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Welcome Selah

From Marcus:

She is a girl!  Her name is Selah Conaway Andrusko.  Selah is a word that means "to wonder" or "to consider".  We hope this as a way of being for our daughter.  Conaway is a name that is being lent to us by a friend named Tom Conaway, who lives in a beautiful and loving way.  We would be proud she lives in ways that he has shown us.  Andrusko, well, that is a long story for another day, however, we are proud that she has become a part of this wonderfully odd family of people.

Abby was a trooper.  I could not be more proud of her.  Things did not go as Abby and I had hoped for, and Selah was born in a rush, with a cesarean section.  Wow, I can not put words to what I saw, or to how amazed I am by her mother.  What a way to begin a life, and what a gift from Abby to her daughter.  Simply amazed.

Here are the stats:  She was born at 10:38pm, on Tuesday February 27th, 2007 (Feb. 27th is also the birth-date of Abby's Grandfather Ray).  Selah weighed 7 Lbs - 5 Oz.  She was 21.5 inches long.  She has some dark hair.

It is late, and we are tired.  I suppose that our fatigue will not win us over to sleep though.  We have some smiling and holding to do this early morning.

Here are some photo's of the pregnancy, and Selah.

Chicago this week

I will be in the Chicago area this week.
Tuesday night at the Uprooted cohort, and Wednesday morning at chapel at North Park.
And hanging around with Scot McKnight.

Emergence 2007

Information here.
Registration here.

I  am very much looking forward to this event.
Three cities and great hosts.
I am really looking forward to working with Krista Tippet from Speaking of Faith. Being with Scot and Andrew is no little thing either.
In addition there are the presenters, this is gonna be a great series of events.

I think it is ideal for those who are new to the "emerging church conversation" (whatever it is - such a strange phrase), but not only for them. I think that for those who are already along in this stuff will know how to listen and also find it helpful

My Presby Friends

As you my know I am horrible at keeping the links section up to date. It is enough for me to blog regularly but to keep links up is a not going to happen.
So over on the side there are out of date links and missing links and the like.
But here is one worth looking at.

Some of my friends are Reformed folks, and Presbyterians at that. They are the kind who come from a tradition and are sticking with it. I love that about them.
I have a hard time understanding their sticking with it through the depths of pain I have seen many of them in, but they tell me that there is a way to move into the future with a foot firmly in the tradition. These are very flexible people, they are in full on yoga stretch.

But there is a group of the that have put together at thing called Presbymergent. These are great folks.
So others who are feeling the need to stay put, and move forward you might find some friends here.

Emersion Books Site Now Up

The Emersion Books website is now up.

Emersion is a partnership between Emergent Village and Baker Publishing Group.
In the next few months a number of books will be released in this new effort.
The Emergent Manifesto of Hope, Signs of Emergence, Justice in the Burbs, and Organic Community will be in the first window.

The site is meant to share information and illicit ideas, it even includes a video I made with ICam Share.

the Well Office Space

We are closing in on the opening of the Well office space and are still looking for renters.
Ideally we would like natural health practitioners but are open to anyone looking for space.
There are four suites, all remodelled and great old house feel.
One is small 6x11 - perfect for a message studio. The others are 12x13, 12x15, and double suite that is even larger.

Price ranges from $350 to $750 per month, including all utilities.
We are also looking at an option of renting the small studio for message on an hourly rate.

So, if you know someone interested in space please send them my way.

LTTBOEC Clarification of the intent

The longest book title ever book - Listening To The Beliefs Of Emerging Churches - is getting some interest in the bog world (that is certain to give some a few sleepless nights).
But one of the misconceptions of the book is that is was only suppose to focus on each of our beliefs on a set list of issues. The book was not an answer form on only three topics, or any number of topics. We were given a broad list to address and at the same time wanted to address some issues in common. But the book was not meant to be about three or things.
The book was meant to be much broader than that. It was to be about not only what we believed about certain issues, but how we believe, how those beliefs had changes, and how beliefs function for us.
Here is a section from the invitation letter to the project from Robert Webber. I think this will allow the book to make more sense.

Content: Zondervan has given me a list of questions which I have included below.  I have also added my own list.  You do not need to address all the questions.  Theological disagreement is welcome, and courtesy toward each other is, of course, expected.

ZONDERVAN QUESTIONS:
*  How did you come to beinvolved in church ministry?  (Brief summary of your calling/story).
*  What is unique about how you do church?  What do you believe about the nature and purpose of the church?
*  What is your view of worship including the nature and purpose of preaching?
*  What is your view of Scripture?
*  Are there basic doctrinal affirmations that you think are essential to authentic Christianity?
*  What is your view of the person and work of Christ including the atonement?
*  What is your view of the relation of Christianity to other religions and the doctrine of eternal punishment?
*  How have your views changed over the past decade?

WEBBER QUESTIONS:
*  How do you regard “the story of God” as a place to start theological thinking?
*  What is your attitude toward “communal reflection” as opposed to individualized theology?
*  Do you subscribe to “post systems theology?”
*  How does truth get embodied?
*  How do sign and symbol communicate truth?
*  How do you view the ancient creeds, especially the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Chalcedon Creed?
*  How should we approach the issue of unity and diversity?
*  What role will tradition play in the Emerging church?
*  What cultural revolutions of recent years shape your way of thinking?  i.e. scientific; philosophical; globalism; communication theory; historical analysis; sociological shifts; relativism.

There may be other questions that interest you, so feel free to touch on the areas of particular interest.

BodyPrayer 31

From BodyPrayer:

A Prayer for Beauty
There is no end to the beauty of God, the beauty of the creation of God, or even the beauty of God within us. (1 Peter 3:3-4.] As the followers of God, we want eyes to see the beauty of God, to reflect the beauty of God, and to live in that beauty. This comes easily when we are surrounded by goodness and love, or God’s wondrous creation. At other times we need faith to see how beauty can come from destruction. But the follower of God is ever-reminded and empowered of the way God brings beauty from the most stained situations. We pray to see the beauty of God and the beauty God can bring. We live as the beneficiaries and beacons of that beauty.

Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches

Tall (but not quiet as tall as me) Skinny (got me on that one) Kiwi has posted reflections on LTTBOEC (still the longest acronym for a book possible) book.
As usual, Andrew is spot on in his reflections (except the section on the embodied one, he overstates there).
As I was reading his review I thought, this would make a great book review for a class assignment, he really read the book and got it.

Andrew, like other who have now had a chance to read the book really liked it. I have started hearing that from people, which is good news. It is hard to tell on multi-author books if people will like them since they have multiple personalities.
If you are interested in the live version of the book there will be three events this Spring featuring the ideas of the book.
Austin - April 27-28, Minneapolis - May 18-19, Seattle June 1-2.
Scot McKnight is hosting in Austin, Andrew Jones in Minneapolis and Krista Tippet in Seattle.
These are put together by Zondervan, who published the book, so when they have registration information I will post it here.

BodyPrayer 30

From BodyPrayer:

A Prayer for Kindness
God’s kindness is often an underestimated reality of God’s character. Too readily, God is thought of as powerful and awesome at the expense of being gentle and kind. But the kindness of God is ever-flowing and ever-available and leads us to change. God’s kindness is not a duty or obligation, it comes from God’s unchanging character. When we seek to live in the way of God we must pursue love, joy, patience, peace, goodness, and kindness—for this is the way of God. (Galatians 5:22-23.] We pray and live as those who are kindly cared for by God; and we pray and live as the very kindness of God in the world.