U2, the greatest band on Planet Earth (to say it mildly) is coming to America in September. I've got my tickets to one of the shows in Toronto. This is my thirtieth birthday present from KG (who celebrated 26 yesterday--happy birthday . . . you truly are the source of joy in my life). The person who got me hooked on U2, Greg Stevenson, wrote a great couple of blogs about their music. Check them out here.
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If you have not seen The Soloist, I highly recommend it. Cut from the same cloth as Same Kind of Different as Me, The Soloist gets beyond stereo-type and cliche and into the complexity of friendship, mental illness (as in, who really has it), poverty, and homelessness. Warning: this film is not for the faint of heart. There are major portions of the film which chronicle life on Skid Row in downtown L.A. I was both moved and paralyzed by the raw feel to the film. It also brought me back to my experiences with Francis, Professor Jack, et al in Cass Park a few years back.
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If you are interested in reading a blog written by a sold-out follower of Jesus who is willing to take risks in the city, read Doug's blog. Doug and I will be teammates this fall when we join the larger mission of the Otter Creek Church in Nashville.
Please wait one moment . . .
About the Book (The Feast)
About Me
- Josh Graves
- Nashville, TN, United States
- I'm the best friend of Kara, father of Lucas, minister, author (The Feast), life-long Piston fan . . . I am the Preaching and Teaching Minister for the Otter Creek Church (Nashville) and I am working on a doctorate degree (second year) at Columbia Seminary studying the relationship of postmodernism and Christianity.
Some of Josh's Published Work (essays, books, articles, reviews)
Links
- Barbara Brown Taylor
- Brian D. McLaren
- Bronx Fellowship of Christ
- Chris Lindsey
- Columbia Seminary
- Donald Miller
- Doug Sanders
- Dry Bones--Denver
- Duke Chapel
- Focus: HOPE
- Greg Boyd
- Greg Stevenson
- Greg Taylor
- Jason Steckel
- Jesus Creed
- Jinja Mission Team
- John Mark Hicks
- John York
- Jonathan Storment
- Josh Ross
- Kara Graves (My wife and best friend)
- Kibo Group
- Larry James Urban Daily
- Lauren Winner
- Lee Camp
- Luke Norsworthy
- Mark and Lori Manry
- Mark Love (Missional Church)
- Mike Cope
- My Twitter Page
- New Wineskins Magazine
- Otter Creek Church
- Patrick Mead
- Randy Speck
- Rochester Church
- Rochester College
- Rubel Shelly
- Sean Palmer
- Stockman Family
- The One Campaign
- TOKENS (Lee Camp and the Arts)
- Wade Hodges
- Walter Surdacki
- Will Willimon
Blog Archive
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2009
(125)
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May
(15)
- Endorsements for The Feast
- The Feast: Introduction
- A Theology of Celebration
- Gone Baby Gone
- Three Excerpts
- Insert Foot Into Mouth with Caution
- Random
- There's a Baby in the House
- Abba Sings
- Beauty
- The Table
- My Boy
- The Amended Birthing Plan
- The Graves Family and Otter Creek
- Slumdog Dishin' Out Theology
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May
(15)
6 comments:
Josh, I have read “the soloist” and am looking forward to seeing the movie. I remember while reading the book one of the words that kept creeping up on me “investing.” Steve Lopez invested in Nathaniel! Invested, money, energies, but perhaps more importantly, time. Although the term “Christ-like” may not have been mentioned verbally, the behavior shines through the entire story.
Questions I pondered after reading the book:
What if we were all more concerned with “mankind investments,” than we are with economical investments?
What if we were more concerned with what’s at the bottom of the ladder than what’s at the top of the ladder?
Josh,
Looking forward to seeing the movie soon...
Phil,
I see where you're coming from... though, the idea of investing in people, though we often use such language, makes me think we might focus too much on getting a "return" on the investment (as opposed to the sentiment of Jesus to give and not expect or seek to be repaid). Thoughts?
Lance,
I can see how the investment language can communicate what you are saying. I guess I was thinking in more of the terms of the kingdom arena. We as citizens in the kingdom invest in others in hopes that the return will be kingdom advancement, not necessarily personal gain. In other words the kingdom of God and our King reap the return not us. Does that make sense?
Also, I would question the notion of Jesus not expecting a return. He did turn away some who seemed to not be cut out for the job... If Jesus does not have expectations (or expect some sort of return) then who standards are we striving for?
Good conversation Lance; blessings to you brother.
Sorry I'm late to your question.
Investing in people takes time, prayer, patience, confrontation/challenge (something that does not happen in our church climate these days), and openness to being changed (that is, I have to be willing to change).
That makes a lot of sense in light of Jesus' investment in people not fish.
JG
The problem, as Lance points out, is that we use economic lenses to make sense and maintain friendship.
It's a subtle but powerful force. I think Gail O'Day's stuff on friendship in the Gospel of John is about the best remedy I'm aware of. She teaches at Emory, wrote an essay in the Chalice book on "Preaching the World Imagined in John."
Thanks to both (Josh and Phil) for your comments. Josh did hit my thinking in my original post (economic lenses...), but I definitely agree that Jesus does expect a return (parable of the soils seems to relate) and I like how you both have spoken about kingdom returns and the rarity of healthy investment.
Good stuff! Haven't read Gail O'Day's stuff, either, but look forward to checking that out, too.
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