The New Christians, Webisode One

April 21, 2008

in The New Christians

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHeoV4ITQ64]

Tagged as: church, emergent, emering church, ministry, The New Christians, tony jones, trucker frank

{ 7 trackbacks }

Church of Plastic Potted Plants « A Mending Shift: April 21, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Baptimerget Weekly Run-Down « Baptimergent: April 25, 2008 at 2:10 pm
On the Road with Trucker Frank, Webisode 2 « Tony Jones: April 28, 2008 at 4:57 am
On the Road with Trucker Frank - Webisode 3 « Tony Jones: May 5, 2008 at 1:51 am
The Life and Times of a Disenfranchised Christian, volume iv: Church without Churches « a hundred visions and revisions: May 25, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Church Basement Roadshow | pomomusings | progressive theology & design: June 21, 2008 at 12:34 am
The Emergent Church in Full View: Thoughts from the Church Basement Roadshow « Pray for the Dead and Fight Like Hell for the Living: August 5, 2008 at 3:41 pm

{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Shelton Green April 21, 2008 at 8:24 pm: Well done webisode. Really puts flesh on the bones of who/what makes up this thing we call emergent.
2 David April 21, 2008 at 9:51 pm: super fantastic! a big thankyou to frank for sharing his story so boldly with all of us. thankyou!
3 zach April 22, 2008 at 7:20 am: It was nice to start my workday with watching this. I feel motivated to keep heading in the direction I am going when I encounter stories like this. I am thankful for Frank and his story.
4 bryan a April 22, 2008 at 7:59 am: great job Tony! i look forward to seeing more of these…
5 Petey April 22, 2008 at 9:14 am: I thought it was right on. Dude he is living the faith not just punching the clock.
6 marko April 22, 2008 at 9:18 am: fantastic, tony!
7 Noah April 22, 2008 at 10:21 am: wow! That was great! I love the community
8 robwinger April 22, 2008 at 12:11 pm: unbelievable! i grew up 15 miles from maysville, mo. i used to go there and to fairport to chase girls. a small world.
also interesting: trucker frank. after 30 + years with the united methodist church, i find myself persona non grata, and have to start looking for another way to support my family. i think i understand frank’s disillusion with the organized church.
since i live in the greater kcmo area, maybe i’ll go to jacob’s well.
grace and peace
9 jeremy z April 23, 2008 at 12:01 am: i just love the rawness of the trucker.

frank has some great lines: yeah I had marriage problems. how many of the same sermons can you preach?

as i watched tony interact with the trucker, my brain kept saying: that is church. there does not need to be a pulpit, but what is happening in the semi is church.

thanks tony. the webisode was fascinating and engaging, however it looked very cool.
10 Charlie April 23, 2008 at 7:35 am: Tony,

Great first episode! Just as a matter of interest, where did you find a guy like Trucker Frank? He doesn’t seem like a guy who’s out to be discovered. He stikes me as a guy really living out this whole conversation.
11 Tony Arens April 23, 2008 at 8:30 am: Nice job TJ! Very well done and great insights. I think it’s time you trade in the iPhone for 40 channels of pure citizens band!
12 Jonathan Pedrone April 24, 2008 at 8:00 am: Awesome!

Trucker Frank is a character that you would expect to find in a movie. A deep wisdom, and walk with God from a place where most would not expect to find it.

Looking forward to episode 2…
13 Rick April 24, 2008 at 9:46 am: Thanks for this wonderful piece! I have lost a ministry job working with students for what I feel were all the wrong reasons, I didn’t play nice. But it was something that is still tearing me up inside. My current occupation seems to fill a need more for the group I am working for then for me. I worry about the same things that Trucker Frank worried about. I love the people, the church, but I felt limited. “Just keep it nice and simple and don’t challenge me.” It sounded like they wanted to keep Jesus in the building. Today I worry about finances and the strain this all places on a family. The current job pays a lot less, stupid nonprofits! I have the class A license maybe I should become a trucker, nah!

But as I think through Frank’s story I do not lose hope or faith, rather I take it out of the church building and place it back into the hearts of people I come into contact with. I think that is what Jesus did!

Blessings to you Frank!
14 JdO April 26, 2008 at 11:29 am: The video was nicely done but I’m not sure I get it. Are you saying new Christians don’t need to be part of a church body? Are you serious that this guy is one of the best examples of a new christian that you have found?
I didn’t hear Him talk about any depth of relationship with God. I didn’t hear him say how he had to pick up his cross daily. I didn’t hear him say he even prayed. I didn’t hear him talk about God’s Word, the Bible…or is that “old Christianity?”

I’m just not understanding this whole “emerging church” thing.
15 Trucker Frank May 15, 2008 at 10:09 pm: To JdO #16
It is so easy to slip into the performance based relationship with the Father,believe me I know. I wasted years as the older son in the parable basing my relationship with Father on what I did and how often I did it:”Look,these many years I have served you,and I never disobeyed your command,yet……”Luke 15:29. What joy to hear the words of the Father to the younger son:”It is fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this brother was dead,and is alive;he was lost, and is found.” 15:32. Yes perhaps I was the best example that Tony could find,because this is what being emergent is all about. Might I suggest for further contemplation Brennan Manning’s “Abbba’s Child” especially chapter 2 “The Imposter”.
Trucker Frank(one embraced by Father)
16 Michael Hatcher May 27, 2008 at 1:39 am: Trucker Frank, when did hell become “eternal sleep?!” Is that what you believe?
17 Frank Schutzwohl June 4, 2008 at 12:20 pm: Michael Hatcher,
Hell isnt eternal sleep,but I was so confused at the time that was what I was hoping it would be. That time was truly a dark night of the soul in my life. All the “answers” I had learned in church and bible college meant nothing to me. I hope you never have to go through it but I can honestly say Christ was there all the time even though I didnt think He was.
Trucker Frank
18 Rev. Bret Lortie September 17, 2008 at 4:55 pm: Dear Tony,

I’m doing a talk on the emergent church this Sunday and am looking for some video to incorporate into my presentation. Is there any way I can get the quicktime files for any of this great stuff?

Thanx,

Bret, San Antonio, TX
19 Kent November 22, 2008 at 6:37 am: Tony -

Great job with the piece… reminds me of some of the stuff my brother Brad and I explore in Rebellion of Thought: postmodernism, the church, and the struggle for authentic faith. Have you seen it yet?

Here’s a link to the trailer…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbXWxoXwtk8

You can get it on Netflix or Blockbuster.com or you can purchase it at all the major online stores.

Best,

Kent