conservative views and yet, can let go of traditions. then there are others who cannot separate the two.

i know, labels are a mess. i don't like to use labels (can't tell from the previous paragraph, huh?). they serve more to exclude then include. i use it as a means of distinguishing--never wanting to exclude. no part of the spectrum has got it all. for example, it could be said that Warren and Hybels are indeed conservative. yet nobody would ever say they are traditional.

btw, why do people brake at green lights? how's that for random?

Creative Cold Needs a Cure

i came across this post today and found it particularly articulate of my own experience. the post http://www.evotional.com/2007/10/creative-margin.html partly answers why i read and track bloggers. life has a way of narrowing down stuff so that i miss larger pictures, clearer images, sharper focusses that broaden and expand. as the journal i edit suggests, all of life becomes truly technicolored if i am willing to cross-discipline train and live. each discipline provides an angle to life, a way of seeing, a way of opening the mind to new expressions.

again, the 3 Texts (3T) gives me a foothold to practice, evaluate, and ongoing learning. reading, writing, tracking significant bloggers becames a way to continue the journey. besides, he pointed out to me another book on SB, what can i say:)

3 Texts

the more i think about all of life, the more i see my life through three texts: the text of life itself, primarily my own experience along with the experience of those closest to me; the text of scripture, the sacred text which has passed through the community of faith over the centuries of time; and the text of culture, the ways God reveals himself throughout time and space. the question more and more is how do these three texts interact throughout my journey?

i listen now to Annie Lennox sing the theme from the LOTR3, recalling the scene where the grey ships came to pick up Gandalf, Froto, and Bilbo. what is it that every story has an ending? why is there always an ending to something and a beginning? does this not say something about the nature of life? threshholds and transitions, they seem to dot the landscape of each life.

so, i ask as i embark on a journey with a class regarding spiritual formation (the rough outlines of graceformation), what does each text say about life, about all that is, about the nature of all that is? am i open to the interaction of these three so that life may be richer (not in a mere economic sense), fuller, more meaningful, more fruitful? how can i learn to better live as a result of engaging these three texts?

Bon voyage!

Curse Obliterated!

yeah, watched the final game, as a lifelong Cub fan happy for the Red Sox (never the white sox), wondering if a world series on the North Side will happen in my lifetime. honestly, tired of the excuses given as to why it cannot. one reason i'd love to have Cuban is because i know he wouldn't be concerned with money. nope, don't want to be the yanks and rent a team. what red sox have done is developed a good nucleus and then filled the cracks from the farm system. finally, what is a-rod thinking, not only in leaving but the timing of the announcement. if he ever was on a world series team, would he want to upstage all the others on the team right after they won?

oh, well, wait till next year!

Catching Up

It's been longer than i've wanted since getting back on the blog. Yet, joyfully, here i am. Had a great time this past weekend, being treated to a "pastoral appreciation" sunday by being chaufeurred to an undisclosed location for a Hawaiian party. it was great! a busy weekend! Skate night sat night for our kids.

just a brief comment about the "willow mistake." I think people are making this bigger than it reallly is. What organization, even the church, doesn't have to make course corrections? some who appear to dislike megachurches for whatever reason seem to make this an opportunity to pile on, if there is anything to pile on!

had a fun time teaching this past weekend in a class where we looked at crucibles. identified some good books to consider when reflecting on the heated moments of life. here's the list i presented:

• Geeks & Geezers: How Era, Values, and Defining Moments Shape Leaders. Warren Bennis and Robert J. Thomas
• The Way of Transition: Embracing Life's Most Difficult Moments. William Bridges
• Reaching for the Invisible God. Philip Yancey
• The Dark Night of the Soul: A Psychiatrist Explores the Connection Between Darkness and Spiritual Growth. Gerald May

what can the "heroe's story" contribute to the crucibles? this is something worth considering another time. needless to say, examining the texts of life, culture, and scripture must all come into play if i am to continue as a lifelong learner.

Another Voyage

Well, had a great weekend. Catching up on emails, etc. from the weekend. BTW, where is the biblically evidence for "redeeming culture?" I enter the blogosphere never knowing what awaits. Right now, I am preparing for a seminar I will hold on the relationship between human development (specifically lifespan development) and spiritual growth. I read the recent Barna report (I hope to embed the links once i learn how to do that) about younger nonChristians and their view of Christians. Some of it is expected because of the issues of human development and the need for differentiation.

I videoed the segment on Joel Osteen and can understand his central thrust. I have felt what he has said. My sense is that most people get beat up much during the week and don't need it more on the weekend. Is there an island of hope? Is there a place to "carefront" life and my own blindness and still be hopeful? The Jukhari Window reminds me that I have many blindspots. Is there hope for my blindspots?

This week is another week, living and yet preparing to live. Sometimes i think i spend more time preparing to live than living. Stay tuned!

One Size?

Whew! We are finally getting close to our next issue of The Journal of Applied Christian Leadership to go to press. Hopefully by this time next week it will be in the hands of our subscribers. We are working on getting our next issue out by the end of year. I love being a part of the conversation of leadership taking place in Christian circles. If we truly believe in what local churches can become, we must invest many resources in understanding how best leadership can be developed in local churches--including studying and resourcing ways.

Browsing the bloglines today, I couldn't help but notice the churches considered most influential by pastors. These are megachurches, many of them influencing me. My question is this: what percentage can a megachurch influence, really, a church of 220 in attendence? How do things like the organizational stage, the organizational culture, the undergirding basic assumptions of a megachurch (largely built on a megapastor) influence a church in Smalltown, USA? How much take home is there? I know for myself, these churches influence me in that they encourage me to lead. The how's and way's of leading get much muddier in my local context. Transposing larger percentage of megachurch learnings can get dicey in microchurch settings. We can learn, the question is what can we learn?

Final, ambivalent note. Cubs go in a whimper and Bears appear to have come off life support!