• Archive for December, 2008

    Kenya

    December 25, 2008 // 4 Comments »

    UPDATE: Flight was delayed in Memphis so missed the connection in Atlanta. We are enjoying the local Ramada and we’ll take the same flight tomorrow that we missed today at 3PM.

    I am heading to Kenya in the morning with 5 friends.  We are going to be helping to put on a camp for a orphanage in Eldoret.  For those of you who pray, any that you would offer on our behalf would be most appreciated.  Please excuse the blogging hiatus.  We’ll see you in 2009!

     

    Posted in africa, blogging, prayer

    Elfed

    December 24, 2008 // No Comments »

    My dad has too much time on his hands.  If you’re Christmas wasn’t already Merry enough, here’s me, my two brothers, my sister, and my dad’s dog to throw it into hyperdrive.

    Posted in family, funny, video

    A Christmas Miracle

    // 2 Comments »

    I’m not one for melodramatics, but that’s how I feel right now.  Amy called me yesterday to tell me that she was standing on the side of the road looking at her crumpled car after it skidded off the icy road and rolled over though a ditch.  She said that she was probably going about 60 MPH at the time.  Unbelievably, she walked away without a scratch on her and even this morning, though she has a little bruising from her seat belt, she’s not even feeling the effects of whiplash.

    amy-car-flip

    She was about 1/2 way between Chicago (where she lives) and Davenport, IA (where her folks live) for Christmas.  The EMT people were really helpful and her parents braved the weather and awful driving conditions to come pick her up.

    We have talked a few times since then and I think both of us are still kind of in shock over the whole ordeal, but bottom line, we’re reminded of the greatness of the gift of life.

    Posted in Amy

    Change Your Life – Change the Lives of Others

    December 23, 2008 // 5 Comments »

    My church community has been participating in Advent Conspiracy.  The response has been great and I am really proud to be part of a community that has been so willing to embrace a new take on the Christmas season by shifting our focus in some key areas, especially keeping in mind the poor and oppressed here in Memphis and around the world.

    While the Christmas-specific dimension of Advent Conspiracy has been a beautiful thing, it’s my sincere hope that our community (and the numerous others that participated) will carry the spirit of the movement forward, that we’ll maintain our enthusiasm to change the way we live our lives all year round so that we are always seeking to change the lives of others.  In general, one of the best ways we can help others around the world (not to mention ourselves) is to simply consume less.  We think we need way more than we do and we have become accustomed to a lifestyle of excess.  We need to live simpler lives.  But, over and above this, when it comes to making purchases that are just a part of life, we would do well to consider how we can make these purchases in responsible ways.

    I have mentioned Better World Books before, but I just came across this video which speaks of their new partnership with Invisible Children and was reminded of just how great an organization they are.  Please, if you need to buy books, forget Amazon and look to Better World Books.  You might even think about taking up some donations of books!

    Posted in books, consumerism, justice

    Amy G. Unplugged

    December 21, 2008 // 15 Comments »

    Dear lifeasmission readership, I have a special treat for you today.  By way of interview, I get to introduce you to missions mobilizer extraordinaire, Amy Garrington.

    lifeasmission: So Amy, first things first, tell us all just a little bit about yourself?

    Amy: Just a simple mid-west gal, grew up in Iowa, went to college and worked for a number of years in Indiana, and I recently finished up a graduate degree at Fuller.  In college, God gave me a heart for the nations and I have had the opportunity to travel to a number of places through my time as a missionary and as a missions mobilizer.

    lifeasmission: What the heck is a missions mobilizer?  Sounds lame.

    Amy: Right, lots of people ask me that.  Basically, by way of recruiting, training, and strategic placing, I get to try and help people and churches in North America develop a heart and passion for being a part of God’s global work.  And… you’re lame.

    lifeasmission: Gesh, that sounds incredibly boring and basically meaningless.  Have you done anything that actually matters?

    Amy: Hmm… guess I misinterpreted that whole life-as-mission thing?!  To try and be a bit less boring, I also had a brief career in Hollywood appearing on Eli Stone, Samantha Who, NCIS, and Bones, but you’re gonna have to look pretty hard to catch me in the crowd scenes!

    lifeasmission: Now you’re talkin’, that’s more like it.  I guess you’re pretty versatile and you mentioned before that you’ve had the chance to do some traveling.  We here at lifeasmission would love to know about some of your favorite traveling spots.

    Amy: I am so grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to meet some pretty amazing people (and try some pretty amazing food!) in places all over the world!  Choosing a favorite is pretty challenging.  After living in Russia for a year, the city of Vladimir will always have a special place in my heart.  Other favorite spots might include Beijing, China, Vienna, Austria and the greater Los Angeles area.  Any chance I get, I love exploring new cities with good friends!

    lifeasmission: Done any exciting travel lately?

    Amy: Oh, yes!  In September I began a trek across the Western United States, starting in California and traveling through Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa.  Since arriving in my new home state of Illinois, I have had the opportunity to travel to Indiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and most recently, Tennessee!

    lifeasmission: Any more traveling planned in the near future?

    Amy: Most definitely!  Over the next several months I’m looking forward to making a handful of trips to visit some special people in my life along the banks of the Mississippi, but I am most excited as I anticipate my first trip to NYC in February!   Did I mention it’s over Valentine’s Day?!

    lifeasmission: Ooooh, Valentine’s Day!!  That brings us to the important stuff.  Everyone knows that you are one of the most sought after bachelorettes in the Windy City.  How’s playing the field going for you?

    Amy: Funny you should ask  ;)   Soon after arriving in the Windy City, winds from the south blew a very special man into my life in a new and unexpected way.  Though we’ve known each other for almost 2 years and been cultivating something of a friendship from a distance over the last year and half or so, his “coincidental” visit in October left both of us feeling that there may be something more there.  Keenly aware of his need to move quickly, he soon after told me of his feelings and desire to pursue a dating relationship in spite of the miles between his home in Memphis and mine in Chicago.  So the past few months have been full of phone calls, packages, emails, text messages, and all-too-short visits.  So I guess you could say this Windy City bachelorette has been swept off her feet.

    lifeasmission: Wow, I can hear the sound of hearts breaking all over Internet.  Sounds like a pretty special deal.

    Amy: Yes, definitely special, but that’s not the 1/2 of it.  Through this one new relationship has come a ton of other great new relationships as well.

    lifeasmission: Cool, tell us about those.

    Amy: I’ve been invited into a whole network of very special people and it’s been a joy to eat, laugh and spend time with all of them!  I’ve had the opportunity to meet some pretty great folks in the Akron/Canton area as well as the greater Memphis area.  I’ve felt pretty blessed by the hospitality I’ve received and the circle of community that I’ve been welcomed into.

    lifeasmission: Sounds great.  Barring any sudden calls back to Hollywood or boring mobilizer stuff, will you be available for comment and questions from the great reader base here at lifeasmission?

    Amy: My press secretary is actually off for the holidays, so I will do my absolute best to respond to whatever your readers throw my way.

    lifeasmission: I know I speak for everyone here at lifeasmission when I say that we will be anxious to hear much more from you in the future.  Any parting words?

    Amy: Keep reading, loyal readership!  Hopefully this won’t be the last you hear of me!  ;)

    Posted in Amy, interview

    Attractional/Missional: From Pragmatics to Formation

    December 18, 2008 // 8 Comments »

    Beginning with Dan Kimball’s “Missional Misgivings,” there has been a recent flurry of discussion over the whole missional/attractional thing in the blog-o-sphere.  Responses by Hirsch here, Cole here, Fitch here.

    A good bit of what is being said in response to the topic (much by patently reformed folks) has to do with “cultural appropriateness.”  Some seem to be suggesting that the seeker-sensitive/mega-church model of the church was a culturally appropriate model within Christendom and in a modern framework.  By implication, this would then be the preferred model of church for areas which still fit this description.  There is also an addition to the discussion pertaining to models for preaching and gathering.  Again, the argument seems to be that we need to allow the culture to determine the right model.  I submit that this the wrong approach to this discussion.  It may appear to be an incarnational approach, but it is anything but.

    My friend Sam reminded me of a quote by Lesslie Newbigin recently,

    …if we begin with culture we are never taken back to gospel, if we begin with gospel, we ourselves are transformed and enter into culture to put flesh on the gospel.

    This is the way we need to understand what it means to be incarnational – gospeling a culture, not culturizing the gospel.

    The primary question church leaders need to always be asking is not, “What is the culturally appropriate way to be the church?” but “What is the most formational way to be the church?” The first question lends itself to our ingrained consumeristic tendencies and begets attractional churches; the second invites us to consider a different goal altogether and serves to cultivate missional communities.

    We ought to always do what we do as the church specifically because it helps people to become more like Jesus. Willowcreek was probably the best example ever of a church that did everything right in terms of cultural appropriateness only to announce to the world how horribly they had failed to actually help people become disciples (my thoughts on their REVEAL study here and Fitch’s here).

    I hope this makes sense.  It is not my intention to question the motives and hearts of my well-intentioned brothers and sisters, but I beleive this to be a pivotal conversation for the future of the Church in the West and when the questions we seem to be asking have more to do with cultural pragmatics than faithful formation, I get nervous.

    Let me end with a quick story.  I recently attended a church planting conference where a supposedly “missional” church planter told those in attendance,

    …the south is home to some of the greatest preachers in the world.  If you are not a great preacher or teacher, you have no business trying to plant a church in the south.

    I can’t even dream up a better illustration of what it means to so completely miss the point of everything missional is about.  For this guy, it’s the culture, not the gospel that determines what you do, how you do it, and who exactly it is that does it.  I just don’t think this is the best way forward for us.

    Posted in christendom, church, conference, consumerism, corporate worship, culture, discipleship, gospel, Jesus, missional, modernity, preaching/teaching, questions, spiritual formation, stories, western culture

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