Sprezzatura is an inherently contradictory, even ironic, word: it means the ability to make hard things look easy, the effort to appear effortless, the grace of gawkiness, a tour de force performance designed not to look performative.” (90) “The key to sprezzatura is paradox, the audacious algebra of the spiritual, the natural language of faith.Continue reading “Gospel According to Starbucks part 3”
Category Archives: Books
Gospel According to Starbucks, pt 2
Christianity in the Premodern world engaged the five senses regularly. (55-56) “Don’t focus on what it believes or its official statement of faith; rather, consider how much time your church expends in creating beauty. What does it do to develop embodied practices and multisensory experiences? For most of Christian history, the church was the majorContinue reading “Gospel According to Starbucks, pt 2”
Closing lines from “The Great Giveaway”, David Fitch
David Fitch’s The Great Giveaway is a great book. The last page is a mini manifesto that is a capstone for the whole book. I wanted to share it and place it in the cloud to remember: “I imagine our congregations becoming smaller, not bigger, yet teeming with the life of his body. And IContinue reading “Closing lines from “The Great Giveaway”, David Fitch”
The Gospel According to Starbucks, Len Sweet notes- part 1
I’m finally getting a chance to read The Gospel According to Starbucks by Len Sweet. I normally have to keep notes when reading Sweet’s books… too much to try to remember. “Organized religion has been assuming that because it has a better product- namely, God- that it simply needs to open the doors and customersContinue reading “The Gospel According to Starbucks, Len Sweet notes- part 1”
Ministry in an Oral Culture: Tex Sample
This has been a great book to read. It is short and a fast read. Sample argues that the majority of our culture is an oral culture, therefore our communication and mission need to be tailored to that culture. This is a challenging work for seminary professionals who have been trained in literate settings. ThereContinue reading “Ministry in an Oral Culture: Tex Sample”
David Fitch, Modernity, Giveaway
I’m just starting David Fitch’s The Great Giveaway, and I am already challenged. His basic premise is that the N. American Church has adopted forms of activity from culture (consumerism, church as business, individualize, commodifying, and packaging Christianity), specifically Modernism. In the process of adopting, we have delegated functions of the church (spiritual formation, mission,Continue reading “David Fitch, Modernity, Giveaway”
The Shape of Practical Theology notes
Shape of Practical Theology Notes Pages 1-95 Practical Theology demands a very specific understanding of the nature of theology. It demands that the theologian holds the practitioner to the truth of God’s revelation in history and that the practitioner hold the theologian accountable to the truth of God’s reconciliation in humanity. (23) Practical theology beginsContinue reading “The Shape of Practical Theology notes”
Joe Skillen 