Why I Love Chipotle

Welcome to the new blog

I finally bit the bullet (not really sure what that means) and set up my own blog install hosted by the good people at Loud Sign.  I think I’ve successfully imported all my own posts, though I think I’ve lost some of the comments.  Theoretically I have all my posts from 2003 to date.

Twitter Me This.

I Twitter.  The problem is I’ve become overwhelmed by the other Twitters.  I set up this auto-f0llow thing and ended up following way too many people.  I could go through and unfollow a bunch of folks, but that would be too much work.

Instead I’m going to attempt a play on Follow Friday.  Each Friday I will pick 5 Twitters that I follow and tweet them under the #FollowFriday meme.  Additionally, I’ll follow them via mobile updates to my phone.  I’ll just follow those 5 for one week on my phone, then pick 5 others.

My hope is that 5 Twitterers to my phone won’t be too overwhelming (kinda like mini-meme management).  Additionally, this could serve up interesting or unexpected creative occurrences – stuff I would miss otherwise and may lead to new relationships, connections, or Spirit-induced goodness.

This week my 5 are:

• Kevin Savage
• Kevin Burney
• DG Hollums
• Kevin Rains
• Kieth Daniel

Over it.

I have completed my second to last seminary course.  Yeah for me!  So good to have that over and done with.  It was a good course, excellent in many ways, and I appreciate the opportunity to learn and explore, but mainly, I’m just happy to be done.  I noted, probably 6-7 weeks ago, that the weekly homework assignments (which I fell behind on) felt like low-level, constant stress.  It produced non insignificant amounts of anxiety.  I’m very glad that is over.

Now that that course is behind me I’m looking forward to what is next.  I’m very excited about the next – and LAST – class I’ll be taking at Fuller.  The course is ML500 Teamwork and Leadership with Shelley Trebesch.  I’m headed to Pasadena for two weeks in January for the course.  Looking forward to hanging out with some of our Pasadena friends and being on campus for my last class will be wonderful.  I’m bummed, however, that I’ll be there sans family.  And I know they are bummed too.

Between now and when I head West I’m pondering what is on my plate.  This Fall my focus was mainly split between my seminary course and campus ministry at NKU.  Of course, that doesn’t include the day-to-day life management of our family and myself.  It has been a good, but full, semester.  Now that the semester has come to a close and Christmas shopping is almost done, I’m taking stock of things both big and small.  No big revelations or realizations.  Just life.  Very blessed to be surrounded by those who love and care for me.  Incredibly grateful for an opportunity to begin and experiment with a new ministry at NKU.  Excited for this new year ahead of us…. new baby, new gardens, and many new adventures.

I am realizing that I am overwhelmed by the administrative demands of ministry and our household.  Not sure what to do about it, but it just is.  I’m hoping that this new year brings some systemic changes that make for easier management (not of people, but stuff, money, etc…).  I’ve never felt like I’ve needed an Administrative Assistant, but right now I really wish I had one.

United Methodist Campus Ministry

I’m at the Kentucky Conference of United Methodist Church HQ for an all day meeting of Bishop’s Task Force on Campus Ministry.

We’re talking about Vision, Successes, Challenges, and Recommendations.

As United Methodists we live by the Book of Discipline, the governing document of the denomination.  There is a section (about 6 pages worth) on campus/collegiate/higher education ministry.  I’m not sure if I’m allowed to do this, but I’m posting a PDF of this section.  There is a lot there, so I doubt any/many of you will read this whole document, but if you get a chance to skim it – I would love to know your thoughts, impressions, and reactions.

Here it is - The Book of Discipline 2008 – Part V – Organization and Administration – Chapter Four – The Conferences – Section IX. The Annual Conference – Other Conference Agencies - ¶ 634. Conference Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry

non-linear, emergent, participatory, ambient music

Via Crucis :: Immersion 2008 flyer

Well, I’ll admit it.  I’m procrastinating.  I should be writing a seminary paper on podcasting.  But at the moment I’m pondering more about non-linear, emergent, participatory, ambient music.

Yeah, I know.  You were thinking the exact. same. thing!

Specifically, I’m looking forward to Via Crucis :: Immerison 2010 that we’ll be creating this Spring. (if you want to play, let me know)  Every year we’ve had some kind of opening night event.  In 2006, Aradhna played a beautiful concert in the round.  In 2008, Isaac Karns (of the Pomegranates) conducted an ensemble of brilliant musicians who created a fantastic musical happening (I’ll repost the mp3s that we recorded soon).  In 2010, I’d love to push the envelope a bit further and create music together as a gathered body – but do it in a non-linear, emergent, participatory, ambient way.  I’ll attempt to delineate deliberately in reverse:

music

- It matters.  As much as worship isn’t only music – a helpful corrective from folks like Lilly Lewin – music remains a powerful and visceral way we connect with God, the world around us (in a sonic, vibration sorta way), and one another.  There is something about music that quite literally rings in our ears and penetrates to the heart.

ambient

- I’m thinking here of the musical genre, which our friend Wikipedia defines thusly:

Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an “atmospheric”, “visual” or “unobtrusive” quality.

As such, this would be building on the work and thought of Brian Eno.  Deep resonances and earthy electronica that evoke (and perhaps, provoke) more than they instruct, lead, or demand.  Allowing the space between to be attended to as much, if not more, than the actual notes, sounds, or chords.

participatory

- One of the bones to pick with typical “worship music” – be that “traditional” (hymns, organs, choirs) or “contemporary” (bands, guitars, drums) is how non-participatory it actually is.  In both cases we watch the professionals/experts on the stage conduct us to minimally participate at the lowest common denominator.  Sure, we may sing – or some do – but that’s it.  Deciding what we sing, when we sing, how we sing and the notes to which we sing – that’s the expert’s job.  So, what if Via Crucis :: Immersion was a deeply participatory event?  Not just those who create the stations and engage the stations – but what if the music that is generated on opening night is fully participatory.  What if what existed that night would not exist if not for each person gathered – not merely in the spiritual presence sense – but in the actual live creation of music.  I’m thinking here of an Aural Event – that resonates from our the soles of our shoes to souls of our brains.  Sort of like a musical wiki.

emergent

- Imagine an aural event of ambient music created together by active, live participation that EMERGES out of a set of simple rules that everyone follows.  I’m thinking here of the complex behavior of ant colonies or bee hives.  All created by leaderless systems of autonomous individuals following specific behavioral codes.  This music would be birthed out of people following a simple set of guidelines.  Nothing pre-ordained, no sheet music, no conductor.  Rather when the gathered assemble we would instruct them of 3 rules about how, what, and when they can play (this might be vocal or instrumental) – out of this social matrix (something that is intentional and crafted) the musical aural event would emerge.  Think fractals.  See also emergence on Wikipedia.

non-linear

- This would not be a 1, 2, 3 process.  Sure, the Stations of the Cross are linear – they follow a path that leads from point A (Jesus’ condemnation) to point B (Jesus in the tomb).  And the music event would have a beginning and an end (though you could debate that to an extent).  But within the (parenthetical) confines of the Aural Event the music would follow it’s own path – not one that we predetermined.  It would be the Worship Music equivalent of a Spirit-led walk in the woods.

So, what do you think?  How could we pull this off?  What would we need to pull this off?