by Jason Joyner | Jun 5, 2012 | Blog, Christian life, Jesus, Mission Monday, missional, Outreach Saga
Life is interesting, and you never know when you’re going to hit a curve in the road.
Through a series of strange and unusual events, my family and some dear friends have found ourselves not associated with any organized church. My wife and I had been in a situation where we were between churches before, but we left a church that was getting off in theology and practice and it took us a while to find our last church home. This circumstance is different though.
The cool thing is God is using this circumstance to allow us to experiment and try doing church or the Christian life a new way. The friends that are with us are all mature believers, who have walked with us for a while. We know each other well and have been through the normal ups and downs of church life together. We’ve had a heart to reach out to our community for a while, and have done some things to reach out in the past.
Now that we’re not tied to an organized church and don’t have to hold to a certain set of expectations, we’ve been praying and decided to use this season, however long it may be, to try something different. Perhaps it is radical. Maybe it is more of what we should be doing all along.
Our little group is going to spend Sunday mornings trying to reach out to people who aren’t in church. We’re going to meet in a neighborhood park, invite the people around, and have a time of sharing Jesus with whomever comes. We’re trying to make it relatable with stories and testimonies and just spending time with them. If it is relationship building we want to do that, but if it is straight evangelism we’ll do that. Ultimately, we’re going to try to do whatever the Lord speaks to us about doing.
We have friends watching out for us, so we’re not being lone rangers. We are taking time together to study the Word, pray, and worship as we’re lead. We may not have much worldly success, but we realize you don’t change the world, or change your city, without taking risks.
We’re not mad at church and we bless all our friends who serve faithfully there. It seems at this time that the Lord has something else for us.
If you are so inclined, I would certainly appreciate your prayers. Our group (working on a name!) wants to see Jesus lifted up in our community, and we’re trying to be willing to whatever comes up in front of us. If you have questions, let me know and I’d be glad to answer them the best I can. As this seems to fit the theme of “Mission Monday” rather well, I’ll post about our adventures from time to time.
For now, it is a new day!
—
by Jason Joyner | Jun 5, 2012 | Blog, Christian life, Jesus, Mission Monday, missional, Outreach Saga
Life is interesting, and you never know when you’re going to hit a curve in the road.
Through a series of strange and unusual events, my family and some dear friends have found ourselves not associated with any organized church. My wife and I had been in a situation where we were between churches before, but we left a church that was getting off in theology and practice and it took us a while to find our last church home. This circumstance is different though.
The cool thing is God is using this circumstance to allow us to experiment and try doing church or the Christian life a new way. The friends that are with us are all mature believers, who have walked with us for a while. We know each other well and have been through the normal ups and downs of church life together. We’ve had a heart to reach out to our community for a while, and have done some things to reach out in the past.
Now that we’re not tied to an organized church and don’t have to hold to a certain set of expectations, we’ve been praying and decided to use this season, however long it may be, to try something different. Perhaps it is radical. Maybe it is more of what we should be doing all along.
Our little group is going to spend Sunday mornings trying to reach out to people who aren’t in church. We’re going to meet in a neighborhood park, invite the people around, and have a time of sharing Jesus with whomever comes. We’re trying to make it relatable with stories and testimonies and just spending time with them. If it is relationship building we want to do that, but if it is straight evangelism we’ll do that. Ultimately, we’re going to try to do whatever the Lord speaks to us about doing.
We have friends watching out for us, so we’re not being lone rangers. We are taking time together to study the Word, pray, and worship as we’re lead. We may not have much worldly success, but we realize you don’t change the world, or change your city, without taking risks.
We’re not mad at church and we bless all our friends who serve faithfully there. It seems at this time that the Lord has something else for us.
If you are so inclined, I would certainly appreciate your prayers. Our group (working on a name!) wants to see Jesus lifted up in our community, and we’re trying to be willing to whatever comes up in front of us. If you have questions, let me know and I’d be glad to answer them the best I can. As this seems to fit the theme of “Mission Monday” rather well, I’ll post about our adventures from time to time.
For now, it is a new day!
—
by Jason Joyner | May 30, 2012 | Blog, May-hem, motivational tricks, Writing Wednesday
Welcome back.
I’m talking to me, not you. Sorry if that confused you.
(Not to be rude – I’m glad you’re here too!)
It has be a crazy month, with a major event that basically sucked up a lot of time, emotion, and mental energy. Thus the blogging has been a low priority. The writing has been a little lower.
So what do I do if I have a major interruption to my projects?
I usually take months to get back to it.
This isn’t the recommended method, so I’m trying to discard it today. I don’t have a lot of good advice for this, except to say that I don’t want my writing to be another casualty of the month of May-hem. (Couldn’t. Resist. Pun.)
Even though I don’t have a witty piece of advice or a fantastic writing story, I’m at the keyboard. I’m getting something out there. Thank you for your indulgence as I get back on track. The first step to getting back?
Writing.
At least that part isn’t rocket science.
—
by Jason Joyner | May 30, 2012 | Blog, May-hem, motivational tricks, Writing Wednesday
Welcome back.
I’m talking to me, not you. Sorry if that confused you.
(Not to be rude – I’m glad you’re here too!)
It has be a crazy month, with a major event that basically sucked up a lot of time, emotion, and mental energy. Thus the blogging has been a low priority. The writing has been a little lower.
So what do I do if I have a major interruption to my projects?
I usually take months to get back to it.
This isn’t the recommended method, so I’m trying to discard it today. I don’t have a lot of good advice for this, except to say that I don’t want my writing to be another casualty of the month of May-hem. (Couldn’t. Resist. Pun.)
Even though I don’t have a witty piece of advice or a fantastic writing story, I’m at the keyboard. I’m getting something out there. Thank you for your indulgence as I get back on track. The first step to getting back?
Writing.
At least that part isn’t rocket science.
—
by Jason Joyner | May 23, 2012 | Beckon, Blog, CSFF, ideas, Tom Pawlik
Yesterday I gave my review of the CSFF Tour May feature – Beckon by Tom Pawlik. Today I wanted to discuss some of the ideas behind the book. This will necessarily feature…
|
| SPOILERS! |
You’ve been warned.
The town of Beckon is founded at the entrance to a series of caves, where a pre-Columbian tribe lives underground and undiscovered. The tribe lives extraordinarily long lives because of a special compound called perillium that is produced by a nest of freaky cave spiders. The tribe offers human sacrifice to the queen of the spiders, and in turn they get access to spider gunk that keeps them alive. The villain Vale found these caves in the 1800’s and has a deal with the tribe to keep outsiders away in exchange for a fountain of youth.
The only problem – the people of Beckon will die a horrible death if they go a day without perillium. Vale uses this to control the people he’s lured there, but he is a prisoner of the tribe himself.
This sets up an interesting moral dilemma for the characters. The book is broken into four acts, with the first three acts introducing someone who stumbles upon Beckon, and the final act is the resolution of all of their stories. The third story focused on George, a businessman in his 70’s who would like to retire and enjoy his wealth. However, his barren wife Miriam has contracted Alzheimer’s, and isn’t really there anymore. When George is offered a chance to heal her in Beckon, he jumps at it.
Miriam’s dementia is not only reversed, but she de-ages to her 20’s. Old George can’t keep up with his frisky young-again bride. However, when Miriam learns the cost of her treatment (they can’t leave Beckon, and people are sacrificed), she denies further treatment. Her faith helps her not fear death, but George is pushed to the edge by Vale. A long-time member of Beckon, Amanda, has developed reservations about what they do. Her perillium is withheld by Vale as a warning to George. George can choose to save Amanda’s life or keep Miriam healthy and alive, as there isn’t enough room for both women. George allows Amanda to die for Miriam’s sake.
Even though Beckon wasn’t my favorite book, I enjoyed the crucible he puts George and Miriam in, and the thought of “what would YOU do for health or life” that is presented to the reader. Beckon isn’t mindless entertainment, and I really like that (I think I would’ve liked Beckon a lot if it engaged me sooner). Pawlik sets up an intriguing choice in the town of Beckon, and I like how George isn’t perfect. He is a good guy overall, but he can be pushed to a horrible choice when he lets Amanda die. It is a major test to sacrifice his wife for a stranger. The bold plot point and the implications it leaves for the reader is a major strong point for this book.
What do you think? How far should we go as a society for health and vitality?
There are other opinions of Beckon out in the rest of the CSFF Tour. Becky Miller keeps an updated list of tour posts here. Be sure to check them out as well.
—
by Jason Joyner | May 23, 2012 | Beckon, Blog, CSFF, ideas, Tom Pawlik
Yesterday I gave my review of the CSFF Tour May feature – Beckon by Tom Pawlik. Today I wanted to discuss some of the ideas behind the book. This will necessarily feature…
|
| SPOILERS! |
You’ve been warned.
The town of Beckon is founded at the entrance to a series of caves, where a pre-Columbian tribe lives underground and undiscovered. The tribe lives extraordinarily long lives because of a special compound called perillium that is produced by a nest of freaky cave spiders. The tribe offers human sacrifice to the queen of the spiders, and in turn they get access to spider gunk that keeps them alive. The villain Vale found these caves in the 1800’s and has a deal with the tribe to keep outsiders away in exchange for a fountain of youth.
The only problem – the people of Beckon will die a horrible death if they go a day without perillium. Vale uses this to control the people he’s lured there, but he is a prisoner of the tribe himself.
This sets up an interesting moral dilemma for the characters. The book is broken into four acts, with the first three acts introducing someone who stumbles upon Beckon, and the final act is the resolution of all of their stories. The third story focused on George, a businessman in his 70’s who would like to retire and enjoy his wealth. However, his barren wife Miriam has contracted Alzheimer’s, and isn’t really there anymore. When George is offered a chance to heal her in Beckon, he jumps at it.
Miriam’s dementia is not only reversed, but she de-ages to her 20’s. Old George can’t keep up with his frisky young-again bride. However, when Miriam learns the cost of her treatment (they can’t leave Beckon, and people are sacrificed), she denies further treatment. Her faith helps her not fear death, but George is pushed to the edge by Vale. A long-time member of Beckon, Amanda, has developed reservations about what they do. Her perillium is withheld by Vale as a warning to George. George can choose to save Amanda’s life or keep Miriam healthy and alive, as there isn’t enough room for both women. George allows Amanda to die for Miriam’s sake.
Even though Beckon wasn’t my favorite book, I enjoyed the crucible he puts George and Miriam in, and the thought of “what would YOU do for health or life” that is presented to the reader. Beckon isn’t mindless entertainment, and I really like that (I think I would’ve liked Beckon a lot if it engaged me sooner). Pawlik sets up an intriguing choice in the town of Beckon, and I like how George isn’t perfect. He is a good guy overall, but he can be pushed to a horrible choice when he lets Amanda die. It is a major test to sacrifice his wife for a stranger. The bold plot point and the implications it leaves for the reader is a major strong point for this book.
What do you think? How far should we go as a society for health and vitality?
There are other opinions of Beckon out in the rest of the CSFF Tour. Becky Miller keeps an updated list of tour posts here. Be sure to check them out as well.
—
