Tag: book club

Quote(s) of the day

It (Christianity) has focused on “me” and “my soul” and “my spiritual life” and “my eternal destiny,” but it has failed to address the dominant societal and global realities of their lifetime: systemic injustice, systemic poverty, systemic ecological crisis, systemic dysfunctions of many kinds.

…those remaining in local churches and those outside of them share the same sense of doubt: a message purporting to be the best news in the world should be doing better than this. The religion’s results are not commensurate with the bold claims it makes. Truly good news, they feel, would confront systemic injustice, target significant global dysfunctions, and provide hope and resources for making a better world – along with helping individuals experience a full life.

(we find ourselves wishing for)… a vibrant form of Christian faith that is holistic, integral, and balanced – one that offers good news for both the living and the dying, that speaks of God’s grace at work both in this life and the life to come, that speaks to individuals and to societies and to the planet as a whole.

– Brian D. McLaren :: Everything Must Change

Bush’s ungiven speech

On October 1, 2001, President George W. Bush did not give the following speech to a special
session of Congress. The speech did not interrupt regularly scheduled broadcasts on television
and radio. It did not interrupt and change the current of history either…

But what if he had…

Read Bush’s ungiven speech, as written by Brian McLaren, author of Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope, which we plan to read this month for Headphonaught’s Book Club.

Headphonaught’s Book Club v.2

Well, last week I mentioned a book club that’s being formed by my mate Thomas.
During the week Thomas decided that rather than using Google Groups to host the discussion/forum Facebook would be a better route. I’ve used both and don’t have a huge preference between one or the other. Of course in both groups I’ve been involved in, there hasn’t been super amounts of discussion either. I’ve got Thomas’ thoughts below – but what do you think? Do you prefer one over the other?

Thanks to everyone who has shown an interesting in getting involved… especially JD over in Texas and Dan in Glenrothes for their encouragement and support!

OK… so this is where we are going with this >>

1) I have set up an “invite-only” Facebook group > the admins (JD, Dan & myself) will invite people who have expressed an interest in being part of this journey. Facebook gives us the tools to do this >> invites / discussion posting etc >> and encourages community – you have to be a member of Facebook and your identity is known to the group (no nicknames etc). This will make us more honest and accountable >> key prerequisites for an egalitarian community.

2) We are considering a number of books… but a couple of front runners are THE TIPPING POINT [Malcolm Gladwell] and/or EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE [Brian D. McLaren]. We can run multiple discussions, if desired… this can be as linear or non-linear as we want it to be.

3) One thing I am interesting in… as well… is meeting up with folks in Glasgow for f2f conversations. Ally & Jay have expressed an interest in this too. I would encourage you to look at this option in addition to online.

4) Using Facebook will, I hope, allow us to get know each other a bit better. Hooking up and conducting one on one conversations is encouraged.

I hope this makes sense… I don’t want to exclude folks not on Facebook… but the tool is the best one we have. If anything, you now have a legit reason for joining up.

I you want to join up… leave a comment, drop me a note or hook up with me, Dan or JD on Facebook.

2008 Book Club

books.gif
Thomas just started a private online Book Club.
I’m looking forward to it. Never really been involved in much of a book club other than a doctrine class I had at UMHB and that was more for required/extra credit reading than anything else.

Here’s his initial thoughts on the group:

I have created an invite-only google group for this purpose and I need some pals to help me get it off the ground. You can help in the following ways:

  1. Ask for an invite > I’m keeping it invite-only until its a proven concept. Send me an email or leave a comment with your email and I’ll hook you up.
  2. Suggest some books > I’m thinking of tackling between 6 and 10… along the lines of 1 a month. They don’t have to be just Christian books… but they have to be culturally important books > think Velvet Elvis or No Logo for an idea.
  3. Get involved > I’m looking for some honest commitment and a fair pinch of common-or-garden enthusiasm – we will be journeying together… examining some meaningful material… I need people who are will to read and participate… not spectate from the sidelines.
  4. Help out > I want to journey with you… not lead > I need to feed as much as I want to encourage you all to get fed. I don’t want to be the only facilitator.

Want to join us? Drop either one of us an e-mail with your Amazon.com account info 😉 – j/k. But seriously – drop us an e-mail if you’re interested.