Wezlo's Musings

Moving...

2008-03-28T08:39:00.003-05:00

Wezlo's Musings was an experiment in using an external blog site, rather than doing it on my own. For the most part, it worked. Because I use google's tools so much I decided to try out blogger, and it was good - until I wanted to use tools that other folks were using in other blogs, then it didn't work. Between Christdot shutting down and conversations that have taken part here in it's wake, I want a new start - wrestling with blogger is no longer "fun" for me. So, I'm moving to wordpress. My new blog is called "Painfully Hopeful," which kinda reflects my current emotional and mental state (why I didn't just take vacation this week is beyond me).

Here's to a fresh start. Who knows, maybe I'll even install wordpress for myself as some point.

What I did today...

2008-03-26T21:55:00.002-05:00

If anyone keeps up with my twitter, you know that I've been wondering why I do the things to myself that I do. This has nothing to do with self-mutilation (except in the metaphorical sense), it has to do with how I go about accomplishing the calling which has been given to me.

I have some folks who want to get baptized - this is a good thing. They are folks who have been here for a while, and are trying to follow Jesus with varying levels of success, and want to make this step. I'm glad for it, really I am. When many pastors need to do something like a baptism class they'll either look for some pre-packaged materials or get a list of Scriptures together and try to put something together on the fly. For my first couple of baptism classes, the latter was my general methodology - we'd read Scripture, I'd talk.

I always hated doing baptism classes - until I did a one on one session this past summer and got to deal with some other issues, it made me want to re-write the class to be more (grin) "immersive." It was a good goal, and then life happened and I never got to it this fall like I wanted to. The luxury of waiting, however, was taken away from me - I've got folks who want to be baptized and I need to offer them something other than me talking at them for several 45 minute sessions. So what did I do - I rewrote the class, in a day and a half.

Not only that, but I decided that a booklet was a great way to make sure people hang on to the materials, so I created the booklet as I rewrote the class. On software I'd never used for a booklet like this before.

Actually, it's probably not even done yet. Why do I do these things to myself?

Anyway, here's the class order:

2 sessions on the nature and symbolism of baptism (including a look at baptism in other traditions).
3 sessions on the nature of the Apostles' Creed
2 Sessions on "experiencing the narrative" (Prayer and Worship)
1 Pizza party.

Yes, I could do much more, but I don't want to fry people's brains at the start of their journey. The good news is the the bulk of this material can be re-used for a membership class.

There are days when I think I'm just nuts. I mean, I even put a creative commons license on the title page.

Horton Hears a Who...

2008-03-25T22:22:00.002-05:00

Today we tried to go to the Franklin Institute with the kids. We have a membership and they are off for the week. Unfortunately, I think everyone else who was off for the week also tried to go to Franklin Institute today. After doing three laps around portions of center city, looking for a parking spot (even the garages near the museum were full), we decided to "bag" it and head back over the river (I'll get back in that model heart one day soon!).

So, instead of heading home, we drove to the local theater and saw "Horton Hears a Who." It's a cute film, and I love how they faithfully transposed the "feel" of the artwork to the world of 3d computer animation. The little touches helped.

One of the things I appreciated in "Horton" was how, for once, it was the people who had "faith" that were the creative and open-minded folks - stretching their world so that they could take in a new reality and yet interact with it within an existing ethical framework ("a person's a person, no matter how small"). As a pastor, I appreciate that. Granted, there's been some positive depictions of film all throughout Hollywood's history (and some that aren't) - but I can't think of any where the people of faith are depicted as the "artsy types." If know of any others, let me know - I'd like to see those films.

The best line of the movie refers to "pouch-schooling." I smiled.

OK, so I'm weird...

2008-03-21T12:17:00.002-05:00

I was working on some things for my upcoming series preview and I thought, "You know, I need a rating screen." So, I made one. Yes, I'm odd, but it looks cool!

Jeremiah Wright's Context

2008-03-21T10:45:00.004-05:00

I've got to say, he sermon tracked very closely to the one I preached the sunday after 9/11.

Kingdom Collision Trailer

2008-03-19T10:24:00.001-05:00

Opening
Black background, thunder rumbles in the distance. Text fades-in with time-lapse of clouds forming it’s picture - the text reads “In the days of Caesar Augustus.”

The text fades out - and is replace with a series of words and voice-overs.

Violence
“When I die you will kill those rabbis - there will be weeping at my passing.”

Oppression
“If the Romans take all the best - they grow fat off of our work!”

Rebellion
“The only good Roman, is a dead Roman! Through their deaths we will bring the Kingdom of God!”

Corruption
“If you pay the right tributes, the high-priest will most certainly stay in your family.”

Hatred
“You’re a traitor, tax collector - you’ve betrayed your own people for profit!”

Longing
“One day, the Messiah will come - and then we will be free.”

Hope
“This is my beloved Son, with him I am well-pleased.”

Background fades-in gradually as the voice-overs happen - it is an image of the crucifixion. It says up for a moment and then fades to black. Text fades in saying, “Kingdoms Collide: September 08.” Fade to black.

Boggles the Mind...

2008-03-18T07:55:00.002-05:00

I get all sorts of "churchy" catalogs in my mailbox. Often I'll just toss them in the trash, but occasionally I'll take the time to page through them. Once in a while, I get a good idea. More often then not I'll just end up being utterly confused. Such is the case in the last catalog I paged through.

Surprisingly, what left me scratching my head was not the two page spread emblazoned with the title "Celebrate God and Country!" I guess I'm just desensitized, I've come to expect that from catalogs like this. I mean, what's a little idolatry between Christians, right?

No, what really boggled my mind in this catalog was something that had never occurred to me in my wildest dreams. As I was flipping through the pages of the catalog I was suddenly thrust into the realm of church member parking permits. I guess I've never had to deal with the logistics of a church where parking permits seem like a good idea - but this just strikes me as way odd. I mean, is that how you know you've arrived? You don't have to park in the "visitor's" lot any more because you've got a permit for "member parking?" Are you only allowed to park in certain areas depending on your permit number? Do you get ticketed if you park in the wrong section? Is this the updated version of getting offering envelopes?

I don't know - but it does boggle my mind.

Designed in Mission is Over

2008-03-17T07:10:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday we completed our Designed in Mission journey. Fittingly, we ended on a high note - this week's conversation between Lee Spitzer and Jonathan Malone was one of the best yet (and I'm not saying that just because Lee is pretty much my bishop). It was interesting to see how Lee and Jonathan are using similar themes to my own to help congregations be renewed. Lee's model of spiritual journey and the idea that congregations frequently replace "faithfulness" with "busyness" tracks very well with what I've been working on at Central. Lee's major point was when this shift happens mission is no longer the focus of the Church, "What I want" becomes the only criteria - which is dead on and describes Central beautifully. Jonathan set up a multi-focused approach of over-lapping circles: Discipleship, Worship, and Outreach (if I remember correctly). His circles (which he deliberately drew to form the Trinity Symbol) match up nicely to my three aspect approach that I formed with our three devotional studies that covered Evangelism, Pilgrimage, and Hospitality.

Now that the conversations are over I'll finish rendering and unloading the video I've taken. Once everything is on the web I'll work on getting the DVD's set-up. As Central Baptist moves forward with restructuring this is going to be mandatory material for the process. Here's a few thoughts as I move into the "post-production" era of DiM:

Traditional ways of passing on information are absolutely dead. People will tell you constantly that they want to have information passed to them in announcement, bulletins, brochures, and what-not - and perhaps they do. The problem is, they won't listen to it. We had brochures out in the church, and mailed to our region with a brief letter, bulletin announcements, and audible announcements. Those who weren't hostile to the concept were still like, "Wait, what's this?" five months into the session. Next time I do something like this I'm going to appoint an advertising leader.
A lot of the people I enjoy being in conversation with are from communities I'd never actually be able to be a part of. I can appreciate organic churches and mega-churches from a distance (and enjoy intersecting with them and working with them and everything in-between) - but my Ancient-Future leanings lead me to a much more connectional point of ministry. On a personal level, DiM helped confirm that for me in an environment where I was in genuine conversation.
Central isn't aware of the danger it's in institutionally (no, I don't think that's a bad word). There's still a lot of people who either think they'll wait people out until the 1950's return, and a lot of people who say, "I already know what I want" and therefor are unwilling to be stretched. This lack of urgency lead to low attendance.
I think I'm done trying to be the "front-man" to get people on-board with any new initiatives. Frankly, if I open my mouth people just sigh, "What now?" So, I'm going to tackle some folks who have truly disappointed me with their lack of courage in standing up to their peers and challenge them to step up to the plate. If only one of these people would actually stand up and say, "You know, we're being schmucks" this church would change at it's very core. It's time they took some responsibility for the mess we've been in for 30 years.
There's some good work being done out there for the Kingdom. I really don't want to copy any of these conversation partners - but I hope this material challenges/encourages me for years to come.

Blast from the Past...

2008-03-14T20:57:00.002-05:00

I was looking over my google videos today as I waited for another Designed in Mission video to process, it's hard to believe this was only a year ago. Let me give some background info for folks who weren't reading my blog before last January.

About 2 years ago I realized that programs weren't going to help Central all that much. The strength and vibrancy of the congregation had atrophied so much that all the big programs were doing was reinforcing that they weren't where they wanted to be. I had identified some areas that Central needed some exercise in, so I wrote three Devotional Studies which were designed to get Central exercising some much needed spiritual muscles. They were: Biblical Evangelism (Evangelism), Stop and Smell the Coffee (Pilgrimage), and Making Space (Hospitality). The first two are actually on-line over at CrossPointings.org - why I've never got Making Space up it beyond me, I guess I'll have to work on that.

Anyway, being a geek who loves stories, I thought that the plug for these studies needed to be in narrative form, something epic. Something like, say, Star Wars. So, I created an "opening crawl" for BE - and then the successive studies (I'll have to dig these up and get them on youtube), and we created an arch-villain to tell the story - "Darth Nohope."

Below is how I want Darth Nohope to be treated when he shows up at Central.

New Script...

2008-03-14T12:51:00.005-05:00

Central recently went to using "registration/friendship books" to track attendance and give guests a chance to let us know who they are. Well, people aren't really "getting" the books - and after two tutorials that no one listened to the deacons wondered how we could get the message out. I thought a tutorial film would be good - as even people who don't like the screen remember what's put on the screen.

The catch is that the tutorial film is going to be filmed like a cheesy 1950's "public awareness" video (everyone who saw the posture short on MST3K raise your hands). So, cue the cheesy music, bad acting, and over-the-top narration. Here's the first draft of the script:

[Fade from black - the picture is black and white and grainy, like an old film. Scene is a church sanctuary with a few people in the pews. A young man in a suit and tie walks down the aisle - the camera zooms in on him as the narrator begins]

This is Johnny.

[Cut to Johnny sitting in the middle of a pew]

Johnny is visiting a new church for the first time today and is feeling a bit uneasy. How will get to know people? Will anyone ask even him his name?

[Cut to an older man, similarly dressed, walking down the aisle. Narrator continues]

He doesn’t need to be worried, because there are people like this fine Gentleman named Billy. He knows how to the church’s friendship pad to meet visitors in the pews.

[Cut to Billy sitting in the same pew as Johnny]

When Billy sits down, the first thing he does is fill out the friendship book on the page for that Sunday. Then, with a smile, he passed the book on to Johnny and encourages him to fill out the form as well. The form tells Johnny that he can request a visit from someone, or that he’s looking to join a new church. He’s glad for the opportunity to tell people how he’d like to connect with them - and because Billy’s name is already on the sheet, Johnny decides to take a moment to introduce himself - returning smile he received earlier.

[“Properly Dressed” girl enters in, stage left, and takes a seat near Johnny]

When Sally comes and sits next to him in the pew, Johnny knows just what to do - he hands her the friendship book and she gratefully accepts it with a warm smile. Then, she passes the book on down the row as people gather for worship.

[Cut to close-up shot of the end of a pew, a hand places the friendship book near the end and is pulled back off camera]

When the book reaches the end of the row - it gets set down until the end of worship, when the church ushers come and collect the sheets at the end of worship. That way, the church can see if anyone was missing, or new to worship that Sunday.

[Cut to living room, phone is on the table. As the narrator continues, Johnny comes in and answers the phone - sitting on the sofa]

Two days later, Johnny receives a phone call. Who could it be? Why, it’s the church he just visited, they saw his name in the friendship book and saw he wanted to talk with someone about the Church. Johnny is happy, and grateful for how well the friendship books worked.

[Cut to close up of Johnny. After narrator speaks - he makes an exaggerated wink]

Now he just has to figure out how to sit next to that cute Sally next Sunday!

[Fade to black - cue cheesy music - credits - fade out - end]

Book Thoughts: Reading Scripture with the Church

2008-03-13T19:02:00.007-05:00

I haven't done a book review in a while, so I thought I'd share some thoughts with you about a book I've just finished, Reading Scripture with the Church. The book is a collection of Essays on Biblical Theology by four Different authors: A.K.A. Adam, Stephen E. Fowl, Kevin J. Vanhoozer, and Francis Watson.

I found the each of the essays intriguing, though Vanhoozer's essay on using Philemon as a framework for theological reading takes a good while to eventually get to the point. Here are some things I found appreciative in the book:

Adam's idea that Scripture is a "signifying presence" for the Church in worship. Adam's point is that the Scripture reveals the roles our lives should emulate (or avoid, as the case may be).
Fowl gave me a new appreciation for Aquinas, and gave me some new insight into why the Catholic traditions are able to deal with a plurality of Biblical interpretations without leading to fracturing the way Protestants do.
Despite Vanhoozer's slow beginnings (prolegomena in an essay is OK, just try to keep it brief), I throughly enjoyed the way he used the "theodrama" of Philemon to show that theological reading can be used to make Scripture applicable beyond typical historical-critical questions (like, "Why does Paul seem to support the institution of slavery?")
I enjoyed Watson's discussion on the canonical context for the four Gospels. I especially liked the way he used the Eucharist as a point of declination between the canonical and non-canonical Gospels.

I was kind of disappointed with the "responses" at the end of the book, I think it would have worked better to have a transcript of a discussion between the participants after they read each of the essays. On the other hand, there is much to chew on in this book - which I find to be a nice contribution to Biblical Theology.

I'm Twittering....

2008-03-12T07:28:00.003-05:00

Someone (you know who you are) suggested that I should explore twitter as a way of passing information through churches. So, I set up a twitter account. The only problem at the moment is that I don't use SMS because I refuse to pay the outrageously high fees for something that takes only a fraction of a cent to send. I've got it set up via IM at the moment.

If you want to follow me around and get insightful updates like, "I can haz mr batre lives?" My twitter name is, of course, wezlo.

For practical use, I'm thinking twitter would rock as an actual prayer-chain. You can't gossip as much with limited characters!

The world's a-changin....get a grip and hang on.

2008-03-09T22:15:00.002-05:00

I've been marveling at the way the internet is morphing the way "official" information is passed on to people. It's changed our personal communication for a while now - e-mail, IM, Socal networks, and blogs are just the tip of that particular ice burgh - but now "offical" news outlets are changing the way they handle a story and I find it fascinating.

It actually started a while ago when TV news stations like CNN started posting articles (really, they're pretty much properly formatted on-line copy) on their web-site. Sure, videos were there too, but 10 years ago on-line video was clunky at best (in reality, it just sucked). To compensate for their restricted ability to share video news they became what amounted to an on-line newspaper of sorts. After all, they had to get that information out there, somehow.

Now, it's the print-media that is morphing thanks to the internet. Many newspapers realized long ago that they had to have their content on-line because people weren't reading their printed papers as much any more (and that number continues to drop). They tried porting their subscription model over to the web but that was an utter failure for most sites - so they did what CNN had done before them, their articles were out there on the 'net, no subscriptions needed. Then things got interesting. Local news stations started putting their copy on the 'net as well, only because they were on a TV News cycle the content was updated more frequently than on the newspaper sites. Also, in the last two years video on the web has been a pleasant experience (rather than the root-canal it was 10 years ago) - so video new-feeds began to go with the printed copy. With their faster cycle, and video - newspapers were feeling the crunch.

In the last six months or so I've been noticing something on newspaper sites like philly.com - videos. Rather than copying the TV news sites, however, and simply post the video that matches the "print copy" on the page, the newspapers have taken an different track - their videos are almost exclusively supporting content. That is, their print stories have remained the same, but now one or two videos will be shown alongside the article. Sometimes this is just a fuller version of a sources comments, but more and more (especially in the sports section) I'm beginning to see original content. It appears that newspapers as we knew them, no longer exist.

What's this mean for the Church? Well, it means we'd better learn to understand really quick that information doesn't wait to be passed around any more. It's flying out there, and "we'll discuss that next meeting" doesn't cut it any more. Sadly, too many church communities are woefully ill-equipped to function in this context - but we need to try. Heck, if newspapers can post videos, churches ought to be able to get used to a short information-cycle!

Well OK...

2008-03-08T22:38:00.003-05:00

Today the kids and I were at my great aunt's birthday party. She's an interesting character, to say the least. My sisters and a some of my cousins were there with their kids as well (I can't believe how much our clan has exploded) and it was so cool seeing them all play together. The highlight of the afternoon came when it was time to cut the cake.

My uncle (also named Wes) made a terrible speech trying to remark on how big our extended family is getting and how it was great that our aunt was able to celebrate that with us (it wasn't a bad idea, but my family has the combined attention span of a gnat so he kinda lost us). Then it was time to cut the cake. My son, however, saw a whole in that logic - no one had prayed! As we often ask the kids to say grace at the table, my son took it upon himself to step forward, tell everyone to fold their hands and bow their heads (I don't teach him that particular posture, but ok). He also commanded, "Now no one talk while I'm praying, OK?"

The prayer started with, and I'm not making this up, "God, thank you that we can be here for [wrong name]'s birthday and that we have this chocolate cake."

This is a completely socialized habit - which I'm perfectly happy with (after all, he's 5) - but it was dang funny and I know that he's seeing this as an important action, so I know we're doing something right. He got lots of high-fives (which I'm not sure was the best way to positively reinforce this behavior, but my family isn't all that religious).

Sadly, everyone said the cake was "blessed." Which my son didn't do. Oh well.

I just might have to read this...

2008-03-08T11:45:00.003-05:00

These guys seem to share much of my current misgivings about Emergent. Though they seem to be part of the Evangelical fold-proper while I'm pretty content to be a distant cousin. I had written this book off because it first came to my attention though a snarky, crack-smoking, site that sets up Emergent as a convenient straw-man and I assumed that any book they'd promote wasn't worth my taking a look at. I appear to have been wrong. Once I get some more reading done for my fall sermon series I might just pick it up.

For the record, because I'm not sure I've ever pointed this on my blog, my current misgivings with Emergent are with a noticeable closure of the ancient-future entryway into the conversation. It's hard to be ancient-future in a movement when codifying the Story has largely become anathematized. Once that door shut, I became less and less interested.

Deep Sigh...

2008-03-08T00:26:00.003-05:00

I've been reading a lot of stuff on people who have lost their faith lately. The big one was on Christdot - but there's been other blogs I've stumbled into as well. All in all, the stories have made me sigh - the comments on various blogs have made me want to weep. Why is this? It's because the stories all seem to go like this, "I was a conservative Christian/Fundamentalist, I was 'on-fire' for God, I did Evangelism, I went to Church, I started getting restless, I examined the world, my faith told me that the world had to be one way or it was all a lie, the world wasn't that way, I think God is a fable now and I'm so relieved."

This story makes me sad, not only because people have been down a road in which they now find encouragement in the belief that God doesn't exist, but because I'm not even sure that the "either-or" between fundamentalism and atheism is all that different. I've been on the road out of conservative Evangelicalism™ since my seminary days (ever since I went back for a conference and asked a question that freaked people out but was well-within the bounds of historic Christianity). To be honest, I never really was all the happy with conservative Evangelicalism™ - it has to do with the Mennonite Environment in which Jesus socked me on the head - I just went that direction because it "seemed" like that's where the "real Christians" were congregating. Eastern University kinda pulled that rug out from under me and started me on a journey in which I actually am wondering if Fundamentalist Christianity is really Christianity at all. Let's be honsest, we've all got blind-spots. It's part of being human. As I look upon Fundamentalist Christianity (which now, sadly, is Evangelicalism™ almost exclusively) - I wonder if perhaps their blind-spots have gotten so huge that they've fallen off a cliff without even noticing. I wonder if perhaps God's left - and they so internally powerful that no one has noticed! It's not like there isn't precedent for this in Bible, right?

If my concerns are true, this makes all these de-conversion stories all the more depressing. People keep saying that God wasn't there (in the Evangelical™ world) and so they lost their faith. I keep wondering if perhaps God's going, "Duh!!?? Of course I wasn't there, those people are whack jobs - they don't look like my Son at all!" Sadly, this isn't a point that can be brought up with many of the folks who have taken that journey out of faith - largely because there are fundamentalists on that side of the aisle as well, and they are just as rabid and snarling as the theist variety.

Having only ever orbitted the Evangelical™ world, I can honestly say that I don't know what it feels like to have the carpet pulled out from under me the way many of these folks have had done. I can say, given that I'm still attached to Evangelicalism™ in that I'm a Trinitarian Theist who's not part of the high catholic traditions, I have to say I understand a bit of their relief. I mean, good grief, Christdot used to have someone on it that really insisted the Sun must go around the earth because "the Bible said so." I can't imagine the types of mental gymnastics needed to keep that world-view intact - no wonder they burn out!

So, if you're struggling with belief, faith, and are want to believe but have no "reason" for it (given that the world-view which propped up your belief have been revealed to be smoke and mirrors), let me encourage you to find one of those "high churches." Not for the comfort, and not for the cool music, and not for the "great programs." Find one, in order to experience something that Evangelicalism™ has utterly forgotten - the mystery of the presence of God. Will it save your faith? I have no idea. For all I know it might only begin faith in you. At least, however, you'll have encountered a Christianity beyond the boundaries that you're finding stifling.

"New"Blog

2008-03-07T07:52:00.003-05:00

Q said that I should put a "new" blog I'm writing in my blog-roll. I say "new" because I've been writing it since December 07 and just didn't think to put a link here. The blog is part of my denominational region's site - abcnj.net (which I helped design). As such, the name is exceedingly bland, Ministry and Technology. The content, I hope, is not. Here's what I have on it so far:

Syndication
IM Calling
Ministry, Meet You Tube
Web Sites
One Laptop Per Child
Is MySpace so Yesterday? (Reposted with permission from another site)
Podcasting (three parts)
Document Sharing
Presentation Clicker (my Salling Clicker review)

Coming up I'm going to do reviews of OpenLP.org and OpenOffice.org, and maybe a short plug on using video games to create community (like some freaks who actually did a Wii Bowling Tournament). Actually, I think I'll be doing a post describing how I use the projection screen for my sermon presentations.

More Larry Norman

2008-03-06T11:04:00.003-05:00

With the passing of Larry Norman I've been listening to his music again. I forgot about this Gem, which sounds eerily contemporary for a song released in 1991 on Stranded in Babylon.

Step into the madness of a million city streets
Where dealers sell white powder and children stand and bleed
Where local gangs are vicious and cops are so impure
That schoolboys carry Uzis so they'll feel secure.

Where fathers rape their daughters and beat up on their sons
Until the mother tries to stop him and goes and buys a gun
Where the local church is closed except a couple times a week
And turns its face from all the homeless in the street.

This is America, land of the free
Everyone gets justice and liberty, if you got the money.

Bankers and controllers make deals on foreign shores
And the CIA ships heroin to finance their secret wars
They sell the madmen weapons then send soldiers to their land
And in the name of God we battle for all the oil under the sand.

This is America, land of the free
Everyone gets justice and liberty, if you got the money.

Step into the madness as a thousand points of light
Illuminate the warheads for the final fight.
Step into the madness, say your prayers and drink your tea
Get ready for a kinder, gentler world war three.

This is America, land of the free
Everyone gets justice and liberty, if you got the money.

Orthodox-Mennonite Dialog sounds cool...

2008-03-06T07:58:00.001-05:00

On March 22 at 1:30 there's going to be a dialog between Mennonites and Orthodox. This sounds so freaking cool. Read about it here.

I'm a geek...

2008-03-04T21:10:00.002-05:00

Why? Well, here's two of many reasons:

I care about the remote clicker I use for speaking.
I am so impressed with the one that I just found that I filmed a demo of it for you tube.

Here it is:

Sadness...

2008-03-04T20:34:00.002-05:00

Well, I was just trolling for election coverage and found this on CNN.com. Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeons and Dragons, is dead. This makes me sad.

I know that many Christians slam role-playing games as a convenient whipping-post, I'm not one of them. The fact that my parents surrounded me with books growing up (their house continues to resemble a library) and the fact that you had to read to play D&D are really two huge factors in my love of reading. I haven't played in years, and eventually I moved on to the 2nd Edition of Gamma World as my game of choice, but D&D and AD&D and I spent many hours together. The irony of my immersion into AD&D was that the mythology I was later introduced to as a Bible Major already made sense to me - I'd been reading modern versions of those stories for years.

Role-Playing was also one of the big factors my discovery that participating in stories told you a lot about who you were (and then, later, about who God is). I think I would have liked to meet Gygax, now I won't get a chance.

While I did have the Greyhawk game setting, my favorite Campaign setting of all time is Dragonlance. What's yours?

Reading List Started

2008-03-04T09:31:00.003-05:00

I've started to gather my books in preparation for the Fall Sermon Series. I think it'll be entitled "Kingdom Collision," and it'll cover the political implications of Jesus' message in First Century Judea. As with a lot of my sermon series and writings, my aim isn't so much to lay out a "program" for people to follow (as you find in Evangelical™ circles). Rather, I want to give people a decent "tool-box" with which they can interact with the content of the Gospels on a deeper level - and then start moving forward to the political climate of our day and age. The goal is really three-fold:

To explore the political implications of Jesus' kingdom preaching in the first century.
To compare the implications of Jesus' preaching in 1st Century to our own in the 21 Century.
To begin the difficult process of asking how our current context may legitimately or illegitimately change the present-day implications of how we proclaim and live out Jesus' kingdom-message.

Points one and two are relatively easy, point three is where the fireworks begin because:

People are going to have honest disagreements at that point which we'll have to live with (gasp, perhaps the Holy Spirit isn't making us all clones!)
Some sacred cows are going to be slaughtered and cooked (and, if you are thinking of someone else's sacred cow, please understand that the barbecue is being lit for yours as well).

Anyway, here's what I've ordered (or procured) so far:

Gregory A. Boyd, The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church (Zondervan Publishing Company, 2007).

(The above is a good primer for lay-folk. I take issue with some of his forcing of modern political jargon into the world of Jesus [calling the Pharisees "liberals" in order to make it clear that the Sadducees were the "conservatives" who were holding on to their power is a huge stretch]. Yet, there's a lot to chew on in these pages. I won't be drawing from Boyd that much, he's done too much of the work for me, but if you're part of the Central Baptist community, you should pick this book up because there will be some significant resonance)

K. C. Hanson and Douglas E. Oakman, Palestine in the Time of Jesus: Social Structures and Social Conflicts, Pap/Cdr (Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2002).
Bruce J. Malina, The Social World of Jesus and the Gospels, 1 (Routledge, 1996).
John Howard Yoder, The Politics of Jesus, 2 Sub (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994).

In addition to these, I've become fascinated by William Wilberforce, who wrestled with these issues in his own day and age - so I've read this biography and will likely pick up others:

Kevin Belmonte, William Wilberforce: A Hero for Humanity (Zondervan Publishing Company, 2007).

Tell me what I don't know...

2008-03-03T22:41:00.003-05:00

After knowing for years that I've got ADD, I figured I'd do a survey to test out the accuracy of my assumption. The reason I did this after so many years is quite simple, a friend of mine told me about the medication she takes in order to study and I briefly thought, "Hmmm, I wonder what it would be like to have a 'normal' brain for a while?" I mean, I guess it would be interesting to briefly experience why I get those blank stares from people every now and again. Not that I'd want to such an experience permanent, mind you - half the things I do are actually helped by my having ADD.

So I took the survey, and it popped up, "You most likely have ADD."

Well, duh. Oh look, it's shiny!!!!

Dang Cool...

2008-02-28T20:18:00.003-05:00

Last night I was watching The Daily Show and heard the credentials of that show's guest while playing a game of Civilization 4. When I heard them I thought, "Wow, that sounds like someone I know." Imagine my glee when I discovered that it was someone I know!

Here's Allen C. Guelzo being interviewed by John Stewart. If you ever get a chance to hear Dr. Guezlo speak in person - run, do not walk. He's that awesome.

Free stuff that kills trees...

2008-02-27T09:02:00.002-05:00

As a pastor, I occasionally get a complimentary copy of some magazine or another. Some I enjoy reading, others I wonder how I ever got on the mailing list (I would love to see who sold my name), and others...well....others I repent before God on behalf of Christians who have done nothing better than to kill many trees to spread their message.

Such is the case with a magazine that came in the mail yesterday. It's title made me think that it might be a compendium of sermon illustrations - not my cup of tea but maybe semi-interesting - the reality was far worse. The magazine was actually a compendium of much of the worst of baptist thought. It made me sad. One article in the back was a decent critique of the "bait and switch" tactics many churches use to grow their membership. It didn't redeem the time it took me to page though the rag I had received for free. Here's a sample of some of the things in it:

Letters to the editor complaining about the new layout (I have no idea what the old layout was like so I can't say if it was an improvement). One comment was that the magazine was going "contemporary" because the cover had a barefoot girl wearing pants on it, which was inappropriate for a pastor's magazine.
A sermon illustration remarking on how the complexity of the leave proves evolution couldn't have happened (I read this and winced).
A sample sermon outline (why do people use sample sermon outlines? I mean, really) explaining how the moral depravity of unbelieving Jews meant that Jesus couldn't do any miracles for them, as opposed to believing Gentiles (look ma, bad science and antisemitism in one convenient package).

I could go one, I won't. Christians wonder why people look at us funny?

Geek-ness measurement...

2008-02-23T20:56:00.002-05:00

One of the ways I know I'm a geek is that my son saw some boxes that had classic 8-bit images from the NES, including an NES controller with the declaration "I was classically trained," and he demanded my wife get them for me as a birthday present.

He thought I would love them, he was absolutely right.

Oh the "scandal"

2008-02-21T20:27:00.003-05:00

OK, so the major news networks are all covering the "scandalous" NT Time Article about John McCain. Now, aside from the fact that I deeply appreciate that McCain is noticeably annoyed by the willingness of our current administration to use torture in extracting information from prisoners, I'm not likely going to vote for McCain in the general election. His stances and mine don't over-lap, despite my appreciation for his willingness to take some stances which are unpopular among his fellow republicans.

This "article," however, is pretty much terrible commentary on the nature of American society. If this is a "scandal," we're in serious trouble. Here's a brief run-down:

A female lobbyist started hanging out with McCain a lot eight years ago during his first run for the White House.
While the lobbyist and McCain say there never was a romantic relationship, McCain's aides grew concerned and worked to make sure nothing could happen romantically. They also were concerned that an appearance of impropriety regarding senate business would not derail his run.
McCain apparently heeded their advice - 'cause nothing happened beyond that.

So does anyone want to tell me why this is so "scandalous?" The guy has advisers who watched his back, moved to keep him from crossing a really bad line, and he listened to them. Good grief, does anyone else wish that the over 50% of "Christian Marriages" displayed this type of scandalous behavior going one when things get a little dicey? I dunno, maybe the world would be bit better if people had the type of friends who would be willing to step-in and remind people who they want to be.

The real question here for me is, given McCain's willingness to spend some serious time with a telecommunications lobbyist, what are his technology policies going to be like?

But that doesn't get the ratings I guess.

Oh Boy..

2008-02-19T21:42:00.001-05:00

The only thing missing is someone complaining that they aren't singing the songs they grew up with.

And then there was this...

2008-02-17T20:24:00.002-05:00

I got a card from the husband of one our members this morning. He's a good guy who used to go to Central, but felt chased off because he had long hair. Needless to say, I've always felt a connection, and actually apologized to him for the behavior of the church towards him. Usually, when people "vanish" from the congregation, I've tended to encourage them to find another place to worship (after dealing with some issues). This gentleman, I've always hoped would be able to come back and hang with Central. I guess I've thought that it would be a good statement for him and for the congregation, "The type of behavior that leads to people being run-off because they 'aren't us' is unacceptable and we condemn it - but there can be redemption and we're going to bank on that."

Well, several weeks back this gentleman had a rather serious heart-attack that very nearly took his life. I went down and sat with the family briefly while he was on the operating table - and then went down with our head Deacon the next day as he was in the ICU. He was wired, so we prayed briefly for him and went home - now I don't think prayer is meaningless, but I don't often get immediate responses either? Apparently this gentleman experience something rather powerful:

I remember seeing you & Ric at the foot of my bed, and I remember our prayer together....but it was when you touched my forehead and made the sign of the cross...your touch enabled my spirit to soar, and for one short moment, I was looking into the eyes of God and felt at peace....for it was then that I knew that I was going to be all-right.
My doctors are surprised at how quickly I am healing! You have a gift. Thank you for sharing it with me. May God bless you & guide you in your Important work.

OK, so being here apparently isn't pointless. Talk about timing.

If you schedule it - people won't come.

2008-02-16T20:25:00.003-05:00

Today was February's Designed in Mission. We had my friend Chris (hi Chris) and Stephen come and present on their communities. Both were great conversation partners, and I was especially interested in Stephen's perspective as the head of new church development for the Franconia Mennonite Conference.

I was, however, disappointed with the turn-out. Aside from the one person Stephen brought with him (hi Jess), one person showed up. To be fair, several of the people who have been coming were away this weekend, and Q and company would have come if I had managed to set up child-care, but over-all the turn out for these things have been disappointing. There have been times when I've almost begged people to come out and be part of this absolutely necessary conversation - only to look out and see most people crossing their arms in defiance (literally) or trying not to meet my gaze. Honestly, it gets depressing.

I guess most pastors go though seasons like this, wondering, "Why am I hear, Lord?" Knowing that it's common, however, doesn't make it any easier to go through. I'm just at a point where I'm not sure that my voice is very effective here and I'm not sure if this church actually wants to live, or have someone else live for them. I'm at the point where I don't want to come up with any new ideas, because I don't want to be disappointed again. In that sense, I'm guessing that I'm learning the lesson that this culture has been beating into the heads of everyone in this congregation for years, "Shut up and don't make waves and we'll leave you alone." I really don't want to learn that lesson, because once I do my effectiveness as a pastor will be over - but the temptation is there. I mean, why bother trying to move forward if people are just going hang back and hope you get it "out of your system?"

So, how do I wrestle with feelings like these positively to avoid self-pitying navel-gazing? Well, first I'm throwing myself into the ideas that I already have. The fall sermon series here is going to be one most provocative to date - we'll be examining the political implications of Jesus preaching in his contemporary setting and how that might impact the way we interact with the political realities of our current day. What'll make it so provocative is that I'll be preaching the series in the heat of a presidential campaign without simply telling people how Jesus would vote. Of all the things that I still have envisioned for Central, that series is the thing that gets my heart pumping the most. In fact, I'm already reading for it (and suggestions are most welcome). Second, I'm actually daring to ask if I should still be here as the pastor. This is a frightening thing for a lot of pastors to ask (and even more frightening for a congregation to hear), but it's a healthy thing to do. So far, the answer from friends, family, and pastors I trust has been, "Nope, not yet. God wants you here." This helps, even in my frustration, because I know I'm not just wasting my time (even if it feels like I am). It also helps because the freedom to ask that question directly addresses the sense of entrapment that a lot of pastor's have - knowing that if they leave they're also likely to loose their place of residence. Since I can ask that question openly, I know I'm not just staying out of a fear of being homeless - that's a good thing.

So here I am, I've got at least one thing left to do here as the Pastor of Central Baptist and I'm chomping at the bit to get to it. Yet, I have to say that it's getting harder and harder to come back over the bridge to New Jersey when I've been visiting my parents in PA. I miss the hills. Ah well, existential moment.

Dr.Q's Ramblings: Lent 2008: Day 6

2008-02-14T10:04:00.000-05:00

Qohelet posted this the other day - I feel all warm and fuzzy.

Dr.Q's Ramblings: Lent 2008: Day 6

Birthday Reflections

2008-02-13T10:52:00.002-05:00

Ok, yesterday was my birthday (and I have to say that I like the Facebook birthday feature, no only did I get many well-wishes from people I also have remembered some birthdays I would have forgotten). Since it was my birthday, I figured I'd do some reflections on my celebration this year.

First, my extended family gave me money and ordered me to get a new TV. We've never had a new TV before so it was a huge surprise. The Wii never looked so good and last night we got to watch the second season premiere of Jericho in HD (everyone watch it please, so it doesn't almost get cancelled again). I can't believe how awesome over the air digital broadcasting looks - wow! Tomorrow we'll get our cable upgraded and I'll finally get to see a regular season hockey game in HD, which is why my Dad insisted I get the TV. I'm looking forward to it. The TV isn't much bigger, screen-wise, than our previous TV (32-inch wide screen, vs. 26-inch standard def). But it's light as all get-out and has connections out the wazooh. I'm actually looking forward to teaching a small group at the house and using the TV with my mac (maybe I'll have to go out and get a mini-dvi to hdmi connector).

Second, yesterday I was subjected to a satellite seminar on "Trends in Media and Technology" as part of our ABCNJ staff meeting. I say "subjected for several reasons:

I'm tired of being handed "new data" that is 2 years old already. All this says is that that Church doesn't have a clue, what's going on the world. I mean, 2 years after "You" was the "person of the year" in Time we're getting told about this new trend that people want to interact with there entertainment? Are you kidding me?
The seminar was a "bait and switch." Barna displayed some "trends" (which were 2 years old, as I said), and the next two speakers talked about Christians should guard themselves against the darker elements of ubiquitous entertainment. The first speaker actually became a prime example of godwins law and the second speaker read some of the hate mail he received from people who read his reviews on his web-site. After reading some of the second speaker's reviews, I have to say I was thinking that the hate mail wasn't strong enough. I know I need to repent of the impulse - but the movie reviews SUCKED.
It was yet another prime example of why I want nothing to do with the Evangelical™ world. If that was an example of what we want Evangelicals to be, all I can say is, "No thanks." I mean, in dealing with an art-form that deals with the great questions of humanity (questions posed in Scripture with even more brutal honesty, read Judges) the second speaker called for discernment by asking, and I am not making this up, WWJD. Are you kidding me? I was also put off by the "don't go on opening weekend because we're saying we want more of these types of movies ("controversial ones) made." Uhh, what if I do want more types of movies that make you think and challenge the nice little bubbles we make for ourselves? It was clear that all three people involved in the seminar were only used to talking with people who already agreed with them.

The only thing that kept the hour and a half I was subjected to the insanity of this seminar was the fact that the regional staff all saw through the smoke-screen and said, "Wow, that was terrible."

As bad as that seminar was, however, my day was redeemed when we all went down to the Franklin Institute for the Star Wars Exhibit. I stood in the presence of the actual Darth Vader costume from Episode IV, as well as host of other props and models (they wouldn't let me sit in the land-speeder though, I was bummed). Some of the interactive games were wild (unfortunately, I suck at setting up a Jawa camp, they all started shooting one another), and they did a decent job of comparing the tech of Star Wars with what we're doing in the world today (I thought the prosthetic and robotics segments were the best). I do wish they would have had a section on all the fighters used in the films, as those are some of the iconic images we relate to Star Wars, but even without that I went away pleased. You have to stand in presence of Darth Vader, or any one of the wookies, to get an impression of how HUGE they are. It's amazing. Some of the essays on the different cultures were pretty cool too. To cap it off we sat in a mock-up of the Millennium Falcon's cockpit and went though a cool presentation in it. My son freaked out almost immediately (it was loud and I think he thought we were actually going into space, his imagination is very similar to mine and we both get overwhelmed sometimes with it). Still, I held his hand and kept my head poked through the curtain so we could see. The x-wing fly by at the end is worth the cost of the ride alone.

Sick...

2008-02-10T08:43:00.000-05:00

In the six years I've been a pastor I've never been sick on a Sunday. That streak ends today, bummer.

Last night I woke up and was sick - which was not a pleasant experience. This morning I'm still feeling a bit queasy, have a killer headache, and am rather sore (though I think this last bit is from playing Wii sports so much). My wife ordered me to stay home and I called a couple of folks to tell them that I wouldn't be preaching this morning. This kinda depresses me because I was planning on starting my class on William Wilberforce using the Amazing Grace movie today. I was also supposed to go over to my parents to celebrate both my own and my sister's birthday.

The good news is that I just cleaned up my manuscript and will have someone read it during worship. At least that work on behalf of the Church wasn't wasted.

Lent

2008-02-08T20:12:00.000-05:00

Well, it's Lent. As has been my custom the previous two years I've taking up turning off the computer from Noon until after our kids are put into bed. This forces me to be more disciplined than I already am with my time in the morning hours, and releases me to the freedom of reading and "meat space" connections in the afternoon. It is an inconvenience, as at lot of my projects make use of my digital tools, but it's a good inconvenience.

My wife has also taken up doing a Lenten devotion with the kids this year which prompted my daughter to ask me, "Dad, why do people give up stuff for Lent?" I thought for a moment and said, "We give up stuff so we can not be distracted so much and be more able to follow Jesus." My daughter thought for a moment and said, "Well, why aren't I giving up anything?" When I told her that there was no reason at all why she couldn't give up anything for Lent she thought for a moment and said, "OK, so no TV for five weeks, I'll read!"

Now, I'm cheering for the reading part - but I also want my daughter to feel like she can succeed in this so I suggested that maybe we could keep the TV off after school until Bed time rather than drop it completely (she like watching one show in the morning before she goes to school, and the rhythm really helps her get ready for school). She smiled and said, "OK, and no Wii except at family time!"

So far, it's been good. My daughter is learning how to lay aside things she's normally free to do (and I hope there will be spiritual gain there), and she's also learning about the Positive side of Lent, she is spending a lot more time reading than she typically does (which is a good deal).

A family religious observance. Kinda nice.

Did he just say that?

2008-02-06T21:09:00.000-05:00

This James Dobson quote is from a Reuters Article:

“I am convinced Sen. McCain is not a conservative, and in fact, has gone out of his way to stick his thumb in the eyes of those who are … I cannot, and will not, vote for Sen. John McCain, as a matter of conscience,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Later on he says:

“I believe this general election will offer the worst choices for president in my lifetime. I certainly can’t vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama based on their virulently anti-family policy positions. If these are the nominees in November, I simply will not cast a ballot for president for the first time in my life,” he said.

Click here to read the full statement if you want to.

You know, I had a rant written - but I don't feel like posting it. It's Ash Wednesday and I'm pretty much musing on my own sin at the moment. What I will point out is that someone who has spent the last decade or so trying to get Christians politically active has just threatened not to vote if he doesn't get his way. People wonder why I have absolutely no desire to call myself and Evangelical any more?

From the bang your head on the table department...

2008-02-03T14:16:00.000-05:00

Today I asked people what happens in the pericope immediately proceeding the Transfiguration in the Gospel of Matthew. A couple of people knew, but most just shuffled nervously. So, even though it wasn't part of what I was planning to do, I asked, "OK, well let me ask then, how many of us have read the Gospel of Matthew?" About 1/3 of the congregation raised their hands.

Two thirds of the people attending worship haven't read the Gospel of Matthew? Are you kidding me? I'm trying to figure out why it is that folks who haven't ever read the teaching of Jesus can (a) tell me what the congregation should be doing in Jesus' name and (b) actually say, "Hey, I follow Jesus." I'm not talking about someone who is a brand-new disciple (actually, the newest disciple in our congregation has read Matthew). I'm talking about people who have been part of the congregation for 20, 30, 40, and even 50 years. Are you serious? How the heck can you be a church that doesn't even know the story and content of the Gospel?

I just want to cry.

Not really a radical...

2008-02-02T15:29:00.000-05:00

A couple of things happened this that have caused me to muse on the nature of how I pursue Christianity. First, I read a friend's blog on which he quoted a rather obnoxious response that was made to him on theOoze. Now, I've enjoyed a good many conversations I've had on that site but there has always been an element of "radical emergent" people who are quick to condemn anyone who is a vocational pastor, has a church building, or talks about dogma. The post my friend quoted on his blog was one such post.

Over the last couple of years I've really gotten tired of people with an activist bent towards their Christianity sniping at anyone who isn't lock-step in line with them. Encounters with "radical-emergent" folks, conservative Evangelicals™, and church growth gurus have left a bad taste in my mouth. It's not that I don't think that Christians ought to be a light in this world and help others, it's just that I'm tired of watching friends getting smacked in the head for daring to post questions to the activists. They're too busy to be in conversation, it's more easier to verbally assault someone on the way to the next big event.

As I was dealing with my renewed feelings of slightly-negative ambivalence towards activist Christians, I decided to pick up a biography on William Wilberforce to better prepare myself up the upcoming "Amazing Grace" class I'll be leading. Almost immediately I discovered a wonderful truth, for all his struggles supporting one good cause after another, William Wilberforce was not an activist. Rather, he was an idealist.

Now, it might appear quite odd to divide activists and idealists. After all, to most people activists are simply idealists in actions. From my personal experiences with activists and the biographical reading in which I've been immersing myself, however, I've noticed that many activists aren't actually idealists at all. Oh, perhaps at one time they had been idealists who had gotten bitter and in-grown at seeming failure of the world to get with the program - but the activist Christians I've met (and the ones I've encountered in my reading) are actually willing to leave their ideals behind as they attempt to whip people into shape. Activists are, all to often, revolutionaries who enjoy the act of tearing down - but have nothing to offer in it's place.

Idealists are different. Their ideals govern not only their goals and tactics, but also the way they respond when the world doesn't move the way they want. Idealists aren't as likely to write off a group of people (like, say, a political party or those who live in a geographic region) as activists are. Rather, they'll work with people who are in agreement with their goals, and when they are not will learn how to disagree with civility. Idealists may find themselves wielding power, but don't actually want power. Idealists, very often, aren't revolutionaries - they are reformers. Their desire isn't to see society turned on it's head as much as they want to see society ennobled for all. Their desire isn't to win - rather, it's to bless. Activists too often have forgotten that distinction.

Here's the thing. There was a time in which I would have loved to have been an activist Christian - tearing down any obstacle which stands in the way of my understanding of a "pristine Christianity." I've hung around activist Christians of many varieties: Evangelical™, Progressive™, Emergent, and Catholic. There is a vibrancy to all of them that cries out for the Kingdom of Heaven. I may not always agree with what each thought the Kingdom of Heaven was - but I can't deny the passion of the cry or the heart that makes it. The problem with me actually being an activist Christian is, and has always been, that I'm just not made up that way.

I have no problem knocking down walls, asking inconvenient questions or pointing out our corporate faults - but I pursue these out of a desire to devastate or cause upheaval (whether or not I'm perceived that way is another question). Rather, I pursue them because I want us to come back the ideal to which we say we're aligned. That is, the person of Christ and the story of the Church (read, dogma). The theological pursuit which has claimed me for the better part of 15 years pretty much sums up why I do what I do - I see the path forward through what has come before. That is, the path to the future runs through the ancient.

So, while I may admire the zeal of the revolutionary and the activist I have to admit that is not who I am. I'm just not a revolutionary - I'm too much of an idealist for that. My lofty goal is to step into the destructive frays which impede the call to discipleship for people, and enter into them with as much grace as can be mustered. I don't alway succeed - in fact, I too frequently fail - but that is my goal, that's the desire of my heart.

Amazing Grace Sunday School Class

2008-01-30T16:27:00.000-05:00

I thought last year's Amazing Grace movie was fairly well-done. It wasn't overly preachy, it kept the luster of 18th century political language present without whacking your head with it, and the summary of Wilberforce's life at the end was at least mildly thought-provoking (the sermons delivered by free African-Americans are even more so but I'll have to get to that after I finish Wilburforce's biography). At any rate, in a climate of political power-mongering and the impending collapse of the Evangelical™ political machine I thought it might be good to watch this movie with Christians and have it spark conversation. If anyone shows up, I'll be starting it this Sunday (it's likely that anyone who doesn't read this blog won't show up - because no one in my church pays attention to announcements for anything, much less a movie-based Sunday School class.). I wanted to take 3 or 4 weeks to watch the movie and spend some time on the implications of Wilburforce's life and work on our own lives. I was looking forward to this, because the movie came with a Study Guide that I could use. I should have read it before now. Really.

I don't want to knock people for trying - it's a difficult thing to write a decent curriculum for a small group (I know, I've done it). It's even more difficult to write decent "discussion starter" questions for a movie without being completely leading and hokey. I'm sorry to say that, on quite a few levels, the Amazing Grace study guide doesn't accomplish it's goals. Why is this? Because the guide springs from Evangelical™ roots - roots which are incapable of the type of introspection a movie like Amazing Grace deserves, and the world needs. The guide is a launching pad to make people feel able to be "world changers." While being "world changers" isnt' such a bad goal (provided the "change" is Kingdom oriented and brought though peace - but when you get Evangelicalism™ talking about world-changing the distinct lack of introspection leaves the call feeling rather shallow. This makes me rather depressed, because there was a well-done push to make people aware of present-day slavery alongside of the movie which didn't make the jump to the study guide. I don't know why, it just didn't.

Again, I don't want to vilify folks, they tried to do something that was more worth-while than just package up a DVD and roll in the bucks, that needs to be commended. It's just that in reading the materials (which are salvageable - kinda), I'm reminded again as to why I really am not part of Evangelicalism™ any more - it's not my world. I'm still looking forward to the class, though, 'cause the material is so wonderfully though-provoking and intersects with Scripture in some wonderful ways.

Oh too funny...

2008-01-29T20:57:00.001-05:00

I guess it's political commentary week on Wezlo's Musings. Oh well. I just saw this video over on tech president, it made my draw drop. Oh what a wonderful mash-up!

You know...

2008-01-28T21:58:00.001-05:00

I just saw the most obvious staged standing ovation of all time during the State of the Union address. To be honest I was typing something in the lead up to the moment of the offending ovation, but when the President forcefully spoke, "..and the time to act is now" I looked up and saw the Republicans in the House chamber stand and applaud, along with giving a half-hearted cheer. They did this all at once, there was no leading of one or two people, it was bang instant ovation - the democrats were trying not to look at each other as they remained seated. Totally staged, ugh.

Other notes on the address. Dick Cheney looked like he was about to fall asleep, wow. Also, Nancy Pelosi was rather gracious in her outward appearance and demeanor during the speech. I'm not a big fan of Speaker Pelosi, but at least she can be civil.

Finally, sports and parade commentators have nothing on TV News Political commentators. I just heard, "Well, the president knows full-well that none of these things he mentioned are going to happen in an election year, but it's the president's job during a State of the Union to set an agenda and so he set one." Excuse me? I mean, those people get paid to make statements like that? Are you kidding me? And why is that mentality even considered to be acceptable? I mean, isn't that the type of crap that churches pull all the time, "Oh, well we'll say we'll do this and this and this because we have to say that we'll do it - but c'mon the chances of those things happening are zero - so don't bother pushing it."

Sigh. It's all an illusion I guess.

Will Bowling Tourment

2008-01-27T21:38:00.000-05:00

The moment I took out the Wii and hooked it up I thought, "We are so having a Wii bowling tournament after Christmas." Well, on January 28th, we finally managed to do it. 28 people from the Central Baptist Community (including two of the Student Chaplains from Eastern University who had been out for the retreat last weekend) got together at 2 O'Clock and hung out until the end around 7 (at which time we awarded the victor's cup to the aforementioned chaplains). I ended up bowling only one game with my son - we actually tied for the last spot in the second round, but we waved the other team ahead as my son was having a good time playing with the kids and time was getting short. The neat thing about the Wii, however, is that you don't really need to be playing to have a good time!

Here's my thoughts on the tournament:

Next time we need to have 2 Wiis to cover the first two rounds. Round one took forever (especially since my son knocked over the Wiil and the machine reset in the middle of a game). 2 Wii's will make it go faster, and it'll be a lot more fun. Good thing just about everyone who bowled today said they were getting a Wii at the soonest opportunity!
Kids rock at Wii. We absolutely have to get over the "I'm past that life-stage" mentality (or "not to the life-stage mentality) in Central - we're better than we were, but it's still very prevalent. Yet, this was truly a family event with kids, parents, grand-parents, and great grand-parents all participating - and the kids just swing their arms and our-score all the "knowledgeable" adults.
We need more events like this - so that an ethic of community beyond the cliques which naturally form in a dysfunctional system can be replaced. It was so cool seeing these 28 people (plus a few more) hanging out, cheering, and laughing at the insanity of fake-bowling. May we have more frivolous times of celebratory rest!
Larry is a nut, that's the best compliment I can give him.

So, this will be happening again, possibly sooner rather than later, and it was sooooo much fun.

Wallis on "A" Daily Show

2008-01-25T20:15:00.000-05:00

The best line was when John Stewart that he had a Meatball Parm Hero for Passover last year (if you don't get that, read more of the Tanakh, ok?). Wallis did a good job I thought - and the interview was very fair.

Off-Beat Bible Study

2008-01-24T20:06:00.000-05:00

As part of our student chaplain retreat we though it would be fun exercise to demonstrate how easy it is to get a small group "off beat" through the use of skits. I set up some scenarios, based on real experiences, and had the chaplains fill in the blanks. Here's the results, the sound's awful (I need to get closer), but they are watchable.

Well, I'm Beat

2008-01-24T14:22:00.000-05:00

Every now and again I just have one of "those weeks" where a perfect storm of past, present, and future catch up with me and end up running me over. It's no fun, but I tend to manage my time well enough that they don't come that often (I know some pastors that thing being constantly run-over is part of the job description, I think that's just plain sick). This particular convergence was a mixture of many good things going on at one time. Which is nice because I wasn't running around putting out a bunch of fires, but didn't make it any less tiring.

Let me run down the content of the steam-roller:

I'm working on a web-page for a friend's church. I needed to get some work done on that to feel like I was fulfilling the trust he put in me. That meant some late evenings hacking php and css. The good news is that my html editor runs great on mac os.
Designed in Met this past Saturday, Todd and JR were good conversation partners - but I had a lot to prep for their arrival. Though Bruce brings the donuts like clock-work - I forgot to ask, he brought them anyway. He's a good guy.
My sermon prep was getting behind. I normally like to be working on sermons a few weeks in advance so I can "chew" over stuff. I was riding that weeks sermon at the crest for a bit and it was causing me some stress. Keynote made the presentations easier, however, so it wasn't as much as it would have been pre-Mac.
The Chaplains came last Sunday and Monday for their winter retreat. I love this time - it's the type of ministry I'm passionate about - but it's a ton of work (booklets with the schedule, skit-synopsis, session outlines, worship slides, sign-up sheets, food order - etc). I'm actually hoping this last retreat will be usable by other groups so those materials don't hide in an unopened folder on my hard-drive forever. I forgot my still-camera this past weekend, so I'm waiting on some of the chaplains to get me images. I do have their skits on you tube, however, I'll put them up here shortly.
Hospital visits came in abundance. Two folks went down with issues that were serious enough to get them admitted. The visits were nice (one hospital has a touch-screen TV, how cool is that?) - but they take a lot out of you.

So, right now I'm catching up on sleep. Yesterday I had a massive migraine which laid me out for a couple of hours (I'm thinking that was my body's way of saying, "Doofus, slow down!"). After a nap I was able to finish my goals for the day, and today I actually got caught up to where I want to be with sermon prep. Now I can start looking at the materials for the Amazing Grace Sunday School class I want to teach in February.

And one of these days I'll get a full day-off.

Know Thyself?

2008-01-18T22:04:00.000-05:00

For two years I was an interim pastor of the church where I did my seminary's mentored ministry requirement. The pastor there was a great guy, and still a friend, and the Church wanted to test me out to see if I would be a long-term replacement there. For several reasons which I will not go into right now, the Church decided that I wasn't "the guy" and I ended up back in the Philly area at a Church that still has yet to fall into the decay that little church in MA had suffered.

Well, that church continued to decay, and last summer they decided to close up shop for good. It's sad, that was the church I got ordained in, but at the same time the system was so dysfunctional that it had ceased being a blessing to the community and ended up (usually inadvertently) wounding people who came into their midst. Let me be very clear - there were some wonderful people at the church, the system of the place was the culprit. It was a system that many of the people who made it up weren't able to examine critically - and that inability ended up choking the church to death.

Other than being in contact with several friends who remained at the church after I moved, I really didn't say up with the goings on there. I've not blogged on it, but after I saw this newspaper report on the closing of the Church I thought I'd need to make a short comment reflecting on this comment from the article:

We have been, like many churches in the New England area, losing members for one reason or another. People are moving out, they’re changing their perspectives on religion and so forth, but whatever the reason, our membership has been dropping throughout the last several years...

What this quote tells me, even after the church collapsed out from under the remaining members, is that the folks of that church still don't realize how badly their system was screwed up. People are changing their views on religion, that's not in question, but the the congregation did nothing to try and communicate or be in conversation with these new views. Also, the only people who "moved out" were long-term families of that church. The reality is that the population of the town has just about quadrupled over the last 20 years. Again, this church did nothing to reach out to this entire new population that expanded their town. When I lived there, I used to say, "The people who grew up here don't even think these newer families even exist." This quote just confirms that comment for me.

So why bother posting this? Because I want to encourage people to the difficult, but absolutely necessary, work of critical self-reflection. We all need to take the bold step of trying to see the systems we participate in from the perspective of "outsiders." Otherwise, we'll just keep on the path we're on, caught in our various ruts, and when thinks aren't going well we'll just sit back and blame the world, instead of our own interaction with it.

Jesus requires more from us than that.

A Whole New World...

2008-01-11T20:34:00.000-05:00

Well, I haven't posted on it yet, but most folks know that I've started using a Mac as my everyday computer. Now, I tolerated working with Macs back in the days of OS 8 and 9 (and cringed any time I was forced to work with Mac OS 7.x), but I never really was "a mac guy." In fact, it was while I was working in a Mac environment, a public middle school, that I jumped into the world of Linux and never looked back.

Then, much to my delight, Mac decided that they needed a CLI after all (they didn't, actually, but I got one anyway) and put OS X on top of a BSD core. I, however, wasn't in the price-range for a mac at the time and never really got a chance to play around with OS X. Until now, that is.

After watching the Church secretary struggle with using an aging Windows 98 machine that started forgetting which drivers it had installed, I determined that she really needed a Mac mini. There was some resistance to the idea of getting a Mac, but we went forward and the secretary has been doing quite nicely with it. While I was setting it up, I got the bug.

I love Linux, I really do. Without Linux I wouldn't be half the geek I am, and I wouldn't ever have access to the creation tools I've been using for the last several years. Yet, as I used the Mac I realized that all the things I do on Linux could be done easier, and in less time, in the Mac environment. So when I laid out my technology plan for the Church (so we never had a repeat of the a dying Windows 98 machine) I pointed out that what I really needed was a Mac. The Church graciously agreed and now I have a nice MacBook. Guess what? Those time-savings I was expecting to have turned out to be real. This thing is so easy it's nuts.

Linux is still around, it's on my old laptop and it still runs my MythTV box - but for my personal work, it's Mac all the way. Now I just need to get one for my wife...

My Eschatology...quizified

2008-01-10T16:38:00.001-05:00

What's your eschatology?
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Amillenialist

Amillenialism believes that the 1000 year reign is not literal but figurative, and that Christ began to reign at his ascension. People take some prophetic scripture far too literally in your view.

Amillenialist

95%

Moltmannian Eschatology

80%

Preterist

65%

Premillenialist

30%

Postmillenialist

30%

Dispensationalist

20%

Left Behind

15%

Root Beer Snob

2008-01-05T20:41:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been a snob with things like computers, coffee, beer, and cheese for so long that I guess it was only a matter of time until I became a soda snob. It all started around last Christmas when a fellow X. admin shipped me some Coca-Cola made with cane sugar. I couldn't believe the difference in flavor between the corn syrup and cane sugar varieties - it was night and day. It continued this past fall when I went looking for the Root Beer of my youth (Hires) and found that the conglomerate which had purchased Hires decided that they didn't want to market it in the city of it's birth any more. Kinda ticked off, I went in search for some decent Root Beer, because it was a big company which took Hires away from me I decided the the big brands were not going to be part of my search. Instead, I was going to find a local or micro-brew Root Beer that had the flavor that I was searching for. Ironically, my search took me to a big conglomerate supermarket which had the selection of Root Beers I was looking for. Let me run down my discoveries in the order I like them:

Stewart's: I might get kicked out of the region for saying it, but I've got to say that Stewart's is way over-priced for their product. There's nothing great about it other than the bottle, and it uses corn syrup rather than cane sugar. It's also the second most expensive product on this list. I call it "pedestrian."
Hank's Root Beer: If this was made with all natural flavors it might be number two. Hank's is made in Philly, and has a great flavor. It's made with cane sugar and is actually the cheapest product on this list. It's pretty dang good - just wish it was all natural flavors.
Natural Brew: It's got a distinct flavor, and it creates ice crystal really fast in the freezer. It's kinda pricey, but the complex taste and interesting sweetness make it worth a try.
Virgil's Root Beer: This is what root beer should be. It's pricey, over $5 for a four pack (it's a treat, not an every day item) - but ohh how delicious. It's an all natural microbrew, and the only product on this list that doesn't make use of the infamous "caramel coloring" ingredient. This doesn't mean, however, that it's a clear brew. Nope, this root beer has a deep caramel color to go along with it's great taste. They get it by actually caramelizing unrefined cane sugar. It's probably one of the huge reasons Virgil's is so pricey, but as an occasional treat I have to say Virgil's is the best root beer I've ever had.

Those are the four I've been working with so far. Try 'em out and let me know what you think.

Happy New Year

2008-01-03T14:07:00.001-05:00

Well it's January third and I've yet to post my "new year" blog. I don't really have anything huge to say, butI would like to mention some things that made last year remarkable:

Oh the wonderful dates: Both kids are now in school (though kindergarten is only a half-day), and besides having my head spin at all the things the kiddos are learning, it's given my wife and I a built-in date without needing to find child-care. This has been wonderful for us, and when both kids are in school full-time next year it'll just make my weekly day-off even better.
Reading: My daughter loves to read, she's already downing Junie B. books by the handful and is currently accepting my, "If you haven't read the book, you can't see the movie" policy with great enthusiasm. She's got some movies she wants to see in the near future, and the books are already on her "to read" list. New Year's day I woke up and she was reading a book someone from our Church had gotten her, The Secret Garden. Needless to say, I'm pleased.
My son is like me: After my son's first parent-teacher conference I realized that he's more like me than I already realized. How do I know this? Well, when the teacher started talking about how smart he is, but that they have trouble "getting him moving" I started having flashbacks. Apparently, my son likes to look around the room and start imagining stories up for himself. The teacher through he was distracted so they put him in an "office" (basically it forms a cubicle) and before she could get to the "but" I said, "Oh no, that didn't work." The teacher blinked and said, "That's right, how did you know that?" I replied, "Because he found a spot on the office and started thinking up a story for it." The teacher's eyes bugged out of her head as she exclaimed, "That's exactly what he did! He found a hole and was pretending his pencil was a space-ship flying in and out of it!" The apple does not fall far from the tree, after all I have a hard time looking at my toothbrush and not seeing a spaceship (and the sink and tubs are ancient, abandoned, interstellar harbors - imagination is a blessed curse) - the good news is that, even with all his delays getting started, my son still gets his work done with time to spare.
The return of Nintendo: I've never owned any game system other than Nintendo. I played the NES incessantly, and had and SNES for a while as well. I never had time enough to play to justify getting other systems (I even kinda regretted getting a Game Boy Advance), but this year the family took the plunge. First, I got a DS and fell in love. Then my son got one for his birthday and multiplayer came home to our house. Then we got the Pokemon games for the DS, and then my daughter joined the party in the fall. The kids love these things, and I love playing with them. If you read this blog, however, you know that Christmas brought the Wii to our house (I purchased it in August) - and that thing is just plain fun for the whole family. Now we just need some time limit rules, because I've played Twilight Princess more than I care to admit and I'm not even through the first temple yet!
The return of friends: The Q's moved back to the area and that's been quite nice for me (now if my daughter could stop mixing up flirting with "poking boys in the back of the head" it might be nice for the kids too).
Church got really good, and then the panic started: We had an infusion of new blood at Central this year which was really needed. We also got to the point where many folks began to understand how our structure isn't working and needs to be redone. These were good things. I've noticed, however, that many folks are actually intimidated by the newer folks and it left me shaking my head for much of the fall (when all this started surfacing). I finally came to the conclusion that the problem was that these new folks like each other. That's dangerous for a dysfunctional system, which depends on anger and friction to keep the status-quo. So, even though much of the fall was depressing/stressful at Church that epiphany left me thinking that we're still on the right track.
ABCNJ: My friend Frank calls me "Not your typical Baptist" (NYTB) - he's kinda right. I'm not really much of a Baptist as all - I'm more "the pastor of a Baptist church." Even so, my theology of Church requires me to reach out to the body with which we are directly connected, and that's been nothing but a blessing for me. ABCNJ has some wonderful leadership, encourages good theological reflections, and is desperately trying to help churches become living bodies. I'm blessed to be connected with it. I've also been given the privilege of being put on the regional staff dealing with ministry and technology issues. It's been a joy to take up and I'm happy to help Central connect more with it's regional roots (even if I'm not a very good Baptist, or even a Baptist at all).
Mac: I finally took the plunge and pointed out to Central's leadership that having me purchase my own laptop made no sense. After all, it's my primary piece of office equipment! Do we make auto-mechanics purchase their own lifts? The leadership got the idea right away, the Church at large didn't get it as swiftly (someone asked, "Don't you have a computer?") - but in the end the budget passed. Today I'm getting my Macbook. I know that Macworld is just around the corner, but it looks like most of the stuff coming out isn't anything I'm interested in. So....I'm making the switch - now I don't need to even have to wipe windows off of my machine. Yea!!!

There's much more, but that's enough for now. 2007 was remarkable for many reasons - I'm sure 2008 will be equally as interesting.

This just in, I know the Bible...

2007-12-30T20:45:00.000-05:00

My friend Jim posted this quiz on his blog - I thought I'd see how I'd do. Pretty well, actually, though (a) some of the questions were softballs, and (b) there were some questions that were asked kinda poorly.

You know the Bible 100%!

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
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(Secular) Christmas Morning

2007-12-25T23:40:00.000-05:00

Well, today is Christmas Day. It's a good day with family and, after the last few weeks of hectic religious activity now behind me, it was nice to actually relax. In reality, I'd love it if Baptists typically would have a liturgy of communion on Christmas Day - but it's not in-grained into people to do that. So, I threw the liturgy (sans communion which makes no sense, but even I know when it's a good idea not to cause people's heads to explode - I'll do that next year) on Christmas Even and let Christmas Day just be a "secular" Christmas - meaning, other than typical prayers we just enjoyed the American Rituals we call Christmas, but actually aren't.

I'm not sure how I feel about that - but I'm also pretty dang sure I needed a sabbath so I'm not losing any sleep over it either. Oh well, I'm also a liturgically minded pastor called to a Baptist Church where liturgy and frequent Communion is what "Catholics do, " I don't expect to make sense.

Anyway, this year was the year of the video game in our little secular ritual. The wii really is a remarkable console in that so many of the games are just no fun without another person playing along. It's the best feature of the system, and well-done. Once I get a chance to play a bit more, I'll have to do a full review, but I have to say that Super Mario Galaxy just plain rocks, and Star Wars Lego: Complete Saga is insanely fun (couldn't get my son to play with me however, he was too busy enjoying his pokemon figures, and then he spent a couple of hours playing legos - my daughter then build a lego house out of the same set - I love how my kids actually have an imagination). At this point, I've not even Played Twilight Princess yet, it's a bit more "mature" than the other games we got - and with so many people aroun dwho wants to play a single-player game when you can play a multiplayer version of ping-pong?

While the Wii kept us busy, I have to say that best gift given to our family was a calendar created by my mother-in-law. She took a bunch of photos that were appropriate for each month, and mounted them in a calendar with a gift-card in each month for a place our family likes to eat. The thought that went into it had to be nuts, and the time even more so. Sometimes the best gifts are the ones with not much "flash," but a ton of creativity and love.

Anyway, my secular Christmas ritual is over - not that I ever laid it aside, but it's time for me and mines to realign our focus on the awesomeness of the Incarnation - which is what this season celebrates.

So, thanks fore the gifts folks, I hope the bring our family together some more so we can build up the trust to give of ourselves away in Christ.

Merry Christmas.

BTW: I'm not using "secular" in the bogey-man sense, I'm just pointing out that the rituals we do on Christmas morning have no Christian depth to them at

The wii has landed...

2007-12-22T21:45:00.000-05:00

Well, it was purchased back in August and sat in it's box until the week of Thanksgiving when my awesome wife let me take it out and get it set up while I was on vacation. We've been playing around with it here and there when the kids went to bed - but now it's all out in the open.

A man in Central who is getting married next month is part of a local fire department - every year he dresses as Santa and goes around delivering presents to kids - and this year he wanted us to be on the list. We wondered what present we wanted to be opened a bit early and thought, "Why not the wii? It'll save us the trouble of making sure it gets opened first on Christmas morning." So we gave this guy our empty wii box, set up the wii on the TV, and hung out with the TV "closed" this evening - until "Santa" came (neither of my kids "believe" in Santa, my daughter asked me point-blank about the whole Santa thing when she was in kindergarten and my son knows we're the one's who get presents - but it's fun). When the fire truck rolled up - the household went awesomely nuts. Watch the video to see how much.

One a side note, my daughter then made sure we read a book called The Quiltmaker for bedtime - it's abotu giving rather than receiving, and was a great way to say, "Yes, this is fun - but our lives have to be different, we need to bless others." Anyway, enjoy the madness:

How Out of Touch is My National Denomination?

2007-12-20T14:16:00.000-05:00

OK, I really want to be part of the Body of Christ - I really do. It's bad enough that I don't get why Baptists think things like "soul liberty" are good ideas, but when I get an e-mail from the head of our denomination that says the following I just want to bang my head on the desk and weep:

Forget about fancy electronics that only M.I.T. graduates can operate. Don’t worry about batteries failing at crucial moments. Stop lugging book-sized planners.

Instead, carry the pocket-sized, lightweight 2008 American Baptist Churches USA planning calendar. It’s been tailored so that key Christian holidays, U.S. holidays and American Baptist-designated Sundays are listed. All you need to make it work is a pen or pencil.

Look, I understand that ABC-USA has a clergy population that is getting grayer and grayer and so you're trying to market to your base - but as a person who grew up around "fancy electronics" I read that quote above and was actually embarrassed to be associated with these people. I understand the prejudice of youth, but to me anyone who thinks a PDA or smart phone is too complex for anyone but a graduate of MIT shouldn't be allowed to send e-mail to people. Sorry, but that's kinda where I am. Also, what moron doesn't keep their phone charged? Sorry, but - what??

I know it's the geek in me that's so put-off by this - but I gotta tell you that folks who are my age (and younger), who are already tired of people complaining that they can't understand why we use technology so much, are basically told by e-mails like the one I got, "Hey, we're so hopefully out of date that there's no real reason to hang out with us - why not look elsewhere?"

I e-mailed a friend in my region and he summed it up beautifully:

The year is now 1929! We're in the depth of depression following the market crash!

Sigh.

Why, yes, I'll blog about this song..

2007-12-19T09:06:00.000-05:00

OK, this is just dang funny:

ABCNJ Annual Session Baptism Video

2007-12-18T10:05:00.000-05:00

On September 30, 2007 the churches of ABCNJ gathered for their Annual Session in Ocean City, NJ. The conclusion to the event was a procession to the beach, followed by a baptism. Here's the video!

Holiday Concert

2007-12-15T21:02:00.000-05:00

You know, I really don't care that public schools call it "Winter Break" and the December concert a "Holiday Concert." I really don't. In fact I'm rather pleased that my kids have come home from school with a vague awareness of who Antiochus IV is because they've gone over the story of Hanukkah in school (though I kinda choke when I get told that Hanakkah isn't a religious holiday - as it's about the rededication of the Temple). It's important to understand that there are multiple holidays being celebrated at this time of year - even though the focus of our faith is preparing for the celebration of the Incarnation.

The content of the "Holiday Concert," however, left me a bit freaked out. Most of the songs were typical, "Awww aren't they cute" fare. It ranged from the slightly odd (like a hip-hopized version of "Frosty The Snow Man") to the slightly disturbing ("Hey kids, Santa's going to kidnap you and take you to a awesome dance wtith all the Reindeer"). One song, however, actually left me thinking, "This may actually be doing long-term psychological harm to these kids." What's worse is that the parents loved it. What was this offending song? "Shop 'Til You Drop."

If there ever was a hymn to consumerism, this song was it. I sat there, with my jaw dropped, as one first grade class proudly shouted lines like:

"I was born to shop, shop, shop."
"I'll max out all my credit cards."
"Deck that halls with all my money."

And what did the parents do? Did they cringe as their kids boldly declared that their highest calling in life was to consume, consume, consume? Nope - they cheered. I mean, cheered. Their kids were reciting the creed correctly (and with gusto), and it made them cheer. In fact, it was the topic of conversation as we waited for school to be dismissed.

Sigh. The world ends with applause.

Adams vs. Jefferson

2007-12-03T20:33:00.000-05:00

One of the things I like to do when I travel down to Williamsburg on vacation is browse the book store. Given the fact that I (a) love books and (b) adore examining history - going to the book store in the Williamsburg Visitor center is like my version of some sort of mystical ecstasy experienced at the end of a pilgrimage. On a hot summer day, there's nothing better than spending hours surrounded by books all about one of your favorite subjects (especially when you've been told that you can spend money to take some of those books home with you).

On my last day at Williamsburg this past summer I came across the book shown on the left. Adams vs. Jefferson. It was on the clearance table for some paltry sum so I grabbed it - figuring I wouldn't be out anything if the book wasn't that good, that that the topic interested me. I brought it home and there it sat as I read all the other books I had purchased at the Williamsburg book store (oh how I love the book store). I kept putting it off, as I had other reading to do - but when my vacation came up last week I decided to put down my theological reading and dive into Adams vs. Jefferson instead. I just needed a break - and I'm sooooo glad took that breather from theological reading - this is a phenomenal book! Let me sum up some thoughts on Adams vs. Jefferson.

I've always felt weighed down by being forced into a position of prominence (a pastor) that I don't really feel equipped for. What's more - the consistent whispers that I'm somehow power-hungry or autocratic suck the joy out of even the few things I do feel I can actually do in this position that I don't really want to be in (it's a calling). Guess what? I'm not alone! Each of the first three presidents of the USA really hated being the president - the served because they felt compelled to, and didn't really enjoy it at all as their political opponents worked to make life miserable for them. I've always said that treating the Church like a political battleground was a really bad idea - now I have even more reason to say that.
The one person who really coveted in power in the early days of the Federal Republic was narrowly kept out of power (no thanks to George Washington, who never really saw this guy very clearly). Even with what I already knew about him Adams vs. Jefferson made me very glad that the election of 1800 pretty much ended Alexander Hamilton's political career. It would have been ironic if the Federal Republic would have slipped into Empire by the hands of the man who penned it's Constitution.
We are spoiled. We are so used to the idea that power changes hands between various players without bloodshed that we just don't get how insane the very idea is. Back in 1800, with an electoral tie and the thread of secession looming over the infant nation - there wasn't a war. One party left power, and another party came into power, and the electorate (even though the system was set up to keep the electorate away from selecting the president) felt that they were the one's who made a decision. Jefferson posited that the election of 1800 was the fulfillment of the American Revolution (a point which made Adams bristle) - I think he may be correct. It was something that hadn't be done before - and it worked. Amazing.
200 years and politicians are still using the same arguments against their opponents. Folks were telling people to hide their Bibles if Jefferson was elected President!
I find it ironic that the fears of both the original political parties (Federalist and Republican) have come to pass. The Federalist would be appalled that we had become so "democratic" that "what people wanted" would take over the country (as opposed to "what people need"). The Republicans would be appalled that the country was in the grip of powerful (and rich) interests which could ignore the people entirely. So we have a supposedly "open" system where everyone feels like they have a the ability to have a say and get what they want ("If I really wanted to I could get involved any time...") yet is, in reality controlled by corporate interests. How sad. I guess it comes from being spoiled - we stopped being surprised by the fact that we don't implode every time the government changes that we're no longer surprised when it doesn't change.

Anyway, do yourself a treat and read this book - you won't be able to put it down. You can click on the link to Amazon and I'll get a percentage of the funds - but I'm not sure I'll ever see them because how they have the gall to ask me for some seriously sensitive information to prove who I am it beyond me (I am in amazon associates, essentially, for the privilege of displaying cover-images with no hassle).

My Model Adult

2007-11-28T13:45:00.000-05:00

Over the course of the few years I've been a pastor one particularly persistent rumor has constantly dogged me. It's summed up like this, "Pastor Wes doesn't like 'old people.'" Now, in the six years I've been pastoring that's been said to me exactly once (once) - but it flutters on the wind to my ears every so often by voices unknown and I would like to point something out just to cleanse my own soul. My model for adult-hood is, in fact, one of the oldest people I have ever met - my paternal grandfather, affectionately, "Pop Pop."

Pop Pop remains to be the most remarkable person I've ever met. Poor, yet generous. Formerly uneducated, but always learning. A lover of home, but enjoying adventure. Mature, but boisterous. Pop Pop touched so many people with his life that the Church his funeral was held at was standing room only. His children, neighbors of several generations, friends, extended family, neighborhood kids, and grand-children, and even great grand-children all flocked to the Church to grieve his passing. It's simultaneously one of the most wonderful and awful days of my life. Awful because I said good-bye, wonderful because even in death Pop Pop was teaching me how to live. That's what great people do.

Here's some of the things Pop Pop modeled for me, and which I continue to emulate:

A sense of wonder: Even though he wasn't formerly educated, and even though he had come of age during the great depression (an experience which has left many to cave in one themselves) - Pop Pop never lost as sense of awe at what was going on around him. He could fix a car with his hands tied behind his back, go fishing at the drop of a hat, and analyze a baseball game like he was a professional, and beamed with joy at all the cool things he lived to see - the Internet, commercial air travel, space flight, digital cameras, special effects. I remember stopping by once for a visit while he was reading his weekly Time Magazine. He looked up and hooted, "Oh wow, the world is about to change!" He had been reading an article on the soon-to-be-realized potential of cold fusion (oops). He never lost that joy of discovery, or sharing in another's discoveries.
Voracious Reading: When most of my peers got to college, they were swamped by the reading that was suddenly required of them. Not me, and Pop Pop is largely to thank for that. He read novels constantly, sometimes two or three at once. It was a love passed on to my father (and which my mother shared), and when I and my sisters came of age we essentially had our own book-club. By the time I graduated High School I might not have read many of the text-books (who writes those things? I mean, really...) but I'd read Clancy, Stephen King, and other popular authors over and over an over again. The family used to thrill at finding a new author no one had read yet (though I could never get him to read Star Wars novels...oh well). Because of my family's voracious appetite for reading, which started with Pop Pop, college was pretty much a piece of cake. I still have to have two or three books going at the same time - and, like Pop Pop, I hope that remains until the day that I die.
Grew Old with Ghusto: Pop Pop was one of the most mature people I've ever met. It's a distinction he continued to grown into even as an "adult" (my father once pointed out that his family had, growing up tended to ignore problems hoping they'd go away - that wasn't the man I knew later). His children had grown up (and moved around the corner - I grew up with an extended family), he physically had gotten a bit slower, and he eventually lost his wife to Alzheimer's - but he never succumbed to the temptation to say, "I'm old now and all the good stuff is behind me." Pop Pop in his 70's resided his own house. In his 80's went skiing and started competing in the senior olympics. In his 90's he actually hung some cabinets in his kitchen by himself (and got a couple of stitches to prove it). When I was a senior in College he took me out to play tennis, and kicked my butt all over the court. You haven't learned humility until you've been aced by an 89 year old man. I think I won one game in two sets, and I was lucky to have won that! Yet, he wasn't a boyish adventurer, life had left him with wounds and I was privileged to be one of the people trusted with some of his grief. The year my grandmother (Mi Mi) died I was with Pop Pop on New Years, he said to me, "This has been an awful year, between all the things going on in the world and what's been going on with our family - I hope the next year is better." That moment has stuck in my head - he shared his grief, and kept hope. He even began to take pilgrimages to places in his last years so he could say good-bye. Pop Pop knew how to grieve, because he knew that was his way forward.
Love those you touch: Pop Pop was not perfect, there were people he did not like, and never did fully get rid of some old prejudices (which Mi Mi sometimes castigated him for) - but if you came into his presence, hospitality was the rule of the day. The fact that so many came to say good-bye on the day of his funeral was evidence that Pop Pop was not simply a person you said nice things about in a eulogy - he was those things. Growing up, my sisters and I were privileged to have the "coolest grandfather ever" (he had an electric bicycle pump he had put together himself) - and the amount of time we all spend ransacking his house, jumping his fence, and climbing the Red Maple on his front lawn we some of the best memories of an entire generation of kid who grew up in that neighborhood. He was always the adult, but we knew without a doubt that he was for us. It's something I try to model in my own life, but not with as much success.
A love of teaching: Pop Pop was a born teacher. He could explain concepts to me that I only later found out were dead-on correct (he loved physics), and he spent hours teaching me how to pitch on his front lawn (and probably a couple hundred dollars in lost baseballs). The thing was, when Pop Pop taught something - it stuck. I spend hours in his basement, as Pop Pop tinkered away in his workshop on some project for the house. I learned what all the tools did and how to use them (I've never been any good with them, but I know what they're supposed to do). When I asked if we could make an airplane out of the scaps of wood in his basement he not only worked me through it, but also explained how it was that an airplane propeller worked. Pop Pop's ability to teach, and make it so interesting that I bothered persevering with things I didn't readily get, is one of the key reasons I teach today. I grew up with a master.

I could say more, but you get the picture. An "old person" is the best reference I have for being a true adult. He is someone I respect deeply and love dearly. He died six years ago, if I'm correct he'd been 98 right now - and if cancer hadn't taken him when it did he'd probably still be bowling, reading Time Magazine, and reading about the workings of the Internet (he never had a computer, but could explain the Internet, weird). He'd also have 4 or 5 books lined up for reading, take naps in his hammock during the summer, and his bicycle pump would still be open for business for an entire new generation of kids he not only didn't resent - but dearly loved.

It's not old people I have trouble with, it's people of all ages who have decided that they have gone so far and will go no further. I have difficulty with people who have given up on wonder, the joy of discovery, and who have decided that their every desire should be catered to. Bitter people who have traded life for drudgery, and hope for despair. Those are the people I have difficulty with - and they come in all ages and colors and backgrounds.

I'm not taking that route, because it leads to being dead even before we die. No thanks, I'll run with Pop Pop - because I think he understood how to live, and never gave up the hope that he could. Though Pop Pop was no theologian, I think his life was one of a positive prophet - it's too bad that people listen to those prophets even less than the ones who yell and scream a lot, the world would be a better place if we would.

I thank God for Pop Pop, one of the oldest people I've ever met.

Are you kidding me?

2007-11-21T07:53:00.000-05:00

I was reading this article on news.com about how the RIAA and the MPAA are lobbying the entire presidential field to declare that they support those organizations' view on copyright. Here's the quote which led me to this post,

"While national security and health care have dominated this season's campaign dialog, a key issue for the 2008 presidential candidates includes their commitment to recognizing the critical importance of intellectual property rights," wrote MPAA chief Dan Glickman.

Are you kidding me? These two draconian organizations that have demanded DRM to lock down digital downloads and treating the very people who purchase their products as criminals, and who sue pre-pubescent girls into the stone-age is saying their concerns are as important as health care? What moron came up with this campaign?

Here's another quote which leaves me scratching my head,

RIAA chief Mitch Bainwol put it this way: "When Americans vote, they are making decisions about the values important to them. And one of those values must be a commitment to creativity. For some, that commitment will be a function of the economic significance of intellectual property. For others, that commitment will be about the power of the ideas our content spreads throughout the world. But the commitment to intellectual property rights, whatever the motivation, is what we must look for."

Ummm, isn't this from the organization whose member companies are starting to have their artists tell them, "We don't need you anymore?" Anyone else think these folks are desperate. In an age where the Hollywood writers are on strike and no one seems to much care because of all the creative stuff on youtube, the very idea that they'd try to have voters bend over and take it for these dinosaurs is insane. What are they thinking?

An anual event...

2007-11-20T20:45:00.000-05:00

I've already started hearing the (now annual) calls to boycott stores that "dare" to say, "Happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" during the shopping rush which has swallowed Advent whole. In response, I think I'll have to make this an annual post. Folks here it is, once again (rendering errors and all) the longest video I've ever made, "Rediscovering Advent."

Wii, first reactions...

2007-11-19T20:18:00.000-05:00

I will not post on ministry while on vacation, I will not post on ministry while on vacation....

Back in August I finally located a Wii at a local Target and purchased one. I'd been keeping my eyes open since the spring, knowing that there was a shortage of units and that this was going to be our big family present this Christmas, so when I found one I got on the phone with my wife right away.

For the last several months the Wii's been sitting in our basement as my wife and I gradually completed the package of controllers, games, and a charging station. It's not seen the light of day, and that's where it was going to stay until Christmas Eve (we were going to set it up on Christmas Eve and unveil it to the kids Christmas morning). What I have found, however, is that I have a cool wife.

I'm on vacation this week but, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we really don't have the funds to do any "big splash" activities that wouldn't be on the calendar this week anyway. So my wife thought it would be a nice treat for me to unpack the Wii and get it set up. How awesome is that?

So last night I unpacked the tiny system and got it set up and ready to play. My wife and I must have been on the thing for an hour and a half checking out the channels, creating our mii's, and generally playing around. Then we popped in Wii Sports and had a blast. Here's some thoughts:

Whoever thought of bundling Wii Sports with the Wii is an absolute genius.
I'm as frustrated with Wii bowling as I am with real bowling.
Hitting home runs is freaking awesome.
Playing Tennis with someone else will have you laughing so hard your stomach will hurt.
The interface of the system is very well thought out (but the photo's channel is a big oddly designed).
Always use the strap on the wiimote.
My arms hurt!

It's been out for a year, and it's really only now that 3rd-party developers are getting the hang of not using the motion sensing simply as a poorly thought-out gimmick - but man oh man this was a system designed to be played with other people. Tons of fun!

Emotional Status..

2007-11-18T17:44:00.000-05:00

Dejected.
Tired.
Disappointed.
Feelings of inadequacy.
Wondering why on earth God won't let me do something else.

I'm on vacation for a week - couldn't be better timed.

If you're reading this, you must be rather smart...

2007-11-10T20:26:00.000-05:00

I have no idea what this means - but it's dang cool nonetheless.

Cash Advance Loans

Not-Competitive Enough?

2007-11-07T08:11:00.000-05:00

Well, I thought that this blog entry was worth some discussion. The fact that is a blog entry based off an article makes it doubly blog-ish.

Here's the thing, I think asking the question, "Are pastors competitive enough?" Springs from a bad well. Especially given the nature of competition in the corporate workplace where people will strive to protect their little fiefdoms in order to retain the potential for advancement. This type of competition is seen among pastors all over the place, and it's rather sick. We compare worship attendance, budgets, sermon series, what programs we run, and what books we read in order to see where we rate with the pastor down the street, around the corner and in the next down. Pastor gatherings become times to create the pecking-order of dominance of discussion leader, innovative thinker, gentle shepherd, and burn-out struggler. It's sick, but it's hard not to do this. We are, after all, products of our culture - and this culture is designed to foster competition in an effort to bring "progress" (whatever that is). Andy Rowell attempts to redeem the competitive struggle that most pastors find themselves in by saying,

I would encourage pastors to be aware of their competitive bent. If we have a drive to see our congregation "win," that is an appropriate desire. But we should make sure we define what it means to "win" appropriately. We want the church to produce better and more disciples of Christ who live sacrificially. Winning isn’t about the ABC's (Attendance, Buildings and Cash).

I'm not sure, however, that this is enough of a corrective. If the impulse of competition fostered by this culture is a "sick well" (which I believe it is), then we are probably better off dropping the language of "winning" altogether. After all, when we "win" we are celebrating ourselves - I'm not sure this is compatible with the call to be "crucified with Christ."

I'm also not sure about Andy's belief that the corporate world, or people with business saavy, can teach Churches how to make decisions faster. Sure, start ups turn on a dime because they have to do so - but "mature" companies are slow moving and plodding as they look at the bottom line (Microsoft anyone?). Companies like Apple, which re-learned how to make near-instant pivots, are a rare breed. What's more, if we try to take our cue from the business world in helping congregations "wake up," then we're bring that competitive spirit as well - a spirit which says, "If I am going to win, you are going to lose." Haven't we seen enough of that in our churches already? Cripes, this type of competition is so prevalent already that many pastors can't so much as breath about faithfulness, deep-discipleship, or a re-evaluation of the community without having the competitive system move to destroy the threat.

Here's the question I'd like to posit instead, "Are pastors submitted to Christ enough to be a truly prophetic voice in the Church?" See the switch? In the self-promoting world of corporate competition, the idea of submission is anathema - the Church needs to allow that discipline back into the mix!

Interesting Answers

2007-11-06T07:59:00.000-05:00

The other day I asked a question on my Facebook, "Which Christian (or other religious) tradition are you part of?" It was a follow-up question to, "What Church are you a member of?" The answers I got were kind of surprising. In retrospect I guess they shouldn't have been, given the Christian circles I run in, but they were really fascinating.

Notice that the question asks, "What Christian tradition....?" The word was chosen carefully, as the different threads of the Christian Tradition guide our actions, language, and beliefs as we try to live out the Gospel in this world. Out of 16 actual responses (one person hit "submit" twice), 7 people essentially said, "I'm not part of any tradition..." and then had various reasons after that.

What's interesting in just about all those responses is that people read "tradition," and then mentally translated it as "denomination." That is, however, specifically what I didn't ask. "Tradition" is the living-breathing story of the "Great Cloud of Witnesses" as we are guided and led by the Holy Spirit to Incarnate the presence of Christ in this world (actually, that language shows what Tradition I lean towards). A "demonination" is often (not always) nothing more than a self-serving bureaucracy. While the Christian Tradition inevitably is expressed through institutions (and that's not a bad thing) - what alarms me is how Protestant Christians (and if you look at the answers, it's always the Protestants) have equated that the living Christian story (Tradition) with denominations and said, "They don't matter."

In so doing, we unknowingly become part of a tradition known as "independent churches." Without an awareness of the fact that we are part of this particular tradition, we become defenseless against the short-comings of the tradition we are part of. What's worse, we lose the ability to learn from the Christians of the past. Devotional practices, the dogma of the creeds, and their reflections on the nature of the Church all get cut off from us as we drift in ecclesiastical independence - the "great cloud of witnesses" literally evaporates. Oops.

Dogma didn't drop out of the sky. Our worship practices didn't drop out of the sky. Heck, the Bible didn't drop out of the sky. These come to us through the great Tradition and are filtered to us through the smaller threads (the tradition) we are part of and swim in. We need to re-capture that understanding - so that we can re-engage the great cloud of our brothers and sisters who worship with us around the throne of grace. If we have no tradition, then we have no past - and without a past, we have no future.

Designed in Mission Interview - 10/27/07: Part 6

2007-11-04T22:43:00.000-05:00

Here's the sixth, and final, segment of the 10/27/07 Designed in Mission session.

Designed in Mission Interview - 10/27/07: Part 5

2007-11-04T22:40:00.000-05:00

Here's the fifth segment of interview from the October 27th session of Designed in Mission.

Translating "Church Speak"

2007-11-04T18:00:00.000-05:00

For no reason in particular, I was pondering the way people in churches try to avoid actually saying what they are feeling and thinking and decided to come up with a starter reference for some commong "Church Speak" phrases.

"Church Speak" is a particular dialect of Christian-ese, which in itself is a dialect of English. I'm using an East-coast varient of this language - if you are from another region feel free to come up with alternative statements.

"I don't think that honors God."

Translation, "I don't personally like what you're doing but I don't have a good reason for my dislike so I'll invoke the name of God in order to distract you from figuring out I have no actually point to make other than I have a different taste than you."

"I'm just not being fed."

Translation, "There are some issues I'm having with a person or persons at the Church that I'm not comfortable dealing with. As I know that running away from problems is wrong, I need to make my running look like spiritual hunger."

"I just don't feel you're Bible-based enough for me."

Translation, "Your interpretation of the Bible isn't the one I'm used to so I'll claim the high ground to ease my discomfort."

"I just don't feel called to do that."

Translation, "Just leave me be! I'm happy sitting in the pew and being a 'worker bee' when something not too intrusive comes up - but you're stepping over the line!"

"I want to bring up something to pray about, but don't tell anyone I brought it up."

Translation 1, "I've got an issue in my life that I'm kind of embarrassed about because it violates the mask of 'ok-ism' in the Church. I trust you so pray for me."
Translation 2, "Did you hear about so-and-so? I know gossip is wrong so I'll say we're just praying for them."

"We're not following the by-laws"

Translation, "Other than the fact that I can use them to beat you over the head, I don't care about the by-laws either - but I can take the high ground and make you look bad, so I can."

Well, that's my starter-guide. Feel free to add some more or come up with alternative translations!

Designed in Mission Interview - 10/27/07: Part 4

2007-10-31T12:50:00.000-05:00

Part four of the interview segment from Designed in Mission 10/27. I'm still messing with sound issues (our sound system has a nasty hiss), but at least I've figured out how to get it to letterbox!

Designed in Mission Interview - 10/27/07: Part 3

2007-10-31T12:43:00.000-05:00

Here is the third portion of the 10/27 Designed in Mission interview segment. Just to let everyone know, the videos are also being posted on CrossPointings.org, so once they roll off the blog it might be easier to go back there to find them. I've also decided that youtube is easier to work with than google video (though I miss the downloading feature). So, to get all my weird videos you can subscribe to my youtube channel.

An Important Message

2007-10-30T13:40:00.000-05:00

On Sunday things got very quiet for 20 minutes or so. Any parent can tell you that such silence usually means that someone is about to get in a lot trouble. Given that it was Sunday afternoon, and on Sunday afternoons I'm actually quite worthless, I didn't seek out the source of the silence.

Then, all of the sudden I heard, "Boo!" And there was a stormtrooper staring at me! Well, there was only one thing to do, and that was catch a quick video of said strormtrooper uttering the wisdom of the cloned...

Happy candy day!

Bible Study Spoof (Final Cut)

2007-10-29T20:42:00.000-05:00

I changed some of the video levels, added credits, and some excellent music from Michael Tangen. Here's the final cut:

Designed in Mission - Before the interview

2007-10-29T09:11:00.000-05:00

This is an exchange that went on before we began the interview segment on Saturday. Apparently, I suck.

Designed in Mission - One Down

2007-10-28T21:02:00.000-05:00

Well, the first session of Designed in Mission has come and gone and all I have to say is that I'm glad I stuck with it! This first session accomplished exactly what I was hoping for when this idea came to me almost 10 months ago - get some folks together who are involved in Christian ministry that is unlike Central Baptist (and even unlike each other) and let them chat and see what happens.

All I can say is, "If you're in the area (and certainly if you're part of Central Baptist), then you'll miss something good if you don't check it out." I'm actually rather excited.

Most of the videos from the sessions will be posted on CrossPointings.org (under the Designed in Mission menu) - but I wanted to post the first clip I've put on the web here as well. Enjoy!

Bible Study Spoof

2007-10-25T22:40:00.000-05:00

In a couple of weeks I'll be heading to Eastern University to lead a session of the Student Chaplain Class. My topic is "keeping grow groups fresh," so I figured I'd make a video to let people acknowledge the types of small groups we've all been part of one time or another. Enjoy!

By the way, 1993 is the first year I was a student chaplain at Eastern.

Designed in Mission - Kick Off This Saturday

2007-10-22T07:14:00.001-05:00

The first-ever CrossPointings.org "toolbox series" is kicking off this coming Saturday, October 27th. Designed in Mission is an on-going conversation on the relationship between mission and community-structure. One Saturday a month, for the next six months, twelve missional Christian leaders will come to Central Baptist and share with all present how the mission of their communities has lead them to structure their communities. Click on the image to find out more!

Titus Refuses To Come Out Of His Trailer

2007-10-21T13:12:00.000-05:00

I pretty sure that I'd never be able to do this sketch in Church - but ohhhhhh how I want to. The comments pretty much area commentary on how Evangelicals™ (a) can't laugh about their faith and (b) are really good at missing the point.

Thank The Lord For Friends...

2007-10-18T20:19:00.000-05:00

I've got to get my last two sermons from our Decalogue series up on the web. I've got the manuscripts and recordings - I''ve just been working on getting Designed in Mission ready to go so I've not had the time to get them properly uploaded and posted.

Truth be told, I've not been very happy with this series (a point which I've made before). I simply don't like taking broad journeys through Scripture to show how the Decalogue was worked out in the life of God's people in both Testaments. I suppose I could just point out what each of the commandments is and then go off on a rant about how evil our world is compared to the world of the Bible - but I'm just not that sort of preacher (I hope I'm not that sort of Christian). Since I'm preaching the Decalogue, I have a compulsion to point out that folks in the Bible were wrestling with the same garbarge we deal with, screw up the same things we do, and depend on the grace of God every bit as much as we do. That way, I can challenge and point people to the grace of God. It's just that the sermons feel so shallow to me - like 10 weeks of nothing but introductions.

Yet, this is why I'm thankful I've got friends in Christ whom I trust, and whose opinions and counsel I value. Why? Because if I were left on my own I would likely have never done a sermon series on the Decalogue - my ingrained aversion to survey-type sermons would have always stepped in and taken me in another direction. In fact, before the suggestion to preach the Decalogue came this past summer I had never considered preaching the Decalogue. It wasn't even on my radar!

I'm always in need for folks to point out blind-spots like to me. Without their encouragement I'd never grow as a pastor, preacher, and Christian- even if their encouragement leads me to preach a series of sermons that people find informative (and to be honest, I'm getting some great questions from these sermons - particularly from a woman that I wouldn't have expected in a million years to pose them me), but I can't personally stand! I only hope I can constantly return the favor!

What Kind of Reader Are You?

2007-10-16T06:31:00.000-05:00

My friend Jim took a quiz on what type of reader he is - I took it too. Apparently, I like to read...

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm You're probably in the final stages of a Ph.D. or otherwise finding a way to make your living out of reading. You are one of the literati. Other people's grammatical mistakes make you insane.
Dedicated Reader
Book Snob
Literate Good Citizen
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

What Should Clergy Wear?

2007-10-15T08:13:00.000-05:00

There's an interesting discussion happening over on Church Leadership Conversations about "appropriate clergy fashions." It's interesting to me because the point of the conversation seems to make three-points:

We project an image whether we think so or not.
Trying to be "cool" is dumb, as "cool" changes so quickly.
Hiring "fashion consultants" to figure out how to project an appropriate image for a particular group is a waste of resources.

Here's where I am with appropriate dress for anyone coming to Worship:

If people want to wear their "Sunday Best" to worship because they believe that best honors God, I have no problem whatsoever with that . Just as long as their actions the rest of the week continue to reveal a "Sunday Best" lifestyle. If not, then let's not dress it up with "honoring God" language - "Sunday Best" clothing is nothing more than a white-washed tomb.
If people simply want to be slobs in terms of style and hygiene because they don't care about themselves - I do have a problem with that, but it's because those folks need to learn what's good in them as the image of God. It grieves me when seem to hate themselves - and the image it projects is gut-wrenching to me.
If people want to come "casual" to worship, I'm totally fine with that - just as long as they understand the Christian life is anything but casual. A life of discipleship is work, and the process of being more and more and more formed into the holy image of God in the likeness of our Lord Jesus is often painful.

So what's my dress-style? Business casual. It's about as fancy as I can get while still feeling that I'm not a complete fraud. Yet I do value being "presentable" to show that, (a) I do care enough about myself to give a rip what I look like and (b) so I'm not instantly written-off by people as a "kid." Business casual get's me "in the door," but it flexible enough that I can crawl around on the floor if I need to (this is a reality I learned working IT). It's a good thing - and if occasion warrants it I'll dress-up/down to fit the setting or occasion. No worries.

Now, if I were currently in a tradition in which the outfit of the clergy had any liturgical purpose I'd have absolutely no qualms "dressing the part" as that would be an integral part of the communication of worship. That's not where I'm currently sojourning, however, so I'm not going there at the moment.

New Phone

2007-10-05T15:22:00.001-05:00

The battery on my cell phone has been getting worse and worse for the last couple of months. As early as July I was wondering if it would be better to get a new phone (I was eligible for an upgrade) or a new battery. As my battery was still functional (though the time between recharges was getting a bit ridiculous) I kept putting off a decision until either my battery went completely or a good deal on a new phone came up which would cost less. It finally happened.

Last week I ended up upgrading to a Razr V3xx for the price of $0 without any rebates. As this is a 3g phone (should I decide to get a data plan at some point in the future, not likely but you never know) I thought it was worth checking out. Given that my battery life has taken a nose-dive in the past two weeks or so the timing was great. So I popped on line and ordered it. I almost didn't order it because, while the phone didn't cost anything, there was an $18 "upgrade charge" that would go on my bill. Given that I already had a functional phone, I figured I might as well just go out and get a battery - until I found out the price of the battery was around $50! At that rate $18 was a bargain.

So, how do I like my razr? Well, let's review:

I ended up naming my razr Hevel (הבל) because I want to remember that it's all smoke. This makes me happy.
The inside screen is kick-butt. The screen on my old phone was functional, but that's about all I can say for it. The Razr screen is larger, and has a resolution of 320x240 with anti-aliased fonts. I like this. I also love with AT&T did with the menu layout of the Razr. A lot of folks complain about the look of the Razr UI, and I've not been that impressed with the ones I've seen in the past either, but this is clean and clear with a great screen.
The charge port is a ordinary usb port. This makes life soooooo much easier in case I have to charge my phone while I'm out as I only have five or six compatible cables. Another plus is that my wife's headset charges the same way and Motorola says I should have no problems charging with that charger (just that it might take longer). The biggest draw for me and the Razr was always that usb port. I like.
The Razr V3xx has an expandable memory slot for micro-SD (up to 2 gigs) which I can use for a music player if I want (I don't, but ok). However, if I get a card that means I could use my phone as a flash drive (or even just bluetooth files to folks). I like that. The phone also has 56.7 mb of free memory right now, which is a huge increase from my Nokia 6102i. Again, I like.
Voice dialing is significantly different. In my Nokia I had to create "voice tags" for specific numbers in my address book - and I had a limited number of them (10, I believe). The Razr, on the other hand, has several commands that I can use for voice dialing, including name recognition and number dialing. That's a powerful feature as it means that I can dial a number from memory without taking my eyes off the road and that any number in my address book is able to be dialed with nothing other than my voice. The down-side is that it takes another step (or two if you have more than one number for a contact) - but the power of it blows my mind. I do wish there was a voice trainer so the phone would get accustomed to my intonation - I've had some mis-cues.
The sound quality has be suburb so far working with my bluetooth headset (actually, I haven't even used the actual headset to make a call yet) - there is a lot less static with the Razr, which is what I would expect with a newer bluetooth stack running the phone.
I have a 1.3 megapixel camera on my phone now. Not as much as other high-end sets (most have 2.0 megapixel cameras now), but it's a significant increase from my 640x480 vga camera on the Nokia. No flash though, bit of a bummer there.

All in all, I'm happy with this upgrade. Since it cost me less than a battery for a phone which usable and not much else - I'm especially pleased.

The "No Longer Interested Spouse of Christ"

2007-10-04T08:07:00.000-05:00

My friend Ron King gave me the link to this blog entry. I have to say that I'd never considered a disconnected spouse as a metaphor for the malaise of the Church - but it's dead-on. Challenging stuff.

Meeting An Unreach Committee...

2007-10-03T21:06:00.000-05:00

Today I had a lunch with a guy who is a student pastor in a near-by town. He's a nice guy who puts interesting messages in his IM status-line. From his status-line I discovered that he's having a bit of a difficult time with the church's "outreach committee." Let's summarize:

His church has a summer VBS that the entire town attends. There were over 100 kids there this year.
Looking at the registration cards he noticed that 20 of those kids have no "Church home."
He figured that, as these folks have already started a bit of a relationship with the congregation, it woudl be a good thing for outreach committee to call these families and personally invite them to attend worship some Sunday (preferably for a "special" worship like Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve).
When he suggested this to the "outreach committee" one person in-particular grew really flustered and started stammering about it being "the pastor's job."
Sigh.

It's a story a pastor in just about any congregation has faced. People get so ingrained in a system of dependence on "the specialist" making sure that the work of ministry gets done that they resist being empowered to do the work of the Kingdom themselves. It's a system that depends on unaccountability, the cold shoulder, and intimidation to survive - a fact that was reinforced to me when my conversation with my new friend was briefly put on pause.

See, as we chatted a woman came up to our table, stood right next to me, and proceeded to have a conversation with my friend that went something like this,

"Hi, I was waving at you from the door, my husband is ordering for me so I came over to say hi. See you later."

As I had been ignored in this exchange I stuck out my hand and said, "Hi, I'm Wes."
[Looking startled] "Oh, Hi Les."
"Actually, it's Wes."
"Oh Wes, Les, close enough."
"Well, Les worked at WKRP and Wesley founded a religious movement - as I'm a pastor I'll stick with Wes."
[turning away and addressing my friend] "another pastor?" [walks away without looking at me].

I was chuckling to myself when my friend said, "That's the person from the Outreach Committee."

Welcome to the wonderful world of unreach.

For Cryin' Out Loud, Rest!

2007-10-02T08:46:00.000-05:00

Here is the sermon for the fourth word of the Decalogue - it deals with the Sabbath. Frankly, this is a sermon that I'm not quite sure hit what it was aiming for. I got near the mark, but not quite "there." I really just should have sat down and said, "OK, I will now live-out the Sabbath." I didn't, so you get to read my manuscript. Lucky you.

Click here to read along.

If you would like to listen to the audio for the sermon, go ahead and subscribe to the podcast.

Q Did This To Me!

2007-09-30T20:21:00.000-05:00

I used to be a casual gamer. I would get a role-playing or adventure game and spend a few months just playing around with it. It was a fun existence, and it was made more fun when I picked up my DS. Then my good friend Q asked me, "Did you pre-order Pearl or Diamond yet?" That is the day my career as a casual gamer ended. Why? Because on that day I decided to get a pokemon game for my son and his DS. A week after that I got the other game so I could catch pokemon and send them over to his game so we could share the experience. Ever since then my casual gaming DS has basically become a dedicated Pokemon machine.

The compulsion is there, I may not have a catch 'em all, but dang it I want a full pokedex! How strong is this compulsion? Oh let me tell you. Yesterday, on one of the most beautiful days of the year, I ended up working on filling my pokedex. I went to Toys R Us with my son, the infamous Q and his youngest minor prophet to download a pokemon we'd never be able to get anywhere else. There we were - a pastor, a college professor, and two of our kids together to download an imaginary animal.

Thanks Q!

God's Name Isn't a Swear Word

2007-09-25T14:38:00.000-05:00

All right, here's the third sermon in my series "The Decalogue." Here's my disclaimers

It's topical, so so expect detailed exegesis on one particular passage, I can't do that with the Decalogue, the material is too broad and deep.
There's typos, this is a working draft, not a school paper.
Pay attention to anything square brackets, you can see how I visually illustrate the sermon in those brackets.

Click here to read the manuscript, if you are adventurous you can now listen in to my sermons by subscribing to the Central Baptist Podcast here.

Pura Vida

2007-09-21T07:05:00.000-05:00

I think I let it be known on this blog that, currently, my favorite coffee is Trader Joe's Organic, Fair Trade, Sumatra. It's yummy (and they are currently out of it in my area so I'm currently drinking the Organic, Fair Trade, Ethiopian). I really enjoy coffee, and I do go out of my way to make sure that I purchase coffee that I know is providing a living wage for the people who are growing it - that's important to me. It's actually the very least I can do.

If I could easily get Pura Vida Coffee in my area (I hate paying shipping) I'd do that in a heart beat. These folks have the right idea - a for-profit company controlled by a non-profit organization that does ministry in some of the worlds coffee growing regions. You can watch the image below - but they leave out the story that lead to the company's founding, which you can read here (free registration required, sorry). Needless to say, I like these guys.

After you read the story of the company's founding - go ahead and watch the video below that talks about the work they do (sadly, it's leaves out Pura Vida's Christian impulse for the work). I'd love to start serving this coffee at Central.

Topical Storms

2007-09-20T20:17:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm in the midst of a series entitled "The Decalogue," and it's shaping up to be a bit different than I'm used to preaching - it's topical.

Now, I should have realized that this was going to be a topical series when I set it up. After all, the Decalogue isn't exactly what we'd call "detailed." The Decalogue has prohibitions against idolatry and using the Lord's name in vain, bearing false witness and murder, coveting and stealing - but what are these things? How did they play out in the life of God's people in the Tanakh and the New Testament? As a Christian, how did Jesus interact with the covenant expectations laid out in the Decalogue and what does that mean for his disciples? This is what I'm dealing with.

So, to preach a sermon I need to start by interacting with the particular word of the Decalogue the sermon is dealing with. After all, folks nowadays don't understand what an idol is, or why a name was so important in the Ancient Near East, or how to keep a Sabbath rest. Without examining the various ideas that make up the Decalogue then the congregation won't be able to see the Decalogue working out in the story of the Bible or why it's important to their own lives.

Then I need to show how the particular words of the Decalogue work out in the story of the Bible, particularly in the Tanakh. This part is actually fun, and I've had a great time reading this book that deals with the way the story of the "Primary History" of Israel reveals how they broke each of the words of the Decalogue on the way to exile - it's really cool.

Finally I have to go and take a look at how Jesus (and Jesus' earliest disciples) interacted with the words of the Decalogue. Why do I want to do this? Well, largely because that's the thread which directly tracks to the people sitting in the pews (whether they actively know that or not is another question). If the sermons are going call people to be faithful disciples of Jesus (as sermons should) then I need to take folks back into the text along that thread.

After doing all that, I might have something to say. The worst part of this whole process is that I could easily add another twenty minutes to the sermon (at least) by exploring the Church's use (and mis-use) of the Decalogue throughout history - which is almost a necessity because that story is how we got our ideas of what the Decalogue means (apparently it means we set up idols to it in Federal Courthouses). Yet, I've done two sermons in this series so far and I'm already averaging six minutes longer than than my typical sermon. So, unless I have something I really need to throw out for the sermon, I just can't go there and hope to keep people's attention. Bummer.

Anyway, if you're interested in how all this works out click this link to subscribe to the podcast of this series.

Tags: Sermons, Decalogue

1. David Noel Freedman, The Nine Commandments: Uncovering a Hidden Pattern of Crime and Punishment in the Hebrew Bible (New York: Doubleday, 2000).

You Can't Serve Two Masters

2007-09-17T19:04:00.000-05:00

OK, so here's the link to the sermon outline for this week's sermon on the second word of the Decalogue. Here's some interesting tidbits to look for in the outline.

There's typos, it's a working copy and I know what I meant to say. The one's I saw, I fixed, the others - ya gotta deal.
You'll get to see where I click to advance the projection for the sermon. Anything in square-brackets triggers that in the outline. You might find it interesting.
I'm not putting this up because its an awesome sermon, I don't think it is. I thought you all might seeing how I build ideas to shape a sermon. This sermon needs to introduce too many concepts to be a favorite of mine - we just don't have enough of a concept of what a "idol" is or how it functions (which is why we're so prone to accidentally making them, I might add) to get the weight of the second word of the Decalogue (Jewish numbering).

Anyway, hope you find it interesting. Click this link for the outline - comment back here. I'll have the audio up for the first two sermons in the series soon.

What Next?

2007-09-17T18:34:00.001-05:00

Last week I got together for lunch with a mentor of mine. During the conversation we were talking about the Jersey Shore and lamenting over the uncontrolled inflation that the bubble real-estate market has created down there. Avalon in particular, a town we both love, it just off-limits to anyone who isn't insanely wealthy any-more - and the building of various "McMansions" in that town have made the place feel claustrophobic and artificial (Dune Drive isn't what it used to be). As we discussed the rising shore prices my mentor mentioned that he and his wife would love to retire back down at the shore somewhere because that was "home" to them - but right now there was simply no way that they'd be able to afford it. It's a great shame for him, as he's got some great connections down there.

His mentioning of retirement led me to ask, "Well, how many more years do you think you can do what you're doing until you retire?" I won't give the answer - except to say it's neither immediate nor far-off.

Now, my mentor has been blessed in his time of full-time pastoral ministry to serve only two churches and do some fantastic work with them. When he dives in, he dives in for the long-haul and really only feel comfortable contemplating when he feels he can trust the leaders of the church enough for permission to leave (submission, folks, isn't a one-way street). That's not to say he's never been tempted to move on without asking - he actually has a name for the days where he wants to run from pastoral ministry screaming at the top of his lungs, "Target Days." Why that? Because those are the days when he wants to go and work at Target! He's never given in to a "Target Day," and the trust he works so hard to develop does some great things (and his current church was much farther gone than Central was when I got here).

His dedication inspires me, and his humility challenges me - but as I look at how both he (after decades of this ministry) and I (after four years of this ministry) have pastored the same number of Churches I wonder if I've really got what it takes to go and start all over again if/when I finally leave Central. Would I really have the energy, drive, and dedication to do that all over again? I honestly don't know.

Now, for readers who are from Central - please understand, I'm not planning on going anywhere for a while. Heck we're doing some wonderful things right now and you all just helped me map out several years worth of sermon-series that you feel Central needs to hear (and maybe a couple of devotional studies to go with them along the way). If I can finally get some breathing room to write my books I'll be a happy camper indeed!

No, I'm talking five or ten years down the line. My kids will be teen-agers (or about to be), I'll have been here almost (or over) a decade, and by that time we'll have developed some decent roots in the community. It would be hard to leave that and start over - particularly given the way that my previous pastorate began ended, and my current one began (though this one will have a much happier ending, I'm sure). Why would I want to go through that struggle again? And could I, knowing the ugliness kids see congregations inflict on pastors as they try to "whip them into shape?" I honestly don't know.

I look beyond my pastorate here at Central and see.......I have no idea what I see. I guess on one level that's a good thing. After all if I can't see where I'm supposed to be going from here my time's obviously isn't finished here yet (which I am currently happy with, who knows what tomorrow will bring). I've also always said that I won't pursue ministry as a "stepping stone." I'm not a career-minded leech, and the fact that I'm not looking to "move up" in ministry is something I'm glad for. I've seen "career-builder" pastors, they annoy me.

So, what next? I have no idea - maybe I've got too much to do right now that envisioning that is beyond my scope at the moment. For that small mercy, I suppose I'll just have to give thanks. After all, I've got to start ordering the books so I can prepare for all these sermon-series you all told me to preach.

Hmmm....Wisdom

2007-09-12T09:27:00.000-05:00

Last night I caught a History Channel special on how US and Canadian Air-Space was shut down on 9/11. Nothing like it had ever been done before and, frankly, no one was even sure that it was possible. Amazingly, all the planes in the air (which were not already hijacked) at the time of the attacks got down safely. There were some close calls, and some planes were on the verge of getting shot down due to mis-communications, but everyone got down safely.

I'd never caught the end of this special before, so the last several minutes actually surprised me. After 9/11 people decided that they need to have a plan in place in case anything like 9/11 ever called for the shutting down of US Air-Space again. A commission was set up to put together the plan that would guide air-traffic controllers in grounding all the planes in the air which were under their control. If I heard right, over a year was spent researching the idea and formulating the basis of the plan - but in the end the commission declined to put one together. Were they lazy? Were they incompetent? Was the job just too big for them? Nope. As it turned out, the more they studied the issue the more they realized that a written-down plan would only get in the way. Air-traffic controllers have a "hands-on" grasp for the situation in the air under their control, and their training and experience has created instincts in their actions to account for the insane amount of variables they have to deal with in any given day - training and instincts which had already shown were flexible enough to deal with the "nightmare" scenario of grounding every plane in the sky at once. The commission concluded that if the controllers had to consult a book to make all their decisions for them - then things would not have gone as well when the people asked to do the impossible actually pulled it off. In the end, the commission told those who appointed them to actually trust the people who had been trained to do the job - with full confidence that only those people "at the trigger" could make the snap decisions needed to carry out their jobs.

Think about that. These people were commissioned to come up with a plan, and rather than put one together out of fear that they would would be attacked for failing to accomplish their task - the people on that commission had the courage, and humility, to say, "This cannot be done, we will only get in the way. We have to trust the people we put in charge to do what we've called them to do." How often do you see people in a bureaucracy not try to justify their own existence by putting something together?

Churches need more humility, and more courage, of the type that commission showed. Humility to recognize that they'd end up doing more harm than good by presenting the very rules they were told to create, and courage to stand up to potential detractors and abusive critics. We need more people who will submit to the Church in order to develop disciplines, knowledge, and instincts that will be able to shepherd congregations through the various tumults in life - and more people to trust the people whom they called to ministry (Pastors and Lay-leaders alike) to faithfully do what they've been called to do. Yes, we need to make sure people are staying within the clearly-marked boundaries which the Church has laid-down - but the level of mis-trust (not to mention the lack of clear boundaries) that Churches have in their leaders is killing churches - I hope we all learn to develop the same wisdom that the air-traffic commission displayed - 'cause it puts many churches to shame.

Sigh....

2007-09-11T07:59:00.000-05:00

Meetings on Monday night were not fun. I don't know when that last time I came home from meetings absolutely discouraged - but it's not fun. That's not to say that nothing good happened though, so I'll start with that.

Our treasurer said that giving has been down since we sold off our old Office Building. I pretty much expected this - but the drop-off was significant. Basically people think that we have "all this money" now and have lowered their giving thinking we can live off it. That sounds like bad news, right? It's actually not. Like I said, I expected the drop-off in giving and we'll deal with that - but the way that our treasurer responded to this drop-off is wonderful. He gave us his report, said we'd hit a low in giving since he'd started the position and summed it up by saying, "So, what I think we need to do is spend money - we've got it, we've said we had ideas for it, let's let people know that this money isn't there to live off of, it's there to be used." Amen! He didn't want to hoard it for a rainy day, or cut-corners on giving the money designated as mission-giving or on projects we envision doing, he wants to use the money the best ways that we can for the Church. And folks nodded in agreement. That made me happy.

The other good thing was that my computer upgrade plan was accepted without any negative reactions. Folks liked how upgrade costs were staggered over several budget years, and people seemed to think that having me provide my own computer was a pretty silly idea. I hope I can get that macbook soon. We'll know for sure how that goes after the budget meetings.

Now for the stuff that was discouraging - without going into specifics (as I need to personally deal with this). To sum it up, what I thought was five or six "sideline-complainers" is actually four (which is encouraging). The bad news is that they've found another mouth-piece in a leadership position and it's stirring up all the old passive-aggressive 3rd and 4th party complaining because "well, people have a right to be heard." One was at least missionally-driven (even if I think it's conclusion misguided there's room for discussion and movement on the part of the ministry of the Church - that's a good thing), I don't think that missional point was handled well - but people have to be trained in that. At worst the other complaint can be labeled "petty," at best it can be labeled, "subjective what I want-ism." Again, no specifics - but it seems that the old systems are trying to exert control again, and as long as we are allowing people who are standing in the shadows work through a 3rd party we're not going to be free to move forward. I knew this would happen eventually - but I was hoping to get through Designed In Mission (was, "Structure through Mission") before that struggle really started. Oh well, deep breath - and move on.

I think what keeps this congregation tied to this system is the notion that we're somehow a democracy. In a democracy (at least, in theory) everyone's opinion is given equal footing, and a vote is taken to see what the will of the people is. Churches, on the other hand, aren't supposed to give equal weight to every opinion (some, like open hostility to evangelism or not caring if Jesus is fully-human/fully-divine are just wrong for a church to communicate). When congregations take a vote they are not checking to see the "will of the people," they are trying to discern the will of God. It's a huge difference - and one that's not understood.

John 8:12-59 "I Am"

2007-09-09T08:38:00.000-05:00

I think I'm going to try putting some of my sermon manuscripts on-line this fall. I'd just post them to my blog directly, but they'd be insanely long and I don't want to fry anyone's eyes. Instead, I'll be publishing them to Google Docs and putting the link here (and you can all comment if you want).

This is my first sermon in our "Decalogue" series, John 8:12 - 59, dealing with the "first word" (Jewish numbering). Click Here to read it.

Annoying Fund-Raiser Form Letters...

2007-09-07T13:19:00.000-05:00

I just got a letter in the mail from one of our denominations offices that began:

Dear Rev. Wesley Allen

I've got to say, when I get a letter in which the salutation has my title (which I don't use) and both my first and last names in conjunction with "Dear" I'm not struck with a whole lot of confidence. It's obviously a "kitchen sink" approach to a mail merge, which is bad enough, but then they compounded the error of adding an attempt at a personal tug in an obvious mail-merged form letter:

When I heard of [name's] story I thought of your congregation's generosity...

Oh really? You thought of [insert name here]'s congregation? That's astounding. I read that line and wanted to scream. We wonder why folks consider religious folk inauthentic, and why local churches look at denominational structures like they have less of a clue than they do (which is often difficult to do)? It's like we're not used to anyone actually hearing us so we feel free to pile on the exaggerations and out-right lies in an attempt to make people feel as though we, the [insert name here]'s of the world, get remembered.

I know a lot of people will say, "It's just a fund-raising letter, they all say that - it's just what they do." I know I'm supposed to say that. I know I'm supposed to say that it's just the way the "game" is played and swallow the lie without raising an eye-brow. The problem is, I just won't do that. See, if we're "playing the game" of fund-raising, I think there's a huge price to pay - and by the way our national offices are have almost no trust from our local churches I think we're paying it. If you want my money to do your mission, tell me what you do and what you need - don't spoil it with a faux-familiarity that we both know is a load of crap, OK? Please?

Now, Central Baptist does give to this particular offering - and the ministry that the form-letter gets to eventually is one that is close to the heart of both my wife and I - but I'm not going to give directly to the mission described in the letter because, frankly, they keep blowing smoke up my nose and it's getting annoying. Instead we give to the same work, elsewhere. Why? Because the ministries we give to for that work are a heck of a lot more above-board in their dealings with us. I wonder if our denominational offices are going to learn that lesson before they end up closing shop.

Going Back To College

2007-09-04T14:21:00.000-05:00

Good news! I'm heading back to college! Not, sadly, as a student - but (coolness) as a guest-lecturer for the Student Chaplain class. Q is an academic so he gets a job and a cool faculty ID card, I'm a pastor so I guest lecture in practical ministry courses. Not that this isn't a correct delineation, but I'd love an eCard that said, "Faculty." It would be fun.

Anyway, I'll be heading to Eastern on November 5th to do a session with the current crop of student-chaplains (you might have remembered that last year's crop was here for a retreat in January). The topic that Joe has seen fit to give me is, "Keeping 'Grow Groups' Fresh." A "Grow Group" is Eastern's small-group ministry for Students and can be a helpful experience. Try as chaplains might, however, very few groups last into the second semester (I never had one last that long in the three years I was a chaplain). So, this'll be a good topic - of course the irony is that it's a class so it'll at least have a bit of a lecture format - ironic because my first point is probably going to be that if a "Grow Group" is to breathe the one thing it can't afford to be is an "unscheduled class." So, I'll be putting together my materials and sharing them with all 6 of you who read this blog. Suggestions for the presentation would be nice. I'd love to set up a prayer station or two, but I don't think fire is allowed in the lecture hall so candles would be right out.

What ways can this be a communal learning-experience, without me speaking for 50 minutes and saying, "OK, any questions?" I'm actually thinking of starting-out with some contemplative prayer.

OK, Obligatory Snipe

2007-08-31T07:47:00.001-05:00

Daniel Kirk mentioned this in a recent blog entry, and I did feel the need to comment. Let me give you some background before I show you the quote the frustrated Daniel. For years I've been saying that Evangelicalism™ confused the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven with the Republic of the United States of America (I once even heard a seminar advertised on the radio that was going to answer why America didn't appear to be in the book of Revelation). America is the "good guy" that is spreading the light over the world. In some quarters to challenge that assumption means that you are "not-patriotic" which in turns means that you are "not Christian." Christians, after all, should support the US in it's mission. Yet, whenever I bring up the danger of blurring the line between the Kingdom of Heaven and any worldly power I'm told, "Where have you see that? We don't confuse the two." Then I get a statement like this from the President of Westminster Theological Seminary:

"...Later there was another person by the name Amerigo Vespucci. Amerigo Vespucci came along and said this isn’t the Indies. This is a new world. These are unknown continents, and so the credit was given to him and the name has stuck forever. But what I want you to think about is that the name America is a derivative of Amerigo from a French named Emeric, which is a derivative from a German word that is Haimirich.

"Now if any of you have studied German know that Haimirich means "The kingdom of Heaven.” Now think about that for just a moment. Do you realize that America’s name literally means the “Kingdom of Heaven?”...That’s a good description of America isn’t? It’s a place where the Kingdom of God has come and where the corrupting influences of humanity have been powerfully at work."

Oops. Now, I do want to point out that Dr. Peter Lillback did make an effort to nuance his statement to show that there was not an equality between America and the Kingdom of Heaven - he points out that "the corrupting influences of humanity have been powerfully at work." Yet, his nuance isn't enough. Evangelicalism™ doesn't do "nuance," it does black and white and that's it. So, if the Kingdom of Heaven came to America, then the corrupting influences of humanity need to be attacked and destroyed so the Kingdom of Heaven can really thrive - it's in our name after-all.

Sigh, this just makes my trepidation of preaching the "Song of the Sea" even greater - this type of triumphalism makes me wonder what ever happened to the Cross.

Tags: Evangelicalism™, America

Sermon Struggles

2007-08-30T12:50:00.000-05:00

This week I preaching on Exodus 15: 1 - 21, it's the song sung after the Lord delivered Israel through the Yom Suph (Sea of Reeds, traditionally, the Red Sea but who knows). It's a great passage, and one of the most important moments in the story of Israel's experience of the Lord's presence - and yet I find myself strangely dreading preaching on it this Sunday.

Why is that? Largely it's because as a group of Middle-Class Americans Central Baptist (myself at the top of the list) doesn't really approach the song in the way that it was meant to be approached. The Israelites in the narrative were a group of slaves who had just narrowly been delivered from the super-power of the day (Egypt) by the Lord's hand. Their celebration of the Lord's great strength wasn't so much a warning to the rest of the region that Israel was going to kick all their butts - but was more a celebration of the strength of the Lord to save. It was a cause for hope, that God was going to fulfill the promises God had made - and a proclamation that the relationship between Israel and the Lord was one worth celebrating.

When people who currently have power sing songs like this, however, the meaning becomes transmogrified. Instead of being a celebration that we are privileged to be under the Lord's wondrous protection it shifts to the dangerous assumption that "God is on our side." Terrible things happen when people begin to sing about the power of the Lord with the unspoken belief that God will be there to smite out enemies "on demand." Such is the source of religious wars, and political campaigns (both in the secular political sphere and in churches) in which the humanity of the other side is ignored because "God is with us." As I'm preaching to a group of people who have a measure power (economic if not political), I'm going to be hard-pressed to keep the focus on hope rather than arrogant triumphalism.

In my musings on this passage, I started to wonder if perhaps this is why Evangelicalism™ is so adamant that they are an oppressed minority. Perhaps there's still a seed in the back of Evangelicalism™ that remembers that God is not on "our side" and can't be manipulated by the power-play politics we try to appease God with. If Evangelicals™ are oppressed, after all, then we can't be held responsible for what happens to our enemies - God' sweeping his arm over them not us (no matter what it might look like, what with all the weapon sales, lobbying efforts, and propaganda campaigns). A thought, and a passage that gives me great hope, and scares the daylights out of me. Ought to be a fun sermon I guess.

Couple of Updates

2007-08-28T21:03:00.000-05:00

I've not been blogging much this past week (the whole family was sick, not a lot of time) - so I want to share a couple of updates on what's going on.

First, the continuing saga of our new office computer (we got a mac mini, if you didn't know) continues to amaze me. Along with the switch we not only got a reliable computer that flies through it's tasks, we also made the switch from an ancient version of Word Perfect to NeoOffice (OpenOffice.org aquafied) - this means that our Church office is now using ODF, this makes me very happy. When you combine this with the ability of OS X to make a pdf out of just about anything, we're not going to be having any incompatibility issues with files we have to share with others. This makes me happy. I've also set up Adium on the office computer and me as the only contact for the secretary. As my office is now on a different floor from the office, this makes passing messages a lot easier (not to mention transparent when I'm working at home or at Panera). It's already been very helpful.

I continue to play with the mini myself - and I've discovered the wonders of Keynote. While I love ODF, the feature-set of keynote is the most awesome piece of presentation-technology I've ever seen. If I get a Mac (and I'm fully intending to do so), I'm switching to keynote. Why? Well, here's some features I'll use every week:

Drop Shadows - Shadows let me layer elements in a presentation, right now I use the GIMP to make drop-shadows, and then save images as transparent png's. It's a time-consuming process - not anymore.
Auto-transparency - I like to cut out some backgrounds to focus images - it's fun to do, but time-consuming. The auto-transparency feature of Keynote will likely come in handy.
Export to a Movie - I've always wanted to be able to export a timed presentation to a video so I could share it with others. Now I can. Oh, and you can also record your narration while the presentation plays. Sweet.

Also, I had a meeting with with Jay Delp today to talk about his impending consult here at Central (regarding a new presentation system here) as well as getting his input on some of the ways I use the screen for liturgy and preaching (I'm pondering books). Jay's one of the most sought-out people to set up A/V for big events in the Country, and has been doing some writing on A/V in worship so I value his thoughts. What I got from my time with Jay is two-fold:

First, he's an incredibly gracious guy with a kick-butt living room (it's his studio, geek-envy). I'm glad I got to talk with him just because he's an interesting person who's doing some nice stuff.
Second, he was very encouraging with some of the things we're doing here at Central - and confirmed that a lot of what we're doing is fairly unique to the way that screens are typically used in worship. This makes me happy - guess I'll try to get some articles written to see what people think.

Anyway, now I need to start working full-bore on my 10 commandments series, I translated both versions of the commandments today, and tomorrow I'll make a hand-out so folks can keep up with where we are in the order (I'm following the traditional Jewish numbering). I also need to start ordering books to start my research on next fall's series on the political implications of Jesus' message - suggestions?

"Radio Orthdoxy"

2007-08-26T08:28:00.000-05:00

I've found three or four interesting posts recently that have made me want to try out tracking back to other blogs. This Post on "Out of Ur" is an wonderful example of who is really in charge of Evangelical™ Churches - it ain't the pastor/elders/deacons or whatever - it's the folks on the air-waves. I've had conversations like this numerous times - it's aggravating to say the least. Thankfully, I haven't had one in a while though.

Another Encouraging Thought

2007-08-19T21:42:00.000-05:00

Four years ago my role here was to, basically, hear people's complaints and make the complainers, "happy." Obviously, this was not the most healthy of environments to walk into - nor was it the most satisfying of ministry locations. It was, however, the culture of the Church - and the first thing I realized when I got to Central was that the culture had to change. The prospect of this was both intimidating and exciting. Growing up I'd always shied away from things that were too challenging, but as I moved through LMH and then Eastern I began to love being challenged by projects, classes, and personal study. Seminary left me starving in that area (which is one of the reasons I picked up Linux), and my first two years as a pastor made me fear that I was going to be nothing more than a religious manager. The prospect didn't make me very happy, and when I found that Central needed something other than a religious manager I was very excited. Yet, I have to confess I was also scared out of my mind because I was in completely uncharted waters wondering how the heck one managed to shift a culture that almost dared people to try and change it (and had a left a trail of folks who had tried in it's wake). I ended up taking some short trips down bad roads and some long trips up the wrong mountains my first couple of years here - but I kept trying to see just what direction we needed to steer towards to find the path where Christ wanted us. Frankly, I needed a lot of friends on the way to keep me even on the ship.

In those days, as the clearinghouse for congregational problems, stuff would be dropped on my lap that I really shouldn't have needed to deal with - but, as it involved the Church (and the people in the Church) it was somehow always my problem. When I suggested to people that they talk to folks over thing that needed to be done/weren't getting done/should be prevented from every happening folks would shrug and say, "Well, O don't want to offend anyone, I mean it's not really a big deal, but I thought you might like to know so you can do something about it. After all, you're the pastor."

Lately, however, that's not what's been happening. People are feeling freer to deal with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, talk about ministry decisions (and even, gasp, disagree with them without blowing up), and generally feel free to pursue ministry here without having to use me as a clearinghouse. The results are a congregation that's growing in health, is learning how to trust each other, and will actually confront problems. Needless to say, I'm a lot happier - I pray we keep developing this type of trust, good things will come of it.