2 Ages Verging

2010-06-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

2ages.tumblr.com

There is Work

2010-05-30T20:45:00.001-07:00

You can't write a script for God. He is not a stock character that helps to move along the plot.

When death made a move into our lives, God did not do the expected. He did not sit me down and put his hand on my shoulders like Rembrandt's Prodigal Son painting. There was no promise of better things to come. The kind, grandfatherly God did not make an appearance. God was there, for sure, but not the God I liked to invent.

In Luke's gospel Jesus tells a man to forget about burying his father. There was work to do and grief is not a vocation. The Kingdom has come and someone needs to proclaim it. Jesus didn't sit that man down and feed him with cliches, "Everything will be OK." Things are not OK. Things are messed up. Jesus did not say, "oh, your father died, good things are due to happen now." All he said is there's work.

Today, following some difficult months, there is work. There is God's Kingdom to proclaim, neighbors to be loved, and an ever-present God to be praised.

Mixed Signals

2010-01-18T17:07:00.000-08:00

Meghan is my Chinese Atheist student. This weekend she caused a stir on the campus of our school. On Friday, I gave her Bible class a take-home essay exam that asked students to explore the relationship of the Sermon on the Mount to Jesus' identity and mission. This was difficult, and it was especially difficult for a student who has no experience reading the Bible. I knew she would struggle, but I hoped she would produce something original.

On Saturday my wife noticed two of our staff members were on Facebook requesting prayer for Meghan. It seems that Meghan was becoming a "seeker," because she was asking questions about Jesus, God, and the Sermon on the Mount. The staff members witnessed to her and attempted to talk to her about the Gospel. They were authentic, and they care about her salvation. I appreciate their sincerity, but when I heard this, I knew what was happening.

Meghan was asking for homework help.

Today, I got to school and asked her about it; she confessed that she stressed about this assignment all weekend. Meghan also told me she asked for help from other teachers. Sure enough, when I read her essay, it was full of things that I have never said, and that she has never read in the Bible; it was witnessing material. I informed her of how her other teachers interpreted her questions, not academically but spiritually.

"I don't want God, I want an A," is how she responded.

Christians must realize that people we think are "almost Christians," might be in a different realm altogether. Be friends with people first, and find out what they are really asking. Find out what their life is about, and then proceed to the big questions. Meghan has no interest in becoming a Christian, because she sees no problem with her life.

Let's find out what people are truly asking instead of what we wish they were asking.

And I and Silence

2010-01-12T15:33:00.000-08:00

Over the last year I was preaching approximately twice a month. This was at our school's chapel, and high school students were my intended audience. The messages had to be short, between twenty and thirty minutes, and the audience had little tolerance for unfocused, under delivered material. The audience is the roughest kind for any public speaker; it was a captive audience. At times I could see that some students were engaged with my words, and other times they were dozing. If I was lucky, and doing my best as a speaker, then perhaps one or two kids would remember a joke or anecdote from the introduction.

There were times when I loved preaching and times when I hated it. Nevertheless, last week I sent a note to the chapel director for this semester to tell him I quit.

I hated the way preaching shaped my identity. It's impossible to know if it shaped my identity among students and colleagues, but it shaped how I felt about myself. When a person stands behind a pulpit to proclaim a religious message, I believe he is accepting an identity. His identity becomes a religious voice.

I don't want to be a religious voice; I don't want to be any kind of voice. In a world where there are voices everywhere, most of which are more powerful, well-spoken, and persuasive than mine, there seems to be no need for another voice. To be a religious voice is to enter into a cacophony, which requires confidence. I have little confidence in most anything. There is no strong voice coming from me.

One cold day, my sophomore year at college, I went with my friend Aidan to go "witnessing" in the Southeastern Ohio community where he had become the freshly installed pastor of a small church. This was actually a trailer park within the community, and it was culturally Appalachian. It would be a stretch to say that I actually was "witnessing," because an introvert like me is not about to go talk to strangers, especially Appalachian strangers.

What I remember most about that trailer park was the mud. As typical in late winter Ohio, the ground warms just enough to make a mess out of everything. We walked through the mud, and jumped over puddles, going from trailer to trailer, inviting residents to participate in a "Spiritual Survey." The Spiritual Survey was just the hook to get people to talk so you could pray the sinner's prayer with them at then end or your presentation, and then invite them to church. I could criticize it all day, but we went door to door out of concern for the gospel, and Aidan went because he cared about his ministry.

Most people were courteous and sympathetic to what we doing. Some allowed us to pray with them, and even one teenager prayed the sinner's prayer. Yet the man whom I remember is the one who opened the door and said, "Listen guys, it's cold, give it a rest."

Just more voices in a world of noise.

I believe in silence. If there is anyway to send a message in a world of noise, religious voices nonetheless, it must be through silence. There are silent ways to communicate Christ's Kingdom, and that is where I want to bring a message. In what way can I show a student that I love them, and that God loves them, without adding to the clatter? How can I present them with a Christianity that is quietly dignified, yet powerful to change lives?

So I quit preaching to learn to be silent. For an introvert like myself it might not be hard, but then again, it might. Emily Dickinson wrote, "and I and Silence...." I want to learn how to minister with Silence. My hope is that my students will hear my Silence, and be open to hear the Word.

Epiphany: Freshly Encountering Jesus

2010-01-08T17:57:00.000-08:00

This week began our second semester at school, and due to circumstances, I am now teaching two sections of Bible. I've been working so hard to make myself an ESL/ English teacher even though my background is Bible and Theology, so teaching this class for me is a little like a kid in Toys 'R Us. There are many things to teach, and many things I want the students to know. I must restrain myself so I don't lecture for sixty minutes everyday.

Since this is also the start of the second semester, I need to get the students into the New Testament and into Jesus, so I have been teaching a little background history. This is going well for most of the students. Although they are not Bible scholars they do have a basic knowledge of Abraham, Moses and David, which is necessary to appreciate Jesus. The problem is there is one student who has no basic knowledge.

Meghan (not her real name) came to our school just this week. She is Chinese. She speaks English well. Meghan is out-going and inquisitive, the student every teacher wants, really. Nevertheless, she has never seen a Bible before, and knows nothing about Christians and Christianity except they exist in parts of the world far from her home. I spent the first day of class going over some Bible history, which was basically my "Old Testament in 10 Minutes" speech. Of course, she was confused. When the class and I were discussing Abraham she asked, "so...is this Abraham a god or a person? Is he still alive?"

In our church rhythm and time this is the "season" of Epiphany. It is the time when we find out who Jesus is. During this time, I will read and reread the Gospel stories I have heard since I could comprehend anything. However, Meghan will find out who Jesus is for the first time in her life. I have a feeling that Jesus is going to make this Epiphany a special one. I know Meghan will get to see Jesus for the first time, and in some ways, I believe I will see Him for the first time too. This should be our hope for every Epiphany season, that Jesus would freshly reveal himself to us in a way that reminds of us we have only begun to learn of his greatness.

World Communion Sunday- A Thought

2009-10-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

The first Sunday of October is labeled by some churches (mostly PCUSA and UMC) as World Communion Sunday. I don't know what that really means or what anyone is supposed to do on that day. The whole Pentecost Season should be a "world communion" season, however, some churches don't want to commune with other Christians. That is a rant for another place.

The PCUSA churches apparently use the day to take a Peacemaking Offering whereby 1/4 of the offering is used specifically for some local Peacemaking Ministries or giving the money as response to HIV/AIDS pandemic. This seems like a good start, but I wonder why churches don't make "peacemaking" part of their reason for being. Can't this idea fundamentally change what it means to say we are "Christian."

It's en vogue these days to say things like, "Well, Christianity is not all about heaven and some out of body spirituality." This is true. And if we believed it we would be investing everthing we had into peacemaking initiatives, because there is no greater way to incarnate spiritual reconciliation than to practice peace making.

I have argued before that the Eucharist forces us to consider dying for Christ,but it also forces us to consider living for peace. When we receive Christ's body and blood we're hearing, "Here, God is at peace with you even though you generally suck at life." That tells us then that part of what it means to be God's people is to be at peace with others who suck at life.

The ministry where I serve was founded on the premise of peacemaking. The idea was that if you can bring together children who are raised to hate each other to receive an education and grow together, and pray together, then they will stop hating each other. Sounds good to me.

Yet, will the church ever listen to what God says at the Eucharist and practice peace?

The Good, the Bad, and the Inglorious

2009-08-23T06:15:00.000-07:00

My wife and I saw Tarantino's new Inglorious Basterds on Friday. This is a film I have been anticipating for about three years ever since I saw the first news story about its possible production (of course the rumors then had Adam Sandler in the film, which would have been something). You can find a lot of reviews about the movie online, so I'm not writing a review just some post-theatre thoughts, which may not all fit coherently together.

The Good

There were some beautiful shots in the movie. Shots that reminded the viewer of why Tarantino is a top-notch talent as a director. The movie was also very suspenseful at points, and the viewer never lost interest, even through lots of subtitles.

The acting was terrific. Brad Pitt was over the top and enjoyable. Christoph Waltz had a performance of a lifetime. The casting was great, and their presence on screen was organic. Very nice.

Tarantino set the film up nicely to be a critical reaction to the way Americans view: war, war films, Abu Ghraib, and justice issues. The director wants us to cheer for the group of American soldiers (the Inglorious Basterds)while they scalp and beat to death with baseball bats fully surrendered German prisoners of war. It all makes the thinking viewer wonder if American atrocity is so much more tolerable than Nazi atrocity? If so, why?

The Bad

The film concludes with no solution to its problem. Does Tarantino want us to leave the theatre thinking war crimes (like those committed by the Basterds) are appropriate if the enemy is bad enough? He never imagines an alternative. All the characters are driven by violence, revenge, and selfishness. No person in the movie does anything virtuous, which might precisely be his point: in war there is no virtue. However, we can all imagine characters that wrestle with forgiveness and hope in a war situation. In that sense, at least a movie like Sergeant York attempts to wrestle with a solution, even if ultimately it is wrong.

The Inglorious

Genocide is not a setting for a film that can't propose something. At least a movie like The Reader asserts the merit of literacy. If Tarantino is going to create an alternative history like he does in this movie, then he needs to think through the problems. Is there a God in Tarantino's universe, or morality, or are Holocaust survivors supposed to be comforted that everyone is equally as evil? I cannot imagine that Tarantino would make this film set in Rwanda, so why is it appropriate for him to use the Holocaust? This film was larger than he anticipated, and in my opinion, he dropped the ball on offering anything substantial apart from a beautifully shot movie.

(Unproven) Assertions About Education

2009-08-17T18:29:00.000-07:00

1. The goal of any class is reading.

In fact, let me say that classes and teachers are greatly overrated. The retention of any subject matter taught in class is minimal. A student's curiosity is far more valuable when combined with an interest in reading about something.

2. Reading "trash" literature is a good thing.

Some English teachers will easily dismiss a lot of targeted pop-fiction as crappy literature. It probably is. However, young students who read things like the Sweet Valley High are more likely to read better things later. These students will also have better grammar and composition abilities. A student who eats up pop-fiction, and even manga/graphic, type literature is learning more than most students ever will in an English class.

3. Narrow reading is the best.

I define "narrow" reading as reading practices, that more or less, stick to a particular topic. For example, in high school I read everything I could find/ afford on Christian apologetics. I read Ravi Zacharias, William Lane Craig, Norm Geisler, etc. I did not hate reading the novels my English class was reading, but it was not my raison d'etre. I had motivation to read, which exposed me to a lot of vocabulary and a lot of abstract, higher thinking. That foundation in reading apologetics lead me eventually to read much more interesting things.

4. Textbooks are unnecessary.

In a world where libraries and the internet are great resources, textbooks are a 19th century idea. Sure, they make things convenient, but are they the best arrangement to educate students? A syllabus designed to give students time to explore literature of her own interests, mixed with some insight from classics is a better way.

Also, there are serious questions to be rasied about the politics of textbooks, and how content is chosen for those books. Should we blindly follow what a business has decided to include in order to please large state curriculum directors?

5. Grammar-focused syllabuses will fail.

I do not believe teaching grammar improves student output. I believe teaching grammar is an exercise in langugae appreciation. Don't get me wrong, language appreciation is an important thing, and I believe grammar must be reviewed. Yet, grammar teaching is not the best way to teach good writing. Good writing comes from a flood of reading, and a touch of organization. Read more (interesting things), teach basic writing strategies, and students will write more.

wait, what?

2009-08-14T19:23:00.000-07:00

I'm working up a grammar rant for the near future, and I ran across that Inhabitatio Dei has one of those Hauerwas apocryphal stories:

So this one time, Stanley Hauerwas was at Harvard to deliver a lecture and, being there early and still need to do some preparations, set out to find the library. Not finding it he stopped a student and proceeded to ask him, “Excuse me, where’s the library at?”

The student, looking incredulously at him responded, “Sir, at Harvard we don’t end our sentences with a preposition.”

Stanley paused for a moment and then rephrased his question in a more grammatically appropriate manner: “Where’s the library at, asshole?”

Tensions of Place

2009-08-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

I was reading through Bruce Kaye's article, "Church of the In-Between God" in the most recent Journal of Anglican Studies, because I have been interested in the apparent Christian tension between "place" and "mobility." That is to say, there is a tension between establishing yourself in a place, and the Christian ideal, which says we are "citizens of another Kingdom." How does place fit into the context of knowing Jesus called his disciples to leave their place in order to preach the Gospel?

Having a sense of place is important for many acts of Christian service. One will struggle to be hospitable if they themselves are a stranger to a place. Hospitality presupposes that a person is settled in, and established enough to welcome others. If we are constantly moving, it is difficult to be hospitable. Also, forming communion and relationship is dependent upon staying in a place for a while. In the context of preaching and teaching, these things become much more relevant and powerful for those who listen if the preacher or teacher is familiar with the listener's place.

And though place is a vital factor for establishing ministry, God does not always seem impressed with place. Abraham was called from his place. Jesus was always walking, and moving. The Gospel writers would have us believe he only stopped moving to pray and eat. Paul is always moving.

It would almost seem that being too firmly in place is a recipe for idolatry. One can make his land, family business, race, country, etc., into something more than it really is. The question is if geographic immobility leads to a depreciation for what God did at Pentecost, and Jesus' concern for the "ends of the earth?"

How do Christians find a balance in that tension in their lives?

Death: Why Evangelicals are Missing the Sacraments

2009-08-08T19:26:00.000-07:00

Michael Spencer wrote a thought-provoking piece on the things that Evangelicals make sacraments besides the sacraments. Growing up in an Evangelical church, we "had communion" twice a year: Good Friday and the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Also, I had to request to be baptized, because for my church "getting saved," was the key, not baptism. That is not an atypical story for anyone growing up in that kind of church.

A lot has been said and written about why Evangelicals just "don't get it," when it comes to the sacraments. These reasons usually point to the Evangelical gnostic tendencies or the fear of Roman Catholicism, which are both valid critiques of what is going on. You can check out Michael Horton's books for a very good exposition of what is going on there.

Yet, I have had a suspicion that there is a slightly different psychology of the thinking going on in modern Evangelical churches about the sacraments. I think that American Evangelicals haven't embraced a sacramental theology, because they haven't accepted mortality. Evangelicals have dealt thoroughly with what it means to be "Pro-Life," but have they consciously dealt with death? I believe that they have just accepted the current Western position on death, which is to invest as much money as possible in postponing it as long as possible. The modern attitude is to choose avoidance rather than acceptance. For example, ask most moderns if they would rather have a quick, unexpected death or a more drawn out death, and they will almost all choose the former. Just ask an Evangelical, "What do you expect to happen when you die?" or "What does it mean to die with dignity?" Evangelical churches largely do not have a coherent narrative or a language for facing death.

The uncertainty about death can be explained away in several ways. One could point to the fact that Evangelicals rose to power at the same time as modern medicine. It is much easier to avoid death around us than it would have been 300 years ago. Also, there is no liturgy/ritual Evangelicals share concerning death. Orthodox, Catholics, Anglicans all have liturgies and language that demonstrate the continuing fact that we all die. What words do Evangelicals have to offer about death? Finally, Evangelicals don't embrace the martyr narratives like the older traditions do. The narratives about the early Christian martyrs give us an insight into what it means to die with hope and faith in Jesus.

There is a lot of confusion, and perhaps denial and anxiety, about death for the typical Evangelical. This attitude about death takes much of the power of the sacraments away, because the sacraments force us to face death. The story in baptism and the Eucharistic meal is that we all will die, but Jesus has given us the hope of the Resurrection. Yet, if we first refuse to understand our own deaths, then we miss the good news of the sacraments. It's much easier to just "get saved" and then I don't have to think about death any longer, because it is basically all taken care of. However, if we are to grasp the power of the gospel story, then we must somehow grasp that death is part of our own story.

For the early Church, participating in the Eucharist was also a call to (literally) die with Christ. The Eucharist was explaining the reality that to be a Christian is to expect to die for Christ. One can find this attitude all over early Christian literature. A very memorable narrative of this sort can be found in the Martyrdom of Polycarp, where Polycarp is put into the executioner's fire, and his burning skin was like "bread that is baked," an allusion to the Eucharist.

Have Evangelicals accepted death, and the call to die for Christ? I think that they have yet to work such a theology out, and in not doing so, they have missed the power of the Eucharist.

Reflections on Hiroshima Day

2009-08-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

Sixty-four years ago today America destroyed a city, and thousands of civilians, with a new weapon. Some have called this "Hiroshima Day" to mark it as an occasion to think, not just of the war victims then, but of peace in general. It is also a time to dialogue on the merit of any nation possessing nuclear weapons. Yet, for me it is a time to reflect upon the magnitude of what Jesus calls us to do.

I have a poster on my classroom wall with that oft-quoted Thomas a Kempis line, "All men desire peace, but all do not care for the things which belong unto true peace." In less than two weeks I will have classes full of kids from Japan, Korea, China, Ethiopia; places not unaccustomed to what it means to be called to war. They will probably pay little attention to that poster, however it serves as a call to me to remember what it means to be a Christian.

Jesus is very clear that to be a Christian is to be one who is given the peace of God, and therefore, works to make peace. We make peace through hospitality, prayer and sacrifice (which includes forgiveness) especially with those "not like us." We don't kill those with whom we are hospitable, or with those whom we pray. Instead, we kill those who we view as "strange," and "dangerous." If you are flying across the country and see a young Muslim man board the plane before you, does that thought ever cross your mind?

At Babel, our pride made us enemies with one another, but at Pentecost, God has given us His Spirit to bring us together in love and charity. To be a Christian, means to accept that Pentecostal mission to embrace those who are different in order to be united as children of God. Our identity and vocation should be tangled with the idea that peace is possible, because the Holy Spirit makes it possible. He empowers us to be humble, and to accept one another as Christ.

How is it possible that I will soon become a teacher and a friend to a student who's grandparents were at war with my grandparents? Or that Koreans will become friends with Japanese? It is possible because God has given us his peace. Even what we will blow up, with nuclear weapons, God can and will put back together.

The PC(USA) has a peacemaking initiative with resources.
The Quaker's Colonel also has interesting things to say on war and peace.

Language Teaching and Christian Preaching, Once More

2009-08-04T22:00:00.000-07:00

Classes will start once again at my school in just a couple of weeks, and I have spent the last couple of days evaluating myself and thinking through what I can do better. Last year, of course, I had a very small idea of what my role as a language teacher would entail, and this year I have a slightly better grasp. The one thing I am trying to beat into my head is that I must go slower.

As a language teacher it is important to remember that the key word is "SLOW!" Students are adjusting to a new language and environment, and they generally understand far less than you think they do. Therefore, you must go really slow, even to the point that it is laughable to you. Language acquisition does not happen overnight or over a nine week quarter, but it happens all year. Your syntax and diction must be simple, and your rate of speech must be "SLOW!"

Now I am trying to connect this to the assertion that the Christian preacher's job is to assist in a sort of language acquisition. How slow should preachers go? Generally, a congregation probably comprehends far less of your sermon's big idea than you think they do, or else they grasped a completely different idea from it. It is important for preachers to be a theologian for the people. Preachers must:
- Use simple syntax.
-Explain your ideas, even if you think your thesis is quite simple to begin with.
-Don't assume your congregation is starting at the same level of language as you, because they probably are not.
-Introduce language (i.e. vocabulary) in a scaffolding manner. Explain nuanced and deep theological words very carefully.

I'm sure there are a thousand more things that could go into this list, but the key is to remember that once your audience comprehends a sermon, they will acquire the idea and the vocabulary.

Home again

2009-08-04T07:18:00.000-07:00

We got back from Alaska yesterday after spending 24 hours in planes or at airports. Sleeping in your own bed is a great feeling. Anticipate new blogging soon.

2009-07-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

In Nome, Alaska this week visiting friends, so I'm not writing.

It's never dark here.

Play, Language Acquisition, and the Christian Life

2009-07-24T12:17:00.000-07:00

Several recent theologians have written on the “theology of play,” where play can roughly be defined as “participating in an activity for its own enjoyment without concern of success or failure.” Play is having fun, but more than that, it is participating in the side of life that many moderns think of as “time wasting.”

I am learning to be a language teacher everyday I am at work, because, well, I am a language teacher. I have learned that a hospitable environment is absolutely essential for adequate language acquisition, but also I have learned that play is necessary for the language student to flourish. Hospitality often leads to play because hospitality is giving someone space to be themselves not what you want them to be,. Most people who are not putting up a protective front will engage in play. When protective fronts are down, what applied linguists (especially those who follow Krashen‘s input hypothesis) call the “affective filter,” the learner will begin to pick up the target language.

This is anecdotally proven on my school’s campus when English Language Learners pick up the vocabulary, syntax, and intonation of their American friends long before they will ever speak academic English. They enjoy being able to communicate in the fashionable way with their American friends, so their affective filter is turned off! School language tends to be much more work than play, and language learners are always very aware of evaluation, so the filter is up. Therefore, it is important for language teachers, who truly care about the language acquisition of their students, to create an environment where evaluation is secondary to play.

This leads me to wonder about how play should affect the Christian life. Hauerwas says something like (paraphrase here) “a preacher’s job is very similar to a high school French teacher’s job. They both attempt to teach people with little language experience how to speak.” How do we talk about God? How do we pray? What do we call our religious experiences? It is the preacher (and in the Anglican tradition, the prayer book) who helps us to acquire and understand that language.

Therefore, I think churches need to incorporate places where:

-People are free to dialogue without judgment. All things theological or secular, serious or irreverent are welcome. It needs to be a place where people are not trying to have a competition over intelligence or wit, but an exchange of ideas.

-People are free to flourish and play by participating in, and enjoying music, film, fine art, etc.

-Games are encouraged, both traditional sports and inventive games.

-People share a common table without prejudice.

If such places exist in the church, or in the Christian home, then Christian language will thrive. People will begin to acquire much more the language of how to talk about God and how to talk to God. If a hospitable environment is created, then play will occur naturally, and so will language acquisition.

All Churches, Great and Small

2009-07-22T10:29:00.001-07:00

D.G. Hart has written a provocative article on evangelical attitudes about rural churches. He wonders if the recent awakening to Wendell Berry, regionalism, sustainable agriculture, etc. will correspond to the way evangelical Christians look at rural churches. Will small country parishes continue to be "training ground" for recent seminary graduates, who will leave as soon as the open suburban church calls?

I think one has to be careful not to put the blame on young ministers who leave rural parishes, because rural parishes can be difficult. They're often times dominated by one powerful family, tribalistic, uneducated and stubborn people. These can be churches who have high expectations of a pastor's spouse and children. More urban parishes tend to be home to educated people who might be more willing to accept change and accept a pastor for who he wants to be, not what the minister "has always been."

However, Hart makes some accurate accusations against evangelicals. He claims that their fascination with celebrity makes them particularly vulnerable to always seeking the bigger, better, more central church. For most evangelicals, it would be an honor to have an influence on the people who run cities, write books, or star in movies. Also, their obsession with being trendy, stylish, and hip just cannot sync well with agricultural life.

My hometown in Central Ohio recently saw a century old church, mostly attended by those who depend upon agriculture (in a vocational sense) close in order to merge with a suburban church in hopes of becoming a mega-congregation. Of course, lost in that merge was 1oo years of local stories, recipes, and favorite hymns. That church had a rhythm that flowed with the seasons. Now, it is lost to the electric sound of CCM Praise music and seeker sensitive ideals.

That being said, young ministers need mentors who know what it is like to stay in a place though the grass is greener elsewhere. The de facto mentor of many coming out of seminary are wonderful preachers like Piper or Keller, who thrive at large, urban churches. It must be demonstrated that there is virtue in staying put and becoming a part of the rural church's family. More than that, young ministers must learn that they must not only adapt to a rural church's rhythm, but become part of it. Being hip is not important. Not everyone is Tim Keller who will thrive in the city, but also, they might not be Eugene Peterson who thrives in the rural.

They must remember that Jesus spent paractically his whole ministry in the middle of no where. These rural, uneducated, stubborn people are loved by Jesus too, even if they are difficult.

Interview with Rev. Doc Loomis

2009-07-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

Doc Loomis was elected to serve as a missionary bishop for the Anglican Mission in the Americas, and he will be consecrated later this year. For the last two years Doc has served as Canon Missioner and has been involved in planting churches and raising up new leaders. He is energetic and passionate about the Gospel.

1. One thing that has always drawn me to the AMiA is its relationship with Rwanda, and specifically the passion and vision Archbishop Kolini has for spreading the Gospel. Could you explain the relationship between AMiA and Rwanda, and how Rwanda's passion energizes what is done here in America?

It’s about DNA really. Rwanda is a country which suffered under an appalling demonic slaughter of the innocents almost 15 years ago. Since then, men like Archbishop Kolini have sacrificed much while holding aloft the cross of Christ as the only way to forgiveness and healing. These Christian leaders have boldly called a nation to gather at the foot of this symbol of suffering and forgiveness. In the time since the genocide the Rwandan people have sought the Lord together and turned from their wicked ways, and God has sovereignly brought them back from the depths of sin and destruction and forgiven their sins and healed their land. This 2Chronicles 7:14 call and response is exactly what America and her Church need today. As for me, I see the Rwandan story and ministry as a very real spiritual lifeline…let’s call it a transfusion, that we have been blessed to have tapped into. The Rwandan DNA is now beginning to run in our veins, but we need more; much more. Therefore, I pray that we will continue to stay connected with this mighty move of God and under the authority of those who have been washed clean by the blood of Christ…that, one day, we will also be made clean.

2. Do you have advice for those faithful orthodox laity and clergy who remain in The Episcopal Church?

I cannot imagine that after the recent TEC convention it has not become abundantly clear to the orthodox Episcopal remnant that the Episcopal Church has abandoned the clear teaching of scripture (on so many issues). Lord knows, if things weren’t clear before, they certainly are now. It is my prayer that those who yet remain will make plans to abandon this false TEC doctrine before it is too late. The sins of these false -teaching fathers are theirs to inherit if they do not. My view is that not making a choice to abandon unrelenting and unrepentant heretical leadership is a choice nonetheless, and an unwise and dangerous one.
Then, I might remind us all that we have a mission to call all those have erred to repentance and to pray for reconciliation on their behalf.

3. I have always felt that the AMiA is very much a church planting, missional movement, not the schismatics that its opponents like to assert. How would you address the claim that AMiA, and more broadly the ACNA, are schismatics? Also, how does one pastorally address those who are transitioning from TEC to an ACNA church?

Schism is a word that is often misapplied to our current situation. The way it is frequently used (especially in the media) is as a description of the movement of orthodox Anglicans to separate ourselves from those we see as heterodox. Actually, schism is the rejection of communion, and heresy, the rejection of doctrine. We like Communion, we abhor heresy. What has happened here is that TEC has become heretical and orthodox Anglicans have taken a stand against that heresy in the Church. That is not schismatic…it is simply an appropriate stand….It is commended and ordered by scripture. The last thing we want is a breaking of Communion with the One Holy and Apostolic Church of our fathers.
Our stand against heresy requires us to reject communion with TEC. This is not schismatic, it is a suitable and biblical response. 1Corinthians 5:11

If there is a schism occurring…it is the work of those who wish to beak from the historic and biblical teachings to establish a new, heretical “Church”. When a group breaks from orthodoxy they are properly identified as schismatic. When a group defends the teachings of scripture, they should be viewed as defenders of the faith. I think that is exactly what the ACNA and AMiA are doing.

4. As someone who has been all over America involved in church planting and mentoring, do you think there is tension in ACNA churches about women's ordination? Will that “issue” turn into the crisis that so many of the ACNA's detractors think it will?

Sure, there is a tension. Will that tension become a crisis and break the Church? No.

5. I would like to move from talking about Anglicanism to talking about church planting in particular. One thing I have always wondered is about planting churches in places where liturgy is shunned or seen as an inauthentic expression of faith; I have in mind Appalachian Kentucky where I live. Is there a practical way to plant a liturgical church in such a place?

Yes, the first centuries of the Church are filled with stories of authentic gatherings of believers who gathered around a common meal and the plain witness of the Gospel. In Appalachia, the idea of coming together to break bread is essential and in no way inauthentic. A church which has a table focus will prosper in this area, I am certain.

6. As bishop, what recommendations and advice will you have for young people who plan to enter the ministry to serve and plant churches for AMiA? What kind of seminary/ Christian education should they seek?

We are moving in an exciting direction. More and more we are seeing young adults embrace incarnational and organic ministries in our region. Almost half of our new regional works look more like intentional religious communities than parishes. While the academic clergy model will always be important, the lay-led church is on our horizon. It is the only hope if we are to be see exponential growth in our Anglican Mission.
I personally look for those young people who want to live authentic Christian lives and who will encourage others to do the same. So the coming church will be smaller, and more organic. It will inspire more leaders to emerge and seek creative and sacrificial ways to release them quickly.
My advice to young adults considering ministry in this paradigm is, prepare yourself to equip leaders through mentoring and Christian education based on the catechism of the Church. Be prepared to keep things small and personal and don’t become discouraged by embracing the contemporary views of what it means to be successful n church planting.

7. As bishop will you seek out a collection of mitres (i.e. funny hats) to wear?

I don’t think so. However, as I am a relatively short man, I can see some practical advantages to their adorning application. For the record, I do appreciate appropriate dress in the clergy ranks.

8.Finally, I don't mean to be disrespectful in the slightest, but both Archbishop Duncan and Archbishop Rowan Williams have some noticeable eyebrows. Is that coincidence or is this an Anglican trend I am missing?

I had not pondered this much, but will take your word that others have. I have been told that it is not a matter of supporting follicular growth, but a refusal to inhibit it. As I grow older, I remain an inhibitionist…but I may change.

Confessions of a Thief

2009-07-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Ben Myers over at F-T posted an article about stealing books. After reading this I have to admit that I was "greatly convicted," to use the common language of my childhood denomination. For you see, I am a book thief. And really, not just your run-of-the-mill- never return- a -borrowed- book from your friend type of thief, but much, much worse.

I have in my possession a copy of Emil Brunner's Revelation and Reason, taken from my university library. Gasp! I know. The person who graduated valedictorian of this Christian school is very much guilty of taking a book from the library. I didn't borrow it or check it out, I totally just slipped it in my bag, with the intentions or returning it shortly. Well, I did not return it. There was no sinister motive; it may have originated more out of apathy than anything. As time passed, I become more cognizant of my sin, but I started to enjoy the situation.

The former president of the university, who preached every Wednesday in chapel, once preached a sermon aimed at people just like me. People who took things from the library and never returned them. People who did not pay fines. Evil sinful people, like me, who need to be sanctified. I listened to those harsh words of judgment, and thought "I would never do something like that." I did. I fear that former president, who since my thievery has died, is looking upon me with hot, judgmental eyes. In fact, I feel it.

The worst part of the thing is that I see it all of the time sitting on my shelf. I even packed it with me while moving to a different state. Somehow I think that perhaps the tome is obscure enough, at least for a school full of undergrads and youth ministry majors, that it will never be missed. Yet, I know I am wrong; even if I do have some sort of sinful enjoyment in knowing that I have a book that belongs to the university. I don't even particularly like Emil Brunner and his unreadable book, but it still sits on my shelf.

As part of this public confession, and penitence I will make arrangements for the book to be returned to the university. So do not fret.

Lord have mercy on me, a sinner, book thief.

5 Propositions on Hospitality

2009-07-19T18:24:00.000-07:00

Hospitality provides authentic opportunities to do what God created us to do. When we show hospitality we give people the space and welcome to be themselves and to engage us. Miroslav Volf says, “We are created not to isolate ourselves from others but to engage them, indeed, to contribute to their flourishing, as we nurture our own identity and attend to our own well-being.” I can contribute to the flourishing of a stranger (someone without a “place”) by being hospitable to them.

Hospitality reflects the Christ-like character of a person. Christine Pohl, in Making Room, quotes a Danish proverb which says, “If there is room in the heart, there is room in the house.” Christ commanded his followers to give what they had to those in need, so when we do just that then we reflect our willingness to be like him. Jesus had pity on the hungry masses, so he fed them. The call to the Christian is to do the same.

Hospitality reminds us of our own alien status. 1 Peter is addressed to “God's elect, strangers in the world...” And as Christians that will always be are status. We are not necessarily normal in the world, but the people who are called to be different, who live, not by the world's wisdom but by God's wisdom. Being hospitable to others must remind us that we too are people without a place.
Hospitality is against the status quo of a society that would rather shun the stranger than welcome him. Being a Christian means sometimes willingly going against what is normal for a particular culture or place. Now, in America, it is much more common to ignore the stranger than to welcome him. The proper attitude is that such a person's situation is their own, and they must solve it themselves. However, the Christ follower has a better perspective on such people. They are people worthy of being welcomed into our space, and given their own space to flourish.
God is hospitable so we should be as well. God has welcomed us, as strangers to his holiness, his Word, and his people, and has given us space to flourish in his grace. Therefore, by being hospitable we proclaim the goodness of God to the strangers we welcome, and to the world who sees us. The practice of welcoming the stranger then shapes our character into godliness through the work of the Holy Spirit. When we practice hospitality we are reminded of God's goodness to us.

canning the status quo

2009-07-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

This spring the New York Times ran an article about how younger, environmental ideologues are now practicing what was quite normal for their great-grandparents: canning seasonal foods. It has become an oddity for anyone under fifty (sixty? seventy??) to think of canning as a way of life, because typically things are always available in supermarkets.

One can always purchase an apple, peach or orange at Wal-Mart, because they are being shipped from California or South America constantly. That's what the post-world war generation has always known. In fact, I remember the first time I realized that food was regional and seasonal. My grandfather, who grew up in Eastern KY, told us that the only time he ever had oranges as a child was Christmas morning as a special gift (with perhaps a new pair of shoes). They ate wild grapes, berries, peaches, and apples later in the year. If they had more than they could eat they canned it and saved it for winter, or traded it at the local grocer for sugar or flour. Imagine that...

A Christian should always feel some tension with what it means to maintain the status quo. As Wendell Berry would point out, this must include things like how we eat. Is it possible to consciously eat contra the world? Buy it whenever you want it is a worldly mantra, however there must be something of substantial Christian value in waiting for something to be seasonal before eating it. The act of waiting and living with the seasons is enough to draw one closer to God, but also, the very act of eating responsibly gives an appreciation for God's provisions in creation.

So, my wife and I, in our efforts to be against the status quo spent a large part of our Saturday canning. Some of the produce we grew ourselves, and some we bought from farmers in our county. I like to think that somehow we're sending a message to the world that we, two 24 year olds trying to follow Jesus, are different, just one jar at a time.

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Review: Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor

2009-07-17T19:13:00.000-07:00

Spiritual memoirs, especially Lauren Winners' Girl Meets God, have always had a large impact on how I examine my own Christian journey. So after reading Winners' review of Leaving Church, published in 2006, I have kept it at my ever-growing "to read" list.

Taylor is a preacher I have only discovered recently, but she is an impressive speaker. Women preachers often have the problem of speaking with confidence and coolness, but Taylor's style has the listener hanging on to every word, and always wanting more. She is also a phenomenal writer who knows how to immediately gain the sympathy of her readers. Therefore, I was really set up to enjoy this book.

However, there were times I loved the book, and a lot of times I was bothered by it. Taylor's "memoir of faith" is the story of how she was facing serious burn out as an assistant rector in an urban parish, and therefore sought out a small rural church. I found it difficult to relate to her at this point, not because she wanted a new life style, but because her decision to go to one particular church seemed superficial. She did well at this church, and God used her preaching to fill it to capacity for three services. Then again, she had a sort of burnout and decided to take a job teaching religion at a local college. Along the way her theology seems to morph into a kind of pluralism, where she begins to appreciate God in more ways than church, or even Christianity, could allow here.

Stanley Hauerwas has said something like "The hardest thing in the world is to be where you are." That is certainly true, and was certainly true for Taylor, who has a sort of restlessness for sitting still. She embodies well that paradox of the Christian life which calls us to have a sense and appreciation of "place" in the world, but with the same knowledge that we are "aliens" and "citizens of another world." It seems the Christian life is always sitting still and constantly wondering all at once. Taylor lives out that tension, trying to freshly find God, and not lose herself.

At times, the book was intensely personal and just fascinating, but I was always a little unsettled. It seems that she tells the story of her Christianity, her ordination, church vocations, etc. without wrestling much with Jesus. Taylor defines her faith very much in terms of an "appreciation" for God, which is well and good, but I wish she would have shown us more about the love and struggles she has had with Jesus. The God she talks about always seems distant, and that bothers me, because her preaching is much better than that.

For another positive review see Michael Spencer at Internetmonk

Space and Hosptiality in the Classroom

2009-07-17T17:26:00.000-07:00

I have been teaching high school for over an academic year now, and that first year might be categorized as always a learning experience for me, and sometimes the student. However, I can point to a lot of education influences, like Stephen Krashen and Ben Slavic, but it has been Henri Nouwen who has impacted me the most.

In his book on hospitality, Reaching Out, Nouwen gives a valuable ideal

Teaching...asks first of all the creation of a space where students and teachers can enter into a fearless communication with each other and allow their respective life experiences to be their primary and valuable source of growth...

The important part of this description, and Nouwen would agree, is that the teacher must create space for students. Giving someone welcoming space is the very definition of Nouwen's hospitality. This is space to allow for creativity, disagreement, and personality. The good teacher does not assign worksheets and a board full of notes, which necessarily squelch student uniqueness, instead he gives students the space to talk about the subject matter in light of their experience. Students are rarely being discipline problems when they interject that an assignment is "stupid" or "boring," actually they are reacting to an inhospitable pedagogy.

Giving space means letting the kids have an input into how a teacher teaches. For example, it is often stated in the literature about second language learning that personalization is necessary for language acquisition. If the student has no interest in what she is learning in the second language, then she will not acquire the language. This is why so many of our international students with American boyfriends or girlfriends can pick up English quickly, which is that they are personally interested in everything the American says. Therefore, they acquire it at a much faster rate.

Teachers must give space to students to acquire the learning objective within their comfort and enjoyment. If kids feel that the classroom is hospitable then they will learn. Unfortunately, teachers are often under the illusion that they must "control" their classroom. Being in control necessarily means limiting what space the student will have. Therefore, the teacher will have to find creative solutions as to how to let students have control of their space. This means things like "free voluntary reading," and "creative writing." Give students the chance to ask questions, and to explore the relevant topics which challenge and interest them.

In upcoming posts I would like to explore how this idea of "space" will work in theological and church contexts.

For more good reading about hospitality see:

Kyle Potter's Intro
The Orchard Keeper
and the resources from the Duke Center for Reconciliation