:: cawleyblog ::

Happy Halloween

I'm headed to Kansas CIty for the day-- excited to meet some new people and dream about church partnerships in the city. I'm also hoping to go trick or treating for smoky treats at Arthur Bryants or Oklahoma Joes.

One random piece for you this fine Halloween morning....

In case you're frantically trying to come up with a last minute costume for whatever festivities you have on tap for tonight, permit me to make a small suggestion: never underestimate the power of pairing a few disparate costume elements... like the "Vampire Pimp" ticket agent (?) I encountered this morning at the airport...

Sufjan: Rock & Roll is Dead

"Rock and roll is dead,” he says, voluble again. “Rock and roll is a museum piece. It has no viability anymore. There are great rock bands today—I love the White Stripes, I love the Raconteurs. But it’s a museum piece. You’re watching the History Channel when you go to these clubs. They’re just reenacting an old sentiment. They’re channeling the ghosts of that era—the Who, punk rock, the Sex Pistols, whatever. It’s been done. The rebellion’s over."
(via stereogum)

Technorati Tags: Sufjan

One Movie I'm Seeing Tonight & One I Wish I Was

direct youtube trailer link // rotten tomatoes


direct youtube trailer link // rotten tomatoes

FRIDAY PHOTO

ALL MY PHOTOS | FRIDAY PHOTO GROUP

Vanhoozer on Reading Culture

Susan Wunderink interviews Kevin Vanhoozer about the recent book he edited, Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends (Cultural Exegesis).

Everyday Theology is a collection of essays that present a Christian way of analyzing culture. Ranging from "The Gospel According to Safeway" (see excerpt) to "Between City and Steeple: Looking at Megachurch Architecture," each chapter dissects an aspect of North American culture through a biblical lens.
Related articles and links

Kevin Vanhoozer, the chief editor of the book, has been teaching a class called Cultural Hermeneutics at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School since 2001. Everyday Theology emerged out of those classes.
Vanhoozer spoke with CT about the book and his exegetical approach to culture.

Entitled Reading the World, the interview poses the following questions to Vanhoozer:

1. Can you explain what this collection of essays is about?
2. How would you define cultural exegesis?
3. So why do you think people need this book, Everyday Theology?
4. You mention theology often when you write about cultural exegesis. Do you understand theology to be broader than understanding God?
5. Would understanding culture shed light on the nature of God?
6. In the introduction, you asked, "How does one evangelize cultures that have already received the gospel only to revise or reject it?" I suppose you're talking about Western cultures?
7. What resources do people need to analyze their culture?

Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends (Cultural Exegesis)

FRIDAY PHOTO FROM CAMP LOGOS

Not a conventional Friday Photo I admit, but I've put the camera down for the past few days to install Parallels and Logos Bible Software on my computer so that I could learn the appropriate ninja power using skills at Camp Logos.

Though I've yet to be convinced that anything can compete with Accordance (don't lecture me about how many books I can add to Logos), Logos has been much more impressive than I anticipated (as has Parallels), and I would recommend the boot camp to anyone who wants to learn how to use their Bible software more effectively (check the schedule to see when Camp Logos is in your area).

To see what the real photographers have been up to this week, check our Friday Photo Group @ Flickr. And, as always, you can see my photographs at my flickr page.

Have a great weekend!

Technorati Tags: LogosBibleSoftware

Smithsonian Profiles Sufjan

One Man Band (Nic Harcourt // Smithsonian magazine, October 2007)

The next Bob Dylan? Maybe. Sufjan Stevens' honest sound and stark lyrics speak volumes to a new generation. And he plays all the instruments...(read more)

Technorati Tags: Sufjan

2007 American Royal

Katie and I spent a great weekend with friends in Kansas City-- celebrating the glory of smoked meat at the 28th Annual American Royal Barbecue.

The highlight of the weekend was hanging with my good friend and world-famous meat hustler/pit boss, Matt Dallman-- owner of 18th & Vine BBQ.

You can view all the pictures from our weekend here

Technorati Tags: BBQ, 18th&VineBBQ, CoachMattDallman+PitBoss

RSS PROBLEMS

...lots of them.

And the ironic thing is, I realize most of you aren't even reading this!

Thanks to those that have emailed me about the problems they have had with my RSS feed. They are the product of my sloppy, fat-fingered code. I have a friend helping me fix a few lines; I have deleted a few lines; and I'll let you know when my feed will work again.  Thanks for your patience in the meantime.

UPDATE: It looks like I have gotten the bulk of the problem cleared up. Feeds should be valid and updating now. If they're not, then you're not reading this via RSS...

Church Planting Q&A

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of meeting with Ariel Vanderhorst. We met at the Broadway Cafe, drank coffee, talked all things Pinback, Kansas City, Westport, & church planting. Ariel is a good man, and I have enjoyed getting to know him more through his blog.

Ariel is also a glutton for punishment, because after listening to me talk for over an hour, he interviewed me for a paper he's working on for a church planting class. I talk fast-- and faster still when people get me rolling about things I'm passionate about. Therefore, Ariel had no small task in taking notes during our interview. You can read his notes here.

THE BASIC OUTLINE OF OUR INTERVIEW
1. What’s been the greatest challenge(s) of church planting?
2. How do you deal with the financial needs?
3. How do you deal with the “people” needs? (Finding people to work with and attend the church.)
4. How did you (or would you) put together a core group?
5. What was or is the role of your “mentor” or role model?
6. What is the role of sponsoring/partnering churches?

If you have any questions in response to my answers to Ariel's questions, feel free to post them in the comments here as well, or you can email me with questions.

As always, you can track our progress as we work to plant a gospel-centered church in the urban core of Kansas City.