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.: BLOG ARCHIVES :.
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Derek and Amy are still going through with it - the wedding next week, that is. They are trying to contact their parents to let them know. The readers of this blog do not think it is as crazy as I do. Por exemplo:
Yesterday, From Rebecca
"I'm sure you get tons of email, but here's one more.
Your tallskinnykiwi is a breath of fresh air here in the Bible Belt, though we will soon be relocating to Montana.
Ten months ago my husband and I did something like what Derek and Amy are planning. We gathered with 250 of our church and genetic families in a big rock barn at sunset. A local band led in worship, people ate and drank, we got married, and God showed up. We weren't just celebrating our new lives together; we were celebrating the love of our families, of our friends, of God, and the incredible oneness he granted us. All of that was to say, I think Derek and Amy have exactly the right idea."
Andrew Jones at 1:52 AM
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Tuesday, June 18, 2002 |
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I have a big announcement regarding our Epicentrum event next week which is getting more and more interesting. Derek Chapman, who is leading it with Amy McDonald, is thinking of a wedding theme to the event and wants to actually marry Amy during the event. I will let him explain:
DEREK - "Well it is less of a sort of theme orientation and more of a living symbolic event taking place ironically within a sort of church happening. Ok, I mean that Amy and I are getting hitched as an ironic participation in this...ok hell, I mean God wants to make us a living portent..like David you know like when we ARE the tabernacle not like talking about it...so come and make our wedding with God and us."
Thanks Derek - you are crazy!!! but we love you. WHat does Amy think?
AMY - "We think it would be perfect and fun to actually have a "ceremony" where we celebrated unity and oneness--which is what this season is all about, right? And a ceremony where we were actually participating in a kingdom event--bringing bride and bridegroom, Bride and Bridegroom together. Personally, because Derek and I are artists, we would love nothing better if we were able to get married in the presence of others who loved making creative spaces for Him to enter as fully as He wishes. And also we wanted to get married in the context of community, and this is one of the rare times--or only times--when many of the people we care about and will pilgrimage with in our lives--will be present. So come and build our kingdom space together."
Andrew Jones at 5:46 AM
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The Blogger’s Prayer 1.0
by Andrew Jones
Our Father
who lives above and beyond the dimension of the internet
Give us this day a life worth blogging,
The access to words and images that express our journey with passion and integrity,
And a secure connection to publish your daily mercies.
Your Kingdom come into new spaces today,
As we make known your mysteries,
Posting by posting,
Blog by blog.
Give this day,
The same ability to those less privileged,
Whose lives speak louder than ours,
Whose sacrifice is greater,
Whose stories will last longer.
Forgive us our sins,
For blog-rolling strangers and pretending they are friends,
For counting unique visitors but not noticing unique people,
For delighting in the thousands of hits but ignoring the one who returns,
For luring viewers but sending them away empty handed,
For updating daily but repenting weekly.
As we forgive those who trespass on our sites to appropriate our thoughts without reference,
Our images without approval,
Our ideas without linking back to us.
Lead us not into the temptation to sell out our congregation,
To see people as links and not as lives,
To make our blogs look better than our actual story.
But deliver us from the evil of pimping ourselves instead of pointing to you,
From turning our guests into consumers of someone else’s products,
From infatuation over the toys of technology,
From idolatry over techology
From fame before our time is right.
For Yours is the power to guide the destinies behind the web logs,
To bring hurt people into the sanctuaries of our sites,
To give us the stickiness to follow you, no matter who is watching or reading.
Yours is the glory that makes people second look our sites and our lives,
Yours is the wow-factor,
The heavy ambience,
The shining glory,
For ever and ever,
Amen
Andrew Jones at 12:44 AM
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Tuesday, June 11, 2002 |
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I missed an important missions meeting last week in Texas. Some of the thoughts I sent in (instead of coming) have to do with the missions of the future:
The period of Modern Missions (1890-1990) got off to a bad start. It developed without regard for history or geography. The previous 1700 years of missions was dismissed because it was too Catholic or too Eastern.  Modern missions was influenced by the explorers who were seeking new worlds to conquer, trading companies who were trying to make a profit from other countries, the infatuation of technology and progress that was marking the emerging industrial revolution, and the new “societies” of elite people.
Modern mission structures borrowed from military terminology, corporate culture and global commercialism. But we are living in a post-imperial, post-colonial, post-modern, post-western world in which people dont trust corporate culture and are terrified by terms such as “reaching” and “targeting”. We need a new way of doing missions AND a new way to talk about it.
Do I hear an "Amen"?
COMMENT: From FK of USA
"Andrew, I agree with what you're saying. I also think that, often, we substitute one set of cliches or misguided terminology for another set of equally unfortunate ones."
FK, thanks for your thoughts. A little background would help. What stimulated that thought was a conversation that we were having that day. The team from Lucerne, Switzerland ( a fantastic group of wise and humble men) challenged the new believers in Prague to "take" their city. Many of the Czechs were new believers (one was baptised that night in our bathtub) and had never heard military language used in terms of evangelism before. Obviously it led to some tension.
The spiritual seekers here (and probably everywhere in the post-911 world) dont want to be "won", "taken" or "reached" and it is an insult to tell them they are someone's "target group."
I do not find these terms in the Scriptures used in the same way.
I told the Swiss team that the language of warfare and wrestling (to the death) are appropriate for dealing with evil spirits but when taken into evangelism, it can lead to some nasty miscommunication. Conquest theology from the book of Joshua should not be the source of strategy and vocabulary for our missions.
I suggested to the team from Switzerland that their city had never been "taken" and they did not see the negative ramifications of being captured, abused, raped, stripped of power and dignity, and forced to labor under a foreign entity. Prague has been "taken' many times and each time has left scars and painful memories. The Russians came in with tanks. This is not the mental picture I wanted them to hold as we talk about what God wants us to do in the blessing of this city.
I agree - we need better words. I suggested that "rescuing" is a better word, since the city and its people once belonged to God and we are delivering back to God what should be his.
I also like the anaolgy in the Sleeping Beauty - - that she had a spell put on her by an evil witch and was in a state of sleep. A kiss awoke her to reality and the identity of who she really was. It is the kiss of Christ that awakens the city into consciousness and into its redemptive identity.
I met John Dawson a few years ago. We had a very long and great discussion about cities and nations. He wrote a good and well known book called "Taking Our Cities For God." But a few years later, he wrote another called "Healing America's Wounds" which I felt was more the heartbeat of God and the way to approach cities that have been abused.
A book came out 2 months ago called "The Nations Called" by Pieter Bos. His approach is also one of God wooing the nations and cities back into relationship with him. I like that flavor a whole lot more and feel it could open the door to a new vocabulary that takes us back to Genesis 12:1-12 - that through us, all the families of the earth will be BLESSED.
Andrew Jones at 11:36 PM
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Wednesday, June 05, 2002 |
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 Today I was supposed to be hanging with Fred Ater and friends at the Baptist General Convention of Texas. They are discussing the future of missions overseas and it would have been be fun to think into the future with them. Fred helps to take care of our family while we are traveling and overseas. He is giving us good advice about what to do with our kid's schooling. Fred Rocks. May his tribe increase.
I sent my thoughts to the Baptists about how I see the future of missions. Here are some of them:
Modern Missions got off to a bad start - it was influenced by the explorers who were seeking new worlds to conquer, trading companies who were trying to make a profit from other countries, the infatuation of technology and progress that was marking the
emerging industrial revolution, and the new "societies" of elite people.
Today, mission structures often borrow from military terminology, corporate culture and global commercialism. But we are living in a post-imperial, post-colonial, post-modern, post-western world in which people dont trust corporate culture and are terrified by terms such as “reaching” and “targeting”. We need a new way of doing missions AND a new way to talk about it.
Andrew Jones at 9:54 PM
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We are having a great time with all the people rocking up for the conference. 20 artists yesterday in our living room being silling and planning the event. A few minutes ago Bryce Wagner arrived with his team from Switzerland. We went to bed at 1am last night to the sound of young people singing, body sore from go-cart racing.
Today I am hanging with 
Mark, of 
Great thunderstorm in Prague last night. We now have 6 of the original artists here from last years Epicenter event that took place in Austin, Texas. I'm talking about Derek and Amy, myself, and 3 girls from UK (Kate, Jen and Mary). More are coming. 
There are 
For all those lucky people coming to visit me next week in Prague for Inspiration Bohemia . . .and you really are lucky . .. here is a 
There are about 17 people from England coming to Inspiration Bohemia next week in Prague. If you are one of them, then please do me a favor? Video tape me an episode of "The Royals" and bring me a copy. Thanks.
Why are all the Christian bloggers quoting Thomas Merton this week? Beats me . . but I dont want to be left out. I stole this quote off 
We have called our house the "The Giant Peach". We had a huge number of people this weekend come to hear the wise men from Switzerland. On Friday night, when everyone had gone home (most left at midnight) there were still 18 people that stayed over in our house. We prayed a lot and talked. We prayed over the city of Prague, breaking the spell of intimidation and fear over the people, announcing God's good intentions for the city. Chris said it is presently the most open city to the gospel in all of Europe. Very encouraging to hear that. We feel that this weekend was a turning point for Prague and we expect great things to happen in the near future. Psalm 62 was read over the city which summed up God's heart and intentions.
Our house is full of interesting people. 
Chris Daza from Malawi is here with three wise men of prayer from Switzerland. They are doing some teaching sessions in our house which is now called the Giant Peach. Last night we had about 20 people here and it felt really good to see the house used. Chris used to be the MIssions pastor for a church of 100,000 people in Malawi. Thats a pretty big church. Now he works out of Germany.
