A little while back I received a copy of For the Tough Times: Reaching Toward Heaven for Hope by Max Lucado for review [full disclosure: through the Thomas Nelson book review blogger program].
Archives for category: books
I didn’t initially plan on making this into a series, but I just came across a great passage on third way thinking as I’ve been reading through Finding the Groove: Composing a Jazz-Shaped Faith, by Robert Gelinas.
Robert’s jazz-shaped faith is composed of three foundations, or keynotes:
- Syncopation
- Improvisation
- Call and response
These keynotes have implications both for “our walk with God (spirituality) and our joining in to help others walk with God (evangelism).”
One of my favorite explorations of these keynotes comes in chapter four, “Creative Tension.” Robert points out that in our desire to resolve conflict, tension and perceived contradictions in the Bible and in our faith, perhaps we have lost touch with the very thing that can lead to creativity and life.
Jesus knows what to do with tension…
These two opposing truths provided a whole new option for those present that day — a third way (in Latin, tertium quid), a new, creative way. This happens when we move beyod either/or to both/and. This is the gateway to improvisation. Jazz is the willingness to live between freedom and unfreedom and see where it leads.
I love how Robert challenges us even to rethink, or reframe, our understanding of what it means to be in a rut. So much of life is lived somewhere in-between, in the ordinary and everyday. And yet, as we embrace this third way thinking:
When we are in a rut with God, we can stop and realize that a rut only exists becaus there are two opposing, competing, and equally strong forces that create sides. Those sides create a groove. Creative tension helps us find that groove.
May the paradox of loving and following Jesus lead us into the endless groove of wonder, possibility and love!
Today at NPC, I only had time to make it to the morning seminar with Shane Hipps, pastor and author of the excellent book The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture (which I highly recommend) and the recently released Flickering Pixels.
In his seminar, Our Nomadic Life: Undoing the Incarnation Using Nothing but Your Cell Phone, Shane gave a great overview of the shift from oral tradition (in which we needed the tribe to maintain our sense of narrative and identity) to the literate age (in which our words could be separated from ourselves) and, finally, to our current electronic age — a complex convergence of the two.
In our current electronic culture, we live in the following paradoxes:
Started day one of the National Pastors Convention here in town today. A few quick observations:
I was deeply convicted by Efrem Smith‘s powerful message in the morning about speaking life into the hearts of those who despair. In today’s haywire financial environment, it was a timely and necessary word.
The music from Ashmont Hill was fantastic. I must admit, I was kind of worried that I wouldn’t know any of the songs because I had never heard of them before today. I didn’t, but it turned out not to matter. My wife often says that she thinks gospel music will be the soundtrack of heaven (and I agree). Ashmont Hill combines elements of gospel, r&b and rock to great effect.
A personal highlight today was sitting in on a seminar by Robert Gelinas — better known as Jazz Theologian. Robert shared some great insights into what a jazz-shaped faith might look like in our churches today (quick note: it’s not so much about the music, but the ethos). Building on the keynotes of syncopation, improvisation and call & response we can build vibrant, listening, covenant communities of life. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the analogy of pastoral leadership as jazz drumming. Robert’s book, Finding the Groove: Composing a Jazz-Shaped Faith, will be released this week at NPC. Can’t wait to read it!
One small regret: I wish I could’ve gotten one of those snazzy, “Walk and not be faint” walking club t-shirts!
Christianaudio, which is a great site run by a friend from San Diego, offers a free audiobook each month that you can download.
This month, the featured free audiobook is Not for Sale by David Batstone. David leads the Not for Sale movement dedicated to ending human trafficking and slavery.
I encourage you to support Christianaudio. They feature a wide variety of audiobooks, including a couple of free talks from NT Wright and Dallas Willard, that will help you make it through your rush hour commute!
headsparks* 