What Is the Box?
Jul.06, 2008 in
Podcast Episodes
Beyond the Box launches with its first episode called “What Is the Box?”
In this intro podcast, Ray and Steve discuss what “the box” is, and what it means to go “beyond the box”.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:17 — 25.9MB) | Embed
July 6th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
[…] to post a new episode weekly, if possible) runs about 30 minutes. Our first episode, entitled What Is the Box?, gives a pretty good idea of what you can […]
July 6th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
I’ve read both of your blogs in the past and have enjoyed them. The podcast is a neat adjunct to the written word.
One question, though…Can you broadcast at a higher volume or speak directly into the mike? I had a hard time hearing parts of the dialog.
July 6th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Thanks for listening Kat! We are still tweaking our mix on the podcasts trying to get a better sound. Bear with us over the next few episodes…it is a work in progress:)
July 7th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Good stuff guys. I know from recent experience that getting the sound down can be a challenge. Keep it up! I expect good things.
July 7th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Scott, thanks for the encouragement! I started thinking about podcasting way back when you introduced me to BlogTalkRadio. I never did anything with that, but am excited now about this joint venture with Raborn.
We’re learning as fast as we can about the sound. Part of it is that I’m very used to ProTools and how it behaves, but we’re using Audacity for our podcast recordings, and it behaves a bit differently than I’m used to in terms of compression, normalization, etc.
July 7th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Hey guys,
I thoroughly enjoyed the podcast. The music was funky, the humor was cheesy, the ambiance was..uhh…ambient! And the thoughts were great. I look forward to future installments. Putting y’all in my reader.
July 7th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Cheesy?? Well, I never…. 😉 hehe
July 8th, 2008 at 11:54 am
I think we were shooting for corny, but oh well 🙂
July 9th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
That’s right you have a bit of a leg up being a musician.
I like Audacity, but I’ve never used anything else, other than a brief fling with Garage Band.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Did you just use the words ‘Audacity’ and ‘behave’ in the same sentence?
This is Indiana Jim of… well… The Adventures of Indiana Jim.
I am a product of multiple ‘boxes,’ as it were. Assembly of God, Southern Baptist, the Denomination of Non-Denominationism, King James Only Baptistism, semi-Wesleyan/Methodist and Southern Baptist again. I totally feel where you guys are coming from on this ‘beyond the box’ concept.
I have long been frustrated with ‘in the box’ thinking and the whole philosophy of Christian subculture, which seems to me has only created Christian isolationism. We remove our influence from those who need it most. I have also long feared that the Church at large, more specifically the unpersecuted North American Church, has ‘lost the salt’ if you know what I mean.
There is a book by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons called “Unchristian,” which took a hard look at what those people 18-49 outside the Church think of Christians, as well as what Christians of that age think about their own people. The findings were startling, and confirmed all those things that we have been feeling. Essentially their finding is that the Church has not been acting very Christian toward outsiders, hence the title.
I believe that our modern church has abandoned the concepts of love, faith, the truth of the Word and true fellowship, and instead has adopted the idols of nice buildings, shallow music, judgmentalism and the fellowship of peacocks with wallets. I keep telling myself I’m going to write a book and call it “The Modern Church in the Hands of an Angry Christian.”
When you talk about finding the next book, next conference, next this-or-that, I am reminded of the scripture that says “with itching ears they will heap unto themselves teachers.”
One thing I think is inescapable though, is the very biblical idea of a local body of believers, meeting regularly as a group, with the Pastor/Overseer/laity structure. Without a local church, what was the purpose for Timothy, Titus or James? Why did the Apostle Paul spend so much time on the structure and behavior of the local church?
The danger is not just in ‘forsaking the gathering.’ That’s an easy thing to go to because it’s antithetical to the box. The danger is equal and opposite to removing ourselves from the sinners. When we remove ourselves from the frustrated, confused and unfulfilled Christians in the Church, we do them an equal disservice.
Yes, we’ve seen it done wrong, but I’ve also seen it done right. I think what we have seen happen is rampant complacency. Conversely we’ve seen Pastors have their passion swallowed up by administration; generation x- and y-ers become disillusioned with “pray and read your bible;” senior citizens remain unchallenged to grow in their faith; young men and women are not taught how to be good Husbands and Wives; big churches content themselves with getting bigger instead of spreading out.
The modern church has also become a place for copouts. We stop reading our Bibles for ourselves because we want someone else to tell us what it means, spoonfeeding us in 15-minute doses. We abdicate teaching our own children to someone else who is “called” to work with kids. We condemn people who smoke or drink, RESPONSIBLY in their Christian freedom, because of lazy, wrong doctrine informed by cultural stigma.
When it comes to fellowship, true fellowship is the one thing that is so hard to find in today’s Church. I have been to one church that really practiced fellowship the way I believe it ought to be done. If the fellowship within a church is supposed to reflect our relationship with Christ, what is the one thing usually missing? Authenticity. God can see right through us, but with each other we wear so many masks to cover up the parts about us we don’t like. But you know what other aspect is missing? Accountability. That trust that makes us be honest and as the Bible says, “confess our sins to one another.” We have such aversions to being honest with other humans, either because of gossip or embarassment.
I remember two very good college-age church groups, where we came together in the church setting, but the best times were out at the coffee shop, or the miniature golf place, or the movie theater or what have you. I think when we grow older, have jobs and have children, we stop seeking. We stop looking deeper because we just one someplace in our life that isn’t in constant motion.
Being a musician myself, I find playing in church to be a very fulfilling experience. I’ve been in churches with more talented groups, but I still enjoy doing it regardless. One thing I believe is that we are not supposed to do anything “for God,” for lack of a better term, unless we really want to. I get frustrated with things that are wrong, sure, but knowing that churches full of humans are… well… human, I’ve learned to be patient with the imperfections.
November 25th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Just started listening to your podcast. Actually, I started with the atonement series and then decided to listen to more and started at the beginning.
I wanted to make a statement about the idea of mountaintop/valley experiences. Since I left that mindset behind, I hardly know how to define my Spiritual life. Here I am, on an even keel most of the time, usually staying in a very peaceful place with God most of the time and at first, it was unsettling because I was used to riding those waves or almost creating the waves for myself. Someone asked me recently how was my walk with God (loaded language there but he and I know each other well and it was an intentionally provocative question). My answer was, “I don’t know. I don’t know how to measure it without the extremes highs and extreme lows. It’s just calm and peaceful and I wonder why I have a hard time accepting that as ok”
Anyway, I am really enjoying the podcast. Looking forward to listing more and catching up.
Grace and Peace,
Cynthia
November 26th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Cynthia,
Welcome! It’s great to have you here!
You said:
I hardly know how to define my Spiritual life…it was unsettling because I was used to riding those waves or almost creating the waves for myself…My answer was, “I don’t know. I don’t know how to measure it without the extremes highs and extreme lows.
I think that this is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome “outside the box”. For so long we as believers have viewed our relationship with God as something that is quantifiable. If I read at least one chapter of the Bible, pray at least once a day, go to church a couple of times a week and pay my tithe then my relationship with God is great! But is it really?
We have grown accustomed to substituting formality for relationship. This is why some believers want to jump through all the hoops. After all, I can measure how much I read the Bible, how long I pray, how much money I give and how often I walk inside a church building. But how do you measure the real fruit of the Spirit…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness (not synonomous with church attendance), gentleness, self-control? These are not quantifiable, but you know when you’re walking in them.
Relationship is just not measureable per se. Relationship and relative come from the same root word relate. A relationship is something that is unique between two individuals. Relationships are relative not absolute. In other words not everyones relationship with God will work the same way because each of our relationships with Him is unique and He relates to each of us in unique ways.
These are things that I have to continually remind myself of because I also have that tendency to want to measure everything. I think that it comes from a need to feel safe. The truth is we are safe in Abba. He will never leave us or forsake us!
Thanks for joining the conversation Cynthia. I look forward to more of your thoughts.
July 18th, 2014 at 6:28 pm
Wow! I had decided to go to the beginning of the podcast and start from there (have been listening to the newer ones) but wanted to get in on the beginning and how it all started. You guys are so wonderful for sharing your stories. It sure is a help for those of us who have left the Institution. I loved so many things in this podcast and can’t wait to keep going.
As Steve said near the end “We don’t need to know everything.” This is what I found to give me peace when my church world kind of collapsed in on me. That I now knew nothing, after years of thinking I did know something. It is strange that knowing nothing gave me peace of mind, but I felt like there was hope that it wasn’t the way I had been taught from such a little girl. Hope for others, hope for myself and a whole lot less guilt. Thanks for sharing your journey with us, and I can’t wait to hear the rest of “Beyond the Box.” 🙂