Curtis “the Voice” Allen recently rapped at Bethlehem Baptist, the church where John Piper pastors. Read about the response, good and bad, that followed in the Boundless article here.
This story is an implicit narrative critique of the worship wars within the Christian church.
See Justin Taylor’s interview with “the Voice” and the rap video…
(HT: JT)
This week the famous South by Southwest Music and Media Conference & Festival has been unleashed on Austin, yet again. The festival is spread out all over the city, venues to be found everywhere–parks, coffeeshops, clubs, etc. Music and media take over the city. As I write, I am at Progress Coffee listening to Martin Crane of Brazos.
It’s just downright cool. Wish you were here.
The critical movement has seen the dissolution of the monolithic understanding of Scripture, a unity imposed we might say ‘from above’, from unquestionable divine and ecclesiastical authority. It has established beyond question the diversity and humanity of the writings. Attempts like those of the ‘Biblical Theology’ movement, to see a simple ‘biblical’ view of things are now generally supposed to have failed.
~ Colin Gunton, Enlightenment & Alienation: An Essay toward a Trinitarian Theology
In the most recent issue of Outreach magazine, Austin pastor of Gateway Church, John Burke, facilitates a conversation with six unchurched folks who range from nominal Denmark Lutheran to American Eclectic Wicca (Jennifer). The roundtable discussion takes place in a Starbucks (which Gateway has on campus), simulating what should be happening between pastors and people on a regular basis all over their cities. Read the whole thing here.
John asks some great questions, moving from “Tell us a little bit about your faith background” to “Now tell me your thoughts on Jesus. What do you think about Him?” Although its kind of wierd to obtain biographical and spiritual info on unchurched from a magazine (unless you live in Austin but even then its still wierd) instead of personally engaging in these conversations, the whole thing is rather insightful.
Jennifer’s remarks about praying to Jesus for help as a public school teacher are quite interesting, given the fact that she doesn’t believe Jesus to be God. Check it out and give me your feedback.
