Doug Pagitt Does it Again! June 26, 2008

Buy this book. Amazing! Stunning! Profound! Life-Changing!

 

A Christianity Worth Believing offers an engaging, ‘come-with-me-on-a-journey-of-exploring-the-possibilities’ approach to what it means to be a follower of Jesus in our day. Written by Doug Pagitt—a leading voice in the Emergent conversation—this beautifully written book weaves together theological reflections, Christian history, and his own story of faith transformation.

Pagitt invites readers to follow him as he tells the story of his un-churched childhood, his life-altering conversion at age 16, his intense involvement in the church, and his growing sense of unease with the version of Christianity he was living. On page after page, Pagitt lays out his journey toward an authentic, passionate expression of a faith that feels alive, sustainable, and meaningful.

A Christianity Worth Believing is for the growing numbers of people who have serious and thoughtful questions about Christianity, who have lived for years with deep-seated wondering and doubts about their faith. Pagitt points the way to a new kind of faith by asking the “off-limits” questions about God, Jesus, sin, the Bible, humanity, church, and the Kingdom of God. Rather than rehashing old debates, he offers new insights, provocative possibilities, and hopeful alternatives.

In A Christianity Worth Believing you may well discover questions you didn’t think you could ask, ideas you didn’t think you could pursue, beliefs you didn’t think you could hold onto. Ultimately you will discover a Christianity worth believing.

Here’s Doug promoting the book. Take a look…

 

Values inform practice May 14, 2008

We’ve been having an interesting discussion amongst our staff about our values. We are trying to determine what our current core values are versus what they should be in the coming years.

However, we discovered a glitch in the system along the way. We had been talking about what our strengths and weaknesses were, how we could better reach our community, what our mission and vision statements could be, etc, etc.

After discussing these we moved on to talking about core values. We quickly realized that the first step in any process about vision, purpose, and mission MUST be built on the foundation of values. If you have not fleshed out your values, you cannot determine the other issues.

VALUES INFORM PRACTICE! This thought came to me yesterday during our discussion. What we value as a church staff and body will determine our steps. If we value community, we will focus our efforts and mission on building a communal body of believers. If we value Scripture, our teachings will revolve around the Word of God. If we value authenticity, we will tear down any barriers that build up a false image of who we are.

Determining your core values will make the process much, much easier. Your mission will flow seamlessly from your values. Spell them out for your church body and they will never have to second-guess who you are or where you are going.

Why we should all go on a pilgrimage April 9, 2008

A few months ago I read an incredible article by a guy named Jeff Goins. You can read it here.

In this article Jeff tells the story of his journey, or pilgrimage, to an awakened faith. He talks about how Americans have sold-out to their careers and personal ambitions. He said:

“We’ve sold our souls to careers tracks and our family name to the burden of college debt. One day, we’re laughing with some friends at an all-night café, cramming for a final exam so we can graduate, and the next, we’re thrust into the real world where everyone is expecting something different us. If we’re not careful, it’s easy to lose our desires amidst all those expectations.”

This article encourages the reader to explore life beyond your daily routine. Leaving home may not mean a physical move to a new city or state, but rather doing something/anything different.

I am so bored by routine. If I had a job that required me to do the same thing each day I would go nuts. I really connected with what Jeff said. I think that because it’s such a “tangible” experience, I could imagine myself doing it.

The idea of coming to the realization that life is not about us, but others, is something that Jeff says will be accomplished through a pilgrimage. Life is too important to miss. Christians get into the routine of coming to church on Sunday’s, ticking their spiritual box, and then checking back into their habitual life for the next 6 days.

Jeff ends by quoting Richard Rohr:

We go on pilgrimage so we can go back home and know that we never need to go on pilgrimage again. Pilgrimage has achieved its purpose when we can see God in our everyday and ordinary lives.