Thursday, April 14, 2005
Divine Dreams?
The following is something I wrote for my other blog, which I thought I would also post here since I went to the work of putting it together.
To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.
Daniel 1
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, �Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1
In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
Acts 2
One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, �Cornelius!�
Acts 10
During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, �Come over to Macedonia and help us.�
Acts 16
It seems like God speaks a lot in dreams in the Bible, but there does not seem to be an awful lot of people who are hearing God through dreams today. I don't know why that is.
What I do know is, the few times I have had dreams or visions that I felt were from God, I actually knew they were from God. Sometimes I was awake, but more often than not I was in what scientists call a liminal state (that time where you are not quite asleep but not quite awake either--usually right when you go to bed or wake up.) I can tell you that when I had a vision like this, which I emphasize again was very rare, I just had a sense deep in my heart that it might be God speaking. And there were a few times where that sense was confirmed. At time there was simply a word that beamed through my mind like a neon sign. Other times it was a flash of pictures in rapid succession of a person, and what they said, followed by what I believed was a supernatural insight into their lives. In all these cases I would recommend the following course of action with these visions:
1. If you sense God is speaking to you through a dream, test the dream to see if it
is true. And do so with humility. Just keep the dream to yourself, or talk to a
few mentors or leaders you respect about the dream and how it spoke to you.
2. Test the dream against the fruit of the Spirit. Is this allowing me to be more
self-controlled, more kind, more loving etc.?
3. What action is this dream calling you to? Is this dream consistent with
Scripture?
Any other thoughts or contributions?
To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.
Daniel 1
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, �Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1
In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
Acts 2
One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, �Cornelius!�
Acts 10
During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, �Come over to Macedonia and help us.�
Acts 16
It seems like God speaks a lot in dreams in the Bible, but there does not seem to be an awful lot of people who are hearing God through dreams today. I don't know why that is.
What I do know is, the few times I have had dreams or visions that I felt were from God, I actually knew they were from God. Sometimes I was awake, but more often than not I was in what scientists call a liminal state (that time where you are not quite asleep but not quite awake either--usually right when you go to bed or wake up.) I can tell you that when I had a vision like this, which I emphasize again was very rare, I just had a sense deep in my heart that it might be God speaking. And there were a few times where that sense was confirmed. At time there was simply a word that beamed through my mind like a neon sign. Other times it was a flash of pictures in rapid succession of a person, and what they said, followed by what I believed was a supernatural insight into their lives. In all these cases I would recommend the following course of action with these visions:
1. If you sense God is speaking to you through a dream, test the dream to see if it
is true. And do so with humility. Just keep the dream to yourself, or talk to a
few mentors or leaders you respect about the dream and how it spoke to you.
2. Test the dream against the fruit of the Spirit. Is this allowing me to be more
self-controlled, more kind, more loving etc.?
3. What action is this dream calling you to? Is this dream consistent with
Scripture?
Any other thoughts or contributions?
Moby's rant
Check out Moby's rant on homosexuality and the Christian right here Then tell us all what you think.
Pictures of God
Well, I recieved an email to bring me out of my funk.
It was a question on my other blog, footnoted as Bubba's Bible Blog below. (Hey that is a four word alliteration...yippee).
The person asked me about the use of images of God in worship. Below is why somewhat all over the place respons:
There are many people who believe that any image of God is a graven image, and thus a violation of the Second Commandment. For a very thorough explaination of this idea I would go to the library and read a book by J. I. Packer called Knowing God.
Basically the idea of this point of view is that when you have a picture of Jesus you have an image of God which limits a persons perspective about what God is like. For instance, look at all these renaissance pictures of Jesus. What do they look like? A white, upper-class bisexual male of the time. Which is what several of the renaissance painters were (well, I dont know everything about their sexual orientation but that was a part of the renaissance recovery of ancient Greek and Roman culture) By nature some might think, any picture of God becomes exclusionary and an instrument of power. For instance, they had this negative space Jesus statue at my seminary, and his biceps were about the size of his head. Thus, the ideal Jesus in this statue looked more like a body builder. The only image I have to relate to is the happy Buddha! HA!
On the other hand, as Arisotle said, "the soul never thinks without a picture". As you read Scripture, you see that God puts all kinds of pictures of himself in our heads. He is bread, he is light, he is a rock, he is a warrior, he is giving birth (John 3), he is a parent, he is a servant, he is a shepherd. Heck there are even a few female images of God in the Bible.
Anyway....it seems to me that we can't help but having images of God in our mind. But it seems important for us to realize that all images and pictures of God are limited. Jesus is not still dead on the cross, he is risen...so even a silver crucifix has limitations. So I believe it is ok, and even helpful, to have pictures of Jesus that speak to us. But we need to keep the following things in mind. In summary:
1.) Images of Jesus are often created to let us know that Jesus is close to us and can identify with us. They should be used for this purpose, but in the back of our mind we should keep in mind nobody has a market on what Jesus looked like. There is a reason he did not pose for portraits.
2.) We should try to cultivate images of God that are also apart from us, different from us, so that we do not get stuck worshipping ourselves and people like us.
3.) We should not worship the images, but allow them to be a vehicle for worship.
4.) If a particular image of Christ allows you to grow spiritually, then use it. Ask, is this making me more loving, more peaceful, etc. (does it produce the fruit of the Spirit)
My particular preference as far a personal images of God goes, with the exception of the $1 Walmart Jesus candles and the Bobble head Jesus stuff I have, is to worship him in ways that display his attributes more than a human image. Although this giant statue of light on SCRIPTURE SNIPPETS that I saw with open arms did speak to me of God's love.
What do the rest of you all believe and think about this?
It was a question on my other blog, footnoted as Bubba's Bible Blog below. (Hey that is a four word alliteration...yippee).
The person asked me about the use of images of God in worship. Below is why somewhat all over the place respons:
There are many people who believe that any image of God is a graven image, and thus a violation of the Second Commandment. For a very thorough explaination of this idea I would go to the library and read a book by J. I. Packer called Knowing God.
Basically the idea of this point of view is that when you have a picture of Jesus you have an image of God which limits a persons perspective about what God is like. For instance, look at all these renaissance pictures of Jesus. What do they look like? A white, upper-class bisexual male of the time. Which is what several of the renaissance painters were (well, I dont know everything about their sexual orientation but that was a part of the renaissance recovery of ancient Greek and Roman culture) By nature some might think, any picture of God becomes exclusionary and an instrument of power. For instance, they had this negative space Jesus statue at my seminary, and his biceps were about the size of his head. Thus, the ideal Jesus in this statue looked more like a body builder. The only image I have to relate to is the happy Buddha! HA!
On the other hand, as Arisotle said, "the soul never thinks without a picture". As you read Scripture, you see that God puts all kinds of pictures of himself in our heads. He is bread, he is light, he is a rock, he is a warrior, he is giving birth (John 3), he is a parent, he is a servant, he is a shepherd. Heck there are even a few female images of God in the Bible.
Anyway....it seems to me that we can't help but having images of God in our mind. But it seems important for us to realize that all images and pictures of God are limited. Jesus is not still dead on the cross, he is risen...so even a silver crucifix has limitations. So I believe it is ok, and even helpful, to have pictures of Jesus that speak to us. But we need to keep the following things in mind. In summary:
1.) Images of Jesus are often created to let us know that Jesus is close to us and can identify with us. They should be used for this purpose, but in the back of our mind we should keep in mind nobody has a market on what Jesus looked like. There is a reason he did not pose for portraits.
2.) We should try to cultivate images of God that are also apart from us, different from us, so that we do not get stuck worshipping ourselves and people like us.
3.) We should not worship the images, but allow them to be a vehicle for worship.
4.) If a particular image of Christ allows you to grow spiritually, then use it. Ask, is this making me more loving, more peaceful, etc. (does it produce the fruit of the Spirit)
My particular preference as far a personal images of God goes, with the exception of the $1 Walmart Jesus candles and the Bobble head Jesus stuff I have, is to worship him in ways that display his attributes more than a human image. Although this giant statue of light on SCRIPTURE SNIPPETS that I saw with open arms did speak to me of God's love.
What do the rest of you all believe and think about this?
Sideways has drove me sideways
I watched Sideways. Great movie, but depressing.
If I compared it to another movie, I would compare it to American Beauty, which is why it is so critically acclaimed. It is another movie about depression and midlife crisis from a bunch of overmedicated and overintoxicated self-centered Baby Boomers. O, how I hate baby boomers as a generational set. But then again, that is for another post. (If you are a baby boomer my apologies, it doesn't mean I hate you).
On the other hand, it was a brilliant movie. For the scenery alone no less. And the ending with the sense of crossing a new threshold was perfect. And, the acting of the lead character was brilliant as well. Although everytime I see him in a movie I think of the role he played in Private Parts as Howard Stern's Boss in New York.
I liked it a lot.
But in some way it has put me in a funk of my own.
HopefullY I will snap out of it by the end of the day.
If I compared it to another movie, I would compare it to American Beauty, which is why it is so critically acclaimed. It is another movie about depression and midlife crisis from a bunch of overmedicated and overintoxicated self-centered Baby Boomers. O, how I hate baby boomers as a generational set. But then again, that is for another post. (If you are a baby boomer my apologies, it doesn't mean I hate you).
On the other hand, it was a brilliant movie. For the scenery alone no less. And the ending with the sense of crossing a new threshold was perfect. And, the acting of the lead character was brilliant as well. Although everytime I see him in a movie I think of the role he played in Private Parts as Howard Stern's Boss in New York.
I liked it a lot.
But in some way it has put me in a funk of my own.
HopefullY I will snap out of it by the end of the day.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
The Stepford Matrix
I watched the Stepford Wives tonight. A more interesting movie than I originally anticipated. And strangely enough, it reminded me a lot of the Matrix. In my opinion the first Stepford movie was more of a horror type of a movie, while this one was more philisophical. Even if it is a little silly in the process.
The reason it reminded me of the Matrix is that both stories seem to ask a basic question. The question is: Which is better--a utopian illusion or a reality that it is full of heartache, brokenness, and limitations? Both movies seem to choose the painful rollercoaster that is life, despite the difficulties and the pain.
These stories bring up lots of questions. What situations and what things in our world today are they speaking to? In what ways are mourning the illusion instead of living in the real? What are the temptations that try to guide us toward the unreal?
Just something to think about anyway.
The reason it reminded me of the Matrix is that both stories seem to ask a basic question. The question is: Which is better--a utopian illusion or a reality that it is full of heartache, brokenness, and limitations? Both movies seem to choose the painful rollercoaster that is life, despite the difficulties and the pain.
These stories bring up lots of questions. What situations and what things in our world today are they speaking to? In what ways are mourning the illusion instead of living in the real? What are the temptations that try to guide us toward the unreal?
Just something to think about anyway.
Recent Music Purchases
I usually allow myself one CD purchase a month.
Here are a few of my aquisitions since Christmas
Velvet Revolver--a rock and roll album with the lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots and the Band from Guns n Roses.
Moby-Hotel--Very relaxing music. Double CD set. The ambient set is especially relaxing. I love the song SPIDERS and the imagery on it.
Songs and Prayers from Taize--A work related purchase
Ray-Duets--Another mellow album with Duets of several well-known artists with Ray Charles.
Then there are all the youth group CDs that I have on my work computer. I especially like a band called Something Like Silas.
Hope you all have a great day.
Here are a few of my aquisitions since Christmas
Velvet Revolver--a rock and roll album with the lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots and the Band from Guns n Roses.
Moby-Hotel--Very relaxing music. Double CD set. The ambient set is especially relaxing. I love the song SPIDERS and the imagery on it.
Songs and Prayers from Taize--A work related purchase
Ray-Duets--Another mellow album with Duets of several well-known artists with Ray Charles.
Then there are all the youth group CDs that I have on my work computer. I especially like a band called Something Like Silas.
Hope you all have a great day.
The Teetotaller's Tavern
Once again, to kill some time on my day off I went to the bookstore to skim some books. I grabbed a stack, and sat down near the coffee shop. And, once again, I found what I always find at this Starbucks. A bunch of loud Bible Thumpers.
Now, you might say that since I am a clergyperson that I would think this is a good thing. Infact, it was annoying. Well, not entirely annoying, as the people watching became very interesting from a people watching perspective. But they did frustrate me, anger me, and in general kind of piss me off.
Then I came to the realization that for these self-assured, loud, outspoken fundamentalists, the coffee shop is as close to the bar as they will ever get. (not so with me....I have the name Friar Tuck for a reason ya know.) Like Franklin Graham on speed, they kept arguing with a guy who believed differently than them by quoting proof texts every other sentence. Just like the sports fan spouting random facts about their team.
The better looking Christian women were surrounded by young men with copies of the Purpose-Driven Life (to look with it) and The Imitation of Christ (to look deep, spiritual, and intellectual) trying to discuss their recent Myers-Briggs and how it related to their spirtual life, the fine details of Creation Science, and how they wish they were born 40-50 years ago instead of today (but they are glad they were born today so they can help bring the world back to those days.) They complained about things as being "too much fun" and "not serious enough".
I guess if it was not so familiar I might have found it refreshing or charming. But I have been around these little Christian enclaves throughout college and in the ministry, and as a minister even have never really felt like I fit with them. Especially with this crowd, just a mile away from Focus on the Family headquarters. And as I watched them all I kept thinking is, these people really need a couple of beers.
Now, you might say that since I am a clergyperson that I would think this is a good thing. Infact, it was annoying. Well, not entirely annoying, as the people watching became very interesting from a people watching perspective. But they did frustrate me, anger me, and in general kind of piss me off.
Then I came to the realization that for these self-assured, loud, outspoken fundamentalists, the coffee shop is as close to the bar as they will ever get. (not so with me....I have the name Friar Tuck for a reason ya know.) Like Franklin Graham on speed, they kept arguing with a guy who believed differently than them by quoting proof texts every other sentence. Just like the sports fan spouting random facts about their team.
The better looking Christian women were surrounded by young men with copies of the Purpose-Driven Life (to look with it) and The Imitation of Christ (to look deep, spiritual, and intellectual) trying to discuss their recent Myers-Briggs and how it related to their spirtual life, the fine details of Creation Science, and how they wish they were born 40-50 years ago instead of today (but they are glad they were born today so they can help bring the world back to those days.) They complained about things as being "too much fun" and "not serious enough".
I guess if it was not so familiar I might have found it refreshing or charming. But I have been around these little Christian enclaves throughout college and in the ministry, and as a minister even have never really felt like I fit with them. Especially with this crowd, just a mile away from Focus on the Family headquarters. And as I watched them all I kept thinking is, these people really need a couple of beers.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Boxers or Briefs
I drove to work this morning in a blizzard. Let me tell you just how snowy it is. They have closed the Interstate Between Dowtown Colorado Springs (where I am now) and Denver. Nevertheless, the call of Christ compelled me to make my way to church in the morning. And my work ethic. And the fact that I probably will not get a chance to preach again anytime soon.
So, our church of 175-200 had 9 in Sunday School and 7 in worship.
As I headed out the door, I began to wonder, if I get stuck in the snow and die somewhere along the way....what underwear do I want to be found in?
No, you must know I am at the end of my laundry in socks and underwear. So, I had to find something that I would not be afraid to literally "be caught dead in". Boxers or briefs?
If you must know.....my smiley face glow in the dark boxers seemed the appropriate choice.
So, our church of 175-200 had 9 in Sunday School and 7 in worship.
As I headed out the door, I began to wonder, if I get stuck in the snow and die somewhere along the way....what underwear do I want to be found in?
No, you must know I am at the end of my laundry in socks and underwear. So, I had to find something that I would not be afraid to literally "be caught dead in". Boxers or briefs?
If you must know.....my smiley face glow in the dark boxers seemed the appropriate choice.
Some Books to Recommend
What Happy People Know--
As a person who struggles with mild depression, this is a very helpful, insightful book. It is also a helpful book just to undertand how to care for others that like to bring health and hope to people's lives.
God is Closer Than You Think--
A brilliant book about how to recognize the presence of God in your life.
Real Sex: The Naked Truth on Chastity--
I cannot stress enough how good this book is for single and married people, both in thinking about human sexuality from a Christian perspective, and as a book simply discussing a process of seeing ethical behavior as a spiritual discipline in and of itself instead of something seperate from prayer and spiritual disciplines. Also helpful in discussing the interplay between personal spirituality and discipleship in community.
Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places--
A brilliant book by Eugene Peterson. Challenging and somewhat slow reading, but well worth the effort.
As a person who struggles with mild depression, this is a very helpful, insightful book. It is also a helpful book just to undertand how to care for others that like to bring health and hope to people's lives.
God is Closer Than You Think--
A brilliant book about how to recognize the presence of God in your life.
Real Sex: The Naked Truth on Chastity--
I cannot stress enough how good this book is for single and married people, both in thinking about human sexuality from a Christian perspective, and as a book simply discussing a process of seeing ethical behavior as a spiritual discipline in and of itself instead of something seperate from prayer and spiritual disciplines. Also helpful in discussing the interplay between personal spirituality and discipleship in community.
Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places--
A brilliant book by Eugene Peterson. Challenging and somewhat slow reading, but well worth the effort.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
From a Rock to a Sponge.
I have officially become a sap.
Yesterday I took a computer version of the Kiersey Temprament Sorter. Sad to say I have moved from an NT temprament to an NF temprament. That means I have moved from the intellectual temprament to the idealist. I have become more of a "feeler". It is so pathetic.
I have noticed this change. When I was watching the preview for the Masters and they started talking about Phil Mickelson winning the Masters last year as his first major over so many years of trying, I got misty. When I was listening to things about the difference that the Pope made in people's lives, I got misty again. And the whole Ashley Smith thing with her loving this murderer that threatened her life....I almost let a tear escape. Of course, I also wished that I could make 60 thousand that quickly as well. I used to be a ROCK now I am just a squishy sponge.
Yesterday I took a computer version of the Kiersey Temprament Sorter. Sad to say I have moved from an NT temprament to an NF temprament. That means I have moved from the intellectual temprament to the idealist. I have become more of a "feeler". It is so pathetic.
I have noticed this change. When I was watching the preview for the Masters and they started talking about Phil Mickelson winning the Masters last year as his first major over so many years of trying, I got misty. When I was listening to things about the difference that the Pope made in people's lives, I got misty again. And the whole Ashley Smith thing with her loving this murderer that threatened her life....I almost let a tear escape. Of course, I also wished that I could make 60 thousand that quickly as well. I used to be a ROCK now I am just a squishy sponge.
My Top 7 Famous Most Attractive List
Recently I had a conversation about who I thought the most attractive actors around are. Expanding to famous people, I have a best of list below. I reserve the right to revise if I forgot someone. When I had this conversation it was about 2am. I have already revised it a little. These are in no particular order. And I know I am going to botch the spelling. Please forgive me!!!
1. The redhead on American Pie and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Although she may be too young for me..if she is my apologies.
2. Jennifer Knapp....the CCM rocker gal. She won me over when she said in a concert in Cincinatti that their football team was not a real football team because they played on Astroterf. How hot is that!!!! (Philbin has already heard this selection when I saw her in concert in Washington State at the Columbia River Gorge.) She solidified her selection by wearing a Johnny Cash T-shirt on her last album.
3. Renae Zellwiger--A hot gal that you could imagine having a beer with. Also not afraid to go without make up or make a fool of herself.
4. Lisa Nicole Carson--of Ally McBeal fame. Gorgeous smile. Gorgeous everything.
5. Mia Hamm--Seems to be both sweet and driven.
6. Drew Barrymore--Again somebody who is cute, and would seem to be fun too.
7. Lauren Winner--Author of Girl Meets God, Mudhouse Sabbath, and Real Sex: The
Naked Truth about Chastity. Cute and very smart. Smart is sexy.
Who did not make it and why:
Because of surgical enhancements: Pamela Anderson
Because of taste in other guys: Brittany Spears, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez
What is everyone else's input?
1. The redhead on American Pie and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Although she may be too young for me..if she is my apologies.
2. Jennifer Knapp....the CCM rocker gal. She won me over when she said in a concert in Cincinatti that their football team was not a real football team because they played on Astroterf. How hot is that!!!! (Philbin has already heard this selection when I saw her in concert in Washington State at the Columbia River Gorge.) She solidified her selection by wearing a Johnny Cash T-shirt on her last album.
3. Renae Zellwiger--A hot gal that you could imagine having a beer with. Also not afraid to go without make up or make a fool of herself.
4. Lisa Nicole Carson--of Ally McBeal fame. Gorgeous smile. Gorgeous everything.
5. Mia Hamm--Seems to be both sweet and driven.
6. Drew Barrymore--Again somebody who is cute, and would seem to be fun too.
7. Lauren Winner--Author of Girl Meets God, Mudhouse Sabbath, and Real Sex: The
Naked Truth about Chastity. Cute and very smart. Smart is sexy.
Who did not make it and why:
Because of surgical enhancements: Pamela Anderson
Because of taste in other guys: Brittany Spears, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez
What is everyone else's input?
Friday, April 08, 2005
Darwin Awards 2005
Yes, it's that magical time of the year again when the Darwin Awards are bestowed, honoring the least Evolved among us. Here then, are the glorious winners.
Darwin Award Winners:
1. When his 38-caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a holdup in Long Beach, California, would be robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked..... And now, the honorable mentions:
2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat cutting
machine and, after a little hopping around, submitted a claim to his
insurance company. The company expecting negligence, sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and lost a finger. The chef's claim was approved.
3. A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space, so he shot her.
4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies. The deception wasn't discovered for 3 days.
5. An American teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.
6. A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter,
and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled, leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer...$15.
(If someone points a gun at you and gives you money, is a crime committed?)
7. Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he'd just throw a cinderblock through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinderblock and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinderblock bounced back and hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store window was made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape.
8. As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store, a man grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman was able to give them a detailed description of the snatcher. Within minutes, the police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car and told to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, "Yes, officer, that's her. That's the lady I stole the purse from."
9. The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti, Michigan, at 5 a.m., flashed a gun, and demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn't open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren't available for breakfast. The man, frustrated, walked away.
A 5-STAR STUPIDITY AWARD WINNER!
10. When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline and plugged his siphon hose into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges, saying that it was the best laugh he'd ever had.
Darwin Award Winners:
1. When his 38-caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a holdup in Long Beach, California, would be robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked..... And now, the honorable mentions:
2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat cutting
machine and, after a little hopping around, submitted a claim to his
insurance company. The company expecting negligence, sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and lost a finger. The chef's claim was approved.
3. A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space, so he shot her.
4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies. The deception wasn't discovered for 3 days.
5. An American teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.
6. A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter,
and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled, leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer...$15.
(If someone points a gun at you and gives you money, is a crime committed?)
7. Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he'd just throw a cinderblock through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinderblock and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinderblock bounced back and hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store window was made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape.
8. As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store, a man grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman was able to give them a detailed description of the snatcher. Within minutes, the police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car and told to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, "Yes, officer, that's her. That's the lady I stole the purse from."
9. The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti, Michigan, at 5 a.m., flashed a gun, and demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn't open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren't available for breakfast. The man, frustrated, walked away.
A 5-STAR STUPIDITY AWARD WINNER!
10. When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline and plugged his siphon hose into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges, saying that it was the best laugh he'd ever had.
Sermon Snippet....Any Thoughts or Help??
Right now I am working on a sermon on John 21: 14ff
Title: Now what?
Key Thought: New Life Requires New Living
The Four Key Statements and Corresponding Movements of Discipleship:
Love me--- From Propriety to Passion
Feed My Sheep-- From Entitlement to Service
Follow Me--- From Relevance to Re-Presentation
Bear My Cross--- From Control to Surrender
What do you all think?
Can you help me with some input at all?
Title: Now what?
Key Thought: New Life Requires New Living
The Four Key Statements and Corresponding Movements of Discipleship:
Love me--- From Propriety to Passion
Feed My Sheep-- From Entitlement to Service
Follow Me--- From Relevance to Re-Presentation
Bear My Cross--- From Control to Surrender
What do you all think?
Can you help me with some input at all?
Thursday, April 07, 2005
WH Auden Poems
BUT I CAN'T
Time will say nothing but I told you so,
Time only knows the price we have to pay;
If I could tell you I would let you know.
If we should weep when clowns put on their show,
If we should stumble when musicians play,
Time will say nothing but I told you so.
There are no fortunes to be told, although
Because I love you more than I can say,
If I could tell you I would let you know.
The winds must come from somewhere when they blow,
There must be reasons why leaves decay;
Time will say nothing but I told you so.
Perhaps the roses really want to grow,
The vision seriously intends to stay;
If I could tell you I would let you know.
Suppose the lions all get up and go,
And all the brroks and soldiers run away;
Will time say nothing but I told you so?
If I could I would let you know.
THE MORE LOVING ONE
Looking up at the stars, I know quite well
That for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.
How would we like it were stars to burn
with a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me.
Admirer as I think I am
Of the stars that do not give a damn,
I cannot, now I see them, say
I missed one terribly all day.
Were all stars to disappear and die,
I should look at an empty sky
And feel its total dark sublime,
Though this might take a little time
Time will say nothing but I told you so,
Time only knows the price we have to pay;
If I could tell you I would let you know.
If we should weep when clowns put on their show,
If we should stumble when musicians play,
Time will say nothing but I told you so.
There are no fortunes to be told, although
Because I love you more than I can say,
If I could tell you I would let you know.
The winds must come from somewhere when they blow,
There must be reasons why leaves decay;
Time will say nothing but I told you so.
Perhaps the roses really want to grow,
The vision seriously intends to stay;
If I could tell you I would let you know.
Suppose the lions all get up and go,
And all the brroks and soldiers run away;
Will time say nothing but I told you so?
If I could I would let you know.
THE MORE LOVING ONE
Looking up at the stars, I know quite well
That for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.
How would we like it were stars to burn
with a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me.
Admirer as I think I am
Of the stars that do not give a damn,
I cannot, now I see them, say
I missed one terribly all day.
Were all stars to disappear and die,
I should look at an empty sky
And feel its total dark sublime,
Though this might take a little time
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
The Quotable Homer J. Simpson
Alright Brain, you don't like me, and I don't like you. But lets just do this, and I can get back to killing you with beer. - Homer Simpson
Can you believe it!? Pretty soon, I'll be able to quit my job and live off the boy! -Homer Simpson
Kill my boss?!? Do I dare live out the american dream? - Homer Simpson
If something is too hard, give it up. The moral my boy is too never try anything. - Homer Simpson
Son, when you participate in sporting events, its not whether you win or loose, its how drunk you get. - Homer Simpson
Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand. - Homer Simpson
Marge, old people don't need companionship, they need to be isolated and studied to see what useful nutrients can be obtained from them... - Homer Simpson
Mmmm...Forbidden donut - Homer Simpson
Blame the guy who doesn't speak Engish. - Homer Simpson
You never know when an old calendar might come in handy! Sure, it's not 1985 right now, but who knows what tomorrow will bring? - Homer Simpson
The other day I was so desperate for a beer, I snuck into the football stadium and ate the dirt under the bleachers. - Homer Simpson
Heh Heh Heh! Lisa! Vampires are make believe, just like elves and gremlins and eskimos! - Homer Simpson
Alright Brain...Its all up to you - Homer Simpson
Be quiet, Brain, or I'll stab you with a Q-tip - Homer Simpson
Remember as far as anyone knows, we're a nice normal family. - Homer Simpson
This donut has purple in the middle, purple is a fruit. - Homer Simpson
Guys are always patting my bald head for luck, pinching my belly to hear my girlish laugh... - Homer Simpson
AHHH. Donuts. . . What can't they do. - Homer Simpson
Asleep at the switch? I wasn't asleep, I was drunk! - Homer Simpson
If he's so smart, how come he's dead? - Homer Simpson
The food was not undelicious. - Homer Simpson
I don't apologize. I am sorry Lisa, that's the way I am. - Homer Simpson
Do I know what rhetorical means? - Homer Simpson
I can't believe it! Reading and writing actually paid off! - Homer Simpson
I promised my boy one simple thing : lots of riches, and that man broke my promise! - Homer Simpson
I'm in a place where I don't know where I am! - Homer Simpson
Let us celebrate our agreement with the adding of chocolate to milk. - Homer Simpson
Lord help me, I'm just not that bright. - Homer Simpson
Trying is the first step towards failure. - Homer Simpson
There's a New Mexico?!? - Homer Simpson
They have the Internet on computers, now? - Homer Simpson
Wait a minute. I'm a guy like me! - Homer Simpson
Step aside everyone! Sensitive love letters are my specialty. 'Dear Baby, Welcome to Dumpsville. Population : you.' - Homer Simpson
Wow. A baby and a free burger. Could this be the best day of my life? - Homer Simpson
Can you believe it!? Pretty soon, I'll be able to quit my job and live off the boy! -Homer Simpson
Kill my boss?!? Do I dare live out the american dream? - Homer Simpson
If something is too hard, give it up. The moral my boy is too never try anything. - Homer Simpson
Son, when you participate in sporting events, its not whether you win or loose, its how drunk you get. - Homer Simpson
Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand. - Homer Simpson
Marge, old people don't need companionship, they need to be isolated and studied to see what useful nutrients can be obtained from them... - Homer Simpson
Mmmm...Forbidden donut - Homer Simpson
Blame the guy who doesn't speak Engish. - Homer Simpson
You never know when an old calendar might come in handy! Sure, it's not 1985 right now, but who knows what tomorrow will bring? - Homer Simpson
The other day I was so desperate for a beer, I snuck into the football stadium and ate the dirt under the bleachers. - Homer Simpson
Heh Heh Heh! Lisa! Vampires are make believe, just like elves and gremlins and eskimos! - Homer Simpson
Alright Brain...Its all up to you - Homer Simpson
Be quiet, Brain, or I'll stab you with a Q-tip - Homer Simpson
Remember as far as anyone knows, we're a nice normal family. - Homer Simpson
This donut has purple in the middle, purple is a fruit. - Homer Simpson
Guys are always patting my bald head for luck, pinching my belly to hear my girlish laugh... - Homer Simpson
AHHH. Donuts. . . What can't they do. - Homer Simpson
Asleep at the switch? I wasn't asleep, I was drunk! - Homer Simpson
If he's so smart, how come he's dead? - Homer Simpson
The food was not undelicious. - Homer Simpson
I don't apologize. I am sorry Lisa, that's the way I am. - Homer Simpson
Do I know what rhetorical means? - Homer Simpson
I can't believe it! Reading and writing actually paid off! - Homer Simpson
I promised my boy one simple thing : lots of riches, and that man broke my promise! - Homer Simpson
I'm in a place where I don't know where I am! - Homer Simpson
Let us celebrate our agreement with the adding of chocolate to milk. - Homer Simpson
Lord help me, I'm just not that bright. - Homer Simpson
Trying is the first step towards failure. - Homer Simpson
There's a New Mexico?!? - Homer Simpson
They have the Internet on computers, now? - Homer Simpson
Wait a minute. I'm a guy like me! - Homer Simpson
Step aside everyone! Sensitive love letters are my specialty. 'Dear Baby, Welcome to Dumpsville. Population : you.' - Homer Simpson
Wow. A baby and a free burger. Could this be the best day of my life? - Homer Simpson
A Longer Quote for Ya--From Tim Keel's Blog
From The Great Divorce. In the preface of the book, Lewis writes:
"Blake wrote the Marriage of Heaven and Hell. If I have written of their Divorce, this is not because I think myself a fit antagonist for so great a genius, nor even because I feel at all sure that I know what he meant. But in some sense or other the attempt to make that marriage is perennial. The attempt is based on the belief that reality never presents us with an absolutely unavoidable "either-or"; that, granted skill and patience and (above all) time enough, some way of embracing both alternatives can always be found; that mere development or adjustment or refinement will somehow turn evil into good without our being called on for a final and total rejection of anything we should like to retain. This belief I take to be a disastrous error. You cannot take all luggage with you on all journeys; on one journey even your right hand and your right eye might be among the things you have to leave behind. We are not living in a world where all roads are radii of a circle and where all, if followed long enough, will therefore draw gradually nearer and finally meet at the center: rather in a world where every road, after a few miles, forks into two, and each of those into two again, and at each fork you must make a decision. Even on a biological level life is not like a pool but like a tree. It does not move towards unity but away from it and the creatures grow further apart as they increase in perfection. Good, as it ripens, becomes continually more different not only from evil but from other good.
I do not think that all who choose wrong roads perish; but their rescue consists in being put back on the right road. A wrong sum can be put right: but only going back till you find the error and working it afresh form that point, never by simply going on. Evil can be undone, but it cannot "develop" into good. Time does not heal it�"
"Blake wrote the Marriage of Heaven and Hell. If I have written of their Divorce, this is not because I think myself a fit antagonist for so great a genius, nor even because I feel at all sure that I know what he meant. But in some sense or other the attempt to make that marriage is perennial. The attempt is based on the belief that reality never presents us with an absolutely unavoidable "either-or"; that, granted skill and patience and (above all) time enough, some way of embracing both alternatives can always be found; that mere development or adjustment or refinement will somehow turn evil into good without our being called on for a final and total rejection of anything we should like to retain. This belief I take to be a disastrous error. You cannot take all luggage with you on all journeys; on one journey even your right hand and your right eye might be among the things you have to leave behind. We are not living in a world where all roads are radii of a circle and where all, if followed long enough, will therefore draw gradually nearer and finally meet at the center: rather in a world where every road, after a few miles, forks into two, and each of those into two again, and at each fork you must make a decision. Even on a biological level life is not like a pool but like a tree. It does not move towards unity but away from it and the creatures grow further apart as they increase in perfection. Good, as it ripens, becomes continually more different not only from evil but from other good.
I do not think that all who choose wrong roads perish; but their rescue consists in being put back on the right road. A wrong sum can be put right: but only going back till you find the error and working it afresh form that point, never by simply going on. Evil can be undone, but it cannot "develop" into good. Time does not heal it�"
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Tracking inperceptable changes
The coolest thing happened.
I work with a group of youth. Their was a young man who always looked dour when he had to come to any of our youth functions. I came downstairs today and he was smiling. He threw a ball at me. I chased him down, picked him up, and threw him on the couch. He laughed and grinned like I had never seen him laugh and grin before at church. He had changed somehow, and the frustration and anger had left him.
God is about life change. And God changes people. People like you and me. I remember having an awful, awful temper growing up. Screaming. Throwing things. Breaking things. Somehow Jesus, while allowing me to still be angry sometimes, has changed my life so that I can live with self-control.
Also, I see God working in the things I do for him. OK, not earth shattering change, but change none the less. I see friendless people learn how to find friends. I see joyless people find happiness and contentment. It does not happen overnight, but you look at them and you wonder, WOW, look what God has done.
I work with a group of youth. Their was a young man who always looked dour when he had to come to any of our youth functions. I came downstairs today and he was smiling. He threw a ball at me. I chased him down, picked him up, and threw him on the couch. He laughed and grinned like I had never seen him laugh and grin before at church. He had changed somehow, and the frustration and anger had left him.
God is about life change. And God changes people. People like you and me. I remember having an awful, awful temper growing up. Screaming. Throwing things. Breaking things. Somehow Jesus, while allowing me to still be angry sometimes, has changed my life so that I can live with self-control.
Also, I see God working in the things I do for him. OK, not earth shattering change, but change none the less. I see friendless people learn how to find friends. I see joyless people find happiness and contentment. It does not happen overnight, but you look at them and you wonder, WOW, look what God has done.
Moving from Entitlement to Servanthood
One of the most frustrating people in churches lately have been people who have a sense of entitlement.
Although I have not lived up to this ideal all the time, I do remember a certain woman in the small fundamentalist church I grew up in that has served as an example to me on what church is all about. We walked into the church of about 30 people about 6 months into the church plant. Sue had walked in about 4 weeks earlier. When she walked in her first question was "Where can I help." She spent her first Sunday at Mountain View Baptist Church in the nursery she had just created.
Yet, it seems that in the church, especially this seems with church people, come to church with a sense of entitlement instead of a desire to serve. We ask people to bend the rules just for us. If people don't do for us in churches what we want them to, we raise hell. Watch out if you change the tradition of the worship service! I recently heard a lady in our church here say it was about time that people started giving the church money after she sold parking spots for a community Christmas event. What about holding up a sign that says, FREE PARKING SPOTS, and giving away coffee.
I have often done a "TOTALLY FREE CAR WASH" as a service project. People have a really hard time believing you are doing anything for free. "What is the catch?" ,they ask. Especially when you are from a church. Because a church never does anything, according to a lot of people, unless they want to get something from you.
Please join me in examining your motives, and see whether your motives are about being a servant or fighting for what you are entitled to.
Although I have not lived up to this ideal all the time, I do remember a certain woman in the small fundamentalist church I grew up in that has served as an example to me on what church is all about. We walked into the church of about 30 people about 6 months into the church plant. Sue had walked in about 4 weeks earlier. When she walked in her first question was "Where can I help." She spent her first Sunday at Mountain View Baptist Church in the nursery she had just created.
Yet, it seems that in the church, especially this seems with church people, come to church with a sense of entitlement instead of a desire to serve. We ask people to bend the rules just for us. If people don't do for us in churches what we want them to, we raise hell. Watch out if you change the tradition of the worship service! I recently heard a lady in our church here say it was about time that people started giving the church money after she sold parking spots for a community Christmas event. What about holding up a sign that says, FREE PARKING SPOTS, and giving away coffee.
I have often done a "TOTALLY FREE CAR WASH" as a service project. People have a really hard time believing you are doing anything for free. "What is the catch?" ,they ask. Especially when you are from a church. Because a church never does anything, according to a lot of people, unless they want to get something from you.
Please join me in examining your motives, and see whether your motives are about being a servant or fighting for what you are entitled to.
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Sin City and Pope John Paul II
Nothing could be more striking than the contrast I have seen between the way religion was portrayed on Sin City, and the way that the Pope has been portrayed on the television since I have came home.
In Sin City, the villians in the movie are always marked with relgious affiliation. The cannabals, the treasonous woman, the bishop that ran the city. All were vile discusting people. And deeply disturbed. All carry the cross.
Yet, as I watch the retrospectives on the Pope's life, what I see from enemies and friends alike is a belief that the Pope was good, good man who truly made a difference in the world. This pope, in this Protestant's opinion, despite my theological differences with him and Catholicism as a whole, was one of the greatest popes in the church since ancient times.
Part of the reason the pope's witness is so powerful, I think, is his story. Throughout his life he has balanced authentic conviction with great compassion. Something, especially in the American view these days, that is very, very rare.
I guess it goes to show truth is stranger than fiction.
In Sin City, the villians in the movie are always marked with relgious affiliation. The cannabals, the treasonous woman, the bishop that ran the city. All were vile discusting people. And deeply disturbed. All carry the cross.
Yet, as I watch the retrospectives on the Pope's life, what I see from enemies and friends alike is a belief that the Pope was good, good man who truly made a difference in the world. This pope, in this Protestant's opinion, despite my theological differences with him and Catholicism as a whole, was one of the greatest popes in the church since ancient times.
Part of the reason the pope's witness is so powerful, I think, is his story. Throughout his life he has balanced authentic conviction with great compassion. Something, especially in the American view these days, that is very, very rare.
I guess it goes to show truth is stranger than fiction.
Friday, April 01, 2005
Poet's Corner
Hear the voice of the Bard,
Who present, past, and future, sees;
Whose ears have heard
The Holy Word
That walked among the ancient tree;
Calling the lapsed soul,
And weeping in the evening dew;
That might control
The starry pole,
And fallen, fallen light renew!
'O Earth, O Earth, return!
Arise from out the dewy grass!
Night is worn,
And the morn
Rises from the slumbrous mass.
'Turn away no more;
Why wilt thou turn away?
The starry floor,
The watery shore,
Are given thee till the break of day
William Blake
I heard an Angel singing
When the day was springing,
'Mercy, Pity, Peace
Is the world's release.'
Thus he sung all day
Over the new mown hay,
Till the sun went down
And haycocks looked brown.
I heard a Devil curse
Over the heath and the furze,
'Mercy could be no more,
If there was nobody poor,
And pity no more could be,
If all were as happy as we.'
At his curse the sun went down,
And the heavens gave a frown.
Down pour'd the heavy rain
Over the new reap'd grain ...
And Miseries' increase
Is Mercy, Pity, Peace.
William Blake
An Ode to a LEMON
From blossoms
released
by the moonlight,
from an
aroma of exasperated
love,
steeped in fragrance,
yellowness
drifted from the lemon tree,
and from its plantarium
lemons descended to the earth.
Tender yield!
The coasts,
the markets glowed
with light, with
unrefined gold;
we opened
two halves
of a miracle,
congealed acid
trickled
from the hemispheres
of a star,
the most intense liqueur
of nature,
unique, vivid,
concentrated,
born of the cool, fresh
lemon,
of its fragrant house,
its acid, secret symmetry.
Knives
sliced a small
cathedral
in the lemon,
the concealed apse, opened,
revealed acid stained glass,
drops
oozed topaz,
altars,
cool architecture.
So, when you hold
the hemisphere
of a cut lemon
above your plate,
you spill
a universe of gold,
a
yellow goblet
of miracles,
a fragrant nipple
of the earth's breast,
a ray of light that was made fruit,
the minute fire of a planet.
Pablo Neruda
Who present, past, and future, sees;
Whose ears have heard
The Holy Word
That walked among the ancient tree;
Calling the lapsed soul,
And weeping in the evening dew;
That might control
The starry pole,
And fallen, fallen light renew!
'O Earth, O Earth, return!
Arise from out the dewy grass!
Night is worn,
And the morn
Rises from the slumbrous mass.
'Turn away no more;
Why wilt thou turn away?
The starry floor,
The watery shore,
Are given thee till the break of day
William Blake
I heard an Angel singing
When the day was springing,
'Mercy, Pity, Peace
Is the world's release.'
Thus he sung all day
Over the new mown hay,
Till the sun went down
And haycocks looked brown.
I heard a Devil curse
Over the heath and the furze,
'Mercy could be no more,
If there was nobody poor,
And pity no more could be,
If all were as happy as we.'
At his curse the sun went down,
And the heavens gave a frown.
Down pour'd the heavy rain
Over the new reap'd grain ...
And Miseries' increase
Is Mercy, Pity, Peace.
William Blake
An Ode to a LEMON
From blossoms
released
by the moonlight,
from an
aroma of exasperated
love,
steeped in fragrance,
yellowness
drifted from the lemon tree,
and from its plantarium
lemons descended to the earth.
Tender yield!
The coasts,
the markets glowed
with light, with
unrefined gold;
we opened
two halves
of a miracle,
congealed acid
trickled
from the hemispheres
of a star,
the most intense liqueur
of nature,
unique, vivid,
concentrated,
born of the cool, fresh
lemon,
of its fragrant house,
its acid, secret symmetry.
Knives
sliced a small
cathedral
in the lemon,
the concealed apse, opened,
revealed acid stained glass,
drops
oozed topaz,
altars,
cool architecture.
So, when you hold
the hemisphere
of a cut lemon
above your plate,
you spill
a universe of gold,
a
yellow goblet
of miracles,
a fragrant nipple
of the earth's breast,
a ray of light that was made fruit,
the minute fire of a planet.
Pablo Neruda
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Classic Quotes
We should accept with simplicity whatever the Lord gives us; and what he doesn't we shouldn't tire ourselves over. For one wordof God's will contain within itself a thousand mysteries.--Teresa of Avila
Just as you do not analyze the words of someone you love, but accept them as they are said to you, accept the word of God and ponder it in your heart--Dietrich Bonhoeffer
As a good Christian should consider everything as holy because God is there, so he should look upon every part of his life as a matter of holiness because it is to be offered unto God--
William Law
Our own curiosity often hinders us in reading the Scriptures, because we wish to understand and argue when we should simply read on with humility, simplicity and faith--Thomas a Kempis
Where the Spirit does not open the Scripture, the Scripture is not understood even though it is read.--Martin Luther
Scripture is like a river, broad and deep. Shallow enough here for the lamb to go wading, but deep enough there for the elephant to swim.--Gregory the Great
If one is to have true wisdom, it is not enough to merely have a handbook in one's hands, it is also necessary that great zeal be kindled in one's heart.--Augustine
Just as you do not analyze the words of someone you love, but accept them as they are said to you, accept the word of God and ponder it in your heart--Dietrich Bonhoeffer
As a good Christian should consider everything as holy because God is there, so he should look upon every part of his life as a matter of holiness because it is to be offered unto God--
William Law
Our own curiosity often hinders us in reading the Scriptures, because we wish to understand and argue when we should simply read on with humility, simplicity and faith--Thomas a Kempis
Where the Spirit does not open the Scripture, the Scripture is not understood even though it is read.--Martin Luther
Scripture is like a river, broad and deep. Shallow enough here for the lamb to go wading, but deep enough there for the elephant to swim.--Gregory the Great
If one is to have true wisdom, it is not enough to merely have a handbook in one's hands, it is also necessary that great zeal be kindled in one's heart.--Augustine
Poet's Corner
As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim roundy wells
Stones ring; like each string tells, each hung bell's
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves--goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying What I do is for me: for that I came.
I say more: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is--
Christ. For Christ plays in ten thousand places,
lovely in limbs and lovely in eyes not his
To the father through the features of men's faces.--
Gerard Manley Hopkins (from the beginning of Eugene Peterson's new book)
In my end is my beginning--TS Eliot
(same source)
The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs�
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
Gerard Manley Hopkins
I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day.
What hours, O what black hours we have spent
This night! what sights you, heart, saw; ways you went!
And more must, in yet longer light's delay.
With witness I speak this. But where I say
Hours I mean years, mean life. And my lament
Is cries countless, cries like dead letters sent
To dearest him that lives alas! away.
I am gall, I am heartburn. God's most deep decrees
Bitter would have me taste: my taste was me;
Bones built in me, flesh filled, blood brimmed the curse.
Selfyeast of spirit a dull dough sours. I see
The lost are like this, and their scourge to be
As I am mine, their sweating selves, but worse.
also Hopkins
Batter my heart, three-personed God; for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurped town, to another due,
Labor to admit you, but O, to no end;
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
but is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betrothed unto your enemy.
Divorce me, untie or break that knot again;
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor even chaste, except you ravish me.
John Donne
Even now this landscape is assembling.
The hills darken. The oxen
Sleep in their blue yoke,
The fields having been
Picked clean, the sheaves
Bound evenly and piled at the roadside
Among cinquefoil, as the toothed moon rises:
This is the barrenness
Of harvest or pestilence
And the wife leaning out the window
With her hand extended, as in payment,
And the seeds
Distinct, gold, calling
Come here
Come here, little one
And the soul creeps out of the tree.
John Donne
As tumbled over rim roundy wells
Stones ring; like each string tells, each hung bell's
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves--goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying What I do is for me: for that I came.
I say more: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is--
Christ. For Christ plays in ten thousand places,
lovely in limbs and lovely in eyes not his
To the father through the features of men's faces.--
Gerard Manley Hopkins (from the beginning of Eugene Peterson's new book)
In my end is my beginning--TS Eliot
(same source)
The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs�
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
Gerard Manley Hopkins
I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day.
What hours, O what black hours we have spent
This night! what sights you, heart, saw; ways you went!
And more must, in yet longer light's delay.
With witness I speak this. But where I say
Hours I mean years, mean life. And my lament
Is cries countless, cries like dead letters sent
To dearest him that lives alas! away.
I am gall, I am heartburn. God's most deep decrees
Bitter would have me taste: my taste was me;
Bones built in me, flesh filled, blood brimmed the curse.
Selfyeast of spirit a dull dough sours. I see
The lost are like this, and their scourge to be
As I am mine, their sweating selves, but worse.
also Hopkins
Batter my heart, three-personed God; for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurped town, to another due,
Labor to admit you, but O, to no end;
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
but is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betrothed unto your enemy.
Divorce me, untie or break that knot again;
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor even chaste, except you ravish me.
John Donne
Even now this landscape is assembling.
The hills darken. The oxen
Sleep in their blue yoke,
The fields having been
Picked clean, the sheaves
Bound evenly and piled at the roadside
Among cinquefoil, as the toothed moon rises:
This is the barrenness
Of harvest or pestilence
And the wife leaning out the window
With her hand extended, as in payment,
And the seeds
Distinct, gold, calling
Come here
Come here, little one
And the soul creeps out of the tree.
John Donne
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Monday, March 28, 2005
Fish Face
The last couple of days I have been thinking about ministry and its implications in my thoughts about being a public versus a private person. As I watch television I see that there are many famous people that struggle in living in a fish bowl. But, of everyday occupations, I think being in the ministry is unique in this respect.
I think the thing I was prepared for least was life in the fish bowl in ministry. In the small towns and neighborhoods I have ministered in, it was everywhere. You were a public person at the IGA, in the middle of traffic, and in the grocery store.
This is true in a different way in larger cities like where I am now (1/2 million in Metro Area). I was sitting at Easter dinner at a home and people were talking about different things, and I came to the conclusion that everything I do anywhere near church people in a public act.
This insight also gave me perspective on why certain people act the way that they do. There are many times where I think that things that are said to me should be said in private instead of discussed in public. Sometimes, I am sensitive to having public conversation and being teased publically by people in large meetings or worship services. I wish those people would have not brought things out into the public sphere without talking with me in private first. Not that big of a deal now, but at the time it was. Then it came to me, these are people used to living most of their lives in a public sphere. I am still not sure I am ready for that.
Yet in some ways I am. There is a certain sense in which being an open public person is essential for both writing and ministry. This is often a big struggle for minister's families. Not only children, but parents and extended family. All of a minister's life experience makes up their spirituality, and thus much of it is grist for the mill of helping others grow spiritually.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want to live a two-faced life. I don't want to have a life with a bunch of deep dark secrets. But once in a while, it would be nice to not have the T-shirt you wear to the grocery store as grist for the mill of congregational conversation.
ANY WHOOO I am not sure I am making any sense, so I will get done.
I think the thing I was prepared for least was life in the fish bowl in ministry. In the small towns and neighborhoods I have ministered in, it was everywhere. You were a public person at the IGA, in the middle of traffic, and in the grocery store.
This is true in a different way in larger cities like where I am now (1/2 million in Metro Area). I was sitting at Easter dinner at a home and people were talking about different things, and I came to the conclusion that everything I do anywhere near church people in a public act.
This insight also gave me perspective on why certain people act the way that they do. There are many times where I think that things that are said to me should be said in private instead of discussed in public. Sometimes, I am sensitive to having public conversation and being teased publically by people in large meetings or worship services. I wish those people would have not brought things out into the public sphere without talking with me in private first. Not that big of a deal now, but at the time it was. Then it came to me, these are people used to living most of their lives in a public sphere. I am still not sure I am ready for that.
Yet in some ways I am. There is a certain sense in which being an open public person is essential for both writing and ministry. This is often a big struggle for minister's families. Not only children, but parents and extended family. All of a minister's life experience makes up their spirituality, and thus much of it is grist for the mill of helping others grow spiritually.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want to live a two-faced life. I don't want to have a life with a bunch of deep dark secrets. But once in a while, it would be nice to not have the T-shirt you wear to the grocery store as grist for the mill of congregational conversation.
ANY WHOOO I am not sure I am making any sense, so I will get done.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Becoming a Choir Boy
Last month I joined the choir at my church.
I feel really good about it. I have always loved to sing, and always been made fun of because I did not sing very well. Especially when singing in the locker room after football practice in high school and college. Since I got made fun of for so long about how I sing, I have always wanted to sing but always been scared to.
It feels good to be valued for something in which I have always been told I had no value (except by my mother of course). Furthermore, it feels good to be part of a team (the choir) which is large enough to blend in but small enough not to be missed.
I feel really good about it. I have always loved to sing, and always been made fun of because I did not sing very well. Especially when singing in the locker room after football practice in high school and college. Since I got made fun of for so long about how I sing, I have always wanted to sing but always been scared to.
It feels good to be valued for something in which I have always been told I had no value (except by my mother of course). Furthermore, it feels good to be part of a team (the choir) which is large enough to blend in but small enough not to be missed.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
The One and Only Blog on Terri Shiavo
I have been avoiding hearing about the Terri Shiavo case. I just wanted it to go away. But recently I have been thinking a lot about the case. Not so much as a right to life issue, but as an issue to discuss ethical process.
Interestingly this case poses a conundrum that is surfacing more forcefully. Many of our ethics are simultaneously public and personal. Many on the side of removing Terri's tube emphasize the deeply personal nature of life and death decisions. Yet, the parents and the right to life movement (agree with them on this specific issue or not) have correctly proved that all ethical decisions have communal and coorperate ramifications.
I talked with our visitation minister about her desire to have everyone she knows have a living will. She wants all individuals to have their wishes known. She also argues that most of the people in persistent vegitative states are younger, so we should all plan how we are going to deal with these situations now. I am not there yet. Part of the reason is that if I am in that situation, I would rather others have input on that decision too. Especially my faith community and my family. Not so much the government though.
We are living in a dream world if we do not think that our ethical decisions are not connected to our community, nation, and world, and do not speak to them in powerful and profound ways. In the last few weeks we have seen how a woman in a persistent vegitative state can profoundly effect congress, the Supreme Court, and the President. No matter what you believe on this issue, know this; we make no ethical decisions in a vacuum. Like a rock thrown in a pond, the decisions we make ripple out all around us.
Interestingly this case poses a conundrum that is surfacing more forcefully. Many of our ethics are simultaneously public and personal. Many on the side of removing Terri's tube emphasize the deeply personal nature of life and death decisions. Yet, the parents and the right to life movement (agree with them on this specific issue or not) have correctly proved that all ethical decisions have communal and coorperate ramifications.
I talked with our visitation minister about her desire to have everyone she knows have a living will. She wants all individuals to have their wishes known. She also argues that most of the people in persistent vegitative states are younger, so we should all plan how we are going to deal with these situations now. I am not there yet. Part of the reason is that if I am in that situation, I would rather others have input on that decision too. Especially my faith community and my family. Not so much the government though.
We are living in a dream world if we do not think that our ethical decisions are not connected to our community, nation, and world, and do not speak to them in powerful and profound ways. In the last few weeks we have seen how a woman in a persistent vegitative state can profoundly effect congress, the Supreme Court, and the President. No matter what you believe on this issue, know this; we make no ethical decisions in a vacuum. Like a rock thrown in a pond, the decisions we make ripple out all around us.
Housecleaning and Mind-Easing
I tell you something that is really weird. Whenever I clean my house, my mood improves. I cannot really understand why, but I think there is a definite effect. When my office,house, and car are a mess I feel like a mess. But when I clean all of them I feel better about the challenges that come to my life as well.
Is that normal and borderline psychotic, or is that true of the rest of you?
Is that normal and borderline psychotic, or is that true of the rest of you?
Friday, March 25, 2005
I have visual confirmation
Today I went to the place where I weighed in at the beginning of my diet to see what that scale said about my weight loss.
I was scared that my scale was wrong, and that I did not lose as much weight as i thought I did. Then I looked at the scale. I had visual confirmation. An overall 40 pounds of weight loss since last summer, and thirty pounds since Halloween.
WOOO-HOOOO. I ROCK!
I was scared that my scale was wrong, and that I did not lose as much weight as i thought I did. Then I looked at the scale. I had visual confirmation. An overall 40 pounds of weight loss since last summer, and thirty pounds since Halloween.
WOOO-HOOOO. I ROCK!
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Egocentric Frustration
I was trying to be good guy and play my part.
I did what I was supposed to do. I was trying to focus on the beauty of the Maundy Thursday service. The choir pieces were beautiful. The teens did a great job with the Scripture readings.
But then I got pissed off. At the one point where I was supposed to be looking at my own brokenness I was being judgemental and self-righteous. And not just a little angry. Almost walk into school with a gun and start shooting kind of angry (Ok, that is a little exageration I would never do that. Besides, foul the symbolic blood of Christ with this persons blood? Sacriledge!). What a selfish, self-centered bastard I am. But since I have not completely let my anger go, so is the person who I was fixated on.
It came time for communion. I started to feel myself shaking. Wanting to grab a hold of the bread and the cup to renew my commitment to Christ, and yet realizing that if I was to make this recommitment to the Way of Christ, I had to let go of my anger and unforgiveness. And yet at the same time, I wanted to hold on to this anger and this bitterness. Thus the trembling hands. A spiritual battle to be sure. But I let it go. I renewed my commitment to be a person who accepts forgiveness and forgives, even forgives sorry ass SOBs, because I am a sorry ass SOB as well.
THUS ENDS MY HOLY WEEK RANT.
I did what I was supposed to do. I was trying to focus on the beauty of the Maundy Thursday service. The choir pieces were beautiful. The teens did a great job with the Scripture readings.
But then I got pissed off. At the one point where I was supposed to be looking at my own brokenness I was being judgemental and self-righteous. And not just a little angry. Almost walk into school with a gun and start shooting kind of angry (Ok, that is a little exageration I would never do that. Besides, foul the symbolic blood of Christ with this persons blood? Sacriledge!). What a selfish, self-centered bastard I am. But since I have not completely let my anger go, so is the person who I was fixated on.
It came time for communion. I started to feel myself shaking. Wanting to grab a hold of the bread and the cup to renew my commitment to Christ, and yet realizing that if I was to make this recommitment to the Way of Christ, I had to let go of my anger and unforgiveness. And yet at the same time, I wanted to hold on to this anger and this bitterness. Thus the trembling hands. A spiritual battle to be sure. But I let it go. I renewed my commitment to be a person who accepts forgiveness and forgives, even forgives sorry ass SOBs, because I am a sorry ass SOB as well.
THUS ENDS MY HOLY WEEK RANT.
Eugene Peterson Quotes
Everyone has choices to make. The choices are not trial-and error guesses; they are informed by the commands of God.
Our lives are not puzzles to be figured out. Rather we come to God who knows us and reveals to us the truth of our lives. The fundamemntal mistake is to begin with ourselves and not God.
If we live in hope we go against the stream.
There is an enormous gap between what we think we can do and what God calls us to do. Our ideas of what we can do or want to do are trivial; God's ideas are grand.
Every act of love is a risk of the self.
Hoping is not dreaming...It means a confident alert expectation that God will do what he said he will do.
Following Jesus means not following your impulses and appetites and whims and dreams, all of which are sufficiently damaged by sin to make them unreliable guides for getting anyplace worth going.
Obiedience is not a stodgy plodding in the ruts of religion, it is a hopeful race toward God's promises.Nothing counts more in the wat we live than what we believe about God
We live in a culture where image is everything and substance nothing....But an image without substance is a lie.
No one can substitute for me. No one can replace me. Before I was good for anything, God decided that I was good for what he was doing.
Our lives are not puzzles to be figured out. Rather we come to God who knows us and reveals to us the truth of our lives. The fundamemntal mistake is to begin with ourselves and not God.
If we live in hope we go against the stream.
There is an enormous gap between what we think we can do and what God calls us to do. Our ideas of what we can do or want to do are trivial; God's ideas are grand.
Every act of love is a risk of the self.
Hoping is not dreaming...It means a confident alert expectation that God will do what he said he will do.
Following Jesus means not following your impulses and appetites and whims and dreams, all of which are sufficiently damaged by sin to make them unreliable guides for getting anyplace worth going.
Obiedience is not a stodgy plodding in the ruts of religion, it is a hopeful race toward God's promises.Nothing counts more in the wat we live than what we believe about God
We live in a culture where image is everything and substance nothing....But an image without substance is a lie.
No one can substitute for me. No one can replace me. Before I was good for anything, God decided that I was good for what he was doing.
Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity
This was a very interesting book.
I recommend this book to anyone, especially the chapter on chastity as a spiritual discipline. You have to love a book on chastity that starts out with a woman saying that she really is not that good at being chaste. And her centering sexual behavior on the goal of spiritual formation instead of exclusively on dos and donts is helpful. And her understanding of sex as private and not public, but yet communal and not exclusively personal is very helpful as well.
Here are a couple of quotes--related to the topic and not, that I liked:
St. Francis of Assisi famously called his body "Brother Ass." I think it fasting that allows you to say to your body, You are Brother (or Sister), but you are also an Ass.
We can send away our sins. Sending away our sins is important because our sins are destroying us.
Legalism fails miserably at the one thing that it is supposed to do: encourage obiedience.--Phillip Yancey
I recommend this book to anyone, especially the chapter on chastity as a spiritual discipline. You have to love a book on chastity that starts out with a woman saying that she really is not that good at being chaste. And her centering sexual behavior on the goal of spiritual formation instead of exclusively on dos and donts is helpful. And her understanding of sex as private and not public, but yet communal and not exclusively personal is very helpful as well.
Here are a couple of quotes--related to the topic and not, that I liked:
St. Francis of Assisi famously called his body "Brother Ass." I think it fasting that allows you to say to your body, You are Brother (or Sister), but you are also an Ass.
We can send away our sins. Sending away our sins is important because our sins are destroying us.
Legalism fails miserably at the one thing that it is supposed to do: encourage obiedience.--Phillip Yancey
From Time Magazine
On the back cover about Ashley Smith and Brian Nichols--this is so beautifully put:
We latch onto this story not just because it's a riveting end to a high-stakes manhunt. We find ourselves transfixed and uplifted by the sordid ordinariness of it all. He was an alleged rapist and murderer. She was tied up in a bathtub, clinging to the wreckage of a life that was barely afloat. One was a monster, the other a woman unable to care for her 5-year-old, looking for cigarettes in the dark. And out of that came something, well, beautiful. He saw his purpose: to serve God in prison, to turn his life around, even as it may have been saturated in the blood and pain of others. She saw hers: to make that happen. These people weren't saints. Grace arrives, unannounced, in lives that least expect or deserve it.
I say that as a believer. The crimes Nichols is suspected of are inexcusable. The serenity of Smith is close to inexplicable. But the message of the Gospels is that God works with the crooked timber of human failure. That was an exceptional moment of redemption. But every day we have smaller, calmer chances to turn another's life around, to serve, to listen. How often do we simply not see what is in front of us? How often do we believe that the world's evils--from terrorism to crime to emotional cruelty--are beyond our capacity to change? Or that there is no one in front of us whom we can serve? Smith and Nichols' story is a chastening reminder that we may be wrong.
There's a line in a Leonard Cohen song that has always stayed with me. It kept me going in a bleak moment in my life, when I thought, as we all sometimes do, that I couldn't see how good could come out of the dreck I had turned my life into. "Forget your perfect offering," Cohen advises. "There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." Happy Easter.
We latch onto this story not just because it's a riveting end to a high-stakes manhunt. We find ourselves transfixed and uplifted by the sordid ordinariness of it all. He was an alleged rapist and murderer. She was tied up in a bathtub, clinging to the wreckage of a life that was barely afloat. One was a monster, the other a woman unable to care for her 5-year-old, looking for cigarettes in the dark. And out of that came something, well, beautiful. He saw his purpose: to serve God in prison, to turn his life around, even as it may have been saturated in the blood and pain of others. She saw hers: to make that happen. These people weren't saints. Grace arrives, unannounced, in lives that least expect or deserve it.
I say that as a believer. The crimes Nichols is suspected of are inexcusable. The serenity of Smith is close to inexplicable. But the message of the Gospels is that God works with the crooked timber of human failure. That was an exceptional moment of redemption. But every day we have smaller, calmer chances to turn another's life around, to serve, to listen. How often do we simply not see what is in front of us? How often do we believe that the world's evils--from terrorism to crime to emotional cruelty--are beyond our capacity to change? Or that there is no one in front of us whom we can serve? Smith and Nichols' story is a chastening reminder that we may be wrong.
There's a line in a Leonard Cohen song that has always stayed with me. It kept me going in a bleak moment in my life, when I thought, as we all sometimes do, that I couldn't see how good could come out of the dreck I had turned my life into. "Forget your perfect offering," Cohen advises. "There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." Happy Easter.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Quotes for Today
Unless there is an element of risk in the Christian life, there is no need for faith
J. Hudson Taylor
The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas--
Linus Pauling
You cannot solve a problem on the same level on which it was created. You need to rise above it, to the next level--
Albert Einstien
Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute. What you can do or think you can..begin it!--
Goethe
J. Hudson Taylor
The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas--
Linus Pauling
You cannot solve a problem on the same level on which it was created. You need to rise above it, to the next level--
Albert Einstien
Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute. What you can do or think you can..begin it!--
Goethe
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Reward and Faithfulness
Is Christianity just a form of Hedonism?
Since my first philosophy class (ok my only philosophy class unless you count ethics)I have thought about this. I even wrote my semester final saying that Christianity was Hedonism. My professor disagreed but gave me a good grade on the essay.
John Piper, in his book "Desiring God" makes a strong case for this truth theologically. That ultimately the Christian way is about living the way that brings us the most pleasure. He cites CS Lewis, Jonathan Edwards, and the Westminister Catechism in his defense. Yet there is something about this that has never set right with me.
It is the same thing that does not quite sit right about "fire insurance" evangelism. It seems that the Christian faith should be about more than getting good things from God. About more than escaping pain and increasing pleasure. But what is one to make of all these passages that appeal to my desire to be happy and avoid torment.
Part of what bothers me is that it does not seem that this is the type of person we are called to become when we follow Jesus. It seems to ignore the fact that our motivations form us. And if Christianity is a form of sanctified selfishness based on delayed gratification, then Christians will never be formed into the fearless, selfless, altruistic people that we are called to be. But what is one to make of all these obvious appeals to our desire to be rewarded and to avoid punishment?
Some go to Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Fowler's moral reasoning and say that we cannot move to more transcendant and others-driven motivation right away. That we need appeals to our more base and selfish motivations before we can move into other more mature motivations for the life of faith. I do not doubt this may be true for some, but I also see the byproducts of this felt-needs worldview. Just look at how many books in the Christian bookstore are driven by self-help motivations. Many Christians never mature out of this reward and punishment motivation. Their faith becomes about how they can be happier, have better Boundaries, and have mind-blowing organisms in the context of marital bliss. Yet, when I walk through a Christian bookstore I see is a half-ass imitation of the world. Built on solving problems in four-steps, listening to a rapper that sounds EXACTLY like Eminem only he preaches Jesus, and self-righteous t-shirts that are cheap, preachy rip-offs of beer commercials or candy bars.
So then, what role does the promise of reward have in the Bible? One word: trust. No I thought of an even better one word: hope. It is not there to focus us on the reward. It is there to remind us that when we feel like life has given us a raw deal, that the story is not over. It is there to remind us that what Jesus said is true, even when we do not feel like it is. That even when we feel alone we are not. Rewards in Scripture sometimes motivate us. But even more, they are meant to drive us into a relationship. A relationship that trusts even when one feels like we shouldnt, because in the end we are in love with a God that is utterly trustworthy and faithful.
Since my first philosophy class (ok my only philosophy class unless you count ethics)I have thought about this. I even wrote my semester final saying that Christianity was Hedonism. My professor disagreed but gave me a good grade on the essay.
John Piper, in his book "Desiring God" makes a strong case for this truth theologically. That ultimately the Christian way is about living the way that brings us the most pleasure. He cites CS Lewis, Jonathan Edwards, and the Westminister Catechism in his defense. Yet there is something about this that has never set right with me.
It is the same thing that does not quite sit right about "fire insurance" evangelism. It seems that the Christian faith should be about more than getting good things from God. About more than escaping pain and increasing pleasure. But what is one to make of all these passages that appeal to my desire to be happy and avoid torment.
Part of what bothers me is that it does not seem that this is the type of person we are called to become when we follow Jesus. It seems to ignore the fact that our motivations form us. And if Christianity is a form of sanctified selfishness based on delayed gratification, then Christians will never be formed into the fearless, selfless, altruistic people that we are called to be. But what is one to make of all these obvious appeals to our desire to be rewarded and to avoid punishment?
Some go to Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Fowler's moral reasoning and say that we cannot move to more transcendant and others-driven motivation right away. That we need appeals to our more base and selfish motivations before we can move into other more mature motivations for the life of faith. I do not doubt this may be true for some, but I also see the byproducts of this felt-needs worldview. Just look at how many books in the Christian bookstore are driven by self-help motivations. Many Christians never mature out of this reward and punishment motivation. Their faith becomes about how they can be happier, have better Boundaries, and have mind-blowing organisms in the context of marital bliss. Yet, when I walk through a Christian bookstore I see is a half-ass imitation of the world. Built on solving problems in four-steps, listening to a rapper that sounds EXACTLY like Eminem only he preaches Jesus, and self-righteous t-shirts that are cheap, preachy rip-offs of beer commercials or candy bars.
So then, what role does the promise of reward have in the Bible? One word: trust. No I thought of an even better one word: hope. It is not there to focus us on the reward. It is there to remind us that when we feel like life has given us a raw deal, that the story is not over. It is there to remind us that what Jesus said is true, even when we do not feel like it is. That even when we feel alone we are not. Rewards in Scripture sometimes motivate us. But even more, they are meant to drive us into a relationship. A relationship that trusts even when one feels like we shouldnt, because in the end we are in love with a God that is utterly trustworthy and faithful.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Bubba's Bracketology
I am having the most sucess in brackets I have had in years. I picked 11 of the 16 teams that are still alive, and three of my four Final Four Teams are still alive (Louisville, Kentucky, and Illinois).
The picks I am most proud of are picking Texas Tech and North Carolina State and Utah to both be there. (I have Tech losing to Louisville in the elite 8).
I have some guiding principles that helped me this year:
1. Good coaches that have been somewhere longer than 3 years are going to be more sucessful in the tourney than talent and record demonstrate (Texas Tech, Louisville, Michigan State are all examples of this).
2. Hot teams are good upset picks, especially if they come from strong conferences (Villinova, NC State, Texas Tech, and especially West Virginia which I did not see coming but should)
3. More and more in the new NCAA, it is the coaches that will be the stars even more than the players. They will be the major difference maker. Like it or not, Knight could lead just about any team to a conference final and the Sweet 16. As could Pitino. This is strongly tied to point 1, but I did not want to rewrite this whole thing.
4. Strong programs may have up and down years, but they will always rise back to the top. You can never count out an Arizona, Utah, or Kentucky.
The picks I am most proud of are picking Texas Tech and North Carolina State and Utah to both be there. (I have Tech losing to Louisville in the elite 8).
I have some guiding principles that helped me this year:
1. Good coaches that have been somewhere longer than 3 years are going to be more sucessful in the tourney than talent and record demonstrate (Texas Tech, Louisville, Michigan State are all examples of this).
2. Hot teams are good upset picks, especially if they come from strong conferences (Villinova, NC State, Texas Tech, and especially West Virginia which I did not see coming but should)
3. More and more in the new NCAA, it is the coaches that will be the stars even more than the players. They will be the major difference maker. Like it or not, Knight could lead just about any team to a conference final and the Sweet 16. As could Pitino. This is strongly tied to point 1, but I did not want to rewrite this whole thing.
4. Strong programs may have up and down years, but they will always rise back to the top. You can never count out an Arizona, Utah, or Kentucky.
I-70 is the Red Light District of the Bible Belt.
As you get to North Central Kansas, in a place where the only form of elevation is the overpass for your local neighborhood small town, a new type of business has been popping up in the middle of nowhere. YOUR LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD ADULT SUPERSTORE. The one that amused me most was the one that had the giant billboard deterent right in front of it that said "Jesus heals and saves". Immediately behind it up the hill was XXX Adult Superstore. There were three or four in this conservative Bible belt area of Kansas.
It is even worse in between Independence and Columbus, MO. When I drove through there in 2003 there was a drive through porn booth to park semis in. All through there are lots of advertisements, most that have a discount for people with CDL liscences.
What I find funny is the places that most folks would think of as more permissive that I have lived in the West, have a lot less of this sort of thing. Of course, there are ads in Montana for the Strip Clubs along the highway in major city, but it seems much different than the Neon Light Visible from miles in any direction at the top of a hill thing we saw in Kansas. So interesting, funny and sad at the same time.
It is even worse in between Independence and Columbus, MO. When I drove through there in 2003 there was a drive through porn booth to park semis in. All through there are lots of advertisements, most that have a discount for people with CDL liscences.
What I find funny is the places that most folks would think of as more permissive that I have lived in the West, have a lot less of this sort of thing. Of course, there are ads in Montana for the Strip Clubs along the highway in major city, but it seems much different than the Neon Light Visible from miles in any direction at the top of a hill thing we saw in Kansas. So interesting, funny and sad at the same time.
Starbucks on the Road
Last week I went out to a wedding in Springfield. Luckily there was a Starbucks nearby. Starbucks was a part of the theme to my friends' wedding. They met at the National Youth Workers Conference in a Starbucks in the hotel lobby. They talked for a while, were infatuated with each other until Jennifer's aunt Jean found me, and then I found Dan and got them connected.
Anyway....Ben (a junior in high school in our youth group) and I drove out together to Illinois. At different points along the road in Kansas we inquired about the location of a Starbucks. First, in Abilene, KS the hotel receptionist looked at me and said, "Isn't that one of those east coast things? I don't think they have any out here." First of all, I was insulted. Central to my identity is that I AM NOT an east coast liberal, and this woman implied that I was. Besides that it is a WEST COAST thing to begin with, and we know that all good things in America from blue jeans to legalized marajuana to good music start in the West and move East.
Then, in a slightly larger town with two or three colleges in it in KS (Salina) I decided to try again. (This was two days later on our return trip) I asked the woman at the convienience store if she knew of any Starbucks or something similar around. She said, "Isn't Starbucks a movie chain?". Now I have lived in towns without Starbucks for most of my life....but that is a little different than thinking Starbucks is a movie chain. So I got in the car and I told Ben my story and said, "That is it, we have to get out of this state as soon as we can!" He agreed and we sped out of Kansas as fast as we could. Ten miles from the border in Goodland we saw a truck stop that had a Starbucks.
"Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore!"
THANK GOD!
Anyway....Ben (a junior in high school in our youth group) and I drove out together to Illinois. At different points along the road in Kansas we inquired about the location of a Starbucks. First, in Abilene, KS the hotel receptionist looked at me and said, "Isn't that one of those east coast things? I don't think they have any out here." First of all, I was insulted. Central to my identity is that I AM NOT an east coast liberal, and this woman implied that I was. Besides that it is a WEST COAST thing to begin with, and we know that all good things in America from blue jeans to legalized marajuana to good music start in the West and move East.
Then, in a slightly larger town with two or three colleges in it in KS (Salina) I decided to try again. (This was two days later on our return trip) I asked the woman at the convienience store if she knew of any Starbucks or something similar around. She said, "Isn't Starbucks a movie chain?". Now I have lived in towns without Starbucks for most of my life....but that is a little different than thinking Starbucks is a movie chain. So I got in the car and I told Ben my story and said, "That is it, we have to get out of this state as soon as we can!" He agreed and we sped out of Kansas as fast as we could. Ten miles from the border in Goodland we saw a truck stop that had a Starbucks.
"Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore!"
THANK GOD!
Aquinas and Islam and 21st Centuty Theology
The more I am out of seminary, the more dissappointed in my theology classes in my theological education. In particular, I am distressed that I did not have any classes that emphasized historical theology.
So, since I entered the ministry I have been playing catch up. As a friend of mine once told me, seminary is a bibliographic experience anyway.
One of the things I have been fascinated about lately is the relationship with St. Thomas Aquinas (the best theologian hands-down between Augustine and Calvin) and his interfaith dialogue between Jews, Muslims and Christians. So much of his theology is derivitive of, in conversation and argument with Muslim philosophers of his day. In particular those that drew their impetus from Aristotle. What a radical thing to embrace reason in Christian faith at that time.
And that is what fascinates me! The apologetical nature of Thomistic theology and philosophy. And Aquinas' willingness to speak to and embrace reason in a time when the church saw reason as dangerous, threatening, and an emphasis on reason as nearly heretical.
It makes me think about how we are running away from the important issues of our day, and wonder how God is going to raise up theologians of courage in our generation.
How do we need to step away from preserving the institution of the church to serve the church?
How do we enter into meaningful conversation and dialogue with Muslims in our time without comprimising our beliefs? With Jews? How do we speak to them in a way that is appropriate and apologetically intelligent.
How do we move as God's kingdom from protecting fortresses to taking ground (I know an overly military metaphor for things, but I cannot think of another way of putting it.)?
What implications does it have that most of Christian thought and ethics at one point is somewhat derivitive of Muslim philosophy?
Just some thoughts I have been mulling over
So, since I entered the ministry I have been playing catch up. As a friend of mine once told me, seminary is a bibliographic experience anyway.
One of the things I have been fascinated about lately is the relationship with St. Thomas Aquinas (the best theologian hands-down between Augustine and Calvin) and his interfaith dialogue between Jews, Muslims and Christians. So much of his theology is derivitive of, in conversation and argument with Muslim philosophers of his day. In particular those that drew their impetus from Aristotle. What a radical thing to embrace reason in Christian faith at that time.
And that is what fascinates me! The apologetical nature of Thomistic theology and philosophy. And Aquinas' willingness to speak to and embrace reason in a time when the church saw reason as dangerous, threatening, and an emphasis on reason as nearly heretical.
It makes me think about how we are running away from the important issues of our day, and wonder how God is going to raise up theologians of courage in our generation.
How do we need to step away from preserving the institution of the church to serve the church?
How do we enter into meaningful conversation and dialogue with Muslims in our time without comprimising our beliefs? With Jews? How do we speak to them in a way that is appropriate and apologetically intelligent.
How do we move as God's kingdom from protecting fortresses to taking ground (I know an overly military metaphor for things, but I cannot think of another way of putting it.)?
What implications does it have that most of Christian thought and ethics at one point is somewhat derivitive of Muslim philosophy?
Just some thoughts I have been mulling over
Aquinas Stories
It is usually forgotten that Saint Thomas Aquinas is both a child and a Saint. One day Saint Thomas was reluctantly dragged to the court of King Louis the Ninth of France, to attend a banquet. When they entered Paris someone showed him from a hill the magnificence of the City, saying: "How wonderful it must be to own all this." Saint Thomas only muttered : " I would rather have that Chrysostom manuscript I can't get hold of."
A quote from Aquinas about the importance of practical and simple theology:
"The doctor of Catholic truth ought not only to instruct the proficient, but also to teach beginners. As Saint Paul says, 'As unto little ones in Christ, I gave you milk to drink, not meat.' (i Cor). For this reason it is our purpose in the present work to treat of the things which belong to the Christian religion in such a way as befits the instruction of beginners.
ANOTHER STORY
Saint Thomas once confided to his friend Saint Bonaventure, that whatever he knew, he had for the most part learned from the Book of the Crucifix. One day while he was in prayer, Jesus spoke to him from the crucifix saying, "Well hast thou written of Me, Thomas: what reward would'st thou have?" Chesterton, commenting on this, says: "Nobody supposes that Thomas Aquinas, when offered by God his choice among all the gifts of God, would ask for a thousand pounds, or the crown of Sicily, or a present of rare Greek wine. But he might have asked for things that he really wanted ; and he was man who could want things; as he wanted the lost manuscript of Saint Chrysostom.
He might have asked for the solution of an old difficulty ; or the secret of a new science; or a flash of the inconceivable intuitive mind of the angels; or any one of a thousand things that really would have satisfied his broad and virile appetite for the very vastness and variety of the universe. The point is that for him, when the voice spoke from between the outstretched arms of the Crucified, those arms were truly opened wide, and opening most gloriously the gates of all the worlds; they were arms pointing to the east and to the west, to the ends of the earth and the very extremes of existence. They were truly spread out with a gesture of omnipotent generosity ; the Creator Himself offering Creation itself; with all its millionfold mystery of separate beings, and the triumphal chorus of the creatures. Saint Thomas when he at last lifted his head, spoke with that almost blasphemous audacity, which is one with humility: 'I will have Thyself.' "
A quote from Aquinas about the importance of practical and simple theology:
"The doctor of Catholic truth ought not only to instruct the proficient, but also to teach beginners. As Saint Paul says, 'As unto little ones in Christ, I gave you milk to drink, not meat.' (i Cor). For this reason it is our purpose in the present work to treat of the things which belong to the Christian religion in such a way as befits the instruction of beginners.
ANOTHER STORY
Saint Thomas once confided to his friend Saint Bonaventure, that whatever he knew, he had for the most part learned from the Book of the Crucifix. One day while he was in prayer, Jesus spoke to him from the crucifix saying, "Well hast thou written of Me, Thomas: what reward would'st thou have?" Chesterton, commenting on this, says: "Nobody supposes that Thomas Aquinas, when offered by God his choice among all the gifts of God, would ask for a thousand pounds, or the crown of Sicily, or a present of rare Greek wine. But he might have asked for things that he really wanted ; and he was man who could want things; as he wanted the lost manuscript of Saint Chrysostom.
He might have asked for the solution of an old difficulty ; or the secret of a new science; or a flash of the inconceivable intuitive mind of the angels; or any one of a thousand things that really would have satisfied his broad and virile appetite for the very vastness and variety of the universe. The point is that for him, when the voice spoke from between the outstretched arms of the Crucified, those arms were truly opened wide, and opening most gloriously the gates of all the worlds; they were arms pointing to the east and to the west, to the ends of the earth and the very extremes of existence. They were truly spread out with a gesture of omnipotent generosity ; the Creator Himself offering Creation itself; with all its millionfold mystery of separate beings, and the triumphal chorus of the creatures. Saint Thomas when he at last lifted his head, spoke with that almost blasphemous audacity, which is one with humility: 'I will have Thyself.' "
Sunday, March 20, 2005
A momentary failure
I had a lapse. I surrendered to my book lust.
I bought REAL SEX: THE NAKED TRUTH ON CHASTITY.
So far I have found it fascinating. In particular is her ability to advocate chastity while claiming that for large periods of her life she was, "not very good at it". With references to Wendell Berry she communicates to deftly to people struggling with the nature and intelligence of Christian views on sex outside of marriage. In particular, she discusses the communal implications of sexuality and sexual behavior--especially in Christian community.
One thing--why does she always have the corniest covers to her books?
Anyway--some of the rest of you should pick it up!
I bought REAL SEX: THE NAKED TRUTH ON CHASTITY.
So far I have found it fascinating. In particular is her ability to advocate chastity while claiming that for large periods of her life she was, "not very good at it". With references to Wendell Berry she communicates to deftly to people struggling with the nature and intelligence of Christian views on sex outside of marriage. In particular, she discusses the communal implications of sexuality and sexual behavior--especially in Christian community.
One thing--why does she always have the corniest covers to her books?
Anyway--some of the rest of you should pick it up!
A Personal Update
Just got back from Springfield IL for my friends' Dan and Jennifer's wedding. It went very smoothly. No little kids about to throw up. No awkward family moments due to divorce or jealousy. Nobody tripping and falling. It was fun. Even if I did have to wear a tuxedo. With a vest.
I love wedding receptions with dances. I love how people come all out from all different ages to dance, to celebrate, to just have fun and enjoy each other. We laughed, we smiled, we sang every word to "Baby Got Back." And I had a little to drink and goofed off a lot.
I think churches should have services that are more like weddings and less like funerals.
The thing I love about wedding dances is that everyone dances. Well not everyone, but people of every age. And it does not matter how good or bad a dancer that you are, it just matters that you are on the floor. And if you dont know the steps there is always someone out there to help you learn them.
I love that a wedding is a place where it is ok for a man to cry, as a matter of fact it is accepted.
And of course I love that weddings usually have good food and lots of it.
Most of all, I love that you always think that you are going to a wedding to support your friends, and that you end up built up and supported in the process.
I love wedding receptions with dances. I love how people come all out from all different ages to dance, to celebrate, to just have fun and enjoy each other. We laughed, we smiled, we sang every word to "Baby Got Back." And I had a little to drink and goofed off a lot.
I think churches should have services that are more like weddings and less like funerals.
The thing I love about wedding dances is that everyone dances. Well not everyone, but people of every age. And it does not matter how good or bad a dancer that you are, it just matters that you are on the floor. And if you dont know the steps there is always someone out there to help you learn them.
I love that a wedding is a place where it is ok for a man to cry, as a matter of fact it is accepted.
And of course I love that weddings usually have good food and lots of it.
Most of all, I love that you always think that you are going to a wedding to support your friends, and that you end up built up and supported in the process.
Monday, March 14, 2005
I almost became a Democrat when.....
Ughhhh.
Distracted by Championship Weekend and a murder spree the US GOV got away with a little mayhem of its own.
Last week two important bills came before the Senate, both with the potential to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. Our leaders made sure just that happened.
First, the minimum wage bill did not pass. I have a solution for this too. Make a minimum wage for juviniles and a minimum wage for adults, and raise the adult minimum wage. Let the teenagers work at the local store for a little less if the businesses can get away with it, but please lets not really expect people to live on 5.50 an hour.
Also, the bankrupcy reform bill. Do the hospitals (most for profit) and the credit card companies really need financial protection. The health care industry? Please....
It is about enough to morph an elephant to an ass.
Distracted by Championship Weekend and a murder spree the US GOV got away with a little mayhem of its own.
Last week two important bills came before the Senate, both with the potential to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. Our leaders made sure just that happened.
First, the minimum wage bill did not pass. I have a solution for this too. Make a minimum wage for juviniles and a minimum wage for adults, and raise the adult minimum wage. Let the teenagers work at the local store for a little less if the businesses can get away with it, but please lets not really expect people to live on 5.50 an hour.
Also, the bankrupcy reform bill. Do the hospitals (most for profit) and the credit card companies really need financial protection. The health care industry? Please....
It is about enough to morph an elephant to an ass.
Quotes for Today
A person who has nothing to die for has nothing to live for.--
Martin Luther King Jr
Nobody thinks Bush has a brain, but they know he has a backbone--
Mother Jones Journal
Estimated Federal Assistance that Walmart Employees are eligible for: 2,500,000
Clothes make the man. Naked people have very little influence on our society--
Mark Twain
When a man loses the sacred significance of work and himself as worker,he soon loses sacred meaning of time and of life--
Carl FH Henry
God insists that we ask, not because he needs to know our situation, but because we need the spiritual discipline of asking.--
Catherine Marshall
The closer we are to God, the closer we are to those that are close to him--
Merton
Sex is not sin. Sex is not salvation either. Like nitroglycerin it can be used to either blow up bridges or heal hearts.
Fredrick Buechner
To trult care about people requires not caring to much about their approval or dissapproval.--
Ortberg
God morning God. I love you! What are you up to today? I want to be a part of it!
Ortberg
I am always content with what happens, for I know that what God chooses is better than what I choose.--
Epicetus
We recognize the nature of God best, not by thinking of his power or his wisdom, which are terrifying, but by thinking about his goodness and love. Then we are truly born anew in God, and can grow in faith--
Luther
Martin Luther King Jr
Nobody thinks Bush has a brain, but they know he has a backbone--
Mother Jones Journal
Estimated Federal Assistance that Walmart Employees are eligible for: 2,500,000
Clothes make the man. Naked people have very little influence on our society--
Mark Twain
When a man loses the sacred significance of work and himself as worker,he soon loses sacred meaning of time and of life--
Carl FH Henry
God insists that we ask, not because he needs to know our situation, but because we need the spiritual discipline of asking.--
Catherine Marshall
The closer we are to God, the closer we are to those that are close to him--
Merton
Sex is not sin. Sex is not salvation either. Like nitroglycerin it can be used to either blow up bridges or heal hearts.
Fredrick Buechner
To trult care about people requires not caring to much about their approval or dissapproval.--
Ortberg
God morning God. I love you! What are you up to today? I want to be a part of it!
Ortberg
I am always content with what happens, for I know that what God chooses is better than what I choose.--
Epicetus
We recognize the nature of God best, not by thinking of his power or his wisdom, which are terrifying, but by thinking about his goodness and love. Then we are truly born anew in God, and can grow in faith--
Luther
Rest in Peace
Stanley Grenz, author of:
A Primer on Postmodernism
Women, Ministry, and the Church (with Denise Kjesbo)
Theology for the Community of God
Renewing the Center
Beyond Foundationalism
former professor at Northern Baptist and Baylor
has died in Vancouver, CA (his home for most of the last 20 some years)
at the age of 55.
click here
A Primer on Postmodernism
Women, Ministry, and the Church (with Denise Kjesbo)
Theology for the Community of God
Renewing the Center
Beyond Foundationalism
former professor at Northern Baptist and Baylor
has died in Vancouver, CA (his home for most of the last 20 some years)
at the age of 55.
click here
Book Lust 2
Why do all these books seem to come out at the same time. Three books that I am really hankering for right now:
Anne Lamott Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
Eugene Peterson Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places
Lauren Winner Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity
Karl Barth Prayer
Parker Palmer A Hidden Wholeness
Harvey Cox When Jesus came to Harvard
John Wooden Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success
Chic Simple Men's Wardrobe
Anne Lamott Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
Eugene Peterson Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places
Lauren Winner Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity
Karl Barth Prayer
Parker Palmer A Hidden Wholeness
Harvey Cox When Jesus came to Harvard
John Wooden Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success
Chic Simple Men's Wardrobe
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