Parchment & Pen Blog

A Couple of Important Announcements


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I need your help, and I have something to update you on. First, your help…

1. As you all know, the Credo House is approaching its final days of the build out. Things are moving along nicely, but it is now time to get creative. I informed everyone recently about how one of the tables in the Credo House will have Luther’s “This is my body” from his meeting with Zwingli etched into it. This is not to express agreement or disagreement with Luther, but to creatively represent an important piece of Church history.

Other ideas that we have:

  • We will have a fire place with a mantle and a bookcase built around it. This will be filled with a library of theological and biblical material that is available to everyone. This will also serve as a filming background for all futher course and seminar production.
  • Around this arched book case going around the fireplace will (maybe) be a series of bricks (not sure what kind) that will have the history of the church etched into them. The lowest bricks will be of the early church fathers (names and dates) and build toward the top which will be more contemproary. On the left side will be the Western church on the right side will be the Eastern church. It will come together and have the Protestant church represented.
  • We will get some of the marbles that were used for the Jesus Seminar and mold those into a table. Again, most certainly, not to agree with what they did, but to represent a significant event in the history of Christianity.

What I need from you is ideas. Ideas that are creative and helpful in what we are doing. Think of a theological museum. I want the Credo house to be a place that people can come and learn just by looking at the walls, floors, tables, and decor. I want these to be illustrative of the history of theology and systematic theology in everything. I want children to learn by visual representation when we hold childrens theology events. I want people to come to the Credo House just to look. Whether it is the KIND of paint we use, or the KIND of wood that we use on the mantle. Help me out here. Get creative.

(Please, don’t simply give me biblical history. As important as this is, I want it to be theological in nature. In other words, I don’t want gopher wood for the trim becuase it was used on Noah’s Ark.)

For more info on the Credo House and designs, go here.

2. For those of you who have been wondering, we will be starting back up with Theology Unplugged and Converse with Scholars once the Credo House is complete in six weeks.

Thanks for your help.

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8 Comments

  1. Leslie says:

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    Michael, ever since I ran into your ministry some one-and-a-half years ago, I knew your heart was good. You sounded genuine, and Christ-centered and theologically-driven. And I immediately respected you for that. May God bless your efforts for Credo. I am more than sure that many will find it useful in their lives. And when I can think of some creative stuff, I will let you know. God bless you, my brother!

  2. Barrett says:

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    I am so excited to hear TUP starting up again! I have missed it so much over the past long months.

  3. FromTheBalcony says:

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    Michael
    I think on one side of the fireplace, you should use stone/rock instead of brick. It should have a Cornerstone. 1 Peter 2:7-8
    1Pe 2:7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
    1Pe 2:8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

  4. Daniel Eaton says:

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    Sure hope there is some way for you to incorporate the “stage of truth” and “above the arch”/”below the arch” into your construction. Those two concepts are the core of how TTP has changed my worldview.

  5. admin says:

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    I have thought about that. How should the stage be made?

  6. Rey Reynoso says:

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    Tracts? Not like the modern ones but the ones that were all over the place in the early 19th century? Ooh or a Gutenberg Press (I’m letting my mind run, sorry)? The ruinous remains of an icon crushed underfoot? The displayed armor of a Crusader?

  7. John D. Elliott says:

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    Michael,

    What about some icons (some, that is) of the church fathers?

    I found this website as an option: http://www.monasteryicons.com/

    They have Francis, Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, Chrysostom, and Ambrose.

    The idea would be to show the catholicity, small (c), of historical theology with associated comments regarding the importance of each church father to Christianity.

  8. Susan says:

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    I think that it would be nice to include an aromatic wood. If the ceiling were covered with incense cedar, or maybe fir, it would give the space a warmer feeling, and give it a memorable scent. I suppose it would need to be left unfinished…. but it could also cover a couple of walls (there it would need to be sealed). I’m talking about tongue & groove wood… something with dimension.

    You could do the brick around the fireplace, but still have a cornerstone. I love English tudor houses which include a mixture of brick and stone. Sometimes it is done transitionally…. starting with stone at the bottom and transitioning to brick as you go up …. sort-of scattered in the middle. The effect gives a lot of character. You could also throw in some clinker brick …. to represent sin and imperfection….. the struggles of the church.

    Google “clinker brick” and have a look around….. it has tons of historical character.

    Then, you might want to find old tavern-like tables and chairs. You could probably even find antiques. Each table could be different…. chairs too, it will have warmth, character, and the feeling of history. Even the flooring could be old, reclaimed barn wood. Again, it gives it age and depth. Or, you could use naturally broken real slate. I’ll leave you to fill in the theological implications (!) Keep in mind, that if you intend to add upholstered furniture, that which was made before the 1960′s is usually much more solid, and lasting than most of what you can buy new. You can have old pieces reupholstered …. maybe using velvet and leather….. those hold up well….. and you can fill in the theology and historicity of those materials as well !

    You could use olive-wood for the mantle (?)….. or have a rustic olive wood, or grapevine cross imbedded into the brick above the mantle.

    On the walls, you might want to include some of Dan’s manuscript photos….. some Greek, and some of ancient art…. of the disciples etc..
    Such a visual testimony testimony of the true age of God’s written word. Seeing is believing! They could even be arranged in sort of a timeline…. with explanations of their significance next to them.

    Enough for now!

    Susan

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