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"An Explicitly Theological Agenda"
Best in Show
Theologian William Stringfellow wrote about “behold[ing] tokens of the reality of the Resurrection . . . where others are consigned to confusion or despair.” The new Tokens radio show gets its name from this quote, its inspiration from sources as diverse as Garrison Keillor, Bill Moyers, and the Grand Ole Opry, and its leadership from Lee Camp.
Camp, associate provost of theology and ethics at Lipscomb University (Nashville, Tennessee), created the show after participating in a class on faith and creativity at Otter Creek Church of Christ, also in Nashville.
“I wanted a place for substantive discussion of music, theology, and cultural issues,” says Camp. “I was fascinated by the work of Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion, and wanted to create something similar with an explicitly theological agenda.”
Camp launched Tokens in February with a program entitled “The Appalachian Longing for Home.” “Jubilee: Land, Greed & Grace in American Folk” followed in May.
Each episode includes live sketches, prerecorded audio interviews with authors including Brian McLaren, Shane Claiborne, and Randall Balmer, and live music with top Nashville musicians like Buddy Greene and Derek Webb.
Local writers, educators, and students immediately began spreading the word; demand for tickets grew, and Camp added a second show and an entrance fee for Tokens’s third installment, “The Politics of Jesus.”
“We’re taking it slowly,” he says. “We’ll continue offering one show per quarter in 2009, and I don’t know if it will be picked up by radio or if it’s better suited to Internet and after-market CDs. (You can currently hear portions of past shows on www.NoiseTrade.com and the Tokens Web site.)
“I choose topics I like to think about, things like politics and money which can be volatile subjects,” he says. “When you add humor and music it makes the pill palatable, and people find themselves open to discussion.”
The Christmas show, scheduled for December 9, will feature New Testament scholar Warren Carter discussing “The Christmas Revolution.”
www.tokensshow.com
City of Angels
Like most churches, Lincoln Heights Christian Church (Phoenix, Arizona) receives many requests for money, food, and other forms of assistance. When the benevolence fund recently ran dry, LHCC’s elders developed a new strategy.
“People can’t help if they don’t know the need,” says Roy Achmoody, an elder at the church. “So we created a program to connect church members with those asking for help.”
Lincoln Heights members join this “Calling All Angels” program by providing their e-mail address and phone number; when needs arise, Achmoody and his team e-mail the entire list with a description of the situation.
“We don’t name the person asking for assistance; we just share the need,” Achmoody says. “It’s completely anonymous until someone volunteers to help; at that point we share details and contact information.”
The needs aren’t always financial; participants have hung ceiling fans, provided transportation to doctor’s offices, and mowed lawns. For needs that are financial, the “Angels” may donate any amount they choose; participants are not required to cover the entire cost of a request or to give every time.
“We encourage people to help as they are able and as the Holy Spirit prompts, and that is different for everyone,” Achmoody says. “For some it’s time, others it’s skilled labor, others it’s money. Regardless of the form it takes, it’s wonderful to shoot these e-mails out and see the needs being handled almost immediately. This is how the body of Christ should serve each other.”
www.lhccphoenix.com
Share Dance
“His Place” Contact Center recently held a 1950s-style “sock hop” to gather donations and raise awareness of homeless ministry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The cost of admission to the evening of old-fashioned dancing and games was a package of new socks, one of the items most requested by the homeless men and women served by His Place.
The ministry, an urban outreach project of Christian churches and churches of Christ, has operated as a youth center on the north side of Pittsburgh since 1975; His Place began its homeless outreach ministry in January. Since then, volunteers have passed out hundreds of socks, homemade cookies, and toiletries. His Place has also coordinated three cookouts for the homeless.
www.hisplacecc.org
Jennifer Taylor, one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD's contributing editors, lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
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