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Thursday, May 31, 2007

Revitalizing the Grenz

So it feels like everyone - even me - has abandoned the once popular Grenz. Now people hang out at the Butterfly or Crumbs or somewhere else. In hopes of revitalizing this little website of mine, I will be undertaking an ambitious project of writing and photography.

I have long wanted to stretch my wings as a writer, and I really enjoyed the self-imposed discipline of the Purpose-Driven Life reflections on the Vintage blog. With that in mind, I am going to be starting a writing project here on the Grenz. In the past, I have described my impression that a new theological matrix is needed for the postmodern age. At various times, I have outlined the touchpoints of that theological matrix. Throughout the month of June, in hopes of sparking conversation and thought, I will be painting An Emerging Theological Mosaic, reflecting on various aspects of historical, orthodox, and relevant theology for the Christian church in the postmodern area. I hope you'll talk with me about it as it unfolds.

Second, it has been dawning on me lately that I would like to take some pictures. Several times recently, I have seen a scene (that's a phrase) and thought that it ought to be photographed. I am not a photographer, and I probably don't have very good tools, but I am hoping to post weekly during June pictures I have taken that speak to my own journey of faith. I may be promising more that I can deliver here, but let's find out together.

With all this in mind, I hope to add my random political, cultural, and sports observations too. I'm bringing grenzy back.

7 comments:

Vanessa said...

You're too grenzy for your blog
too grenzy...


You grenzy thing....

Unknown said...

Wahoo...

Its like a breathe of fresh air...

I remember the days of checking the Grenz 3 to 4 times daily to see when it updates!

Anonymous said...

Regarding your comment on photography: that sounds like a great idea. A narrative buttressed with appropriately symbolic images should prove to be quite compelling, and your pictures of St. Catherine's were top-notch. As for the quality of your "tools", photographic toys are irrelevant--your vision is all that matters.

The following is the best article I've read on the subject:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/notcamera.htm

I hope this proves useful. Take care. God bless you.

Unknown said...

They're sure as hell NOT at Crumbs, haven't had a comment in what seems like months. This is interesting to me because I have been mulling giving up blogging and blog reading for the summer. I think "I've lost that blogging feeling . . . "

Robb Ryerse said...

Thanks for the encouragement.

Let me just clarify - I didn't take the pictures at St. Catherines. Photography and picnicking are forbidden there. I coopted them from the chapel's website that is linked to in the title of my post.

Anonymous said...

Hmm...it figures that they wouldn't allow photography. St. Catherine's seems like a very nice place, though. I can certainly see why you're fond of it.

Expouding "your personal journey of faith" with your own photographs (your personal symbolism) certainly sounds like a fantastic idea. I hope it works out as you intend it.

I'm Matthew, BTW. I don't mean to be one of those sneaky "anonymous" types, but I don't have a Google/Blogger account or much of a web page, so I chose this route.

I attended one Vintage's services about 1.5 months back. I then 1) promptly came down with a nasty respiratory infection and 2) decided I was a little uncomfortable intruding on your 40 Days of Purpose program (what with the small groups already formed and all). I experience a degree of anxiety when meeting new people and haven't been feeling well anyway, so I thought I'd wait a bit before visting again.

I wouldn't have interjected here, but I saw your comment on photographing some scenes that you had seen (heh) and on documenting your journey of faith with photos, and I thought I'd try to be supportive since I have an interest in photography and can clearly see the utility in what you mentioned. I myself have seen many scenes that simply need to be seen by others, and I occasionally try to link a philosophical realization or mood with just the right photograph (sadly, it's a rare thing for me to have a good match).

Anyway, I, for one, am looking forward to seeing what you have to convey. You certainly have an ambitious itinerary for June.

Robb Ryerse said...

Matthew,

Thanks for outing yourself. I am sorry you were sick, and that you didn't want to jump in on Life Together. We are starting a new series tomorrow called The Cry of the Soul, where Aaron and I will be talking about Psalms that have meant a lot to us on our journey, and we're gearing up for a fun Transformers series in July. It's a good time to check us out again. Vintage is full of people with all kinds of anxieties. I wish I could promise that none of them would bite ... Make sure you introduce yourself to me when you visit again. I hate to admit as a pastor how bad I am at keeping people's names and faces straight.

Robb