Theoblogy

Change Your Tony Jones Feeds and Links

2008-12-17T12:51:00.000-08:00

My Blog: http://blog.beliefnet.com/tonyjones

My Home Page: http://tonyj.net

Change Your Tony Jones Feed!!!

2007-12-19T02:45:00.000-08:00

If you're reading this, you're at the wrong site! Or you're getting the wrong feed!

Please change your links and blogrolls to http://tonyj.net.

Please change your RSS feed to http://tonyj.net/feed/.

Thanks!

TONYJ.NET

2007-10-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

Friends, I'm moving.

Though it grieves me, a have to leave my blogspot spot behind, and move to a domain of my own. But the time has come. You can now find me at

TONYJ.NET

Now, please, I'm begging you, change your RSS feeds to http://tonyj.net/feed. You can also find that at the top of the new site.

That site will be undergoing a lot of change, but it's a start. All of my blog posts have been moved there, so you can dig around in the archives if you wish.

Most importantly, you can find a link there to my new book, The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier, which will be released on March 2, 2008. (You can also join The New Christians group on Facebook.)

Thanks for reading Theoblogy all these years. See you over at TONYJ.NET.

Different Versions of Christianity

2007-10-02T18:29:00.001-07:00

So here's my thought on the Driscoll fiasco that everyone keeps asking me about. Doug had a great quote in the CT article on Mark. He said, "I think that we're basically talking about two different versions of Christianity." With this, I think, Mark would agree.

What troubles me about Mark's critiques of Rob, Brian, and Doug, is that he is investigating the minutiae, the fine print, the footnotes. It's almost like the scribes that Jesus constantly dealt with -- those who kept trying to trap him in his own words (while ignoring the overall gospel that he was promoting). Mark doesn't like that Brian footnotes a book called The Scandal of the Cross, that Rob recommends the philosophy of Ken Wilbur, that Doug has one line about our need to find "new ways to be sexual." Once, at lunch with me, John Piper had a similar concern: that Brian endorsed Steve Chalke's book, a book that in one line reiterates a view of penal substitutionary atonement held by many feminist theologians for three decades. (Please, read Chalke's book -- the rest of it really isn't about denigrating your sacred theory of propitiation. Most people I meet have heard one line of Chalke's book, but haven't actually read the book.)

This kind of argument is tenuous at best. Criticizing folks for who they read, who they footnote, and who they endorse is not particularly persuasive, methinks. I'd much rather have Driscoll and Piper say, "We're promoting a very different version of the faith than the emergent folks. Let's look at the big picture of what they're saying versus the big picture of what we're saying."

I'm sure that I'll take some flack for implying in a sermon last Sunday that John MacArthur is a soft gnostic (I happen to think that 90% of Americans are soft gnostics, just as I think that 90% of Americans are semi-pelagians). I am talking about the overall Christianity that Johnny Mac is espousing -- I think that it's too platonic, and that it neglects hebraic holism -- the water that Jesus swam in. I don't really care if Johnny Mac (or Piper or Driscoll) reads Paula White, Jonathan Edwards, or Karl Marx. I'm most interested in the overall theology that he's espousing. I do, indeed, think that it's very different from the version that I'm espousing.

And I sure do appreciate the folks who keep inviting me to come and talk about it. They may not like it, they may not agree with it, but they should at least have the opportunity to hear about it.

That's all.

Don't Mess with Texas

2007-10-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

As usual, I had a great time in Texas last weekend. I mean it, a truly great time. First off, I wasn't at hotel, but had the honor of my auntie-in-laws' hospitality -- thanks Johanna and Kathy.

On Sunday morning I preaching at UBC-Waco. I love that church. I got to hang out with Ben, Dave (who says he's going to endorse my book), and Josh, as well as others. You can listen to my sermon here -- if you do, you might find something really juicy that you could blog about...

After worship, Josh and I met up with Roger Olson, his wife, nephew, and nephew's girlfriend for some Cajun food (Josh is a wimp and had a Philly Cheese Steak). Roger and had I never met, and we had a great conversation.

Then I drove up to Dallas for the inauguration of The New Journey Zero.Com. Seriously, they're going to give Watermark a run for the $$$$. It's a great new new space -- lots of room for large portraits of Jurgen Moltmann.

After BBQ and beers with the Journeyers, I stopped by Jason Mitchell's house for some frivolity. It was genius. Wheels off.

Monday morning, back down to Baylor to speak at University Chapel. I loved it. Great kids, great staff, and a great shawarma sandwich for lunch with some Truett students and UBCers.

And I bought some new boots on my way back to the airport. You'll see them soon.

I'm home for 24 hours and off to The Emergent Gathering this evening.

A Community Called Atonement

2007-09-28T04:24:00.000-07:00

My friend David Fitch's post on Scot McKnight's new book has reminded me to post on it. As I am the general editor for EV's series with Abingdon ("Living Theology"), I read the manuscript for A Community Called Atonement earlier this year. But, now that it's come out, I've read it again. And, I've gotta say, it's fantastic.

Scot has written an evenhanded, thoughtful, and generous book that brings the biblical narrative to bear on the several theories of the atonement that have been advanced over the past two millennia. And, his postmodernist colors show when he emphasizes the importance of metaphor in shaping our theological imaginations. That bears repeating: how we talk about something heavily influences how we understand something.

So do yourself a favor. Get this book.

Youth Ministry

2007-09-25T03:19:00.000-07:00

I'm still in the thick of it in youth ministry, as it seems that my first book, Postmodern Youth Ministry has a long tail. And, I must say, I really do continue to enjoy it. Church youth ministry workers tend to be among the most open-minded, and methodologically progressive persons in the church. In fact, that's what often gets them into trouble.

So, thanks to my recent hosts at the Center for Youth Ministry Training in Nashville and Mid-America Nazarene University in Kansas City.

Hey, Mark

2007-09-25T03:18:00.000-07:00

A Time to Talk

2007-09-18T03:34:00.000-07:00

As an Enneagram 8, I'm not naturally predisposed to be a sit-around-and-talk-guy. I'm naturally more of a get-er-dun guy. I also tend to not get things done on time -- or, to be more accurate: I usually hit deadlines, but do so by massive amounts of work at the end, and at great emotional cost to those around me.

My frustration around this has been growing, primarily because the number of friends I have has grown. That is, my procrastination is directly proportional to the number of people I spend time talking to. Today, for instance, I have two conversations scheduled with people -- each will surely go over an hour, even though I am already a day late on a major writing assignment. And the thing is, I love talking to people. My life (and writing) is immeasurably richer because of the people I've met, a fact that will be abundantly clear in my next book.

Then, yesterday, I ran across this poem by Robert Frost (a fellow Dartmouth man). It sums up, I think, my feeling, and the emergent ethos:

A Time to Talk

When a friend calls to me from the road
And slows his horse to a meaning walk,
I don't stand still and look around
On all the hills I haven't hoed,
And shout from where I am, What is it?
No, not as there is time to talk.
I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,
Blade-end up and five feet tall,
And plod: I go up to the stone wall
For a friendly visit.

Blogging about People

2007-09-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons that I haven't blogged much recently is that much of my life is taken up with meetings.... meetings with real people. I've met with critics of emergent, and fans, talked with some on the phone, met with others in person. And I just don't think it's appropriate to blog about such things.

For instance, I met with Tim Keller last month. We had a great time together (at least I thought so), and I now consider him a friend. And I've gotten several emails and calls asking me to blog about our time together -- some people are jonesing to know what we talked about. But I just can't bring myself to blog publicly about what I talked about over a cup of coffee with a guy (OK, I'll tell you this: Tim had Earl Grey tea).

So there. I guess I've got to find other things to blog about.

Purple State of Mind

2007-09-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

Craig Detweiler, erstwhile filmmaker, movie reviewer, and Fuller seminary prof and I went to Fuller together in the early 90s. We've kept in touch since then, and I really admire his work (especially The Duke ;-) ).

Well, he's got a new movie coming out, called Purple State of Mind, and you can see the trailer here. It looks like it's going to be fantastic!

Back Out

2007-09-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

So, in the midst of my digestive cleanse, my back has gone out. Twice. I can barely move, barely type, and am falling behind on many writing assignments (including the blog posts I'm planning).

Fasting, and Fasting

2007-08-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

I'll be fasting from e-communication this week, vacating with the family. That will include a day of gorging on fried goodies at the Minnesota State Fair. Then, on September 1, I'm commencing a month-long colon and liver cleanse, under the direction of Shelley Pagitt. This will be my third attempt at a cleanse -- my addiction to coffee has derailed me the other two times.

Talk at ya after Labor Day.

NYC

2007-08-24T04:42:00.000-07:00

Had a great day in NYC yesterday: a wonderful Vietnamese lunch with my friend (and church planter) Bowie; a leisurely and theologically stimulating cup of coffee with Tim Keller; time to rap with cohort-team-member Jeff Kursonis; a wonderful meeting with the NYC cohort; and a late-night dinner with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Thanks to priceline, I'm on the 28th floor of the Millennium Hotel U.N., overlooking the East River.

In the blogosphere, Skye at Out of Ur becomes one of the first mainstream evangelicals to call out the sinful practice of stereotyping and caricaturing the entire emerging movement that goes on in some evangelical circles. Read it.

Le Mis and NYC

2007-08-23T04:16:00.000-07:00

Last night, Julie and I went to see Le Mis at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater, starring Solomon's Porch's own Ben Johnson as Marius. I'd never seen the show, but our companions--Julie's brother (a reader of this blog -- Hi Kevin) and sister-in-law--have seen it a dozen times. They graciously guided me through the production. Ben did a great job. He was really wonderful.

I'm in MSP today, about to fly out for a one-night trip to NYC. I'm having lunch with a friend, Bowie, who works for the Episcopal Church (USA) and runs a house church, then swinging by the offices of Redeemer Pres to meet with a guy. Tonight, I'll be with the NYC Emergent Village cohort. Meet us at 7pm at the Stonecreek Bar and Lounge for a couple hours of conversation.

Tomorrow, I've been invited to Abingdon's meeting with Barnes and Noble execs over lunch, then I'll fly home.

I'm Teaching an Online Course this Fall

2007-08-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

This fall, I'll be leading an online course through Andover-Newton Theological Seminary. It can be taken for seminary credit, or as an audit (which you can probably apply toward Con Ed requirements). I'd love to see you online!

What's Really Going On in Emerging Church Worship
Core Seminar: LS501, $275
Project Option: LS501P, $75
Instructor: Tony Jones
Dates: October 1-26
Registration Deadline: September 21
Description:
What's happening in worship? What is worship? These questions are being asked in the context of communities of practice in the emerging church. In this course, we'll investigate the innovative worship practices of emerging churches and relate them to broader shifts in American worship.

Reading:

Bridge Collapse

2007-08-21T12:40:00.001-07:00

I've posted on it at God's Politics.

Fall Travel

2007-08-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

I'll be on the road a lot this fall. If you can make it to one of these events, drop me a note and maybe we can get together for a beverage and a chat:

September 6-7: Center for Youth Ministry Training (for CYMT students only), Nashville

September 20-22: MidAmerica Nazarene University, Kansas City

September 30: University Baptist-Waco, Waco

October 1-2: Baylor University, Waco

October 2-5: The Emergent Gathering, Santa Fe

October 13: National City Christian Church, Washington, D.C.

October 27: National Capital Presbytery, Washington, D.C.

November 2-3: National Youth Workers Convention, St. Louis

November 9-10: Presbtery of the Inland-Northwest/Whitworth College, Spokane

December 4-6: Church of Ireland Youth Department, Belfast

A Book

2007-08-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

Don't you love it when this happens? A book comes in the mail, and, unbeknownst to you, there's an essay by you in it! It's especially sweet when the cover letter is in German since the publisher is in Germany. That's about when you think, "Man, I should have worked harder when I learned German!"

Well, that happened last week. A book that I thought would go straight-to-microfiche actually got published in Europe. If you're interested, you can check it out: Youth, Religion, and Globalization.

The Big Day!

2007-08-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

It's finally here! We've worked so long and hard for this day -- over a year and a half. But all the patience paid off.

Finishing my book? Hell no.

The world debut of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2!!!

We're having a party tonight to celebrate -- each of the kids got to invite a friend. And the parents are all excited that now we'll have six more songs to sing in the minivan.

Oh, yeah, I finished the book, too. Just emailed off the final edits.

Audio from Bend

2007-08-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

I had a 2-hour Q&A at First Presbyterian, Bend, Oregon on Monday, and you can listen to it here. Go to Nate's blog to read more about the visit, and to get updates on his brother, who was badly hurt in a motorcycle accident (hit by a drunk driver on the autobahn) in Germany.

Going Dark

2007-08-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

Not that I'm that regular of a blogger to begin with, but I'll definitely be quiet for about a week. The copyedits on my next book are due on Friday, and I've got half the book left to go. Then, on Friday, I fly out to Oregon for a couple speaking gigs and a day of fly fishing with my brother.

In the meantime, I'm writing a few posts in my head, so maybe they'll appear here before the end of August:

On Creeds

What I Would Have Said Differently at Wheaton

Why John Piper Is Wrong about the Minnesota Bridge Collapse

Have a good week!

Smashing Stereotypes

2007-07-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

Last night, I visited a church in Rochester, Minnesota. Apart from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester is small town America. But, because of Mayo, it's also growing.

As is to be expected, the large and evangelical church, First Baptist, sold its plot in the city and moved to the "suburbs" of Rochester -- a host of new subdivisions, surely inhabited by well-heeled docs. There they built a state-of-the-art mega-church facility. They changed their name to Autumn Ridge Church. And you can find nary a word of their denominational affiliation on their website or in their literature.

This is the very kind of church that liberal Christians bewail. They're all Republicans, right? And they care only about saving souls. Or maybe they are involved in the Big Two social issues: ending abortion and a gay marriage ban.

Right?

Wrong.

Last weekend, they spent three days raising awareness about and mobilizing people to end the genocide in Dafur. They hosted (friend of Emergent Village) Celestin Musekura, the president and founder of African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM) and survivor of the Rwandan genocide. He was on a panel discussion on Friday night and preached on Sunday. And he was there last night when the church screened The Devil Came on Horseback -- a new film about Darfur. And the worship center was packed.

There was nary a word about salvation. Only a call to get involved with stopping the genocide, writing congressional members, even joining a relief trip to Darfur early next year. I then spoke to the college group about the meaning of "the gospel" after viewing a film like that. They were a sharp and articulate bunch.

Honestly, it's encounters like that that keep me grounded in this truth: there is little truth in stereotypes. Had Marcus Borg been there last night, he wouldn't have been able to caricature evangelicals like I heard him do in May at the National Cathedral. The fact is, mega-church evangelicals are just as complex and paradoxical as inner-city Episcopalians. They all come by their beliefs and convictions honestly, and with integrity. Too often, it's their national spokespersons who fulfill the stereotypes.

(Now, the trick will be not caricaturing anyone in my forthcoming book on the emergent phenomenon. I'm sure I'll fall short. And I'm sure that the blogosphere will let me know where.)

P.S. Another friend of Emergent, Bob Pyne, recently joined the staff at ALARM.

P.P.S. I was in a carpool to 9th Grade Confirmation class with writer/producer/director of The Devil Came on Horseback, Annie Sundberg. We were also classmates at Dartmouth.

P.P.P.S. Celestin recently completed his Ph.D. at Dallas Seminary, and Miroslav Volf was one of his readers. Congrats, Celestin!

Midwest Emergent Gathering

2007-07-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

The Chicago (a.k.a. up/rooted) and Indianapolis cohorts may have given us a picture of the future of Emergent last weekend. They hosted a regional conference, The Midwest Emergent Gathering. Other than your truly, the speakers were excellent, the workshop leaders wonderful, and the environment extremely hospitable. I saw old friends (Mike and Julie Clawson, Sarah and Ryan Notten, Will Samson, Al Hsu, Lilly and Rob Lewin, Jeff Kursonis, David Fitch, Spencer Burke, Nanette Sawyer, Karen Sloan, and some I’m sure that I’m missing).

Plus, I met some great new friends:

Helen Mildenhall and I talked at length whilst waiting for the hotel Starbucks to open. She’s a thoughtful British-American who spends lots of time hanging around with Off-the-Map.

Maurice Broaddus is an Afromergent dude who is a biologist/church planter/horror writer (not necessarily in that order). You’ll be hearing more from him. The dude rocks.

John Armstrong, whom I met for the first time, seems to know everyone. He runs a ministry and teaches adjunct at Wheaton. He’s been on quite a theological journey over the past decade, and he’s had many friends in the conservative evangelical camp turn against him as a result. He was asked to offer the emergent crowd some warnings, to give advice as a “friendly outsider.” Not only was his advice helpful, I applaud the conference organizers for inviting him. John blogged about his experience at the event here.

Annie Gill-Bloyer works for Bread for the World/ONE as a community outreach organizer, and she’s been contacting EV cohorts to mobilize emergents on the Millennium Challenge Goals. She generously gave me ride to the airport.

Many thanks to the Clawsons and the Nottens and the other co-hosts for putting on such an excellent event.

My Night with a Rock Star

2007-07-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

Last Monday night, I spent the evening with Zach Lind, drummer in the band, Jimmy Eat World. They’re on a tour in advance of their next album, which is due out sometime in September. I showed up for their sound check, then I took him over to Solomon’s Porch and gave him a couple of books. We ate dinner at Chino Latino (curry shrimp with rice).

Most interesting about our conversation were the similarities and differences between the music industry (which he knows well) and the book publishing industry (which I know). For instance, bands choose their CD titles, while authors do not choose their book titles. On the other hand, I’ve known the release date for my book (February 1) for a year, and he still doesn’t know the release date for his CD (even though it’ll come out in less than two months).

One interesting stream of the conversation was over categories. I had read earlier in the day that his Jimmy Eat World is considered and “Emo-Core” band—that is, a cross between Emo and Hardcore. He said that label doesn’t really fit, but once a band gets categorized by the media and the retailers, there’s no getting out of it. The problem with this, of course, is when a music category (Zach mentioned “Ska”) goes out of fashion, all of the bands in that category are pretty much screwed.

Some of us are wondering about the future of “emerging church” or “emergent church,” especially as a book category. The former is now an official category among Christian bookstores (which means that you can find it above the bar code on the back of the book). For some of us authors, this category is helpful because it tells retailers where to stock, and how to sell, the book. But for more popular authors (Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, etc.), this category is probably too confining, and they’d just as soon be shelved with general Christian nonfiction.

After dinner, we went back to the Fine Line, where I stayed for the first four or five songs. Backstage, before the show, we had a couple beers and hung out with the band. The backstage vibe was very laid back. They had a great sense of camaraderie (after all, they’ve been a band for 13 years). It was a bit like the feeling I had running camp for many years. I could definitely see the allure of being a rock star.

As well as Zach’s music and blog, you can check out the podcast that he co-hosts with Shane Hipps. It’s some top-notch stuff.