charlieDEAN’S Blog

If you’re a little confused about terms like “emergent church” or “postmodern” or the “emergent movement,” check this ABC News (Nightline) piece on the emergent church movement in Minneapolis (includes brief interview with Brian McLaren).

If you’re a little confused about terms like “emergent church” or “postmodern” or the “emergent movement,” check this ABC News (Nightline) piece on the emergent church movement in Minneapolis (includes brief interview with Brian McLaren).

I’m reading the book Posers, Fakers & Wannabes which is taken from Brennan Manning’s book Abba’s Child. Here’s a great story:

All George Foreman’s children are called George. Does that strike you as odd? Well, odd or not, each child’s name includes the name George, and that, of course, begs for an explanation. Before he was a one-man low-fat grilling powerhouse, George Foreman was heavyweight boxing champion of the world. And before that, a child who didn’t know who his father was. And that’s why all his kids are named George. It’s not repeated blows to the head, and it’s not a runaway ego. George Foreman says he always want his children to know who their daddy is.”

Two friends — Cory & Vicky just had their first baby — Ainzley Andrea Brown — early Thursday morning. So last night our small group took the time and dedicated the baby, prayed over the parents, and covenanted with them to do our best to help them raise their child. Here are some thoughts:

• Often this ceremony is done in the church, which has always felt a little sterile for me, but doing it with our small group felt more real, like I really was committing something of myself, like I really was a part of this thing.
• The three components we had were as follows: prayers of blessing and dedication over Ainzley as we anointed her with oil; words of affirmation spoken to the parents where we affirmed qualities in them that we believe will make them good parents; prayers of blessing, wisdom, guidance and protection prayed over the parents; and then finally a covenant read and agreed to by both the parents and the small group. (between each component, different small group members read Scripture).
• It was a sweet, touching, intimate time for our small group.

Check out the LINKS section on the sidebar — I’ve updated it. Added Chris Evans (my coworker), Jake Bland (Bradley Student who leads Full Volume), and Brian Orme (college friend). Taken off people who rarely update their blogs anymore.

I’m reading the book Posers, Fakers & Wannabes which is taken from Brennan Manning’s book Abba’s Child. Here’s a great story:

All George Foreman’s children are called George. Does that strike you as odd? Well, odd or not, each child’s name includes the name George, and that, of course, begs for an explanation. Before he was a one-man low-fat grilling powerhouse, George Foreman was heavyweight boxing champion of the world. And before that, a child who didn’t know who his father was. And that’s why all his kids are named George. It’s not repeated blows to the head, and it’s not a runaway ego. George Foreman says he always want his children to know who their daddy is.”

Two friends — Cory & Vicky just had their first baby — Ainzley Andrea Brown — early Thursday morning. So last night our small group took the time and dedicated the baby, prayed over the parents, and covenanted with them to do our best to help them raise their child. Here are some thoughts:

• Often this ceremony is done in the church, which has always felt a little sterile for me, but doing it with our small group felt more real, like I really was committing something of myself, like I really was a part of this thing.
• The three components we had were as follows: prayers of blessing and dedication over Ainzley as we anointed her with oil; words of affirmation spoken to the parents where we affirmed qualities in them that we believe will make them good parents; prayers of blessing, wisdom, guidance and protection prayed over the parents; and then finally a covenant read and agreed to by both the parents and the small group. (between each component, different small group members read Scripture).
• It was a sweet, touching, intimate time for our small group.

Check out the LINKS section on the sidebar — I’ve updated it. Added Chris Evans (my coworker), Jake Bland (Bradley Student who leads Full Volume), and Brian Orme (college friend). Taken off people who rarely update their blogs anymore.

Ryan M. poses a question in this post that I would be interested to hear YOUR comments about. You can post to his blog if you want — but I’d sure like it if you’d post here — I promise to respond as well.

Initial thought — I watched The Book of Daniel on Friday night to see what all the hullabaloo was about. At first blush my thought was, “I’m amused by what people think pastors actually do.” I’d like to hear some pastors comment on what they actually DO.

WARNING: this post is ONLY about football. If you don’t like football or don’t care, MOVE ON!

I grew up a Bears fan. I cried on Monday, December 2, 1985 when the Bears lost to the Miami Dolphins, losing their perfect season. I knew every word to the Superbowl Shuffle. I could rattle off Walter Payton’s season stats like I could rattle of my own phone number. I wanted to be Jim McMahon.
But I went to college in Ohio, started losing interest, then moved to Denver, and assuming that I would never live in Illinois again, I gave up on my childhood team and converted. Now that I live in Illinois I face a dilemma. I’m still a Broncos fan — the dilemma lies in how much I root for the Bears.

Generally — I like to see the Bears do well. Most of my fellow Cubs fans also root for the Bears, and we need some winning somewhere.

However — I work with people who are rather obnoxious about their teams. Some (at least one) is an obnoxious Packers fan (in his stories, the Packers never really lose — there’s always a reason they are still the better team) and in response several of the Bears fans that I work with are equally annoying. At 3-3 they were already comparing this team to the team of ‘85 and talking about the playoffs. On the other hand, I have friends like the guys in my small group, who are all Bears fans, but could actually talk realistically about football without talking crazy talk.

So the bitterness I displayed in my post had mostly to do with the fact that I’m glad the Bears lost, so that the guys at work can start having rational talks about the NFL.