i'm off for indianapolis today for a meeting of episcopalians called gathering the next generation. it will be good to be around cohorts, among whom i don't have to keep explaining my existence (and what my new church plant will be about) on a daily basis. the purpose of our gathering is not to lobby for the "cause" of emerging generations in the church, but to be church, as folk from the ADULT generation coming into maturity and new leadership within the church, a generation sometimes called x.

can you hear god's voice?

i'm back from toronto and the united church event. i did my first big powerpoint presentation on emerging worship trends. it was well received... many people especially liked the ambient/techno/dub music it included (which was boomed through the gathering space with a state of the art sound system). in any case, one song in particular stood out, a piece called "to hear your voice" by abbess.

when i got back home, my world went into an alice in wonderland type tail-spin. but somehow, by the grace of god, i'm on the way to finding equilibrium again. sudddenly, the abbess song i played in toronto became even more of a prayer for me.

below is a link to mp3.com where you can join quickly and then sample her music. many of the cuts are free, including the killer "to hear your voice." be sure to nav up and click "info" to learn about abbess and her ministry with the visions multimedia collective in york, england. also, if you are really into her cool postmodern alt. worship music, download the free cuts and then if you can, BUY HER CD, as such talent deserves support. check out abbess and hear god's voice...

i'm off to toronto for the united church of canada breathrough event. back in a week...

the last site i visited this morning before going off to the airport was about an open source way to do theology, as a community enterprise. how cool is that! how pomo can we get? open source, gotta luv it! go linux... :-) the code is yours. the source is yours, and you are christ's and christ is god's. so check out open source theology

my church plant (apostles, seattle) has little funds, but big dreams... we are seeking to raise $200,000 to launch a non-profit cafe/art gallery for god in seattle. we need both small and major donors. click below to make a tax deductible donation. if you are a major donor, please contact me off blog at: karen@apostleschurch.org

i ain't oprah, but here we go...

digital storytellers by len wilson and jason moore: at last, a book to save the world from the "modernist use of powerpoint in worship hell." if you want to torpedo boring ppt. bulleted sermon points from a modernist pastor who thinks he or she is now hip because he or she is using technology, read this book! better yet, buy the book and send it to the modernist pastor and do his/her congregation a big favor. read digital storytellers

gen x religion, ed by richard w. flory & donald e. miller, provides an accurate "npr like" documentation of religion, as actually practiced by xers, and even reflects theologically on xer subsets (like the goths) and on the phenomenon of piercing among us.
and, unlike many other xer books (filled with clever quips by boomers about xers), this book was written by serious sociologists of religion (many of them xers) who actually researched and studied churches founded by and for xers. amazing and authentic...
read gen x religion