Monday, June 26, 2006

A Gathering of the Heterodox

And we lived to tell the tale!

Jon and I hosted a BBQ for Dave and his wife, Julie, who were in town for a wedding this weekend. We also included Brian and his family, and Chuck and his wife, Deb.

Jon, kids and I literally slaved away all weekend getting ready. The Wallpapering and Painting Ordeal behind us, I had about a million bags of trash to take out and the requisite scouring of wood floors, mopping of dust and moving of furniture to complete. Jon leveled an assault on our overgrown backyard. The net effect? Clean, neat house and groomed yard. Worth it.

One of the funnies about this configuration of friends: I am on the email list that Dave hosts called pomoxian (lots of debate about how that word is pronounced!). I have known Dave for at least four years. Chuck found my blog through jesuscreed.org and we realized we were both in Cincinnati. Chuck discovered Dave through my blog and joined the pomoxian email list. Chuck then invited Brian, local friend, to join the pomoxian email list. As Brian posted, it slowly became clear to me that I already knew his wife! Tywana and I are a part of the same homeschool co-op and our daughters are friends.

Ah cyber space.

So I invited the whole gang over including kids for a little pomoxian reunion of sorts. Julie made a killer salsa dip, Tywana brought a tasty fruit salad, Deb offered yummy dessert baklava and Jon (my main squeeze) rotisseried pork loin and chicken on his Weber grill. Yummy!

Lots of Coronas with lime and a couple of bottles of wine later, we were all fast friends with loose tongues (spewing heresies right, left and center...).

We covered a lot of ground - universalism and the dangers of admitting it outloud to people, sermons by pastors who don't know theology, how to appreciate Brian McLaren's contribution to his evangelical fan base, papal infallibility (shout out to Beth for teaching me that not every word out of the Pope's mouth needs to be considered infallible), the future of Christianity, the nature of God, the Jesus Seminar, our journeys out of evangelical churches, how the Internet is like God... to name a few.

Dave (fellow ENFP) is the founder of the feast. Years ago when I posted on a little list that discussed A New Kind of Christian, I noticed Dave's irenic style and his in-depth treatment of most topics. I found his thoughtfulness on any subject relevant to my journey. When he started his own list (pomoxian), I jumped on it and might have been the first to sign on! Since then, he and I have a joke between us - more often than not, he speaks my mind or I speak his... a little theological synergy happening there. However, there is one major difference between us: he remains aloof to pop culture, while I, I must confess, remain a pop culture whore. :) Survivor, American Idol, pop radio, So You Think You Can Dance... yep. Total slut.

My mission: to suck others into the pop culture vortex. Come on Dave, you can do it - watch Survivor... it's a must for all serious pomoxians. Even Brian and Chuck watch!

Lucky for me, Brian, Chuck and Deb are talking about continuing these in-person theological tangoes and I hope to attend. Nice to finally have some local friends to discuss with. Sorry Dave can't make it (he hails from Grand Rapids, after all...).

Thanks to all of you for making last night a beautiful evening!

11 comments:

Chuck said...

A great time was definitely had by the Wiggins household. It's great to be able to share from the heart without concern over things being misconstrued or taken out of context. And it is relaxing for us INFPs (Chuck) and INFJs (Deb), for whom conversation is not a "natural" mode, to have E's around to keep the conversation going. I'll try to post more later today on my blog, once the work day gets under control.

Jon, the pork loin was to die for. I'll have to shoot you my recipe for Caribbean Jerk pork loin - it would be delicious on the Weber rotisserie.

Dave and Julie, we hope you made it home safely, and can't wait to see some of the photos from that disposable digital camera!

Bilbo said...

I'm glad you all had a great time Julie...but...I'm oh so envious...

NoVA Dad said...

Definitely sounds like a great deal of fun, fellowship, and frivolity -- a perfect party!

Chuck said...

Oh, and most important in relation to my "pop culture" reputation, I don't watch "Survivor" or other reality shows. Deb occasionally watches "The Apprentice" and I've caught portions of episodes. Our major TV struggle this spring was making sure the DVR recorded both "24" and "The Apprentice", since they were on at the same time.

My favorite reality show is "Drawn Together" on the Cartoon Network :-)

Unknown said...

Oops. Sorry Chuck. I took your knowledge of the Cincinnati obsession with reality TV as evidence of your participation in that cult. I stand corrected!

David Blakeslee said...

Hey everyone! I am here to let you know that we got home safely and, all things considered, quickly! Left Cinci around 9:30 p.m., arrived in my driveway a little after 3:00 a.m. and thought to myself this morning, "you know, that wasn't such a bad drive at all!" So with the right occasion and a bit of open-ended time on my schedule, a return trip down southern Ohio way doesn't seem like it would be all that difficult to arrange...

I will have my own bloggin' take on the festivities soon - tomorrow at the earliest. But there's so much swirling through my mind at the moment - from Friday evening until Sunday night was full of sights, impressions, events and people - kind of a lot for me to sort out, especially since my day at work and my evening were just about as full and busy as the weekend was for me. It just doesn't stop! And my day is loaded tomorrow too! But I will get it all out... eventually.

Anonymous said...

I am absolutely beside myself green-eyed jealous. . .

But I refuse to watch Survivor. I don't even own a TV. Well I do, but it is only used as a video player. And for NBA playoffs so my daughter doesn't expire from lack of professional basketball.

Rebecca C.

David Blakeslee said...

Hey Julie, I resent that you don't consider me a pop culture whore. I am too, no matter what you say! I just don't get into reality TV that much, unless one considers the news and sports reality TV.

I have a kick-ass collection of Billboard #1, #2 and #3 hits dating all the way back to 1955. Is that popcult enough for you, girl?!?

Brian said...

Julie,

We had a great time. Make sure you tell Jon both the chicken and the pork roast were excellent! Thanks to both of your for your hospitality.

It was nice to finally meet Dave face-to-face. Glad you made it home safely (in case you read this). And it was so relaxing to be able to speak my mind among Christians (such as we are) without fear of being labelled a heretic.

Looking forward to continuing the tradition at Applebee's now that it looks like you, Chuck and I have abandoned the local Cohort. We'll form our own little denomination. Hey, one more can't hurt! Hopefully Dave can make it down every once in a while, too.

Peace,
Brian

Unknown said...

Okay Dave, we'll let you go through initiation for the pop culture whore cult. I'll design a rush week just for you next fall and if you can stomach it, you're in. :)

Julie, the pc slut.

Unknown said...

Brian, thank you! Can't wait for Applebee's when we get back from CA.

Julie