have not posted for a few days as we are in turkey for a holiday with our friends janice, des and judith. having a great time - enjoying the food, the very hot weather, the mediteranean, and the people - oh yeah, and the sunburn! but it is great to be away and relax for a few days.

A few of us went to a Republic of Ireland football match last night, an international friendly against Chile that we had high expectations for. Unfortunately Chile was the much better side and ended up winning 1-0, a tough loss for a supposedly rejuvenated Irish squad. But we still had a nice time. Here are some photos...

Well we just came off a very busy but very rewarding weekend. Brian McLaren was here and shared with a group of about 90 leaders yesterday, and it turned out to be a fantastic event. This was my first time to meet Brian up close and personal, and I've heard it said before, but it's worth repeating: he is one the the kindest, most humble people you will ever meet. Even though he had been travelling and speaking for 2 weeks straight, he was very gracious in engaging us all where we are at. And of course the content of the day was great, as was the conversation. (We're hoping to post mp3s from the day, so I'll let you all know when we do.)

It was also a great day because we had people from all across the Christian spectrum, and there was fantastic dialogue between the different groups. It was encouraging to hear leaders that are thinking through some of the issues that Brian deals with in their various contexts.

One of the other highlights of the weekend for myself and Georgie was the opportunity to meet and hang out with Pete Rollins and Si Johnston, two guys who have been dealing with these issues for some time now and who I'm hoping we can continue to build a relationship with down here.

I'm posting a few pictures of the day...

Tags:
Brian McLaren
emerging church
Ireland

aagghh, exams are finished, everyone is looking forward to summer, and spring is here. that's why it looks like this outside my window right now. i wish i were kidding. welcome to spring in ireland!

Tags: spring, ireland

My cousin Ben sent me this poem by Philip Larkin; it's entitled 'Church Going', and Geo and I enjoyed it so much we thought we'd pass it on. Thanks for the tip, Ben.

Tags: poetry, church, Philip+Larkin, Christianity

Tough night for Arsenal as they lost to Barcelona in the Champions League final after having their goalkeeper sent off in the first half. The referee ruined what could have been an excellent night of European football. Interestingly neither Thierry Henry or Ronaldhino - two of the best players in the world - were great on the night. Sad to see the club season come to an end, but luckily the World Cup is around the corner for those of us who need a football fix....

Tags: champions+league, football, arsenal, barcelona

oh dear. for those of us who already loathe job interviews, this case of mistaken identity might turn us off job hunting all together. very funny. (HT to Johnny Baker).

Tags: BBC, comedy

From CNN:

Tags: loneliness, Ireland, internet, google

Yale theologian and historian Jaroslav Pelikan died this past week. Pelikan was probably the world's leading living church historian, and wrote scores of books over his long career, ranging from work on individuals, the creeds, and the development of Scripture through the centuries. There's a nice article about his life and career at Christianity Today.

In Ireland a garbage collector is called a bin man. well our friend Micah Switzer was out visiting today and helped empty our bins. afterwards he was quite happy with himself.

Thanks to some friends from England, I've become a bit of a Sudoku addict (read 'I need to do two before I can go to sleep at night'). I've even taking it across the sea and tried to inflict it upon friends and family. CNN has an article and a video here about the guy who really made it popular worldwide, and the international championships that are now taking place. For those of you who would like to give it a try, there are lots of places to play Sudoku online, such as websudoku.

Tags: sudoku

Writers like Thomas Friedman are continually reminding us how small the world is, how interconnected our lives are with those around the world. Obviously there are political, economic, spiritual and moral implications of this shrinking globalized world. Georgie and I watched Lord of War last night, and it struck me that movies over the last few years have really begun to explore these interrelated aspects of our shrinking world, forcing us to face up to our role as Westerners in what happens elsewhere in the world, but also allowing us to see life in places that would otherwise be impossible. Another thing about these films is that while they deal with major issues, they don't offer any easy solutions. No quick-fixes are offered, and in many cases the ambiguities of the real world are left hanging for us to process. A few examples:

I find these examples very interesting. One thing is clear, and that is that we're becoming more and more narrative-driven people. It's another shift from modernity's linear, objective, proposition-based approach to meaning, to postmodernity's particularistic, interconnected, narrative-based approach. We make sense of the world through stories, and one of the best avenues we have for this is film. It can be easy to ignore the fact that the world is shrinking, that what we do with our time, money and energy very much affects others around the world. Isn't it interesting that film is becoming a medium that is forcing us to deal with these realities.

Tags: film, movies, globalization

I enjoy reading. Most of what I do revolves around reading, research, writing, etc. Nothing excites me more than getting a new book and digging in to it (as my wife and bank account will both attest). But at the same time, sometimes the stacks of books I feel like I need to read can be overwhelming, and the joy of being a bibliophile is gone. So, hoping it will be a bit therapeutic and a textual pick-me-up, I thought I would share with you what I've recently read, am reading, and will be reading in the near future.

 A lot of what I read (or should be reading) revolved around my PhD research, which is looking at election theology in the OT, specifically stuff related to Jacob and Esau. At the moment I'm working on a piece relating to Malachi 1:2-5, where it is stated that God loves Jacob and hates Esau. It's a difficult passage, not least because Paul picks it up in Romans 9, which sets it up as a kind of paradigmatic passage. I'm examining whether or not it should be considered so. Anyway, that means lots of commentaries, articles, and dreaded German stuff I need to slog through. Hopefully I'll have this piece done this summer to share with those of you who are interested.

As many of you know, Brian McLaren is going to be here at our college a week from Monday. As I'm kind of heading up the day, I've been re-reading some of his stuff. One of the things I like about Brian is his tone: even though he offers some pretty serious critiques of modern Christianity and what many consider revolutionary ways to move forward, he does so with a very gentle spirit and is always willing to listen and dialogue. If you're unfamiliar with his stuff, A New Kind of Christian and A Generous Orthodoxy are both good places to start.

Other theological reading: just finishing John Caputo's Philosophy and Theology, a short introduction to postmodernism and the role of theology within it. It's a very accessible read, and short enough to follow. I recommend it for those looking to understand some of the ins and outs of postmodernity. I'm anxious to compare this with James K.A. Smith's new book, Who's Afraid of Postmodernism? Taking Derrida, Lyotard and Foucault  to Church.

I've had many people recommend Hirsch and Frost's The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st Century Church. While I've enjoyed it, it hasn't been the read I had anticipated from all the buildup. It may be that I spent too much time reading missional-oriented stuff earlier in the year, but I've just had a hard time getting excited about this one. Maybe it'll still happen...

In other Old Testament studies, I'm working my way through Jon Levenson's Sinai and Zion: An Entry into the Jewish Bible. While it's billed as an introductory book, it still can be pretty tough going at times. I've found it helpful in terms of understanding some Jewish concepts such as covenant, law, and the role of Torah in Jewish thought and life. Also reading bits and pieces of the Book of Jubilees, an ancient re-writing of the book of Genesis that incorporates some early Jewish interpretation into the biblical text. Some fascinating stuff for the history of interpretation of the Bible.

On personal development: I've been re-reading a few chapters of Parker Palmer's The Courage to Teach. Palmer, who is from Madison Wisconsin (woohoo!), is an amazing voice on what it means to be a teacher, and what that entails spiritually, emotionally and mentally. I always find him inspiring. Also, my friend Jason leant me a book on becoming a dad. I was leery of it, but it was actually quite good and I'm glad I read it. Finally, I'm slowly but surely making my way through Eugene Peterson's book on spiritual theology, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places (even though the the second in the trilogy is now out - doh!). Peterson's writing is amazing, and his interweaving of Scripture, personal story, and pastoral wisdom always leaves me wishing I was a bit more like him. Highly recommend this one.

What's up next? Well, we're going away for a holiday in a few weeks, and I'm hoping to do some fun reading: John Banville's The Sea, an Irish book which won the Man Booker Prize last year, and Levitt and Dubner's Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything.

Whew.

What about you all? Anything great to recommend at the moment?

Excellent piece by Stephen L. Carter at CT on the attitudes of Christians concerning those who might not agree with us. Well worth a read.

Tags: christianity+today, emerging+church

Very interesting article at Christianity today on some power and leadership struggles taking place due to what many think is a lack of accountability structures at Calvary Chapel of Albuquerque, New Mexico. This is one of the upsides of denominational affiliation -there are some built-in checks and balances that are often otherwise missing. It'd be worth discussing some of these issues in relation to leadership in the emerging church.

Great clip from King of the Hill as Hank and family search for a new church home.

(HT to Matt.)

Our nephews Luke and Evan (otherwise known as 'the twins') had their first communion today. First communion is a big deal here in Ireland, so it tends to be an all day affair. But it was really special to be a part of it. Here are some pics...

My mom is visiting us at the moment, and one of the things that brought her here this time around was the chance to help lead a leadership retreat for women in missions. Georgie and Janice went along with her to Budapest, Hungary, where the training was held. Here are a few of their photos.

Well this was the last week of the teaching year this year. Only exams left now (and then of course marking, and finalising marks, and end of year meetings, and meetings with Wales....). But something we did last year at the end of term and we did again yesterday was a trip to Chester Beatty Library located downtown Dublin. The Chester Beatty has some of the oldest and best preserved NT documents in the world, as well as a few LXX documents and a nice collection of Muslim and Eastern religious documents and religious items. It's a place I go to often, but it's always a learning experience. Afterwards it was off to Starbucks and an afternoon around the town.

Chester Beatty Library
Bible
manuscripts

Fascinating article from the Burnside Writers Collective (one of Teirney's favorites) on what can be found in your local Christian bookstore. (For those of you outside of North America, the Christian bookstore is a beast that cannot be described - it has to be witnessed to be understood.) The amount of politically motivated material is disheartening. The article is worth a read.

On a related note, Relevant magazine has an interview with Derek Webb, who, as always, has some pointed and interesting things to say about the state of 'Christian' music and how his fits in.

Christianity
emerging church
Derek Webb

I'm not nearly as interested in music as I used to be, but I've been on a bit of a revival as of late. Here are a few things I'm really enjoying listening to...

The Weepies: probably my favourite find of the past few months. Great folksy-pop tunes and fantastic songwriting. Guy and girl duet, the female, Deb Talan, is a treat. Check out 'World Spins Madly On', 'Somebody Loved', and 'Gotta have you'.

Imogen Heap: Half of Frou Frou, of Garden State fame, she has some pretty great stuff if you're into pop, which I'm usually not, but find her interesting nonetheless. Check out 'Goodnight and Go' and the funky 'Hide and Seek'.

Patty Griffin: Just discovering her stuff and realizing what I've been missing. Heartwrenching songwriting.

Modest Mouse: I realize this is a little late considering these guys were all the rage a while back, but they have some infectuous stuff.

Kings of Convenience: I've been listening to this Norwegian duet for a while thanks to Teirney. But just discovered a bunch of live stuff at this fan page. Great stuff. My favourites of the moment are 'Homesick' and 'Gold in the air of summer'.

Joshua Radin: I've only heard a bit of his stuff, but like what I've heard, especially 'Closer' and 'Someone Else's life'.

and last but not least...

Half-Handed Cloud: band member for Sufjan Stevens should say all that needs to be said. Crazy assortment of instruments and melodies. HT to Marko.