theo|digital

I-Life in Champaign has posted the audio for my talk (mp3 -10.5MB) on 5 April in their New Heart series. Like usual with me talking, you miss a bit because we had almost 50 photos, but you can still follow the stories, and why I think Kingdom hearts are to be subversive.

2008 hit fast, and I got so caught up in politics blogging, that I never said more about Ignite 2007. While there, I taught a breakout workshop entitled “What is the Emerging Church?” If you missed it, you can download audio directly , or visit www.igniteconference.info to listen there.

The seminar was my first hack at short description of the post-evangelical theological and mission conversation I’ve been trying to follow for almost eight years – (before anyone was using the word “emerging/emergent church” – a term that’s only five years old!). My audience was members of GCM churches who have heard the term “emerging church,” and maybe have read an associated book, but find themselves wanting to know more or wonder what it might mean. (ps – yep, the photo isn’t me… didn’t get a photo of me talking. It’s my friend Jon Dillow, who was teaching simultaneously down the hall at the conference center).

Meanwhile, a blogger I was previously unfamiliar with, C. Michael Patton, has a series of posts on the same topic (what is the emerging church?) that are getting attention – mostly because of a chart he drew that makes it look like is calling writers like Tony Jones a heretic. Reading him carefully though, I think he’s distinguishing between heterodox and heretic. In general, this chart is really interesting to spark discussion. And he has follow-up posts p2 (orthodoxy), p3 (definition), p4 (fundamentalism, evangelical), and p5 (emerging streams). Scot McKnight also noticed it.

My comments? For one, adjustments: I think Brian McClaren should be slid more outward, Erwin slid more center, and Tony Jones brought in a tad as well. And second, I still tend to view separation of “emerging” and “emergent” as somewhat artificial – in practice they’re still used interchangeably. At best, they’re confusing.

Maybe more later.

The audio of my talk “Why I Want Sex” [mp3; 8.9mb] has been posted at the Illini Life website. Unfortunately the first five or so minutes seem to be cut off, so I’m posting the opening text here. The audio picks up where this leaves off. Enjoy.

I’ve decided to start writing an advice column.

I want to use a pseudonym. Something that sorta sounds like me, but isn’t my real name. And one of those photos that’s more of a silhouette allows you to determine that I’m a male, but not much else.

Did you know that Dear Abby and Ann Landers were twin sisters? Yep. And they were probably the best known newspaper columnists in the world when our parents were in high school. The competing advice duo grew up as best friends, but became almost enemies after their columns became syndicated in newspapers across the US – no paper carrying both at any given time. Ann Landers wrote for the Chicago Trib, and if you head up to the city, you can see her honorary street sign in front of the Trib tower on Michigan Ave, just north of the river.

How do I know this stuff?

Tonight’s topic is Sex. It’s embarrassing to talk about unless you’re Dr. Drew or you’re reading on the internet about it, and I felt SNG would be too intimate a setting to discuss this together. So in the interest of putting more distance between you and me, I thought that answering your written questions to:

Ask Christoph, PO Box 7101 Champaign, IL 61825

would be the way to go.

And fortunately, I have a number of letters that I, uh, you wrote. So let’s look at a few, shall we?

Dear Christoph,
Sex is always on my mind. I want it with somebody. Is this normal?
Aroused in Arizona.

Whoa. Okay, who thinks tonight might feel a bit awkward?

Let’s see if we can ease into it a little bit more – that’s not really using the stairs in the wading area – that’s pretty much the cannonball into the deep end. Let’s see.

Dear Christoph,
I’m uncomfortable with the idea that we’re talking about sex, and also that a number of things – including laughter or church – might associated with the topic. I’ve included a verse-of-the-day for you to read aloud, and I hope you’ll look into my full line of Christian vitamin products that I’m now selling at Spiritually Healthy Supplements.com.
Holy in Houston.

-> download audio [mp3 8.9mb]

This is the recorded audio from my last talk at I-Life’s Saturday Night Grace entitled: Why iWorship iPhone (mp3/9.1megs). It’s part of the series Ty and I have been working on called Why I Wear Clothes – how Adam and Eve happens in our daily lives. Feel free to check out the other related talks at www.illinilife.org/study

ps – If you weren’t there live, you could probably better start about at 0:06 minutes in (my mic wasn’t on before that and then there was a poor five minute recovery, and then I demonstrate the Nintendo Wii all onscreen… just not quality audio really).

Lots of stuff really happening in my life, but while we wait for me to figure out what’s important enough to post about, I’ll be glad to share this remarkable demo from a university audio-visual research group in Barcelona, Spain. Just the interface alone is fascinating.

Possibly my favorite form of media is my podcasts (snottier way to say it: “new audio”). Here is what I’m currently listening to (in iTunes alphabetical order), including links to each! (click the pic):

Garrison’s Keillor’s The Writer’s Almanac
Garrison Keillor recounts the literary highlights of this day in history and reads a short poem or two. Perfect — as expected from the master of vocal inflection.

Aristotle’s Philosophy of Friendship
“What is Friendship?” by Mark Vernon. Aristotle’s lecture notes on friendship are in Books VIII and IX of his Nichomachean Ethics, and dull-voiced Mark Vernon is about to explain. He begins with the “perils and promise” of friendship, starting with a thoughtful definition, and builds quickly. Don’t let the awkward choral interludes distract you: this content is worlds better than the production quality.

Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
“Grammar Girl here.” Grammar, punctuation, style, and business tips will make you a “better and more successful writer,” if not simply envious of her dry (and insane) example sentences. Occasional staid voicing is instantly forgiven by her humble segment conclusions, where she admits imperfection, and practically invites you to google for her number.

NPR: Religion
Explores the intersection between religion and society, with stories from Morning Edition, All Things Considered and other award-winning NPR programs. Worth it.

NPR: Story of the Day
Funny, moving, exceptional, or just offbeat — the NPR story people will be talking about tomorrow. The best of Morning Edition, All Things Considered and other award-winning NPR programs.

NPR: Technology
Perspectives on digital culture, research news, the tech industry and more. The best of Morning Edition, All Things Considered and other award-winning NPR programs. Not all nerdy.

Pandora Podcast Series
A new one: The Music Genome Project starts explaining the methods behind it’s popular free music online player. Each episode will explore (they’ve done only one so far) a musical concept in an engaging, educational and digestible way.

The Onion Radio News
Doyle Redland reporting. “A daily podcast featuring a short news clip from The Onion’s award-winning 24-hour radio news network”. Always amusing, but hits a home-run only about once a week. Probably with illegal medical assistance.

The RELEVANT Podcast
Features the editors of RELEVANT magazine talking about the latest news, issues and entertainment that matters to your life- an extension of RELEVANT magazine covering covering “God, life and progressive culture”. Good topic selection, but the editor’s banter can make you switch windows and forget you were listening. Worth a shot.

This American Life Podcast
Official free, weekly podcast of the award-winning radio show “This American Life.” First-person stories and short fiction pieces that are touching, funny and surprising. Hosted by Ira Glass, from WBEZ Chicago Public Radio. This free version is new to me: I’m a massive fan of the full one-hour show, broadcast on NPR weekends, and available in storable audio only when purchased. Perhaps this version chooses only 1/3 of the show’s segments?