lifeasmission

How (not) to Plant a Church!

November 2, 2010 // 55945 Comments »http%3A%2F%2Flifeasmission.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F11%2Fhow-not-to-plant-a-church%2FHow+%28not%29+to+Plant+a+Church%212010-11-02+18%3A16%3A44JR+Rozkohttp%3A%2F%2Flifeasmission.com%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D5594

(ht: Rob Fairbanks)

Posted in church planting, funny, video

My Dad is Cooler Than Your Dad

October 29, 2010 // 55811 Comment »http%3A%2F%2Flifeasmission.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F10%2Fmy-dad-is-cooler-than-your-dad%2FMy+Dad+is+Cooler+Than+Your+Dad2010-10-29+14%3A00%3A16JR+Rozkohttp%3A%2F%2Flifeasmission.com%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D5581

Because he takes the time to do stuff like this

Posted in family, funny, video

Grilled Cheesus

October 13, 2010 // 5480No Comments »http%3A%2F%2Flifeasmission.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F10%2Fgrilled-cheesus%2FGrilled+Cheesus2010-10-13+13%3A30%3A27JR+Rozkohttp%3A%2F%2Flifeasmission.com%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D5480

OK, so there was definitely some buzz about this episode of Glee in the twitterverse, well, at least in my little corner of it anyway.

I didn’t get the chance to watch it until just last night and I gotta say, if you think about the average way in which Christians/Christianity was portrayed on television, say, 10 years ago, and contrast that with this episode, there’s some serious conversation to be had about how things have changed.

Rather than pick apart the episode from the outset, I wonder how those of you who watched (or will watch) this episode think about what’s going on here.

Posted in atheism, culture, God, homosexuality, video, young adults

God is Not a White Man

October 12, 2010 // 54853 Comments »http%3A%2F%2Flifeasmission.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F10%2Fgod-is-not-a-white-man%2FGod+is+Not+a+White+Man2010-10-13+04%3A36%3A02JR+Rozkohttp%3A%2F%2Flifeasmission.com%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D5485

Caught this video the other day and the more I check out the music this group, Gungor, is making, the more I like it.  Give it a listen.  I just about guarantee you’ll have the tune in your head the rest of the day.

(ht: Jamie)

Posted in God, video

DMin in Missional Leadership at Northern Seminary

October 1, 2010 // 54441 Comment »http%3A%2F%2Flifeasmission.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F10%2Fdmin-in-missional-leadership-at-northern-seminary%2FDMin+in+Missional+Leadership+at+Northern+Seminary2010-10-01+12%3A20%3A53JR+Rozkohttp%3A%2F%2Flifeasmission.com%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D5444

I’ve mentioned before the DMin in Missional Leadership cohort that is being convened at Northern Seminary here in Chicago.  I could list out a whole slew of reasons that I think this is going to be an unbelievable opportunity, but might as well let Dave Fitch, Craig Van Gelder, and Al Roxburgh just tell you themselves.  Check out the 4 brief videos below.

The first one is an introduction and speaks to leadership issues.

This second one has to do with issues of theology and cultural context.

The third video pertains to congregational change and formation.

This final clip speaks to the unique features of this program as one offered through Northern.

I have the good fortune to work for Northern, but this is far from a paid advertisement.  This is just me wanting to spread the word about the sort of opportunity that I think is well suited to equip men and women for service in and to the Church in an increasingly post-Christian context.

Posted in church, culture, interview, leadership, missional, Northern Seminary, theological education, theology, video

The Arrogance of Christendom Theology

September 29, 2010 // 54338 Comments »http%3A%2F%2Flifeasmission.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F09%2Fthe-arrogance-of-christendom-theology%2FThe+Arrogance+of+Christendom+Theology2010-09-29+17%3A32%3A04JR+Rozkohttp%3A%2F%2Flifeasmission.com%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D5433

Though I love the words of my friend Jason Coker in his parable, “The Death Rattle of Christendom,” Dave Fitch is right in saying that, “Christendom Ain’t Done Yet.”  But man oh man, I for one wish it would hurry up and die already so that we can stop having these painfully ridiculous arguments!

Do you catch the underlying assumptions in this conversation?

– Where there is talk of missiology, it’s church growth, and not God’s Kingdom mission that takes center stage.

– Where there is talk of ecclesiology, it’s the (male) preacher/act of teaching, and not the call on a community to make disciples that takes center stage.

These are both hallmarks of a Christian system which thrives on the power and privilege afforded it by Christendom.  But I say, “woe to us” when we think that leveraging the kind of “influence” that is talked about here has anything to do with what God would have us be about.

Mega and Multi-Site (thinking here of the video venue sort) churches, “work,” on account of our infatuation with celebrity and our predisposition to the passive consumption of information.

We must, must, must ruthlessly rip out of our heads the notion that our supposed giftedness gives us license to build our own personal church-kingdoms around it/us.

Christendom is not a neutral cultural condition, it perverts and distorts and the theology which under-girds this conversation is evidence of it. With no regard for the way in which the message we mean to impart is always embodied in the medium through which it is communicated, we are destined to continually miss the whole point of Jesus’ call to make disciples whose lives are consumed by a desire to fully participate in God’s mission in the world.

And let’s lay aside the distorted paradigm in which this conversation is even taking place for a minute.  Is anyone else concerned about the stark distinction between the ways in which Driscoll and MacDonald come across and carry themselves when compared to Dever.  I don’t know a ton about Dever, but his humility in contrast to the arrogance of Driscoll and MacDonald is evidence enough that what he has to say is bound to be more meaningful.

I watch stuff like this and I wonder to myself, “What will become of us when our power and privilege is stripped away?  What happens when there aren’t enough church-goers to shuffle around and we lose the illusion of all the influence we once believe we had?”

Posted in christendom, consumerism, corporate worship, culture, discipleship, post-christendom, preaching/teaching, spiritual formation, theology, video