blogging @ general assembly

I like the folks at Disciples World and the way they have improved the level of communication as well as the kind of information that is shared in our little denomination. The hard copy magazine is a must read, and the online presence is at least a weekly visit for me. Disciples World wants to have a blog presence at General Assembly. To do this with the least fuss they plan to have a page of Disciple blog links of folks who are blogging about General Assembly from their own sites.

I don't have an affinity for horse racing. It is not my idea of gambling, but Derby and Keeneland do offer the chance to have Kentucky Burgoo. It is hard to explain exactly what burgoo is. Having grown up in the south and around Cajun(1) relatives I would compare burgoo to mulligan stew. But alas, there is the internet and dictionay.com which gave this definition.

1. A spicy stew made of poultry, game, other meats, and vegetables, usually cooked outdoors.
2. A picnic featuring such a stew.(2)

The odd thing about burgoo is that it is not for everyone. Some would say it is an acquired taste while I have heard others call it "down right nasty." But it seems to me that when Disciples are at their best we are like good burgoo. You blend a lot of different ingredients together to create something that is heaven for some, an acquired taste for others, and something others don't even want to put to their lips. An old timer in southern KY told me it takes diverse flavors to make a good burgoo. One of the problems within Discipledom right now is the lack of distinctive flavor that is uniquely our own. Didn’t Jesus say something about loosing your saltiness? Many churches try the "flavor of the month Christianity" that appears to be successful and loose touch with the substance, the base ingredient that makes them a Disciple congregation. I don't know what the base ingredient of burgoo is, and as I look around the denomination right now I wonder how many know or could name the base ingredient of Discipledom?(3)

Davison's Doodle will feature different voices during assembly. I will post daily. My spouse, Rev. Dr. Lisa Davison will post at least three times during the event, and youth members of the General Youth Council are scheduled as well. I am working to schedule other authors, laity and clergy, who will take the time to share their perspective. If you have your own Disciple blog site please email me so we can get to know each other and raise the level of conversation in our denomination. Stone and Campbell used publications like the Christian Advocate and the Millennial Harbinger to discuss issues in their day. The internet and blogger-sphere is the logical place for our conversations today. Kudos to the staff at Disciples World for being future story oriented.

Notes
(1) 1. A member of a group of people in southern Louisiana descended from French colonists exiled from Acadia in the 18th century; 2. often Cajan A member of a group living in southern Alabama and southeast Mississippi, of mixed white, Black, and Native American ancestry. Dictionary.com: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

(2) Dictionary.com: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

(3) Our present GMP is floating the idea of Disciples have covenantal values that I think he would call our base ingredient. I am not sure I agree [more on that topic later[, but they are worth your time to review. http://www.disciples.org/ga05/biblestudy.htm

Filed Thu - April 28, 2005, 09:37 AM in

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