Thanksgiving Humor

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Class with Peter Rollins

This week one of my classes had a guest lecturer, we were privileged to have Peter Rollins come and speak to our class. Peter Rollins is an Emergent Philosopher, co-organizer of an Emerging Church Movement collective called Ikon. He is also the author of several books, How (Not) to Speak of God, The Fidelity of Betrayal: Towards a Church Beyond Belief, and most recent The Orthodox Heretic and Other Impossible Tales. Oh yea he is also from Belfast Ireland.

So Peter came to our class this week while he is on tour speaking about his new book. So our class had the privilege to have him as our guest. It was pretty apparent from the beginning of the class that Peter is truly an Emergent Philosopher. He told us his style of speaking was like shooting a machine gun. So here are some thoughts and responses to things I took from this lecture.

Naming God and Un-Naming God...
No matter how great our theology and understanding of what we thinking God is it is limited and reductionist view. Every time we say God's name we must un-name God. This is an idea we are somewhat exploring in some of our readings. Darrell Guder talk about the idea of reductionism in his book The Continuing Conversion of the Church. Reductionism is a reality and a danger. We want to be able to describe God and in that we will inevitably reduce God to something we can grasp. But in our reduction we run the danger of limiting God. So we need to un-name God every time we name God. I see the importance of celebrating the divine mystery of God, while balancing the a human grasp of the concept of God. God is more wondrous then our concepts of God no matter how good our theology.

The Bible as Art
One of the coolest ideas from this lecture was Rollins idea that the Bible should be viewed as art. Not in the since that it lowers its value, but that different people can take different things from it. The Bible offers more than we can take in. The Bible gives us more and more, and it changes as we change and are impacted by the Bible.

Revelation as Trauma
Rollins said there were three stages of response to revelation from God. He compared these stages to that of trauma. Here are the three stages Rollins gave us...

1. Incomprehension - When we experience a revelation from God, our first response is just how can this be we are unable to comprehend what is taking place.
   
2. Bedazzlement follows once we have accepted the revelation. We stand back in aw of what is taking place after accepting the revelation from God.
   
3. Transformation follows once acceptance has taken place and our being in aw is calmed.
   

There is much more from this lecture, but I am still in the process of thinking through it and figuring our how I feel about it.

Being a Professional but remembering the Joy of being an Amateur

In one of my classes this week we talked about the dangers and pitfalls one faces when becoming an ordained minister. One of the big ones has to do with how much training it takes to become a minister, we call that training seminary. And in our training we spend three years thinking critically about everything; theology, the Bible, the church, God, Jesus, etc, etc... And with this critical thinking we begin to objectify everything. I know I have fallen into this objectifying of everything and being overly critical about everything, especially the church. And we justify this objectification, or at least I do, by saying we are reading, studying, hearing lectures from scholars, and spending the time in deep critical thought. It is that time that I use to justify my objectification. But this I am finding is a dangerous road to travel down. It is not an authentic lifestyle, it is not the way the one we are called to follow lived.

I have been told one of the best things about becoming ordained is instant creditable. And as one who has been discredited for looking young while working for a church, having that instant creditability was something I was looking for. This creditability comes from the time in seminary. And sometimes this creditability leads us down the road mentioned above, it is an excuse to hide behind, an excuse to objectify the life of faith, a way to reduce faith into something simple and understandable. It hinders us from being who God created us to be.

The idea of being a professional athlete comes to mind for me. A professional athlete is someone who gets paid to do something they love as a job. It is more than what they do, it becomes who they are. I remember as a child that I wanted to be a professional soccer player in Europe. I wanted to spend my days going to training sessions, playing in games, working out in efforts to get just that much better, all because I loved the beautiful game. I wanted my identity to be wrapped around what I did. Of course my life went in a different direction. Don't get me wrong I still love the game, I love it so much that I spend my spare time coaching young players who have similar dreams. But it is that love, the love of the game that drives me now. As I move to being an Ordained Minister I can remember the love that brought me to following God's call on my life, and out of that love remember to walk into my faith, and live authentically not objectively.

a Sabbath Day

It is funny to think of yourself as a creature of habit. But I know for myself it is a true statement. I am also a person of routines, I go through the same motions everyday no matter what is going on... I wake up around the same time, take the dog for a walk, feed her and make coffee for myself, sit on the couch for a bit and watch Sports Center, drink coffee, take a shower, watch more Sports Center, get dressed, and head out the door. No wonder it takes me so long to get ready in the morning! I also have a weekly routine that has little to no change week to week; classes work study, soccer practice during the week, soccer games on the weekend, and church Sunday... It is a pretty predictable life I lead these days...

What is funny though is that when that routine is broken it totally troughs off my day and my mood (most of the time). But this continuing routine ends up wearing me down. I end up getting moody and ready to blow up. This past week was one of those weeks where I was moving to a place where I was ready to blow up... There must have been something in the air this week because there were a lot of people who were feeling this way. So knowing myself and knowing how I get when I don't break my routine with a day of rest... I took a Sabbath day this week! AND IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!

So this Thursday, I skipped my classes... slept in... did a great deal of reading of blogs... read some from a book... napped... and did not turn my TV on but to watch a movie during lunch. It was a wonderful day. One of the best things about the day was not watching TV... I do watch a lot of TV even if I am not directly watching TV, the TV is still on, just creating noise in the background. Not having the TV on, but for a few minuets, all day on Thursday made the day so peaceful and quite. That was the most noticeable and enjoyable part of my day. It gave me an opportunity to clear my mind and think and process all that had gone on over the past few weeks. It also created space in the day to spend time praying and being in meditation with and on God's word!

After taking this personal Sabbath, I have begun to reflect upon the importance of taking these sabbath days as a pastors. I am also worried about how much time there will be to take these sabbath days to replenish my soul. I know there is more work than hours in the day and there is always something more that cane be done. And I have worked with several pastors who have struggled with taking their days off. And I worry about how can I avoid this, not becoming a workaholic and take care of myself and the relationships in my life, namely with my fiancee (who by the time I am ordained will be my wife)!

My New Favorite Way to Evangelize

So I have seen this van all over Decatur and East Atlanta! It makes me laugh I must say! Yes there are some things on the van in which I do agree with, but I am not really sure why someone would do this. I wonder if this is their way of sharing the gospel with other people? I also wonder how effective it is? I would have to guess probably not, since I am assuming they drive like most everyone else in this city... very poorly!

When I hear the "e-word" (Evangelism) I cringe, I'm Presbyterian for crying out loud, that word scares us. When people talk about evangelism, the images that pop into my head are those people standing on street corners with a bull horn, shouting at people. I also have images of people walking up to and handing out little pamphlets about God and how life is doomed without God. Those are the images that come up to me, and this van just adds another image for me now.

I must admit that sometimes when I see people doing these forms of evangelism, I am compelled to go and talk to them, much to the embarrassment of my fiancee. For some reason I want to run up and talk to them about God and theology. Maybe I just want to push their buttons and be a jerk. But almost always my fiancee holds me back.

So entering Seminary this year, I had the opportunity to take a class about Evangelism, shocking I know! But the funny thing is it is one of my favorite classes, even more shocking! And here is the kicker... I have come to a place where I see evangelism as being an important part of the life of the church, not in the since of member management and growth. But as an outpouring of what God is doing our lives. I know I will never be the kind of person who will walk up to someone and begin telling them about God and trying to convert them on the spot, I do however feel that I will be able to talk to people and share my life and faith with them, in a non-threatening sort of way, whatever that means.

I am still processing all of this, I am still not too sure what evangelism is going to look like for, maybe it is being a good friend, a nice person in a grocery store, or being a good neighbor, I am thinking there are thousands of possibilities. These are all long term evangelism "strategies," probably more realist and possible for me.

Why the Environmental Movement may be It's Own Worse Nightmare

I do admit, that I support and believe the work in which environmentalists are doing is important and has the possibility to change the world for the better. However I see some inherent flaws in their approaches. Below you will see the problems I have with the current Environmental Movement as we have it today. I know this will not sit well with some people, and I know I am not alone with thinking these things.

The Problems as I see Them...
1. Excessive use of Science - This may be the biggest problem, the use of science is great for those who understand what it is being used to describe, but for many the science goes in one ear and out the other. It becomes too complex to comprehend. And attempts to reduce the information fails at conveying the information thoroughly and accurately. Or we read conflicting scientific arguments with vastly different numbers. The use of science ends up destroying the credibility in which the environmental movement hopes to gain and use to advance the case for preserving the earth.

2. Doomsday Approach -In Lester Brown's newest Plan B book, Plan B 3.0, he is pushing a sense of urgency in making changes to save the world. In this urgency, Brown compares to the United States following the attacks on Pear Harbor. He describes the rapid change the US went through in converting factories to further and advance the war efforts. This push was made possible due to a common enemy, with the environmental issue the enemy is ourselves. Also what is lacking from this doomsday approach is that of signs of our impending demise due to environmental destruction. Going back to Brown's push for urgent change, the devastation of the attacks on Pear Harbor were clearly visible. With concern with the environmental movement, our own impact is not as clear due to the twisting of science. Respiratory problems are explained away, SMOG is visible for a majority of large cities, but it would be an inconvenience to change our ways, and plus all the cool cars, those advertised heavily and viewed by pop-culture as the best, are the ones which pollute the most, in many cases.

3. We need a sign - As mentioned before the results of the attack on Pear Harbor were clear, the attacks on the environment are long term and lasting effects. For years scientist have been predicting that the increase in Global Warming would lead to an increase in stronger and frequent hurricanes. Yet following Hurricane Katrina and the other hurricanes of the summer of 2005, little to nothing was said about the connection between Global Warming and the strength of these storms. This has to do, I feel, to dealing with the great tragedy these storms were.

4. we are our own worse enemy - One of the main problems facing the Environmental movement is that we are our own worse enemy. This is contrasted again with Brown's call to World War II mobilization, at that point there was an enemy and they were easily identified. But now the enemy we face is ourselves. It is our own inability to change our destructive ways. It is also our unwillingness to change these ways which will ultimately hurt the most. The things that will help us to realize we need to change are occurring all around us, but we have explained these signs away or allowed them to be contradicted and then forgotten, or the science has gotten in the way and we have become confused or heard too much of the science and have become apathetic to the problem.

Another area in which we have become our own enemy is by making being Green trendy. It has all of a sudden become cool to be green. Just like during the late '80's and early '90's, when it was cool to wear MC Hammer style parachute pants. Being green has become marketable, and fashionable but in the end it is still a trend, and sadly trends pass. The making of the environmental movement trendy has brought a lot of attention to global warming, our use of coal and petroleum based products, but sadly it has done little in changing out habits or pushing government to require higher fuel-efficiency standards for automobiles as well as change habits that will positively impact the planet. My fear in making the environmental movement trendy is that the message will be lost or reduced.

In my efforts to summarize the short comings of the environmental movement I am sure I overly simplified these ideas, forgotten some, and/or overstated these things I see. For more information about this topic please read Death of Environmentalism. It is the manifesto of two guys seeking to change the way the environmental movement is headed and possibly move it to a place where more can be gained and solutions can be found. As for me, I do not have any sure where to go from here. I have ideas floating in my head but I have yet to flesh them out into some sort of coherent idea from the Christian perspective as well as from personal response.

Playing for Change: Peace Through Music

I came across this video today, it was posted on the Presbyterian Hunger Facebook page. First off it is a Bob Marley song, one of my favorite musician! So I checked out the website, Playing for Change homepage, and the the more I read the more I was intrigued by this documentary and the work this foundation is doing to bring about peace around the world and connect people with one thing we all share, MUSIC.

Music effects all of us, for Christian communities it is apart of our worship and praise to almighty God. Many people have music played everywhere they go, consider the car radio, CD player, the iPod, and all other digital music devices. Music is all around us. It is apart of us. And it also may be a way to connect us to others throughout the world. Below is the trailer to the Playing for Change: Peace Through Music documentary. Here is their mission statement, found on their web page...

The Playing For Change Foundation (PFCF) is dedicated to connecting the world through music by providing resources (including but not limited to facilities, supplies, and educational programs) to musicians and their communities around the world. PFCF supports projects inspired by the communities featured in the Playing for Change documentary film series.

Playing for Change Blog


Here is one of my favorite songs in the whole world... Bob Marley's One Love, but with an international flair!! This is from a PBS discussion of the Playing for Change documentary.

I'm a Georgia Voter...

... and I have the sticker and FREE Starbucks to prove it!

I was a little nervous voting in this election, since this is the first time I have voted in a presidential election. But it was pretty painless. I was also a little nervous about how long the lines would be and how much of my day would be spent in line waiting to cast my ballot. The previous election I voted in, I had to drive back to Memphis to vote because I could not get an absentee ballot. So I drove the 5 1/2 hours from Knoxville to Memphis, stood in line for something like 3 hours to vote, which took me a grand total of 10 minuets. This year I was able to vote in Decatur and it took less then 30 minutes to get through the line to vote. So all is well, and all need to vote!

I was excited about the free Starbucks deal! How can you pass that up... FREE COFFEE!! Whatever it takes to get people out to the polls, I am all for.

For Good...

So I have to admit, I really really like Broadway Musicals. It is something most people do not know about me, but it is very true. Shows like Rent, Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story have all been apart of my life, and I been engulfed by them. For Halloween night my fiancee and I went and saw Wicked. This was an amazing show. The stage transported you to the land of Oz, the special effects enhanced the experience, and the story drew you in and left you sitting on the edge of your seat!

One of the closing numbers of the show is, "For Good" and is sung between Glenda and Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West). This song plays at the characters' relationship and friendship. These two, who most would suspect are opposites and have little in common, are truly best friends. I know it is hard to believe, for those who have seen The Wizard of Oz, but it is true, according to Wicked. The line of the song in which Elphaba and Glenda sing together is, "Because I knew you I have been changed for good." That song and that line left me thinking about the people in my life that because I have known them I have been changed for good. I could write a list a mile long with names of people who have help to shape my life. Names like, Debbie, Mark, Jerry, Dave, Emily, Barbra and on and on the list would go.

These people have changed my life for good. They were who God created them to be and in living this way they freed and encouraged others to do the same. They also loved without expecting anything in return. I think about my theater teacher in high school, for four years my two best friends and I were absolutely awful. We pushed the limits at every turn and tried to get away with anything. For crying out load we drove a car into the school's theater and turned it around on the stage. Did our teacher notice the tire marks all over the freshly painted black stage? He had to have. Did he say anything or punish us? NO! He did however make a joke about it at the end of the year celebration during our senior year. But this man never once gave up on us, and at his funeral, his wife told one of my friends that our teacher truly loved us. Along with listing names a mile long, I could spend the rest of my life telling stories about these people, about good times and not so good times.

These people have helped me to become the person God created me to be. But how are we, who have been shaped by those around us, to respond in gratitude? I think, and I hope my response will be to pass along the gift these people have given me. Words will never be enough, but actions will be. If by my living into who God has created me to be helps someone be who God has created them to be, then I know I am adding to the God's story which those beloved saints are apart of and have contributed to.