Existential Punk

Starting With Our WEAKNESS. . .

My good friend Peter (www.emergingchristian.com) and i are beginning a cooperative blog series of posts writing about what it means to argue from a position of weakness. We resonated deeply with and were inspired from my dear friend, author/thinker/lecturer/philosopher, Pete Rollins:

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What we tend to do is… whenever we are in an argument I will argue from the place of strength, the strongest part of my argument, and direct is at the weakest part of your argument. And you will in turn take the strongest part of your argument and attack the weakest part of my argument. And what I really want to do is to enter into dialogs where I can talk about the weakest part of my argument and you can talk about the weakest part of your argument. and I can accept and celebrate the strongest part of your arguments and visa-versa.

Peter Rollins, from a Nick and Josh Podcast Interview

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i think Rollins hits the nail on the head. We like to hammer people with our insights, revelations, and opinions without really listening to the other person(s) even though we say we are listening. Thus, we end up being narcissistically focused on our own strengths and relish in the weaknesses of others we are in conversation/dialogue with at the moment. i agree with Peter when he says, 'This is probably less about egotism, and more about the brokenness and insecurity of most people. We protect “our weak” by overemphasizing “our strong.” And in doing so, we’re not being entirely honest, are we?' That is what narcissism is, being broken and insecure, which as imperfect human beings, is a big part of our DNA.

i am like Peter and definitely have weaknesses built into me. i tire of inauthenticity and hiding, even though at times that is easier and are masks i will put on to protect myself. Yet, because i am tired of hiding my weaknesses, i'd like to share them with you. As Peter says, 'This demands a difficult level of vulnerability and transparency. It means you’ll have an opportunity to attack where I’m least “defended.'" ' So, we have decided to take the leap and reveal and share our weaknesses with you for the sake of open dialogue/conversation.

i quote what Peter says so eloquently:

'In turn, you have strengths that may frustrate me, confound me, or directly refute something about my beliefs! But they are strengths, nonetheless. And by ignoring or underestimating them, I don’t just weaken my particular “position” (we must get beyond these adversarial identifiers) but I also underestimate and even undervalue your worth, and the complexity of your experiences that have led you to where you are.'

Over the next couple of weeks, Peter and i will be co-op blogging on our own weaknesses, on the strengths we find in opposing DIFFERING viewpoints and belief systems, and we will be reflecting on why this is such a radically different way of dialoguing!

YOU are invited to join us at either...

* www.ExistentialPunk.com OR
* www.EmergingChristian.com

21st Century Thoughts On Christianity & Evangelism

"Christians should be troublemakers, creators of uncertainty, agents of a dimension incompatible with society."

     - Jacques Ellul

'But in regards to evangelism, I would hope that my witnessing (in both word and deed) to my own faith may guide the course of others as they discern God’s call on their life. For some, but not all, that may mean changing faiths, and if Westerners do so rather freely I don’t want to impinge upon someone else’s ability to do the same. Ultimately where they or I move on the faith continuum may not be as important as the fact that through our encounter we nudge, prod, and love each other towards being something different, something better than we were before we met. I’ve never had any encounter like this that wasn’t as some point messy. But they were worth it. And its likely my theological understanding of the Holy Spirit that allows me to make peace with that.'

    - Joe (from comment #12 at a pomomusings post on Plurality 2.0)

i really resonated with both of these things said by two different people that i read today. The first was retweeted on Twitter and the second was a comment on a post by Nanette Sawyer at pomousings. i don't know about you, but i am often a troublemaker. Often i try to be one in a good sense where i challenge people, their thinking and their assumptions. This is a good thing as this is how we grow. Jesus was a troublemaker, a rabble rouser, especially when confronting the Pharisees of his day. i no longer live in a life of uncertainty certainty because life is not perfect and very far from certain. i rather be honest in expressing this rather than walking around happy clappy and in a false sense of certainty that i find to be too inauthentic. Jesus' radical message went against societal norms and irritated the status quo. In other words, Jesus was an 'agent of a dimension incompatible with society.' i desire to model Jesus in this way and i often do, being told i am reprobate, a sinner, going to hell, burn in hell for eternity, not a Christian, et al. The thing is, i know i am a sinner falling short everyday. i am in need of G-D's grace and mercy every second, every ninute, every hour, every day, every week, every month, every year, always until the day i take my last breath! As humans, we are all going to fail and succeed. It's just part of the human condition.

Adam Walker Cleaveland's series on Plurality 2.0 has been wonderful and i encourage you to check out the diverse voices he has contributing to the series. The second quote above was in response to one of the more interesting posts i resonated with. My ideas on evangelism and the exclusiveness of the Gospel and Christianity has changed and evolved over the past several years. For me, the crux of evangelism has become about furthering along my own conversion through encounters with the others i meet in my life. In addition to that thought, Joe saying, 'Ultimately where they or I move on the faith continuum may not be as important as the fact that through our encounter we nudge, prod, and love each other towards being something different, something better than we were before we met.' is just another dimension of how i view evangelism. It's not about getting someone to assent to some particular dogma or doctrine, but in how the Divine meets each of us in our encounters with one another and transforms us through those encounters. As he says, these encounters can be messy, but life is messy, faith is messy, authentic relationships are messy. i rather be authentic and messy than neat, inauthentic and so very certain about everything.

What are your thoughts?

Something Beautiful Podcast, Part 2 of 2

My good friend, Thomas AKA Heaphonaught, has interviewed me for the Something Beautiful Podcast. Last week Part 1 went up and this week Part 2 is up. Enjoy!

'Jesus, Interrupted' By Bart Ehrman

A HUGE thanks to Mike Morrell at theOoze.com for inviting me to be a part of the Viral Bloggers series from theOoze.com where we read and review books. i am excitedly awaiting the arrival of my copy of Bart Ehrman's new book, 'Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them)'. Harper Collins, Ehrman's publisher, is kind enough to send out several copies for bloggers to review. Later this month i will be posting a review. Here is Ehrman talking abut his new book:

Thoughts On Deconstruction & Emerging Church

'Deconstruction: This represents psycho-spiritual transmutation; reprogramming negative behaviour patterns through alchemical processes; turning the black dross into pure gold.' Found this here and thought it apropos to my post.

i have been thinking about deconstruction and faith within the emerging church conversation the past month or so, ruminating, pondering, and attempting to form some cohesive thoughts. Today i came across a wonderfully thought-provoking post titled "Allowing Ourselves to be Deconstructed" by Blake Huggins. i see deconstruction as a form of transmutation which can be defined as,

'the act of changing or the state of being changed into another form.'

Deconstruction can be defined as,

'analyzing (a text or linguistic or a conceptual system) by deconstruction, typically in order to expose its hidden internal assumptions and contradictions and subvert its apparent significance or unity.'

Many in the emerging church conversation say things like, "Ok, we have deconstructed. Now it is time to move on and reconstruct, stop talking, and move on to praxis." i'd actually like to say i disagree with this premise because we are always in need of deconstructing. i see deconstruction/reconstruction as a continual and simultaneous process that in order to be holistic must include decontructing myself and my belief systems. We must read things we disagree with and allow it to read us, get under our skin, and challenge us and our assumptions. Also, deconstructing belief systems, whether long-held traditions or ourselves, while at the same time putting things into actual praxis is the simultanaity i am advocating for in our lives. Is it messy and scary? Of course! Yet, it is necessary. It goes along with Pete Rollins' idea of furthering along my own conversion. Huggins talks about this deconstruction of our own beliefs so eloquently. He says two things that stuck out to me:

'I’m wondering if sometimes, in our efforts to deconstruct “something else,” we miss the opportunity to let ourselves be deconstructed.'

AND

'That is not to say that I reject the deconstructing of historical figures or systems of thought.  Not at all.  I’m only suggesting that perhaps there is a tension between our deconstruction and our being deconstructed.  The key is learning to live and embody that tension well.'

People must realize deconstruction is NOT a one time event to move on from but a continual, life-long process! What are your thoughts?

Various Views On Emerging Church

HT Emergent Village for posting the following videos from the Calvin College Alt Worship Project from various people from the USA and UK. They are really informative! It's nice to FINALLY put voices with faces with people I have know for several years via blogs, email and Twitter but have never met in person. People like Jonny Baker and Jason Clark. They never sound like what i imagine in my wee mind! PART 1:

PART 2

Pete Rollins Muses on Emergent Churches

Shirley Hoogstra interviews Pete Rollins on an Inner Compass Episode at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Just scroll down to Episode #909 and enjoy the informative conversation. It's about 25 minutes in length.

Publisher's Weekly Review Of Pete Rollins' Upcoming Book

 Pete Rollins' newest book, "The Orthodox Heretic: And Other Impossible Tales", will be released this April by Paraclete Press. Publisher's Weekly recently reviewed "The Orthodox Heretic" in it's Religion section under Nonfiction Reviews.

The Orthodox Heretic: And Other Impossible Tales Peter Rollins. Paraclete, $19.99 (164p) ISBN 978-1-55725-634-8

Don't be fooled by the slender spine of this unusual book. Rollins, the Irish philosopher/po-mo theologian who has previously published How (Not) to Speak of God and The Fidelity of Betrayal, upends some of Christians' most cherished platitudes about God in his newest outing. He cautions readers that the book is not to be read quickly, for acquiring information, but to be savored slowly for possible transformation. Mostly, the book lives up to this billing. Rollins recasts some of the most familiar parables of and stories about Jesus, sometimes subversively—as when he proposes a version of feeding the 5,000 that shows Jesus and his disciples pigging out on meager resources while the multitudes look on, starving. His point? That Christians are the body of Christ, and when we oppress the poor and hoard scarce resources, we are saying that represents the kind of God we serve. Although not all of the parables work equally well—some could use further illumination—Rollins is a tremendously talented writer and thinker whose challenges to Christianity-as-usual should be well-received by the emergent church crowd, if not beyond. (Apr. 1)

Queermergent

 

i just created a new blog called Queermergent. It's a play on the words Queer and Emergent. Here's the very first post:

i have been a part of the Emergent conversation both in the UK and the USA for the past 6 years. After years of white-knuckling and repressing my sexuality through a Religious Right conservatism, charismatic, fundamentalist Christianity that lived by literal interpretations of the Bible in dogmatic ways, Reparative Therapy and ex-gay ministries, where the mantra became, “Pray Away the Gay”, and years of depression and suicidal tendencies, i FINALLY came to terms with my sexuality and G-D. Through a very long journey with many peaks and valleys, i decided, through much counsel and prayer that reconciling my same-sex attractions and my Christian faith was a reality where i could exist.

Here is a brief summary of my journey:

Twenty years ago this month I had a ‘born-again’ experience at a charismatic church where an American missionary to S. Africa was speaking. Hell was one of the topics being preached, so at the end of the evening I went forward for the altar call to ‘receive’ Jesus into my heart. I did this because I was afraid of going to hell. Thus, I was purchasing my ‘fire insurance’. I attended Pat Robertson’s graduate school in Virginia Beach, Regent University, to obtain an M.Div so I could be a youth pastor. I began to seriously look at my life-long struggle of same-sex attractions. The school and my therapist along with my charismatic church back home always communicated that being gay was a sin, a choice, and those who actively pursue it will go to hell. I was shell-shocked and confused. I attempted suicide and spent a month at two different times in a psychiatric hospital. I even did reparative therapy and attended ex-gay ministries to pray away the gay, which never worked. In 1997 I moved to Los Angeles and began living a double life as a Christian and as a gay woman. I began to read Brian McLaren and found him writing things I had felt inside but was very afraid to express outwardly to anyone. In 2002 I went to Northern Ireland to do a DTS with YWAM. I met the great Peter Rollins and we developed a great friendship. His teachings and writings on postmodernism and Christianity radically shaped how I viewed my faith. I could no longer hang onto certainty with regards to interpreting scripture. There were more important things in kingdom living than where we go after we pass from this world to the next, like poverty, AIDS, the environment, etc. About 2.5 years ago I FINALLY came to terms with my sexuality. I found peace with myself and with God. Coming out was fairly painless with the exception of a few people who still think I am in sin and going to hell. I no longer hold this view and I am ok if people think that about me. I hate labels as they are so limiting, but are sometimes a necessary evil. After being a right wing Republican most of my voting life, I now consider myself an independent that leans more liberal than moderate.

Queermergent was created today in order to create a safe space for those Christ-followers who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Queer to partake in mature discussions regarding the LGBTQ community of faith within a 21st Century, postmodern, emergent/emerging church context. Queermergent is also a space for those that are not from the LGBTQ community but desire to understand us more, ask questions, and contribute to the queer conversation in a life-affirming way. As we journey along together we will hopefully be changed for the better. Thanks be to G-D!

Pete Rollins' Take On Moving Beyond The Colour Of Each Other's Eyes

Here's a fresh post from Pete Rollins, that is quite interesting, entitled "Beyond the colour of each other's eyes", where he talks about having "just completed two draft chapters for a forthcoming book featuring Jason Clark, Kevin Corcoran, Jamie Smith and Kurt and Lori Wilson. These chapters will be presented at a Calvin College conference taking place at the end of January. The chapters have been provisionally entitled, ‘Beyond the Colour of Each Other’s Eyes: The Worldly Theology of Emerging Collectives’ and ‘Transformance Art: Reconfiguring the Social Self’."

". . . indeed, in the spirit of the text, what if we could offer an interpretive translation  of Paul’s words that would read,

You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither high church nor low church, Fox nor CNN, citizen not alien, capitalist nor communist, gay nor straight, beautiful nor ugly, East nor West, theist nor atheist, Israel nor Palestine, hawk nor dove, American nor Iraqi, married nor divorced, uptown nor downtown, terrorist nor freedom fighter, paedophile nor loving parent, priest nor prophet, fame nor obscurity, Christian nor non-Christian, for all are made one in Christ Jesus

…One of the fundamental gifts that the nascent movement called emergent has to offer the wider church is a way of locating the power of that eschatological vision of Paul within the here and now. While we cannot step out of historical time and enter the eschaton, while we cannot enact this radical negation today (for we cannot really forget our gender, our job, our sexual preferences, our political opinions, our nationality etc), some emerging collectives have developed a space in which we are able to symbolically enact this step. A place where we engage in a theatrical performance of Paul’s vision. It is the creation of what we may call ‘suspended space’."

Read the entire piece here.

What are your thoughts?