Reflections of a Jazz Theologian: About me

robert gelinas

Follower of Christ

Married to Barbara, the love of my life, since 1994. With her heart of compassion, magnificent mind and Masters in Public Administration she could run a branch of the government (and might someday).

Father: We have six energetic children (5 boys & 4 girls--one bio, five adopted--two from Ethiopia--3 foster).

Lead Pastor (and resident Jazz Theologian) of Colorado Community Church: It is my privilege to serve this transformative, city-reaching, multi-cultural, multi-campus, inter-denominational mission in the Mile High City (www.coloradocommunity.org)

Author: Finding the Groove: Composing a Jazz-Shaped Faith

Founder of Project 127: a ministry dedicated to seeing the day when there are no children waiting for homes in Colorado's foster care system (www.project127.com)

Contributing Editor for UrbanFaith.com

I deeply desire to see the body of Christ empowered to serve the least of these. The poor, the down and out, the disabled, those deemed unimportant and the unborn. God loves all people yet he has a special heart for the poor and the poor in spirit, the miserable and the marginalized. Check out The Metro Active Video Series on which I co-teach some fundamentals of urban ministry.

B.A. in Bibilcal Studies from Colorado Christian University and Master of Arts in World Christianity (Missiology) from Denver Seminary.

Friend of God...Passionate about the Body of Christ...Lover of this thing called jazz!

(Oh yeah, the disclaimer, the views expressed on this blog are mine and do not necessarily represent the wonderful organizations that I serve.)

These are a few of My Favorite Things:

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

I collect copies of this great American novel for a number of reasons. The beauty of Ellison's writing is first and formost. He simply put words in sentences that had never shared space ever before in the history of the English language. It is also a "jazz-text." The role that it plays in understanding that jazz is more than music has been invaluable to me. At an internal level, I grew up invisible...I am still, sometimes, an invisible man...

(The picture is of a first edition.)

Fountain Pens

I live in a world of words. I preach 5 times on a weekend, send countless of emails and am asked to stand up and say a lot of stuff. Talk, talk, talk...words, words, words! It's easy for them to lose value. I have come to appreciate fountain pens. The finger-staining process of filling it with ink. The feeling of holding a pen and writing someone a note on nice paper instead of sending an instant email adds thought to my words. Perhaps the value gained is not in the words but in the way I see the person with whom I am communicating. Whatever it is, I have discovered that fountain pens slow me down and cause me to consider the words that I use. I only own two such pens because they are so expensive. It takes me months (many, many months) to save up for one. The Cross Apogee Frosty Steel Medium Point, is my favorite. As you can see from the picture, it's a piece of art. I know, I know, my wife doesn't get either...she keeps pointing out that it's "just a pen." Oh, but it's the pen that I use to write her all of those notes...but I digress...

1991 Alpha Romeo Spider

On March 19th, 1994 Barbara and I exchanged vows, walked out of the church to the rain of rice and drove off in a 1991 Alpha Romeo Spider. A friend of ours let us borrow it for the special occasion. It was a joy. Since then, this car has had a special place in my heart. I'll never forget the feeling of driving to the reception, wind blowing, tin-cans clanging and my Beloved next to me forever.

It was red with a tan interior just like the one in the pictures. I've actually seen them for sale on eBay for less than $5k. I fantasize about bidding on it, keeping it in the garage in pristine condition and taking a cruise with my bride every anniversary. The fantasy fades as I realize that the mechanical maintenance is probably massive and I don't even change my own oil!