It was a great South By afternoon in Austin. The highlight was getting into the PASTE showcase which ended with an acoustic four song solo set by M. Ward. Snapped a pic with my phone on the left.
The opener was the best, a 10 minute instrumental in which Ward made his guitar sound like three instruments. His manipulation of vocals, silence, and notes are remarkable. His song-writing image-charged and story-driven. I get to hear him with the band tomorrow night!
See the post here on developing a local theology and the excerpt below on our attempt to do local theology as a church:
The Four Self Church
We are cultivating a Four-Self Church, a concept that was tweaked by Paul Hiebert in his Anthropological Reflections on Missiological Issues (probably the most influential missiology text I have read). Most church planters are aware of the Three-Self Church—self-governing, self-sustaining, self-propagating. Hiebert adds a fourth—self-theologizing.
We are trying to strike the delicate balance between teaching theology and cultivating theologians, between downloading Systematic Theology and discipling Christians who do theology to address issues in our Keep Austin Weird culture. One way we are doing this is through our Interpreting Scripture and Culture class.
It is South By Southwest and Austin is crawling with musicians and fans. For a week or so, bands are stuffed into every nook and cranny of the city—gas stations, gyms, Urban Outfitters, restaurants, bars, and now design companies.
Emblem Creative is proud to present the SXES (South by South East) Day Party. We are featuring locally-grown music, and raising funds & awareness for the Green Corn Project – a non-profit that has built more than 130 gardens in Austin’s under served neighborhoods.
ABOUT THE GREEN CORN PROJECT:
Green Corn Project is a volunteer-driven 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Since 1998, GCP has built more than 130 gardens in Austin’s underserved neighborhoods. We teach effective techniques for growing food at home naturally, while making maximum use of land, water, and energy. The whole community benefits when gardeners share their new skills and excess harvest with others.
Find out more here: www.greencornproject.org
St. Patrick was a Romano-British citizen, kidnapped in Britain at age 16 and served as a slave for 6 years in Wood of Fochoill, Ireland. He later returned to the homeland of his captivity, Ireland, to spread the gospel and plant churches. His mission to Ireland 457-492 began at age 40 after being turned down after his first request to be commissioned as a missionary.
Although I’m sure Patrick enjoyed a good beer, his life was counted for much more than good times and green clovers. Patrick was a man of remarkable faith and mission. In the 5th century, Patrick planted more than 200 churches and won 100,000 people to Christ. How did this happen? Far from contemporary attractional church models, Patrick pioneered mission to the pagan tribes of Ireland through innovative strategy, incarnational ministry, and robust faith in Christ.
St. Patrick, the Missional Leader
When entering a new town or province, the first thing Patrick would do was befriend the local ruler. Very often that leader would come to Christ and permit Patrick to evangelize the area. Next, Patrick would establish monastaries for the training of Christians, but unlike many of his contemporaries, Patrick emphasized mission as a part of Christian training. In essence, he established missionary training centers in every city in order to effectively reach the whole of Ireland.
In essence, Patrick established missionary training centers in every city in order to effectively reach the whole of Ireland.
Patrick also learned the local language, the old Gaelic, and translated the gospel into their culture. He developed their “flavor of writing” and adapted colloquialisms and was known for his persistent study of Gaelic culture. He painted heaven as a great feast, not an angelic reunion, which appealed to the banquet culture of the Irish.
St. Patrick, the Missiologist
Patrick was a savvy missionary and developed numerous ways to communicate the gospel which reflected thoughtful
engagement of culture. When confronting pagan Druid religion, which used the circle to represent reincarnation, Patrick superimposed the cross onto the circle of reincarnation to demonstrate the triumph of the cross over druid belief. Hence the Celtic cross. Notice that the circle never overlays the cross, but the cross is on top of the circle.
Patrick new that the gospel must interact with the world; it must reject, redeem, and recreate life and culture under the lordship of Christ.
To be sure, this was no artistic whim; it was a direct power encounter with the pagan belief of his day. Patrick new that the gospel must interact with the world; it must reject, redeem, and recreate life and culture under the lordship of Christ. Maybe we need to come up with a cross over the top of a $100 bill! It was also Patrick that used the indigenous shamrock (three-leaf clover) to explain the Trinity to the Celts. Three leaves, one clover; three persons, one God.
St. Patrick, Man of God
In addition to his missional savvy, Patrick’s Confessio reveals a man who was immersed in Scripture. He was shaped by his relationship with the Trinity and passionately devoted to the Celts. Consider his exemplary prayer for any Christian or church planter:
and without complaint I would faithfully be of service to that pagan people to whom the love of Christ translated me and granted me, as long as I live, if I should be worthy; that at last with humility and in truth I might serve them. And so, according to the measure of faith of the Trinity it is my duty without the fear of censure to make known the Gift of God and his eternal consolation without fear faithfully to expound everywhere the name of God (Confessio, I. 65-75)
