I guess this is my official entry into the blogosphere. I don't tend to be the most disciplined guy in the world, so we'll see how long this lasts. I feel compelled to jump in, write a little more about the God, people and things that I love, and probably wind up reading a lot more about some of them too. I'll start by explaining the name "Subvergent."
I admit it's kind of a goofy name, and in part, that's the point. If you're reading this blog you're probably interested in words like: emerging, emergent, postmodern, Gospel-centered, culture, plant, mega-, multi-, and missional. I'm interested in most of those words too. Somehow, all these words, and a lot of other catchy ones, are now part of the modern church vernacular, and the spin-off phrases (some more creative than others) abound. I'm not casting stones here (i.e., my blog title), just being a little tongue-in-cheek, I suppose.
But with every joke there is at least a kernel of truth, and the truth I'm alluding to in my title involves the re-thinking of evangelicalism in America and elsewhere. Thinking, it's been said, can be dangerous, and re-thinking can be too. What's being re-thought amongst evangelicals these days is definitely not safe, but mostly good. Many smart and creative people are looking again at what it means to live like Jesus after you've been changed by him. A lot of this spills over into how church services look and feel and sound, a subject very near and dear to my heart. This is the kind of stuff I'll write about here.
There are some re-thinkers out there that are churning out some unhealthy takes on the Gospel...like I said, re-thinking can be dangerous. I think the word subvergent kind of captures this tension.The Kingdom Jesus ushered in has a subversive element to it: the last shall be first, power structures topple, the suffering servant is the king, and so on. In an ironic twist, this holy subversion, which is personally inspiring and challenging, is being subverted by some with less than biblical motives. Go figure.
There is a lot of subverting and emerging going on. Read about it here.
I admit it's kind of a goofy name, and in part, that's the point. If you're reading this blog you're probably interested in words like: emerging, emergent, postmodern, Gospel-centered, culture, plant, mega-, multi-, and missional. I'm interested in most of those words too. Somehow, all these words, and a lot of other catchy ones, are now part of the modern church vernacular, and the spin-off phrases (some more creative than others) abound. I'm not casting stones here (i.e., my blog title), just being a little tongue-in-cheek, I suppose.
But with every joke there is at least a kernel of truth, and the truth I'm alluding to in my title involves the re-thinking of evangelicalism in America and elsewhere. Thinking, it's been said, can be dangerous, and re-thinking can be too. What's being re-thought amongst evangelicals these days is definitely not safe, but mostly good. Many smart and creative people are looking again at what it means to live like Jesus after you've been changed by him. A lot of this spills over into how church services look and feel and sound, a subject very near and dear to my heart. This is the kind of stuff I'll write about here.
There are some re-thinkers out there that are churning out some unhealthy takes on the Gospel...like I said, re-thinking can be dangerous. I think the word subvergent kind of captures this tension.The Kingdom Jesus ushered in has a subversive element to it: the last shall be first, power structures topple, the suffering servant is the king, and so on. In an ironic twist, this holy subversion, which is personally inspiring and challenging, is being subverted by some with less than biblical motives. Go figure.
There is a lot of subverting and emerging going on. Read about it here.
4 comments:
Many smart and creative people are looking again at what it means to live like Jesus after you've been changed by him.
If that's what you're getting at with "subvergent," then I say keep making up words.
(Got here from Brad Andrew's site.)
AJ, thanks for the hit. Glad you stopped by. I dropped by your bittersweet page and saw that you spent the weekend in the STL. Hope you enjoyed it. And you mentioned The Journey on your page. Were you able to stop by? I'd love to get your take on what we're doing here. Regards, Joel.
Hey Joel, we made it out to the 11:15 service at Tower Grove and definitely enjoyed it. Downside: we arrived a couple minutes late and so we were in the back row, not the best vantage point. The worship (nice bluegrass vibe) and Darrin's preaching seemed well aimed at the mostly young-urban-professional crowd that showed up. Conversational but loaded with theology. I'd be curious to see how your other services are different.
As a guy wanting to get into church planting myself, it seems to me that you guys are doing a great job.
AJ, glad to have had you at The Journey. I hope you felt welcomed and that you and your family were encouraged.
As for our other services being different, the most striking difference is the venues. All three of our venues are totally different from one another, in three totally different neighborhoods, which makes for a slightly different feel in each service. We also have 5 different bands currently (soon to be 7), and they all bring different things to the table. The band you heard Sunday is "Echoes." We were missing our cello player, and we're still searching for a drummer, but you heard a little of what we do. This week at the campus you were at (Tower Grove) we'll have a straight ahead rock band.
Sorry you missed the beginning of the service: instrumental hammer dulcimer and violin to begin the service.
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