Gotthammer: Mike Perschon's Online Asylum

are you mike perschon from salt lake city.

2012-01-05T21:38:32.346-07:00

are you mike perschon from salt lake city.

I love this poster, although I still have trouble ...

2011-12-24T13:49:25.148-07:00

I love this poster, although I still have trouble believing I'm in it. :)

It was nice to come into the decor of the Gatherin...

2011-12-23T12:55:45.744-07:00

It was nice to come into the decor of the Gathering at Christmas - no doubt about it!

Another one of my favourite Gathering seasons, in ...

2011-12-23T11:45:04.324-07:00

Another one of my favourite Gathering seasons, in part because I really enjoyed doing music one season, but also because I felt a (often literal) warm welcome walking into the G during the dark months of the year. And the advent liturgy you posted was a big part of that.

Love the artwork for the Seraphim and the idea beh...

2011-11-03T19:23:58.035-06:00

Love the artwork for the Seraphim and the idea behind this. The Leviathan is awesome too. Especially how you gave it stats. I think I would have greatly enjoyed the Gathering.

You're the eternal optimist, Courtney! And I d...

2011-09-18T11:42:15.479-06:00

You're the eternal optimist, Courtney! And I don't know that we had it "right," but it certainly worked for me. That's why I post these - in the hope that they can inspire others to learn from the vision we had and realized for ten years.

Thank you for posting about The Gathering. I don&#...

2011-09-18T11:40:04.810-06:00

Thank you for posting about The Gathering. I don't know if I've ever told you this but every time you talk about it there's a tiny bit of hope that is created for the future of church. I know it didn't end the way that it should have but for years - you guys had it right. And that's more than most people will ever experience through church. And there's hope in knowing that it can happen and will happen again. What can I say - I'm an optimist.

Indeed it is/was! Thanks for filling in that blank...

2011-09-18T09:34:44.601-06:00

Indeed it is/was! Thanks for filling in that blank for me!

The software is called Terragen.

2011-09-17T23:14:36.792-06:00

The software is called Terragen.

I always enjoyed this season at the Gathering, and...

2011-06-30T16:29:09.903-06:00

I always enjoyed this season at the Gathering, and I had the chance to do two of those spiritual gift inventories! I remember in particular the time when both you and I had high scores in teaching and low scores in prayer, I think, or some other 'important' pastoral gift. Which, given our current career paths, makes some sense.

If you wanted to load sermon audio, have you consi...

2011-06-28T16:20:42.519-06:00

If you wanted to load sermon audio, have you considered using a 3rd party service like Youtube, or one of these many free file hosting sites like mediafire.com?

Graham! I get my comments via email, so I never mi...

2011-05-29T00:14:58.497-06:00

Graham! I get my comments via email, so I never miss one! It was a long time back - it needs an edit in the worst way possible. Glad SOMEBODY's creeping the blog.

Evidently this was way long ago and you'll pro...

2011-05-28T23:09:29.339-06:00

Evidently this was way long ago and you'll probably never see this but.... what a win! Number 6 and the reference to Kitty Pryde, I liked that. I actually I liked this entire post. If you ever do see this think of who you know who is young and carries these initials. I've been back creeping your blog.

A little bit of blurring - yes, now that you point...

2011-04-08T08:04:55.989-06:00

A little bit of blurring - yes, now that you point it out, it does help in the creation of depth.

I really like the movement that you created in the...

2011-04-07T23:16:01.676-06:00

I really like the movement that you created in the first frame. It has the same effect as the stars...something almost 3D about it.

Sweet job Mike.

"Poetry in motion, really." =)

2011-04-06T11:13:54.737-06:00

"Poetry in motion, really." =)

I'm really enjoying this series, which I'v...

2011-03-30T18:52:32.705-06:00

I'm really enjoying this series, which I've never had the chance to see from beginning to end. Keep it up!

Regarding the wars of Joshua, I quite like John Howard Yoder's pointed comment on the gap between Christian and Jewish biblical interpretation:

"Centuries of Christian anti-Semitism have established the pattern of thinking that the Jewish faith was warlike and Jesus was peaceable, so that Jesus’s announcing a peaceable kingdom was the reason that 'the Jews' rejected him. That misreading is a source of continuing confusion in Christian thought. It is made all the more confusing when we remember that Christians, at least since the fourth century, have not been peaceable, whereas Jews have never been violent from the second century until this one."

As a pacifist, Yoder emphasizes how Christian pacifism stands in continuity with the development of the OT (from Judges through Jeremiah, the Davidic kingship and standing military is revealed as a failure to trust Yahweh) and with later rabbinic thought (which is also pacifist.) If he's right, then it's mostly Christians who use the conquest of Canaan to legitimate our own violence.

I miss the G's liturgical seasons a great deal...

2011-03-12T21:43:44.493-07:00

I miss the G's liturgical seasons a great deal as well. I have yet to see any other church that takes the calendar as seriously. :( It was so amazing to come in on a cold wintery night and feel immediately immersed in the "alternate" reality of the church year.

I read a fantastic article arguing for taking thin...

2011-03-12T21:37:09.818-07:00

I read a fantastic article arguing for taking things up for Lent (in this case, chocolate) the other day: http://jkameroncarter.com/?p=1003

I haven't figured out what I am doing for lent yet. Giving up worrying about my future might be a good idea - especially if I can replace it with something useful, like reading less theology and more for pleasure. (It's hard when your hobby becomes your job.)

Brenda - but your pancake party shows you're s...

2011-03-10T11:45:06.890-07:00

Brenda - but your pancake party shows you're still finding ways to celebrate it! I thought that sounded really cool.

I was just thinking about how much I miss the G...

2011-03-05T20:33:10.637-07:00

I was just thinking about how much I miss the G's Lent season. I always found it a tough but challenging season. I have not found that there is much focus on the journey up to Easter in the church that we now attend. And it is the journey that changes us.

I love this episode as well. In the truncated, one...

2011-02-25T09:19:56.207-07:00

I love this episode as well. In the truncated, one-play version, we ditched the weird Engel moment from the previous episode, and let Meran be the focus. If I had it to write again, knowing where we'd end up, I'd have combined Alan and Meran into one character.

Michael-always glad to have your perspective - it&...

2011-02-25T09:18:31.178-07:00

Michael-always glad to have your perspective - it's good to know I've got company!

Leslie - well said, although I'm still a strong advocate for Christian community (not religious authorities, although sometimes those can become one and the same). We need the ecclesia, the gathered believers, as part of our journey.

Calvin - thanks. I'm just glad to finally be able to be this honest.

Mike, I really appreciated the honesty what you sh...

2011-02-24T22:45:37.150-07:00

Mike, I really appreciated the honesty what you shared here, as I find that it reflects to some extent where I have been walking recently.

Wow. That is beautiful, challenging conclusion. Th...

2011-02-24T22:20:25.500-07:00

Wow. That is beautiful, challenging conclusion. Thank you, Mike.