not sure where i'm going here

I have spent a lot of time in blogdom this week reading different attacks, critiques, concerns, and rumors about "emergent", "the emerging church", "emergence", and "the emergenizer bunny" (all of which are different things by the way). While I find myself way out on the fringes of the conversation, I still identify with this conversation and count many of the people being attacked among my friends. There is this part of me that wants to rant and rail against those who are on the offensive. To point out flaws in their logic and arguments and the gaps in their understanding of what they are attacking. To demonstrate to them how they are guilty of the very things they claim make us a "dangerous offense to the gospel". O the great lines I have thought up! I feel like I should get in the mud and roll around awhile.
But here's the thing - I don't really want to.
I want to continue to dialog with my friends about what God and faith and life and church and the Kingdom look like in this new world we live in.
I want to explore creativity and beauty and possibility in gathering to worship our creative, beautiful, infinite God.
I want to chase after Jesus with a group of friends who are running with me.
I want to wrestle with parts of the Bible that I don't get and come out on the other side realizing that I still don't get it, but I'm better for the wrestling.
I want to be OK with mystery.
I want to make friends with people who haven't experienced Jesus yet and help them on their journey.
I want to write and think and create and sing and dream and talk about God and life in ways that come from my heart and my story, not the edited for big church "official version".
I want to live God-life. The version that Jesus said He came to bring. And if I'm going to do that, I guess I don't have time to play slap-fight or "my theologian can beat up your theologian" with people who will never agree with who I am or what I am saying. I'm sure I'll still get fired up when I hear the latest, but life is too short and too good to spend the time on that.

Grace and peace from this heretical cult-leading threatening offense to the gospel.
j

holy saturday

I was just thinking about what this night must have been like all those years ago.
The body still lying in the grave...
The disciples huddled together in a room. Nobody sleeping. An incredible mixture of grief and fear and forgetfulness...
Satisfied Pharisees sleeping the sleep of those convinced of victory...
Roman guards changing quiet shifts in the middle of the night...
And God, what was the Father up to at this time of night?

It must have been the most pregnant night in history.

At midnight:06 may I be the first to say Happy Easter.
L'amour de Dieu est folie. But it is beautiful folly.
j

if you ever forget the address

The following searches in yahoo or google will bring you back to curiouswonder. (Or at least they brought someone here over the last couple of weeks)

"strip club marquees"
"captain and tennille pictures"

and my personal favorite

"blue like jazz penguin sex"

I'm all about serving the whole internet community. Your one-stop shop.
j

will it never end?

Just when I thought "christian" retail couldn't go any goofier out to prove me wrong appears "wait wear". Underwear and t-shirts for people to proclaim their virginity until they are married. Now don't get me wrong, I firmly think waiting is the right thing to do, but do we need "no vow / no sex" boy briefs? Would they help? By the time you see the catchy slogan isn't it a bit late for the reminder? Wouldn't it need to be glow in the dark to be effective at that point anyway?

One 20-year old in the article I saw said it best.

"The underwear line is the most illogical part of the whole [WaitWear Web] site. Shouldn't it read: 'If You Can Read This, I'm Probably Not Waiting Until Marriage?'" she said.

It's not as messed up as the Jesus thong, but it's close.

Note: I couldn't bring myself to link to any of this (or add pics), you'll have to find it for yourself. (and I know you will)
j

oh, by the way

If anyone needs mefor the next few days, I'll be on the couch watching two basketball teams I've barely heard of go at it. If someone would come by and roll me occasionally so I don't get couch sores, that would be great.

Go sooners.
j

happy st. patrick's day

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

From St. Patrick's Breastplate

And you thought it was all about leprechauns and green beer.

And please stop with the pinching. I had someone in a doctor's office today tell me I was going to be pinched b/c of my yellow shirt. I almost went the green underwear bluff route when I realized how silly the whole thing was.

From Jesus to green underwear, consider all of your bases covered.
j

i bet this has never happened to you

OK. So I'm checking statcounter tonight for hits on my web design site when I notice that someone found their way to me when they googled "j-web designs". So, curious me decides to check out what comes up when someone does that and guess what I found? No go ahead guess.

Apparently there is another jweb designs that is located at jwebdesigns.something else (as opposed to my site at jwebdesigns.biz) and what do they do? They are one of Europe's largest providers of design work for adult sites. Holy silicon Batman!

Looks like it might be time for a domain name change. I would like it stated for the record that I was first.

Do you ever have those moments when you wonder if your life might actually be a sit-com?

Listening for the laugh track
j

lenten failure

As a recovering southern baptist I have come late to the table when it comes to things like Lent, but I think it is beautiful. I don't have the background to speak to it as well as some others I have read (like here and here and here), but for the last four years I have taken feeble steps toward participating in this part of historic Christianity. What have I learned? I suck at it.

I am now a four-time Lenten loser. What I am amazed by is the casualness with which I ultimately give it up. An opportunity comes along, I'm not thinking about it and suddenly another one bites the dust. Which leads me to think that there is something stong within the idea of Lent about the frailty of my will to accomplish anything on its own. I give something up, but tend to not look to Jesus to provide sustenance in its place. I'm amazed at what a little legalist I can become. The whole thing is about keeping FROM something rather than moving TOWARD Jesus. And I blow it every time.

I don't know that failure is a part of the Lenten tradition, but it has become part of mine. Not like a Catholic friend in college who would intentionally choose something impossible to give up so that he could blow it early and get it done with, but more as a reminder of the impossibility of living my life in a Godward direction without the life of Jesus inside.

Starting over (again)
j

anyone else see it?

Just checking.

j

RIP Bubba

Leave it to the humans. This guy survived God knows what for 100 years under the ocean and within a week of encountering humans, he's dead.
Maybe Agent Smith was right -- we're a virus.

The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, where the 22-pound lobster named Bubba died Wednesday, plans to keep the carapace of the corpulent crustacean and use its remains to educate school children about lobsters, said Rachel Capp, a zoo spokeswoman.

That should make Bubba feel better. Could we educate these children to put things back where they found them?

At least no one tried to eat him - yet.
j