tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67107428789796316202024-02-18T21:36:38.739-05:00Praxis Habitus - On Race Religion & CultureA blog focused on my recent work, especially religion, race & ethnicity, innovation & social change, and my impossibly long reading list.Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.comBlogger253125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-601289558302816762014-02-19T15:34:00.001-05:002014-02-19T15:34:45.769-05:00The Deconstructed Church: Understanding Emerging Christianity - Oxford University Press - due May 2014<h3>
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<u>Advance Praise for <i>The Deconstructed Church</i></u></h3>
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“As growing numbers of Americans say they are ‘nonreligious,’ observers note a comparable shift among those who are religious toward looser, more individualistic, anti-institutional, experimental expressions of faith. Marti and Ganiel have done a superb job of examining these emerging expressions, illuminating both the practices and beliefs of individuals and the innovative congregations they are forming.”</blockquote>
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<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Robert-Wuthnow/e/B000APPC3K" target="_blank">Robert Wuthnow</a>, Gerhard R. Andlinger ‘52 Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion, Princeton University</li>
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“In the midst of a polarized landscape, where ‘religion’ and
‘church’ signal a lack of vitality and authenticity, Emerging Churches are putting
together something new out of the debris. Marti and Ganiel show us why we
should pay attention. They describe the faith found here as neither shopping
nor seeking, but a conversation carried on in congregations that are
determinedly open and inclusive. This book provides a careful analysis of this
much-discussed movement and shows why it is so well-suited to our times.”</blockquote>
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nancy-Tatom-Ammerman/e/B001H6IG34/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0" target="_blank">Nancy T. Ammerman</a>, author of <i>Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes: Finding Religion in Everyday Life</i></li>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment-->Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-83604740793947695102013-12-09T16:56:00.000-05:002013-12-09T17:05:01.273-05:00‘The Last Stop: Understanding the Emerging Church Movement’ Interview with Gladys Ganiel and Gerardo Marti Published in Bearings<h2>
‘The Last Stop: Understanding the Emerging Church Movement’ Interview with Gladys Ganiel and Gerardo Marti Published in Bearings</h2>
<div class="post-meta">
<span class="small">Thanks to my fantastic co-author, Gladys Ganiel, who posted our interview on her own <a href="http://www.gladysganiel.com/social-justice/the-last-stop-understanding-the-emerging-church-movement-interview-with-gladys-ganiel-gerardo-marti-published-in-bearings/" target="_blank">blogsite</a>. </span><br />
<span class="small"><br /></span>
<span class="author vcard"><span class="fn"><a href="http://www.gladysganiel.com/author/bangorgal/" rel="author" title="Posts by Gladys Ganiel">Gladys</a></span></span> writes --<br />
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<a href="http://www.gladysganiel.com/wp-content/uploads/Bearings5Cover.jpg"><img align="right" alt="Bearings5Cover" border="0" height="244" src="http://www.gladysganiel.com/wp-content/uploads/Bearings5Cover_thumb.jpg" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: right; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Bearings5Cover" width="190" /></a>An interview with Gerardo Marti and me, <a href="http://collegevilleinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Bearings5forWEB.pdf" target="_blank">‘The Last Stop: Understanding the Emerging Church Movement,’</a> has been published in <a href="http://collegevilleinstitute.org/" target="_blank">the Collegeville Institute’s</a> <i>Bearings </i>magazine.
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The interview begins on page nine and is based in large part on our forthcoming book, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0199959889" target="_blank">The Deconstructed Church: Understanding Emerging Christianity</a>, </i>and includes questions such as:
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<li>How do you introduce the Emerging Church to those who are unfamiliar with the movement?
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<li>What does the Emerging Church Movement tell us about the contemporary religious landscape? What is its significance as a modern religious movement?
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<li>Do you think the Emerging Church Movement will play a role in Christianity’s historical development? </li>
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<a href="http://collegevilleinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Bearings5forWEB.pdf" target="_blank"><b>CLICK HERE TO READ THE INTERVIEW</b></a></div>
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Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-9449496077007132942013-04-09T08:00:00.000-04:002013-12-09T17:06:31.206-05:00The Deconstructed Church: A Quick UpdateMy co-author <a href="http://www.gladysganiel.com/my-books/" target="_blank">Gladys Ganiel </a>and I have been working diligently to craft the final contours of our forthcoming book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0199959889" target="_blank">The Deconstructed Church</a></i> — a book oriented toward describing the identity and practices of "Emerging Christians." While the draft is not complete, it looks like we're on target to turn in the manuscript this summer.<br />
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A lot of writing exists (and much more since we received the contract with <a href="http://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-deconstructed-church-9780199959884?cc=us&lang=en&" target="_blank">Oxford University Press</a>) about the Emerging Church Movement—mostly a mixture of suppositions, speculations, and various spokespeople representing their visions for the movement. But sociologists of religion have been reluctant to pay much attention to this group of network-dependent, loosely-affiliated, and largely marginalized "Christians." There are insiders and critics who are sick to death of hearing about emerging/emergent Christians, while there are plenty of outsiders who are still discovering it, intrigued by the orientation, and struggling to figure it out.<br />
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And there are a few scholars of religion who have found enough permanence among these groups (existing since the late 1990s, with and without the label) that one esteemed colleague said to me that she's heard of several people who are trying to stake some kind of scholarly "claim" to understanding the movement.<br />
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Like a lot of researchers, I follow my nose: meaning, I have a set of <i>questions</i> that intrigue me, a set of <i>observations</i> that coalesce at various times, and moments of <i>opportunity to investigate</i> things that serve to highlight important aspects about identity, social change, and the often surprising dynamics that govern our lives.<br />
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I have zero interest in staking any exclusive claim to understanding the Emerging Church Movement. I've <a href="http://davidson.academia.edu/GerardoMarti/CurriculumVitae" target="_blank">spoken</a> about it at academic conferences and <a href="http://www.changingsea.org/marti2.php" target="_blank">written</a> about <a href="http://www.faithandleadership.com/blog/04-13-2010/gerardo-marti-diversely-emerging" target="_blank">it</a>. Occasionally, I've been <a href="http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/201789551.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue" target="_blank">interviewed by a reporte</a>r. But there are others. <a href="http://www.gladysganiel.com/category/emerging-church/" target="_blank">Gladys certainly has her expertise</a>. Other social scientists have recently published some insightful analyses (<a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1168749848"></span>James Bielo's <i>Emerging Evangelicals<span id="goog_1168749849"></span></i></a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Emerging-Church-Religion-Developments-Religioni/dp/193504950X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365474840&sr=1-1&keywords=Josh+Packard" target="_blank">Josh Packard's </a><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Emerging-Church-Religion-Developments-Religioni/dp/193504950X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365474840&sr=1-1&keywords=Josh+Packard" target="_blank">The Emerging Church</a> </i>come to mind). What I am interested in doing is taking a fairly extensive data set that combines my interviews/observations with Gladys', and supplementing those with data gathered originally by Tony Jones for his dissertation in Practical Theology at Princeton (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Church-Flat-Relational-Ecclesiology-Emerging/dp/0615524311/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365474907&sr=1-1&keywords=Flat+church" target="_blank">you can find it on Amazon</a>). Although Tony has published his thoughts, I have avoided reading this work closely as Gladys and my goal has been to systematically analyze the whole of the data and inductively assess the patterns that (ahem) "emerge."<br />
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I'm very pleased with our work so far. I think our book holds some surprises—even for those who are long time observers and insiders. We bring our own conceptual lenses to bear to what has become an impossibly ambitious task: How do we frame the workings of a diffuse religious orientation against the backdrop of the changed society that makes it possible? The Emerging Church Movement would not have existed 100 years ago, even 50 years ago. It is a manifestation of shifting ground for what it means to be religious today, and what the possibilities for congregational life are in the near future.<br />
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As a book-length analysis, it strains a blog post to summarize our findings. You'll forgive me that I won't even try. But I am excited enough to say "Stay Tuned," this book will be worth the wait. Expected sometime Fall 2014.<br />
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<br />Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-11431551957680439092013-03-26T16:55:00.000-04:002013-03-26T16:55:23.958-04:00How to Index Your Book Manuscript
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Although I paid about $750 to have my first book <i>A Mosaic of Believers</i> indexed, I didn't end up liking the job. Although not every reader uses a book's index, I came to see it as an opportunity to promote ideas and concepts and to show how my book speaks to those. So I indexed my next two books. </div>
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Here's a quick how-to: </div>
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Get a stack of index cards. Go through proof sheets of your book marking names, places, organizations (those are easy), and also ideas, concepts, theoretical items (which may not be addressed directly by actual name or label). Put the names/labels on the header line of an index card, a separate card per header. List page numbers relevant for each header. As your stack of cards grow, place headers in alphabetical order using a little card filing box. </div>
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<a href="http://elizabethstark.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/indexcardbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://elizabethstark.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/indexcardbox.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As you go through the proof sheets, you'll see your index cards grow, and you'll also have more ideas. You might create new index cards and re-think how to group together other pages that correspond to these new ideas.</div>
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When you finish going through the proofs, sort your index cards. Perhaps some (most?) can become sub-ideas, or sub-themes, and those will be placed under cards you now assign as main headings. You can create cross-reference headings if you have related ideas (see xyz…) . </div>
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It took me about 4-5 days (not full time, amidst all else) to work through proofs, creating cards, and getting it done. </div>
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Then I had a student type up my headings followed by page numbers, and put sub-headings underneath also with page numbers. All headings are in alphabetical order.</div>
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Proof read your final sheet of indexed terms and page numbers. Send to publisher! </div>
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Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-46440632083035396752012-08-14T21:39:00.001-04:002012-08-14T21:47:34.541-04:00"Highly Recommended" - CHOICE Reviews - Worship across the Racial DivideMore feedback continues to come from Worship across the Racial Divide. This one comes from CHOICE Reviews:<br />
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top" width="100"><b>49-5448</b></td><td align="center" valign="top" width="100">ML3921</td><td align="right" valign="top" width="50%">2011-18782 CIP</td></tr>
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<span id="author">Marti, Gerardo</span>. <span id="Title"><b>Worship across the racial divide: religious music and the multiracial congregation</b></span>. Oxford, 2012. 266p bibl index afp ISBN <a href="http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/isbn/0-19-539297-3" target="__blank" title="Link to WorldCat and see if your local library has this book">0-19-539297-3</a>, $29.95; ISBN<a href="http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/isbn/9780195392975" target="__blank" title="Link to WorldCat and see if your local library has this book">9780195392975</a>, $29.95. Reviewed in 2012jun CHOICE.<br />
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<tr><td align="left" colspan="3" valign="top"><span id="review">This book is more scientifically grounded in research and study than the title suggests. Marti (sociology, Davidson College) spent more than two years studying the hypothesis that music and worship play an essential role in stimulating diversity in congregations. He found that the hypothesis is incorrect, and that though music and worship are important in multiethnic/multiracial congregations, what is important is not the performance of the service but rather the practices that surround the congregation in the absorption and production of the music. The author devotes a great deal of space to examining the sociological perspective of worship from a practice-based application. He tears down preconceived notions in contemporary worship scholarship about achieving racial diversity and a universal worship experience and about how churches need to focus on their structural practices if they wish to achieve diversity and ethnicity in their congregations. A scholarly, thought-provoking examination of this topic.<br /><b><br />Summing Up:</b> Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.</span> -- <i>B. L. Eden, Valparaiso University</i></td></tr>
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Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-72231673945521769162012-06-25T12:16:00.001-04:002012-06-25T12:16:27.123-04:005 Stars for "Worship across the Racial Divide" from Christianity Today<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Christianity Today has chosen to <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/juneweb-only/multiracial-church-music.html" target="_blank">review</a> my newest book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Worship-across-Racial-Divide-Congregation/dp/0195392973" target="_blank">Worship across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Congregation</a>. <span style="background-color: white;">In addition to the enthusiastic review from Michael Emerson, a leading scholar of race and religion, the CT editors gave the book a full 5 stars. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">The review (and comments from readers) can be found </span><a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/juneweb-only/multiracial-church-music.html" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="background-color: white;">. </span><br />
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<br />Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-49656061576139726212012-04-20T15:23:00.001-04:002012-04-20T15:24:59.448-04:00Research on Multiracial Congregations that Does Not Yet Exist<i>I recently revisited an article I wrote published in 2010. It struck me that the title of this brief article does not anticipate that nearly <a href="http://davidson.academia.edu/GerardoMarti/Papers/1152845/When_Does_Religious_Racial_Integration_Count_A_Caution_About_Seeking_Ideal_Ethnographic_Cases" target="_blank">one-third describes the type of research we need on multiracial congregations that does not yet exist</a>. </i><br />
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><a href="http://davidson.academia.edu/GerardoMarti/Papers/1152845/When_Does_Religious_Racial_Integration_Count_A_Caution_About_Seeking_Ideal_Ethnographic_Cases" target="_blank"> Research on Multiracial Congregations that Does Not Yet Exist</a></span></b><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>First</i>, we should <b>expand more widely the scope of “diversity” examined</b> in diverse congregations to more actively incorporate a broader scope of cultural experiences and ancestral backgrounds.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7150652@N02/6799086617" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7150652@N02/6799086617" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7150652@N02/6799086617" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7150652@N02/6799086617" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"></a></div><i>Second</i>, we should <b>pursue a more inclusive range of diverse congregations</b> and avoid treating “multiracial churches” as a homogenous category; clearly, they are not.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>Third</i>, we should focus <b>more attention on non-Christian congregations</b>. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7150652@N02/6799086617" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"></a></div><div class="zemanta-img separator zemanta-action-dragged"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7150652@N02/6799086617" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="St. Martin's Episcopal Church" height="160" src="http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7003/6799086617_d19605b974_m.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="240" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 240px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>St. Martin's Episcopal Church (Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7150652@N02/6799086617" target="_blank">joseph a</a>)</i></span></span></div><i>Fourth</i>, we should <b>isolate significant arenas of diversification</b> and investigate contemporary initiatives for diversification (and rigorous research will likely identify intriguing ironies and contradictions).</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>Fifth</i>, we should exercise <b>greater caution in our use of racial and ethnic categories</b> as well as become better prepared for working through new and changing “multiracial identities.”</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>Finally</i>, we should expand the use of <b>multiracial churches as strategic arenas for data collection</b> to address other interesting and important social dynamics. </blockquote><br />
These suggestions--with expanded discussion and a number of relevant citations from research research--can be <a href="http://davidson.academia.edu/GerardoMarti/Papers/1152845/When_Does_Religious_Racial_Integration_Count_A_Caution_About_Seeking_Ideal_Ethnographic_Cases" target="_blank">found here</a>. <br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=5351a3ee-e78b-47c3-a861-ed1a758df6c0" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-64897678413796321072012-04-16T10:17:00.001-04:002012-07-24T15:32:15.613-04:00The Diverse Church as Musical Production<span style="font-style: italic;">Reviews are beginning to come in for my new book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Worship-across-Racial-Divide-Congregation/dp/0195392973" target="_blank">Worship across the Racial Divide</a>. The latest one is <a href="http://www.faithandleadership.com/blog/04-16-2012/franklin-golden-the-diverse-church-musical-production">right here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.faithandleadership.com/blog/04-16-2012/franklin-golden-the-diverse-church-musical-production">Review of Worship across the Racial Divide by Franklin Golden</a></td></tr>
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A very special thanks to Franklin Golden, co-pastor of <a href="http://www.durhamchurchnc.org/" target="_blank">Durham Presbyterian Church</a> who posted a very nice, very concise summary and response to my new book at the <a href="http://www.faithandleadership.com/blog/04-16-2012/franklin-golden-the-diverse-church-musical-production">Faith and Leadership Blog at Duke Divinity</a>.<br />
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</span>Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-32679187674426432872012-04-10T11:26:00.002-04:002012-04-10T11:29:15.214-04:00Author Reading: Worship across the Racial Divide ~ Ch 3Continuing a series of readings from my new book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Worship-across-Racial-Divide-Congregation/dp/0195392973" target="_blank">"Worship across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Congregation"</a> published with Oxford University Press. These feature short previews of each chapter and introduce you to some of the insights from the book.<br />
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From Part 1 "Confronting Popular Notions of Race and Worship", here's the beginning of Chapter 3 on African Americans as the Icon of "True Worship" in diverse churches.<br />
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<div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/747512-worship-across-the-racial-divide-excerpt-ch-3/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/747512-worship-across-the-racial-divide-excerpt-ch-3">listen to ‘Worship across the Racial Divide ~ excerpt Ch 3’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">
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The reading from the beginning of the book, <a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/720035-worship-across-the-racial-divide-excerpt-ch-1" target="_blank">Chapter 1, is here</a>. Chapter 2 is <a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733905-worship-across-the-racial-divide-excerpt-ch-2" target="_blank">here</a>.Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-54564195296218992542012-04-03T10:55:00.002-04:002012-04-03T10:56:51.325-04:00Hunger Games & Worship across the Racial DivideThanks to Sojourner's Magazine, I'm cool again. My book Worship across the Racial Divide is featured as "New and Noteworthy" on the same page as an article on the blockbuster Hunger Games. <br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.docstoc.com/docs/117839789/New-and-Noteworthy">New & Noteworthy</a></span><br />
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</script>Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-50815120128564202592012-03-29T11:53:00.001-04:002012-04-10T11:27:29.148-04:00Author Reading: Worship across the Racial Divide ~ Ch 2I'm continuing a series of readings from my new book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Worship-across-Racial-Divide-Congregation/dp/0195392973" target="_blank">"Worship across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Congregation."</a> These feature short previews of each chapter and introduce you to some of the insights from the book.<br />
<br />
From Part 1 "Confronting Popular Notions of Race and Worship", here's the beginning of Chapter 2.<br />
<br />
<div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733905-worship-across-the-racial-divide-excerpt-ch-2/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733905-worship-across-the-racial-divide-excerpt-ch-2">listen to ‘Worship across the Racial Divide ~ excerpt Ch 2’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">
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<br />
The reading from <a href="http://praxishabitus.blogspot.com/2012/03/author-reading-worship-across-racial.html">the beginning of the book, Chapter 1, is here</a>. <br />
<br />
Enjoy!Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-60380482655812449012012-03-28T00:04:00.003-04:002012-03-28T00:05:53.755-04:00Worship across the Racial Divide: An Interview with Gerardo MartiHistorian and friend <a href="http://www.uccs.edu/~history/people/paul-harvey.html" target="_blank">Paul Harvey</a> posted at the <a href="http://usreligion.blogspot.com/2012/03/worship-across-racial-divide-interview.html" target="_blank">Religion and American History blog</a> a nice little interview with me about my book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Worship-across-Racial-Divide-Congregation/dp/0195392973" target="_blank">Worship across the Racial Divide</a>.<br />
<br />
Between Tuesday and Wednesday, it will be divided into a set of two posts. <br />
<br />
The exchange includes a brief reflection on the relationship between the disciplines of history and sociology. Even more, these brief exchanges provide <a href="http://usreligion.blogspot.com/2012/03/worship-across-racial-divide-interview.html" target="_blank">a glimpse into the core arguments of the book</a>.Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-62354669507255239222012-03-20T13:04:00.000-04:002012-03-20T13:04:29.128-04:00Author Reading: Worship across the Racial DivideStarting today, I'm going to do a series of readings from my new book "Worship across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Congregation." These will feature short previews of each chapter and introduce you to some of the insights from the book.<br />
<br />
So, here's the beginning of the book, from Chapter 1.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/720035-worship-across-the-racial-divide-excerpt-ch-1/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/720035-worship-across-the-racial-divide-excerpt-ch-1">listen to ‘Worship across the Racial Divide ~ excerpt Ch 1’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">
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Enjoy!Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-20152841859133178682012-03-13T12:35:00.004-04:002012-03-13T12:44:25.883-04:00Kony 2012 Tells Us What We Care About<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/a84334813.jpg?w=600&h=400&crop=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/a84334813.jpg?w=600&h=400&crop=1" width="200" /></a></div>By now, most of you know about Kony 2012, the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc&feature=share" target="_blank">30 minute video gone viral</a>. So many people have seen it, and the commentaries are multiplying.<br />
<br />
But what does this massive sharing of links tell us about Americans?<br />
<br />
Over at the <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/blackwhiteandgray/2012/03/kony-2012-tells-us-what-we-care-about/" target="_blank">Patheos blog Black, White, and Gray, I wrote a brief post</a> -- Here’s my conclusion:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>The campaign to “Stop Kony” is less about removing a brutal military overlord and more about what Americans showcase as their sacred values.</i></blockquote>Read more <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/blackwhiteandgray/2012/03/kony-2012-tells-us-what-we-care-about/" target="_blank">here</a>.Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-4187851143828211242012-02-06T12:28:00.014-05:002012-02-06T16:16:09.641-05:00Worship across the Racial Divide: A Response from Three PractitionersMy <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Worship-across-Racial-Divide-Congregation/dp/0195392973" target="_blank">new book on the dynamics of worship and music in diverse congregations</a> has been out for just a few short weeks, but thanks to Art Lucero <a href="http://unityinchristmagazine.com/worship-arts/worship-across-the-racial-divide-religious-music-and-the-multiracial-congregation-a-response-by-three-practitioners/" target="_blank">the first reviews are now in</a>.<br />
<br />
Last week, three Christian music leaders, <a href="http://unityinchristmagazine.com/tag/josh-davis/" target="_blank">Josh Davis</a>, <a href="http://unityinchristmagazine.com/tag/nikki-lerner/" target="_blank">Nikki Lerner</a>, and <a href="http://unityinchristmagazine.com/tag/jeff-mccourt/" target="_blank">Jeff McCourt</a>, took time to write their own reactions to the book. I am so pleased with how carefully they read the book and <a href="http://unityinchristmagazine.com/worship-arts/worship-across-the-racial-divide-religious-music-and-the-multiracial-congregation-a-response-by-three-practitioners/" target="_blank">the responses</a> they gave:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7udVZbbA9B-eHo3aIzJk3JVg36LcxUPH5slMh9_wK8cU04pTg1QzYQ8d0UoGHY5NTP_WZ04uDnVKngU8rDlJJ1VHDMkk3lUfyBfQtmCoW2KPuesZGJlVFqaKTtuFmdVU57Ddr8QDq6V2/s1600/Gerardo+Marti+-+Worship+across+the+Racial+Divide+-+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7udVZbbA9B-eHo3aIzJk3JVg36LcxUPH5slMh9_wK8cU04pTg1QzYQ8d0UoGHY5NTP_WZ04uDnVKngU8rDlJJ1VHDMkk3lUfyBfQtmCoW2KPuesZGJlVFqaKTtuFmdVU57Ddr8QDq6V2/s200/Gerardo+Marti+-+Worship+across+the+Racial+Divide+-+Cover.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>Josh Davis wrote, "Marti clearly states that no one knows 'what manner of worship is best for stimulating and accelerating racial and ethnic diversity in churches.' Absolutely. There is no one-size-fits-all method or approach to multicultural worship."<br />
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Nikki Lerner wrote, "I could not agree more with his conclusions at the end of this book: As I continued to pursue my research, I came to understand that it is not the acoustics of musical style but rather the visible presence of diversity—a racialized ritual inclusion—that stimulates integration of different racial and ethnic groups into their churches [pg. 198]."<br />
<br />
Jeff McCourt wrote, "Honestly, I argued with Dr. Marti most of the way through the book but was beginning to feel an openness to his perspective due to the thoroughness of his research..."<br />
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Each of them wrote much more, and they're <a href="http://unityinchristmagazine.com/worship-arts/worship-across-the-racial-divide-religious-music-and-the-multiracial-congregation-a-response-by-three-practitioners/" target="_blank">worth reading for yourself</a>. I also provided a <a href="http://unityinchristmagazine.com/worship-arts/worship-across-the-racial-divide-religious-music-and-the-multiracial-congregation-a-response-by-three-practitioners/" target="_blank">brief response</a> that you can see at the bottom of the page.Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-28343927210406046852012-01-19T16:51:00.001-05:002012-01-19T17:15:08.876-05:00Lilly Endowment ~ Congregational Studies Fellowship ~ Deadline Extended to February 1st<div class="MsoNormal"><i>As a member of the Congregational Studies Team, I'm happy to pass along this opportunity for research and mentoring in the study of congregations (church, temple, mosque, etc.) -- </i><br />
<br />
<b> Engaged Scholars Studying Congregations</b> is a program of mentoring, networking, and study support funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. The Congregational Studies Team is pleased to announce the availability of Fellowships* to support scholars who are interested in disciplined inquiry into the life of local communities of faith. These 18-month fellowships include $18,000 in research support, plus $2000 for related travel. In addition, Fellowships include a program of mentoring by a senior-scholar coach and participation in two summer consultations that bring together the Fellows and coaches with the Team.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Applications are encouraged from scholars in a variety of disciplines — from practical theology to the social sciences, from history to biblical studies and contextual education — for projects that involve learning from and about living communities of faith. Fellows will explore avenues for making that knowledge available for the sake of those communities’ wellbeing, as well as developing strong academic contributions appropriate to their disciplines. Applicants should have completed their graduate work and be placed in a professional position at the time of application. We especially encourage early-career scholars to apply, but will consider applications from persons who have recently been tenured.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.hartfordinstitute.org/ES%25202011%2520fellowship%2520instructions.pdf"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">Engaged Scholar 2012 Fellowship Instructions</span></a><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Note that the application deadline has been extended to <b>1 February 2012</b>. For application information and instructions, visit www.hirr.hartsem.edu or contact the Engaged Scholars project office at Hartford Seminary (<a href="mailto:engagedscholars@hartsem.edu"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">engagedscholars@hartsem.edu</span></a>).<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">*This program is supported by a major grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. and is administered by the Congregational Studies Team: Nancy Ammerman, Anthea Butler, Bill McKinney, Omar McRoberts, Larry Mamiya, Gerardo Marti, Joyce Mercer, James Nieman (project director), Bob Schreiter, Steve Warner, and Jack Wertheimer.<o:p></o:p></div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"><tbody>
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</tbody></table>Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-3622132296617750032012-01-06T12:28:00.000-05:002012-01-06T12:28:58.293-05:00Book Launch: Worship across the Racial Divide<span style="font-size: large;">Last year was great -- this year looks to be even better! The new year begins with the launch of my newest book, Worship across the Racial Divide (Oxford University Press).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A few highlights in January:</span><br />
<div><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3FgDVLIDG_n-CPqjJSVjlXSwZStYtqQE726D2wDjZ6jyL_hQOAOYYCtRDxg1h9-VKnJZ1d5sdIxy0Iq4YSaTsgL5bYJX4o3TzgeRdQ8j335bqlXFahnwXUcpXfTwo0_M620CrMipoj0C/s1600/Gerardo+Marti+-+Worship+across+the+Racial+Divide+--+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3FgDVLIDG_n-CPqjJSVjlXSwZStYtqQE726D2wDjZ6jyL_hQOAOYYCtRDxg1h9-VKnJZ1d5sdIxy0Iq4YSaTsgL5bYJX4o3TzgeRdQ8j335bqlXFahnwXUcpXfTwo0_M620CrMipoj0C/s320/Gerardo+Marti+-+Worship+across+the+Racial+Divide+--+Cover.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<ol><li><span style="font-size: large;">For now, the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Worship-across-Racial-Divide-ebook/dp/B006LGGHB8" target="_blank">Kindle version of Worship across the Racial Divide is on sale</a>, reduced to just <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Worship-across-Racial-Divide-ebook/dp/B006LGGHB8" target="_blank"><b>$9.99</b></a>. Download your copy <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Worship-across-Racial-Divide-ebook/dp/B006LGGHB8" target="_blank">here</a>!<br />
<l> </l></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">I'll be doing a video interview with Eric Bryant on <b>January 11th</b>. To sign up, you can either email Eric directly at <a href="mailto:eric.bryant@gatewaychurch.com" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer;">eric.bryant@gatewaychurch.com</a> with "Gerardo Interview" in the subject or simply <a href="http://www.spreecast.com/events/interview-with-dr-gerardo-marti" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank">visit us here at 4pm Wed., 1/11</a>.<br />
<l> </l></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">On Tuesday <b>January 17th</b>, I will be a guest on <a href="http://www.wfae.org/wfae/18_92_0.cfm" target="_blank">NPR's Charlotte Talks radio show with Mike Collins</a>. Joining me will be <a href="http://mosaicchurch.tv/" target="_blank">Naeem Fazal</a> of Mosaic Church and <a href="http://www.christcentralchurch.com/" target="_blank">Howard Brown</a> of Christ Central Church. You can listen online, or catch the show later.<br />
<l> </l></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Thanks to a kind invitation from the Department of Sociology at <a href="http://www.baylor.edu/" target="_blank">Baylor University</a>, on Thursday <b>January 26th</b>, I will be giving a public lecture with a presentation on some key findings from my research. Come say hello!<br />
<l> </l></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Planning for Spring and Summer 2012 will continue including visits to Indiana University and University of California, Los Angeles. Hope to meet up with more people this coming year. </span></li>
</ol><div><br />
</div>Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-39854099747847462852011-10-26T09:24:00.002-04:002011-10-26T09:26:00.924-04:00Is Steve Jobs a Saint?The passing of Steve Jobs has created a sensation. Sympathy and adulation alongside a wonder whether he deserves so much attention. Even more, the question of "sainthood" is providing a whole lot of additional reflection.<br />
<br />
CNN's belief blog <a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/26/short-takes-are-we-turning-steve-jobs-into-a-saint/">asked me to contribute a piece</a> that posted today:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGc87rKPdqNxt-_59IXi07GC4fXM5aR5FQkcXMzb4PTt3nkq8LH9GjHOhvO4zILlKLMaW5cD6I29DtWSge4IrPRTJVrqsbP4j7t-yPkIrCo7owjc3KtdfdvQdQI1FQtBxMs4e1i9f-oer9/s1600/aviary.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGc87rKPdqNxt-_59IXi07GC4fXM5aR5FQkcXMzb4PTt3nkq8LH9GjHOhvO4zILlKLMaW5cD6I29DtWSge4IrPRTJVrqsbP4j7t-yPkIrCo7owjc3KtdfdvQdQI1FQtBxMs4e1i9f-oer9/s640/aviary.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 15px;"></span><br />
<h1 class="cnnBlogContentTitle" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #010101; font-family: Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 30px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-spacing: -1px;"><a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/26/short-takes-are-we-turning-steve-jobs-into-a-saint/" rel="bookmark" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #ca0002; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Permanent Link:Short Takes: Are we turning Steve Jobs into a saint?">Short Takes: Are we turning Steve Jobs into a saint?</a></h1><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">CNN asked four experts on religion and technology to weigh in on whether former Apple chief Steve Jobs is achieving a kind of secular sainthood. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">Excerpt from my brief take...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #010101; font-family: arial; line-height: 18px;"></span></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Let's be honest. Steve Jobs was no saint, that much is clear. Every day we know more about his character, most recently through the startling revelations in the best-selling biography published by Walter Isaacson.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jobs could be callous and cold. He rejected paternity of his first daughter. He refused many co-workers the riches of company stock options. He thought of himself as smarter than just about anyone else he<br />
ever met.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If "saintliness" is measured by the virtues of extraordinary kindness, generosity or humility, Jobs fails the test.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">However, "saintliness" in religious practice is less measured by a person's moral perfection than his or her ability to serve as a mediator between the ordinary and the transcendent.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In lived religious experience, a saint is not always admired as a righteous person to be imitated. But a saint is always trusted as a negotiator, a bridge-builder, an esoteric "middleman," who removes obstacles, facilitates progress and promotes blessing.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-top: 12px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Fundamentally, a saint is an intermediary who makes the intangible accessible and more readily available.</div><br />
You can read the rest as well as others' responses to the question on the <a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/26/short-takes-are-we-turning-steve-jobs-into-a-saint/">CNN Belief Blog</a>.Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-88599449917758716052011-10-13T16:07:00.001-04:002011-10-13T16:31:41.476-04:00Cover - Worship across the Racial Divide (Jan 2012) Oxford University Press<i>Oxford just shared with me the image for the cover of my forthcoming <a href="http://www.us.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/ReligionTheology/SociologyofReligion/?view=usa&view=usa&ci=9780195392975">book, due out January 2012</a>. </i><br />
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</i><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1360711242"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW6g3LWRT9Ts_BxNbJ19v2eBmI5h2Mvm1h_qYnHQZY3Bk6b4ClHkNr3vNaHpNAHbEi1gj75tv9C5IgGGGon43hkq1C0XYQRDke2QKnQRqrQ4mIEAgRkoOlQfFjL_EFbbvW_WOVwWgC7JHy/s640/Gerardo+Marti+-+Worship+across+the+Racial+Divide+-+Cover.jpg" width="421" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.us.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/ReligionTheology/SociologyofReligion/?view=usa&ci=9780195392975#Description">Oxford University Press (January 2012)</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><br />
</i>Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-19375626645937695302011-09-12T14:47:00.001-04:002011-09-12T14:49:34.304-04:00Falling Back to My Stack of Books<i>With the start of the school year, I re-gain a few hours in the quiet of my office to sift through my ever-growing stack of books.</i><br />
<br />
Visitors to my office have a common experience. They say hello to me, but soon their eyes drift around to the walls, desks, and floors of my office to absorb the umpteen volumes of books I have in all manner of organization and disarray. Polite guests try to ignore the stuffed shelves and precarious towers, but the less inhibited quickly ask, "Have you READ all these books?"<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/48973657@N00/3883716548" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="zemanta-img separator zemanta-action-dragged"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/48973657@N00/3883716548" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="SML Books / 20090903.10D.52433 / SML" height="240" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2581/3883716548_458eb02ae6_m.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="160" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right; width: 160px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/48973657@N00/3883716548">See-ming Lee 李思明 SML</a> via Flickr</i></span></span></div>Well, yes and no. I love to learn, and I find reading to be an efficient avenue for learning. My curiosity ranges within the social sciences, and then add history, philosophy, theology, and literature and my interests leave me constantly sorting through books old and new. Classic sources are valued alongside the most recently published monographs. <br />
<br />
The local thrift store is just as important as our closest Barnes and Noble. You wouldn't believe the fantastic sources I've lugged home for a handful of quarters.<br />
<br />
As I look through different sources I find surprises all the time. Serendipity is my best companion. "Why didn't I know about this?" is one of my own frequent questions. The must-read lists of other scholars I respect quickly become absorbed into my own must-read list. NYT book reviews is a great source, but so is twitter and conference book tables and tv interviews. My own amazon wish list has multiplied many times -- I've encountered a limit of some sort along the way.<br />
<br />
Sometimes books show up in my mailbox unannounced. Really good things. I'm grateful for those.<br />
<br />
So, I'm making another attempt to move quickly through the books I've accumulated. Some stacks have grown stale (so sad), and my current list is a fairly large bag with nine different volumes that must weigh around 30 pounds. On my hot list?<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.yalebooks.co.uk/display.asp?K=9780300137248">Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life by Joshua Rubenstein</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.oupress.com/ECommerce/Book/Detail/1527/the%20mormon%20rebellion">The Mormon Rebellion: America's First Civil War 1857-1858 by Bigler and Bagley</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/ghost-in-the-wires-my-adventures-as-the-worlds-most-wanted-hacker-by-kevin-mitnick-with-william-l-simon/2011/08/23/gIQA4Fa6uJ_story.html">Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker by Kevin Mitnick</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Sociology/TheoryMethods/?view=usa&ci=9780199773312">The Explanation of Social Action by John Levi Martin</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.wjkbooks.com/Products/0664223540/the-making-of-american-liberal-theology.aspx">The Making of American Liberal Theology: Imagining Progressive Religion, 1805-1900 by Gary Dorrien</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674061439">Religion in Human Evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age by Robert Bellah</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/2062557">Emile Durkheim: His Life and Work by Steven Lukes</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520267510">Moral Ambition: Mobilization and Social Outreach in Evangelical Megachurches by Omri Elisha</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.us.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Sociology/MarriageFamily/?view=usa&view=usa&ci=9780199828029">Lost in Transition: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood by Christian Smith</a></li>
</ul>And there's more. Believe me, a LOT more. I have several new literary novels sitting on our dining room table (sorry, honey), a few recent philosophy texts, and a range of biographies and ethnographies that are calling for my attention.<br />
<br />
So, as I wait for the proof sheets for <a href="http://www.us.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/ReligionTheology/SociologyofReligion/?view=usa&view=usa&ci=9780195392975">my latest book coming this January</a>, I'm falling back to my stack of books this month. Hope you find a quiet corner to get through your own stack as well. <br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=4998ad46-e007-42ce-9452-530505f3a6ea" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-31661193266786390282011-08-13T15:33:00.008-04:002011-08-13T22:31:10.018-04:00Worship across the Racial Divide: Order Your Exam Copy Now!<i>Colleagues,</i><br />
<br />
<i>My new book <a href="http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/ReligionTheology/SociologyofReligion/?view=usa&ci=9780195392975">Worship across the Racial Divide</a> is now listed at the <a href="http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/ReligionTheology/SociologyofReligion/?view=usa&ci=9780195392975">Oxford University Press</a> site. </i><i>At the right side is a blue link to <a href="http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/ReligionTheology/SociologyofReligion/?view=usa&ci=9780195392975">"Request Examination Copy"</a> ~ </i><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/ReligionTheology/SociologyofReligion/?view=usa&ci=9780195392975"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCJ6qsrVsJeIJvCR53DP8aWFDvMGDzBbQ5e8rAWyvXFVeUdE3Jx9_e28UGho7hkjmNjZJS1NGzvLW6PmVuZz6RpyGjX_Sm8LDktKlhICPz1U5IXvF_FvR3UultaxRaCuwVQ6yb-e9lxq26/s400/worship_across_the_racial_divide_examcopy.png.jpg" width="400" /></div></a><br />
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<i>I invite all instructors, college professors, seminary professors, and periodical reviewers to click on that link and <a href="http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/ReligionTheology/SociologyofReligion/?view=usa&ci=9780195392975">request their copy today</a>!</i><br />
<br />
<i>Best,</i><br />
<br />
<i>Gerardo</i><br />
<br />
Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-8749537508188798682011-08-08T12:31:00.002-04:002011-08-08T15:59:04.797-04:00Finish and Rest - Taking a Breath in August<i>The summer has been consuming, so the past couple of weeks have been a combination of finishing final edits on my book with Oxford University Press, taking care of loose-ends, and then taking a moment to breathe. Besides spending time with my family, I've been taking a leisurely look through a stack of Bibles I've collected around the house.</i><br />
<br />
Since coming back from Michigan, by far the most important thing I've worked on is completing the final set of revisions for my book, <a href="http://praxishabitus.blogspot.com/2011/07/worship-across-racial-divide-religious.html">Worship across the Racial Divide, coming out early 2012 with Oxford University Press</a>. These are the "copyedited" files from Oxford that are worked through before being sent to the typesetter for producing the "proof sheets." <br />
<br />
What's critical about the copyedited files is that this becomes the LAST CHANCE to make any substantive changes in the document. And I ended up making quite a few.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div class="zemanta-img separator zemanta-action-dragged" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Medieval_writing_desk.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Medieval illustration of a Christian scribe wr..." height="299" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Medieval_writing_desk.jpg/300px-Medieval_writing_desk.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="300" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; font-size: xx-small; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Medieval_writing_desk.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Making Last Changes to Manuscript before Printing?</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>The last stages of writing a book manuscript for me is a combination of relief and panic. <i>Relief</i> that this is a critical stage before having an actual printed book in hand, a copy that I will send to my parents, and a copy I will carry around with me to show anyone who'll listen (at the gym, the grocery store, the gas station... you get the picture). But -- <i>Panic</i> that this is the final push before sending off to press, a final opportunity to craft what I'm going to say.<br />
<br />
So the past two weeks have been an effort to further weave together the core narrative, accentuating key points, highlighting the main contribution. New thoughts, new arguments keep coming up as I re-read the book, like the relationship of musical taste to church music. I keep finding insights that relate to my book. For example, I read an interesting article saying that <a href="http://t.co/vBv1BLO">as the level of education increases, "musical tolerance" also increases</a>. Yet the same research also shows that genres whose fans have the least education (<i>gospel, country, rap, heavy metal</i>) are most rejected by these “musically tolerant” people. <br />
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In contrast to such “taste-based” findings, I find situational dynamics in multiracial churches encourage all members (regardless of race, regardless of education) to strongly favor gospel music. The musical tastes members bring to their churches are not nearly as important as the situational dynamics of race/music/worship within their church. Individual musical taste is subdued in relation to value for highlighting notions of race-based diversity in multiracial churches. Even more, a person's overall musical preference is subdued in relation to desire for people to connect with others in apart from specific genre(s) of church music.<br />
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Also on re-reading the book, the most surprising thread of argument is how important the notion of African American musicality is. All people have profound notions of how "black people" relate to music. It is an incredibly persistent theme.<br />
<br />
African Americans bear the weight of diversity in multiracial churches in so many ways, even when few or no blacks attend the church. I can tell you that Chapter 3 on African Americans singing gospel music as the icon of "true worship" will be worth the price of the whole book. Add Chapter 7 on the importance of "gospel choirs" for multiracial worship, and I think it will be an interesting, surprising set of insights. I hope you all enjoy it!<br />
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Besides working through the copyedits for my book, I've seen a few movies, caught up on sleep, went swimming and bowling with my family. There's always quite a bit of mail (physical) and email to catch up on, and some new writing projects I'm working through. Plenty to do. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div class="zemanta-img separator zemanta-action-dragged" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:King_James_Bible_1772_-_Title_page.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Title page of The Holy Bible, King James versi..." height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/King_James_Bible_1772_-_Title_page.jpg/300px-King_James_Bible_1772_-_Title_page.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="302" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; font-size: xx-small; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:King_James_Bible_1772_-_Title_page.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Marvel of the "Study Bible"</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Perhaps most surprisingly, I found myself reviewing a dozen or so Bibles I have around the house. Perhaps finishing my own "tome" has got me thinking about others lying around the house....<br />
<br />
Some of the Bibles are new (<a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=T4pOQgAACAAJ&dq=New+Oxford+Annotated+NRSV+4th+Edition&hl=en&ei=dgdATtPsDo2dgQfnlNXrBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA">New Oxford Annotated NRSV 4th Edition</a>, <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=tPCRPQAACAAJ&dq=MacArthur+Study+NASB+Updated&hl=en&ei=kQdATsDgF8-tgQfJ-ZjiBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAQ">MacArthur Study NASB Updated</a>, <a href="http://www.niv-cbt.org/niv-2011-overview/video-featuring-dr-moo/">NIV 2011</a>) but most are quite old (<a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=_YuyNg9hsbIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Newberry+Reference+Bible&hl=en&ei=bghATsGfNqff0QH138G-Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CEgQ6AEwAA">Newberry Reference Bible Portable Edition 1893</a>, <a href="http://www.christianbook.com/scofield-kjv-standard-edition-leather-indexed/9780195274332/pd/74334?event=AAI">Original Scofield 1917 edition</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/1967-Scofield-Study-Bible-Changes/lm/R1S1RCQ4L2WTAG">Revised Scofield 1967 edition</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/James-Version-Dicksons-Analytical-Morocco-Indexed/dp/0529062232">Dickson's New Analytical Indexed 1950</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dakes-Annotated-Reference-Bible-Jennings/dp/B000K1KLLM">Dake's Annotated 1963</a> alongside the <a href="http://www.dake.com/dake/compact.html">2006 revised version</a>). These various study editions, nearly all in the King James Version, represent aggressive attempts to systematize the scriptures, lending helps and reference points before, after, and throughout the text. <br />
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In a time before computers, the work of notation and typesetting in these "study bibles" would have been fantastically demanding. It is hard for us to imagine the amount of time and passion that went into the construction of these books. We may be too casual in seeing how these "mini-libraries" seem widely available today. Yet, I find that holding these books in my hand and working through the 1000+ pages of notations, I am overwhelmed with the amount of thinking and striving for coherence and accuracy represented in these works. <br />
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Given the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/opinion/09sun3.html">400th anniversary of the King James Version</a>, it seems relevant that most of my looking through bibles has involved this version. I have a replica of the <a href="http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Bibles/?view=usa&ci=9780199557608">first edition of the KJV published this year by Oxford</a> (a truly giant book) and one of the most interesting things about it is how much "study" material is included in this book. Modern translations have not been soley about "text," but nearly always about helping ordinary people make sense of the text, with generous help from translators and editors.<br />
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For me, the most intriguing places to look in these bibles is Genesis and Exodus, then Matthew and Revelation. Here are the places where the notes go crazy, with long footnotes, bulging cross-references, and fascinating sub-headings. I'm just today going through the building of the Tabernacle and the equipping of the High Priest (Exodus 23-28). Fascinating in any one of these bibles; supremely interesting when comparing several of them.<br />
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I'll round out the summer with attending the American Sociological Association Meetings, and the Association for the Sociology of Religion Meetings, both held in Las Vegas toward the end of August. If you're there, maybe I'll see you at the buffet line!<br />
<br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=c3532a65-46ac-4604-917b-c0d16e271ac6" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-783058112127118462011-07-17T22:43:00.003-04:002011-07-17T23:52:17.453-04:00Seminar in Grand Rapids<i>I've been directing a seminar on "Congregations and Social Change" this month through a program for scholars at Calvin College.</i><br />
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A wonderful, interdisciplinary group has gathered this month:<br />
<br />
Kendra Barber (University of Maryland)<br />
Walt Bower (University of Kentucky)<br />
Lloyd Chia (University of Missouri)<br />
Ryon Cobb (Florida State University)<br />
Lisa DeBoer (Westmont College)<br />
Janine Giordano Drake (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)<br />
Lincoln Mullen (Brandeis University)<br />
Paul Olson (Briar Cliff University)<br />
Peter Schuurman (University of Waterloo)<br />
Christine Sheikh (University of Denver)<br />
Phillip Sinitiere (Sam Houston State University)<br />
Kevin Taylor (Boston University)<br />
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Together, these scholars represent a tremendous range of knowledge and skills, drawn from the humanities and social sciences, who pursue a broad scope of ambitious questions in the study of religion. Race, work, technology, "the market," identity, women's leadership, incorporation of the arts, and the question of whether "congregations" matter or not, have all been part of rich and not-easily-resolved conversations happening in both classroom and lunchroom.<br />
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We read and think a lot together, but I think we all agree we've ate a lot together, too! Food for thought has been more than adequately matched by food for our collective stomachs.<br />
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The first three weeks we explored a range of concepts and methodologies and experienced several congregations on visits as individuals and as a group. Although we are all fascinated by the phenomena of the megachurch (a memorable visit), a stand-out visit for me was the opportunity to meet with the Imam and several lay leaders of a newly built mosque here in the city -- the most multi-ethnic, multi-cultural congregation we encountered.<br />
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<div class="zemanta-img separator zemanta-action-dragged"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/33763583@N00/3209461104" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="My communities" height="224" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3098/3209461104_6415389522_m.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-size: 0.8em;" width="320" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right; width: 240px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/33763583@N00/3209461104">steven w</a> via Flickr</i></span></span></div>This week, participants will share from their own work, something I am really looking forward to hearing. For me, this is the part where we get to hear ideas in development, articles being born, books being written. The application of genius to crafting a narrative takes shape before us, further connecting us all into our collective development as scholars. <br />
<br />
These are brilliant people, and I am learning from them. Be prepared for more work on the Black megachurch, the emerging church movement, pastor Joel Osteen, conversion narratives between Christians and Jews (both directions), parents raising atheists, second generation mosque leaders in America, congregations and the labor movement in New York, arts and worship, and more.<br />
<br />
Special thanks to Penny Edgell (University of Minnesota), Jim Wellman (University of Washington) and Bill McKinney (recent emeritus president of Pacific School of Religion) who each spent time with us and shared their advice and expertise. Joel Carpenter here at Calvin deserves great thanks for hospitality and his own insightful "footnotes" as well as a nice set of casual conversations with visiting scholars for other programs here in Grand Rapids. <br />
<br />
Finally, thanks to all my colleagues in the seminar! It's a privilege to pursue our questions in scholarship. It's a gift to do it in community. <br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=ecda1142-7dab-4c3e-80cb-683c91b47694" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-74185864808089837682011-07-02T11:36:00.010-04:002011-08-16T11:32:52.293-04:00Worship across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Church<i>Here's a draft blurb for my forthcoming book (Oxford University Press, 2012): </i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Worship across the Racial Divide:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Religious Music and the Multiracial Church</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Oxford University Press. In press, expected 2012.</b></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>"This book will surprise many readers." -- From the Introduction</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLAWZp7QvMjVMQJfHfcx7ca0_sFWmJCCk_Jaig2oM7amNumpPJyZ4ufROtgIy27kbWoWHoJuGGOXQMALmxqVa6LAR1_Y3hEWEtSvSPI0z8t4eTLARzLQdvUZIx5DqDMheen86Re_LCAYg0/s1600/gospel+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLAWZp7QvMjVMQJfHfcx7ca0_sFWmJCCk_Jaig2oM7amNumpPJyZ4ufROtgIy27kbWoWHoJuGGOXQMALmxqVa6LAR1_Y3hEWEtSvSPI0z8t4eTLARzLQdvUZIx5DqDMheen86Re_LCAYg0/s400/gospel+6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Church leaders believe worship is key to congregational diversity, and the demand for music that appeals across racial and ethnic cultures has prompted great speculation.<br />
<br />
But misguided worship practices based on faulty racial assumptions accentuate rather than relieve the pervasive racial tensions.<br />
<br />
Through stories and vignettes from a wide variety of Protestant multiracial churches and interviews with over 170 of their members – including church leaders, church musicians, and regular attendees – Marti's book moves away from assumption and speculation to examine how music and worship actually ‘works’ in diverse congregations.<br />
<br />
The book provides an intriguing lens for how race continues to affect religion, even when religion attempts to overcome it.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.oup.com/us/">http://www.oup.com/us/</a>Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710742878979631620.post-11926650040989740082011-06-17T13:43:00.004-04:002011-06-18T09:04:57.336-04:00Conversation, Congregations, and the Cape<i>Just returned from a fruitful meeting as part of the Congregational Studies Team including Steve Warner, Nancy Ammerman, Bill McKinney, Larry Mamiya, and Jim Nieman, with fellows Orit Avishai, Lynne Gerber, and Tricia Bruce, and special guest scholar John Bartkowski. What a fine group! </i><br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div></div>Having known some of this group for about 10 years (and nearly everyone since beginning my professorate at Davidson), I see a difference in the relationships among this group.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Building_at_614_Main_Street.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Building_at_614_Main_Street.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
<div class="zemanta-img separator zemanta-action-dragged"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Building_at_614_Main_Street.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Building at 614 Main Street, Hyannis, Massachu..." height="133" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Building_at_614_Main_Street.jpg/300px-Building_at_614_Main_Street.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-size: 0.8em;" width="200" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right; width: 300px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Building_at_614_Main_Street.jpg">Wikipedia</a></i></span></span></div>I arrived at Cape Cod on Sunday and came home Thursday -- nearly four days of fourteen-plus hours of conversation each day on religion and congregational life in the US and abroad. We met informally around breakfast, kicked up conversations at our conference site next to the coast morning and afternoon, taking breaks to have lunch and dinner in Hyannis. Visits to sites, including a large, Brazilian Pentecostal Church and their charismatic pastor. More informal meetings late into the night.<br />
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Such immersive conversation gives opportunity to think about the nature of "conversation" among scholars. And how rare it really is. While long-time relationships happen among some scholars, given the discussions of this week I can be fairly confident in saying that most scholars don't have opportunity for warm, relational, and consistently constructive encounters with others in their field.<br />
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Conversation among scholars is generally a polite affair, accomplished at receptions or before or after conference sessions. Usually short, amiable, and generally quite distant. Scholars have a nice way of getting along with each other (for the most part) even if they radically disagree. But a "distant respect" is quite different from a "caring respect" that genuinely imbues the interactions among the people I was around this past week. <br />
<br />
Not that disagreements or even outright arguments don't happen--they do. And not that this team exists as some form of romanticized utopia. That's not my view, and not my point. Instead, my observation from these past few days is that there is a different level of scholarship that occurs among active researchers who respect and trust each other. <br />
<br />
<div class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/41247051@N00/4912387791" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Meaningful Conversations?" height="180" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4912387791_453f7a549b_m.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="240" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right; width: 240px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/41247051@N00/4912387791">tonyhall</a> via Flickr</i></span></span></div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/41247051@N00/4912387791" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>The people I was around this week are all very strong people, brilliant in ways I cannot properly specify, yet quite human in ways that can be so disarming. We tease and play, at the same time reveal aspect of each others thoughts and published work not commonly recognized. Most importantly, our interactions reveal sides of each other's scholarship that are both formed and unformed, with "set" ideas alongside ideas that are continuing to be reshaped. Here is a group in which uncertainty is welcome as each of us find our way through the difficulty of thinking that is still so very fluid. <br />
<br />
As scholars, so often we work alone, careful of who we tell about our ideas. Direction for many of our projects is not quite there. It can be unsettling to be so unsure of ourselves today when we can look at our cv's and have such solid evidence of quality publications from our past. Can we complete more good work? Can we get the help we need as we find our way? And will people still respect us when we admit we just might not be so clear on what we're doing? <br />
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Yet admitting uncertainty among those who respect both us as a person and the messy process of research is perhaps the most productive activity to be found in scholarship. I'm glad to have a group that allows this to happen for myself. And I hope I can be that person for others because the future of good scholarship can only be found if we avoid overconfidence and accept the feedback of others before we become only distantly caring and rigidly brilliant. <br />
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<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=d1ac4c19-409a-4f87-b6c8-0a62bed720d2" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>Gerardo Martihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04461299713784020487noreply@blogger.com0