(e)mergent Voyageurs

Previous Post – Missional Casualties To Come

A few people missed my announcement in my last post, so I thought I would briefly sum up. For an indefinite period of time I will be discontinuing my blog. The stresses of our current situation are leaving me little time and energy to do much, other than work. I love writing and I greatly enjoy the community I have discovered through the blogosphere and hope to return soon. Please pray that God will guide us in the right direction.

Before I go, I wanted to let you know of an opportunity. As we are seeking to lower our expenses in this tight time, we are also working to simplify our lives. One benefit of such times is that it inspires us to lighten our load. As a result, I went through my personal library, sorting books for the bookstore. However, because of our pressing needs, I have also pulled out many that I want to bring to a used book dealer for some money (every little bit counts).

Before I do that, I realized that several of the books might be of interest to some of you. Now I am not going to put any value to the books, so let me know if any interest you and what you think they are worth. I will charge actual postal costs for shipping them (usually about $3 for an average paperback mailed in Canada). The PayPal option on the sidebar will make it easier. First come first serve.

Please do not request through the comment section, but email be at:

jamiearpinricci AT gmail DOT com

Thanks all!

Jesus Mean And Wild: The Unexpected Love Of An Untamable God
by Mark Galli (HC – mint)

The Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape The Future
by Andy Stanley (PB – mint)

The Desire Of The Nations: Rediscovering The Roots Of Political Theology
by Oliver O’Donovan (PB – mild wear)

If Jesus Were Mayor: Transformation and the Local Church
by Bob Moffitt (PB – mint)

If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person
by James Mulholland & Philip Gulley (PB – mild wear)

Praying Like Jesus: The Lord’s Prayer in a Culture of Prosperity
by James Mullholland (HC – near mint)

Jesus And The Father: Modern Evangelicals Reinvent the Doctrine of the Trinity
by Kevin Giles (PB – mild wear)
Developing Your Prophetic Gifting
by Graham Cooke (PB – mint)

The Last Eyewitness: The Final Week (The Voice)
by Chris Seay & David Capes (HC – mild wear)

Christology and the New Testament: Jesus and His Earliest Followers
by Christopher Tuckett (PB – mild wear)

Preaching Re-Imagined: The Role of the Sermon in Communities of Faith
by Doug Pagitt (HC – mint)

BodyPrayer: The Posture of Intimacy with God
by Doug Pagitt & Kathryn Prill (HC – near mint)

Being Church Where We Live: A Vision for the Body of Christ
by Ron McKenzie (PB – mint)

Velvet elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith
by Rob Bell (PB – near mint)

Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul
by Erwin McManus (PB – mint)

Where Do We Go From Here?: A Guidebook for the Cell Group Church
by Ralph W. Neighbour, Jr. (PB – some wear)

The Medium and the Light: Reflections on Religion
by Marshall McLuhan (PB – mint)

The Human Being: Jesus and the Enigma of the Son of Man
by Walter Wink (PB – mint)

Cracking the Gnostic Code: The Powers in Gnosticism
by Walter Wink (PB – mint)

Searching For God Knows What
by Donald Miller (PB – mild wear)

Jesus Rediscovered
by Malcolm Muggeridge (PB – some wear)

Compassion & Solidarity: The Church for Others
by Gregory Baum (PB – near mint)

Images of Jesus: How Jesus is Perceived and Portrayed in Non-European Cultures
by Anton Wessels (PB – some wear)

Butterfly In Brazil: How Your Life Can Make A Difference
by Glenn Packiam (PB – near mint)

Out Of The Question, Into The Mystery: Getting Lost In The Godlife Relationship
by Leonard Sweet (HC – mint)

Summoned To Lead
by Leonard Sweet (HC – mint)

Faithquakes
by Leonard Sweet (PB – near mint)

SOLD – The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices For Everyday Life
by Tony Jones (PB – mint) – SOLD

SOLD – The Ragamuffin Gospel
by Brennan Manning (PB – mild wear) – SOLD

SOLD – Post-Modern Pilgrims: First Century Passion for the 21st Century World
by Leonard Sweet (HC – near mint) – SOLD

SOLD – Intelligent Church: A Journey Towards Christ-Centered Community
by Steve Chalke (PB – mint) – SOLD

SOLD – Spiritual Classics: Selected Readings for Individuals & Groups on the Twelve Spiritual Disciplines
by Richard Foster & Emilie Griffin (PB- some wear) – SOLD

SOLD – The Emerging Christian Way: Thoughts, Stories & Wisdom for a Faith of Transformation
by Marcus Borg & others (PB – near mint) – SOLD

SOLD – Christ and Culture
by H. Richard Niebuhr (PB – some wear) – SOLD

SOLD – David’s Truth: In Israel’s Imagination & Memory
by Walter Brueggmann (PB – mild wear) – SOLD

SOLD – Using God’s Resources Wisely: Isaiah & Urban Possibility
by Walter Brueggmann (PB – mint) – SOLD

SOLD – Out of The Silent Planet: Book 1
by C.S. Lewis (PB – worn) – SOLD

SOLD – Perelandra: Book 2
by C.S. Lewis (PB – some wear) – SOLD

SOLD – That Hideous Strength: Book 3
by C.S. Lewis (PB – worn) – SOLD

SOLD – Everything That Rises Must Converge
by Flannery O’Connor (PB – near mint) – SOLD

SOLD – How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in Culturally Significant Films
by Gareth Higgins (PB – mint) – SOLD

SOLD – The Transformation of Culture: Christian Social Ethics After H. Richard Niebuhr
by Charles Scriven (PB – mild wear) – SOLD

SOLD – The Sacred Journey
by Frederick Buechner (HC – wear to dust jacket) – SOLD

SOLD – Why Not Women?: A Biblical Study of Women in Missions, Ministry and the Church
by Loren Cunningham (PB -mint) – SOLD

SOLD – Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic
by John De Graff & others (PB – near mint) – SOLD

SOLD -This Beautiful Mess: Practicing the Presence of the Kingdom of God
by Rick McKinley (PB – mint) – SOLD

SOLD – A Theology Of Liberation: 15th Anniversary
by Gustavo Gutierrez (PB – mint) – SOLD

SOLD -The Deity Formerly Known As God
by Jared Stevens (PB – mint) – SOLD

I recently began rereading one of my favorite Canadian novels, “Crow Lake” by Mary Lawson. As during my first reading, one particular chapter struck me as revealing a stunning truth. Let me set up the story, then share an excerpt. It may be a tad long, but I promise you that it is well worth it. The story is told from the perspective of Kate Morrison, a micro-biology professor in Toronto who grew up in a small community in northern Ontario. Reflecting on her past, she remembered the close relationship she had with her older brother, Matt. It was one such remembrance that I want to share with you:

I’d been explaining the hydrophobic nature of the hair piles of specific arthropods to a lecture hall filled with third-years, and I suddenly had such a vivid flashback that I completely lost my train of thought. What I remember was Matt and me, in our usual pose, flat on our bellies beside the pond, our heads hanging out over the water. We’d been watching damselflies performing their delicate iridescent dances over the water when our attention had been caught by a very small beetle crawling down the stem of a bulrush. He was about six inches above the surface when we spotted him, trotting purposefully downward. Where did he think he was going, we wondered, and what would he do when reached the water? Did he realize it was there? Matt said insects don’t have noses as we do but they can smell and detect damp with their antennae, so probably he did…

But we were the ones who got the surprise. When he reached the water the beetle didn’t so much as pause. He just kept walking. The surface of the water dimpled for a moment as his head butted into i, and then it wrapped itself around him and swallowed him up.

I was alarmed, I though he’d drown, but Matt said, “No- look! Look what he’s done!”

I peered down into the water and saw that our beetle, still marching steadily downward, was surrounded by a glistening silver bubble.

“It’s air,” Matt said, craning forward, shading the surface of the pond with his hands cut down on the reflection. “He’s got his own submarine, Katie. Isn’t that something? I wonder how long he can stay down.”

I know how the beetle did it now of course- there’s no mystery about it. Many of the creatures who live on the water-air boundary carry down an air bubble with them when they submerge. The air is trapped in a velvety puile of hairs, so densely packed that they are completely waterproof. As oxygen is used up, more diffuses in from the surrounding water. As to the length of time our beetle could stay down, that would depend on the amount of oxygen dissolved into the water and how rapidly he was using up his supply. Generally, the more active the insect and the warmer the water, the less time he can remain submerged.

It was the composition of the hair pile that I was explaining to my third-year students when the memory of that day suddenly floated across my mind, momentarily dispersing my thoughts and causing me to stumble and come to a halt. I pretended to study my notes while I got myself together and carried on with the lecture. The third-years, who had roused themselves briefly in the hope that something interesting was going to happen, settled back in their seats. In the front row a girl yawned so massively that she seemed in danger of dislocating her jaw.

It was the yawn that got me. I’d been yawned at before- all students are chronically short of sleep and most lecturers have had the experience of looking over a sea of snoring bodies- but for some reason I suddenly found I couldn’t go on.

I stood speechless, staring out over my audience. Inside my head, my inner ear played back to me the sound of my voice. The drone of it. The flat, monotonal delivery. And overlaid on top of the drone, like a film joined up wih the wrong soundtrack, I kept seeing my own introduction to this subject: Matt and I, side by side, with the sun beating down on our backs. The beetle sauntering along under the water, safe in his tiny submarine. Matt’s amazement and delight.

Matt thought it was miraculous- no, there is more to it than that. Matt saw that it was miraculous. Without him I would not have seen that. I would never have realized that the lives which placed themselves out in front of us every day were wonderful, in the original sense of word. I would have observed, but I would not have wondered.

And now I was putting an entire class to sleep.

Having grown up in northern Ontario, discovering the wonder of the natural world is something I identify with. Some of the most profound moments of clarity in my life were drifting in my canoe in a secluded bay, the water teeming with life. Waterskaters gliding through the swirl of my paddle, a beaver swimming beneath the hull, a bald eagle perching on a giant oak on the rivers edge. I know, it sounds overly idyllic, but it was truly that remarkable. I get chills just thinking about it.

Shouldn’t our relationship to God be filled with this kind of awe and wonder? Shouldn’t our proclamation of these realities, our overflowing excitement to share it, be born out of the greatness of the God we encounter? Like Kate, so often I find myself talking to people about God- truthfully, accurately and rightly- but with the formal technicalities of theological terminology.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting that we should foster such an experience through ignorance. Far from it! Rather, we need engage our own faith, as well as introduce it others, first and foremost through the mysterious wonder of the divine. Theological explanation and complexity should serve that end, not become the central thrust of religion. At times I feel as though the vast majority of my energy and time is invested in developing and presenting a thorough apologetic for faith- NOT to unbelievers, but to other Christians more worried about my adherence to their dogma than my faithfulness to Jesus Christ!

Where has the wonder gone? How do we rediscover it? What can we do to better show the beauty and mystery of God to those who do not know Him? These questions are not rhetorical, so let’s have at it!

Emerging Church, Missional, Crow Lake, Mary Lawson

My friend and fellow Canadian blogger, Pernell Goodyear, is bringing together several Canadian bloggers to engage the excellent book “The Out Of Bounds Church?” by Steve Taylor of e~mergent kiwi fame.  The great thing about this project is that, in addition to posts exploring the content of the book, many of us will be participating in further conversation in the comment section, specifically looking at our Canadian context.

Pernell will be offering several other exciting aspects to the conversation that you don’t want to miss.  Head over there now and jump into the conversation.

Emerging Church, Missional, Pernell Goodyear, Steve Taylor

Some time ago, I received a copy of the now “infamous” book “A Heretic’s Guide to Eternity” by Spencer Burke and Barry Taylor for review.  However, between other reviews and a major increase in ministry activity, I didn’t get to the review.  When time did open up, I found myself unsure how to articulate my take on this provocative book.  In the mean time, many others have reviewed the book thoroughly and excellently.  The best I found, reflecting my own views quite a bit, was Scot McKnight’s take, found here:

Scot McKnight Review of Heretic’s – Part 1
Scot McKnight Review of Heretic’s – Part 2
Scot McKnight Review of Heretic’s – Part 3
Scot McKnight Review of Heretic’s – Part 4

There is a great deal to read, including the comment sections, but they are well worth the time.  In the end, I would say that I deeply appreciate the intentions of Spencer & Barry in writing this book.  I also resonate with many of the ideas and thoughts that had that brushed the edge of the status quo of Christianity.  However, I think they went too far.  In a medium that is so widely available, many people may or may not be able to process or engage these ideas safely.  Further, I am not sure those changes most needed in the Body of Christ were central in the book, with attention focusing on interesting, yet unnecessarily dangerous emphasis.

Therefore, this book does not get my recommendation, though neither would I hide my copy from (most) guests… wink!

Emerging Church

I’ve been tagged by Ted Gossard (a friend and a blogger worth reading).  So, here goes:

1. One book that changed your life: “Streams of Living Water” by Richard Foster.  It provided such a generous embrace of diversity.

2. One book that you’ve read more than once: “Ockham’s Razor: A Search For Wonder In An Age Of Doubt” by Wade Rowland.  LOVE it.

3. One book you’d want on a desert island: “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel.  It would be fitting to be stranded with the book.

4. One book that made you laugh: “Blue Like Jazz” by Donald Miller.

5. One book that made you cry: “The Long Loneliness” by Dorothy Day.  She is a hero to me like none other.

6. One book you wish had been written: “How To Discover Your Vocation and Be Sure You’ve Got It Right”  Enough said.

7. One book you wish had never been written: “Wild At Heart” by John Eldridge.  I know many people love it and benefit from it, just NOT ME.  Ok, I’m over-reacting… a little.

8. One book you’re currently reading: “Lust For Life” by Irving Stone.  A fictional biography of Vincent Van Gogh.

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: “School(s) for Conversion: 12 Marks of a New Monasticism” by Rutba House.  It’s up next.

10. Tag 5 others: Kyle Mason, Kim Arpin-Ricci, Paul Martinson, Bill Millar, Gerry Michalski

Another Christmas has come and gone, with lots of family, friends and food to fill heart and body. This was an especially special year, as Kim’s parents and sisters came over from Australia for a month. It was also the first Christmas in our house here in Winnipeg. I will have many wonderful memories (and a few extra pounds) from this holiday.

I was also very blessed with my gifts this year, as my “hinting” about books was well received. Here is what I will be reading in the coming months, so look for some reviews:

I can hardly wait to start reading…

emerging church

When I heard that novelist Anne Rice, author of the famous Vampire Chronicles, was writing a novel about the early years of Jesus Christ, I was skeptical. When I read that it was being written in first person from Jesus own perspective, I was intrigued. I had heard that Rice had returned to the Roman Catholic faith of her youth in the late 1990′s, but had not followed her life or writing in several years. I picked up the hardcover “Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt” on my way out to YWAM Vancouver for a week of teaching, expecting an interesting, if not provocative read.

As is my habit, I stayed away from interviews and reviews until I had read the book, wanting to experience the work with as few preconceived ideas as possible. However, with an author such as Rice, it was hard not to expect, well not the worst, as Rice is an excellent writer and a phenomenal historical researcher- I expected something else. As anyone familiar with so much of the material out there that would undermine the nature, character or very historicity of Christ, you’ll understand my cynical expectations. What I found in those pages, however, was something far more beautiful. I discovered a very real Jesus, a man, a Messiah, the Son of God.

The novel opens in the streets of Alexandria, where a 7 year old Jesus and his kin have lived for years.  Rice paints a vivid and living portrait of the Egypt of Jesus day, exploring the inevitable influences the the culture and philosophy would have had on His childhood.  But Egypt is not to be the setting of this story, as Joseph soon announces their planned return to the Holy Land, to visit Jerusalem to worship before returning home to Nazareth.

And so, echoing the ancient story of Israel emerging out of exile, we follow the young Jesus as He journeys to a home He has never seen.  Throughout these life altering events, we begin to see glimpses of the power that Jesus is only vaguely beginning to understand.  I recognized many of the stories from extra-Biblical sources, which is sure to stir some discontent from more conservative Christian readers.  I would encourage such readers to keep reading, as I do not believe that they undermine the integrity of the story or of Jesus.  Even Rice acknowledges that these including the material was based on “assumption”, but felt it was crucial to the deeper truth of the story.  And I agree.

As the family travels through the Holy Land, we are introduced to a deeply politically, spiritually and historically wounded people in the midst of civil unrest.  Simultaneously, we begin to understand what it means to be a Jew in that day.  With so much of the material on the “historical” Jesus being so ruthlessly geared to undermine Jesus divinity, purpose, being, etc., Rice accomplishes what few have- to present a fully Jewish (fully human) Jesus of His era, yet equally divine, rooted in the fullness of the Judeo-Christian story.

In the authors notes at the end of the book, Rice shares briefly of the journey she took in bringing this book to being.  It reveals the depth of study that she delved into (and continues even today) to do everything in her power to tell the truest story she could.  To her credit, she read every source she get her hands on, openly expecting to have her image of Jesus distorted.

However, it was through genuine study that she became even more deeply convinced and committed in her belief of Christ.  (As a side note, Rice credits N.T. Wright as the most positive and influential voices of these studies).  So truly has this impact changed her that Rice says she could not return to her former subject matter.  While she does not condemn her previous works, as they reflect her journey towards faith that many readers shared (myself included), she know that she could not go back.  Rice has 3 or 4 more volumes in this series that I am already eagerly anticipated.

In the end, I believe that this book represents one of the best “fictional” presentations of Jesus I have ever encountered.  I do not hesitate a moment in recommending it as a must read for all Christians who want to know Jesus in a deeper and truer way, rooted in His rich Jewish culture and history, as well as the ancient-future vision of God’s Kingdom.

Don’t wait for the paperback.  Get it today.

Like many others, I first came across Scot McKnight as I explored the emerging journey. His was (and remains) a voice of reason, balance, and passionate vision for what could be- not just for those in the “emergent conversation”, but for the whole Church. His excellent book, “The Jesus Creed” (recently named Christian Living Book of the Year by Christianity Today- with good reason) continues to both challenge and inspire everyone who reads it.

With his new book, “Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us”, Scot has outdone himself, laying out a generous and engaging foundation to exploring the question: What is the Gospel? Starting with the premise that “the Gospel is the work of God to restore human beings to union with God and communion with others, in the context of community for the good of others and the world”, this Gospel of embracing grace reminds us of our true identity, Eikons- created in His image, broken by sin.

Recently, Scot has been posting a series of blogs on this very question of Gospel (starting Here). In the comment section of a different blog, someone criticizes him for depersonalizing the Gospel. While taken alone and out of larger context, I can see how someone might come to this conclusion, I believe the opposite to be true. In addition to the personal embrace of Christ to individuals, Scot unfolds a richer, broader and deeper understand of the Gospel that, instead of reducing the personal, gives it true meaning. Through a wider reading of both his blog and his books, combined with his remarkably friendly and approachable personality, one cannot help be see how this very personal Gospel has touched his life (and his family).

Though representing a very small (perhaps under developed) aspect of the book, the emphasis on God’s & humanity’s relationship to Creation was an unexpected, but necessary dimension. The restorative work of God is an extension of his Love, through which He seeks to embrace His whole creation. “For God so loved the WORLD (Gr. kosmos)…” . This has been too often neglected from the core discussion of the faith, making its place in the book promising.

Reminiscent of Richard Foster’s essential “Streams of Living Water”, the book introduces examples from the Biblical, historical and contemporary spheres to highlight and “flesh out” the ideas. As always, he is fair, but honest in his exploration of ideas and experiences from a broad range of sources, providing a surprisingly thorough AND accessible read.

While this site has been largely dedicated to the ideas and challenges of the emergent journey, for which Scot McKnight has been a wise and important commentator, this book should not, by any means, be limited by being claimed as anything less than message for everyone. I would as soon recommend this book to the pastors of my very conservative childhood church as I would to my very skeptical, “unbelieving” uncle (and I am careful with both).

Certainly this book cannot begin to contain the fullness of the Gospel, especially as a central theme in the book is the need for us to discover of the embracing grace of God in the context of community. And while I might take exception to a few points (namely his seemingly unwavering rejection of satire), this is only to be expected.

That being said, it has been a long time since a book so deeply challenged me- in the ideas and articulations of my faith; in the compassion and passion for God, others and all Creation; in my willingness to make choices towards this embrace, this gift, this grace. Too often I find believers (myself included), even those in “full time ministry”, who do not really know what the Gospel is. Or perhaps more accurately, we fail to recognize the implications of the Gospel. “Embracing Grace” offers both a solid foundation and framework to build on from which, together, we can see God’s “Kingdom come, on earth, as it is in heaven”.

When I read about Doug Pagitt‘s upcoming book “Preaching Re-Imagined: The Role of the Sermon in Communities of Faith”, I was intrigued. While an infrequent guest preacher at a few churches, I have long struggled with how effective the traditional sermon is. Additionally, I was excited by the possibilities this proposed new approach might offer other areas of spiritual formation.

To this point, I have a read a few other reviews on this book, the best being by Scot McKnight & Brad Boydston which can be found Here. I would encourage you to read the entire series of dialogical reviews these guys post on this topic. That being said, I wanted to offer my 2 cents.

Doug makes a plea for a more progressional dialogue to replace the more common sermon model- what he calls “speaching”. I believe that Pagitt’s ideas offer an exciting opportunity to “re-imagine” how we engage in spiritual & missional formation by embracing the need for the openness and humility that comes through communal learning. He wisely affirms both a need for embracing a multiplicity of perspectives while committing to truly being open to have ones mind changed, convinced, “converted”. The thesis of the book is one that I heartily agree with.

That being said, I was extremely disappointed with the actual material presented. The book might have been called “Preaching Deconstructed”, as the vast majority of its content was focused on a critique of current preaching models. And while the critique was warranted, I found that Pagitt often overstated his arguements, citing some historical roots to the problem that were over simplified at best and untrue at worst.

Though I affirm the need to explore these issues, even critiquing “older” methods, I found that so called “speaching” was given a raw deal. At one point, Pagitt says:

And yet, throughout the book, he presents critiques that seem to go much further. In fact, in the same paragraph as the statement above, he also calls speaching “dehumanizing”. In my view, dehumanization is a serious upgrade from “low-grade fever”. I still believe that there remains a place for traditional preaching/teaching. What is hardly addressed in the book are the larger issues surrounding the way we “do” church- issues that would greatly mitigate some of the challenges of so-called “speaching”.

Finally, when I got to “Section 6: How to Make the Move” (which represents just under 70 pages of the 248 pages), I was eager to finally explore this new model. However, even this section is significantly dedicated to deconstructing the “old” rather than exploring the “new”. This isn’t to say that the book doesn’t offer helpful tools and ideas. In fact, there are several very important elements explored. But I felt they only whet the appetite, leaving the reader wanting more, with few options of where to turn.

Again, I want to reaffirm my agreement with and commitment to this new approach to spiritual formation. In fact, believe that the implications of Doug’s book extend beyond just pastors & sermons, but hold promising possibilities for people on all levels of discipleship. I believe it also speaks to the dysfunction of our current educational models in the larger culture. The intent of this book is both valid and necessary.

The book offers a fair apologetic for those questioning the current model and wanting to explore other options. However, I am not sure those who most need to read this book will pick it up, and if they do, won’t be convinced by it. Nor that the majority of those people who will read this book need convincing in the first place. I am not sure if Pagitt delivered on the promise the title suggests, but I hope he has started a dialogue in which all of our voices will take it the needed extra miles.

After a fierce battle with cancer, psychiatist and best-selling author M. Scott Peck died on Sunday. The writings of Peck have always been pivotal for me in my pursuit of Truth and wholeness. While much could be said in critique of his work, I believe his work still holds great promise and wisdom. He will be missed.

While all his writings were important to me, let me highlight a few:

It had always been a hope of mine to meet Dr. Peck in person, a goal now impossible in this life. My hope is that I will have this chance when it comes my turn to enter the great Mystery.