@theideacamp gender week wrap-up [#ICSEX]

I’d first like to start with an apology. My mission trip to Haiti impaired my ability to keep up with certain aspects of this project more that I anticipated.

Nonetheless, there were some incredible posts that came in!

This week was GENDER WEEK, the third of the six-week series of discussions on various sex-related topics.

As you look through each of the posts in this series, I hope that you see a bit of a trend emerging. At first glance it would seem that the posts are overly skewed towards the discussion of female gender roles and issues. However, I definitely learned a great deal about what it means to be a man… and yes, even (umm.. especially) while reading the posts about women.

Here’s a quick recap of the posts that we saw come in this week:

• On Being a Woman
  Suzie Lind kicks us off a little early by asking her readers, “What do you think it means to be a woman?”
• Oh, Eve
  Suzie Lind continues her discussion with a focus on women walking in redemption rather than walking in the fall.
• women Asian American Christian ministry leaders
  DJ Chuang discuses the impact that women (particularly Asian American women) have in the church today. While this post wasn’t tagged as being a part of this project, it is very relevant to the discussion.
• Men become better men in the company of Good Men
  Dan Rodriguez briefly discuses details of his workshop for #ICSEX in Las Vegas! It sounds like it’ll be a very interesting discussion!
• Fearfully & Wonderfully Made
  Suzie Lind continues her series by talking about how God used women throughout the Bible as instruments of redemption.
• Raising Women
  Sarah Markley talks about being a woman who is raising girls. She struggles with the question about how to teach them something that she’s still learning herself.
• Mad Men
  Suzie Lind shared this link to a post by a co-worker that seemed relevant to our #ICSEX Gender Week discussion. While this is not officially tagged as being a part of this blogging series, it provides an interesting perspective on gender roles in ministry.
• #ICSEX – What is a Man?
  Seiji Yamashita discusses his personal struggles in doing what society would say it takes to become a man, and in the processes begins to answer the questions about what it really means to be one.
• a hermeneutic on gender and ministry [#ICSEX]
  Dan King (me) looks to exegetical study of the scripture to help us understand controversial issues like, ‘women don’t talk in church’.
• Gender Preference, Exclusion, or Oppression?
  Charles Lee (our fearless @theideacamp leader) talks about being intentional about diversity, especially as it relates to including women in our work/ministry.

Let’s keep this conversation going… Which of these posts impacted you the most? Why? What other perspectives on gender do you think are important to share/consider?

Coming up next: Orientation – Week beginning Sunday, August 22nd
Same-sex attraction is likely one of the most controversial issues that the church deals with today. Is it okay to be gay/lesbian and be a Christian? More importantly how should the church respond to people who live with same-sex attraction? This discussion will focus on reconciliation… with the Word AND with people. This is a good opportunity to build a bridge to those who have been alienated by the church for a very long time. If you’re interested in participating in this conversation, then let us know in the comments or contact @bibledude on Twitter.

Are you enjoying this conversation? Then consider coming to !C//SEX Las Vegas on 9.27.10. Register now! And if you comment on this post, then I’ll send you a special 10% discount registration code!

[present perfect] project wordle

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[present perfect] @greg_boyd’s closing thoughts

I’d first like to begin by expressing a heartfelt word of appreciation to all who wrote chapter reviews of Present Perfect.  They were clear, thoughtful and inspiring. Thank you!

Are you awake?

I am becoming increasingly convinced that Brother Lawrence was absolutely right when he maintained that Practicing the Presence of God is not only the most important spiritual discipline: it is, in truth, the goal of all other spiritual disciplines.  What is the ultimate goal of prayer, meditation, fasting, resting, simplicity, even service and hospitality if not to increase our capacity to consciously remain in God’s loving presence, submitted to his will, moment-by-moment?

At the same time, as I discussed in the book, the Practice of the Presence is really nothing more than another way of saying, “Make Jesus Christ Lord of you life,” for the only “life” we have to make him “Lord” over is the one we are living this moment…

and now, in this moment.

Are you awake?

This discipline is not only foundational to living life in the kingdom, it is its essence. It’s what it means to live under the reign of God. A life submitted to the reign of God that isn’t submitted moment-by-moment is a mere abstraction.

Which makes me wonder why this discipline is so infrequently discussed, and even less frequently embarked upon, by Jesus followers. It strikes me as very odd and almost tragic.  Like Martha, we allow ourselves to get caught up doing a multitude of things for Jesus, but forget that the “one thing that is needful” is to remain in the presence of Jesus – even and especially when we’re doing things for him.

This is why I’m truly thankful for folks like you who took the time not only to read Present Perfect but to publicly discuss it.  I encourage you to continue to spread the Good News: God is here and now!  Encourage people not to miss him in the NOW.  The church today is largely asleep. For 99% of their waking moments, most Jesus followers forget God exists here and now.  We believe Jesus is Lord, but we have a mindset that excludes him most of the time.

The church is a proverbial sleeping giant. We need to wake up, moment by moment.

We can all play a role in this novel.  Lets together agree to not only continue to cultivate an awareness of God’s loving presence, moment-by-moment, but to encourage others to do so.  Invite those you are in relationship with to help you stay awake (we all need reminders, don’t we?) and encourage them to invite you to do the same.  As Frank Lauback noted, staying mindful of Gods’ presence is best done in community with others.  It really takes a village to stay awake.

This moment is all we have, and all we need. He is here!  He is now!

Are we awake?

With love and appreciation,

Greg Boyd

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[present perfect] bonus post: he is here by amena brown

I’ve shared this video before. But if you’ve been following along with the group blogging project on Present Perfect by Greg Boyd, then you’ll understand why I want to share it again. Throughout this project, one theme that keeps recurring is that…

God. Is. Here.

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