http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons Virb 2.0 (@chuckpersimmons) en http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/728918 Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:22:50 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/728918 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/724148 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:09:18 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/724148 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/722109 Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:09:54 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/722109 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/718286 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:17:31 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/718286 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/713746 Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:56:21 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/713746 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/713745 Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:56:20 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/713745 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/711228 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:28:57 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/711228 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/711227 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:28:56 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/711227 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/711226 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:28:55 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/711226 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/711225 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:28:55 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/711225 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/709463 met last night to talk. Not many details of the conversation have emerged, but I think it might have went a little something like this...


Hillary: ...we need a place to hide until we figure this whole thing out.
Feinstein: (Hillary) said this would be the last place anyone would look for (her).
Barack: Yeah, you're cool to hide here. But first, me and (her)gotta straighten some sh*t out.
Hillary: Fine.
Barack: Why you been acting so messed up towards me?
Hillary: Why you been acting so messed up towards me?
Barack: Well, you go first.
Hillary: I don't know. Maybe I felt a little threatened or something... 'cause your career is kind of just blossoming... and mine's kind of winding down or whatever.
Barack: And I felt like, "This (lady's) really hurting me"... and it hurt.
Hillary: And I felt like when you told me to "Dere-lick" my b*lls, that really hurt.
Barack: Maybe I was scared, man. You're (Hillary Clinton)! Yeah, you're (Hillary Clinton). You know what it's like to be
another (politician) in (Hillary Clinton's) shadow? You want to hear something crazy? Your work... in the winter '95 International Male catalog...made me want to be a (politician). I freakin' worship you, man.
Hillary: I'm sorry I was whack.
Barack: I was whack.
Hillary: I was whack.
Barack: So welcome to chez (Barack). You're welcome to hide out here as long as you want.

...and that's the way it went down. (adapted from Zoolander.)]]> Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:57:25 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/709463 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/709462 Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:57:24 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/709462 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/709461
From Heather...
I had a dream 2 nights ago that you were running for President, and that Andy and I were helping you campaign. It was stressful. We were making up t-shirts that had a picture of a smiling monkey on it with your name, to promote you.

An odd dream.

At the end of the dream, Gwyn was sobbing, saying "He's just not going to win! I know it! Obama is going to beat him!" ]]> Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:57:23 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/709461 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/707084 ]]> Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:21:13 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/707084 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/701153 ]]> Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:58:21 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/701153 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/701152 ]]> Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:58:21 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/701152 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/692048 Greg Boyd's blog, and is exactly what I've been thinking and feeling for the past few months...

About eight months ago I spoke at a conference at Hesston college (a Mennonite college) on faith and politics (I posted on it here). While at this conference I sensed very strongly God telling me there was some sort of relationship I (and possibly the church I pastor) was to have with the Mennonites. More specifically, at the end of the conference I received a very clear and burning message I knew I was to share with the Mennonites. Whatever else this "relationship" entailed, I knew it included sharing this message. Yet, I had no idea when or how this message was to be shared.

Then about two months ago I received an invitation to speak at a historic gathering of Mennonite leaders in Columbus, Ohio. When the Executive Director of the Mennonite denomination (Jim Schrag) explained to me what he hoped my talk would accomplish I got goose bumps because it was exactly what God had put on my heart at Hesston seven months earlier. I have rarely been part of something that was so obviously providential. I was humbled and delighted to be given this important assignment. My message was -- and is -- basically this.

There is a beautiful and powerful grassroots Kingdom movement arising all over the globe that Mennonites in particular need to notice. Millions of people are abandoning the Christendom paradigm of the traditional Christian faith in order to become more authentic followers of Jesus. From the Emergent Church movement to the Urban Monastic Movement to a thousand other independent groups and movements, people are waking up to the truth that the Kingdom of God looks like Jesus and that the heart of Christianity is simply imitating him. Millions are waking up to the truth that followers of Jesus are called to love the unlovable, serve the oppressed, live in solidarity with the poor, proclaim Good News to the lost and be willing to lay down our life for our enemies. Multitudes are waking up to the truth that the distinctive mark of the Kingdom is the complete rejection of all hatred and violence and the complete reliance on love and service of others, including our worst enemies. Masses of people are waking up to the truth that followers of Jesus aren't called to try to win the world by acquiring power over others but by exercising power under others -- the power of self-sacrificial love.

What many who are being caught up in this movement lack is a sense of tribal identity and historical rooting, and many are looking for his. A central feature of post-modernity is the longing to "live in a story" that's bigger than oneself. Many, therefore, are looking for a tradition they can align with.

The only tradition that embodies what this rising breed of Kingdom radicals is looking for is the Anabaptist tradition (which the Mennonites are heir to). This is the only tradition that consistently refused political power and violence. This is the only tradition that made humble, self-sacrificial love the centerpiece of what it means to follow Jesus. It's the only tradition that isn't soaked in blood and the only tradition that looks remotely like Jesus. Many (in fact, most) of the early leaders of this movement in the 16th century paid for their non-compliance with the Christendom paradigm by being martyred. This tradition is a treasure to be cherished. And it's a tradition whose time may have come, for this is precisely the vision of the Kingdom that millions today are waking up to.]]> Sun, 29 Jun 2008 02:19:50 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/692048 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/686801 ]]> Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:45:59 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/686801 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/686800 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:45:58 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/686800 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/684254 ]]> Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:00:24 -0700 http://virb.com/chuckpersimmons/posts/text/684254