the drum|rob fairbanks

Rob Bell and Love Wins

Here is what I have to say about Rob Bell's latest book...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the love of God and all that is holy, stop it.  It is simply amazing how many people have piled on about this book before they have actually read it...soley based upon the video promo.  I guess the trailer did what it was supposed to do - piqued interest.  I will pick it up at some point and maybe, perhaps comment, but this firestorm is crazy.

Crossing the Line - Serve the City in Brussels and Beyond

Here is a clip featuring one of CA's churches in Brussels as they mobilize to bring true Shalom to their city.  The pastor is Carlton Deal explaining how it came about.

 

Ways Lesslie Newbigin Helped to Cultivate a More Robust Missional Ecclesiology

Lesslie Newbigin has made significant contributions to ecclesiology.  First, along with with Bosch, he helped recover the missionary nature of the church by reminding us that mission is not primarily a task given the church, but the church in her essence is missionary, just as God is a missionary God.  His eschatological vision of all people from all over the world under one God, drove his ecumenical spirit to seek to bring what he saw as three ecumenical streams (preaching of the gospel, right administration of the sacraments and the Pentecostal approach) together. He shares the strengths that the various branches of Christianity have, but how all are necessary.  He demonstrates through Acts 19 that the main question is: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” Not what Protestants might ask, “Did you believe exactly what we teach?” And not what Catholics or Orthodox might ask, “Were the hands that were laid on you our hands” (156)? The Holy Spirit unifies the body of Christ.  Finally, Newbigin brought significant clarity to the “relationship between ecclesiology, mission and the contemporary Western culture” (157). He brought to light people’s epistemological presuppositions, thus he has helped the church to both affirm and critique culture; modernity (modern scientific rationality that led to individualism) on the one hand, and the “nihilism and hopelessness” of postmodernity on the other.  Newbigin helped us understand the importance of becoming missionaries to our own culture, thus enrichening our understanding of contextualization.

via jrwoodward.net

About my missiological favorite Lessile Newbigin, from my friend JR Woodward. Definately worth a read.  Check out his blog.

"Freakin Out" In Flight

I had a bizarre experience on my flight from Washington Dulles to Tampa on Saturday.  I was sitting next to a guy and one of those flight shortening conversation (anytime I can get in a convo, the flight seems to disappear quickly).  The jet had in-flight Internet and I tried it just after we took off, but decided just to be sociable.  About an hour from Tampa we both we talking about and looking at how cool our iPhones were and he began to log-on to the Internet.  As the screen came up to choose which service to use we observed that there was two services available: 1) In-flight Free WIFI and 2) I am a Terrorist.  I am being completely serious.  We immediately notified the flight attendants. The undercover Air Marshals quickly got involved and things became quite intense. They put the plane on lock-down….nobody could move, nobody got to use electronic equipment, everyone was very curious about what we going on.  My conversation buddy and I were the only ones privy to the real skinny.  We finally arrived at our destination and were detained by the FBI.  After around 30 minutes were free to go.

What had happened, as best as I can figure, is somebody (with a great deal of tech savvy, but without a shred of common sense) on board got online and opened up another hotspot (easily done on a MAC) with the “terrorist” title.  Why?  Who knows?  Ontological question: Why do nutty people do nutty things?  I do know, because I was being interview by the Marshals (I felt like someone on CSI or something), that if they were to be or did get caught that it would not go well with them.  They would be taken somewhere they did not want to go…for a long, long time (Can you say, “Gitmo?”  Can you say, “Waterboard”).

It did freak me out a bit when I saw that on my phone while flying at 35000 ft., but at the end of story I arrived safe and sound and enjoyed a fantastic time with CA colleagues, Frank and Dawn Wilder.  Whew!!!