Category: Having My Say

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Emergent Village Values & Practices….

RJ Walters

This post will be about the commitments of the emergent church as outlined in the book The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier by Tony Jones.  Appendix A: in the book carries the title above.  This list seems in a nutshell to fairly characterize the emergent movement as it now stands in the U.S.  Here is a list of commitments from that text:  1. COMMITMENT TO GOD IN THE WAY OF JESUS —  We are committed to doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God. In the words of Jesus, we seek to live by the Great Commandment: loving … Continue reading Emergent Village Values & Practices….

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‘Just us’ wedding trend: Couples ditch the guests

RJ Walters

Source: ‘Just us’ wedding trend: Couples ditch the guests – The Look. “We just wanted it to be about us,” said Eustice, a 29-year-old dental assistant from Orlando, Florida. “At big weddings, I noticed the bride and groom are entertaining the guests and don’t get to spend a lot of time with each other — we love spending time together. And, it’s really about [us] at the end of the day.” Weddings-for-two, as bridal planners call them, are a growing trend, says Kelly Karli, owner of Frosted Pink Weddings in Vail, Colorado. “It’s been popping up more and more,” I am … Continue reading ‘Just us’ wedding trend: Couples ditch the guests

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Humble Emergents vs. Absolutists….

RJ Walters

Lets continue on with some more quotes from the book by Tony Jones entitled The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier “I’m humble,” an emergent might tell you, “because I don’t know what I’m wrong about today. I’ll speak with confidence, and I’ll speak with passion, but I won’t speak with certainty.” Being humble/uncertain in any area of theology is very intimidating to some within the church. They say we must believe everything in the Bible comes from God. They say we will invariably go down the “slippery slope” if we question anything in that document. They say if we … Continue reading Humble Emergents vs. Absolutists….

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Guys Bonding….

RJ Walters

I know I have a sizable percentage of women who follow this blog so I thought I would spend this post telling you about how guys bond. At least the guys I know.  I’m sure you all know and that guys bond differently than women.    When a woman feels emotional about something it is usually very obvious.  Not so much for us guys. I think I am more girly, as Arnold puts it, than most guys. I readily admit that I shed a few tears during some movies and such when something bad or even good happens to a … Continue reading Guys Bonding….

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Everything Is Fine Just The Way It Is…..

RJ Walters

Source:  G.O.P. Pulls Back on Immigration, Not on Guns – NYTimes.com. Changes to gun laws, he said, have no such support. “They will have a rough row to hoe,” he said. “I have some donors who own gun stores who said they can’t keep stuff in the store.” According to gun rights people and the NRA that represents them there is no need to change anything. Everything is fine just the way it is.  Having a few kids killed in a class room and a few more killed in a movie theaters and shopping malls is just the collateral damage … Continue reading Everything Is Fine Just The Way It Is…..

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The American Dream… Revisited….

RJ Walters

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HomeI am going to tell you up front that this post is a little whacky but then again that is the type of person I am.   I am always asking questions as to why things are the way they are. This idea is a paradigm shift that very likely will never happen.

The twentieth century American dream was always  about home ownership. We all dreamed of putting down a small deposit on  our own place and then paying a mortgage on it for the next thirty some years until it is finally ours.  The problem with that nowadays is that we find ourselves changing jobs every half dozen years or sometimes more often and those future jobs are likely not be in the area where we currently live. When that is the case then home ownership is more of an anchor than a blessing. Continue reading “The American Dream… Revisited….”

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Tipping…..

RJ Walters

  Source:  Most common travelers’ tipping mistakes – Travel Kit on NBCNews.com. The most ironic part of the story? McManus’ waiter likely wasn’t even expecting 2 cents—because in Australia, restaurant patrons rarely tip at all…. (Re: tipping in the U.S.) One Australian travel insurance agency has even decided that their clients need educating: “Since Australians don’t tip at home, there is great angst about it, and they have come to blows over it,” says Phil Sylvester of the Sydney-based World Nomads Group. “We finally decided it was a safety issue that needed addressing—as in, ‘Don’t get into a fight, learn to … Continue reading Tipping…..

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Skiing The Slippery Slope

RJ Walters

Anyone who has read much of this blog knows how I feel about the slippery slope. I believe that the very concept has damaged us theologically, politically and personally beyond anything good that could come out of it. The very concept that everything we believe about a subject becomes worthless if we come to believe that any small part of it is questionable. Here is what Tony Jones says about the slippery slope in his book The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier: That theology is local, conversational, and temporary does not mean that we must hold our beliefs without conviction. … Continue reading Skiing The Slippery Slope

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About Those Budgets…

RJ Walters

  source: House to Vote on Short-Term Increase in Debt Limit – WSJ.com. By including the requirement that a congressional budget be passed, House Republicans are acting on their frustration with the Senate, which hasn’t adopted a budget since 2009. Both chambers are supposed to pass one by April 15 each year, then reconcile their differences and pass a compromise. The government has been able to operate without a formal budget for four years only because that document represents non-binding guidance. Actual spending bills are written later. I am going to surprise many of you by proclaiming that I agree with … Continue reading About Those Budgets…

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Personal Tweets Costing Employers $650B – ABC News

RJ Walters

  Source: Personal Tweets Costing Employers $650B – ABC News. When does twittering at work become frittering away your employer’s time — and money? When your tweets aren’t work-related. Business research firm Basex puts the productivity cost of workplace interruptions, including employee abuse and misuse of social media, at $650 billion a year. I don’t know of any tweets that would be work related as the above article mentions but then I am by no means a Tweeter expert. As a matter of fact I only very rarely visit that site.  It is hard to believe that it has been almost … Continue reading Personal Tweets Costing Employers $650B – ABC News

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Theology is Temporary…

RJ Walters

Continuing with my study of theology as discussed in the book by Tony Jones entitled The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier, here is the quote for this post: theology is temporary. Since our conceptions of God are shaped locally and in conversation, we must hold them humbly. We must carry our theologies with an open hand, as it were. To assume that our convictions about God are somehow timeless is the deepest arrogance, and it establishes an imperialistic attitude that has a chilling effect on the honest conversation that’s needed for theology to progress….. [we can’t as some ask … Continue reading Theology is Temporary…

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Scientists Explain Why ….

RJ Walters

  Source: Page 2: Scientists Explain Why President Obama’s Calls for Cooperation Meet Resistance – ABC News. In this case, research suggests that how you ask someone to join a community effort may determine whether or not you are successful. Telling the world we need to work together sounds great, but may not be as effective as had been thought. Or as the study put it, “…the frequent and pressing calls for Americans to recognize their shared fate and think collectively may result in unintended consequences of undermining the very motivation they seek to inspire.” This quote is from an ABC … Continue reading Scientists Explain Why ….

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Stupidity, Insanity & Cluttered Desks……

RJ Walters

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe. ~ Albert Einstein Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. ~ Albert Einstein If a cluttered desk is that of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk? ~ Albert Einstein Albert Einstein was one of my first heroes in life. His biography was one of the first “really long” books I read in my early life. I always felt an almost kindred relationship with him.  I think maybe I am an “ignorant” version of him. … Continue reading Stupidity, Insanity & Cluttered Desks……

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Just A Minute…..

RJ Walters

I just read a news article about the grilling that Hillary Clinton got at congressional hearings lately. One of the questioner couldn’t understand why she did not respond to cable citing some staff level concern. In answer she stated that the State Department gets about 1.5 million cables a year and they are all addressed to her. I hope that answered the person’s question but I seriously doubt that it did. The article got me to thinking about the time we have to do things. There are about 0.5 million minutes in a year. If Hillary spent the entire year … Continue reading Just A Minute…..