parables of a prodigal world

On the eve of New Year's Eve (or New Year's Eve Eve, if you prefer), I made a few predictions about Emergent/Missional/Post-Evangelical in 2009 and asked my readers to vote on the likelihood of each one (oh, BTW, I've finally decided to use "Missional" rather than "Emergent/Missional/Post-Evangelical" in '09; even though I like the inclusivity of the latter term, and I'm gonna have to go back and re-arrange some Tags, etc., I was starting to come down with a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome, so something had to give). Thanks to everyone who utterly wasted a minute or two of their life to participate. Well, the results are in!!!! So without further ado, in order of ascending likelihood... And, the Emergent/Missional/Post-Evangelical (last time, I promise) prediction for 2009 most likely to actually occur, according to you..... Now all we can do is wait and see. Grace and Peace, Raffi ...and if you enjoyed this post, then please consider subsc...

The best idea to come down the pipes of the Emergent/Missional/Post-Evangelical community in quite some time. That's right, it's the Missional Facebook, also known as Missional Tribe . As far as I'm aware, it's the first social networking site specifically for the Emergent/Missional/Post-Evangelical set. Wanna connect with the likes of Brother Maynard (of Subversive Influence fame), Andrew Jones (of Tall Skinny Kiwi fame), Frank Viola (of Pagan Christianity and Reimagining Church fame), Jonathan Brink (of Missio Dei fame), Kathy Escobar (of the carnival in my head fame), Steve Knight (of Emergent Village fame), Kingdom Grace (of, well, Kingdom Grace fame) and, of course, yours truly ? Wanna be part of an online community that's not primarily about high-tech gossip, but rather, … offers a collaborative space to connect people and generate an accepting, supportive community that intentionally seeks for diversity. … fosters dialogue in a respectful envir...

According to Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History , the apostle Peter requested that he be crucified upside-down because he was "unworthy to die in the same manner as my Lord." Whether the story is historical or not (the fact that Peter was executed in Rome is historical), the moral of the story is clear: even if you are crucified for Jesus, you will never be crucified like Jesus. You could choose to live for Jesus. You will never live like Jesus. Ed Dobson, former pastor and vice president of spiritual formation at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Mich., just spent a year of his life living as Jesus did . No, he didn't. Having read through the four Gospels each week during his 52-week Jesus-imitation-quest, it seems that Dobson never got what those amazing books were trying to say. The issue is not whether Jesus would have voted for Obama (as Dobson did, because that's who Jesus would have voted for), or whether He would have voted at all, or whether Dobson...

One of my 10 Emergent/Missional/Post-Evangelical predictions for '09 was that N.T. Wright would release the 4th volume in his Christian Origins and the Question of God series (and Trevin Wax would review the hell out of it). Well, leave it to Bishop Wright to hit us with a surprise early in '09. Although, given the speed with which he cranks out brilliant book after brilliant book (it's been said that he can write faster than you and I can read), it shouldn't have come as that big a surprise. Next month in the UK, and in July is the US, N.T. Wright strikes back at his critics with Justification: God's Plan and Paul's Vision . As I demonstrated in '08 in my first installment of the Surprised by Hope Pirate Review Series , I'm not one to let pesky international treaties and patriotic bishops stand in my way. So I'll be getting my copy from Amazon.uk (in February). I smell another Pirate Review series in the horizon. From what I understand, this boo...