Tall Skinny Kiwi

Blog-Fast for September

I intend NOT to blog for the month of September. This will be my longest ever blog-fast.

Why?

- Because I feel that a new season is upon us and I need to take a breather before plunging in. If i dont, I may miss this new season through laxity and the curse of routine sameness. Does that make sense??????
- Because after my 5 year blogiversary I decided to take an extended break and rethink my blog. But it never happened and I feel like I should have.
- Because I Do suffer from blog addiction and blog fasting is a way for me to kill the old man and crucify him again - allowing God the opportunity of resurrection in his way.
- Because I have travelled FAR TOO MUCH in the last 3 months and I want to be around for my family this month. I also need to do non-blogging tasks like reading, writing, administrating and emailing and i dont want to get distracted.
- Because my blog is old and tired and not nearly as much fun as it used to be. I want to be re-inspired and invigorated.
- Because I have an idea of how blogging should be and I want my blog to catch up to my vision.
- Because I have been SELFISH in my blogging recently, concerned with building my own blog and tracking my own progress rather than being a resource on other people's blogs.
- Because the quality of my blog posts has decayed and I am posting fewer poetic posts [a sign of good spiritual health] and fewer thoughtful theological/missiological posts [a sign of rigorous thinking in my head] and I need to raise the bar.
- Because I have become infatuated [again] with my stats and my blog authority and google-ranking - a form of idolatry and narcissism that can only be harmful.
- Because my blog is becoming institutional and I want to OWN it again - as a whole-life blog and not a way of fulfilling other peoples expectations.
- Because my blogging world is more complex, involving a number of blogs, and I need to think on how to bring all these worlds together
- Because I want to PURGE my site of the thousands of visitors who are jumping in without any history and would do better reading someone else's blog written by someone who has the time to explain the basics.

Probably other reasons also. There will, however, be one or two posts to finish off the month of August that i might back-date to put them in place.

Anyway, when i come back on October 1st, I hope to be in a better place and have a smaller but more committed readership. Those of you who read TSK daily and are thinking of moving on to other blogs - God bless you all. Thanks for being a part of my life and allowing me to be a part of yours. Those who want to track with me in the NEXT STAGE of what God is doing in this crazy emerging Kingdom thing, then pray for me over the next month, hook up again on October 1st, and get ready for the next level. Together!

Peace out.

Andrew (tall skinny kiwi)

Related: Blogging Less, Living More

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The Blogger’s Prayer 1.2 by Andrew Jones

Our Father
who lives above and beyond the blogosphere

How To Write a Blog Post

I have an article in September edition of Worship Leader called "How To Write a Blog Post". If you read it and have some questions, leave a comment below.

Technorati Tags: blogging

Wales

Just spent two days in Wales - visiting relatives, viewing the house my grandfather was born in [more on that later] hanging with my Aunty Olwen, and chatting to Welsh hymnwriter Morgan Lewis who is now 93 years old and still in love with Jesus.

Great time. Photos coming. In Bristol now but will spend a night at Ashlee House, my favourite London hostel tonight [£12] and will fly home to Orkney tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Abigail

My daughter Abigail turns 11 today. She blogs at gabigail95.bebo.com. Go to her bebo powered BLOG at Gabigail95.bebo.com [bebo rocks and totally blows off Myspace!] Leave a comment or even better, take the quiz "How Well Do You Know Abigail" and see if you do better than I did.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABIGAIL!!!!!

In case you were wondering, other daughters of mine have bebo:
Elizabeth is 13 and she has a bebo - littleliz93.bebo.com
Hannah is 7 and she has a bebo - hanbanj.bebo.com
Even tall skinny dad has a bebo, much to the disgust of his children who think he is too old to be beboing. tallskinnykiwi.bebo.com
Oh yeah. And my son Sam is Mr-Spam.bebo.com

I want you . . .

I want you. . . to know that God desires to include you in his Great Plans and His Great Party.

Thanks to designer Paul Dzubinski, Barcelona and Reinhold for the link.

The Tennessee Emerging Church Podcast Cometh

Thanks Leslie for capturing the real me for your slideshow. Must be something weird in that Sweet Carolina BBQ sauce. Looking forward to Nick and Josh's podcast which should be ready by Sep 14. Tune in and hear from me and Olgavaro Bastos Jnr, of Tribal Generation fame. Olgavaro also pastors a church of 2000 people in Uberlandia, Brazil. Its called Sal Da Terra.

I am being asked for the videos that Olgavaro presented at the Global Briefing last week. You will find much of it here on the TG site including some of our events in Europe, Asia, and the Americas [North and South]

Original Post:
Had a huge slab of Tennessee BBQ ribs last night at Sticky Fingers. Mike Smith rounded up some folk to talk about church in the emerging culture. Mike and I met at Golden Gate Seminary 8 years ago. Thanks for the ribs, Mike. Mystical!!!!

Nick and Josh came down for dinner and interviewed Olgavaro and myself for one of their superb and definitely-NOT-lame podcasts. I was finally able, after months of anticipation, to give the skinny on their "Tall Skinny" recommendations.
My apologies for calling these guys dorky and saying their podcast is lame. If that was true at the time, which it must have been because i said it, they certainly are not dorky or lame now and i am sooooo glad there are podcasts like these - fun and real and educational at the same time. I heard, btw, that after starting their podcasts only a few months ago, they now have almost 12,000 subscribers. Way to go!!!

Technorati Tags: bbq, emergent, emerging church, olgavaro bastos

Nizlopi at Greenbelt

Pleasantly surprised by the folk-rap-jazzy band Nizlopi. I met them at the pie stall and had a good chat with Luke, who promised to do song for me if I came along. Not that he needed more people - there was a massive swarm of bodies. But my curiosity was aroused, and my ego was wondering if i would get a Tallskinnykiwi song - which i did. And he did. Thanks Luke and John! I will now be your unswerving fan!

They have a similar sound to Ben and Robin of 100 Portraits. The best song was their Number One hit "The JCB song" which taps into those deep emotional memories every boy has with their dad. Touching.

I also liked when poet Alastair McIntyre [i mean McIntosh] joined the band and gave some hard hitting poetic words for young men to grow up and look to their Beloved.

Related: Nizlopi Lyrics, Nizlopi blog.

Technorati Tags: greenbelt, greenbelt festival 2006, greenbelt2006, nizlopi

Latest on Emerging Church

- Emerging Church Research has some thoughts on blogging and making it easier for historians to track. [hint - use day and date when possible]
- "Emergent Church is a flock of singularities" just like the youth groups of 1980s, according to a good article on Out Of Ur blog.
- Daryl Dash is becoming a fan of James McDonald.
- Justin Taylor has compiled a Primer on the Emerging Church

Tallskinnykiwi Interviews Randy Stonehill

To be honest, my interview failed. Randy Stonehill, after a great set that totally rocked, went backstage and wasnt able to talk to me. In fact, he didnt even know I was there. But my interview with him will be blogged anyway, and in the genre of Chris Farley.

The Interview:

Tallskinnykiwi: Randy, you rock! That was excellent. You really WAIL on that guitar. Was that really YOU out there??????

Randy Stonehill: Ahhhhh .. . yeah.

Tallskinnykiwi: Aaah . . shoot. That was a dumb question! Randy, your song "American Fast Food [what a stupid way to die]" was soooooo 20 years before SuperSize Me! I wish you would have sung it today. And "Turning Thirty" was my theme song when I turned 30. And "Shut De Do" is so classic - i used to think it was an old gospel song. But you wrote that in 1983, while driving down a street in Hollywood. Ummm . .. didnt you? Did you REALLY write all those songs?

Randy Stonehill: Ahhhhh . .. yes. Thats correct, Tallskinnykiwi.

Tallskinnykiwi: Coooool!!!!! Wooooowwwww!!!!! That's AWESOME!

Randy Stonehill: Yeah it is!

Tallskinnykiwi: Totally AWESOME!!!

Randy Stonehill: . . . .

Tallskinnykiwi: Hey - times up and i have to go. Thanks for a GREAT interview!

Randy Stonehill: Ahhhhhh . . . .

Tallskinnykiwi: Ok, thats it. PEACE OUT everyone!!!!!!!

[Disclaimer - this interview never happened because Randy walked out the back. But I came closer to Randy Stonehill than ever before. The previous time was 1985 in Sydney when Randy was playing a concert and I was right outside that venue on the same night. Didnt have enough money to go in, of course, but I saw the people who went in. Saw them up close too.
But tonight . . . I got close enough to RANDY STONEHILL to take that photo on my phone.]

Related: See the video of American Fast Food.

Technorati Tags: greenbelt2006

Greenbelt Festival

I am in Cheltenham right now at Greenbelt Festival. 20,000 people here but it seems like more. Good spirit. Greenbelt photos are being uploaded to Flickr with 'greenbelt2006' tag.

Right now i am blogging at the Contributors Lounge and sitting next to Eliz from folk-hip band Nizlopi - who had a Number One hit "The JCB Song". They perform tonight on main stage.
Ian Mobsey (Moot) was preparing his teaching on emerging church a few minutes ago and is now teaching. I tried to get in but its full and they turned me away. Dang nasty of them! I was even helping Ian with his presentation. He will be focusing on the Trinity as a basis for emerging church theology.

Highlights so far:
- Paul told me that a round of hymn-singing in the Organic Beer Tent last night was one of the greatest worship moments ever for him. LOUD MANLY singing raising the canvas roof, verse after verse, wesley and more wesley, people rushing into the tent, all led by someone on a keyboard who was probably drowned out. Paul will be blogging on the experience soon and i will link to it. Makes me wonder if hymn singing in pubs might be something worth bringing back.

- I helped Fuse Factory set up last night and do an audio-visual worship set at New Forms. They have just left for their home in Lausanne but I hope to connect with them next summer on tour through Europe. Fuse Factory's Bryce and Sam have been friends for years. I slept in their tent last night. Thanks!

- Daniel Bedingfield performed last night to a mass [thousands???] of young fans - it looked like a waving shagpile carpet of young people singing along. Bryce and I tried to say hello afterwards - Bryce knows him from YWAM days and I have had some phone chats with him - but it was a bad time and there were teenyboppers everywhere, showing off their phone photos of Daniel, that we decided to try another time. I didn't realize the guy was so famous. Not bad for a fellow KIWI!

Shane Claiborne is camping next to me. Nice to see him again. And lots of others. Thanks June for image.

Just looking at the schedule . . . dang! RANDY STONEHILL on right now. Bye!

Technorati Tags: greenbelt, greenbelt festival 2006, puppy