IRELAND UPDATE

Changing Our DNA?

I was checking out postings from friends this morning and came across a very interesting / challenging post from our long time friend Rick Cruse.  Rick and Debbie have lived in S. Calif, Africa, Germany, the U.K. and he's now pastoring a church in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada.   Rick has been on "the journey" for a good while and I deeply value his reflections on what it means to be the people of God in our local community, day, and time.   I think you will too.

Have a look at THIS, do some reflecting of your own, and then let me know what you think.   

Personally I need lots more conversations like this in my life..

The Most Brilliant Person Who Ever Lived?

Nominations for "the Most Brilliant Mind ever"?  Dallas Willard (author, academic, and lecturer at U.S.C.) says the answer is "Jesus" indisputably.      Jesus the master of Global Economics, Nuclear Physics, Music Theory, Architecture, Molecular Biology, Basketball, Sociology , Political Theory...and more??   

The fact that we even pause and question that idea, may say something about our understanding of who Jesus is, and our understanding of what it means to know Jesus as son of God, saviour / forgiver and the Lord and leader of life.  So would you look to Jesus for guidance in complex legal or finance decisions?  Or would you look to Him and His words for career guidance? Or how about for marriage and family issues?

Willard says...
"For people really to believe the gospel, they have to understand, first, that Jesus is not a utopian but "the best-informed and most intelligent person of all, the smartest person who ever lived." Furthermore, "one of the greatest testimonies to his intelligence is surely that he knew how to enter physical death, actually to die, and then live beyond death." Thus, "all these things show Jesus' cognitive and practical mastery of every phase of reality."

Have a look at the linked article with a great interview with Dr. Dallas Willard.  Click HERE 

Or for an overview article from Christianity Today, check HERE.

Finally HERE is a collection of on-line articles from his web site: www.dwillard.org   

"Don't just make Jesus an icon of some sort. Take him seriously as a companion in life and become his disciple. Learn from him how to live your life, as he would live your life if he were you."

Dave DeVries on "Extractionalism"

Can I direct you to a really thoughtful post from Dave DeVries on the topic of "Extractionalism"? 

"Extractionalism is moving new Christians out of relationship with (others) in the culture in order to foster new relationships almost exclusively within the church."

He goes on to explain how extractionalism is counter-productive for mission incarnational Christianity.

Click HERE to see the full article. Or check his web site regularly for other equally valuable posts.

Berlin

Totally enjoying and benefiting from four days of mutual learning, reflecting and interacting with other GEM friends gathered here from across Europe and North America.  A few of these sessions have been deeply moving and personally challenging.

It was a delight to meet new GEM friends, Andy and Kim Baligian and their daughter this afternoon.  They've just arrived in Europe (Tuesday am) and were able to make it for this gathering in Berlin.

Heading to "Exponential"

Cheryl and I just came through a busy weekend conference in Ventura.  Tomorrow thanks to GEM I'm heading off to Orlando, Florida for the Exponential Conference.  I've been reading about this gathering for several years now..listened to some podcasts from last year.  And now I'm really looking forward to networking with others who are pursuing missional incarnational Christian living.  I've already been in touch with Neil Cole, Alan Hirsch
Lance Ford and a few others who will be there too.  If I can get on line I'll try and put up a few posts along the way.

And You Thought Facebook Networking Was a Waste of Time..?

No telling who you can meet through Facebook..  Check the link below.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Danish PM jogs with Facebook fans

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Tangible Kingdom

I haven't read the book but the video clip grabs my heart..and the title hits one of the key questions we're facing in the Post-Christendom west today.

Banksy Again

British artist Banksy has been at it again.. 

Click Here to check out his latest work.

Goodnight and Goodbye Larry, For a Little While

When I was turning 15ish and wondering if all the words I had heard about Jesus might actually be somehow true ... an amazingly gifted musician, song-writer, performer named Larry Norman put out an album called "Upon This Rock".  Journalists now call Larry "the father of the Christian Music industry" (a title he must have hated.) 

Here was someone living full on and totally engaged with culture who was also passionate about knowing and following Jesus.  So committed to that dream, he was at that time unwilling or unable to jump through the hoops of the mainstream music industry and walked away from all the money, fame, and power that record companies could offer him.  So instead for many years he influenced and led a counter-culture Jesus focused movement of artists called "Solid Rock". 

For me though..as a teenager he was a symbol of prophetic hope..that said the Gospel is not only true..but it is relevant, powerful, liberating, and life transforming.  (instead of "tame", irrelevant, prim, proper but powerless).  Those Larry Norman concerts in Pasadena, or up in Santa Barbara filled me and my friends with joy and faith and passion.  I still remember him just wailing out rock and roll on a classical nylon string guitar (persecuting the poor sound guy..."Can you turn this microphone up???  No UP!!  More??) and by far I still prefer those memories of his solo performances to his later 80s and 90's era stuff with drums keyboards, and electric guitars.. 

Cheryl and I were at a New Year's Eve concert at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium when Larry introduced on  stage a young musician who he said, had just started to trust and follow Jesus.. ("Norman's Kitchen").  And I still remember (and can play) the song of personal faith that Randy Stonehill sang that night. 

(In fact there's a LOT of Larry Norman and Randy Stonehill in my own approach to guitar and singing...but most people wouldn't know them enough to spot that.  Long before mp3s or internet web sites with chords, guitar tab, and lyrics... we used to spend hours coming home from Norman and Stonehill concerts trying to remember words, guess chords, and transpose into keys we could actually play and sing in.)

Larry Norman was powerful, passionate, in love with Jesus..courageous, radical..and very, very flawed.  I've read that he developed bi-polar symptoms, had head injuries from a plane accident, and that ultimately he had a trail of broken and wounded relationships (including a 20 year gap in his friendship with Stonehill).   I heard him in the 90's (in Europe I think) and thought he had really aged... (as if I hadn't!!) but it was the same Larry.   He was broken, scarred and wounded as I imagine older pioneers, and revolutionaries often are;..but still used by God in my life for sure.

So when I heard on the news that Larry had died it brought back truck loads of mixed memories for me.  Most of them are still light and happy, full of faith and joy, and good.  Out of tribute some of his friends, and fans have posted a few clips of old concerts that I am grateful to watch again and again... I've posted three below..but there are many others. 

And I still prefer the solo Norman with classical nylon string guitar.  I hope to hear him playing that again some day..

Close to how I best remember him...

And here's kind of a historical overview montage thingy over one his classic R&R songs..

Here's one he sang at the White House for Jimmy Carter in what must have been a moment nearly right out of the Old Testament prophets..

"Don't ask me for answers, I've only found one.
That a man leaves his darkness when he follows the Son."  

More recently..

Christianity Today did a short article on his life with some links you might enjoy reading.  You can find that by clicking HERE.

And HERE's a link to an mp3 of one his classics "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?"  

Click HERE for more mp3s, pictures, and clips from www.larrynorman.com

"And the winner..."

It was a special treat for us to get to watch the broadcast of the 80th Academy Awards with Cheryl's mom and dad last night (Sunday).  The highlight OF COURSE was seeing Irish/Czech duo Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova winning the Best Song Category for their song "Falling Away" from the film "Once".   

Their acceptance speeches were just classic Ireland.  If you're not familiar with things Irish you probably didn't realize what a pure Dublin moment it was...  From the opening "tanks" (Dub-speak doesn't do "th"), to the "Go raibh mile mile maith agat."  "This is mad."...  and on to the end...  Classic.

Hansard was later quoted as saying 

"I kind of feel a bit like a plumber at a flower show over here. I kind of feel like we're totally outside of all this but at the same time I'm kind of just trying to accept that it all happened. It's been an incredible ride this whole thing."

Loving that mix of genuine humilty, joy and wonder..

Here's the clip of the "moment" with their speeches in case you missed it..

I hadn't remembered (until I read it in the papers) that Glen Hansard made his film debut as Outspan in The Commitments (1991), which ended with him busking on Grafton Street, which is what he is doing at the beginning of his second movie, Once. That makes it all even better.