of books and theories

Since I have heard sermons preached about the topic, none of which I wholeheartedly endorse, I figured it was high time I threw my opinions into the mix. I recently finished reading Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, and while I have much to say I will start with this: like Michael Crichton before him, Dan Brown wrote an excellent fictional novel that starts from a base of historical fact. Crichton is highly praised for his highly detailed descriptions of science and technology that while typically fictional and futuristic, are grounded with roots of engineering principles and embellished with possibility and probability. Brown has done the same, only he started from a base of historical documents, artwork, architecture, world religions, and ancient mystery from which is woven a highly entertaining and thought provoking story. Weed through all that, and you come away with the simple fact that this book like hundreds of others is just a really good work of fiction and nothing more.

The hype and controversy that has erupted over The Da Vinci Code is actually a bit funny if you think about, because it only serves to drive up intrigue and sales of the book. I've heard different view points from the book's opponents, my favorites being the 'detail nitpicking' and the 'detrimental to faith' angles. The first, detail nitpicking, is where preachers/ministers/pastors/priests denounce the book because of its inaccurate use of church history or reliance on non-canonical scripture (i.e. that which is not in the bible). The second argument claims that the book is dangerous because it could damage the faith of wavering Christians and potentially draw non-Christian seekers away from the church. Personally, I think both arguments are ridiculous and I'll share why.

Let's deal with the nitpicking, which is highly absurd. First, if you are doing this ask yourself a question - why are you criticizing the historical/religious details of a fictional novel? Many times writers might need to fudge the details to make a story work, it kind of goes with the whole fiction genre. The easiest way to debunk the book, which is generally the point of nitpicking, is to lay out the easy cards and remind people that it is a work of fiction. If you need to get beyond that simple statement then you have bigger problems to deal with - as in, either you are grinding that axe way too much, or you have serious spiritual needs in your community that have needed tending for some time.

And that leads us to the second argument, damaging people's faith. Anyone who has been reading my blog for any amount of time knows that this argument alone just rubs me the wrong way. Anything that makes you stop and think about why you believe what you believe, can not be an entirely bad thing. Blind faith is not a place to which you should aspire, you should be able to answer the tough questions you face whether they be external or internal in origin. I actually see The Da Vinci Code as a useful tool, for if you can read what this author poses and walk away with your faith intact and an answer to a hypothetical question, you have better prepared yourself to share your faith with the seeking secular world. Would it bother you if Jesus were married, and perhaps fathered a child? Why? Does is bother you to hear a story that places women on equal footing with men in the Christian faith? Why? I am not arguing that everything in the book has a valid answer and can be useful to your faith, but some of it is trivial. One could get into a circular argument of reasoning when it comes to sections of the book that discuss the efforts of Constantine and later church leaders to essentially rewrite scripture to demonize women and establish the divinity of Christ (as opposed to being a mortal prophet, and married father). The issue is circular because either side in the argument stands firm in the right-ness their belief, and neither has a smoking gun to prove the other wrong.

I rant on about this to say essentially that, I read the book and liked it. Sure, the book raised some interesting questions and posed some controversial ideas, but it is still just a fictional story. If Jesus had been married to Mary Magdalene, it wouldn't change my faith - He is still Christ, the Son of God. Also, I think some of the ideas about the "sacred feminine" and equality of the sexes in spiritual matters is justified and would probably enhance our faith. I am not saying I endorse anything in the book as something to base your beliefs on, nor am I saying that I agree with anything in the book that calls Christ's divinity or life into question, but it brought up some interesting things to think about. Last I checked, thinking is still not a crime, nor a sin.

There are no bad questions, only bad answers...

discussion and conversation on the mind

I've heard it said that the quickest way to kill a blog is just not post, and unfortunately this time of year for me is difficult for me to avoid. I tried to flesh out something I've been rolling around in my mind, but unfortunately its still very unpolished. So for now I will say, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!

As my present to you, here's a sneak peek at what I've been thinking about, feel free to leave your two cents on the topic.

When we discuss our faith with other, whether Christian or not, how does the way we approach the conversation affect the outcome? Different generations have different models of discussion, some are logic based, some are philosophical, still others are just gut impressions. How do we incorporate how we live our life into the discussion, and show the fruits of our faith? What happens when we don't show our faith, but instead explain our faith? Entering a conversation, are we willing to pick up the other person's point of view and try it on? Are we willing to have conversations about areas and ideas that we are not comfortable with or perhaps have never thought about before? I believe there is a fundamental difference in the way emerging generations think and approach a conversation versus older "modern" generations (i.e. non-postmodern/non-emerging). Understanding that difference is the start of bridging that communications gap.

loving snow

The first major snowfall of the year, and we got hit hard with around a foot of white, powdery goodness. Bring it on! I love snow, as naturally I should seeing as I am a skier and snowboarder, it gives me peace. I find nothing more relaxing than to look out the window on a snowy day and watch the heavy fall of snowflakes cover everything with a pristine, pillowy blanket. I also love snow because it brings to mind memories of the holidays, which is always a good time with friends and family. This year I am especially thankful because I don't have to destroy my back while enjoying the snow - my parents gave us an excellent snowblower for our anniversary. It works wonderfully, throwing the snow off the driveway, and the only inconvenience to me is the cold blast of snow that comes when the wind decides to be at odds with where the snowblower wants to send the snow (which was frequent today). In the end, I'd rather be a bit wet-for-wear than popping ibuprofen for extreme muscle exertion. Besides, having a snowblower lets me be a friendly, caring neighbor. I enjoy helping out when others around me have a tough time, especially the end of the driveway where that one foot of snow has become 2 feet of heavy and compacted from road plowing. And after all is said and done, I would love to run out, tunnel around in the snow and perhaps build a snowman, if it weren't for a sneaking suspicion that I'd get some strange looks. ;-)

Enjoy the snow if you have it, I know I will!

fresh community at RLP

So like many other people, I've been busy lately and usually have time to catch up on a few blogs I read, but rarely time enough to write. Falling excellently in that category would be a new posting by Real Live Preacher. He talks about a community that he envisioned a while back, which not so surprisingly, many of the traits are those that are becoming highly cherished in some churches that are re-inventing themselves. Check it out...

If we could do church

U2 marketing

Interesting article over at Church Marketing Sucks about some more "lessons" the church could learn from watching Bono and U2 market their music and their message.

More Lessons for the Church from U2

Enjoy!

it's amazing

It's amazing...

• How two groups can argue vehemently with each other over a point they both agree on...
• How starting an exercise regime is daunting, until you actually start it...
• How rude and unscrupulous a retailer can be to the very customers they depend on for revenue...
• How easy it is to let the insignificant details overshadow what really matters in life...
• How quickly a body can recover the mechanics of an activity it hasn't done for a long time...
• How refreshing being out in crisp, autumn air can be...
• How insightfully true and yet disheartening is the phrase, "the more things change, the more they stay the same"
  

holiday cheer

Sometimes it takes a lot, sometimes it takes very little; the spirit of holidays is quirky like that. Watching the stampede at retail stores on the news during Black Friday shopping steals my holiday spirit. Is getting that $400 computer for $150 really worth trampling some unlucky woman when the doors open and she stumbles? My faith in the common sense and intelligence of the "general public" is severely shattered when I read the reports of parents berating store managers because the hot new toy or gadget is sold out, but then turn around and are willing to pay exorbitantly inflated prices on ebay rather than wait.

But then again, despite the overwhelmingly discouraging news of all these kinds of holiday-induced selfishness, a little snow and seeing my wife prancing about and singing or humming bits of Christmas songs warms my heart and brings a smile to my face.

I hope the beginning of your holiday season starts a time of joyous reunion with family, friends, and loved ones.

holiday creep

No, this is not about some strange or mean holiday shopper, nor is this about some sickening feeling that a person gets as holidays approach. I'm talking about the holiday marketing equivalent of urban creep or suburban sprawl -- a holiday sprawl if you will. Is it just me, or did the marketing geniuses out there totally obliterate Thanksgiving in the U.S. in favor of Christmas/Hanukkah? I mean, what ever happened to celebrating the significance of Thanksgiving before the media blitz that has become of the winter holidays? In these times of diversity, one would think Thanksgiving would be a time to reflect on some of the critically important aspects that are usually overlooked about this November holiday.

1. The pilgrims sailed to North America not to conquer, but to live peacefully. Depending on your point of view, they were escaping religious persecution, were exiled from their homeland for their minority religious beliefs, or a combination of the two coupled with a desire to avoid Dutch culture from taking over their own tradition/culture. Could they have protested or resorted to violence to make their government recognize them equally (which probably would have resulted in their death), certainly but they chose to move on and head to a place where they could preserve their culture. I consider this an illustration of a concern for tradition, freedom, non-violence, and culture preservation.
   
2. The Pilgrims arrived in North America with preconceived notions of what Native American Indians were like, and could have attacked the local tribe in an act of "self-preservation." However, they didn't, and the local Patuxet tribe chose not to attack the Pilgrims either, instead offering knowledge of local plants and agricultural practices. Had the Pilgrims not trusted the Patuxets, they most likely would have died as they were not sufficiently prepared for New England winters. To me, this is an illustration of co-operation, compassion, and culture co-existence.

Certainly, the co-operative, peaceful, multicultural themes that exist in this U.S. tradition should be something we celebrate a bit more, in addition to our own reasons to give thanks each year. Don't get me wrong though, I do enjoy the Christmas/Hanukkah season since there are usually more instances of people being genuinely kind and the overall festive spirit. I just see something very wrong with a green flag being waved right after Halloween is over, signaling the beginning of a Christmas marketing frenzy. I mean come on, this weekend at the mall, Santa was already out and available for wishlists and pictures -- isn't he supposed to wait until after the Thanksgiving Day Parade? I know the retail chains depend on December holidays to keep their profit margins healthy, especially in these uncertain and troubled times, but can we please stop the marketing blitz from starting until after Thanksgiving? I am concerned for our future, because it seems that soon Halloween will be the next holiday that gets leap-frogged and then the chaos will ensue - pre-lit artificial trees, menorahs, Santa hats, pumpkins, witches, and ghosts do not mix well.

/rant-off

quick but intriguing

Just something I ran across today in my news/blog reading..

http://outchurched.com/2005/11/16/great-image.html

Be sure to click on the picture so you can see the full size image with all its caption and label goodness. Otherwise, latest news here is -- busy. Blogging will probably be a bit on the sparse side for the next month or so I imagine. However, I will do my best to try and put something up from time to time (probably weekly at best).

knocking yourself down a notch

As seems to be my modus operandi, posting about a spiritual high is always followed by some form of humbling spiritual insight. Since as it is often said from the pulpit, "all fall short," don't let it be said that I ever claimed exception. The reason I am putting myself out here for self-flagellation is that I finally finished reading John Burke's No Perfect People Allowed, and I have a multitude of reactions to the book. My first reaction is joy and hope at reading about a church community (Gateway Community Church)that is making an impact with my generation. However, that is quickly followed up by mild depression at the realization that nothing like that exists in my neck of the woods, at least nothing that I have found. The closest would probably be my friend's church, though the demographic they have is different and it is about 3 hours away. The reason I start to feel down is because through my recent stretch of personal spiritual formation, I am coming to realize my great need for community - I miss interacting with people. But obviously, anyone following my escapades from the beginning will know that I've run into some groups that for some reason result in each of us rubbing the other the wrong way. So far, when I happen to be in town and am not on-call on Sunday, I head over to Farmington. I get along with people there, but I don't seem to be able to make it there as often as I like. Not that I've been there enough to emphatically state anything about them, but I feel they need a vision to strive for, something that will shake up the way they operate. Maybe if I can get my life organized and stabilized, I can throw my $0.02 out there for them and see what they think...

Thank you to all you who actually stop by and read this stuff, it's nice to know that I'm not crazy and that sometimes what I say makes sense. I consider you my virtual church community.

laughing off calamity

So lately I've been head down, nose to the grindstone at work and its looking like I will be that way through mid January. Not that I am complaining mind you, more work usually means continued employment and opportunities for new and exciting challenges. I've also had some exciting stuff happen around the house as well, so not everything has been work-work-work for me. We finally had a roofer come by to look at our leaky roof (after the heavy rains of October, go figure). On the positive side, despite a roof junction having been installed backwards (something with the shingles), there was a quick and inexpensive fix for the problem. However, when the roofer was just about finished, a gust of wind caught his ladder and blew it over... hitting my car. I was shocked and surprised, not because my car had just been hit by a large, heavy ladder, but because of the way I reacted. I could have been angry and abusive, since the ladder should have been tethered to the house (for his protection and mine), but I wasn't. I have always believed and sometimes shared with people that while I do appreciate having a car of my choice, which I maintain regularly, if something were to happen to it I wouldn't let it bother me. After all, it's just a car, a means of transportation and in the grand scheme of things not something I should be worried about. I felt proud of myself later that evening because I wasn't a hypocrite. I actually saw the whole thing as I was just walking out my front door to see how things were going, and the first thing I did was run back inside to get my keys to shut the alarm off. The second thing I did... was laugh to myself as I examined the damage. It was a funny situation, there on the peak of my roof, 2 stories up, sat the now stranded roofer. He was looking apologetic and completely embarrassed; he knew that what happened was completely his fault. I joked with him a bit while I picked the ladder up, set it back up, and held it in place until he was on his way down. We both looked at the car; the damage wasn't catastrophic, a minor dent and large scratch on the hood, and a decent dent and paint chipping on the fender. However, he knew that the repair would not be cheap since the kind and location of the damage meant a lot of labor hours and/or replacing the hood and fender.

I was proud of myself, because in a situation where I had always believed I would not lose my cool, I did just what I thought I would. I never yelled at him, in fact I was friendly and understanding. He told me right away he would pay for the repairs, and waived payment for the roof repair. The repairs to my car I figured he would (or should) offer, but waiving payment for the roof I did not expect. In fact, had he not said anything I would have asked him when to expect a bill. Maybe its because today's society is trigger-happy with lawsuits that he responded the way he did, but I'd prefer to think that he is just a honest guy who felt at ease around me. When I could have berated, I chose kindness; when I could have exploited, I chose generosity; when he apologized repeatedly, I forgave him and told him not to worry about it. It was one of those rare moments where upon reflection, I truly felt like I had shown my Christianity. I may not be a regular attendee of worship service, but in a real world situation I was practicing what I believe. Sometimes I get the feeling God is preparing me, one situation at a time, for a role that I would have never chosen for myself. Now if I could only figure what that role is...

preconceived notions

So before I begin -- Thanks to Big Mike Lewis for reminding me that it was most likely his blog where I heard about John Burke's No Perfect People Allowed. I read his blog regularly, but couldn't seem to find the posts I recalled seeing. Upating that front, I am still reading the book and enjoying it thoroughly. I seem to be reading this one a bit more slowly than my usual pace, but I think it is because there is a lot to absorb and think about.

Moving on to the topic of the day -- ever have one of those days where you have some elaborate scene worked up in your mind that you are so sure you will encounter? Not only are you sure the encounter will happen, but you almost look forward to it even though you envision it being a somewhat argumentative confrontation? I have a tendency to do this, it probably has something to do with the fact that in real life I would rarely thrash someone verbally in public despite how much they incited me; though there have been times I have come close to doing so. There is a church community that I visit infrequently, partly due to the inevitable, insensitive, ungenerous words of the preacher (in my opinion) that just burn me up. I have come to expect this when I go, which is the reason that I had not been there since Easter -- which was a particularly bad experience. Don't get me wrong, the guy has the best intentions and from what I can tell he doesn't say the things that get under my skin just to get a rise out of me. There are apparently just some areas where he and I don't even come close to seeing eye-to-eye, and I believe it is to the detriment of the community of believers and the local community they are trying to reach.

Today I was spared the confrontation I had envisioned in my head as they had a guest speaker. However, the spiritual climate in that church community has altered significantly since my last visit, and from what I can tell it is for the better. I noticed little differences in the way things were done or said, and I hope what I noticed is truly becoming the norm. Preconceived notions aren't healthy, since obviously change is always in the mix, which I know from personal experience. Knowing that people can change, and accepting that it will occur on a timetable we cannot fully understand, life can be a lot less stressful. Certainly that doesn't mean we should kick back and just let things take their own course if we have something to say - I may not have said anything publicly in the past, but my concerns were voiced in other avenues - but we should recognize that since we are all imperfect people, we need each other desperately so we don't keep screwing things up. Cynicism and judgementalism do not help anyone -- a lesson I learn often.

check perfection at the door

Been away this past week attending the annual team meeting for work. Good times overall, visiting with co-workers/friends and hearing some non-technical material. But as always, it's good to be home.

So as is my usual mode of operation, I've been reading a good book. I'm not done with it yet, so far I think I am about halfway through. I usually don't like to write about a book until I've finished it, but this is one of those few exceptions. I went to the store originally intending to pick up Leonard Sweet's Out of the Question, Into the Mystery, but alas the shelf was barren of the title despite the computer insisting it was there. However, not to be defeated, I continued scouring the shelves thinking someone had simply misplaced the book as is typically the case. In my search I came across No Perfect People Allowed by John Burke, the title caught my attention and I would swear that I had seen that someone else who's blog I frequent had been reading it (of course I cannot find that now either). The subtitle of the book is just as intriguing - Creating a Come-as-You-Are Culture in the Church. So I flipped the book open to read the synopsis/description that the book jacket offered, and then decided that this book sounded more interesting in the moment than the other elusive book (though I'll still probably try to find it some other time).

To make a long story short - halfway through the book, I am constantly teetering between forging ahead and quitting. The content is excellent, the personal stories are riveting, and the concepts are spot on with the kind of community I've been feeling is needed both in my life and in our current culture. The problem is, while reading the book, I feel like through it God is shining a really bright spotlight on some personal/spiritual weaknesses I am always had but never acknowledged. I recognize my own need for much of what is presented (small groups, spiritual "running" partner, etc.) and yet at the same time I don't want it - because I know it will force me to face things which I have until now felt much more comfortable sweeping under the rug till later. No it's not that I have any major skeletons in the closet, but there are things I have real trouble sharing. Whether it be because of the control factor or exposure factor, I just don't like the idea of facing what I know I need. Regardless, I will finish the book, it is very good and I highly recommend it. More later...

painful prayer

It's sad really, the idea that as Christians many of us have been taught that when it comes to prayer, ask and you shall receive, is the de facto understanding. While certainly we were also told that God is not Santa who will grant you that shiny new toy just because you asked for it, matters of the heart are supposedly solved when we take them to the Lord. Rarely, if ever, are we told about the flipside of the coin, where prayers are not answered the way we want them to be. We pray for the sick and afflicted people we know, asking for healing, always assuming that things will turn out in our favor. It's not always fair, but that's not always in the cards and sometimes we must be dealt a losing hand. I mean think about it, if we had our way we would be praying that every friend and family member we knew would stay healthy all the time and no one would ever die. While it seems rather utopian, this world is made up of a finite amount of resources which would not go far if over-population ran rampant - then our prayers for food and shelter would have to be fulfilled miraculously. I am not trying to be sarcastic about a serious topic, but just making a point. We are not being shown how to pray our way through unavoidable hardship, but rather we are taught to assume we can pray our way around it.

There is a prime example of praying about unavoidable turmoil, and it shows that even the best sometimes don't want face the pain we know is coming. Take a look at Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane - Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, and Luke 22:39-46 - check out all 3 at Bible Gateway. Jesus knew what was coming, but he didn't want to face it. We certainly don't have the full text of everything he was praying and thinking, but I can guess that was much more above and beyond his plea to find another way if possible. I would bet he prayed fervently that some spark would ignite in the hearts of the nation of Israel; a spark of understanding about who he was and what his message was about, so they would turn their lives around without his sacrifice at their hands. What more could he have asked for than for the chosen people of God to fulfill their destiny to be a blessing to all nations without that blessing costing his life.

So many people that I have met through this blog have voiced the same frustration with prayer when it comes to dealing with painful situations. I struggle with prayer myself, and I don't often consciously sit down and pray, but I have concerns in my heart and on my mind constantly. I worry about a friend in my neighborhood who was diagnosed with cancer; I am concerned for the spiritual and physical health of Amanda, especially with her latest struggles; my heart aches at the tragedy that has taken place this year which is probably the worst year of natural disaster after natural disaster (definitely in my lifetime, if not on record); not to mention the current media frenzy about a possible pandemic breakout of avian flu. Obviously, some of these hit closer to home than others, but the point is the same. With a world that seems like it is spinning out of control and about to fly apart at the seams, which for many of us can be on a personal scale, what do we do? Certainly the trite answer is often to keep our faith in the Lord, and trust that things will pull through and work out for the best. Does that sugary outlook on life sit well in your stomach? Would that bring any measure of comfort to you in the midst of deep anguish of the soul? I hate ranting, but that's what is coming now... we need the leaders in our midst to wake up and face reality - it can be a bleak, painful world out there, and telling people that praying about it will make everything all better doesn't cut it. It's no great wonder that when people hit rock bottom emotionally and spiritually, they abandon the church. When you are hanging on by a thread, desperate for something in your luck to change, do you really want to see someone with a happy-go-lucky grin on their face telling you to just place your trust in Jesus and everything will be better? I don't know about you, but I'd probably be on the verge of throwing a punch if I encountered a situation like that.

However, on a more positive note, there are people out there who know a better way around this. These are the counselors to the pained people, someone willing to just listen and help you ease your burden by just hearing you out. They don't offer trite answers or simple solutions, but rather listen and wait... and perhaps pray for you to find whatever it is you need (not want). They don't offer unsolicited advice, instead waiting to be asked a question that they can perhaps provide feedback for and no more. Jesus didn't dole out warmed-over, simplistic answers and he certainly never said that life was supposed to be easy... so why is that our knee-jerk reaction to tough questions and painful situations?

of heaven and pi

Since I have been trying to get back to a more relaxed state of mind, which is where I feel I do my best work and best thinking, a friend of ours lent me a couple books to read. Consequently, this happens to be the same person I have been lending books to concerning some faith struggles and questions, so I guess we are starting our own book exchange now. Anyway, knowing the kind of books that I have been reading and recommending to her, she tossed me Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven and Yann Martel's Life of Pi.

Since work was still keeping me busy, I decided to start on the shorter of the two books, The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Not to give a book report or review, but I really liked this book overall. The concept was very intriguing, since we all at some point wrestle with what will happen to us when we die and if you believe in it, what the afterlife will be like. Rather than concentrating on a joyous reunion celebration version of heaven, Albom truly gets down to what we all really want to know - why did my life turn out the way it did, did I serve a purpose, did I make an impact on anyone? By highlighting some of the smallest details of the main character's life (Eddie), the story comes full circle and enlightens him about his own life through the story of others. Personally, I think that would be the greatest treasure that could be bestowed on someone after they have entered the presence of God, to be shown how one's life fit into God's eternal story.

After finishing the first book, I took a short break before starting Life of Pi. However, when I finally jumped into it, I went in with the warning ahead of time that the book starts out slowly but gets very good if you are patient. I was not disappointed, since the later part of the book is a lot of great internal struggles and philosophical reflection. I would say, however, that while the beginning of the book is slower, it contains very good background information that comes into play. I don't think I can do justice to the book with any summary or explanation of the book, so I won't. To pique your interest though, it is about a teenage Hindu-Christian-Muslim who ends up as the lone survivor after the cargo ship he is on sinks in the Pacific Ocean. And by lone survivor, I mean the lone human aboard a life boat with a zebra, hyena, orangutan, and Bengal tiger. I had been curious about the book in the past, having seen it on the shelf at bookstores, and I am truly glad that I read it.

Both books have been very popular in the online bookstore rankings at various times, and they are well deserved. However, I liked them not only for their excellent storytelling, but also for the way that I well spiritually refreshed while reading them. These books I felt provided some interesting tidbits to chew on from a spiritual and faith side of things. While one book confronts you head on with the conclusion that heaven exists and then fills in how the little and big things affect us, the other brings up some interesting situations and background information to put a bug in your head, and then plays out a moral struggle - subconsciously daring you to question the rightness or wrongness of the character's faith.

While I am not sure that either book was intended to inspire the faith of people, I think they both do an excellent job at it. They both challenged me to think, question, understand, and in the end both inspired me to continue loving God and all people (though that still doesn't mean I have to like all people)...

speed of work and presumptuous prayer

First and foremost, I feel I must shout a "Right On! Amen!" to Mike Cope's post from much earlier this week. Seeing as I have been working on a variety of different tasks at work, dealing with homeowner association issues, and generally trying to get a few contiguous moments to stop and catch my breath, I feel I can relate to his sentiment about just wanting to retreat to a place of solitude to relax. I can also feel that when I am less stressed, I tend to be happier and have more energy. On the flipside, when I am stressed out I tend to get depressed, irritable, and I lose interest in things I normally find joy in. Since I am writing now, I have obviously found time to unwind a bit from my latest marathon of life, otherwise things would have remained quiet. While my workload really hasn't subsided all that much, some other areas of my life have slowed down (by actions I took to make it so) and I have been much happier overall. So on to the next topic...

I don't know if any of you out there watch The Amazing Race, but this past week they started up the new season/contest. This time around instead of teams of two, they opted to make it a family affair. Teams comprising of 4 family members (in any permutation you can think of, not just the typical parents and kids) are all competing in a race around the world for a million dollars. Normally, we watch this show to see what kinds of challenges the teams face not only as part of the competition but also in how they handle the strains put on the relationships. Now the reason I feel this is particularly blog-worthy is not because of some particularly interesting destination or challenge, but rather because I feel that one team is being a bit presumptuous. A mother and her 3 kids (son and 2 daughters) are competing in the race, and part of their story is that 2 years ago they lost their husband/father in an accident at the Daytona speedway. I am not completely heartless, and I can understand their grief and am inspired by the way they have stayed close as a family in the wake of such loss. However, I take serious offense from the fact that they have a tendency to flaunt their Christianity on television as if Jesus is their 5th team member. The pinnacle of this behavior was while trying to find their way along the first leg of the race, they literally prayed for the Lord to help them find the place they were looking for so they could come in first. I don't know, but I don't exactly think that God is going to go out of the way to help a family win prizes along a race to win a million dollars. I'm sure this family is very nice and I do hope they do well in the race, but the portrayal of Christianity they are putting out there on national television is just a reinforcement of the stereotypes that Christians in the United States have earned over the decades.

Ok, next time I promise I'll try to write something that actually will be spiritually challenging or uplifting. I really don't like to rant, but this has been bugging me since Tuesday.

and they gazed at the stars

Whenever a discussion turns to topics such as, "how can we rethink the way we do worship," I usually throw out a few ideas that I have been churning in my head. Most are just a new twist on old things, such as incorporating more participatory aspects into worship (i.e. town hall style discussion, musical meditation, incorporating art or creative writing somehow, etc). I probably wouldn't think about completely shifting locations and incorporating something that I enjoyed, which is why I think what I just found is awesome!

I blog-hopped my way to a couple of new sites today, and while reading through some comments on the topic of coming up with innovative worship, one idea just jumped out at me. Check it out...

we went star gazing with our church last night...

How inspiring is that? Being outside on a beautiful night, taking in the vastness that is creation, and incorporating artistic, musical, and scriptural components. And more importantly, the overriding theme was that the community worshipped together - they went through the experience together. I think this is such a interesting break from the norm. I could definitely see adapting this to other kinds of outdoor activities - at the moment, hiking seems to be the one forefront in my mind; though a quiet, grassy clearing would probably work just as well.

a ray of hope

Posts like these highlight what the media either refuses to show us or has not seen in their travels with the government relief effort.

Forces on the Frontlines -- Mike McNichols

This is the kind of publicity that The Church really needs. Not a particular denomination, group, sect, movement spear-heading an effort and shaming other groups... all Christians of all walks of life and from all the different flavors that exist working together selflessly.

My favorite excerpt...

I spoke with a sheriff with whom I worked in Bogalusa. He found it amazing that we had come all the way from California to help. He said to me, "I don't know what we would have done without the Christians."

love and obedience

So, some of my discussions over at A New Kind of Conversation have recently turned towards the roles of love and obedience in spiritual formation. While I tend to struggle with the full impact of obedience in a Christian life, I relate well to the concept of loving as a Christian. I like to come at the question, "what does is mean or look like to follow Jesus," from the angle of love as opposed to obedience. To me, and probably many others, obedience on the surface just feels like a power issue, perhaps bringing to mind the image of a drill sergeant barking orders. Deep down I know that's not what it means from a Christian perspective, but not everyone we come into contact has that same perspective. So in my mind, spiritual formation becomes a process by which we cultivate our faith with love. Behind any step, any facet of spiritual formation (such as the 7 elements proposed by Brian McLaren) there must exist some level of love for God and Jesus, or else why would any formation or transformation take place?

Anyway, before I ramble on too long, I wanted to point you to Mike Lewis' latest blog entry. I think he explains well some of the thought process that goes into why I feel love is a stronger force in spiritual formation than obedience (though both go hand-in-hand). By telling someone about Jesus, you are obeying. By showing someone Jesus, you are loving. It's a minor difference with a major impact.

So, They Don't Believe In Absolute Truth? -- Mike Lewis

Enjoy!

pardon the silence

Lately I have been focusing my spiritual ponderings and musings on the discussions over at A New Kind of Conversation, particularly the topic Spiritual Formation in a Postmodern Context. Which, incidentally, a big thank you to those of you who are visiting here for the first time. Hopefully, you won't think anything I've written or will write is totally absurd.

Other than that, I'm now struggling to balance my life between work, my own spiritual formation, and neighborhood issues. I'm hoping that last bit will clear up soon...

the conversation begins

Got the following in my email today:

Hello all,

"A New Kind of Conversation: Blogging Toward a Postmodern Faith" will be posted online at 12:00pm Eastern Standard Time (US), today September 15th! Brian McLaren and Bruce Ellis Benson kick things off for us. Brian with thoughts on "Spiritual Formation in a Postmodern Context" and Bruce examines the question of "What is Postmodernism?". Other topics by our remaining contributors will be rolled out every two days, so be sure to follow along as things progress. And thanks to everyone for doing such a great job getting the word out. We have been overwhelmed by thousands of people who have come to the site. This has the potential of being a truly global discussion. Continue to let others know, we are still trying to get as many folks from Asia, South America, and Africa into the conversation as possible! So if you know of any bloggers in these regions of the world, point them in this direction. Thanks again and welcome to anewkindofconversation.com.

Hunter & Myron

Enjoy! Just be sure to read the Site Expectations so you understand exactly what they are trying to do and what may come out the discussions. Also, if you do decide to join in, there is an acceptance agreement you need to read since there is the possibility of your thoughts being published.

reconciling personality with spirituality

So even though David Wray said not to think too hard on the Spirituality Type exercise that we went through, I was perplexed by my results - not upset, just intrigued. You see I landed solidly within the Inner Life quadrant. Inner Life spirituality focuses on contemplation, inner peace, sometimes a monastic life, and prayer that seeks or leads to mystical union with God/Jesus/Spirit. At first I was really confused because according to Myers-Briggs I am an ENTP (yeah I know, to some including my wife a total shocker!) and I figured that being extroverted would kind of preclude me from something that requires a lot of solitude. However, reflecting on events from Monday and going back to my Myers-Briggs work-up, I think I've been able to reconcile what I perceived to be a dichotomy in my life. You see, my strongest personality function is N, intuition. This means that I am a creative problem solver, someone who takes in information by noticing patterns, possibilities, interrelationships and using my gut feeling. However, combine that with extraversion (drawing energy from people/activities/things) and you get the result that I like to share with people the ideas generated by this internal process.

Some of you might think this is useless information, but I guess I really wanted to share all this because I find it helps me understand why/how I do some of the things I do. Not that you should scramble to find out what your spiritual or personality types are, but maybe this insight into myself will help you understand and reconcile some aspects of your own life. As for me, the continual, inane rambling I do on this blog helps me in my faith journey so I can figure out what my spiritual role is or should be - I still don't know what that is, but perhaps the picture is getting a little less fuzzy now. Thanks for reading...

"Faith keeps many doubts in her pay. If I could not doubt, I should not believe."
-- Henry David Thoreau

following the unknown path

So, as I mentioned yesterday, I did take a rather interesting journey. Since it was my last day off before heading back to the world of work, I decided that I really wanted to do something I'd been putting off -- hiking! I scanned the internet trail guides for Connecticut and settled on checking out Breadloaf Mountain, which connects up to the Appalachian Trail and offers views of the Litchfield hills and the Housatonic River valley. The views I figured would be gorgeous, and it was a great day for hiking, but I also just wanted someplace quiet to be with nature, meditate, pray, and maybe read some scripture and/or write. Excited at being in the outdoors once again I took off with gusto, tackling the trail at a fairly aggressive pace. As to be expected - since I haven't done any serious hiking in a while - the moment the trail took its steep, upward climb to the peak, I started to feel the burn in my legs and lungs. But not one to be beaten down easily, I forced my body through the initial pains, drank some water, and continued on. I mean come on, the hike was only 0.5 miles - albeit a lot of it was uphill, severely uphill. After about a half hour of steady climbing I reached the peak and was rewarded with stunning views.


Breadloaf Mountain Looking South


Breadloaf Mountain Looking Across the Housatonic River Valley

I sat for a while taking in the peaceful surroundings, had a snack, and then decided to break out my bible. While at ElderLink, Paul and Jeff had talked about how 2 Corinthians 4 speaks very eloquently about being a missionary - dealing with struggles, keeping focused, and things of that nature. Of course, I'd never really heard that take on it before, but when I sat there during their session thinking about it, it really did speak to me as a kind of comforting, morale booster for someone struggling out in the field. They also talked about how sometimes we need to stop taking everything at face value, the "we heard it once or twice so now we know all there is to know" kind of attitude, and dig deeper from many angles (my words, not theirs). Thinking about all this gave me the reason to tote my bible with me to the top of the mountain. I decided that starting with 2 Corinthians 4 (after a few moments of silent prayer), I was going renew my study of scripture, but with more depth. At first, I read through chapter 4 alone a couple of times, but as I read it I started to realize that it seemed to me there were allusions to something that must have been said previously. So then I decided to skip back a couple of chapters, but as I scanned I realized I really needed to head back to the beginning and read 2 Corinthians 1-4, so I did. I really got a lot more out of that passage of scripture than I ever had before, and I plan on going back and utilizing some of the discussion questions Paul and Jeff provided. So with another moment of prayer, I decided it was time to leave, but seeing as I wasn't tired I figured I would check out another trail I knew was nearby - it was just a short walk along the ridge on the Appalachian Trail to the Pine Knob Loop, which supposedly offered more scenic views. I mean come on, the map shows that they are not that far apart!

Well, first I hiked the 0.1 miles to the Appalachian Trail - no problem - and then headed north to find the Pine Knob Loop. And continued to head north, and more north, and more north. I wasn't really all that tired, the terrain wasn't too steep, so I soldiered on until finally I found the trail. So I headed off figuring that this loop didn't look too long. The trail had a decidedly downward slope to it, nothing terribly difficult just continuous. The loop took me along a really neat stream that at certain points had washed away everything leaving a wide swath of smooth, bare rock and also had some neat ravines.


A stream along the Pine Knob Loop

However, as you've probably guessed by now, the trail was not a short jaunt through the woods. I continued down, never curving back up the mountain, and eventually I found myself a mere stones throw from the parking lot (not where my car was) along the main road at the bottom of the mountain. I was a little tired by now and figured I would drink some water and eat the apple I had brought along, and continue on back up the final leg of the loop. I passed a couple with a dog on my way up, and they wished me good hiking and asked why I was taking the steep way up. At this point I was getting a little concerned because I was definitely low on energy and my legs were tired from the not so steep hike down, and decidedly longer than expected hike from Breadloaf Mountain. Nonetheless I continued on, but decided to check the map that I had picked up from the trailhead at the beginning of my journey. That's when I noticed the words -- Map Not to Scale -- Uh oh. I decided that perhaps I should turn around and walk the main road back to my car, since I did know that both parking lots were off the same road. A little further down I passed another guy, he asked how much further up it was to the overlook, he had heard that this was a 3-mile loop but wasn't how far to the scenic view. At this point I knew I had made the right decision to turn around, and so I backtracked to the parking lot, where I found out that by road it was another mile to my car. Once I got back, I went to go get a better look at the topographic map that was there -- as it turns out, the little semi-informational guide that I picked up was completely useless for anything other than pointing out highlights and finding camping and pay-phones. It was 0.6 miles from my car to the Appalachian Trail, probably another 1.5 - 2.0 miles from there to the Pine Knob Loop, I hiked at least half the loop (about 1.5 miles), backtracked about 0.5 mile and lastly walked 1.0 mile back to my car. Grand total estimate for my first hike of the year, and first real outdoors hike in a while -- 5.1 - 5.6 miles over varied terrain. For those of you who like topo maps, check out the terrain from Breadloaf Mtn to the north along the ridge and then the area between the two streams (that's the Pine Knob Loop).

It was an exhausting day, much more than I had planned, but I saw a lot of the beauty of Litchfield County up close. I also felt like I really got in some quality spiritual time, which I also needed. Next time I plan something like this though, I think I'll hit up Barnes & Noble for a guide and map book about Connecticut trails.

quick links - not so quick reads

So before I get to another more lengthy update, here are some links to some excellent articles/blog-posts that I've come across recently.

Conversation about Walter Rauschenbusch - Brian McLaren
David Evans is a brilliant emerging theologian, African American, currently working with the Mennonite Central Committee and soon to begin PhD work in American religious history. He and I had lunch recently and talked about Walter and the social gospel, Anabaptism, civil religion, and other topics. He sent me this reflection after our most recent lunch which I thought was worth sharing. He gave me permission to post it here. If you'd like to email him for further dialogue, his email is . - Brian

First Corinthians circa 2005 - Patrick Mead
Be a part of God's blizzard. By yourself you're, well, just a flake.

Opening the Gift of Time - Jason Clark
Let me ask the question I hope you'll post an answer to as a comment, before you read below? How are you finding ways to subvert the rhythm of our consumer culture? Here are some of my ways and thoughts.

Enjoy!

back from elderlink 2005

Yeah, you read that correctly... I went to ElderLink 2005 in Nashua, NH. I am in no way, shape, or form a church elder or leader, nor do I intend on being either of those things anytime soon (well, at least that's what I think, God may have something else in mind). For me, this was a great opportunity to re-balance my life a bit. Since I've been working a lot lately, I kind of felt my spiritual life suffered a bit since I didn't really have the time or energy to reflect on much.

In short, the plenary sessions with Randy Harris about doctrinal disagreements were awesome! I think a lot of what he had to say shook up some people who were there, and while this was primarily a Church of Christ event, I think a lot of what he said translates directly into inter-denominational and inter-faith/religion relations. I also thoroughly enjoyed David Wray's talks on Christian spiritual formation. He started with a brief introduction to some of the thoughts conveyed in Brian McLaren's A Generous Orthodoxy concerning modern churchs' overemphasis on spiritual information, as opposed to spiritual in formation. David Wray jumped off from there and talked about a need for balance of 3 things: spiritual information, spiritual formation, and spiritual transformation. I would translate this to the ideals of education, nurturing growth, and openness to being conformed to the image of Christ. Ok, you got me, that last bit about conforming was some more from David Wray's talks.

However, I would be horribly rude to leave out the main reason I went to ElderLink. Paul Clark was a co-presenter with Jeff Christian in a couple of sessions about being and becoming a missional church. The idea being that a missional church is not a place that you go to, but rather is a group from which you are sent out into the world (local, regional, global, or whatever your groups' calling is). I would say that while some of the tools and topics that were covered have no bearing on my current station in life (me not being a church leader of a church looking to move more missional), I did find the concepts helpful in understanding the kind of church community I want to be a part of. Paul is a great friend of mine, and he recommended that I come up for the event, for which I am grateful since I enjoyed his sessions and everything else. I did have a few people comment that I seemed a bit young to be at a conference aimed primarily at church elders, which was a bit amusing to me as it was truly curiosity and nothing more on their part. Most who continued in deeper conversation got a small taste of the ideas I have been floating around on this blog over the past year, along with the address of my blog (Welcome!).

I will have to check out what is on the books for next year's event, and maybe shake things up a bit more (I admit, I was mostly a wallflower). Anyway, I've rambled on plenty to make up for my weekend away from the blog. Coming up next, a recount of my winding outdoor journey from today (from which I am exhausted) and my current plan for expanding my prayer life and dwelling in scripture.

divulge from the norm

So in a brief break from my typical spiritual and/or faith related musings, I just have to shoot out a quick blog about Apple and their super cool new stuff. First of all, when the ipod was introduced I really wasn't even paying attention to the digital music player market so I didn't really know what it was or how cool it was going to be. Once I saw one and saw how crazy consumers went for it, I kind of figured out that it was going to take something impossibly innovative to knock the ipod off the throne of digital music players. To date, the only thing I've ever seen is company after company attempting to mimic the ipod, albeit with some minor twist (thumbwheel, touchpad, indiglo screen, brushed metal skin, etc). However, no matter what the competition did, Apple always seemed ready with the one-up trump card -- ipod mini, ipod color, ipod shuffle. Now I think Apple has once again proved why they are on top of the digital music world.

Enter the ipod nano. It's smaller than the ipod mini in every aspect, but it packs the features of a regular ipod - such as a color screen, picture storage, and calendar/contacts. It utilizes the extreme featherweight concept of the shuffle (including the flash memory, not hard drive), but is as fully-featured as the heaviest ipod with long battery life to boot. And to top it all off, it comes in white or black (for now, I assume). Now while I do have a music player already, mine just doesn't have as much of a whiz-bang gadget impact as this newest ipod. I use a Sony netMD N510-S -- using those Sony proprietary minidiscs. It is cool in that technically speaking I can't run out of space for songs, but the downside is that I have to buy more discs if I want to carry more music -- which translates into carrying more stuff overall. Maybe one day I will treat myself to something cool, new and gadgety... but not today, I have too much will-power and recognition of my lack of need for it. Although, it would be nice...

Now couple that with their partnership with Cingular and Motorola to provide the ROKR - an iTunes enabled phone with functionality similar to an ipod shuffle - and I think the future dominance of Apple in the digital music world has been secured for quite a while longer.

If only honest, loving Christian faith were as prolific, contagious, and sought after.....

blogging about beliefs

Matt Ritchie does it again! I've thoroughly enjoyed his Untangling the Gospel series of blog posts. The most recent one hit on some topics that I've mused upon at various times in life. The idea of beliefs and doctrines - which is which, which is important, how do we know what we hold, and other similar questions - was probably the most influential line of thinking in moving me philosophically outside the realm of what I would call the "doctrinally focused" church. What I mean by "doctrinally focused" is essentially that a group of people are more concerned about what they should believe rather than how they should believe. The following quote, from Kevin Smith's Dogma, I think drives home the idea - in this situation, associate their use of "belief" as doctrine.

Rufus
... the factioning of the religions. He said that mankind got it all wrong by taking a good idea and building a belief structure on it.

Bethany
Are you saying that having beliefs is a bad thing?

Rufus
I just think it's better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier. People die for it, people kill for it.

Not to say that being able to flip-flop on issues is to be applauded, but more along the lines of understanding what those ideas are that you hold onto and live for so that you can adjust to the times, cultures and events as necessary. After all, when learning to multiply, rote memorization of the multiplication tables only gets you so far - you need to understand the concepts and principles behind the math if you want to make real progress.

Oh yeah, and check out Matt's Untangling the Gospel 9: You'd Better Believe It!

A New Kind of Conversation

So I came across this upcoming blog-book in my daily blog reading. It's a grass-roots, free-form kind of discussion being geared up in blog format by Brian McLaren, Mabiala Kenzo, Bruce Ellis Benson, Ellen Haroutunian, Myron Penner and you! That's right, sign up to be a part of the conversation and you can make your voice heard if you so wish. Here's the description from the site...

Blogging Toward a Postmodern Faith

This blog-book will discuss what a postmodern evangelical faith looks like. The blog format will make it possible to allow you the reader, to participate in the writing of both the blog and the eventual published book to follow by Paternoster Press. Be a part of this experiment in conversation by adding your voice to the discussion.

Sign up if you are interested at http://www.anewkindofconversation.com/

the man behind the curtain

Sometimes I find that I have some of the most convoluted ways of coming up with ideas. Some of you who know me more personally probably assume that everything I think, write, say, plan, etc comes from a very logical, structured kind of background or way of thinking. Sadly, this is probably about as far from the truth as can be in many cases. I usually meander my way to something interesting from a topic that only has a glancing relevance to what I end up figuring out. For example, my topic of the day...

Poverty as Blessing -- Matt Ritchie
"I find myself wondering: how would our faith communities be different if, instead of emphasizing God's blessings in providing abundance, we talked about how God finds us in our places of poverty?"

Matt's post really started me thinking about finding God or letting God find me in the places where I am weak and vulnerable. I will never be able to find God by focusing on areas in which I feel strongest, and he is most likely never going to reach me there because I haven't left much room. Actually, I take that back... God could reach me wherever he darn well chose to reach me -- let's just say my attention would be most rapt when I am smacked full in the face with something I am too proud to admit I feel a certain level of inadequacy about. Oddly, even though we should know that God can point out every flaw and every strength, we continue to build up our facade which is held up by an assortment of hacked together beliefs, understandings, arguments, skills and experiences. All of this we keep neatly hidden behind our curtain which we think only God can pierce, and we show off the very hip, cool, and organized facade to everyone we meet in life. At this point is when trouble begins to brew...

The conversation starts off fairly simple - just two people talking about life. However, things suddenly start to turn towards spirituality and while you don't necessarily disagree 100% with what is being said, something doesn't sit right. You realize with great difficulty that the other person seems to know where you stand on a lot of things, but doesn't take the same position and so you jump into action. You start to defend some of your positions and ideals which you feel are being disrespected, only to find you are parried with more information than you've ever had to cope with in a response and none of it truly disrespectful. Each new point in the conversation leads to more frustration with the other person and yourself, it feels like the walls are falling in on you and no matter how fast you react and repair the facade you are losing a battle with yourself.

You see, the other person has pierced through and seen the man behind the curtain, the one scrambling to reinforce the set on stage which is threatening to fall backwards on top of him. It seems no matter how many times you insist they "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain," they continue to find all the weak spots. The moment they peeked behind the curtain, the defense began and the explanations flew wildly so as to explain the reason behind this support beam, that two-by-four, those guide wires, and these patchwork grouping of nails. Only each time a piece of the kludgy framework is defended, you realize how shoddy and inadequate it really is, but you cannot admit you were misguided or uninformed. By now both you and your conversation partner have noticed the creaking sounds, and you are faced with a choice: to listen to this person a bit more and perhaps learn something new which could help you firm up your life and eliminate the need for the curtain; or defiantly stick to your guns and hope you can shore up ye olde facade that oddly seems a bit less lustrous as it was about 20 minutes ago.

So ask yourself, are you certain of your motives and mindset when you are conversing with someone? Are you truly listening, or are you scrambling for a defensive strategy? Personally, I've tried to cut back on grinding my axe and fortifying my ideals behind the scenes, I say let it all topple... its too much work trying to keep up appearances for the sake of someone else's pristine picture of Christianity, or my own for that matter. Why do we feel the need to "keep up with the Joneses" with our faith when in reality we are supposed to be keeping up with Jesus?

I suppose the weeks of infrequent blogging have caught up with, sorry if its feels/reads like a bit of a rant...

not dead, just busy

Work calls, and I answer... 'cause they pay me! However, I also do it because its fun and I enjoy it. So while I am away and working into the wee hours, my blogging will be sparse and short.

Check out this post, very appropriate...
Youth Ministers Only... -- Big Mike Lewis

Oh, and enjoy the last bit of summer!
(I'm still on that education schedule, Claire being a teacher and all)

christian angst poetry

Don't let the title fool you, I am not really poking fun at this article. I actually found it rather interesting, and from my past experiences very accurate.

Untitled Rant by Daniel Walter

sometimes it takes a book

An argument arose among them as to which of them would be the greatest. But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, brought a little child to his side, and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great."

John responded, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us." But Jesus said to him, "Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you."

As the time drew near for his ascension, he gathered up his courage and steeled himself for the journey to Jerusalem. He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and on their way they entered a Samaritan village to make arrangements for Him. But they were turned away, because when the Samaritans learned that his destination was Jerusalem, they refused to have anything to do with Jesus. When James and John heard about it, they said to Jesus, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" Jesus turned and rebuked them: "Of course not!" So they traveled on to another village.

-- Luke 9:46-56 (blended translation)

Now that you've read that, go back and read it again -- only this time try to ignore the paragraph breaks and let the whole interaction play out in your mind as a singular event where everything there is somehow related.

Ok, did you really read it again? Catch anything new this time? How about if we frame up the passage with some background topics, and then go back and read it again? This time, before you read it, think about all the different Christian denominations you've ever experienced and how they interact with or view each other. Then take a step back mentally, and think about your experience as a Christian and how the church communities you've been a part of have interacted with the local community, other religions, and the world in general (and when I say interact, I include action/inaction, opinions, doctrines, etc). Now, read it again and really soak it up. Anything jump out at you?

I cannot fully understand how or why, but while I was re-reading a book, a particular part suddenly brought to mind this passage of scripture. After reading through it a few times, I actually find that it is a great example of how Jesus dealt with people outside of his immediate sphere of influence. I mean think about it, if the guy who was casting out demons in Jesus' name was out for personal fame and glory, do you really think it would work? It wasn't really the disciples' place to stop the guy, they apparently didn't know his motivations or his faith, they just didn't want someone who wasn't in their circle touting Jesus. It's all right there on the page, Jesus is smacking these guys around trying to get them to understand that it's not about fame, glory, popularity, or being with the "in" group and that his message and teachings were not to be restricted to particular groups. I often wonder if Jesus was bald by the end of his ministry, because reading through passages like these make me wonder how he would have had the patience to not smack himself in the forehead and pull his hair out everytime he had to make his point 3 times and have his disciples still not fully understand...

Perhaps more on this later...

unplug, recharge, blog

As you may have noticed, the blog seems to be lacking fresh content as of late. Honestly, there is no excuse other than lack of interesting thoughts and motivation. Hopefully this weekend or perhaps next week I will find something interesting to blog about. The other obvious thing of note, would be the failure of my experimental blog post from last week. Apparently, I have no readers with burning questions or relatively few readers at the moment; take your pick, it's summer so anything is within the realm of possibilities.

While work keeps me busy for the rest of August and possibly half of September, I will do my best to maintain my sanity, humor, relative optimism, and health until I can grab some quality quiet time to think. Or I could be going about things completely backwards, we will see. Perhaps it's time for an experiment of a different kind....

something completely different

Normally, I use my blog to work out ideas that are floating around in my head or share some interesting (or bizarre) experience I've had. Lately though the well seems to be drying up, so to speak. While occasionally I do find some inspiring thing to write about, I often feel like I search for quite some time before I can write (at which point I ramble on extensively). So I've decided to try something different today, something that might have to extend through essentially the whole month of August. I thought that it would be interesting to kind of "ask the audience" for some topics, questions, concerns, or whatever. This could be an entirely failed experiment, but at least I will have given it a whirl.

So, what's on your mind? Feel free to share your own spiritual experiences, stories, concerns, prayer requests, issues, complaints, questions or comments... pretty much anything within reason is fair game. If you like, feel free to post anonymously (even if you are a registered blogger). I'll devote a blog entry to each comment, in whatever form it takes, so that I can respond appropriately.

giving where it hurts

Ok, it is a very unpopular topic, and when it is brought up it is either danced around lightly or smashed into your face with a heavy, blunt object. What topic is that? Money.

Many times people point casually to the Bible and ramble something about tithing, or perhaps they prepare a catastrophic scriptural assault that leaves the audience bloody and beaten with trample marks of "10%". Personally, I think either approach is horrible and quite honestly not even close to being Christ-like. Jesus touted a very unique version of giving - he gave where it was needed, not out of obedience to rules or to formulas, but out of love. As such, Christian giving should be 3 things (at least): generous, humble, and loving.

By being generous, a Christian should give what is needed and more according to what they are able. In Mark 14:41-44, Jesus points out to his disciples a poor woman who gave all she had, and praises her above others who gave out of wealth. This is not to say that all should give up everything, but that giving is not something that should be weighed and measured. By claiming that we should all give 10%, we set a bar that for some is too high and for others too low and for both it highlights their status.

To be humble, a Christian should not drawn attention to their giving. In Matthew 6:1-4, Jesus encourages that charity and good deeds should not be done so as to drawn attention to yourself. He actually goes to the other extreme and encourages that things be done in secret. In being humble, we know that we do good things for love of our neighbor and of God, not for our own gain. I actually love the example that can be found in the book I just read, Joshua. At one point in the book, Joshua buys an extremely poor family about $75 worth of groceries (of his $100 that was to go towards his own bills) in return for their kindness to him. You see the family had no money to buy groceries, the cupboards were all empty, and yet they shared with him the raspberries they had picked for breakfast and gave him a jar of raspberry jam out of sheer love for him. And yet, he didn't want them or anyone else to know he had bought them groceries - so he asked the shopkeeper to keep it a secret and deliver the groceries himself, with merely an anonymous note of thanks in the bag. In this way, he helped the family through a rough patch, saved them from any major embarrassment, and eventually came up with the money to pay his own bills.

Giving out of love was a bit more difficult to find an example of in scripture, but I think a good one would be a combination of Luke 7:36-50 and John 12:1-8. In Luke, a sinful woman washes and anoints Jesus' feet with tears and perfume (probably all she had) because of her great love for him. In John, the same story is recounted but this time it is revealed that the perfume is very expensive and Judas balks because he thinks it should have been sold and the money given to the poor. Sure she could have sold the perfume and given the money to the poor, but she instead gave what she had to Jesus out of love for him and to take care of him. One question I have heard asked is why did she wash his feet? And rightfully so, the answer is typically, Jesus walked everywhere so his feet would be tired, dirty, and perhaps a bit rank. A gracious host would usually provide a servant to clean the feet of his guests after a long journey, which this host did not. Something more relevant to today might be, knowing that a friend is working long hours to make ends meet, and offering to clean their home or maintain their yard, etc while they get on top of their finances. Out love you give some of your time, to give them back some of theirs, and it avoids embarrassment of outright offering money.

In short (yeah I know, ha ha, it's not really short by now), Christians shouldn't being budgeting and calculating how to give, we should be prepared to give at a moments notice wherever the need arises and for whatever amount in whatever form is needed. I truly believe that God works through people everyday, and that we will find ourselves in places where we are needed if we only take the time to pay attention.

Here is a little story I just heard this weekend from a friend's father (for sake of anonymity, I'll call him Joe), I think it shows off some excellent spontaneous Christian giving. Joe and his wife were on a vacation cruise in the Western Caribbean, where one of the shore excursions was to Roatan, Honduras. Roatan is a very small, very poor island off the coast of Honduras, essentially the cruise company paid to install the port which helped boost the local economy and provided a rustic, tropical location for cruises. Upon leaving the ship and walking along the docks to explore the village, a boy ran up to them and said, "Hello, my name is Georgie and I'll be your guide today." Joe was a bit skeptical and asked, "and what will it cost me for you to be my guide today?" Georgie sheepishly admitted, "It cost you maybe $2.50?" Joe agreed and Georgie took them around the village, and of course insisted that Joe buy something from his aunt's shop (which he did). At the end of the day it was time to settle up with Georgie, so Joe asked again, "Ok Georgie, what do I owe you?" Georgie beamed and said, "$3.00?" Joe good-naturedly responded, "Wait a minute Georgie, I thought before you said $2.50? What's the story here, tell me about the town and your family." Georgie went on to explain that since tourism was really the only way to make money to survive on the small island, he and other children try to help their families (of which he had 5 or 6 siblings) by being guides. Joe was very touched by the boy's honesty and could see the truth in the situation being that everything seemed to revolve around catering to the visiting tourists. Joe then thanked Georgie for his help, and proceeded to hand him $20. Georgie was shocked, and held the bill up in the air gazing it at it - he was very likely the richest boy in town that day. When Joe recounted this story to me, he told me that in retrospect he wished he could have given Georgie $50.

Could I be cynical and think that Georgie was just pumping people for money - sure, but then why only ask for a simple $2 or $3 at the beginning? When I first heard the story, my cynical side never showed its ugly head, I was simply touched by the generous and loving attitude that was shown to someone who could have easily been overlooked or dismissed.

joshua

Started up a new book this weekend, Joshua by Joseph Girzone, and I must admit it was long overdue - that or it was one of those divinely placed delays that I like to talk about. With everything that I have been through with my faith journey over the past year, I don't think that reading it any sooner would have been as inspiring or enjoyable. As it stands now, I can't wait to finish it and perhaps continue on with some of the other books by Joseph Girzone - Joshua in the City, Joshua and the Children, and many more.

For your reviewing pleasure, here is the book descriptiong that is found on the book jacket and at Amazon.com.

"Joseph Girzone wrote his parable in 1983 and published it himself with neither accompanying fanfare nor expectation of the extraordinary effect it would have on people around the world. With only word-of-mouth for advertising, and by virtue of its siniple message of love, Joshua became an international force of spiritual strength. after its modest beginnings, Joshua and its sequels have millions of readers around the world and continue to bring hope and peace to all who seek nourishment. When Joshua moves to a small cabin on the edge of town, the local people are at first mystified, then confused by his presence. A quiet and simple man, Joshua appears to seek nothing for himself. He supports himself solely by carpentry and woodworking, and he charges very little for his services. Yet his work is exquisite. Even more exquisite, and even more mysterious, is the extraordinary effect he has on everyone he meets. All who come in contact with him can't help but be transformed by his incredible warmth. The acceptance and love in his eyes and in each actions amazes the townspeople. Who is Joshua and just what is he up to? The answer to that question amazes them almost as much discovery of that same transforming power in each of their own hearts."

constructive spirituality

Home Office Interior - 5 minutes until the end of the work day...

As is typical in the IT world, all requests come in under the wire and at the last minute possible; this particular day was no different than any other in that respect. A message pops up in my chat client, it's my manager and he wants to know if I am available for a quick call. Being a remote employee, I rarely have the change to chat with my manager (let alone see him) so when the occasion merits it, I try to make time. Since I am often complimented on my work habits and the quality of my work, a call from my manager is never a reason for concern and so I answer the phone and launch into the usual round of friendly conversation that starts with catching up on intangibles (work/life balance stuff mostly). Shortly, my manager jumps right in with the real reason for the call - he's got an opportunity for me and wants to know if I am interested (You didn't think I was going to say I was fired did you?). This particular project was offered to me with the caveat that by taking it I would be getting some experience that could very likely lead to my assignment to another related overseas project next year. Anyone who has known me for the past 2 years would know that this scenario was part of the reason I sought out this job - it's practically my dream job. So when my manager laid the whole scenario out I jumped on it without even thinking twice about it - which he laughed about.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not some kind of eager beaver or overachiever doing whatever it takes to get brownie points so I can climb the corporate ladder as far as it takes me. I jump at challenges and new or interesting projects because I truly enjoy what I do - but I've realized that sometimes it costs me dearly. You see, I also had originally planned to take a week off in August to go relax at the lake with friends and family, which is something we try to do every year. However, because of the timing of events, I pretty much have to reschedule that time off and most likely won't be taking any significant vacation in August. Because of this scenario, there is a small part of me that feels like I have failed myself; I traded family and friends for work. Granted, I am probably being a bit hard on myself since in the long run both the wife and I wanted to be able to travel a bit before we truly settle down - so it wasn't a complete family trade off. Besides, while I did jump on the opportunity out of enthusiasm for my job (and not workaholism), the real problem I had with the situation was the way it contrasted with my spiritual journey in many respects.

Think about the same situation from a more abstract level. You are offered a great opportunity to use your skills in a new and exciting setting, but in exchange it will cost you something that you wouldn't normally think twice about (perhaps something you've been taking for granted). Stereotypically this happens most often in the work environment - work takes precedence, and family life suffers (though my situation is far from the extreme it can take). However, in our spiritual life I think we fall victim to this mindset far more often than we would let ourselves believe, and we are often quite unaware of it. The stereotypical preacher/priest/pastor or church leader would throw the guilt trip down in regards to people skipping Sunday/Wednesday services in favor of more "worldly" pursuits - i.e. sporting events, sleep, work, or whatever else they deem as what is currently wrong with society. Personally, I think that argument is complete and utter garbage - especially when most of the time the people spewing the nonsense offer nothing more than verbal admonishment for not following the norm. If you ask me, the real tragedy comes when we waste our talents and resources on fruitless and trivial things. Do I have the money to buy a brand new Apple Powerbook and iPod, which my geek-side is extremely curious to play with and experience? Sure I could probably afford it, but I don't actually need either item. The same goes for a widescreen TV with surround-sound and all the bells and whistles that go with a home entertainment system. Consumerism aside, I also have free time that I will often fritter away without thinking twice; whether it be fiddling with computers or watching re-runs of CSI, I'm sure there is something more constructive I could be doing.

Spiritually, I frequently feel like there is something else I could be doing with the time and money that I have to encourage or help others on their journey (and mine at the same time probably). Sadly, my spiritual journey sometimes takes a backseat to many things of lesser importance - although they say knowing you have a problem is the first step towards addressing it. Seriously, I highly doubt this is something that only affects me, so I will struggle with this idea for a while and see what happens. I mean realistically, in the "long run" scale of importance there isn't anything with a longer run than your spiritual journey now is there?

twisting up love

If I speak eloquently in any language in heaven or on earth, but do not have love, I am like a loud gong or a crashing cymbal; noisy and meaningless. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I sacrifice my body, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant or rude; love is not self-serving, easily angered or resentful, it keeps no record of wrongs; love does not rejoice in unrighteousness or injustice, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails...
1 Corinthians 13:1-8 (blended translations)

If you've been to church or a wedding, you've probably heard this read many times. These verses have been the basis for defining the paramount attributes of love, the building blocks of marriage, and quite honestly I think we've missed the boat. Certainly many of these things speak quite pointedly at familial relations, without which a family will tear itself apart, but what's wrong with taking a look at this from a 10,000ft level so to speak? Couldn't this apply to more than just marriages? Shouldn't this passage be the definition of what it means to love your neighbor?

Jesus told us to love our neighbors, and it seems the first thing questioned every time is the definition of neighbor - rarely if ever do we ask first how to love. We always seem to be more concerned with who we must interact with, rather than how - which oddly enough follows rather well with the way we've analyzed, categorized, and programmed Christianity into rules, regulations, and formulas. We focus more on knowledge, and less on action.

So how should Christians act according to the aforementioned passage? We should be kind and patient, not pushy or rude. We should be selfless, not selfish. We should be humble and forgiving, not resentful, elitist, or grudge-bearing. In everything we do, there should be no subversive motivation; there should be only a loving heart that seeks to serve other's needs before our own. We are to be joyful, loving servants to the extent that each is able.

Remember, love never fails - despite our expectations for a certain outcome, we do not fail if we love. For example, we may not make that breakthrough that brings someone to Christianity, but if we were generous with our love (in whatever form it takes - time, resources, etc) we will have at least shown that we truly care about them, and it leaves the door open for another time and perhaps another person. We reap what we sow... are we truly sowing love?

This whole entry might sound like my own Treatise on Christian Love, but that is not the intention. I heard this passage of scripture over the weekend (during a wedding), and in a quiet moment of meditation and prayer it dawned on me that I had rarely ever heard these verses outside of a sermon preached on family values, marital values, or some other individualistic (i.e. one on one) setting. Rarely, if ever, have I heard someone speak on a more global scale using these concepts. Certainly we all understand that we should love our neighbor individually, but what does it look like to have a community that loves neighboring communities? When one person steps out as a Christian servant, a few are touched by the experience - but when an entire Christian community steps out in service, imagine the possibilities!

Think along the lines of Brian McLaren's The Story We Find Ourselves In - an entire church that reaches out to the local Muslim community in the wake of 9/11, by first having the women offer their time and friendship to the Muslim women so they can leave their homes without fear of being attacked because of racial biases. This wasn't done only to help out for that specific moment in time, it was the opening of relations with a group of people whom were stereotypically avoided by Christians. The attacks may have sparked the actions, but they were not the prime motivation, it was done out of love and the desire to begin a friendship that was long overdue. I can think of a few other groups we might need to think about loving and befriending...