The Living Room

TLR Newsletter: May 28, 2009

2009-03-28T13:53:00.000-07:00

TLR Vision Frame - DRAFT 1

2009-01-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

Last Friday night twelve of us from TLR got together at Steve Hayner's house. Our purpose was to have a conversation about a vision for TLR. We reminiced, made fun of ourselves, and had an all around great conversation. While we talked Steve took notes. We then locked him in a room until he finally produced the following draft of a vision statement for TLR.

Well, now it is time for the wider community to have a debate about it! We will begin this debate online and then the TLR twelve will get back together (sort of like on Super Friends). You are invited to join the conversation by reading, reflecting and then posting your comments. What words work and which ones don't? Do you have an alternative you want to propose?

VISION FRAME (draft #1)

Who are we?

~ an unlikely, unexpected, unedited, unfearful, unfunded UN-CHURCH (with our very own un-pastor :) ~

What do we value?

Dreaming

Wrestling

Journeying

Experimenting

Creating

Emerging

Welcoming

Connecting

Sharing

Why are we doing this?

We believe that God is calling us to:

emerge from what we have experienced as dying institutions

wrestle afresh with life and faith

love friend and stranger

engage the scriptures in dynamic, collaborative ways

experiment with new patterns of worship, community and service

connect our stories with God's bigger story

How are we living out our faith?

In order to nurture our relationships with God, with one another, and with Jesus' work in the world, we....

.....gently welcome one another into an open, thoughtful, diverse and transparent community

.....joyfully gather for Spirit-guided worship which includes organic music, creative encounter of scripture, authentic connection with Christ and one another at the Table, and fearless prayer

.....creatively enage the manifold gifts of our community in expressions of faith which are as original as our lives.

.....lovingly connect to the Grant Park neighborhood and to the world far beyond

The Living Room is....

.....simplicity on the other side of complexity

.....more about being "with" than speaking "to"

.....experimentation without anxiety

.....a place of grace in a wounded world

.....healing food for hungry hearts

......a wide journey in a suspended, local space

......raw life and naked wonder

COMMENT AWAY!!!!!!!!!

TLR 2009 Resolutions:

2009-01-05T05:15:00.000-08:00

So, last night at TLR we participated in the American cultural tradition of making resolutions for the new year. In some ways last night was an exercise similar to Yom Kippur: we reflected upon our past year and dreamt together for the new year. The following is a list of resolutions we made for 2009. Since I'm the one writing this post I've also included my personal commentary about what we discussed. I invite you to read and make your own comments!

We resolve to be a community of ALL peoples. We had a lively conversation about how we need to be more open and conscientious of opposing theological and political viewpoints. We want TLR to be a community where liberals and conservatives, people who watch PBS and Fox News, etc, can gather around the communion table of our Lord. We do not want to privilege any one perspective, rather we want to create what our friend Peter Rollins calls "suspended space". Someone threw out the idea of creating a 'stump speech' that someone says every week before we begin our conversation. Others threw out the idea of intentionally inviting and creating partnerships with those who are different from us (Tom likes the idea of doing a service project together). We also discussed our need to be welcoming to families with children (thanks Amelia!) by providing child care. What other ideas are out there?

We resolve to engage a variety of worship forms. Many people commented on the need for our worship gatherings to engage ritual and liturgy. We also talked about centering prayer and the idea of creating original indigenous liturgies. Tom threw out the idea that we could have a menu of choices to choose from on any given Sunday, such as: 1. TLR Improv Night: an improvised, unscripted conversation about a biblical text and/or relevant issue of faith and life; 2. TLR Jam-Session: a night dedicated to the art of music; 3. TLR Ritual: either borrow from the great liturgical traditions and/or create an original liturgy that speaks specifically to TLR; 4. TLR Speaks: inviting an outside speaker to talk with us about a relevant issue for our community; 5. TLR Serves: devoting an evening together to serve those with need. We also spoke of the need for starting a spiritual recovery group that meets during the week. We also resolve to be verbose and overly academic and delve deeper into the personal stories of participants.

We resolve to be connected into the Grant Park neighborhood. Six months ago we began a "test drive" of meeting in an old church that the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta owns. At first, I was wary of meeting here - would meeting in a sanctuary negatively change the ethos of our young community? I have been pleasantly surprised that it hasn't. In fact, it has been very beneficial for us! So, now that we have conviction about our location we want to become connected into the fabric of our neighborhood. We discussed our need to be actively involved in the Grant Park Neighborhood Association and the Grant Park Parents Network. We also reaffirmed our desire to start a coffee shop in our sanctuary space, which is a defined need in the neighborhood. The Mission Program Grant Tom is applying for will help with the start up costs for this project. It is our hope that this coffee shop will become a welcoming "third place" in Grant Park and provide a modest source of income to help sustain our collective.

"Remember no man is a failure who has a friend" - Clarence, the angel from It's A Wonderful Life

2008-12-24T19:28:00.000-08:00

Last night was one of those nights that I won't forget easily. Let me tell you the story:

So, a week and a half ago TLR celebrated Christmas by singing some original compositions of traditional Christmas carols at The Thinking Man tavern. Click here to read and hear renditions of our gaiety. It was tons of fun! I remember fondly buying almost 20 people from TLR a shot (a red headed slut). We drank it, slammed it and sang loudly a carol that confused those drinking at the tavern. But they put up with us and even laughed with us as we made fools of ourselves (the apostle Paul would be proud!).

OK, I'll admit that doing this fed my desire that TLR would do things that are original, weird and challenging. It was sooo much fun singing carols in a public place like a pub. It was fun to drink while celebrating Christ's birth...

But... something equally as radical occurred last night in a little country church one hour west of this infamous pub. I serve this little country church as their preacher and they have an identity crisis. Some are enamored with the mega-church and all its entrapments. I came from that world, hence one of the reasons I was hired. They got someone whom they thought could grow the church and well, I got a steady paycheck. Seemed like a win-win situation to me :) But what of God... was this simply a business transaction or was there a movement of the holy spirit (the "bruhah", or breath of God)?

Last night, I renewed my hope in the power of the Holy Spirit. Why? Here's one reason: I heard a retired southern preacher (Harry) tell me about the civil rights struggle in the south saying, "you don't know how bad it was". He told me a story about how when Hank Aaron was reaching toward the home run record that there were members of Harry's congregation, with guns by their side, that said they will "kill that nigger". The grimace on his face showed the years of hardship he endured. He was the one of a few pastors who signed his name to the Atlanta Manfesto.

I saw last night members of this very traditional congregation cry and give thanks for a Christmas Eve service that was NOT formal, but rather informally gathered around a fireplace (yes, they have a fireplace IN their sanctuary - pics later). I organized the worship service and had planned on moving folks immediately from our worship service to a time of fellowship. HOWEVER, when we ended everyone wanted to talk! Now wait a minute... this is something I expect when I arrive on Sunday night at TLR. I mean come on, we say that we are an "open-source faith community". But, wait... can this kind of spontaneous conversation happen outside of a hip, cool, overly educated community like TLR???

I had to swallow my pride and say "yes" last night. Thanks be to God.

tnevdA: a reversal of the traditional 25 day countdown to Christmas

2008-11-07T17:43:00.000-08:00

Join us on Monday, November 24th, 7-9pm for tnevdA - featuring special guest Peter Rollins!!

"Life must be understood backwards; but... it must be lived forward." Soren Kierkegaard

Think of the greatest possible holiday moment, the Christmas of your dreams. Now walk back a day into the lack of that moment. Take another step back into postponed pleasure, into that place of wishing, hoping, longing. Take step after step... day after day.... backward. Back into loss, into hopelessness, into the empty.

Step backward twenty-five long days and sit, and wait, and watch. Become like a wild and free animal in the meadow staring alone long and deep. Breathe, be aware...

We have the honor of welcoming theologian Peter Rollins, and local artists as we enter a time of tnevdA - a reversal of the traditional 25 day countdown to Christmas. We are hosting this event with Atlanta Emergent Cohort.

The Living Room meets at the old Georgia Avenue Church, on the corner of Georgia Avenue and Grant Street in Grant Park. Our physical address is: 645 Grant Street SE, Atlanta, GA 30315. Street parking only.

TLR is Evicted??

2008-11-03T08:51:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday night we had a little fun at TLR: We held our worship gather outside in front of the old Georgia Avenue Church - where we have been meeting for the past couple months. So, before everyone arrived we threw our couches, chairs and lazy boys out on the curb to make it look like we had been evicted from the church due to not paying our rent. Why? Because we were hosting a group of students (led by our very own Emily Martin) from Columbia Theological Seminary who shared with us reflections on the post-exilic text of Nehemiah 2 (where Nehemiah asks the king to go to Jerusalem in order to rebuild the walls that had been destroyed during the exile).

We talked about what it means for our community to become rooted to a particular place after being nomadic this past year. There was a resounding affirmation by all who attended that for TLR "church" is people, not a building. The building we are meeting in now is an historic traditional church... but we are seeking to hold in tension the need to see this building as simply an adequate facility for us to gather and be protected from the elements, while at the same time recognizing that this is a sacred space that has been worshipped in for over 100 years. Our conversation included the sharing of an interesting idea: Grant Park is in need of a coffee shop - what if we opened one?

Ideas, ideas, ideas.... the conversation continues as we continue to gain new insight into God's call upon our young and thriving community.

I Love You

2008-10-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

NOTE: This was re-printed with permission from Scott, an active friend of The Living Room.

Since I've been coming to The Living Room I've been somewhat apprehensive to embrace Jesus as a god and even God himself (or herself). I've just been burned so many time in my life by dysfunctional religious people and I'm sick of it. You'd think I'd learn my lesson and not come back to any church but I just can't seem to let go that there is something bigger than us in the universe.

Anyway, I've asked for your prayers that I somehow experience God so I'll have something to hang on. Tom has been good counsel as well as my friend Wendy (she doesn't come to TLR but is a friend of it and recommended it to me originally). Some of it has been helpful but most of it is batted down by my own anger and biases towards the church (even as organic as The Living Room is).

Last week I shared with Tom that I don't think I work hard enough to find God... but my counter argument is always, "Well why should I? God is all powerful... he/she can do all the work, I'm tired of trying." Tom said that could very well be part of my problem and that also I might be closer to God if I tried to serve others.

I've always been service minded and Tom let me know of a few places I could be involved with. Even thinking about it has energized me some (mainly more that I get to help someone than anything else).

Anyway, after talking with Tom I went home to where I now live in Decatur. The dogs needed to go out and we have this groovy backyard to let them run around in (it's more like a grotto than anything else, very cool, vines everywhere, really shaded). I was watching them run around and I looked up in the trees for a moment and saw something hanging down from the branches.

After looking at it for a while, it appeared to be two pieces of bark stuck together by some *really* strong cobweb (I tugged on it and it didn't instantly snap like your average cobweb does). The two pieces of bark were stuck together to... look like a cross and it seemed to be hanging there in suspended animation.

I need to make something clear, I gave up on "Signs and wonders" years ago. I was convinced that they didn't happen anymore and they especially didn't happen to me so I approached this "cross" with a lot of pondering and skepticism, but I'm also open to the fact that this could really be a nice "I love you" from God. But regardless, it's been something to think about that's for sure.

It's been two days since I initially saw it and I was sure that with all the wind and rain we'd have that it'd be on the ground somewhere. But lo' and behold, it's still hanging there by this industrial strength cobweb. So this morning I snapped a few shots of it and thought I'd share what I saw.

Once again, I don't know if this was by God or not but regardless, it got me thinking and wondering.

Communion

2008-10-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

Last night after The Living Room community worshiped God, we walked on over to Dwell, our resident intentional community in Grant Park.

Ed and Kathleen provided us with delicious foods and wine. Our patron saint, Keith, thanked God for our meal and we proceeded to feast. This night marked one of the high points of my communing with these fine folks for over a year now.

Aside from the fact that Dwell's awesome layout provided the perfect environment for multiple conversations and the wonderful God-given weather last night, we experienced what Keith was reminded of as he observed, "This reminds me of the disciples gathering at Pentecost!"

The Holy Spirit may not have come in a loud wind, floating flames, and tongues of various languages. Instead, the Spirit came in memorable moments of life-sharing, bonding, laughter, and joy (the wine may have had a minor effect, praise be to God!).

Our community name is something we want to see embodied more often in our interactions, as a welcoming, open, safe, and holy body of all believers.

The Areopagus in Grant Park

2008-09-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday night The Living Room recreated the scene from Acts 17 when Paul addressed the Athenians in the Areopagus (Mars Hill). Sidewalk chalk was used to point arrows from our church to an open field in Atlanta's Grant Park.

However, unlike 2000 years ago pets were welcomed into our Areopagus!

We were all totally unaware that when Dan was leading us in singing songs from Pagan, Native American, and Buddhism. Why did he do this? He wanted to play off of the idea how Paul, in a sense, "lifted up" the faith and religion (and poetry) of the Greeks when he spoke in the Areopagus. Paul met the Athenians were they were and he made a case for Jesus by appealing to the fact that we all come from the same original human (Adam). Even though we sang non-Christian songs we were still able to worship the Christian God.

We ended our gathering with doing communion outside. Doug Resler, who was visiting us and preparing to start a church plant in Madison, Wisconsin, helped lead us in the celebration of the Lord's Supper. I don't know how I feel about this but even our four-legged friends partook of some bread and one even drank all our water from the baptismal font!!

Directions to Georgia Avenue

2008-08-01T05:28:00.000-07:00

Friends of TLR:

Here is the address of Georgia Avenue Church, where we will be meeting for our Sunday night worship gatherings starting Sunday, August 3rd @ 5PM:
645 Grant St SE, Atlanta, GA 30312.
It is super easy to find (unlike Tilt Coffee Shop). For a visual, here's a picture of the outside of the church:
And here's a pic from inside:

This Week @ TLR

2008-07-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

Greetings Friends of TLR!

Here's a quick glimpse of what's happened and is happening @ TLR:

Jesus 4 President Tour. This past weekend was a wild success! We passed out an estimated 500 fliers about TLR! I want to personally thank everyone who helped make this event a success. A lot of hard work went into this.

Church Basement Roadshow. Our Sunday night gathering will be @ 7PM at the B-Complex. Click here for directions. Check out our post below to watch a YouTube video about CBR. Please come and help get the word out about this. Contact Dan Ra if you want to help volunteer.

TLR Google Group. This past Sunday night we discussed our need to have greater participation in planning our Sunday night gatherings. We agreed to start a Google Group and to use it as a tool to promote greater involvement and transparency. Join the open-source revolution...

Georgia Avenue. Next Sunday, August 3rd, @ 5PM will be our first worship gathering at Georgia Ave! I have talked with a friend of TLR who who is going to help us get couches and love-seats. We need to build a ramp so that the sanctuary is accessible. Any volunteers? We could buy a portable ramp for about $200 - anyone want to help? Click on the "Make a Donation" button to donate online using our PayPal account.

Dwell. There are 3-4 people from TLR who are prayerfully considering moving into a new intentional Christian community in Grant Park (literally 5 doors down from GA Ave). Please keep this in your prayers. Move in date is September 1st.

We have the keys to test drive Georgia Avenue!

2008-07-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

Well friends, I have some exciting news to share with you: starting August 1st we have the keys to test drive meeting in the sanctuary of Georgia Avenue in Grant Park (address is: 645 Grant St SE, ATL, GA). Above is a picture of the sanctuary taken from Troy Bronsink's ordination service. Here are my thoughts on this new opportunity:

Can we afford it? First, Georgia Avenue is owned by the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta. On Monday I met with the head of the presbytery and with representative of the Georgia Avenue Food Bank (who use the old Sunday School building). The agreement we reached is for TLR to begin meeting at GA Avenue for one year, sort of like a trial period. We will be sharing the sanctuary with Southwest Christian Fellowship, a traditional historic African-American congregation. We will be sharing the rest of the building with the food co-op and a day care. Together we will pulling funds together to pay for utilities and upkeep. Our share is $100/week, which is $50 less per week than we are paying at Tilt Coffee Shop. And now we will have 24/7 access to a facility and not just 2 hours a week.
Is this a permanent move? One word: no. Friends, I have to be totally honest with you that I'm not sure if this is the right thing for us to do. How will moving into a church building affect the ethos and culture of our community? We meet now in a cool hip "secular" coffee shop - how will meeting in a building with stain glass affect us? Also, now that we have 24/7 access to a building we will become just another overworked Christian community with meetings, meetings, meetings? My hope is that this opportunity will be a blessing and not a curse for our community. But I want us to go into this with our eyes open.
Are we going to sit in pews? Yes and no. I want us to reorganize the worship space in the sanctuary at Georgia Avenue. In the picture above they organized it into a U-shape. This is part of my hope. I am also interested in having people donate or buy some couches from Goodwill and add them to the space. Maybe we could dedicate some couches instead of pews! I want us to have fun and play with our new worship space - the last thing I want is for us is to feel we have to sit all prim and proper in pews :)

The proposal is for us to start meeting at Georgia Avenue starting the first Sunday in August at our new time of 5PM. There is a great independently owned restaurant near Georgia Avenue called Dakota Blue where we could grab a bite to eat after worship.

Please post your comments/concerns/ideas about this opportunity for our community.

Church Basement Roadshow in Atlanta on July 27th

2008-07-09T06:22:00.000-07:00

The Living Room is co-sponsoring The Church Basement Roadshow, A Rollin' Gospel Revival is rumbling across the U.S. this summer, bringing good fun and good news to anyone who will listen. They will be rolling into ATL on Sunday July 27th @ The B-Complex. Here's one of their songs:

No Church This Sunday / New Start Time is 5PM

2008-07-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

Quick note to say that there will be no Living Room gathering this Sunday, in observance of "Freedom From Church Day". The following Sunday, July 13th, we will start our gatherings at 5PM (instead of 7PM) so that we can go out for dinner after our gathering. We will be continuing a new series of conversations on the meaning of communion. We kicked the series off last Sunday night at The Brickstore Pub - yes, we had communion in a bar.

July Newsletter:

2008-07-01T05:53:00.000-07:00

Greetings friends and supporters of The Living Room!

I hope this newsletter finds you well. I write this to you after putting down my children for sleep. I am officially on vacation for two weeks with my children. We have had so much fun doing local day trips to the pool, the zoo, the children's museum - and they even came with me last night to The Living Room! Skylar, my daughter, said to me afterwards, "Hey dad, that was a lot of fun for church". As it says in Psalm 8: "Out of the mouths of babes..."

PCUSA IS EMERGENT? The first bit of news I want to share comes from the recent General Assembly of the PCUSA: Bruce Reyes-Chow was elected moderator of 218th General Assembly. Why is this significant and newsworthy? Read the opening words from the PCUSA news service:

SAN JOSE, June 21, 2008 —The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, 39, an energetic new church development pastor in San Francisco and leader in the "emergent church" movement, was elected moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

This is significant news for many reasons: first, because all things "emergent" will be highlighted by Bruce as he travels the nation these next two years; second, as The Living Room is one of the few explicitly emergent churches in the PCUSA, this is good news for our community! I corresponded with Bruce yesterday and he assured me that The Living Room would definitely be one of his stops. News of Bruce's election was even commented on by Tony Jones, National Coordinator for Emergent Village, who said in his blog, "Bruce offers great promise to the PCUSA in his two-year term - and, let it be said, the PC(USA) has been about the most interested in emergent ideas of any denomination". Hmmm...

JULY IS GOING TO BE BUSY! The Living Room is one of the co-sponsors for the July 19th Jesus For President Tour at Community Fellowship Church and also the Church Basement Roadshow on July 27th. The evening of Saturday, July 19th, will feature a speech by Shane Claiborne, founding partner of The Simple Way and author of The Irresistible Revolution and Jesus For President, the music of The Psalters, and a general carnival atmosphere. Want to help out for this event? I'd love your help with my projects: putting together an online resource for local ministry opportunities. The evening of Sunday, July 27th, will be at The B-Complex and will feature Tony Jones, Doug Paggit, and Mark Scandrette- who are three leaders in the emergent church movement. They are touring the country this summer in an RV to sell their books and put on a rollicking "21st century roadshow revival of that old time religion". Again, if you want to help, let me know. The big need is to raise $400 to help cover the expenses related to this event. Let me know if you want to help out with either of these events - both promise to be TONS of fun and are important outreach events for getting the word out about TLR.

BENEFIT CONCERT TO SUPPORT INNOCENCE ATLANTA: Kit and I have begun to plan a benefit concert to support the work of Innocence Atlanta, an organization raising awareness and working to to eradicate child sex slavery and exploitation in Atlanta. We have a great venue, a couple bands have already agreed to help out, and I will be meeting with Daniel Homrich next week to talk about promoting this event. Our goal will be to raise $500 and, more importantly, to raise awareness of this issue for fans of the participating bands. Do you know any bands (or play in one) that would like to play at this event? Or do you want to volunteer your time/talents to help pull this event off? Then please contact either Kit Fordham or me.

UPDATE ON GEORGIA AVENUE: For the past couple months, we have been praying about the possibility of moving into an old sanctuary in Grant Park called Georgia Avenue. I have already met with our steering committee and with the emergent church committee of my presbytery. I am meeting tomorrow morning with the leaders of the Georgia Avenu e Community Ministry (GACM), who use the old Sunday school building of Georgia Ave. The next step takes place next week when the leaders of the GACM and I will be meeting with Ed Albright, the Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta, to discuss this opportunity for our community. I sincerely ask for your prayers as we continue to discern God's will.

Well, if you've read all the way down to this line I want to say "thank you"! Please open and read the attached newsletter written by Troy Bronsink that features a story about TLR. There is a lot going on at TLR, and I am thankful that you are a friend or a supporter of this growing ministry. The Spirit is at work, good things are happening, and new opportunities continue to emerge...

Blessings,
Tom Livengood

PS: Interested in helping our ministry financially? You can do so by using PayPal, a safe and easy way to donate online. Click here to make a donation or go anytime to our blog and click the "Make a Donation" button. All donations are administered by the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta on behalf of TLR. Donate with confidence!

PPS: And here is a group photo from one of our recent Sunday night gatherings:

Aren't we an eclectic bunch?

Our Communion Song and Message:

2008-06-27T20:07:00.000-07:00

Click here to listen to our communion song we sung last Sunday night:

Click here to listen to Tom's message before we take communion (also last Sunday night):

Thanks Amy for helping me with this. I'm really trying to be a techno savy kind of guy... but trying is the key word!

Listen, enjoy, share, comment.

Bobby's new article

2008-06-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

Here's Bobby Williamson's (our "Bible guy") new article: http://sbl-site.org/publications/article.aspx?articleId=777

It's really good, though he forgot to include any mention of TLR ;)

TLR in part

2008-06-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

At The Living Room we don't want to be too comfortable defining ourselves because the moment we do so, we've created standards apart from God's unimaginable dreams for us

Well, I wrote a description on my other blog and I hope this description changes:

i'm a part of the living room. we're a self-described emergent community with a relationship to the pcusa (since tom, is ordained in the pcusa). we meet at tilt coffeeshop in the castleberry hill historic arts district.

our gatherings are unique in that we exercise in local theologizing. we converse, experiment, relate, and wrestle with faith, scripture, culture, and ourselves together to build a dynamic theology for God's kingdom on earth. there is no sermon except for the sermon we create together. and the songs we sing are created by our community for our community. our liturgy is raw and flat, while simultaneously rich and elaborate. it's creative, spontaneous, biblical, mystical, imaginative, and contemplative. we espouse an ancient-future paradigm where we draw from our ancient, historical traditions but create new liturgical expressions as we look towards Jesus' reappearing. our lord's supper is supernatural and symbolic, communal and priestly.

our kingdom mindset is missional where we take with us redemption and beauty towards those in our lives who yearn for those things. we seek the justice of God. the voices of the margins are the voices where God's kingdom erupts. we pray for those who wonder how long they'll sing their song. and we sing those songs along with them.

we're literally young and old. we're multi-ethnic. we come from various christian traditions, or no traditions at all. some of us barely believe in God. but we worship in faith together.

Tim Keller and "The Reason for God"

2008-06-11T07:01:00.000-07:00

Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in NYC, visits Google's Mountain View, CA, headquarters to discuss his book, "The Reason for God." This event took place on March 5, 2008, as part of the Authors@Google series. It is an hour long - but is VERY though provoking:

This Is The Living Room

2008-06-10T08:09:00.000-07:00

Aren't we an eclectic bunch?

2008-05-28T10:33:00.001-07:00

Peter Rollins Lecture:

2008-05-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

This is a great lecture from the author of "How (Not) to Speak of God". It's rather philosophical and long but VERY good!

Press the play button above to listen to this episode

Download Mp3

On The Missional Church:

2008-05-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

So, this week I have been a part of the Thompson Scholar Program where we have shared in conversations about "The Missional Church". I wanted to share some things that I learned and open up an opportunity for us to reflect. So here it goes:

The Church Goes Indoors:

At Pentecost, the church was born! Consider scripture: "As the Father has sent me, so now I'm sending you!"... "As your going, make disciples... baptize... and follow all that I have taught you." "You shall receive the Holy Spirit... to be my witnesses." In other words, the purpose of the church is to be Jesus' agents in the world.

With Constantine, who made Christianity the "state religion" of the Roman Empire, the church began to go indoors. For example, Haggia Sophia as the oldest Christian church is a symbol of a building became the center of a repository of God's grace.

The issue today is that the building is crumbling - "the Titanic is sinking!". For example, PCUSA is #1 in percentage AND total number of people leaving out of the 25 largest denominations. What happens? Continual sadness leads to depression that leads to suicide (the end of PCUSA).

Types of Problems:

Technical problems: problems which can be solved by applying current know how or by some change in how we do things or how we are organized. I.E. Solvable by people in authority.
Adaptive: problems requiring people to change and learn new habits, change their values. Such problems can only be solved by discovering new ways of doing things. People with the problems MUST be involved in finding the solutions.

Key Issue: too often we treat adaptive challenges like technical problems (can I have an Amen!)

Stages in the life of a congregation

The Emergent Phase: maximum experimentation; high innovation; adaptive community;
This is where TLR is.
Key issue for us: to build leadership --> from experimenting to forming, ordering, developing our habits and structures of life together.

That's all for now - whatcha think????

The Living Room Lord's Prayer

2008-05-07T18:35:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday night our community concluded our series of conversations (jams) on The Lord's Prayer by rewriting it (talk about local and contextual theology!) So check out our version of the Lord's Prayer...

We pray like this:

To the One who has always been, and who has always been there with us, may all that you are be sacred to us.

Help us renew your creation by living into your alternative, surprising consciousness that arrives when we seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly before you.

Meet our daily needs as you know them, and help us to be a part of meeting the daily needs of others. Redistribute the resources of the world as needed. Forgive us when we knowingly and unknowingly fail and help us to forgive those who do the same.

Lead us away from temptation and rescue us from all forms of evil and from ourselves. . .

Great Short Video:

2008-04-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

This is a great short video about the story of Trucker Frank from Tony Jones new book "The New Christians". Please watch and post your comments!

The Kingdom of God Looks Like:

2008-04-15T12:36:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night we reflected on the portion of the Lord's Prayer that says, "thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." We had a great "jam session" exploring what "kingdom" means (many preferred words like "reign" or concepts like "up-side-down"). We will be continuing a series of conversations on the Lord's Prayer for the next month.

The prophet Ezekiel said that the kingdom of God is like a great cedar tree. Jesus likened it to a mustard seed. What are some of your images? Where do you experience the in-breaking of God's reign? Do you believe God's kingdom is here "on earth as it is in heaven"?

I saw a glimpse of God's kingdom today when I visited the Georgia Avenue Food Co-Op:

How about for you?

Worship Unto God: Be Environmental. Save Money.

2008-03-28T08:17:00.001-07:00

My girlfriend Amy, who some of you know, posted this wonderfully insightful entry on her blog. Read and be changed!

Air-dry your clothes (Drying rack: $9-12)

You'll have less wrinkles in your clothing since they won't be sitting in your dryer long after you have forgotten about them = little to no ironing.
They'll smell fresher and feel crisper.
You'll see less wear and tear on your clothing. Those unsightly sweater nubs and cotton pills? - drastically reduced by air-drying. Bottom line: your clothes last longer and look newer.
Eliminates the chance of shrunken clothing or set stains. Didya know that the high heat from the dryer permanently sets existing stains? (So if you take an article of clothing out of the dryer and the stain is still there, it's too late to save it.) And since it's almost impossible to tell from a wet garment whether the stains have really come out, you can air-dry it to later see if the wash was indeed successful in removing them completely. If the spots are still there, you can have another go at pretreating/washing the garment.
Uses no electricity, thus saving you money and reducing your carbon footprint over time.

Use vinegar and baking soda to clean, and also in your laundry. And to unclog drains. And to repel ants from your kitchen. (all these multi-uses -and more!- for less than $5)

Aren't you sick of inhaling toxic fumes from your Lysol, Clorox, and Drano? Yeah, those fumes are bad for the environment too.
Vinegar works wonders on a streaky mirror. Throw out that ammonia-filled crap-Windex. Or whatever, you can just use what you have left and never buy it again.
Need to scrub your tub? Got unsightly berry or curry or whatever stains on your kitchen counters? Wet the surface, then sprinkle liberal amounts of baking soda on top. Forget about it for an hour or two, then come back and scrub with a wet sponge. Magic.
Baking soda can also be used in place of bleach in your laundry because it helps to whiten whites. Vinegar removes odors and works double-duty as a natural fabric softener. That's right. Who knew? Never mind that I did... bc I'm special.
When your drain is clogged, pour about a cup of baking soda down the drain. Then throw half a cup of vinegar down. Watch it fizz, then get bored and forget about it for ~30 minutes. While you're waiting, boil a pot of water, then slowly pour that down. Repeat if necessary.
Vinegar also repels ants. Get yourself an empty spray bottle, fill it with vinegar, and spray those ants away. Don't ever crush them - apparently they release some pheromone when they're smushed, which prompts funeral ants (not the technical term, please do not repeat) to take the dead carcass away. Note the plural: smush one ant, have many respond. The vinegar works bc its acid kills 'em, while its naturals chemicals alter the ants' scent and keeps them away.
If vinegar and baking soda aren't enough for your cleaning and laundry needs, buy Method products at Target. The entire line is non-toxic, plus their detergents are concentrated and in smaller plastic containers. Perk #1 to this is that you can use less of the stuff to get the job done and Perk #2 is a reduction in packaging waste.

Get yourself a reusable shopping tote. And keep it in your car so you actually have it when you decide to go shopping. (99 cents - $12)

This doesn't really need too much explanation, now does it? Don't you all by now know how harmful those "disposable" plastic bags are to the environment? Not only do most of them end up in landfills where they pretty much never disintegrate, the bags themselves are petroleum-based (why, hello foreign oil). Not to mention that just the manufacturing of these bags alone results in a lot of pollution. From start to finish, they're just bad.bad.bad. -- and we Americans use about 90 BILLION of these things a year!
So go ahead, do something good for a change and spend the whopping 99 cents to $1 on a chic reusable bag. Carry it proudly. Make it a point to walk very purposefully by plastic bag users and give them full, liberal views of your environmentally-conscious tote(s). Patronizing smiles may be thrown in for good measure, but do so sparingly and only to people smaller than you.

Recycle your old electronics. (free)

Electronics contain mercury, lead and cadmium, which can harm the environment by leaching into groundwater or into the air through incineration.
In 2005, the EPA estimated there was about 2.2 MILLION TONS of e-waste. About 80 percent to 85 percent of that ended up in landfills, with the remainder being recycled.
Go to myGreenElectronics.org or E-cycling Central to find local recycling centers.

Re-use those envelopes that come with your bills and statements. (free)

That is, if you don't pay your bills and credit cards online.
I think it's creative and I enjoy re-using these instead of buying new envelopes that I know are going to end up in the trash anyway. Think of all the envelope consumption that's not going to happen. That makes me happy.
If your envelopes have windows on them, then all you have to do is write the addresses on the outside of the letter so that when you stick it in the envelope they'll show through the windows. To do this you can first fold up your letter, insert it into the envelope, then mark onto the letter where the windows are. Take the folded letter back out, write the addresses under the marks you've made, and voila. Done.

Stories of New Life...

2008-03-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Easter @ The Living Room by sharing stories about the meaning of resurrection. Some of us reflected on a post-resurrection story about how Jesus become known to seven of his disciples through the abundance of fish that they caught. Others drew pictures or told stories about the hope they found during times of death and depression. Some shared, others listened. Luckily, no one fell asleep!!

I have been thankful for about the stories people were willing to share on Sunday night. Also, I've received some amazing e-mail messages from many of you. So, let's continue the conversation - what does "resurrection" mean to you?

Ministry and Money

2008-03-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

At this past Sunday night's worship gathering we were joined by Troy Bronsink. We reflected on the parable of the great dinner and the cost of discipleship (Luke 14), in particular as it relates to ministry and money.

One issue that came up for me Sunday night was the language I used when I spoke about ministry and money. It seemed so "traditional". As many of you are aware, up until two years ago I had been working in traditional churches. I have heard (as I'm sure you have) my fair share of "stewardship" pitches. Compound that with the problems of corrupt TV evangelists, CEO Pastors living the good life, and the propensity of a theologically bankrupt prosperity gospel and what are you left with? For me, it's left me not wanting to talk about money and ministry.

NEW: IN RESPONSE TO POSTINGS WE HAVE ADDED A "MAKE A DONATION" BUTTON TO THIS SITE. All money that is donated is administered by the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta in coordination with the steering committee for The Living Room (we're legit - no funny stuff going on here!). Give with confidence!

2008-02-26T10:01:00.000-08:00

I have had a couple great conversations this week with some new friends of The Living Room. Here are some of the highlights from my first conversation this week:

Last night I went out with a friend of The Living Room to visit this organization called Coven ant House Georgia. It's mission is to reach out to homeless and at risk youth (ages 16-21) in Atlanta. They have an outreach van that goes out each night to hit the streets of the ATL and talk to kids. Now, I consider myself to be somewhat knowledgeable about social injustice, especially in my own hometown. However, what I realized last night is that I may know a thing or two, but that I need a refresher and a SERIOUS geography lesson. Ever heard of Adamsville? I hadn't until last night. It's near Six Flags - once suburbia and now the new hood. l went and visited three of the ten projects that will be torn down THIS YEAR (displacing close to 10,000 poor people in Atlanta). In fact, one of them is scheduled to be closed at the end of THIS MONTH. I had so-called "head knowledge" about this issue but I hadn't been to some of the actual locations until last night. And ohh, ya, we went AT NIGHT. I don't consider myself a "scaredy cat" and I feel a certain comfort in being with the poor; that said, parts of last night were a totally different game. Consider the following things that were said last night: "Maybe we should keep going, he has a face mask on... right over there someone was murdered recently... on a warm night this street is packed with prostitutes... You get the point. I've gone to college, seminary and have a doctorate, but what they taught me last night is how ignorant I really am about a whole lot of things. I felt like a sponge last night - soaking the whole thing up.

I want you to know that I have begun to volunteer weekly at Covenant House and hope to become a volunteer chaplain for them (something they say they want). I've made a personal promise to myself that this would not and will not be a one shot deal.

I invite you to read a great article in this weeks Creative Loafing about sex traffiking. I'm thankful that this issue is starting to get on the radar of our fair city.

The next conversation was more theoretical. It is based on the insights from someone who recently came and visited The Living Room on a Sunday night. We talked about:

Our Vision... which I shared is to be an eclectic gathering of God's people, united not by what we believe but how we live according to the Way of Jesus Christ. We welcome all people: liberals, conservatives, evangelical, gay, straight, black, white... I (we) abhor what divides people and value diversity of thought and perspective.
About the Bible... I shared how I feel that we are a community that respects a diversity of thought about a text that is both historical and divine. When you come to one of our worship gatherings on Sunday night you'll see how we dedicated the vast majority of our time together to reading and reflecting upon one of the books in the Bible. Yet how we read and interpret it may be challenging to some, for we encourage people to not check their minds at the door - rather we value a thoughtful and humble faith, one that respects and welcomes the tough questions but does not assume that we (or I) possess the answer. Only God...

There are a couple more insights from the conversations/experiences I've had this week. But I'm getting sleepy. Tell me what you're thinking!

Killing the cult of personality one minister at a time...

2008-02-14T19:00:00.000-08:00

I met this morning with James Wright, the owner of Tilt Coffee Shop (where we meet on Sunday nights). He asked me to write down the story of The Living Room. What I have come to realized is how my story is intertwined with the "birth narrative" of our emerging community of faith.

Central to my current pursuit in ministry is to kill the cult of personality that surrounds preachers and "professional Christians". I used to be a religious "player" - served at the largest Presbyterian church in the USA and was climbing the ladder to the top of some big steeple; that was until I was thrown off (thank you Jesus!). Now I'm back on the solid ground of mediocrity - and I love it!

Friends of The Living Room are aware of my story: how my then wife asked me for a divorce shorty after my severance ran out after being "resigned" from my job as the Associate Pastor at a large church in Florida (two years ago). I've been more than open about "my funk" with you - sometimes I worry too much so... who wants to worry about their "pastor"? don't we pay them to worry about us! That's part of the reason why I've chosen to do this ministry "part-time" - for me, the less financially dependent I am upon my church the better (though I've also realized that "time is money" and I deserve fair compensation for my time as your pastor).

Recently I had an amazing conversation while eating dinner at my new neighborhood bar/deli called Elliot Street. I sat down and struck up a conversation about faith and politics (two no-nos). I was a little afraid of what their response would be when I told them I was a minster. So much baggage related to my profession! But sometimes (in fact, more often than not) it opens doors for people to share important "stuff". Such was the occasion that night at Elliot Street. The questions flew... so, you're telling me you are a Democrat that voted for Obama, you're pro-choice and cool with gays AND... you're Christian (even paid for being one)!! It flew in the face of all they had assumed that it meant to be "Christian" - and to be honest it made me terribly sad. Why? Because they (and well, a lot more like them) assume that ALL Christians are conservative republican homophobs. That said - I want to be clear that the last thing I want is for people who come to The Living Room to believe the same way that I am personally committed. That would fly in the face of my commitment to kill the whole cult of personality around ministers. Catch my drift?

I am so thankful to be the pastor of this diverse, overly-educated, hodge podge followers of the Way. You've given me the freedom to be myself - "worts" and all (as Richard is fond of saying). Help me tell the story of The Living Room by posting a story about your experience(s) of The Living Room.

The Living Room's New Digs: Tilt Coffee Shop in Castleberry Hill

2008-01-20T06:46:00.000-08:00

Background Info: In August of 2007, we began a Bible study on the Book of Acts. We first met in my living room, then moved onto the rooftop deck of Hotel Roxy (where I lived), and most recently we were gathering in an empty restaurant space. One month ago the owner of the restaurant (who graciously offered her space to us for free) gave us a week's notice to move on. Construction had begun and she didn't want the liability. So, we moved back down to my living room as we waited to see what would happen next...

Tilt Coffee Shop opened its doors a month ago and a friend of our community told me about how it was closed on Sundays and that the owner (James) was looking for a ministry like ours to rent their space on Sundays. We met and reached an agreement. The last thing I said to James was, "Man, you're an answer to prayer". To which he enthusiastically replied, "No man, you're an answer to prayer!"

I moved to Castleberry Hill at the beginning of this month, into an old industrial loft. I will be holding an open house soon - FYI, I plan on holding many fellowship events here. Mi casa es su casa! I have made a personal commitment to this neighborhood - at least in the form of a one year lease!

Starting This Sunday, February 10th, we will begin holding our worship gatherings at Tilt Coffee Shop in Castleberry Hills, an arts district near downtown Atlanta. Doors open at 6:45pm and our worship gathering will be from 7pm till 8:30pm.

Every Wednesday night, starting at 6pm, we meet in someone's home and share a meal together and discuss the practical implications of our Sunday "jam-session" (making sure we "practice what we preach").
Next Wednesday, February 20th, we will be meeting at Tom's new loft.

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Following the Way of Jesus Christ

2008-01-02T09:11:00.000-08:00

What does it mean to "follow in the Way of Jesus Christ?" I mean, if we are "saved" by grace then is there anything I can do to grow closer to God? I'm confused, are the liberals right about the need for the church to care for the poor or are the conservatives right about the need for the church to focus on matters of personal faith?

Starting this Sunday, January 6th, from 7pm to 8:30pm The Living Room will be exploring such questions in a series entitled: "Practicing the Way of Jesus: Putting Feet to your Faith".

Check out this post for future comments!

Do You Believe In Santa Claus?

2007-12-18T20:48:00.001-08:00

I love the following site that shares some helpful background info about Saint Nicholas. It has me thinking that Christians should believe in Santa Claus - not in what he's become (a pawn of our consumerist culture) but in what he has meant for centuries of Christ-followers.

What do you think?

What Would Jesus Buy? Your reviews of the movie:

2007-12-06T11:15:00.000-08:00

I would be interested in hearing people's thoughts/reviews of the following movie opening this weekend:

The charismatic Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir take us on a cross-country crusade to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse! Their mission begins on Black Friday, when families bloated from their Thanksgiving turkeys spend the night freezing in mile-long lines to trample each other at early bird sales. Reverend Billy is here to invade the parking lots and temples of commerce, to liberate consumers from their corporate trances. From preaching at the Mall of America, to exorcising the demons from Wal-Mart Headquarters—Reverend Billy takes his gospel to the Promised Land. Changelujah! The Shopocalypse is upon us…Who will be saved? Must-see viewing before you head to the mall. Produced by Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) and directed by Rob VanAlkemade. Official Web Site

It's opening this weekend at Landmark Midtown at the following times:

What Would Jesus Buy?
(1:45 4:25) 7:15 9:35

Please check out Dan's blog about Mary

2007-12-06T07:17:00.001-08:00

This past Sunday night we reflected on Mary's Magnificat found in Luke chapter 2. A member of our community, Dan Ra, has posted a wonderful blog on his reflections. I encourage you to check it here.

Letter to the Empire, by Yaisha Harding:

2007-12-04T11:49:00.000-08:00

Below is a poem that a member of our community, Yaisha Hardin, wrote that reflects upon this past Sunday's Advent jam-session on the Magnificant. I would like to invite others to write and post their own letters/comments to "the Empire".

Dear Empire,

Our kinship harms me.
I am a terrorist and a victim twice over.
I live here. Was born here.
Enjoy the freedom (now a little limited)
of writing this poem.
But I am a part of what is now
the most recognizable Empire in the world.

I went shopping yesterday
did my default duty
of contributing to you,
because I do not know how to construct a couch
or a pair of jeans …

I am not ok.
I am sick with this,
because the people I recognize as my own
may not always see me as I see myself,
in them.

“Do not talk to me of oppression. You are an American.”
Even the Diaspora is fissured.
I am trapped by you,
made impossible to believe.

My family may not accept me
because of you,
somehow the message is not always clear
that I have suffered because of you too.

I have lived in projects,
rode in luxury cars,
been denied a job,
gone to university,
slaughtered in the street by those sent to protect me,
seen my face on tv.

Somehow, all the seconds are not enough.

This morning I had a dream about alligators with snake’s bodies
being led on leashes.
I awoke and HYBRID
was the word
emblazoned above my bed.

“... now they are stuck with hybrids for children. And they don’t like it.
... They think we do it on purpose so it offends them. And I don’t know
what to do about it, Tambu, really I don’t. I can’t help having been
there and grown into the me that has been there.”
- Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions

Yaisha C. Harding, 2006

New Beginnings

2007-11-30T18:55:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving, taking my kids and visiting my parents in Tennessee. If you're on Facebook then you can check out some new photos from my trip. So, this past Sunday night The Living Room finished up its study/jam session on the Book of Acts. For the past three months we have been studying the first thirteen chapters of the Book of Acts. We learned so much about how the early church came into being by power of the Holy Spirit made known to us through God's Son. I want to thank everyone who came and was apart of the gestation phase of our development as a new community of faith. We've come a long way, baby!

What's next...starting this Sunday night our gatherings will "look and feel" more like worship - we will sing original worship music, continue our biblical jam-session, and have communion. Here's some details:

This Sunday is the beginning of Advent, a time of preparation for the arrival of the birth of Jesus the Christ. The theme for our Advent season is Advent Conspiracy: Restoring the Scandal of Christmas by Worshiping Jesus through Compassion, not Consumption. This Sunday, December 2nd, we will jam on Luke 1:46-56 - known as the Magnificat, or Mary's song. We will restore the scandal of Christmas by meditating on Mary's song that includes such lyrics as, "(God) lifted up the lowly; he filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty." Hmmm...

This Sunday, Dan Ra will be leading us in music. For those who weren't able to be with us two weeks ago, all I can say is that you won't want to miss hearing Dan's unique composition of worship music! Borrowing a concept taken from classical music, his contemplative style is reminiscent of what's being called "Holy Minimalism" - check it out:

click here to read a post from Dan's blog.

I want to major props to Haddon Givens Kime for putting together this wonderful web/blog site for The Living Room. Now it's your turn to add your two-cents... The "comments" button is below.

Troy's Convo on Emergent

2007-11-28T14:02:00.000-08:00

This is from my good friend, Rev Troy Bronsink, on the topic of Emergent. This is from last Sunday's Sunday School class at Trinity Presbyterian in Atlanta, Georgia. Rev. Katie Givens Kime is the moderator of the conversation. Good stuff!

Press the play button above to listen to this episode

Download Mp3

Octane First Post!

2007-11-28T13:54:00.000-08:00

Heya everyone, Haddon and I are at Octane and we just started us a website! Praise the Looooord!