on the doctoral journey, I found this site and I think it is worth the daily review.  If I don’t get down to some serious writing, next June will come and go and I will still be ABD! I cannot, I will not have that!

that was the title of Hiram’s Memorial Day message and truth be told, I think it was pretty darn good. I never heard a message on Memorial Day quite take the spin he did. He shared what Memorial Day is all about, when it started, what is usually done but then shared how for us believing folks we need on this day to remember Jesus. Like the soldiers of past wars who died to preserve the freedoms we enjoy as Americans, Jesus died so that we may be able to enjoy spiritual freedom and like the veterans  who are remembered on this day, so to Jesus should be remembered for the battles he fought (and continues to fight) on our behalf and for dying for the sake of others. He also mentioned that the Lord’s Table (Communion) is the way he wanted us to "memorialize" Him and thus, we had our first communion service. It was great (from my perspective).

It was also good to have a few visitors today. Jose and Mayra from NY surprised us as they vacationed in Miami for a few days and a few friends already living here came by to join us for the service and agape fellowship afterward.

The conversations we had were great. So good to dialogue with folks who share the Latino lens and bicultural experience; who are also asking the questions that continue to form our theology on everything!

Selena, Edna and Jose H.

Everyone enjoyed the FL sun, good food (and lots of it) and conversation. It was surely a great day. It is an honor and privilege to be in the lives of those who have chosen to be a part of this journey. It is our desire to continue to create wide open spaces…so that we can all find our individual voice, share in each others metamorphosis and see what the Lord has and will continue to do in each of our lives.

Andrew Jones of TallSkinnyKiwi points us to this article written about the Emergent conversation and what they concluded amongst many other things…the people in this conversation hold on to a "spirit of fun." Well, alriiiiiiight!

Some of my friends both in ‘real life’ and via the blogosphere have told me in the past about their desire to ‘understand’ a Latina woman in ministry worldview…I ran across this essay by a friend and mentor, Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Conde Frazier.

One of the aspects of this essay that I love is that it connects me to my history, los testimonios/the testimonies (a time when people would get up in the service and tell a recent faith story). As a Latino team of church planters, its funny how much we realize we love our history and culture and want to "do church" with a bit of that flava without the aspects of it that made it hurtful, spiritually abusive and as much as I hate to say it…tacky. Just last Sunday, after our cafe con leche time, we spent the afternoon singing coritos. That was such fun and brought back so many memories. We reflected how those songs mean so much  more to us now!

As the mestizos we are, we are also a mix of the old and the new ways of doing ministry, of creating spaces for God to move and of the culture we seek to create in our midsts. How do we as a new generation of Latino ministers reinterpret the faith from a Latino perspective. A generation ago, many Latinos left their Spanish churches because of many reasons. Yet, now this generation and our children seek and ask for a connection to our roots. Why is it that we feel we have to walk away from one thing to begin life anew in something else? Why can’t we eat the chicken and spit out the bones?

We as a group want to reflect on that because we want to be fully Latino in our expression of worship while incorporating what we feel are enhancers to our experience from the other cultures in our country.  When we preach and teach we need to have the lenses of our people on and remember our own stories and share our own testimonios. Why is it that at one time we felt these times of sharing our faith journey were a "waste of time". I know for me, I just thought they were not properly introduced in the midst of the service or people would go on and on and I did want to shout STOP!! But sometimes, you would catch a glimmer of what God could do in those moments, as the congregation would stand up in praise because of what a brother or sister survived because of God’s grace.  To many in the pews, Jesus was Rican and as the "I AM" he was.

We as an emerging group of Latinos doing ministry in this "post-alot of things" age haven’t fully figured it out yet but we hope to continue to struggle with the reality that is us…as Liz Conde Frazier so eloquently said "the future of such a people (US) lies in the affirmation of their double identity rather than in isolation or assimilation." This is where I hope to further develop my sancocho leadership model. It is who we are. Let us not be ashamed. Let us share our stories and testimonios…let us not forget where we come from and how God has been there because it is and will always be a part of who we are becoming. 

Many bloods run through us but only one blood redeemed us. May we be true to our call, may we never forget our roots, may we stay connected to our people and stay focused on our God.  Adelante! Mi gente!

Planting a church that is… One of the main discussions our pastoral team has is on creating culture within the plant as well as structure. I’ve been a part of two extremes in past lives…too much structure and emphasis on performance and too little structure and no emphasis on excellence, so like a dog who is afraid of humans because of his past life as an abused dog, I think all of us on the team have buttons that when touched sends us on the defensive. In our desire not to create a "mini-me" church—replicas of our past lives, we have to be careful not to throw out the baby with the bath water.

The question that comes to my mind is how can we have structure without having hiearachy? I have also found that when searching for a church, alot of the people that I thought were not looking for traditional church style, end up wanting it because they think "that is what church is"! We find ourselves talking all the time about what we want Wounded Healer Fellowship to be. In reading, "The Shaping of Things To Come" by Michael Forst and Alan Hirsch, we accept that "the missional church will be adventurous, playful, and surprising. It will gather for sensual-experiential-participatory worship and be deeply concerned for matters of justice-seeking and mercy-bringing. It will strive for a type of unity-in-diversity as it celebrates individual differences and values uniqueness, while also placing a high premium on community."

Bishop Gladwin in his book "Love and Liberty: Faith and Unity in a Postmodern Age" believes that the emerging church will have these four features in common:

1. focus on the journey of faith and the experience of God;
2. desire for less structure and more direct involvement by participants;
3. sense of flexibility in order and a distinctly nonhierarchical culture;
4. recognition that the experience of church is about the sustaining of discipleship.

Reading what the church "should be" and actually "becoming it" is the process…like I said, it isn’t easy.

had church by yourself? I mean, get down, get funky, foot stomping, teary-eyed, body jerkin’ chuuuurrrrrch…the kind that comes upon you by listening to anointed music and preparing yourself for service. Oh boy, that is the space I find myself in RIGHT NOW.

I am in total awe of the Lord. The God I serve who has chosen to overlook my faults, who sent His only son to die for the likes of this messed up Latina. As I prepare for our service on Sunday and our first Lord’s supper, I am just overwhelmed with His presence. I mean, tongue speaking (yeah) tears rolling, nose running kind of overwhelming presence.

I need more moments like this. The more I need to do the more I need Jesus. He is the source of my strength. The reason for my sanity. The reason my life is what it is right now. Oh Hallelujah! These are the times that I go back to my pentecostal fundie roots…because for all the crazy, messed up things my elders did, one thing they did reaaaalllll good was seek the presence of the Lord and enjoy it when He showed up. As we become involved in discussions involving postmodern ministry especially among non-persons of color, I find the element that is missing FOR ME (not that it is for them) is the experiential. That powerful, all-consuming presence of God that you can’t mistake as too much emotionalism. You get me?

I am enjoying my God being with me right now. I hope a little bit of Him envelopes me so that I can take it to service on Sunday. When I feel this way, I feel I can face any challenge, any enemy, any surprise challenge…I mean I feel like I could kick some real butt…bad guy butt (devil/demon), of course. THEN life happens and I wonder where all that went…have you ever?

American Bible Society had this to say about the May Latino Forum convened by my brother-in-law Rev. Dr. Marcos Rivera of my home church, PCC.  Let’s see what comes from it.

I am wondering like Rudy if we could pull off a gathering of like-minded emergent type thinkers in NY. As one that has done many conferences, it would take a great team, committed to the cause, no personal ego driven agendas, MONEY, key sponsorships  from NY gatekeepers. Hmmm. What do you think?

Thanks to Sivin Kit for this!

The Blogger’s Prayer 1.1 by Andrew Jones (June, 2002)

Our Father
who lives above and beyond the dimension of the internet

Give us this day a life worth blogging,
The access to words and images that express our journey with passion and integrity,
And a secure connection to publish your daily mercies.
Your Kingdom come into new spaces today,
As we make known your mysteries,
Posting by posting,
Blog by blog.

Give this day,
The same ability to those less privileged,
Whose lives speak louder than ours,
Whose sacrifice is greater,
Whose stories will last longer.

Forgive us our sins,
For blog-rolling strangers and pretending they are friends,
For counting unique visitors but not noticing unique people,
For delighting in the thousands of hits but ignoring the ONE who returns,
For luring viewers but sending them away empty handed,
For updating daily but repenting weekly.

As we forgive those who trespass on our sites to appropriate our thoughts without reference,
Our images without approval,
Our ideas without linking back to us.

Lead us not into the temptation to sell out our congregation,
To see people as links and not as lives,
To make our blogs look better than our actual story.

But deliver us from the evil of pimping ourselves instead of pointing to you,
From turning our guests into consumers of someone else’s products,
From infatuation over the toys of technology,
From idolatry over techology
From fame before our time has come.

For Yours is the power to guide the destinies behind the web logs,
To bring hurting people into the sanctuaries of our sites,
To give us the stickiness to follow you, no matter who is watching or reading.
Yours is the glory that makes people second look our sites and our lives,
Yours is the heavy ambience,

For ever and ever,
Amen

"There’s a part of all of us that longs to know that even what’s weakest about us is still redeemable and can ultimately count for something good." (p. 36-Life’s Journeys According to Mister Rogers, Things to Remember Along the Way)

Isn’t this so? I’ve talked about it, written about it in the past. "It" being that or those parts of us that we would rather keep in darkness because we fear. Fear that it will hurt someone, that it will further degrade the name of God and/or Christianity in this already skeptical world and yes, fear that it renders us, our call, our gifts, our passion for God useless. The struggle with our mind, with the enemy is heavy. It’s a battle I believe everyone at one time or another fights.  Sometimes we win and are able to go another day believing that God can and will "complete the good work He started in us." Other days…well, we don’t come out on top. Yet, God in his mercy and grace still…chooses us in spite of our weaknesses and yes, considers us wounded healers so that the very thing that made us our weakest can be turned around and used to help others become their strongest. I don’t know. I feel I need to tell you this. Whatever it is that you are battling, it is time to give it to God because He’s been telling you he will use it all along…even though…and yes, even now. It is redeemable and it can be used for good. But you need to step aside and let God do His work. You’ve been carrying it a long time. You exist but you don’t live because of it. Yikes, what am I doing? Blogphesying. Hey just being obedient. Remember, vita non est vivere sed valere vita est (life is more than merely staying alive).

My friend Micah Girl introduced me to this test. Here is what it said about me. Does this mean "you can take the girl out of the fundie church but you can’t take the fundie out of the girl?" Oh no. My husband will agree that I am a romanticist. This was my score…