My wife asked me while I was reading this book if I have read many female voices in the whole emergent discussion, and I had to say that I had not. It’s not because I have avoided reading women, it is just that there are not many voices out there that are being heard. It’s not that they have been suppressed; instead they simply are not any.

Reading Phyllis Tickle was a treat. Not only is she brilliant, to the point and able to bring in some fresh understanding to the emerging church conversation, but she brings a compassion to the conversation that is not always present, or encouraged. I sensed as I read this book that she cared deeply for the direction of the christian church in western society and wanted this book to her voice toward that end.

The book starts out as a history lesson on 3 (or more considering events prior to Jesus arrival) “Great’s” in Christian life. Described as rummage sales, Phyllis speaks of The Great Reformation (1500), The Great Schism (1000), and Gregory the Great. She then begins to describe how our time’s “great” had emerged and this is where I truly began to be impacted. Her understanding of technology, the war, and the role of women as a result of the WWI and II, and technology was really helpful in realizing how we have come to the cultural point we are at now.

She then describes (with the help of a good diagram) how Christianity is presently moving within denominationalism from a bounded set (rules/ beliefs describing each denomination) to a centred set (a few or more core beliefs and practices that describe the church that we can all agree on and follow together no matter which denominational background a person comes from). And this is where I find myself and the people that make up the open house. We are all attempting to move in a direction toward Jesus, shaking off the fences and moving toward a well of practices and beliefs that we are “for” rather than those that we are “against.”

As a church planter, this book will come in really helpful as you swim through waters of centred sets, with people that want to be “for” something and not “against.” I give it a CP of 4.5/5 and believe it should be read in light of a few other books such as the “New kind of Christian” trilogy, Exiles, Forgotten ways and my personal favourite Search to belong.

Thanks to readernaut, I am going to put it on my list of books to read again in 2009.

Although I am hoping to begin reviewing some books I have already read this upcoming year (sounds like a good resolution) I just finished Mark Scandrette’s book Soul Graffiti. I met Mark in 2007 at Soularize in the Bahamas and had a good chat about his life in San Francisco and some of the comparisons between their city and ours in Vancouver. I found our conversation very helpful, and reading this book reminded me of that cool conversation (seen here).

I would say that his book, appears to be a collection of writings of Mark in his journey working with Reimagine, and SEVEN. Each chapter tells a great story, with a series of good reflection questions and experiments that you can actually practice. I hope to utilize this book in the future as a study with our community in Vancouver.

It is hard to define this book, but i would say it focuses on a number of different experiments, stories and anecdotes of different peoples lives (90% in San Francisco) and how some people have responded in those instances. It is powerful to read real life instances and the actions people took in response to the action and the examples Mark gives of Jesus saying or doing similar things.

If you are planting an organic community in an urban city I believe you will find this book helpful. I give it a 3.5/5 on my CP scale just because I have read a few better books for church planting purposes and because it repeats itself a little, but at the end of the day if you read this book and truly attempt to do the things in the experiments you will be challenged and changed.

My friend James posted a link to an old post of mine that as I sit here in Victoria had me thinking.

I wonder how much further I have truly thought about these thoughts on creating community.

One of the things that i struggle with is reviewing the past. Whether it’s reading a book I have read once before or opening some old journals to see where I have come from. This is something that I have been poor at for most of my life. Everything seems to be centred around “new” or forward for me. Even as I look at my resolution from last year (to read 4 books a month, of which I believe I am only at 22/48) I can see my desire to keep moving forward to achieve, versus reflecting and learning from my experiences.

Our church has been through 3 months of transition. One of my goals for this holiday is to think through these past 3 months and learn from it. I am having a trouble reflecting, and I am wanting to try something new and forward.

I believe my desire to always move forward if harnessed well can be effective in visioning the future, but without an understanding of the past we will continue to make the same mistakes and never truly move forward. Our forward progress will always be met with resistance and probably 3 steps back for every 2 steps forward… and yes as a former engineer that is movement backwards, not forward.

I was thinking about Jeremy Williams on the Maple Leafs today and how he has scored 5 goals in 7 games since being called up from the minors and how in the past he has been called up 2 other times and has scored in the first game of each of the those call ups, and yet the Leafs continue to send him back to the farm team despite this fact.

I wonder how important the past is to him…

3 times up to the Leafs, 3 goals in 3 first games after each call up, and possibly 3 times sent back to the minors.

Or perhaps he lives in the moment. His understanding of the past is not that he keeps getting bad breaks, but instead he remembers how awesome it was to score a NHL goal of which thousands upon thousands of players never experience.

I wonder if I was to review the past I would feel a sense of bad breaks and failure. I wonder if I looked over an old journal post I would realize all I said I would do and haven’t.

I wonder if I read that book again I would remember some greats thoughts that would have come in handy a month ago and feel like a bad leader.

I wonder…

Perhaps that’s the problem.

My assumptions are killing me.

Well, because I am quick to do things before reading instructions, I have ruined my wordpress theme for the next two weeks.

Hopefully this doesn’t effect those of you reading along via RSS.

I hope to post regularly throughout the holiday season as I process much of what has gone on over the past 3 months with the open house.

Stay Tuned.

We had a great chat at toh on Sunday on our doubt night and I want to make a quick comment about one of the questions concerning whether verbal affirmation/ belief of the message of Jesus is adequate to consider oneself saved.

Maybe it was something in the reading of this passage or the understanding of the context, but when we read from Acts 4:12 concerning salvation found only in Jesus and Romans 10 that we must confess Jesus as Lord I was floored with the implications.

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

This was a statement the citizens in any area conquered by Caesar had to say about Caesar revealing the authority and allegiance that the Roman empire required. And to deny this statement meant certain death. So we have good ol’ Peter utilizing this statement:

Acts 4:8-13 – Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is
” ‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

So any time you confessed in this way that Jesus was Lord you were pretty much asking to die.

Romans 10:9-13 – That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

The statement Jesus is Lord is a direct rip off of Caesar is Lord and is a statement Caesar would have used and required the public to state. Yet in this context it is used in connection to Jesus. If you are going to confess Jesus as Lord, you are making a statement that gives the Roman government the right to kill you. I think Jesus said something about taking up your cross in order to follow him…

Today we can confess with no implications. We can confess and we end up getting more stuff! It’s a nice addition to your life. A little heaven and some purpose.

It was my professor who said to me in seminary that “we need people to stop learning how to live for Jesus and more people who are willing to die for Jesus.”

So if you really believe this Christian message that we read in the Bible and experience in this life I dare you to confess this message… and die.