CBF General Assembly…post assembly take…

My last post was a “flash” post on my first day of the assembly.  I was quite honestly not very excited to be there.  It came across as sort of pitiful upon hearing some of the comments people said to me subsequently.  It wasn’t intended as a pity party…I had a great time, hung out with some very cool people, was re-energized by some of those people, and was able to spend some good times in Houston…so don’t feel sorry for me…

However, I truly wasn’t very excited going into the Assembly.  We find ourselves still in a (seemingly) never ending time of transition here in Tennessee, there seemed to be a resignation surrounding the meeting that the numbers of regestered participants would be way down (they were) and that we were all sort of in limbo…I sort of played into that feeling of dread in several conversations I had this past week.

However, I got up this morning and began to reflect on the week and the conversations I was fortunate enough to engage and I’ve changed my mind.  Some of the positives:

• I met/talked with/hung out with several very cool, very gifted young women that I would love to be my pastor someday (hopefully soon).  I am very encouraged! (check out this sermon from one of them…Ann Pitman-A Tale Of Two Daughters.
• I saw a much younger crowd than I have seen in years past
• I hung out most of the time with a group of college students there participating in the Houston Sessions…I miss that very much…this was very energizing…THANKS all of you!
• I was encouraged by those who attended the workshops I participated in…great questions…great potential…
• I was thankful to be a part of a large gathering of Baptists where nothing was discussed that I was embarrassed to read in the papers the next day
• my CBF google feed produced the following blog post this morning…it made me smile…it made me happy to be a part of CBF:  Meant to Love

There are a lot more things I could say.  For all of the above, I could find several corresponding things to bitch about…why aren’t we hiring women pastors, we were younger because we were close to Baylor and Truett, we could do better by college students, yada, yada, yada….  That makes me weary…I’m rather tired of that…even though I’ve contributed to that type of bitching in the past.

It felt good to be a Baptist this week.  I’m optimistic about the future, if  not about denominational systems, very much so about the church and the kingdom of God and our upcoming leaders.  I hope to be a part of that movement…or at least witness it.   Enough…lots of work to do today.  Peace!

CBF General Assembly 2009

I just checked in here at the Hilton Americas in Houston for the 2009 Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly, 2009 edition. I’m honestly not really looking forward to the meeting this year. The family couldn’t be here and it’s shaping up to be a really busy week. (but I do have a nice view of Minute Maid Park from my hotel room window…too bad the Astros are in San Diego this week.

IPhone 3G S

I finally got out from under the oppressive regeme of Verizon. I’ve been settling for something less than an iPhone for a while now but was liberated yesterday when I arrived home and found out I did indeed have coverage at my address. This is pretty much a meaningless post…I’m merely doing it because, now, I can (via my WordPress app on my new phone…very cool!)

What I’m reading these days…

My reading list this summer has evolved into something rather interesting.  First my list of books currently in progress:

• Spiritual Evolution: A Scientific Defense of Faith by George Vaillant — picked this up after reading the cover article from this months Atlantic (I linked to this in my last post.  This one was worth the price for the first chapter alone.  The next 2 chapters have delved more deeply into neuroscience of it all (which is facinating…but a little difficult for me to follow).  I’m very interested in the next chapters on Faith, Love, Hope, Joy, Forgiveness…
• Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges; The Social Technology of Presencing (spelling intentional) by C. Otto Scharmer — This book will lead to several other books to be added to the stack.
• 8W8 – Global Space Tribes: A Postmodern Journey through Globalization in the Internet Age by Ralf Hirt — I stumbled upon this while browsing the Kindle store.  I hesitated…reconsidered…hesitated…downloaded the sample…bought the book.  This tribal idea continues to raise it’s head in my thinking about how TCBF and/or CBF might be able to proceed in the future.
• Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development (Chapter 7 of W.C. Crain’s Theories of Development)–just one chapter of a book.  This was emailed to me by a friend of mine in Amsterdam and it added some interesting info for our ongoing discussion of faith/church/etc. on our other blog.  One particular interesting question this reading has me contemplating is whether or not our churches (as they typically develop) actually inhibit moral development as opposed to nurturing it.
• Eragon: Inheritance by Christopher Paolini–My 3rd grader’s choice…He obviously could read this himself but asked if we could read it together.  It’s been fun…it’s also sacred…has to happen everynight before bed.

I’m sure some of this will begin to pop up in some of my blog posts.  What I really need is a regular face to face conversation about some of this stuff.

What Makes Us Happy? – The Atlantic (June 2009)

What Makes Us Happy? – The Atlantic (June 2009)

This is a lengthy feature article from the current issue of The Atlantic.  Take the time to read it…very interesting stuff.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

The Nashville Effect – Richard Florida

I thought this was an interesting post about our little city of Nashville.

The Nashville Effect – Richard Florida

Shared via AddThis

“Everything’s amazing…nobody’s happy…”

I love this clip.  It was funny to watch my daughter try not to laugh at this last night.  I made her watch this piece after she complained about something she needed not happening instantaneously.  I’m using this particular post as an opportunity to remind me of how truly blessed I am (in more ways than mere technology).  It’s a pretty good exercise…choosing to be happy…

“Nothing fails like success.”

The Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, Germany)

In evolution, Dr. Inge’s aphorism is probably always right: ‘Nothing fails like success.’  A creature which has become perfectly adapted to its environment, an animal whose whole capacity and vital force is concentrated and expended in succeeding here and now, has nothing left over with which to respond to any radical change.  Age by age it becomes more perfectly economical in the way its entire resources meet exactly its current and customary opportunities.  In the end it can do all that is necessary to survive without any conscious striving or unadapted movement.  It can therefore beat all competitors in the special field; but equally, on the other hand, should that field change, it must become extinct.”      –Gerald Heard, The Source of Civilization

One of the great things about the internet is the how one can stumble upon passage like this.  I read the line “nothing fails like success” in the Foreward to another book I was reading.  I googled the line and found excerpts from Arnold Toynbee & David Somervell’s abridgement of A Study of History.

Since the water in which I’m currently swimming involves churches and denominational systems, the words above seem particularly ominous.  It’s obvious that organized religion has seen much success in the modern era.  I’ll also grant that some forms of these systems are actually experiencing some numerical growth.  However, I believe we are well past the time to adapt to our changing environment.  “The Church” will continue in some form or another…I wonder which forms “must become extinct”?

What are you willing to get off the couch and do?

Whatever you can do,

or dream you can, begin it.

Boldness has genius,

power and magic in it.

–GOETHE

I’ve been reading a lot about community development lately, specifically interested in how congregations might discover new ways to get outside our worship boxes and be more missional.  My initiation into this topic was through my participation on the Together For Hope leadership team.  This has let me to several books (specifically Practicing Community Development by Donald and Dorris Littrell; The Power of Asset Mapping by Luther Snow; Memories, Hopes and Conversations: Appreciative Inquiry and Congregational Change by Mark Lau Branson).  I also was privileged to attend the University of Missouri Community Development Academy a couple of weeks ago.

In the course of my research and reading, two very practical questions arose (specifically from reading through Mike Green’s material):

1.  What are the gifts of “hands, heads, and heart” in [your congregation]?

2.  What are you willing to get off the couch and do?

Great questions for all of us as individuals and for our organizations, churches, and businesses.

the phone call…

l to r: Sarah & Hillary

I received one of those calls Monday morning about 7:30 a.m.  It was from a minister at our church informing me of an auto accident involving a friend of my daughter.  Sarah was killed instantly.  By the time I reached the top of the stairs, my daughter, Hillary, was there waiting, having heard the news via text message.

As I held my daughter there on the stairs attempting to take the pain away, I recognized through her sobs that she had crossed a line from which there is no return.  Dad could not fix this hurt.  There was pain and shock and loss and finality all flooding her emotions to overload.  We simply had to walk through this together.  Facing mortality at any age is a challenging thing.  Facing it as a kid is gut wrenching.

As a parent, my emotions were flooded as well…profound thanks that I was holding my little girl, profound sorrow for Sarah’s parents, and the lingering unanswerable questions that always follow such a tragedy.  Parental sermons spoken almost by rote every time a child leaves the driveway suddenly become desperate: Be careful, wear your seat belt, drive the speed limit, call me when you arrive, who’s driving?,…  on and on they go.

Ultimately I recognize the line that Hillary had crossed was one that I had crossed as well.  I ultimately can’t protect her.  Life happens…and all that it entails.