Yesterday started off kind of shaky and left me wondering, "Maybe we should go somewhere else next year" (Because I'm an optimist). But then Efrem Smith got up and preached Ezekiel 37 to us. I think Chris or Chip described it as listening to Metallica before a wrestling match. Great stuff.
Shane Claiborne was pretty good. It was a good challenge assessing the role and power of money in our lives. I think Bob described it well:
"I'm looking forward to hearing Shane in 20 years when idealism, the wisdom of experience and 2 more decades of following Jesus like he is all meet to make him even more rad."
One of my favorite parts of the day was a seminar with Don Everts who wrote Jesus with Dirty Feet which I read and loved about ten years ago. He was speaking of what he has experienced about people's journey's to faith under the framework of five thresholds that people generally cross to get there. It made a lot of sense to me and I'll share it in more detail later.
Also got to have a quick chat with Michael Jr. last night, the comedian I opened for in Philadelphia. Surprisingly he recognized me and came over to talk. I wouldn't have imagined with as many shows as he does that he would actually remember me so that was cool. And what he said next made my night: "Are you going on tonight?" He actually thought that I was one of the comedians for the event last night. Nothing like a good ego stroke before bedtime!
Alright, well i'm off for early morning bible study with Gordon Fee! He's the man!
6 comments:
Your post almost sounds like you were at a film festival or a book convention or something. "This guy was great, he was good, I want to hear this guy later on" - I'm just saying... that's what bugs me about those things. They become about critiquing people's sermons/speeches.
honestly, it basically is a book convention and that's part of the problem of what this conference is becoming. they're trying to sell you stuff around every corner. so i'm trying to glean what I can out of it and hold on to what is helpful. that's a good point though Jim.
i thought shane was really challenging and it really made me reflect on some things last night as far as what relationship I have with money in my life and how that needs to be adjusted. And Don Everts helped me see the stages that people go through during the conversion process. So those things have been very valuable but it's easier to blog about things that aren't as personal when you only have a few minutes such as how someone performed. So I totally hear ya. I'll try to fight that urge!
One other thought. I went to a bible study with Gordon Fee this morning and it was a really good reminder of "your best teaching and preaching comes out of your worship." He talked about Revelation 4 and 5 and more than anything I was impacted simply by the character of this man who has been a scholar for SO many years but still loves the Lord very much. His very presence is inspiring and Christ-like. So I think there is definitely something to who the person is. It's impossible to separate the message from the person delivering it. Regardless of what Fee says he commands respect for who he is and that is one of the reasons I get so much out of listening to him. I really respect the guy and have a lot to learn from him.
Same with Shane Claiborne, his very life demands that we listen to what he has to say. So I guess what I'm saying is, it's not necessarily about performance for me, but about genuineness and credibility.
That's why I would make a statement like, "he's the man" or what not.
"Same with Shane Claiborne, his very life demands that we listen to what he has to say. So I guess what I'm saying is, it's not necessarily about performance for me, but about genuineness and credibility."
Amen to that. I would be hesitant to use the wording that Bob did about Shane's idealism without some further explanation. For some reason it sounds more like critique than an encouragement as if Shane is just some dreamer that has his head in the clouds. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, I'm excited to see what he's like in 20 years as well.
However he has been on his journey of life this way for 10 years. 10 years. Not 10 months or 10 minutes. Whether he is an idealist, which I don't believe, or not give credit where credit is due. He has a ton of wisdom from extensive experience, it's not like he doesn't have much to offer at the moment.
"I would be hesitant to use the wording that Bob did about Shane's idealism without some further explanation."
-Yeah, to face the danger of speaking for Bob I think what he meant by that when he did expand further is that what he had to say wasn't extremely applicable or practical to a lot of the 50 year old pastors who were in the room at their stage in life. Much different from what he is able to do as a 30 year old single (not saying that he's calling everyone to what he does necessarily).
I would also say it is dangerous for him to base his foundation on Jesus calling the Rich Young Ruler to sell everything you have and give it to the poor. That wasn't a normative command for all Christians for all times. It was specifically because the Rich Young Ruler had created an idol out of his wealth that he called him to do that, just like he told Nicodemus who worshiped his education and intelligence that he needed to be born again. So that was a challenge to his overall point.
I definitely think Shane has a lot to offer and love listening to him.
I would also say one of the frustrating things about the whole deal is that many people who are really into Shane Claiborne still don't do anything, they just get angry about everyone else "not doing anything". That is certainly not Shane's intent but that is a lot of what I see. People reading his book and then getting pissed at everything that has to do with the church, but still not doing anything themselves.
"People reading his book and then getting pissed at everything that has to do with the church, but still not doing anything themselves. "
While I am right there with you I think we need to approach something like this with humility and realize that we don't have it all together. :) I can sell everything I own as many times as I want and live in Sudan another 10 times but that doesn't make me any better or worse than others. On any given day I am just as selfish and focused on speaking rather than acting. With that said...
I am complete agreement with you and it would almost seem that there is a culture that has sprung up with college educated semi-liberal white Post Evangelical Christians that reading a ton of books on Social Justice and talking about can be equated with actually doing something. As Americans also consume the latest and greatest ideas rather then letting them penetrate the core of who we are and how we live in this world.
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