whatever you do.

In my dreams about our future local church community I continually return to the vision of a multi-cultural church. When in Grand Rapids a few weeks ago I was conversing with a local pastor, boasting about the wonders of living on the doorstep of a place like Toronto, where the world is present in a very real sense. While I expressed to him the incredible beauty inherent in such a rich tapestry I also had to confess the deep sadness I have for the place. I passionately love the diversity of Toronto and its surrounding communities, but my heart aches for the deep divisions between cultural communities. It isn’t so much a division of animosity or dislike – although I’m sure there does exist a certain mistrust and fear – but they are more-so divisions of convenience. Folks tend to stick to their own and remain disconnected and unconcerned with what goes on in the communities surrounding them. This apathy and tolerance breaks my heart.

Cultural tolerance is a huge step up from racial cleansing and war, but I am so tired of being content to trade an evil for a lesser one. I believe Jesus when he says that the Kingdom is here. Every day I long for a larger bit of the “not yet” to appear before us. In Toronto that bit of the “not yet” includes a truly Mosaic community.

So, to my friends that are engaged in this church-planting with me and to all that find themselves in these diverse yet self-segregating places, I pray we can grab hold of this dream together. It needs to be intentional. DJ Chuang said it well: “It doesn’t happen by accident. If it just “naturally” happens (i.e. without intentionality), we’d see a lot more diversified church, wouldn’t we.”

Finding Connections

Reading Tom Sine’s fantastic book, The New Conspirators, I was greatly encouraged by the pictures of Mosaic church communities around the US and elsewhere. I’m wondering if anyone knows of an example of such places in the Greater Toronto Area? I would love to connect, learn and dream with folks that are moving in a similar direction.

Tags: mosaic, multicultural, toronto, church, kingdom,

Has anyone exploited this resource yet? Although I’m skeptical of Alltop’s seeming un-flattening of the internet by selecting what are supposedly the most influential or worthwhile blogs and news feeds and weeding out everything else, I do have to admit that it is very well designed. It provides a very quick and somewhat comprehensive snapshot of the headlines of whatever realm of study you are browsing. Thoughts?

Tags: alltop, news, browsing, search, rss

“[Q]uestions related to ministry tend primarily to be social, political, and ecclesial rather than arising out of the modern penchant to reduce all knowledge to the scientific and the historical and all research method to the individual and the private.”

– Hauerwas & Willimon, Resident Aliens, p. 161

I never mentioned on here how our weekend in Grand Rapids went. We had a fantastic time. Mike and I didn’t make it to the crazy hotdog place, but we did manage to get to Hopcat. I had an really great Belgian Beer – quite sweet-tasting with a tremendous flavour. Alas, I don’t remember its name.

We camped a couple nights at a local campground and spent most of Sunday touring the revitalizing downtown core. Revitalized though it may be, it was the most eerily quiet downtown I have ever been in. On many of its red cobblestone streets we were the only car – or people for that matter – about. We also ducked into the Grand Rapids Zoo for a couple hours. Zoos in the middle of a city are fairly odd. I’m not sure what else to say on that at the moment so I’ll leave it.

In the evening we trotted on over to Fellowship Covenant Church for the Roadshow. Blazing (see below). The three fellas really brought it, and the crowd fully caught the revival spirit. There have been reports of people who have misinterpreted the 1908 Revivalist schtick as mockery, but I’m not sure anyone who came out that night left with that impression. I’m fairly convinced that if you expected to find mockery and are determined that that is what it was then you will hold to that conviction. Otherwise, you will see it for what it really is. A wonderfully whimsical and poetic homage to an era that was being as faithful to the gospel in its day as we are trying to be in ours. (again, see below)

John Frye, pastor at Fellowship and his partner in crime, Jeremy Bouma were fantastic hosts to everyone that came that night. Also, we are incredibly thankful for the generosity and hospitality of Randy and Kathy Buist who are part of the Water’s Edge community. Randy invited us over for breakfast on the Monday morning and we had only met them the previous night. We ended up talking with Randy, Kathy and Wendy Eason around the breakfast table until around noon. As we drove back to Canada that day both Mike and I were quite high on the beautiful emerging picture of a church community that really cares for each other. All the theologizing in the world can’t compare to the Church being the Church, caring for and conversing with each other. So amazing!

So, back to Brother Duke, Professor A. B. Hawthorne and Preacher Withee. These three grandest of gentlemen and their “great grandsons” are here to tell you about a man they called Truth. His other name is Jesus. And they are calling all y’all to join in a healing and restoring, sanctifying and rectifying, purifying and death-defying good news message we call the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But don’t take my word for it. Emergent Village has posted a recording of the Church Basement Roadshow in its entirety as filmed in Birmingham, Alabama. So stand up, get your healing balm of Gilead in hand, give it a Whoop and Pushhhh, and get ready for a Rollin’ Gospel Revival!

Church Basement Roadshow from Steve Knight on Vimeo.

Tags: emergent, grand rapids, church basement roadshow

Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”

They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”

Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ” Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’

“I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing withwater was that he might be revealed to Israel.” Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

– John 1:19-36

Tags: john, jesus, liturgy, work of the people, wilderness, lamb

On August 10, 612 BC the Neo-Babylonian Empire wrested power from the Assyrians. The previous seat of world power, Ninevah, was destroyed. Its walls are broken by siege engines that Assyria introduced centuries before. Assyrian communities, more than two thousand years old, are obliterated¹. Babylon becomes the world’s largest city (first over 200,000 inhabitants²) and the center of the earth.

(Wikipedia is awesome)

Tags: history, babylon, assyria, nineveh

It isn’t exactly January 1st, but I’m not sure I trust myself to remember this in 5 months time.

Anyway, today I was listening to an old Emergent Village podcast from December 2006 that was hosted by Melvin Bray. (Incidentally, why isn’t Melvin doing more podcasts for Emergent Village? And what is with the lack of podcasts lately? Surely there isn’t an absence of possibilities for content. Sorry, no more erratic questions.)

Back to the podcast… Melvin spoke of looking forward to 2007 as the year of “Justice.” No doubt that was largely the story. Prophets such as Brian McLaren and Shane Claiborne as well as many others, both contemporary and historical, liberal and conservative, led us artfully and with wisdom into a revitalized World Christianity that took seriously the question of stewardship and justice. In the larger global neighborhood both inside and outside the Christian church people turned their attentions to the need for a greater compassion.

This discussion has only just begun, and in many places our churches are only beginning to realize the greater significance and calling. Throughout a myriad of contexts the church really is emerging from her interior programs and ministries to see a world literally starving around her. I’m fairly certain I heard that there is an Emergent Manifesto of Justice being published sometime next year. (Does anyone know of a list of contributors to the project?) This rally surely must continue.

Coming around to the reason for this posting…
What are the conversations that you see being sparked around you as we are now into the second half of 2008.

What are the questions you foresee being asked in the coming year?

What will be emerging at the end of the first decade of the 21st Century?

What will emergent phenomena will we see in the year 2010? What will be the world’s questions a decade on from 9/11? Am I getting too far ahead of ourselves now?

May we never lose our sensitivity to the anxieties and questions of that which is other to ourselves.

Tags: future, emergent, emerging, justice, brian mclaren, shane claiborne, melvin bray, 2009, podcast

as the summer moves on, a cold chill becomes –
not quite here, but very present.
a shiver for what is to come;
my center is warm, living history
skin lives elsewhere;
further ahead, yet in the moment.
future breaking
autumn’s intentions
now and not yet