Doug Pagitt on ACWB, Video 5

Greg Boyd and the Mennonites

Greg Boyd has written an interesting piece on the Mennonite Community, seen here.

There is a beautiful and powerful grassroots Kingdom movement arising all over the globe that Mennonites in particular need to notice. Millions of people are abandoning the Christendom paradigm of the traditional Christian faith in order to become more authentic followers of Jesus. From the Emergent Church movement to the Urban Monastic Movement to a thousand other independent groups and movements, people are waking up to the truth that the Kingdom of God looks like Jesus and that the heart of Christianity is simply imitating him. Millions are waking up to the truth that followers of Jesus are called to love the unlovable, serve the oppressed, live in solidarity with the poor, proclaim Good News to the lost and be willing to lay down our life for our enemies. Multitudes are waking up to the truth that the distinctive mark of the Kingdom is the complete rejection of all hatred and violence and the complete reliance on love and service of others, including our worst enemies. Masses of people are waking up to the truth that followers of Jesus aren't called to try to win the world by acquiring power over others but by exercising power under others -- the power of self-sacrificial love.

I'm considering checking out some Mennonite churches in the area. I deeply respect their values of peace, love, and acceptance. Have any of you had experience with Mennonite churches?

Donald Miller: Biking for Justice

This is a video where Donald Miller explains a project he is doing this summer to raise money for Blood:Water Mission called the Ride:Well Bike Tour.



I have been a fan and financial supporter of Blood:Water mission for a few years, a group who focuses on providing clean water for African villages by digging wells. I encourage you to check out the ministry and the bike tour.

ACWB, Video 4

Here is the 4th video that Doug Pagitt is posting to promote his new book A Christianity Worth Believing (which you can find my review of here).



We will be having an interview with Doug about the book here on Nicksmusings.com in the next couple weeks. So, stay tuned, and buy the book.

Doug Pagitt on ACWB, Video 3

Doug Pagitt has posted the third video promoting his new book A Christianity Worth Believing (which you can find my review of here). This video points to my favorite part of the book, chapter 2 titled "Passion Play", which tells the story of Doug's conversion. If you haven't ordered this book yet, you should definitely do so soon. The third video is below, or you can watch a High Definition version here.



Thoughts?

Beware, by Don Heatley

Here is a fascinating article posted on the Emergent Village Blog about traditional churches reacting against Emergent churches in their area and warning others to stay away. Very funny and thought provoking, I thought.

[Our Church] has never used any conjugation of the verb “emerge” in any of our ads. My theory is that this fear of Vision all began in someone’s inbox. Sandwiched between warnings of hypodermic needles hidden in the coin return slots of pay phones and claims that Barack Obama is a Muslim, this person read an email claiming that different Christianity equals Emergent, and Emergent equals dangerous. Informed only by anti-emergent websites, they went looking for an “Exhibit A” and found it in my church. How ironic that Emergent, which is often criticized for not defining itself, can be so easily defined by its critics. I propose a new tag line for “this thing of ours” (to use a New Jersey term). Rather than “Emergent: A Generative Friendship,” I propose “Emergent: We’re like pornography. You know it when you see it.”

Let me know what you think.