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June 30, 2008
engaGE!
Last year engaGE Geneva was all the rave. International people in the Geneva community coming together to learn the art of blossoming where you are planted.
This year the engaGE has a new range of projects for people to participate in. If you are interested in participating, click here to sign-up for the projects and help make a ripple effect of goodness in Geneva.
engaGE!
jc
Posted by joshuacase at 04:43 PM | Comments (0)
Blogging Transition
Well, it has been a little over a week now since Laura and I have been back in the USA. Its been a literal whirlwind of activity.
So far, here is what is has looked like:
-Arrive on 20 June;
-23-25th- Look for apartments and visit ones we found online;
-25th- Sign on new apartment;
-26th- Travel to Tuscaloosa Alabama to look for a car & buy one;
-27-28th- Spend some time with family in Tuscaloosa, including new nephew Jake;
-29th- Drive back to Atlanta.
So yeah, nine days, one apartment, one car and today we should be able to pick up our shipment of stuff from Switzerland at US customs. They've been holding it! I can assure them, there are no terrorist manuals or stuff like that in there. Just a bunch of books and a few pretty decent movies.
On Saturday, Laura and I also celebrated the big 5. Yep, that right, it has flown by, but it has been five years now since we've been married. In many ways, it is hard to believe it has been that long, in others, it seems like it has been longer. But hey, thats life, right? We are very excited about the next 5 and really can not wait to see what will come!
As for our little puddle hopper, aka our car, we bought a 2004 Pontiac Vibe. Yeah, we are feeling pretty good about it. Gets a lot of mpgs and is quite comfortable.
So that's life here. Hopefully, more substantial blogging will return soon. But then again, even some of that will depend on wifi availability. Wait for it....its coming!
peace...
jc
Posted by joshuacase at 07:32 AM | Comments (3)
June 27, 2008
Seriously Good Conversations
Since I am not sure how often I am going to have wifi, I am going to post a end of the week SGC. I am squatting on wifi at panera bread mostly.
Corey Hau's 'Sanity Amongst the Concrete'.
Phyllis Tickle's 'Pagans and Patriarchs'.
Per Caritatem's 'Begbie on Music as an Outpouring of Love'
Prodigal Kiwi's 'Interpreting Scripture, Mission and Layers of Significance'.
the church and postmodern culture's 'Charles Taylor, Pluralism, and the Postmodern Condition'.
Jason Clark's reminder and book recommendation 'Beyond smells & bells: the wonder and power of Christian liturgy'.
And finally, Peter Rollins' 'Batman as ultimate capitalist hero'.
The other good news is that Laura and I now officially have an apartment in Atlanta. We've also got a car just today. More on the new ride vibe soon.
peace and stay tuned! More updates on the transition to come!
joshua c
Posted by joshuacase at 11:20 AM | Comments (0)
June 24, 2008
Apple=Community Part 2
So a few weeks back I posted a video about Apple culture. Well now, even more of what we-who-love Apple suspected is proving true according to Josh Brown.
Josh recently posted this blog about Apple culture in which he described the sense of relief with retail-that-works-for-good and a memorial service (of sorts) for one of the 'family' of the Apple store he now works at.
Here is part of the post:
"I’ve had so many positive experiences being a part-time specialist. And I hesitate to even write about the positive things that I’ve experienced because I don’t want to step on any toes by blogging about work. All that to say, I went in as a part-time specialist being pretty skeptical of the retail world. Granted I love Apple computers and have had both the hardware and software enrich and make my life easier for years. But I wrongly assumed that just because it was a retail company that it would be similar to my other prior retail experiences. And my hang-ups with commercialism in general.
I was wrong. Apple has been amazing. And the culture you become a part of when you use an Apple computer is only that much stronger when you become a part of the growing family who work for the company."
Read the rest here.
Again, as we all suspected, at least those of us who love Apple, it is more than a consumer good. It is a culture and a community to which we belong. Even after interacting for a brief period this week with Josh and his co-workers, they love what they do, and the goodness they add to the lives of those they care for.
Stay tuned for more updates of life in the community called Apple.
plotting goodness...
joshua
Posted by joshuacase at 10:29 AM | Comments (0)
Tuesday is for Thomas
Merton wrote:
"If you imagine the solitary as "one" who has numerically isolated himself from "many others," who has simply gone out of the crowd to hang up his individual number on a rock in the desert, and there to receive messages denied to the many, you have a false and demonic solitude. The true solitary does not seek himself, but loses himself. There is One solitude in which all persons are at once together and alone. The paradox of solitude is that its true ground is universal love -- and true solitude is the undivided unity of love. Hence, we live in a world in which we say, "God is dead," and do so in a sense rightly, since we are no longer capable of experiencing the truth that we are completely rooted and grounded in His Love. The answer is not found in words, but by living on a certain level of consciousness. These pages are, then, a landscape of the mind, a level of consciousness: the peace, the silence of aloneness in which the Hearer listens, and the Hearing is No-Hearing.
Where is silence? Where is solitude? Where is Love? Ultimately, these cannot be found anywhere except in the ground of our own being. There, in the silent depths, there is no more distinction between the I and the Not-I. There is redemptive Love. There we encounter God.
Unfortunately, modern man believes he is fruitful and productive when his ego is aggressively affirmed, when he is visibly active, and when his action produces obvious results.Their desire is only an illusion which cannot find fulfillment."
ouch...
jc
Posted by joshuacase at 08:36 AM | Comments (0)
June 22, 2008
NT Wright and Colbert
(ht: nicholas)
Well there you go, NT with Colbert. For those of you internationally, you'll probably remember him from his time on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I do have to be honest though, it feels a bit weird. The awkwardness of the interview at times is a little odd and the language was probably a little unaccessible to anyone who isn't accustomed to reading about this theology stuff.
One the better lines in the interview though is NT's comment on Anglican theology when Colbert asks if this is his reading or Anglican theology when Wright says, 'The great thing about Anglicans is that we have no theology of our own, if something is true, then Anglicans believe it.'
Overall though, it is a good starter for those who have never heard of or been around Bishop Wright.
enjoy the watch if you missed it.
jc
Posted by joshuacase at 07:30 AM | Comments (0)
June 21, 2008
Safe and sound
Laura and I arrived safely into Atlanta. We are currently staying with Josh & Anna.
Be back in touch soon, especially about the recent news of Tiger's season ending surgery. Oh, and did I mention he is an absolute beast?!
Take care. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.
Joshua
Posted by joshuacase at 03:07 AM | Comments (3)
June 18, 2008
Possibly a final blog..from this side of the ocean!
HI to all.
This is just a quick note that I will be away from internet until I get to ATL on Friday. The past few weeks have been quite a ride. More stories and lessons to share than I could have imagined. Also, as of tomorrow, no cell phone.
Please stay in touch via joshuacase (at) mac (dot) com. I'll be back around come Saturday!
peace in a time of transition...
joshua c
Posted by joshuacase at 02:53 PM
June 16, 2008
From Sunday to Monday- Still, Tiger Wins!
The US Open is the only championship event which has a 18 hole playoff should the event be tied after the fourth round. Of course, by now, you should have seen Tiger hole this put for birdie to force the playoff today:
After 18 holes (which he holed another birdie on 18 to force the next playoff) another playoff was needed. Tiger won his 14th Major on the first hole of the playoff by making a pretty routine par, and has still yet to be defeated after sharing a lead after 54 holes.
I hope he gets some well deserved rest, and that the pressure he put on his knee this week doesn't cause any long term damage.
jc
ps.
for those of you who come by to read more than just rants about Tiger, thanks for indulging me!
Posted by joshuacase at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)
June 15, 2008
Another Tiger Sunday!
After three days of pain and up-and-down play, Tiger Woods is in the lead at the 2008 US Open.
Here is video highlighting the third round. Especially his 'eagles':
As you will see from the video (starting about the 3min mark) he truly has energized the sport. Even if you are not into golf, you will enjoy these clips. And who knows, you might even be converted. But be assured, the road from conversion to good play is a long one!
Finally, we can not forget that Tiger Woods has never lost a major when he has at least a share of the 54-hole lead, and it has been seven years since anyone beat him anywhere in the world when he had the lead to himself.
The guy is tough. The guy is good.
enjoy golf...
jc
Posted by joshuacase at 10:04 AM | Comments (0)
June 14, 2008
Seriously Good Conversations
Here are a few from this week:
Greg Boyd's 'What's Up With Nephilim?'
Jim Wallis' 'Two Firsts'
Brian McLaren's 'Note to critics and self'
the church and postmodern culture's 'A Gadamarian Critique of Hirsch’s Meaning/Significance Distinction, by Cynthia R. Nielsen' and 'Guess on Rorty: Pragmatism and (as?) Americanism'
Fernando Gros' 'Attention, Distraction And Interruption'
The TED Blog's 'The worldwide web of belief and ritual'
Doug Shaver's 'Can Reliable Knowledge Be Produced Outside Science?'
Also, a few months ago I blogged about a book by Parker J Palmer entitled, Let Your Life Speak. I am so happy to see that Palmer is getting around as Josh Brown just put this post up on his experience with the book. If you have not checked it out yet, please do yourself a favor!!
Enjoy this week's stuff.
jc
Posted by joshuacase at 11:44 AM | Comments (2)
June 11, 2008
Starting tomorrow: US Open 2008
Well, tomorrow Tiger is back after knee surgery. The tour has gone on without him, even if in nearly every press conference that happened at events the winner thanked Tiger for not being there. Or, as Kenny Perry did last weekend, he said, 'Tiger, next year I am coming for you!'
Stay tuned for more updates on the US Open.
Go Tiger!
jc
Posted by joshuacase at 10:06 AM
June 10, 2008
Emergent Survey and Input
Emergent in the US, are undergoing a review of their activities as they plans their future, and have put this survey online.
It’s also open to people outside the US, friends and critics alike.
Text for the request for input is:
“Dear Friends,
When the emergent conversation was born just over ten years ago in the US, we never would have guessed that in such a short time it would become a significant feature in the American religious landscape, and a small but significant part of something happening around the world. In many ways, those of us who originally “built” Emergent Village were simply trying to create safe space to ask our own questions and talk openly about problems we were experiencing in how we were “doing church” and living and thinking Christianly.
But soon a wide array of leaders – Evangelical, charismatic, mainline, and others; younger and older; women and men – began migrating to this conversational space called Emergent Village. Around the country, generative friendships were forming. New questions were being asked. People were grappling with the Bible, with philosophy, with church history, and with the practicalities of planting, leading, and renewing local churches.
Those of us who have found ourselves as conveners or leaders in this conversation have grown closer as friends and deeper in our mutual respect. Nobody has tried to control or dominate the space. We have tried to listen to both our friendly and hostile critics, learn all we can, and respond prayerfully and wisely, keeping in step with the Holy Spirit.
Having accomplished much more than we’d expected, we, the Emergent Village Board of Directors, feel we are at a crossroads as an organization. As we look ahead to the future, we are seeking input and counsel from three groups of people.
First, we are asking people who are highly committed to Emergent Village to give us their counsel.
Second, we would value input from people who value the emergent conversation.
And third, we would also like friendly critics to offer their input.
We would like to solicit input between June 10 and August 10. Then we will use this input to prayerfully develop a plan which we hope to announce November 1. Thanks for your participation, and your prayers, in this process. The plan involves you filling out this survey. Board members will also be having follow-up, 30-minute phone conversations with some of you – you’ll have the opportunity to indicate your willingness to participate in that way at the end of the survey.
Thanks again,
The Emergent Village Board of Directors"
Take a couple of minutes to do this if you want to contribute to the conversation personally. But do not be mistaken, there are only a couple of questions. So take your time answering the ones you come to!
hopeful and emergent...
joshua c
Posted by joshuacase at 09:46 PM | Comments (0)
Tuesday is for Thomas
I haven't posted a Merton quote for a while because I have been wanting to make sure I posted good ones. And wow do i have one for you. This is one of the best quotes I have come across in a while!
Merton's journal entry entitled, Lost with the Lost, Desiring Lucidity:
"One only ceases o be absurd when, realizing that everything is absurd when seen in isolation from everything else, meaning and value are sought only in wholeness. The solitary must, therefore, return to the heart of life and oneness, losing himself, not in the massive illusion, but simply in the root reality, plunging through the center of his own nothingness, and coming out in the All which is the Void and which is, if you like, the Love of God.
One cannot cease to be absurd by dint of metaphysics, or concentration, or meditation, or study, or knowledge: only by experiencing the fact that there is now all between ourselves and others, in other words, by accepting the absurdity of our own life in terms of the suffering of others: no separating "my" pain, suffering, limitation, lostness, etc., from that of others. As long as a single person is lost, I am lost. To try to save myself by getting free from the mass of the damned (Augustine's massa damnata), an becoming good by myself, is to be both damned and absurd-as well as antichrist. Christ descended into hell to show that He willed to be lost with the lost, in a certain sense emptied so that they might be filled and saved, in the realization that now their lostness was not theirs but His. Hence, the way one begins to make sense out of life is taking upon oneself the lostness of everyone-and then realizing not that one has done something, or "made sense," but that one has simply entered into the stream of realization. The rest will work out by itself, and we do not know what that might mean."
be lost with the lost!
joshua
Posted by joshuacase at 08:49 AM | Comments (0)
June 09, 2008
A good story about a good guy
So the Celtics and the Lakers are in the NBA finals. Here is a story about one of the Celtic players who had a great night last night. And the bottom line: when he was younger, he was homeless.
inspirational, eh?
jc
Posted by joshuacase at 05:39 PM | Comments (0)
June 08, 2008
Seriously Good Conversations
So, while I have not posted what I would consider a seriously good one in a while, there are others keeping hope alive! I hope to rejoin the ranks when the transition dusts settle.
Jim Wallis' 'A Transformational Moment'
TED's 'The psychology of forgiveness'
Brian McLaren's 'What Do You Mean By Politics? 1 & 2'
Jason Clark's 'Evangelicalism, Fundamentalism & The Emerging Church'
Jonathan Stegall's 'Practicality of church and politics'
The Loom's 'A New Step in Evolution'
And just in case you missed it, make sure to check out this very funny video by jon stewart! Congrats Barack!
Finally, in case you were unaware, watch out for 9 June! WWDC?!
enjoy!
jc
Posted by joshuacase at 04:55 PM | Comments (0)
June 07, 2008
Euro 2008
So, its about to begin.
For those of you not in Europe, the Euro Cup 2008 is about to begin. A few games are taking place in Geneva so the place is hopping!
Stay tuned for updates as the Swiss compete!
Hopp Suisse!
jc
Posted by joshuacase at 04:52 PM | Comments (0)
Thank You Jon Stewart!
Well, while I have not been able to watch Jon Stewart regularly since moving to Europe, his freshness and honesty have always been welcomed!
If you have been following this campaign stuff for as long as I have, this video shines a light on how in the beginning, it was all 'Hillary has this nomination all locked up'. The broadcasters couldn't have been more wrong!
joshua case for Obama!
ps.
and the stuff about McCain...exactly my point!
Posted by joshuacase at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)
June 06, 2008
Apple=Community
(ht nick Apple is Emergent)
jc
Posted by joshuacase at 05:19 PM | Comments (0)
June 04, 2008
Let us begin!! Let us unite!!
(just a taste of the speech. but it is worth listening to)
As everyone should have seen by now, Obama has clinched the nomination for President from the Democratic party. This means that he will becoming the first African American to receive the backing of a major party in American history.
I am a bit hesitant to blog too much right now; especially in light of Hillary Clinton's comments about Bobby Kennedy being killed in June, and her unwillingness to concede defeat. I am also a bit hesitant to blog too much about speculations on the running mate. However, one thing is clear, Hillary would love to be the running mate. But can he trust her?
However, I am proud. Proud that I've been able to watch as Americans have taken some pretty bold steps to unite behind a vision that can bring real change to the country and to the image of America abroad. As much as anything, I think Obama's nomination is an exciting thing to be returning to America for. Because of Obama, many people are saying that Georgia (where I'll live) which has voted traditionally Republican, is now a swing state and could back Obama. Let us see!
And finally, not for the last time, here is 'Yes, We Can!'
Posted by joshuacase at 09:12 AM | Comments (0)
June 02, 2008
Not much to this post, but these are funny!
Here are a couple of funny videos we watched this weekend at our final student bbq/Tex-Mex party.
Funny America:
And this one is significantly longer (student recommended):
peace..
jc
Posted by joshuacase at 02:33 PM | Comments (0)