pursuing the missio dei

Farewell to Blogger

2007-01-01T15:46:00.000-08:00

Well it is January 1, 2007 and I have decided to continue blogging. I have set up a new blog using wordpress. you can now find my blog at www.missiodeiblog.com I have commited to blogging more this year but blogging more for myself than for just those who would or might be reading my ramblings.

Please change any blogrolls to my new site. I am excited about missiodeiblog.com

See you there.

Barry

missiodeiblog

2006-12-27T02:04:00.000-08:00

After some consideration I have decided to continue to blog and will launch a new blog site on Monday January 1st. It will be a new chapter in blogging where I will attempt to blog much more often and will be trying wordpress as my new platform. I am currently working on the design. New link to come soon.

My Rest From Blogging

2006-12-20T15:58:00.000-08:00

Well I have been taking a rest from blogging and am still trying to decide whether I will return. There are times when I feel blogging is a good way to publicly share my thoughts and then there are times when I feel that I really don't care. I am still reading blogs and leaving comments on blogs but time is more and more an issue for me and I am not sure whether blogging is a wise use of my time. I know very few will really look at this post but just a heads up for some of my friends who check this from time to time.

A decision will be made by the 1st of the new year. I will likely quit all together or really make it a personal routine to write more often.

Leaving Atlanta

2006-11-19T14:33:00.000-08:00

Well it has been a fun 6 days here in Atlanta. I am sitting waiting for my plane at the Atlanta airport and decided to pay the $4.95 for two hours of wi-fi. The IAAPA conference was good and I certainly am leaving with a much better understanding of the amusement industry as well as plenty of new ideas for our humble little parks in Fresno. Beyond that though, I really have to thank Josh & Anna Brown for showing such wonderful southern hospitality. It was really a great time to meet some new friends and I hope we will be able to connect again in the future.

I also had the opportunity to be a special guest on the ellusive 3.0 version of the Nick & Josh Podcast featuring Peter Rollins Check it out.

Overall a good trip but I miss my family. I am looking forward to seeing my beautiful bride and my wonderful children. Being away from them for this long is very tough on me and tough on Erin as she has to handle all things related to the kids. I am grateful to her for letting me take this journey.

How NOT To Write A Chapter

2006-11-18T09:02:00.000-08:00

I am committed to doing this this weekend and completing the chapter for this book. But here are some ideas on How NOT To Write A chapter in the form of a top 10 list if you will...

10. Write it in bed.
9. Call home to see how things are going.
8. Check your e-mail every 15 minutes
7. Do your research for the chapter while actually writing it.
6. Procrastinate out of laziness and lack of motivation.
5. Two words... my space. (or is that one word? hmm...)
4. Overthink what you are writing.
3. Try to sound smarter than you really are.
2.Get Distracted by doing one of those stupid surveys you swore you would never do. (like Josh)
1. Write a blog post called How NOT to Write A Chapter.

Ok really now, I am going to write this thing...

The Jesus Prayer

2006-11-16T09:59:00.000-08:00

The Jesus Prayer has really helped in my effort to come back to center today.

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God; Have mercy on me...a Sinner."

The first portion of the prayer has been most helpful as I repeat it over and over, showing me again and again the identity of Jesus.

Just Thinkin...

2006-11-16T09:24:00.000-08:00

Well while I am in the Atlanta area for an amusement park & attraction conference it I always really like to take these times away from home to reflect on life a bit and where I am at personally, spiritually etc.

Right now I am sitting in the Red Sky Cafe & Coffeehouse. (Thanks for the tip Josh) They have free wi-fi so it was a better choice than a Starbucks. So far my trip has been pretty much all business with the exception that I have gotten to get to know Josh and Anna Brown some; both are really great people and I would encourage you all to get to know them. I also finally had a real conversation with Nicholas Fiedler over the computer last night. He feels very strongly that I sound like Don Miller, I am not so sure I agree. All of this is to say that today I am spending some time reflecting on where I have been in the last 11 months.

It is very hard to believe that it is already November. I have been in a new job now for almost 10 months and have been out of ministry for 11 months. a lot has happend this year and as difficult as it is to admit, I feel as though I am not as in sync with God as I was in the beginning of the year. Whether this is because of how busy I have been, our consistency in making it to church, I am happy to be in this Cafe to recenter my life again. It is funny how quickly we can lose sight of Jesus in the midst of our lives. One thing is clear. I have a great new respect for all who have a real life and are Christ followers. It is not easy to be in the world 40-50 hours a week working and continually have Christ in the middle of our lives.

Today I was reading some of my journaling from my trip to Minneapolis this past January. I was struck by how much more motivated I was then, and how focussed I seemed. I was ready to start a church plant within a year. Certainly I was over idealistic and in some ways not mature enough to really see just how long that would take. In other ways, I seemd closer to God. I guess what I am saying is that I have grown in areas and in many ways feel more responsible and mature but I also have to recognize that i have lost some of the fire that once propelled me. There must be a balance here somewhere.

One thing I wrote in January still is with me. I wrote: "Lord help me to move quick enough to where I do not miss out on what you have in store for me (us) but not so quick that I hurt others in the process."

A lot easier said than done.

Atlanta Part 1

2006-11-14T19:28:00.000-08:00

Well I have arrived in Atlanta, GA and I am staying with Josh and Anna Brown. They have been very gracious to let me stay with them in their beautiful home. I am excited for this week for a number of reasons. I am confident that it will be a week full of learning more about the amusement industry, re-centering my spiritual journey some, finishing my chapter for a book I am a part of, and building relationships; especially with my new friends the Browns.

I am attending the IAAPA Conference which is being held in Atlanta this year. IAAPA is the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. It is the largest Attraction and Amusement conference in the entire world. I am not exactly a "Carny" as Josh wrote on his blog as I have only been in the amusement industry since February but it is certainly different than ministry. However, I am excited that the small non-profit amusement parks that I lead (Rotary Storyland & Playland)in Fresno,CA will benefit from my being here.

I will post more of what I learn this week here.

Letterman takes on O'Reilly

2006-11-05T02:20:00.000-08:00

Just in case any of you missed this...

PART 1

PART 2

AIDS in Africa

2006-10-13T23:18:00.000-07:00

I just heard some new statistics about the AIDS pandemic taking place all over the world but specifically in Africa. Here are the 2005 Statistics:

As of 2005 17,000,000 have died from AIDS in Africa

In 2005 2,300,000 people died from AIDS in Africa

That is a staggering 4.5 people dying per minute.

Currently over 28,000,000 are infected with the deadly virus in Africa. 1,500,000 are children.

By 2010 it is predicted that there will be 15,000,000 African orphans because of the AIDS pandemic.

Many have a lot of opinions about the U2 frontman Bono but personally I think he is really attempting to do something about the tragedy going on in Africa. There are a few ways you can get involved. The ONE Campaign has been around for a while. It is an effort to convince powerful governments to do more about world poverty and AIDS. A new effort is called RED. Red uses corporations to give money to Africa. want to buy an ipod? Why not choose a RED ipod where $10 will be given to the cause for AIDS in Africa. Or clothes from Gap where a percentage goes stright to fighting AIDS. Check out the RED website here.

I dream of being a part of a church that gives the majority of its tithes and offerings to world issues and not buildings or salaries. We need more churches committed to the world and justice issues. I dream of being a part of a church where the mission of God is fully realized and we are able to make a global difference every day.

Just Let me know when Lord...Until then I wait.

And Today...

2006-10-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

For reasons I do not fully understand my wife Erin loves the fair. So that is where we will be heading this afternoon for the second time in the fair's 11 day run. At least this time we got hooked up with free tickets and free parking.

A Quote Worth Pondering...again

2006-10-05T00:36:00.000-07:00

"To believe in God is to believe in the salvation of the world. The paradox of our time is that those who believe in God do not believe in the salvation of the world, and those who believe in the future of the world do not believe in God. Christians believe in 'the end of the world.' they expect the final catastrophe, the punishment of others. Atheists in their turn...refuse to believe in God because Christians believe in him and take no interest in the world.

Which is the more culpable ignorance?

I often say to myself that, in our religion, God must feel very much alone: for is there anyone besides God who believes in the salvation of the world? God seeks among us sons and daughters who resemble him enough, who love the world enough so that he could send them into the world to save it."

-Louis Evely, In the Christian Spirit (Image, 1975)

Note: I read this online but I think it is also quoted in The Last Word and The Word After That by Brian Mclaren.

My Work Is Consuming Me

2006-09-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

Things are starting to turn around at Storyland & playland since I took the position in February of 2006 but it is somewhat a slow process. This week the City of Fresno agreed to help us with $75,000 for the parks. We also have a fundraiser this weekend where about 500 people will be at a Breakfast at Storyland. All work and No Play makes Barry a dull boy.

Motivated To Kill

2006-09-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

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I have been at the Fort Sill Army base for the past two days to see a friend graduate from basic training. While it has been a fun trip, I am somewhat concerned by the training that I have seen happening. This morning while I was at the base, I saw a platoon in formation that was chanting it's theme chant. It went something like this:

Drill Sergeant: Who is Motivated?

Platoon: We are motivated Drill Sergeant.

Drill Sergeant: Who is motivated?

Platoon: We are motivated, greatly motivated... I want to kill somebody.

Drill Sergeant: Motivated to what?

Platoon: To kill somebody. We are motivated drill sergeant.

I was a little taken aback by this and was saddened to see that we are training new recruits to be more motivated to kill than find better options. It seems to me that there are much greater motives to be a part of the military and to see that the one of the motivations being taught it to engage in lethal combat worries me.

Jesus has called us to a life of loving our enemies. We must continue to teach that peace is a better option than violence and death. I was saddened to see a message quite to the contrary here at the Army Base.

Oklahoma Here I Come

2006-09-19T21:49:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I leave for a five day trip to Lawton Oklahoma to spend some time with a friend. I have never been to the great state of Oklahoma so if anyone has any suggestions please feel free tho help me out. Also... If any emergent folks live near Lawton and would want to connect please leave a comment or e-mail me at barryfalke@gmail.com. I won't have a car but maybe we could meet forr coffee somewhere. I will be back in California on Sunday Evening. I will try to resume some more routine blogging when I get back.

Love Wins

2006-09-19T00:26:00.000-07:00

Tonight Erin & i saw Last Kiss with Zach Braff. It was a pretty heavy movie about love. Ultimately it really made me think about how unfortunate it is that so many people run away from the most amazing thing in the world: Love. The movie made me appreciate my wife and our family. So I am grateful for what God has given me and the love I have received from my wife and give to my wife and family.

Overally the movie reminded me of Garden State in some ways. The worst acting of the movie is certainly Rachel Bilson's. Her acting is unspectacular at best...

As For me, LOVE WINS!

Does Anyone Else Have Problem With This?

2006-09-10T22:55:00.000-07:00

I just have a real problem with the idea of rapture. Call me crazy but I have always thought Tim La Haye & Jerry Jenkins authors of the Left Behind series were a little nuts and to be leading the church into disaster.

How worried I am for believers who feel so strongly about rapture. It seems to me that every believers faith will be tested in the end times according to scripture.

Our Conversation About Discipleship

2006-08-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

Well Last night my friend Matt Heinricy and I led a conversation at Tower Mosaic Church about discipleship. It was a really fun time to ask some important questions about what discipleship looks like in a postmodern vs. modern context. I felt there was some great exchange between us and the congragation as well. You can check out the audio from our conversation by clicking the link below.

Discipleship Conversation - Tower Mosaic Church - Sunday August 27, 2006

More Thoughts on Discipleship pt. 2

2006-08-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

Thinking some more about discipleship this week in preparation for our conversation on Sunday night at church. There are several differences between discipleship in a modern vs. postmodern context. Another one of these differences comes in the area of when one becomes a disciple of Jesus.

Discipleship Beginning at a Moment in Time

Growing up I remember the progression of how it all happened. First you became a Christian. You prayed the prayer and were considered on the inside. At that point I was told I was beginning my discipleship of Jesus. In most modern contexts this is how it happens. You are not a disciple until your conversion experience. Once you "Accept Jesus" (A term found nowhere in the New Testament) you were then ready to really learn more about Jesus or become a disciple of Jesus. Lately I have been really thinking about how this is not how discipleship happens for most people.

Discipleship As a Journey

I have been considering lately how discipleship is really a journey. One that begins for most long before the point of conversion. I think today more than ever people are seeking information about Jesus before a decision is made to be a Christian. Brian Mclaren talks a lot about this in his book More Ready Than You Realize, which is a book everyone should read. Could it be possible though that discipleship is a journey that begins the first time you hear the name Jesus and eventually leads many people to an incredible relationship with Jesus. It just seems to me there are many people who would not call themselves Christian's yet, in fact most would not call them that yet either but they are students of Jesus. They are searching and have come to realize that there is something about him they can't quite disregard which leads them to more exploration. I would consider those on this journey disciples. They are striving hard to know Jesus and Frankly probably striving to Know Jesus more than those who already are Christians. I have come to believe that just because you have not Accepted Jesus fully does not limit you from the journey of discipleship. It is a process, it takes time and for some it takes years. All the while though, they are headed toward God. Can it be that we know some who are not yet Christians who are pursuing God stronger than those who are already Christians. I think they are all around us and Praise God for that!

More Thoughts On Discipleship Pt. 1

2006-08-24T08:28:00.000-07:00

In preparation for this weekend I have been thinking more about what discipleship really looks like today. I have been thinking about some of the differences I have noticed between discipleship in a modern vs. postmodern context. In the next few days I will write about a few differences I have been thinking about. Please leave me some feedback on these differences as I do not claim whatsoever to have complete insight or understanding of this topic.

Organic vs. Mechanistic:

It seems to me that in most modern settings, discipleship has traditionally been very mechanistic. Maybe another word we could substitute here is prescriptive. Most modern contexts I have been a part of see discipleship as a step by step process. Once you become a Christian there is a set path in which to follow, an order or progression each new believer follows to "truly" become a disciple of Jesus. Maybe the most dangerous part of this type of mechanistic or prescriptive approach is that churches create clones of what they see the "ideal Christian disciple" should be. All disciples in this context run the danger of loosing who God has really created them to be individually

Organic discipleship on the other hand provides more freedom for what the shape of the discipleship process looks like. There is no set method or set of steps because we realize that everyone is different, at different stages with different needs. Each journey has a different route and one that makes the most sense for each person understanding what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Organic discipleship follows a much more natural flow of events for each person. It makes no assumptions of where someone is jumping off from but the process becomes Taylor-made for each follower of Jesus. Organic discipleship is more thought through. There is not just a set off steps slapped on to every person trying to follow the way of Jesus but each step is considered with care based on the needs of each individual believer.

Again, please leave some feedback or other insights you may have.

Discipleship In A Postmodern World

2006-08-22T23:15:00.000-07:00

My good friend Matt Heinricy, pastor of Tower Mosaic Church and I will be having a conversation in front of and with the community of Tower mosaic this Sunday night at 5pm. Both of us are pretty excited about it as we will spending a lot of time talking about how discipleship is different depending on what context you come from. Further we will be exploring how Discipleship is much more of a journey than a decision you make at one point of your life.

I am open to any thoughts anyone may have about how discipleship is different in a postmodern context vs. a modern context. Or any thoughts on discipleship at all.

We are going to try to record the conversation and I may post it on this blog sometime next week.

Running On God Knows What

2006-08-20T22:26:00.000-07:00

I'm tired. Am I Alone or can anyone else relate?

Lately it seems as though I am running all the time and working more than I ever have in my life. I have been in a new position since February as the Executive Director of a non-profit organization. Much different than my former role as Pastor but still very demanding. Almost four months ago my wife Erin & I had our second child, a beautiful girl named Kaelyn. I guess all in all I find my days packed with activities or things to do, but what scares me is what I have not made time to do.

I miss waking up early enough just to take in a sunrise or making time for a sunset. I miss heading up to the mountains with my camera to take pictures of God's beauty all around me. I miss feeling the intimacy with God I have known in the past.

I fear many times that I am running on fumes. It could be that lately I have been so immersed in work that I have not created enough time just for me. Time to refuel, time to re-tool myself to make sure I can sustain myself. I need that time. I need time to just be alone, meditate, reflect on scripture, pray and honestly most of time I do all of that best when I don't have any distractions.

The bottom line I suppose is that we all have to create time for ourselves. It is surely against our nature just to stop everything to refuel but it is so necessary. I hope that those who know me will continue to ask the hard questions and help me to stop at times to take time for myself and for my spiritual formation. Lord knows that without some accountability I will continue to run myself until I have very little left.

I need renewed discipline in my life so that soul care continues to be a priority in my life. I have to believe there are others in the blogosphere that struggle with this as well. If that is you, please take a minute and leave me a comment. Let me know how you deal with the craziness of life and how our craziness battles our need for soul care.

A Rant On The Issue of World Poverty

2006-08-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

The issue of global poverty is one we cannot ignore. A majority of the world live on less than one dollar a day. This extreme povery is nothing less than unacceptable and Jesus made it clear that we must look after and take care of those in need. Here are a few statistics that upset me:

50% of Africans do not have a safe source of water while the average American uses 170 gallons of water each day.

Every night in the world 799 million people worldwide go to bed hungry while every day American's spend 1 Billion dollars on dining out.

As followers of Jesus, we cannot contiue to let this happen. Jesus himsoel giives us the mandate to clothe the naked, feed the poor and look out after the oppressed. We must take bigger steps in making this happen. It is no wonder the global community feels the west is selfish. We make a small portion of the worlds population but consume a large amount of the worlds resources.

Our churches must step to the plate and not only provide rhetoric but dollars to the issue of world poverty. On an individual level we must consider making certain sacrifices to contribute more to these global problems.

Nich & Josh Talk with Brian Mclaren About Faith & Politics..and a request!

2006-08-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

I have two new friends! Nicholas Fiedler & Josh Brown. together they produce a weekly podcast and this week Brian Mclaren was their guest. I encourage all who read this blog to check out their podcast. click on the banner above or you can even subscribe to it from itunes.

Further, Nick & Josh are heading up what I believe to be a really important project. A small group of us are raising money for a book that will highlight new and unheard voices in the emerging church conversation. We are hoping to raise $6,000 in the next few months to produce a book that will be printed, featured and sold on amazon.com. I may even be submitting a chapter for the book. Would you consider hoping on to Nick's website and donating a buck or maybe five to this important project?

We feel really strongly that we must continue to find new voices with important things to say for the conversation to sustain itself. If you have appreciated the Nick & Josh Podcast (now over 10,000 subscribers) take one minute and donate one dollar or five. It is a paypal donation so if you have ever used ebay it is easy to do.

War as Opposite to the Message of Jesus

2006-08-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

Once again I have been reminded of how Jesus looks at war by a few who havbe been blogging recently. My friend Chris Erdman and fellow Fresnan writes a great post about how Jesus says NO to war within the scriptures.

Further a new voice that is raising up in the emergent conversation Josh Brown who also hosts a podcast once a week has just finished a series on the issue of War that was really helpful.

It is amazing to me that I was so blind for so long to the real teachings of Jesus on this issue. I fought (no pun intended) for the value or war for so long. It just goes back to how the perspective you are raised in can influence you so dramatically.

Thank God I attended a Mennonite Seminary and woke up!

War is quite possibly the direct opposite of the true message of Jesus. We need to rething new ways of bringing Jesus' message od love & peace beck to the front of our minds, churches and value systems. Until we do we will continue to see fruitless tragedy after fruitless tragedy.