semperadmiratio

Día De Los Muertos & All Saints Day

2011-10-31T20:43:00.000-07:00

Día de los Muertos is one of my favorite seldomly celebrated holidays in the US. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. Like all saints day it is a day where we remember those who have come before us. Who has impacted your life and moved on to the "other side"?

Walter Fancher- My grandfather. A railroad engineer. A creator of churches and faith communities. Papa taught me that nothing should be wasted because someone out there could need it. I saw him continually provide for his family, his community, and his church.

Juanita Fancher- My Grandmother. Taught me about suffering. From the time she was in her late thirties she suffered from severe rheumatoid arthritis. To move, to function normally, caused her deep pain. A seamstress, lover of high heals, lover of fashion, and family. By the time she was just a bit older than me, she suffered daily. She lost her ability to sew, her ability to work, her ability to wear heals, and her ability to dress in the clothes she loved. Yet in the midst of daily pain she was deeply loving. She was honest, bold, daring, and visionary. She wouldn't allow pain to stop her.

Jessica Sachs- A dear friend. Jessica was a beautiful woman, a dreamer, and a bold apostle for the way of Christ. She taught me how to love God boldly and out in the open. She was strong and straight forward. She knew how to speak her mind and wasn't afraid, impressed, or wowed by my position, She believed deeply.

Thomas Merton OCSO- a saint in his own right. When I was going through my first major depression and could not find a way out Merton showed me beams of light that lit the way to life and healing. It was in reading the journals of Merton that I met a multitude of saints. The reading of merton and his brother and sister saints led me to my graduate school (Weston Jesuit School of Theology), taught me how to think, created a deeper foundation for my life and theology, and continues to lead me to a deeper sense of wonder, and questioning. It was through Merton that I found a way through many of my darkest nights.

Stanley Marrow SJ- A brilliant Iraqi biblical scholar and mentor who taught me to love the Bible again. He taught me how to be a better writer and gave me the opportunity and the power to question. He taught me not to fear being a heretic, but to question and sin boldly.

These are just a few of those I will be remembering. Who would you add to your list?

The Kingdom of God is Like Fine Wine.

2011-10-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

Today I have been reflecting on the kingdom of God. The lectio divina I do at sacredspace.ie, asked to what common element in my life would I compare the kingdom of God. Jesus compares the kingdom to a mustard seed and a pinch of yeast. (Luke 13:18-21)

I think I would compare the kingdom of God to a fine wine. Each drink awakens my taste buds. As I drink fine wine it makes the food around it more alive, tasty, it awakens food to a new day. Good wine makes the community we share more alive, more open, free, and uninhibited. The kingdom of God is like this once we taste of its goodness, we see the goodness of everything else around us. As we drink of the Kingdom our community becomes enlivened. Laughter and joy abound. The kingdom creates new freedoms, it breaks down the wall of fear we build up around ourselves. The kingdom becomes intoxicating.

Funeral: A True Expression of Church

2011-10-23T20:19:00.000-07:00

I did another funeral this week.

As a pastor, (really as a human being) funerals are difficult. In writing my homily for this funeral I read about 75 sermons of funerals, especially funerals for people who are not considered "believing." (Why I would read these, I do not know). As I read the sermons I got very frustrated and angry. I feel like pastors were capitalizing on peoples grief. I know that is probably an unfair observation but none the less its what I felt. The process of preparing for the service, like every funeral I have done in the last 15 years, has left me in a state of wander. Below is a list of my curiosities:

Why would we use the passages of Lazarus's resurrection for a funeral... it is not hopeful at all... Lazarus actually rose from the grave. As far as my experience no funeral I have preached has any one risen. Can we not find a more hopeful possible appropriate passage.
As pastors, why do we spend our time considering who is in and who is out of God's kingdom. Is not a memorial actually more about the people still walking the planet
Relationally funerals are odd. The real memorial seems to occur at lunch following.
What do we as pastors really know about the people whose funerals we officiate. Sometimes we know a lot but most often we know very little.
Why do we think funerals are a great place to share "the plan of salvation." People are mourning and we chose that as a time to tell them why people are "in or out"?
Is it not similar to the old "hell house" routine?
I find it interesting that we so rarely share the reality that Jesus experienced a ton of loss. Loss of his father, loss of cousin, loss of one of his best friends Lazarus, and then his personal experience of death.
Something profound happens as we choose to grieve together. I think this is one of the truest expressions of the church.

God will Give you Cavities: But only if you eat enough :)

2011-08-16T16:20:00.000-07:00

I seek to be especially careful in how I engage children and their relationship with God and the church. I long for children to grow up and become wonderful adults that have fantastic memories about their religious experience. That way when they grow up and walk away from the church, (which I think most of us do at some point) they wont have to struggle through being hurt by a people that are suppose to be the embodiment of love.

Truth is, in my own experience I have been hurt by way more "christian" people than "non-christian."

One of the ways we try to show love to Children in the church office is by our candy bowl. Our preschool kids love the candy bowl. It is the highlight of their day. For the parents, it is evil (little exaggeration). All a parent wants at the end of the day, directly before supper, is to have their child hyped up on sugar! Even as a non-parent I totally get it (Although we still have a candy bowl.)

To help resolve the issue once every few months the candy bowl disappears. One day it's there another day it has miraculously gone. The funny thing I have begun to notice, is that as humans we very rarely look up. These beautiful little children are only 3 feet away from the miraculously disappearing bowl. It is literally on the counter just above there little heads. But, they don't look up. The object they want most is actually within their reach but they cant seem to find it.

As I thought about this today (honestly while standing at the urinal.. TMI!) I thought "Man that will preach."

It's not just children who forget to look up, We all do. I can't tell you how often I will be sitting at my desk and thinking about difficulties others and I are facing then all the sudden like a candy bowl to the side of the head I am reminded, ... "Why am I not talking to God about this?"

God is all around me ready to listen to absorb my concerns, to awaken me to new realities and I forget to look "UP." I forget that the creator, sustainer, and redeemer, is at my side wanting to listen, wanting to be heard, wanting to be present with me. The Creator of all is wanting us to taste and see that he/she IS GOOD.

May we be aware, awakened enough, for God to give us Cavities.

Sin turns us inward.

2011-07-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

I was reading a blog this week by Tullian Tchividjian. He makes a few brilliant statements that I have to share. He says that sin turns us inward and the gospels points us outward. Sin is about me... My wants, My will, My happiness. Like a little child, sin causes me to cry out Mine! "Martin Luther picked up this imagery in the Reformation, arguing that sin actually bends or curves us upon ourselves (homo incurvatus in se)"

The Gospel on the other hand points us outward. The gospel draws us to the other. We are designed to be drawn to God and our neighbor.

"Many of us, in other words, think about spirituality exclusively in terms of personal piety, internal devotion, and spiritual formation. We focus almost entirely on ourselves and our private disciplines: praying, reading the Bible, and so on. That, we conclude, is what spirituality is first and foremost…The gospel causes us to look up to Christ and what he did, out to our neighbor and what they need, not in to ourselves and how we’re doing. There’s nothing about the gospel that fixes my eyes on me. Any version of Christianity that encourages you to think mostly about you is detrimental to your faith–whether it’s your failures or your successes; your good works or your bad works; your strengths or your weaknesses; your obedience or your disobedience.”

One of my favorite professors, Jim Keenan say that Sin is the "failure to bother to love." Love is outward it moves us out of ourselves. Love is gospel. To sin then is to fail to live Gospel

Stanley Marrow 2.

2011-06-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

The gospel is not a series of don’ts. It is a call to live life, following G-d.. each convert has a unique faith. And each Convert follows G-d uniquely"

Stanley Marrow

2011-06-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

I was going through my old notes and found this.... Stanley you will never know how profound your classes were to me. Even more you will never know how profound you as a person were to me.... "Our love remains"....

I’m sitting in my Thessalonians class with another real, authentic person Dr. Stanley Marrow SJ is a 80 something, Iraqi born, Jesuit, profoundly intelligent, professor. He is one of the people in my life, who if he were to ask me to follow him, like Jesus did the apostles, I would say… Absolutely

Stanley never forces his beliefs or his ideas on us. He just speaks and gives all that he is. If we choose to go where he is going, then great; if not, he is fine with that too, because it is part of us that is keeping us from going with him. And unlike most of humanity Stanley Loves people as they are.

He has given me a security that it is ok to just spout one’s beliefs. In actuality by spouting them just don’t try to force people to accept them. If they do, they do. If they don’t, they don’t. It is all Grace.

He has taught me that we have to realize our theology says more about us than it does about G-d. Thus when we talk about G-d don’t force Him (sic) to be who our neo-Platonist ideas are trying to make him to be.

G-d is G-d. Let him(sic) be.

Finished Bittersweet

2011-06-06T23:04:00.001-07:00

I really like the way that Niequest writes. That being said bittersweet left me wanting. From the introduction I thought Niequest was going to allow us into her pain to allow us to experience, or at least empathize with the bitter realities of her life. She would open the door a crack and allow the darkness to escape just enough to draw you into the next short story. There were beautiful pieces about friendship and grace. Grace is new math, is a remarkable chapter. She challenged me to examine if the grace I live is similar to the grace I've received. "Grace is smashing the calculator and using all the broken buttons and pieces to make a mosaic....Grace isn't about having a second chance, grace is having so many chances that you could use them through all eternity and ver come up empty." (21) Niequest shares about a miscarriage that you can tell has deeply shaped her and her family and you can feel that her and her husband have traveled some rough roads. But I feel like I was kept at such a distance from her pain that I couldn't feel the bitterness that the book is intending its reader to experience. I felt like I bought a dark chocolate bar but when I ate it someone had switched it with milk chocolate. It was a bit to sweet for me. It left me craving 75% coaco.

That being said you will see my next few posts will be questions that I gleaned from Neiquest's book. She creates some beautiful word pictures.

Bittersweet 2

2011-05-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

"The closer you get, the closer you get."

Chapter 2 of Bittersweet by Niequist comes at such an interesting time for me. After a bit of therapy, and self discovery the past few months, my best friend Dino comes into town from Kenya by way of Boston. Dino is not like most friends. He is one of those rare friends that Shauna speaks of in this chapter that become part of your being.

For over 15 years now Dino and I have shared life together. Over the last five with him in Kenya and me in Los Angeles that sharing happens less and less. But here is the part I never can seem to comprehend. Somehow Soulfriends even when they are not with you, they are with you.

Have we changed? Of course we're both older, I'm chubbier, he's thinner but our essences are still the same. Our thoughts on the hot topics are different shades of grey, but when he looks at me he gets me. There are no looks of judgment or shock. We know each other!

Nieguist is right "the closer we get in life, the closer we get". Each time I pulled away from Dino he stepped forward making me more open, and truthfully I for him as well. We have walked though dark moments and thoughts together.

One of the deepest mourning periods of my life was the loss of that weekly night with Dino sharing life, family, beer, pool, solving the worlds problems, communing, living and simply being. I morn those tuesday nights. Yet, the grace in this, is that five years after our nightly meetings ended, things remain the same. I never doubt that in my darkest nights that Dino is present. He is a part of me. His voice (janice's too) even in absence still teaches me. He has become part of me. That is the sweetness of the bittersweet reality that in a few days he will return home with his family as the seek to raise money in Boston, to return to their home in Kenya Africa.

I know the bitterness of loss because I have tasted the sweetness of friendship.

Bittersweet

2011-05-05T10:29:00.001-07:00

I have to admit I am not a chocolate lover, that is unless it is very dark chocolate. Milk chocolate is way to sweet for me. Dark chocolate on the other hand encompasses both the bitterness and the simple sweetness that creates a complexity that my palate desires.

I am reading a short book by an author named Shauna Niequist called Bittersweet. The prologue itself is brilliant and challenging.

"bittersweet is the idea that in all things there is both something broken and something beautiful, that there is a sliver of lightness on even the darkest of nights, a shadow of hope in every heartbreak, and that rejoicing is no less rich when it contains a splinter of sadness."

This yen and yang according to Neiquist is the central theme that runs through Christian history and faith is "death and rebirth." While this makes me uncomfortable because I want to avoid lumping Christianity into holding the idea of death as central to its core, truth is I know it is true in my own life. My life has had its darknesses, its deaths. It is in those seasons of death that I hope and long for life to spring forth. Those bitter moments make the sweeter moments of my life mean more.

What would Easter be without Good friday? ...The promise land without the desert? Suffering like it or not is a part of all our existences. There is something important that happens in that dark space...

more of bittersweet to come...

hope and grace

2011-05-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

These two words are two of my favorites. Hope because its what keeps me going and Grace because without it I am nothing. To my and Heathers great surprise when we were in Napa there is a winemaker who started his own wine company called Hope and Grace. He named it this because those are the names of his daughters. (which made Heather and I think about naming our child as well)

Not only are those two of my favorite words but the wine was killer. The tasting room has amazing art and over half of it was of a spiritual nature. If you are in Yountville (near Napa) check out this winemaker and his wine. If not just order some online.

http://www.hopeandgracewines.com/

Eating Is The Most Sacred Thing We Do

2011-04-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

I heard Anne Lamont say this today on NPR. (First, let me just tell you how much I love her) Today was not the first time I heard this. However after preaching this Sunday on what happened on Maundy Thursday this statement struck me more deeply than ever before.

By far my favorite thing to do on this planet is to share food with friends. I love making meals, sharing wine, going to people’s homes, and going out to explore the best and the weirdest Los Angeles has to offer. I love parties, and celebrations. I love being with people after long days of work and relaxing over meaningful and sometimes meaningless conversation. These moments are some of the most divine I have ever experienced. Weather eating with new friends, old friends, or people you just met it is in sharing meals that we share life; figuratively and literally.

I once had a professor tell me that Jesus was killed because of whom he ate with. When we look at the parable Jesus taught about loving our neighbor called the “Good Samaritan” and compare that story to the people Jesus ate with throughout his short life, it is clear that Jesus put his own teachings to action. Jesus’ table was open to everyone. This made me ask the penetrating question: Is my table is open to everyone? Who do I wish would go eat somewhere else? What am I afraid of? Could I be afraid of seeing God in someone who makes me uncomfortable?

Is your life feeling blue or broken? Who have you shared a meal with recently? Do you need more Divine moments in your life? Perhaps we should turn off our televisions and phones during dinner and just enjoy the people we are with. Have you opened a great bottle of wine with friends recently? It is in sharing this cup that we remember the new covenant.

To all my Jewish friends at Makom and beyond May you have a blessed Passover Meal. May you find freedom from your personal Egypts. To all my other friends what will you be eating tonight?

Love

2011-04-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

The christian does not understand God in terms of love: he understands love in terms of God as seen in Christ... Love is not the work of the Holy Spirit, it IS the holy spirit- working in us. God IS love, he doesn't merely have it or give it; he gives himself- to all men (sic), to all sorts and conditions: to believers and unbelievers, high and low, dark and pale, learned and ignorant, marxist and christian....-joseph fletcher (Situation Ethics: The new Morality)

GOD is good.

2011-04-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

Just got great news from a friend that our legal system had compassion on him. (thanks be to God)

I am blown away by how often people are put into prisons. Our system is broken. It is not about healing, reconciliation, or rehabilitation. We put people away and do very little to change the situations that put them there in the first place. Obviously the problems are going to stay and many fellow brothers and sisters are going to be stuck in systems of injustice without the tools to change.

We must Re-think. Why do we not rethink old idea and see if we can still make the world a better place. Instead we are stuck in our own old patterns. God save us. Save us from our ignorance.

Back to posting

2011-04-04T23:26:00.000-07:00

I've been taking a break from the web for a while. Its been about a year since I wrote last. I've been off facebook for about 4 to 5 months. I plan on writing weekly and using this as a place to engage what Im reading feel free to join in.

nouwen 4: God's Unconditional Love

2010-03-05T17:48:00.000-08:00

What can we say about God's love? We can say that God's love is unconditional. God does not say, "I love you, if..." There are no "ifs" in God's heart. God's love for us does not depend on what we say or do, on our looks or intelligence, on our success or popularity. God's love for us existed before we were born and will exist after we have died. God's love is from eternity to eternity and is not bound to any time-related events or circumstances. Does that mean that God does not care what we do or say? No, because God's love wouldn't be real if God didn't care. To love without condition does not mean to love without concern. God desires to enter into relationship with us and wants us to love God in return- Bread for Life

To love without condition does not mean to love without concern. Such a profound statement. May we all feel the unconditional love of God resting upon us. May that unconditional love give us a deep peace that only can happen through knowing that we are fully accepted.

have a great weekend.

nouwen 3: an invitation

2010-03-03T23:17:00.000-08:00

The invitation to a life of prayer is the invitation to live in the midst of this world without being caught in the net of wounds and needs. The word "prayer" stands for a radical interruption of the vicious chain of interlocking dependencies leading to violence and war and for an entering into a totally new dwelling place. It points to a new way of speaking, a new way of breathing, a new way of being together, a new way of knowing, yes, a whole new way of living.

It is not easy to express the radical change that prayer represents, since for many the word "prayer" is associated with piety, talking to God, thinking about God, morning and evening exercises, sunday services, grace before meals, sentences from the Bible, and many other things. All of these have something to do with prayer, but when i speak about prayer...I speak first of all about moving away from the dwelling place of those who hate peace into the house of God...Prayer is the center of the Christian life. It is the only necessary thing (luke 10:42). It is living with God here and now.
- Prayer and Peacemaking

Prayer... this is a hard one for me... my life has become my prayer, but prayer is more than that. I seek in this season to get to a place of deeper prayer, a place of deeper living.

henri nouwen- The road to daybreak

2010-03-02T15:07:00.000-08:00

The Three Monks of Tolstoy

Three Russian monks lived on a faraway island. Nobody ever went there, but one day their bishop decided to make a pastoral visit. When he arrived he discoverd that the monks didn't even know the lords prayer. So he spent all his time and energy teaching them the "our father" and then left satisfied with his pastoral work. But when his ship had left the the island and was back in the open sea, he suddenly noticed he three hermits walking on the water-in fact, they were running after the ship! When they reached it they cried, "Dear Father, we have forgotten the prayer you taught us." The bishop, overwhelmed by what he was seeing and hearing said, "But, dear brothers, how then do you pray?" they answered, "Well, we just say, Dear God, there are three of us and there are three of you, have mercy on us!" The bishop, awestruck by their sanctity and simplicity, said, "Go back to your island and be at peace." ~the road to daybreak

We always believe that our way is best. May we listen more than we speak. May we see with the fullness of our beings and not simply with our eyes.

2010-03-01T16:29:00.000-08:00

oh lord, my god and savior, jesus christ, i keep asking you to give me the grace of conversion. Day and night i hope for only one thing: that you show your mercy to me and let me experience your presence in my heart. Let me come to a genuine act of repentance, to an honest humble prayer, and to a free spontaneous generosity. I see so clearly the road to follow! i understand so well what is necessary for me to come to you. I can speak and teach eloquently about life in you. But my heart hesitates my inner and deepest self still holds back, wanting to bargain, wanting to say "yes, but..."

O lord, do i keep forgetting that you love me, that you are waiting for me with open arms? as a father with tears in his eyes, you see how your son is destroying the very life you gave him. Yet as a father you know, too, that you cannot force me to come back to you. Only when i freely come to you when i freely shake off the false cares and troubles and freely confess my false ways and freely pray for mercy, only then can you freely give me your love.

hear my prayer, o lord, hear my plea, hear my desire to return to you. do not leave me alone in my struggle, free me from bondage and save me from eternal damnation and show me the beauty of your face. Come, lord jesus, come. Amen

~ Henri Nouwen

I love in moments of speechlessness before God when there are those who have come before you and uttered the words you can not find. Thank your dear henri

"curiosidad mato al gato"

2010-01-20T11:26:00.000-08:00

I don’t know what it is but I have always had a deep sense of curiosity. I was and still am that kid who say why…why…why? Last week this curiosity struck again. I kept wonder stupid things like why a butterfly is called a “butter-fly”. (Ps. Don’t look it up you will never look at them the same.) I love etymology of words. To see where they first got their meaning and their root. I love history and what it tells us about our decisions today.

Even the title of this blog struck me as odd when I realized I didn’t know where this came from. So here is an answer for you.

Curiosity killed the cat is a proverb used to warn against being too curious lest one come to harm. A less frequent rejoinder to 'curiosity killed the cat' is 'satisfaction brought it

Origins

The earliest printed reference to the origin of this proverb is attributed to British playwright Ben Jonson in his 1598 play, Every Man in His Humour (performed first by British playwright William Shakespeare).
...Helter skelter, hang sorrow, care will kill a cat, up-tails all, and a pox on the hangman.
In this instance, "care" was defined as "worry" or "sorrow."

Shakespeare used a similar quote in his circa 1599 play, Much Ado About Nothing:
“What, courage man! what though care killed a cat, thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care”

Usages
Curiosity killed the cat literally means:
Mind your own business. Being nosy and getting yourself involved in unnecessary things can lead to problems.

▪ The proverb remained the same until at least 1898. Ebenezer Cobham Brewer included this definition in his Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:
Care killed the Cat.
It is said that "a cat has nine lives," yet care would wear them all out.

The origin of the modern variation is unknown. The earliest known printed reference that is similar in style and meaning to the current proverb is O. Henry's short story Schools and Schools from 1909:

Curiosity can do more things than kill a cat; and if emotions, well recognized as feminine, are inimical to feline life, then jealousy would soon leave the whole world catless.

▪ The earliest known printed reference to the actual phrase occurred in The Washington Post on 4 March 1916 (page 6):
CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT.
▪  Four Departments of New York City Government Summoned to Rescue Feline.  From the New York World.  Curiosity, as you may recall—  On the fifth floor of the apartment house at 203 West 130th street lives Miss Mable Godfrey. When she came to the house about seven months ago she brought Blackie, a cat of several years' experience of life.  The cat seldom left the apartment. He was a hearth cat, not a fence cat, and did not dearly love to sing. In other respects he was normal and hence curious.  Last Tuesday afternoon when Miss Godfrey was out Blackie skipped into the grate fireplace in a rear room. He had done this many times before. But he had not climbed up the flue to the chimney. This he did Tuesday. Blackie there remained, perched on the top of the screen separating the apartment flue from the main chimney, crying for assistance. Miss Godfrey, returning, tried to induce her pet to come down. If you are experienced in felinity, you know that Blackie didn't come down.  On Wednesday the cat, curiosity unsatisfied, tried to climb higher—and fell to the first floor. His cries could still be heard by Miss Godfrey; who, to effect Blackie's rescue, communicated with the following departments: 1. Police department. 2. Fire department. 3. Health department. 4. Building department. 5. Washington Heights court.  Among them they lowered a rope to Blackie. But it availed neither the cat nor them anything. Thursday morning, just before noon, a plumber opened the rear wall back of the chimney. Blackie was taken out. His fall had injured his back. Ten minutes later Blackie died.

The proverb, though, has been widely attributed to Eugene O'Neill who included the variation, "Curiosity killed a cat!" in his play Diff'rent from 1920:

you feed information to people that revolves around their lives. very intrusive and flattering. but very unwelcoming.

BENNY—(with a wink) Curiosity killed a cat! Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.

This is what I love most about curiosity, you can actually learn something new everyday. The problem with curiosity is that it can and often does get you in trouble. People and organizations do not like to be asked questions. They don’t want to be held accountable to reason and inspection.

Well enough on that I’m off to kill some more cats ☺

innocence

2010-01-11T09:56:00.001-08:00

Christmas more than any other time in our lives seems to pull out the worst in people. I have found myself the last two weeks with a consistently broken heart. I think a deeper understanding and connection to the theology of the imago dei would awaken us to treat our fellow humans better.

(image of God) As a theological term, is applied uniquely to humans, which denotes the symbolical relation between God and humanity. The term has its roots in Genesis 1:27, wherein "God created man in his own image. . ." This scriptural passage does not mean that God is in human form, but rather, that humans are in the image of God in their moral, spiritual, and intellectual nature. Thus, humans mirror God's divinity in their ability to actualize the unique qualities with which they have been endowed, and which make them different than all other creatures: rational structure , complete centeredness, creative freedom, a possibility for self-actualization, and the ability for self-transcendence.

“The term imago Dei refers most fundamentally to two things: first, God's own self-actualization through humankind; and second, God's care for humankind. To say that humans are in the image of God is to recognize the special qualities of human nature which allow God to be made manifest in humans. In other words, for humans to have the conscious recognition of their being in the image of God means that they are the creature through whom God's plans and purposes can be made known and actualized. This also creates a unique connection among humans in their care for one another. If we are all made in God’s image then how we care for one another directly relates to how we understand and care for God. Humans, in this way, can be seen as Created co-creators with God. The moral implications of the doctrine of imago Dei are apparent in the fact that if humans are to love God, then humans must love other humans, as each is an expression of God.. Humans differ from all other creatures because of their rational structure - their capacity for deliberation and free decision-making. This freedom gives the human a centeredness and completeness, which allows the possibility for self-actualization and participation in a sacred reality. However, the freedom which makes the human in God's image is the same freedom which manifests itself in estrangement from God, as the narrative of the Fall (Adam and Eve) exemplifies. According to this narrative, humans can, in their freedom, choose to deny or repress their spiritual and moral likeness to God. The ability and desire to love one's self and others, and therefore, God, can become neglected and even opposed. Striving to bring about the imago Dei in one's life can be seen as the quest for wholeness, or one's "essential" self, as pointed to in Christ's life and teachings.”

At Christmas when we celebrate the coming of God into the world, taking on the fullness of humanity, embodying our status of imago dei status, I am confounded with the image he presents. His image is that of an infant… gentle…full of peace and lacking the capacity to harm another… dependant… and full of innocence. This season may we embody the imago dei!

A year and an island

2009-11-30T10:51:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow marks an official year since I have been at Bethel. The crazy thing is, it feels like I have been here forever (in a good way) but yet the time has flown by. Heather and I have made great friends and surrogate family more quickly than I ever would have imagined. It is truly amazing to be in this community. I talk about it all the time so I am sure most of you are sick of hearing it. Our community is full of truly amazing people of all walks of life. The diversity is rich: socio-economically, ethnically, sexually, and generationally. The best part of all of this is some how within our differences people have figured out how to have unity. This is the type of community I have longed to be a part of my whole adult life. In a world that is so divided around every issue imaginable. We have found a way to be connected around community, care for the world, and desire to walk in the way of Jesus.

As one of our church members has said, “we are like the island of misfit toys.” To many this may seem offensive; to me it is one of the largest compliments I could ever receive. We all have our damage, our pains, our addictions, and struggles; yet together we have become a whole body. We are a body that needs each other simply to exist. We recognize a similarity, a connection with one another that draws us in, yet at the same time it compels us out. We go out into the world seeking other “misfit toys” to find a place they can call home and connect with others. Bethel is a beautiful place that I am honored to call home….a place of unity through our diversity. Thank you for giving me the honor to serve alongside each of you for the last year. Heather and I look forward to many years to come.

Small church mentality

2009-11-16T21:50:00.001-08:00

Small churches are great. The ability to get to know people, the chance to be as involved as you want, the ability to make decisions quickly. But with these great things come with some struggles as well. The struggles are often lumped under the category of small church mentality. In a book called unique dynamics of a small church, Dudley says this...

". . . The small church is the right size for only one function. The members can know each other personally. It is often a single-cell entity with all members somehow involved in the workings of the cell."

Single-cell means one core group, rather than many different organizations and interest groups. Parishioners feel like members of an extended family. For many people the small church can be quite comfortable and fill definite social needs. Members in such a parish tend to like things exactly the way they are.

The small church often makes it difficult for new members to enter because it is frequently subconsciously afraid it will "lose" something by being too open. Most small churches will not grow because they are already as large as they can be in order to remain what they are - a single-cell primary group that offers security with a group of people that can be trusted. Often they are ethnically or culturally oriented, which can be a hindrance to growth. For the above reasons "they also offer the most resistance to those who seek to help the small church to grow, or change, or disappear."

Like in classic science, if a church wants to grow it has to think about cell division. It must break down the small church mentality. each part of the community must begin to open itself up to others, to growth and division. This is where the concept of small groups becomes so vital. the church can divide into interest groups, age groups, value groups, groups with similar passions, etc. the difficult part of this concept is that unlike in a small church everybody won't be at everything in fact they wont even be invited to everything.

one of the struggles becomes how do we not create cliques in the process of creating small groups. i think keeping small groups from become cliques is about keeping a mentality of openness. First, all groups are also open to cell division. second, groups cant become exclusive and pull away from the overall vision and values of the church. Plus attitudes need to be right. Its not about being best or exclusive its about walking out life with others.

So how do we drop the small church mentality? Well this is something I am trying to figure out and help guide our community through. I think first and foremost it’s about extending our vision. It’s not about making people happy. Our goal should never be just to keep the people in the church pleased with what’s inside our space. Our goal should be to get outside of our walls to open ourselves up for cell division to occur. To welcome groups to form by nurturing people’s interests and ideas. We should dream huge dreams not just for our churches but for our communities, states, nation, and world. keeping an expansive vision constantly opens the community up to the vastness of god’s kingdom. Faith and the way of jesus is bigger than just us and our wants its about others…about making a difference… transforming the world…through love…liberation…and grace.

More to come….

Transforming the Mainline Church: #3 chapter number 3

2009-11-16T21:48:00.000-08:00

Chesnut talks about how many of our churches get stuck back in their history. For his church it was in the 1950’s. “Getting stuck in ones history can become a vicious self defeating cycle.” The problem is we go back to the glory days and try to recreate them but the period when those methods worked has changed so we are trying to create and archaic system in a new time. This is destined to fail.

23- “a mature society must make a particular effort to reward its innovators, because its very maturity discourages innovation….It is not so much a question of possessions as of the attitude one takes toward them. If affluent individuals commit themselves unreservedly to the conservation of their resources, affluence can be a deadening force. But if they regard their resources as providing a wide margin within which they can enjoy the luxury of creative experimentation with their environment, affluence can be a blessing…few understand how essential …flexibility is for continuous renewal. Assets committed to the goal of continuous renewal will never be a burden”

“Flexibility, creative experimentation, innovation, risk taking, continuous renewal- sounds sort of entrepreneurial, doesn’t it? Like the parable of the talents, with the same promise and the same warning.”

It is in flexbiltiy freedom and innovation that our communities will continue to exist and thrive.

Transforming the Mainline Church: #2

2009-11-08T22:57:00.000-08:00

Chesnut’s 6 principles on what a city church must do to thrive and survive in a changing environment. (p.1)

‘City churches drawing their membership from the city as a whole, as well as from their immediate neighborhoods, are in a unique position to reach all sorts and conditions of people, to become diverse and inclusive communities of faith”

Churches must be ready to meet the people of their area at the people’s own level of need and understanding. This may mean, as an example, that churches of a more formal tradition of worship would be open to adopting more informal styles, including the use of gospel music and so on.

Churches must extend their outreach through the mass media, advertising, and active promotion of their programs.

Being actively involved with the church’s immediate neighborhood through cooperative, ecumenical mission outreach and community development work.

Offering holistic, seven-day-a-week programming.

Offering the lost and lonely a community of caring and sharing, of solace and healing, of values and vision for a purposeful life.

Transforming the Mainline Church: Lessons In Change from Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Hope Robert A. Chesnut

2009-11-08T22:52:00.000-08:00

Books on church transformation and growth tend to be from the perspective of “conservative evangelical” pastors or churches. I believe mainline congregations have a lot to learn from the successes and the failures of these churches. I have read tons of these books and in general they say similar things. Each year a new slant will garner about 100 new books on growth and transformation. At times these texts are annoying to me because having grown up in conservative evangelical churches I have intentionally left their walls for more freedom. While there is conversation about growth I often feel like the only interest of such texts is numerical growth and not growth of the person or the spirit. (I know this is my own bias but this is also my own blog so what can I say) Transforming the Mainline Church is one of the first books that I found that is written from a mainline perspective. Chesnut is a Presbyterian pastor. His book walks you though his glorious and tragic years at East Liberty Presbyterian Church.

One of the things I enjoyed this book was his scholarly perspective. He continually refers to theologians and theological perspectives that influence the decisions we make in our churches. While his book is based in his history it all flows from a paper he wrote in his undergraduate nearly 50 years previous.

Before I go any further let me tell you this is one of the most profound books I have ever read in this genre. While you will see a lot of things I have gleaned from this text in the next few posts what is most transformative for me has been Chestnut’s ability to remain through conflict. It was a few months ago that a mentor pastor (thanks sam) told me that every pastor faces deep conflict in their congregation and while I might not have experienced much of it yet I will. The question is, do you leave when conflict arises? Now I’m not talking about little conflicts that we face every day, I’m talking about the kind of conflict where your character and calling is called into question…The kind of conflict that makes you despise the church…the type of conflict where it would be clearly easier to leave than to stand strong for what is right and just.

I would like to think I would stand but you never know till the time comes…
One thing is certain my father has met this moment and continues to stand. Thanks for good examples pops and sam.

mad church disease...

2009-10-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading a book called Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic by Anne Jackson. It’s an interesting book because you don’t often find books written about the propensity of pastor or ministerial burnout. It is a taboo subject. Yet I personally know more pastors who have experience burned out than I can count on all my appendages. Having experience burnout and nearly a nervous breakdown myself, I think it is about time we talk about how a pastor’s heart has a propensity to give itself into brokenness.

I appreciate the frankness of this book and the self-help concepts that can be gleaned. Anne herself has experienced burnout so she speaks from experience. The book also utilizes multiple voices. Anne interviews other people at the end of each chapter, which builds on her points.

She starts the book by comparing burnout to mad cow disease.

Mad cow disease has 4 unique characteristics.
1 The disease lies dormant for a given amount of time, going unnoticed. It can be a period of months to a few years before the disease is found.
2 Mad cow disease is cause by a mutated protein that attaches itself to the cow’s central nervous system, thus affecting the cow’s brain and responses (hence the name). Essentially, it turns the cows brain and spinal cord into a spongy-type matter. Slowly, the cow’s mental and physical health begin to deteriorate.
3 Mad cow disease is transmitted by cows eating the suspect protein. Since are often fed the remains of other cattle (something yummy called meat and bone meal), its easy for an entire herd to become infected at once if they share the same food source.
4 Mad cow disease ultimately leads to the infected cow’s death. There is no cure.

Jackson then draws on this compelling metaphor for the burnout she or we experience. By chapter six, she starts talking about getting better, something a cow infected with mad cow disease can not do.

Anne gives 5 principles of recovery
1 Accept responsibility for your decisions: “the effect of the decision you have made over time has led you now to burnout.” We are responsible for the decisions we have made. (The late nights. The double doubles (in and out speak for quick death J, the neglect of study, prayer and meditation, family time etc. These were our decisions ) One of the things I appreciate about this book is that she does take the time to address the exception to all the rules she creates. In this one she takes time out to address those that were physically, sexually, or emotionally abused.
2 Change you purpose: what are you chasing after? Is your purpose messed up? Jackson reiterates that the best purpose is to love God and love neighbor as yourself.
3 Make a plan: it is essential that you make plans to change and then commit to follow through with these plans.
4 Create Boundaries: even Jesus took breaks to rest and rejuvenate. What, you think your better than Jesus? Lol
5 Find accountability: we need others to hold us up, to keep us committed to our goals.

I know this seems pretty basic. The truth is, the book is pretty basic which is nice for such a topic. It gives space to ask questions and to think through her simple process.

The last part of the book she chooses to talk about spiritual, emotion, mental, physical and relational health . I like that she isn’t afraid to speak of the physical health of pastors. I can’t tell you how many overweight (fat) unhealthy pastors I know. Me included. I may not be overweight but I’m definitely not healthy. It’s about time people start talking about that our own lack of health maybe the only thing keeping us from a lifetime of service to god and humanity.

A few years ago, through yoga, I learned to start listening to my body. This has been one of the most profound lessons of my life. I need to just shut up sometimes and listen to my body. It is communicating with me what health looks like.

This is a decent book. The most compelling part is the stories of those who have faced this powerful destruction and came out on the other side. You can check out more of these stories and share your own on her website madchurchdisease.com

architecture of worship

2009-10-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

I’m reading this book on church architecture. It was given to me by a good friend and mentor, named Pr. Sam Platts. It’s a classic book called Architecture for Worship by E.A Sovik

He starts out by suggesting that one of the most important times to analyze in church architecture is the most often over looked: the architecture of the first church. Sovik’s thesis is that “we ought to stop building cultic buildings in favor of better alternatives.”

He states that Jesus didn’t ask his follower to build anything. In fact on the mount of transfiguration he persuaded his disciples to not build shrines that they thought were appropriate. I would argue that what Jesus wanted his followers to build was the kingdom of God here on earth to which, I don’t think Sovik would argue.

Sovik’s principle point is “worship involves persons not places.“ (10) Persons are the new temple Christ came to build. And the universality of the gospel means that the gospel was for all people, jew, gentile, rich, poor, male and female. It was about a faith committed to service not to sacrifice.

Hippolytus wrote in 230 in the Apostolic Tradition: “it is not a place that is called ‘church’ nor a house made of stones and earth…. What then is the church? It is the holy assembly of those who live in righteousness.”

He argues that as Constantine made Christianity the religion of the empire that faith had to accommodate the state. Thus swelling congregations meant that homes and ad hoc locations were no longer adequate.

I love this quote:
“The house of worship is not a shelter for an alter, it is a shelter for people. It is not the table that makes a sacrament; it is the people and what they do. “ Thus church becomes hospital… a concept I really enjoy.

Sovik continues in a vain that I have a bit of an argument with or need some further clarification.

“The place which is ultimately faithful to the Christian vision will be one in which the room is devoid of any explicitly cultic images or furnishings. “ First I am personally leery of anyone who suggest that there is one Christian vision. Second , I would question what he defines as cultic images, does this include crosses, etc. If not why wouldn’t he include those?

He makes the argument the church should be built for use by the community. We are meant to be a people of service so our buildings should be places of service, where our community can use them. I totally agree with this and am often thinking of new ways we can use our space for the benefit of the community.

I think overall this book is a powerful look at how we use the architecture of the church. It reminds us of the intentionality we should have when we think about worship space.

His challenges to connect the community in worship by how we arrange our buildings is a powerful reminder and one I think we often overlook especially in traditional architecture.

On the other hand I think people, The Church, are looking for sanctuary. This can mean a multitude of things but is something that cannot merely be replaced for function. 'Cultic' symbols may actually draw us near to god at times and have a place and purpose. To have our worship spaces look like our living rooms may draw us to worship more as we enter our own living rooms, but it may also do the opposite. I worshiped in places throughout my life that had lost all sense of transcendence. Now that I am in a building that tries to draw people toward transcendence and I see a deep value in the lofty yet simple architecture.

I wonder if there is a balance between the ways of Sovik and the classic church architecture. Is there a third way… A way that embodies usefulness, transcendence, a balance of symbol and service?

I also wonder if he were to write the book today if there would be a section on sustainability. Churches seem to be places of waste when it comes to the electric grid and water. What about the transcendence that nature provides?

to two remarkable human beings, thank you for being our hope.

2009-09-15T16:03:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad, you both are remarkable! Your love for our family, the world and God's Church is profound.

Thank you for being as true, relevant, and transparent as you possibly could and can be in my life and in your relationships with all those around you. Thank you for leading thousands upon thousands of students before a God who loves them and accepts them. Thank you for being attentive to students needs, their pain, and their hopes. Thank you for listening and helping to change people's life circumstances so they can find hope for new tomorrows. Thank you for truly being God's hands and feet to a world of students who are often struggling to be more than mere vagabonds. Your example has made me and thousands of others who we are today. We are pastors, teachers, scientists, musicians, parents, government leaders, cooks, marketers, farmers, police, military men and women, social workers, laborers, contractors, and so much more because you taught us to believe in ourselves, in our families, and in a God who loves us no matter what.

As a voice for God's Church I apologize for how the "church" has hurt you in the past, in the present, and will hurt you in the future. My heart mourns due to the relational and spiritual carnage the church can and has caused. May God's church learn to again be his church; to stand for righteousness, justice, and love.

Thank you for believing in the sovereignty of God, even when He doesn't seem sovereign. thank you for remaining faithful when circumstances of life would push most to run. thank you for teaching me about a God who is full of compassion and seeks to fill the world with hope, and abundant life.

May you feel God's immense hope for tomorrow, May His peace that passes all our understanding flood your week, may you feel the love of Christ's "true community" as you walk through the week and may the God who is a righteous judge correct all of us as we fail to love the world around us.

being present

2009-08-03T23:25:00.001-07:00

being present is one of the hardest things in life to do. so often we want to fix things, to make things easier or more comfortable. Yet, the reality is that often what people need is just someone to be with them in their struggle...to reside alongside them through whatever emotion might be coming up. Resting alongside another without judgment or even words is very hard.

heather is good at this... one of the characters i needed most in a partner was someone who would listen, sit, and be with me without forces me to communicate in the midst of struggle... often when i am dealing with things i don't want to speak. i want to think and be with someone while i do this. this makes many people very uncomfortable....especially since i am generally a verbal processor so this is different behaviour than normal. part of this comes from the need for confidentiality that my job requires.

thank god for heather who can come lay her head in my lap and just be. no strings attached, thank god she is open to being uncomfortable alongside my thoughts.

sacred vs. secular

2009-07-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

Sacred and secular: I absolutely hate this dichotomy. I know I’ve written about this before, but things have occurred this week to remind me how much I hate it. To create this dichotomy means that we are vastly limiting god, and ourselves.

It seems to me that this distinction is more about giving ourselves boundaries. If we make a separation between sacred and secular art, or music or film then we can prohibit our children from being “harmed.” We can create walls to keep ourselves, families, and churches from experiencing risk. Unfortunately what we often get instead is poorly produced “christian-ized” junk, or plagiarized products like pseudo vans shoes with jesus written on the side, vastly overpriced and made by children in the third world (I know an exaggeration). What is the matter with simply having vans. We wall ourselves up and create our own Christian ghetto and for what? What safety are we giving ourselves. People still fail, priest’s and pastor’s still destroy lives and communities, our divorce rate in the “sacred” world has more divorce than the “secular” world, and our people still hurt, suffer, and live in addiction and pain. The walls of separation between the sacred and the secular don’t work. They don’t protect our children and they don’t truly create safety.

Why because this distinction isn’t real in the way we understand it. God is present in all. God is present in the world which is profane (the actual opposite of sacred) and that which is sacred. Trying to make the world a better place shouldn’t mean we create our own ghetto. In my understanding of what the way of Jesus calls us to, we should live in the fullness of the world bringing love, hope, peace, grace, creativity, passion, vision, etc. that abiding in that which is “Wholly Other” (Eliade) draws the world to god because he makes us more creative, more loving, more hopeful, more passionate, etc.

Enough with this rant. I’m going to a “secular” restaurant tonight while driving in my “secular” car listening to “secular” music, and if you make it to church on Sunday or catch us on-line you might think I am a “secular” pastor but be careful if you hope this offends me because I might take it as a complement. :)

turkey sloppyjoes

2009-07-13T15:18:00.000-07:00

so i know all my vege-friends will find this utterly disgusting, but last night I ate something that took me back to every mission trip I ever did as a child or youth...sloppy Joes. I switched the beef for a healthier alternative (turkey), but it still tasted so good.

Isn’t it amazing how the taste or smell of something can bring us back to early memories? I was eating my sloppy Joe thinking about our mission trip to the reservation in New Mexico (i think red rock). Some of you will remember the one i was thinking about. Let me jog some memories….The trip where we were climbing the coppery red plateaus and Jacob’s sister pushed a huge sharp rock off onto his head and blood went everywhere, and Ryan and I had to carry him for about a mile back to camp. Crazy...... The same trip where we had our own church services because the church had some odd things going on but some of went to both services (a true lesson in differences within the same faith tradition)... the same one where I got in bad trouble for sticking ketchup covered maxi pads all over the girls tents (ya I know horribly immature). the same trip where we stood on top of the plateaus and showered in freezing water with the cold air ripping across our wet bodies… its amazing what we remember. I can still feel the cold air, the tiny church class rooms, the huge dirty white tent in front of the church with the fake grass carpet covering the stage, my dad and his two brothers singing songs for about and hour, the precious kids that wanted as much love as we could give. Fun times!

As I start this week of VBS, I remember countless VBSs done over the years. One thing is certain children need love. they need to be hugged, nurtured, cared for and about, they need to know that they matter.

Nothing like a sloppy joe to bring back good memories.

coup d'etat

2009-06-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

Coup happen all the time. Yet isn't it amazing how one's whole perspective changes when you have a good friend in a country were political unrest is happening. Most of the time i go through my life without thinking twice in a year about countries like Honduras. And i would argue that i am a person who seeks to remain politically and socially aware of the developing world especially Latin America since i hope to retire there someday. yet because heather and i have a dear friend traveling in honduras for the next three weeks i cannot get the country out of my mind.

this morning as i sit in my safe office with the warm california sunshine shining in my window illuminating the keys of my laptop my heart breaks for this country. People just like you and me who now have a curfew and are forced by martial law to be out of the streets. People who only three days ago could walk around in virtual freedom now are completely unsure what the day will bring. I am reminded again that all of life is gift. freedom is gift. and even in a country "like ours" our lives could change in a single moment.

please be in prayer for the country of Honduras, not just today because i have a friend there but everyday, may we be a community of believers who are deeply concerned about the world around us. May we be conscious of the humanity of those around us and stand against anyone who tries to violate that humanity.

and while your at it. pray for my friend Calais and her family as they do acts of love in a country that desperately needs love today.

Parents

2009-06-29T14:12:00.000-07:00

My parents are an inspiration. My dad and mom just celebrated their 20th anniversary at First Baptist Church in Wellington Texas. I remember when we moved to Wellington from Oklahoma, as children we thought our world had fallen apart. As a child, it is hard to know what is the will of god or the whim of a parent, and either way you don't have much choice. but i can tell you this, if lives changed and impacted are the test of whether we are obedient to god or not, then my parents have been more than obedient.

Over the last 20 years my parents have seen literally hundreds of student make a decision to fall in love with God and start living in the way of Christ. They have seen many students commit to a lifetime of ministry (including me). They have helped people walk through many difficult issues including suicide, depression, addiction, divorce, death, murder, sickness and every other chaotic life-event you could possibly imagine. They have become townies in a community where that is not an easy task. They have committed to walk alongside their community longer than the majority of the other pastors in town combined. Mom and Dad have seen other pastors come and go for more money, more fame, and new callings, yet they have not wavered on the belief that god brought them to Wellington. Through struggle and triumph, sadness and joy, all the while my parents have not stopped recognizing that their time in this small, isolated community is gift. It is a gift that god has blessed them and our family with. Their calling is a gift from god, and in my humble opinion :) a gift for the town of Wellington.

For some, this may seem like a small thing, but being in ministry myself this longevity, this investment makes an enormous difference.

Therefore, I say thank you. Thank you mom and dad for not only being an example to me but being an example to a whole community. Thank you for choosing to enter my chaos and the chaos of rural America, which if statistics are true, has more chaos per capita then the largest cities in America.

You are powerful examples. So three cheers to the 'rents. Hip! Hip! Hooray! Hip! Hip! Hooray! Hip! Hip! Hooray!

reconnection

2009-06-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

reconnections are like reconciliation, i know that seems redundant, however i feel like i experience reconciliation the most as my human relationships find reconnection. i got to talk with a long time friend this week and to reconnect and recognize that our spirits are still so interconnected is a touch of divinity. i think this is true when we give our lives to one another. the more you give the more eternal it is. this is true as sean comes and lives with us for the summer as well. connections made 5, 6 years ago are blessing heather and i today. the love that angie and paul gave to me over ten years ago gets to be past on but at the same time it reconnects heather and i to powerful energies (angie and Paul) who continual bless us even in their absence.

today i got a phenomenal email from a dear friend that i have been away from for some time. as i read it my life grew. it was like a plant finding more light even though the plant had enough light to be healthy and because of that new light, the plant thrives even more.

with each reconnection i become even more excited about how god connects us in relationships. these relationships have deep and lasting effects even years separated don't destroy the effects, and affects of love shared.

as i read and study philippians i see this same reality in paul's words to the church in philippi. the bonds we make in love are not destroyed. not by prision, not by miles, not by conflict, or suffering love remains. As love is reconciled or reconnected healing, peace, rest, depth and hope is created.

thursday..

2009-04-02T10:08:00.000-07:00

it has been an incredibly busy but good week. We are all prepping for the easter services, the wine tasting, and the summer children's adventure. alot going on. my prayer for the day is that god would grant me wisdom, discernment, and a voice of truth. with all thats going on i need these things.

the crack known as facebook

2009-03-31T22:20:00.000-07:00

I have been on face book for a few months now and it is such a crazy networking system. Email, IM, a wall, etc. a million ways for someone to discover something about you. It sucks you in and before you know it, you have been on for a few hours. it is insane.

Its been a while....

2009-03-31T22:12:00.000-07:00

i have been away from this for a while and thought it time to return. it seems to keep me balanced. so for an update... we have been in the church (bethel) for 4 months and are in love with our new world. Our home is phenomenal, our community is a place full of unconditional love, and we got a new dog. ya you heard me right. we got a greyhound that we have named gentleman. he is a great gentle guy.

school has been good this semester as well. I have been taking this great class on the prophetic voice in America. it has been a powerful voice in my life as i seek to be a spiritual leader at bethel. more of that to come.

this week we are reading the memoir of John Dear, A Jesuit activist who has stood against nuclear weaponry for most of his adult life.

heather is doing great. she still likes her job as an after school teacher, and has recently started working at bethel in the morning with the Wise Owls (older preschool.) she is a great teacher so anything that uses those gifts are good.

the time has come.

2008-11-25T21:58:00.000-08:00

we are officially official. I am the new pastor of Bethel Lutheran in Encino. My start date in December 1st and i will preach my first Sunday there on the 14h of December. Heather and i will attend this Sunday morning as well since it is the beginning of advent.

as i lay in my bed typing this tonight, my mind is calm, and we look forward with great anticipation to all that is ahead. I am old enough in the ministry to know and understand that much of what is to come will not be easy. there will be rough roads and glorious roads, yet we long to walk them alongside this beautiful and diverse community.

The last year and 5 months have truly flown by. we have grown to know and love our great grandparents (heather's side) and have built cherished relationships with her family. laurie has been an inspiration to us and a beacon of hope in an ocean of monotony. marcie and paul have given us fabulous moments of fun and relaxation, and grammy has given us her consistent love. this is just the beginning of the depth of new relationships we have been blessed to experience. There is also my wonderful family and friends who have been constantly supportive, challenging, refreshing and beautiful during our time in orange county.

please be in prayer for us as we begin to look for a place to rent. as we finish out the semester of school and as we press on with our new community. (God, it feels so good to say those words!)

continued peace and hope.

the new normal...

2008-10-20T21:16:00.000-07:00

Life over the last year has been interesting. we are striving to establish the new normal, while trying to maintain hope in our future. i spent a long time talking to Dino about the oddness of this middle space which we find ourselves in. Part has been incredible, part much less. this week is the vote. ya the big one the one where the church decides our future. i am vastly excited by this but with a deep nervousness. a sense of abandon. a recognition that it is truly out of my control. As a control freak i am sure that is where the nervousness comes in.

i have been having a new awakening recently. a new old avakening. i have been going to a matthew class at our church, and reading mark scandrettes book soul graffiti. both are the precurser to my awakening not to mention my two ethics classes this semester. in ethics i am continualy awakened to how truly grey life and moral choices are. every moment and in all actions we each act(hopefully) on the best information and on the entirity of our histories. this is great except each and every action has a reaction, and we dont control those reactions. thus reaction is not under our control, our response is... i know i am rambling. i guess what i am thinking about first is that things grow increasingly less clear in life. even our positive actions sometimes the best action we know how to make can hurt those around us and even others that we have never met.

second... in reading matthew an the the scandrette text i am reawakened to the boldness of christ. both in voice and in action. there was a distinct decisiveness to his action. and it is quite different in my opinion than most of the Church makes it out to be. there was a revalutionary character to christ's actions that he calls us toward. JUSTICE... MERCY...Love these are central to his action and speach. there is a real awareness of the poor and hurting. there is a deep understanding of humanity, its needs, its interconnectedness of spirituality and physicality. can we be the church without truly meeting the needs of the world? can we be the church without dirrect interaction with those the church currently holds as outsiders? can we be the church without be politically active and socially responsible?

As i approach the next month full of possibilities. I wonder how to move the church forward? not my church the Church...

more ramblings to come. one thing is certain we are moving toward a new, new normal.

new year....

2008-10-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry i have been away. i have been working on another blog for a class on immigration reform. Life has been crazy. heather and i have been do our best to remain patient for a church vote. it was moved again from the 12th to the 27th. God willing it will occur this time. i am not sure if heather will be willing to wait any longer. i do not blame her for that because i too am growing weary. I have recently read a book by Andy Stanley that makes the point that the longer that God takes to prepare you for a call is directly connected to the task that he is calling you toward. (aka moses and Israel in the desert). while we haven't been waiting 40 years we have been waiting for over a year now and our hearts and beings crave to move forward from this space of preparation to a entering the new land. heather found out today that she didnt get another job. please pray that she gets something soon. we need this. she is so abundantly talented and gifted and is beyond pleasant and loving i long for a church or organization to see in her all those that know her see.

updates.

2008-08-26T12:49:00.000-07:00

Heather is doing well after her accident. she is going to the doctor this afternoon to get her back checked out for saftey sake. We have found a new car. We are buying heathers dad's mazda tribute. This has been a great help as we are both in the job search process.

That being said I have a call interview on sunday in Encino. This is a big meeting and if all goes well we will proceed in the call process with this church. This is extremely exciting and we covet your prayers and support.

this has been more than a year of patiently waiting to see what god is going to do. As we wait, we are enjoying the journey and waiting in expectation of a beautiful future.

heather

2008-08-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

most of you may now by now but heather was in a bad accident two weeks ago where her car was totaled. she was stopped at a turn with two cars in frount of her and a young man wasn't paying attening and rammed her from behind at 45mph which sandwiched her into a large dodge ram. she is doing ok she is still having some back pain and anxiety.

please pray for her quick recovery and a regaining of confidence while driving. She also has a job interview on friday at two. all prayers are appreciated.

approved!

2008-08-04T22:37:00.000-07:00

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye Heavenly Host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

today was a great day in my lutheran journey. i am offically approved to be a pastor in a lutheran congregation. this process has taken a year and my part has finally reached its end. i am very content and pleased. now we just ask for prayers as we begin the call process.

sometime ill tell the story about the paraket in the parkinglot of the interview flying alongside the doves. but that is for the another day.

thank you all for your prayers.

creed 3

2008-07-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

The Creed, johnson says, “communicates a compelling vision of the world’s destiny and humanity’s role that challenges the accustomed idolatries and the weary platitudes of current worldly wisdom.”

creed #2: Johnson

2008-07-21T16:39:00.000-07:00

Johnson says that the Creed performs five distinct but interrelated functions: It narrates the Christian myth, interprets Scripture, constructs a world, guides Christian practices and prepares the Christian people for worship. Myth, by the way, does not mean untrue. It is language that seeks to express a truth beyond what we can test and prove.

He examines each statement in the Creed in detail, explaining what it means and why Christians believe it. In particular, he is thorough (even exhaustive) in giving all of the scriptural references for each statement. (Readers could exhaust themselves by looking up each reference. Most of us will accept Johnson’s research as accurate.)

Johnson is known for his opposition to the so-called Jesus Seminar and the attempt to discover “the historical Jesus, apart from faith.” As he did in a previous book, The Real Jesus, he points out in several places that a Jesus stripped of divinity is just another human being. Why, he asks, would such a Jesus matter more than Socrates or Confucius or the Buddha?

Johnson steers a middle course between fundamentalists, who take every word of Scripture literally, and progressives, who insist on a “reasonable” Christianity. One battleground between the two forces is the doctrine of the virgin birth. He contends that it is neither possible nor important to know the biology of Jesus’ conception and birth. Rather, what is important is that the incarnation of God’s Son came about through both divine and human agency.

He covers the Catholic Church’s addition of the filioque phrase, a doctrinal matter that still divides the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. He believes the addition was unnecessary.

One of the strongest chapters in this book is Johnson’s examination of the four marks of the Church(chapter 8)—one, holy, catholic and apostolic. These, he contends, describe an ideal that the Church has never realized and will never fully realize. He notes, too, that the term “Roman Catholic” is oxymoronic, combining the element of universality with a highly particular adjective.

After examining the whole Creed, he says, “Everything up to this point has been introduction.” His final chapters try to explain why it matters what Christians believe. It is because Christians offer what they believe to be the truth about the world in every respect. The doctrines expressed in the Creed are not only true to Christians, but true for all. That, he says, is the positive witness the Creed makes to the world.

He also notes the simplicity of the Creed. It consistently affirms what we believe without trying to explain how those things are true. We believe, for example, that God created all things, but the Creed doesn’t tell us how.

the creed post #1

2008-07-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

Ive been reading this great book by Luke Timothy Johnson called the creed. I highly recommend this read here are a few quotes.

Some groups within Christianity have remarkably clear boundaries. They know exactly who they are, how they are different from others, and what they demand of their members. They insist on the "literal" meaning of Scripture and on "classic Christian teaching." Even though they are often as individualistic in their piety as other forms of Christianity, they expect conformity to the group in matters of doctrine and behavior. They are also the forms of Christianity that are growing fastest in number and influence.

Unfortunately, these Christian groups tend to confuse the accidental with the essential. They tend to make some single element of belief or of morals the litmus test of membership, indeed of true Christianity. For some it is a literal inspiration or inerrancy of Scripture; for others, baptism in spirit; for others, recognition of papal authority; for many, the condemnation of homosexuality and the canonization of the nuclear family; for many, a politics that calls itself conservative but is often reactionary. Failure to agree means exclusion. Such forms of Christianity flourish because they actually demand something of their members and they satisfy the human hunger for clarity and certainty.

They are also fundamentally sectarian, because they define themselves as much by what they oppose as what they affirm. They exemplify the classical definition of heresy as the elevation of one truth to the distortion of other truths. What each of them opposes in one way or another is the entire world shaped by Modernity. The Enlightenment is the great enemy.

These groups pay a remarkable amount of attention to some small point of self-definition, compared to the attention they give to the heart of the gospel. Worse, they are often preoccupied with external signs of conformity but neglect the evidence of abuse and corruption around them. The classic example is their public opposition to sexual immorality accompanied by their blindness toward economic injustice. And because they set their boundaries by what is nonessential rather than what is essential, they repel those outside (and some of those within) who despair at their consistent habit of straining the gnat while swallowing the camel.

At the other extreme, some groups lack any real sense of boundaries. They do not answer the question "What does it mean to be a Christian?" clearly, and offer little sense of what is demanded of the individual Christian. They have explicitly or implicitly assimilated to the world of Modernity, have resisted the creation of strong boundaries in favor of openness to the world, and have aligned themselves politically with the forces of change within culture rather than with the forces of resistance. They define Christianity in terms of acceptance and inclusion, and regard boundaries as barriers.

This extreme also has its inconsistencies. It is, in a sense, as sectarian or heretically selective as the first. It attacks the other style of Christianity for identifying Christianity with reactionary politics, but is itself just as committed to liberal politics. It bemoans the narrowness of a literalistic reading of Scripture in service of doctrine, but is just as committed to a literalistic reading of the Bible in service of history. It condemns the other extremes narrow-minded, exclusionary style of life, not recognizing in such condemnation another form of narrow-minded exclusiveness. It mocks the periodic appearance of charlatans among the ranks of Evangelical leaders, but seems incapable of recognizing the charlatans among its own leaders. (298-300.)

Heathers Job.

2008-07-21T15:56:00.000-07:00

many of you have asked about heathers job (melissa, Katie etc.) so here goes. Heathers company chose to go another direction in the social services field. they had 5 group homes with over 60 employees all of which were terminated. they felt that the direction of the future was foster care. This is both a blessing and a curse for the children. It is a blessing because it will hopefully place them in homes. however these children have extreme behavior problems, and will not most likely thrive or even make it in regular homes. this is unfortunate because outside of group homes the only other option is psych wards and juvenile detention centers. thank god that not all group homes are closing and all of the kids found new placements in other group homes.

heather misses her kids and the work greatly and is trying to decide what she wants out of life. please continue to pray for her in the search.

75th wedding anniversary

2008-07-04T23:10:00.000-07:00

two weekends ago heather and i were blessed to celebrate her great grandparents seventyfifth wedding aniversary... both of her grandparents are 96. pretty crazy when you begin to think that heather and i have only been married for two years. they have spent more time together than heather and my lifetime added together. they lived through two world wars a deppression, the creation of virtually all technology and all the while remained deeply in love.

they were absolutely sweet. my favorite part of the weekend was when grampa sent GG some roses. Now if you can imagine. grampa is probably one of the most selfish people i have ever met in my life. GG. is stubburn and strongwilled but she will do anything to make her man feel appreciated. so here on a weekend where she had recieved about 25 floral arrangements most of which were absolutly huge and extravagent, she still made grampa feel as though he had given her a 20 carat diamond ring. (he didnt) He sent 12 red roses (that were Beautiful but far from the most beautiful arrangmetn of the weekend). When the roses came GG. got up and hugged and kissed her man and said that she was the happiest woman on earth... she said she needed nothing more on the earth after recieveing the roses. it was then that i had the realization that this is what got them to 75 years. she knows how to make him feel that he is the best thing since sliced bread. (maybe better since he invented the bread and pie oven.) she knows how to honor him.

i hope that i can be this for heather. i hope i can make her feel like grandpa feels when grandma douts on him.

hey tim.

2008-07-04T23:02:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to say hi. I also wanted to let you all know that we are doing good. heather is looking for jobs while on unemployment. we are both helping her grandmother with some major organization projects (think clean sweep), we are also taking on some extra care taking responsibiliteis with the great grandparent.

we have our big lutheran interview on the 3rd or 4th of august. we are super excited about this opportunity please be in pray for us over the next month. I have a few more pages to write, ( out of 40) for the interview process.

other than that we are just chilling and enjoying our first full california summer.

summer.

2008-06-18T23:03:00.000-07:00

I'm blogging like i frequently communicate...barely at all. it has been a whirlwind of a spring. Between an quick end to classes to a frenzied trip to Boston for a wedding and a Graduation party to a destruction and reconstruction of a garage my spring has disappeared before my eyes. I must say i am excited for the summer. but before moving forward let me remember the last few weeks and fill you in.

I have had two meetings the last two weeks with Lutheran professors. I have been using these meetings to prep my august meeting with the bishops office. One professor is a Fuller professor named Clayton Schmitt. he is a liturgy guru, and is teaching me about Lutheran liturgical movement. Very interesting and theatrical, i find it creative and challenging. it challenges me to think about the movement and space of worship and worship planning. he is very interesting is and is using me to review his new book coming out in the winter. I will meet with him again a few times before August.

Yesterday i had to trek out to thousand oaks for those who don't know that is a long way from me. it is about to Ventura. That is where california Lutheran university is. I meet with former bishop Paul Egertson about Lutheran Hermeneutics. It was interesting and very informative; both about Lutheran history and the history of Encino. I don't know if i will be meeting with him again, we will be communicating by email.

My final professor I need to meet with is a professor that will work with me on creeds, and confessions. He too is way out in thousand oaks but lives in the valley so hopefully i can meet him at his house.

i am very excited about the prospects of our future. i miss preaching and working in the church. i am about 3 weeks away from not having preached in a full year. It seems like forever. On that note i am trying to write a couple sermons a week starting this week in order to get back in the habit. its a good practice in general simply for my writing.

heathers company shuts down on saturday. this is a very sad and mournful process for her in her life. she loved those kids profoundly and will miss them all greatly. not to mention her colleges. she is looking for new work, please pray for that.

over the spring i read some great books as well that will be my next post. hopefully tomorrow. as for me i am headed for bed.

first year done.

2008-05-13T19:47:00.000-07:00

today i finished my first year of Ph.d. course work. one down, one to go. it has been a good year but i must admit that i am extremely ready for the summer. i wrote another eighty or so pages in the last two weeks. in my fourth year of graduate studies that totals some where around eight hundred pages written. Thats absurd. This semester i wrote three papers. one a critique on H. Richard Niebuhrs, Responsible Self. the second was a critique of Durkheim's concept of sacred and profane, and the third was my favorite of the semester. It is an analysis and critique of the current metaphors of atonement and their usefulness in the age of globalization. I was able to retrieve what i believe to be the most profound metaphor of atonement from the christian tradition and that is the incarnation/perichoresis, or the divine dance. I'll probably post parts of it here in the weeks to come. as for the summer i going to work and read things that are fictional and re-awaken my imagination. ill be talking to you soon.

going to bed with a broken heart...

2008-04-18T23:22:00.001-07:00

hoping to awake living in the present not in the future..... (ready for some honesty) this semester has been a real struggle for me. Between trying to be patient with the ELCA and my future in the church, and the ever present reality of my phd work looming through the beautiful California days and nights, oh and not to mention the care of 95-6 year old great grand parents, i have now found myself with 4 weeks and 60 pages. Now this isn't the end of the world and works its way out to like 3 pages a day or so. But once again i find myself in a place needing balance and a healthy dose of living in the present moment. All of this came to head tonight as a took a break from my reading of H Richard Niebuhr's responsible self, to check my email. (listen carefully and you will hear my heart break) My favorite professor and mentor at CGU (Ellen Marshall) is leaving to go to Emory. Don't get me wrong... this is absolutely huge for her. she is in her mid thirties and is tenured at CGU and will be tenured at Emory. So what is wrong you might ask? well i have been working with her and saw in my future continued work with her. Fortunately she has decided to stay through 2009. this is great because i will be able to finish all my course work under her. She has also stated that Emory is allowing her to work with former students in what ever way she wishes. This is great for me in the long run yet in the midst of this present moment feels like CRAP!

Ellen, I wish you the Best(not that she reads this LOL) ... Tomorrow i will awake, it will be earth day and hopefully my reality will be based more in the present, and i will honor the opportunity to study under such a young master.

well such is life. God may i learn to live each moment, seize each moment, and feel each moment to its fullest.

Peace, Hope, and good night!
if i dont write much here in the next few weeks it will be due to papers. if i do it will be in spite of my papers. :)

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/229

2008-04-13T17:53:00.000-07:00

check out this link. I was given this by heather and my aunte Brook. She is passionately interested in eastern faiths and physical expressions of those faiths. Jill Bolte Taylor is a Brain scientist who experienced a stroke. She chronicled the experience as someone who intimately knew and understood the function of the brain. Her challenge is quite profound. She challenges us to live fully connected to our world. in essence to choose to live our right brain. to live nirvana, promoting peace, compassion, and a realized interconnectedness. check it out it is a brilliant awakening.

pluralism #2. defining options...

2008-04-09T14:31:00.000-07:00

I figured i should back up to define what are the historical choices that are available when we talk about religious conversation(specifically in the area of salvation/truth) Aka Religious dialogue.

1) exclusivism- One holds in an exclusive way to an absolute truth. All people must learn this truth to be "saved." this calls for Explicit acceptance. This has been the traditional position of the Christian church for 1000 years.

2) inclusivism- same as exculsivism in so far as Christ is essential for salvation, but it allows for an implicit faith. What Rahner calls "anonymous Christians," people who have faith in God but they don't realize or recognize this god as Jesus. This theory relies on the hypostatic union. Everyone who has faith is still saved by Christ and is moving toward "Christian" ends.

3) Pluralism- recognizes inclusivism as a mode of conquering the "other;" Imperialism (Hans Kuhn). Pluralism comes in many shapes, pluralism itself is plural. What is common in pluralism is a respect and tolerance for the other. Currently all of these modes are Christian modes, instead of religious modes.

There are 5 types of pluralism.

1) phenominalist pluralism- (Hick, Knitter)all religions have the same ultimate reality (noumenal in the terms of Kant) but each religion represents a phenomenal way of responding to the same ultimate. They are different due to their historicity.

2) Universalist Pluralism- We can have a universal theology by using each religions philosophical understanding and finding common threads running throughout each religion.

3) Ethical Soteriological pluralism- Different religions while different maintain a similarity when it comes to morality. Each religion is working toward a liberation and recognition of Justice. This theory recognizes diversity of religion but looks toward moral connectedness.

4) Ontological Pluralism- (Plantikar) Pluralism is not just our own perspective of reality (pluralism of perspective as seen in #1)the reality shows irreducibly different dimensions in every religion (and human). Each is irreducibly different . Plantikar uses the theological idea of trinity to explain this perspective. There is an irreducible difference of religions, including salvations and morality.

5) confessional pluralism- (Kuhn, Cobb, et al.) Each religion is a confessional community within a historical understanding. Thus each confession is different. We must recognize the difference between the confessions and recognize them as not reducible. This idea wants to preserve the particularity of each religion and what they mean in the historical context of their confessional identity.

having expressed these, it is important to note that pluralism does not mean we leave our religion. It does not mean loosing our commitment or a watering down of our own confession(although conversion does happen). It does mean we should learn form other religions. "we should live in the permanent light and shadow of the other"(Min). Pluralism is not relativism you must remain in the tension between your commitment to you confession and the truth of the confession of the others. Or said differently the willingness to allow for other possibilities. The Goal of this dialogue is Truth; a deeper, broader, and greater understanding of the Truth and revelation of God. Truth is something that judges us, it calls for our obedience, our testimony, and our affirmation. we are in dialogue to share our truth and to hear the truth of the other. it allows us to recognize the illumination of a common human reality. through religions dialogue we are searching together from our different vantage points. (john cobb)

Roger Haight- pluralism #1

2008-04-09T13:22:00.000-07:00

Haight is a theology professor at union university. He taught at Weston Jesuit my alma mater until being silenced by our (the catholic church's) current Pope for his book Jesus symbol of God.

Below are how he sets up the framework for a postmodern understanding of pluralism.(396)

1) Historical Consciousness-
-all our thoughts, ideas and values have roots in a particular time and space.
-(ie. each religion makes sense in its own time and context)

2) Cosmic Consciousness-
-the size and age of reality enforces relativity

3)Positive appreciation for religious treasures of each tradition
-distinct revelations of reality

4)It is positive that religions deliberately coexist and actively interact with each other.

while this may make many people uncomfortable in reading this text and in understanding the hearts of my friends what we are suggesting is a movement of humility. humbly we recognize that our knowledge is a limited knowledge, including our knowledge of God. We recognize that what we see we are seeing though a limited spectrum.

So you ask what about truth? Truth is absolute. Well yes and no. From a "theology from below" perspective we do not speak of absolutes, to do so would be to reject our own historicity, something a postmodern cannot do this would also make us in my opinion taking on the mind of God (prideful at the least possibly idolatrous). This is not to say that we do not believe in a liberating truth, a truth that changes our lives and draws us to tell others about the truth that we have experienced and been changed by.

this is a different understanding of truth than some sort of psychological truth, where our truth becomes a power by which we control. this is also different from a subjective truth, which says my truth and your truth even though different may both be right. subjective truth is a type of truth, and an important one at that, but it is different from a liberating truth that has altered your humanity and understanding.

more to come...

a new day...

2008-04-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

Waking up late is never fun, but it is even less fun when it is trash day. Usually i take the three rolling trash containers out to the street on sunday night. Last night however our street was like a parking lot due to all the visitors at our house and there was no way to put them out. Thus i rolled them into the driveway and left them there for morning. While this isn't a big deal most days... this morning i woke up late. Jumping out of the shower (great mental picture) i heard the roar of the trash truck coming down our block. So i threw on clothes grabbed my school bag, and ran to finish taking the trash out. Now for each container there is a separate truck (one for trash, one for recyclables, one for yard trimmings),so it is a guessing game as to which truck is now 50 feet from my house. so i grab the regular trash and run it to the street where i tip the 5 foot container and half the trash spills out and dumps old , warm KFC coleslaw all over me. Now for those of you who know me know the trauma of this event. Runny mayonnaise covered my hands and arms as the trash hit the street. At this point i see that i actually grabbed the wrong trash container and this garbage man was the yard clipping man who was laughing at my whole stressing mayonnaise covered event. So i run as fast as possible to grab the yard clippings just in time for the nice garbage man to slowly creep up from the neighbors home to ours and pick up my yard clippings. Thus after washing my hands and arms and any possible space that the contaminated mayonnaise might have touched i jump in my car to head to Claremont to discuss Mircea Eliade's text sacred and profane. All the while, i can only think about what is truly profane: Mayonnaise. Sacred is anything outside the jar. All of earth and cosmos is sacred, yet inside that jar lies the true embodyment of all that is chaos. The giggly mass of white disgusting-ness is profane.

Question of the week?

2008-04-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

What one thing is god currently teaching you?

Organic community #2

2008-04-02T15:35:00.000-07:00

Narrative theology

2008-04-02T15:16:00.000-07:00

Narrative means Using the model of the story as apposed to philosophical, abstract-reason etc. The reason for using the story is because human life is a narrative. Narrative means a succession of events. one event leading to another. which is always contextual. It captures human life in all its limitation, in its critical turning points, and it is concrete. narrative seems to be the closest model to human life's concreteness. Abstract reason tends to be abstract and removed from real experience thus not really getting to the heart of an experience.

Christianity as a whole is constituted through the story of its history more than proposition. Communities of the early church were in themselves narrative in nature, sharing and making the creeds.

Since it is contextual you can only understand things when you are in "the shoes' of the one experiencing . Thus One of the weaknesses of narrative theology is that it can create a collective-subjectivism where no one can critique your experience unless they experienced what you experienced.

however by far (up to this point in my study) this is my favorite mode of theology.

Meeks#2 Narrative hermenutic

2008-04-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

Aren't you glad that you get to read all my interesting quotes from the books i read.(written with a mischievous smile) Jesus is the question, really is looking to replace the historical hermeneutic with that of narrative.

Jesus is the Persona he becomes in interaction with others. (58) Jesus identity then becomes an identity of interpretation. We become who we are through the stories others tell of us and we tell of ourselves. (60)

For Meeks, the historical Jesus is the Jesus who "makes history" as he has been understood by his followers over the centuries.

in chapter 4 of his book Meeks looks at Paul's texts and the use of Metaphor. (which i am writing my final on for Christology of Globalization). he argues that Paul is not a systematic theologian and to look at him as one only confuses the reading. Paul uses the Metaphor of the Paschal Mystery to reread all of scripture. Early follower of jesus found in their scriptures images, patterns and stories (narrative) which they could use to make sense of Jesus and their interaction with him. they used Scripture-informed description of Jesus to interpret their own experiences and the reality they encountered.

For Paul the cross and the atonement are used to interpret life and the world. "Paul's most profound bequest to subsequent Christian discourse was his transformation of that reported event into a multipurpose metaphor with vast generative and trans- formative power... As a multifaceted metaphor rich in meaning the cross becomes simultaneously the wellspring of endless new narratives and a safeguard for those narratives. " (99-100)

organic community

2008-04-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

Organic community is a new book by joseph r. Myers. He also wrote one of my favorite other books titled the "Search to Belong." (thanks Laci for giving me that one)

Both books have been revolutionary for me when it comes to the way i do and think about church, community, small groups, and life. Anyone doing any study on community (tim) should pick these books up as primary reads.

today i am going to give you the basic synopsis of Myer's new book Organic Community: creating a place where people naturally connect. Myers is comparing two different paradigms. The first is that of Master plan community ie. purpose driven... the second is Organic community.

there are 10 chapters in the book:
organic order: moving from master plan to organic order
Patterns: moving form prescriptive to descriptive
Participation: moving from representative to individual
measurement: moving from bottom line to story
growth: moving from bankrupt to sustainable
power: moving form positional to revolving
Coordination: moving from cooperation to collaboration
partners: moving from accountability to edit-ability
language: moving from noun-centric to verb-centric
resources: Moving from scarcity to abundancy

i have much more on this but i am trying to figure out how to upload a chart i did on the book.

Life together...Bonhoeffer

2008-03-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

my favorite book by Bonhoeffer, is often the least heard of. If you want a great classic on christian community (tim) this is a must read. Bonhoeffer's central message is that what we call 'true Christian community' and what he calls (helpfully and in a definitive context for community)'life together', exists in Christ for the sake of the world. This becomes possible only when we evaporate our current fluffy understanding of Christian community. Life together is not to be confused with a romantic sense of community.

"Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. No Christian community is more or less than this. Whether it be a brief, single encounter or the daily fellowship of years, Christian community is only this. We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ (21)."

"Because God has already laid the only foundation of our fellowship, because God has bound us together in one body with other Christians in Jesus Christ, long before we entered into common life with them, we enter into that common life not as demanders but as thankful recipients. We thank God for what He has done for us (28)."

Christian community is not something that we can manufacture, learn or practice(a tendency of church small groups), it is simply inherent in the Christian's life just as justification is (it is a grace).

"Because Christian community is founded solely on Jesus Christ, it is a spiritual and not a psychic reality" (31). The spiritual love of this community transcends natural human love.

Human love (naturally)is directed to the other person for his own sake, spiritual love loves him for Christ's sake. In human love we seek direct contact with the other person; it desires to be irresistible, to rule the other. (34) (selfish in its root)

Thus, because community (christian community) is founded in Christ, all its relationships are in him also. Just as Christ mediates between God and human, so he mediates between the members of his community. Through Christ's mediation Christians are capable to love others fully and purely. (selfless in its root)

It is also important to understand that the love of the Christian community does not replace the love of natural human relationships; rather it transcends it. Bonhoeffer cautions against the dangers of ostensibly "spiritual" community:

"A marriage, a family, a friendship is quite conscious of the limitations of its community-building power; such relationships know very well, if they are sound, where the human element stops and the spiritual begins. They know the difference between physical-intellectual and spiritual community. On the contrary, when a community of a purely spiritual kind is established, it always encounters the danger that everything human will be carried into and intermixed with this fellowship. A purely spiritual relationship is not only dangerous but also an altogether abnormal thing" (38).

Bonhoeffer move to practices of a Christian community in chapter 2. He surveys some of the disciplines of the Christian community: early morning communal prayer, song and reading, shared meals, work, and noonday and evening prayer. I love some of the things he says about communal singing.

'Sing and make melody in your heart to the Lord' (Eph. 5:19). The new song is sung first in the heart. Otherwise it cannot be sung at all. The heart sings because it is overflowing with Christ. That is why all singing in the church is a spiritual performance. Surrender to the Word, incorporation in the community, great humility, and much discipline–these are the prerequisites of all singing together. Where the heart is not singing there is no melody, there is only the dreadful medley of human self-praise. Where the singing is not to the Lord, it is singing to the honor of the self or the music, and the new song becomes a song to idols (58-59).

In the second chapter he deals broadly with the practices of community. There is tons of profound information in here. I do not agree with all he says as he tends to become much to definitive in these practices but non the less much profundity.

Bonhoeffer also argues in chapter 2 that if you are incapable of being alone you should beware of community. we need solitude silence meditation and prayer in order to be in community. thus the "life alone" is intrinsically connected to the "life together"

Another few favorites in this chapter are his discussion of the "ministry of holding one's tongue" in Christian community, (so often not used in our communities) and confession and communion.

in confession a man breaks through to certainty. Why is it that it is often easier for us to confess our sins to God than to a brother? God is holy and sinless, He is a just judge of evil and the enemy of all disobedience. But a brother is sinful as we are. He knows from his own experience the dark night of secret sin. Why should we not find it easier to go to a brother than to the holy God? But if we do, we must ask ourselves whether we have not often been deceiving ourselves with our confession of sin to God, whether we have not rather been confessing our sins to ourselves and also granting ourselves absolution (115-116).

The fellowship of the Lord's Supper is the superlative fulfillment of Christian fellowship. As the members of the congregation are united in body and blood at the table of the Lord so will they be together in eternity. Here the community has reached its goal. Here joy in Christ and his community is complete. The life of Christians together under the Word has reached its perfection in the sacrament (122).

LOVE IT... More to come

a day in the life...

2008-03-28T21:51:00.001-07:00

H and i worked on budget this morning and figured out what we were doing right and what need to change. She has been so good, and worked so hard at Canyon Acres. Because of her, i can study and help care for G.G. and Grampa.

Heather has also been having some sort of allergy to our soap so she and i went and got new soap and detergent. Hopefully this will fix all the problems.

i spent a few hours reading and then put some time in with the great-grandparents.

i have been thinking a lot about community recently. so my next few post will be geared in that way. but over all it was a good friday.

Meeks #2

2008-03-26T13:38:00.000-07:00

We've all seen the bumper sticker and billboards. In some parts of the United States they're inescapable. "Christ[or Jesus] is the answer." I confess that when i see these signs my silent response is something like, "but what is the question?"In fact i have known people who make a game of invention impious questions to which Christ could be the answer. [Such as "whats a six letter word that means 'i just dropped a rock on my foot.')

It is understandable that many non Christians are offended by the slogan; it bespeaks a careless and superficial kind of proselytizing.

The more i study the bible and theology the more "confirmed in my judgment that Jesus Christ is the Question, not the answer." (parenthesis Meeks)

Biblical Authority #2: Wayne A. Meeks response to Mohler.

2008-03-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

this week for my Globalization readings i am reading Meeks book Christ is the Question This book is great, short, and easy to read. I highly recommend it. In reading it i heard a couple of responses to Albert Mohlers understanding of biblical authority, and in regards to doubt and the pastorate.

Indeed, many Christians i know who have lived long and deeply in the faith also have more questions than answers and even more surprisingly, believe that questions may be more expressive of their faith and better pointers to the ground of their confidence than "answers." (Wayne Meeks professor of NT at Yale)

Another quote i loved and is also pertanate to last night's post:

when someone says "the bible clearly teaches..." we can usually be sure that an attempt is being made to co-opt the bibles authority in order to foreclose argument on a topic on which good persons, including good Christians, reasonably disagree.

i know that not all baptist hold to the inerrancy and infallibility and in my estimation the 'deification' of the Bible, yet it is the current trend among southern baptists, and is being deeply propagated in Southern Baptist Seminaries

great day.

2008-03-25T22:56:00.001-07:00

i had a good day in class today. i found out i am going to be in my professors new book and am footnoted. that is always fun.. i think i have a dissertation topic and will be working toward gearing my classes toward it which makes my last year of course work much more intentional and guided.

(leadership magazine #2)

2008-03-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

In the recent leadership magazine (winter), there is this great article that puts 6 preachers side-by-side for interviews on Biblical Authority and Today's preacher They compared David Anderson, a black pastor of multicultural church; John Buchanan, a presbyterian; Albert Mohler, president of southern baptist theological seminary; Tullian Tchividjilan, billy graham's grandson; and Rick Warren, Saddleback pastor, to an old article written by Billy Graham. The purpose of the article is to compare different pastors takes on biblical authority. All i can say is that reading Al Mohler made me recognize why I am in the process of becoming Lutheran. Let me give you a few quotes...
what makes a preacher or preaching authoritative?

"there is a certain authority vest in the teaching office in the church. the authority is not that of the teacher but that of the Scripture which is to be taught. That distinction is often lost on the congregation."

so is scripture the authority or is Christ the authority. we have to be careful not to replace scripture with the WORD. They are not the same. I agree with the Lutherans, that scripture is the authoritative norm of life, proclamation, and faith. Scripture is the only authoritative text we have but the reality is the authority is in the trinity, the Word of God, not the words on the page itself. Lets get to more Mohler....

Do you consider yourself a mouthpiece for God?

I am certainly supposed to be a mouthpiece for Scripture, a human instrument through which Scripture is heard and received by God's People....

I once again would argue that he is replacing God with scripture which cannot be the same thing.

Is there any room for doubt or uncertainty in the preacher?

I can honestly say that the answer is no. that is not to say that i have never struggled with certain issues, but by the time i've preached them, they're settled... when it comes to what has been revealed in scripture, I don't think there is room for doubt.

are you kidding me. the arrogance is palpable! Of course i doubt, but i am submitting myself to the confession of the church, the history of those who have come before me. I trust in god's sovereignty not in the sovereignty of the scriptures.

first we all must realize that we come to the text with baggage. this baggage is not able to be removed no matter how much historical-critical method you use, you still bring with you the realities of your interpretation. no doubt.!?!? who are you Gwen Stephani. Pastors and Christians need to come clean with their doubt, and if there are no doubts i'm curious to whether they are being realistic about the power and mystery of god.

for me scripture is the authoritative source and norm for life faith and proclamation. It is interpreted using the best methods i have come to learn and will continue to learn form this point forward. I will always have doubts yet i will do my best to walk forward in the courage that christ provides and the humility of knowing that my perspective is just that, a perspective to which god is bigger and more profound than i could ever grasp, yet must continue to strive to grasp for the rest of my life.

easter sunday.

2008-03-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

i wasn't going to blog today but decided i would. Our preacher today (head pastor of Messiah in Yorba Linda), was not our regular pastor. the associate pastor usually preaches which i think is kind of cool but i digress. HE made a statement in his sermon; (my paraphrase) "we, humanity, are third-day people. Our lives, our hopes, our future only makes since in light of Gods action in the resurrection."

agreed. And yet it is humbling to recognize.

Leadership Magazine #1

2008-03-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

The first day of spring i picked up the winter edition of leadership magazine. the next two post will be about the winter edition. I am new to this magazine but i think it published by Christianity today. The have a mix of conservative and moderate contributers. none from the more liberal side but at least a strong moderate representation. i know that this shouldn't matter but what can i say i would prefer a magazine that offers a fully rounded perspective and allows the reader to learn from all perspectives.

enough of that. The first article that i found helpful was by Tim Keel(Laci's old pastor). In "An Efficient Gospel?" He argues that the gospel isn't to small but the world aka (modernity) is two small of a world view in which to hold the gospel. he argues that Jesus Christ isn't only redeemer, but also creator. I think this is an important recognition. But not one that is just trapped in modernity. We must recognize the fullness of the trinity in understanding and articulation of the gospel. God as trinity according to the Lutheran tradition can be recognized as (creator) Father, (Redeemer) Son, and (sanctifier) Spirit. A Historical understanding of the faith encompasses all of these actions in one harmonious being. "when we reduce Jesus to redeemer only, we miss another essential element of our faith that Jesus is also creator." (and also sanctifier) Parenthesis mine To recognize the perichoresis, or the mutual interdependence and interpenetration of the persons of the trinity is essential to a broader and more profound understanding of gospel.

a day of recognized limitations.

2008-03-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

Today has been a day of recognized limitations. I tried to replace the head lamp on my wife's car and it was a travesty. first off let me begin by saying it isn't all my fault and not simply my stupidity. The 2002-2004 year model of the Nissan Altima has a ridiculous lighting system. you actually have to remove the coolant reserve chamber just to reach into the light housing. Once you do that you need the hands of an intricate mouse, unlike my mammoth elephant hands, to reach in and with the utmost precision remove and replace the light. All of this i accomplished but once i got the light in, it still didn't work. blasted mechanics. my wife learned a lesson today that my father taught me long ago. " Linda, if you want the toilet fixed, call a plumber. I am not a plumber."

Following that traumatic life event and bashed self-esteem, i went to H & R block to get our taxes done. All i can say is: "At least some lessons have been learned in life."

tax day, cool nights, and odd experiences

2008-03-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

Today is tax day. i will be going down to H&R block and having our taxes done today. lets pray for a big rebate. :) Spring break is so much fun;) (between doing school-work and taxes its almost like sitting on the beach.

it has been a very interesting week as far as weather is concerned. The days have been in the mid-seventies, yet at night it has been the coolest temperatures since we moved to cali eight months ago. It created a brisk and clear evening with lots of stars.

Listening to ones own sermons or viewing oneself on video is just odd. i have been collecting old sermons for churches interviewing me and listening to them to find out what i am sharing. Odd. simply odd.

if interested

2008-03-19T22:12:00.000-07:00

i had to post some old sermons for a couple of churches who are interested in hearing them. If you are curious and want to listen they are at revrustin.podbean.com they wont be up for long but they are there for now. some are good, and some are average.

peace and hope.

Obama

2008-03-19T20:39:00.000-07:00

Obama's "race speech" on Tuesday was absolutely incredible. It was clear to me for the first time how his ethic of hope will influence his policy and i was very excited of the prospect of having him as our president. I believe that this speech will be a history making speech for Obama. The central reality was the call toward a solidarity of the "other". that in our difference which are undeniable, our only hope is that we learn to stand together in solidarity as unified difference. It rang of Gustavo Gutierrez and Levinas

Anslem Min

2008-03-18T21:16:00.001-07:00

Today i met with Anselm. I am fascinated by his continued call to recognize solidarity as part of the answer for the age of globalization. He is beckoning back to the occupation of my favorite liberationists Gustavo Gutierrez. I am also challenged by his continued call back to the historical understandings of theology and faith. He is a great theologian.

misspelling...

2008-03-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

my mom left that comment by phone and i misspelled it. i wanted to note that my mom is a phenomenal speller unlike her damaged son who cant even spell "you're". you get the drift. :)

more on atonement

2008-03-17T23:27:00.000-07:00

I am currently taking a class called "Christology of Globalization" with Anselm Min. My paper topic for this class is what a working metaphor for atonement would be for a globalized world. i am using Mcknights new text and many others to try to figure this out. Tomorrow during spring break i am going to meet with Anselm to try and find more sources and here what he is thinking about my topic. so for the rest of my evening i am going to read a bit more of McKnight and then look to some of my favorite liberation theologians for a possible response.

monday. Date movie review.

2008-03-17T23:20:00.000-07:00

Heather and i watched "ONCE" last night. it is a great modern musical and we both highly recommend it to all. If you like singer/song writer- Irish folk stuff this movie is for you... or if you enjoy a good musical this is also for you.

We also watched "Definitely Maybe" at the theatre over the weekend. it is a very cute film. Good love story with an interesting story telling mechanism. Great date movie and should be out on netflix soon.

thought of the day...

2008-03-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

how do we learn to live as simultaneously sinner and saint?

A community called atonement

2008-03-16T14:51:00.000-07:00

Scot McKnight's new book "A Community Called Atonement" is remarkable. For all those like me who have been struggling with atonement as a theological principle and with what it says about God, this text is a must read. Here is a quote from the beginning of the book.

Packing his best punches for his first public sermon, Jesus embraces and extends the themes of his mother (Mary), his relative (Zechariah), and his own future work. After his baptism and temptation, action profoundly political an well as personal, Jesus is empowered by the spirit, returns home and on "opening Sabbath day" attends synagogue and is asked, in cantor-like fashion, to read Torah. He stands up to read and either picks his own text or finds himself being asked to read on the right day. he reads from Isaiah 61: 1-2:

The spirit of the lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind.
to let the pressed go free
to proclaim the year of the lord's favor.

...Jesus words following this reading are as startling as they are full of Chutzpah: "today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." in other words, Jesus is saying, "the words i just read are about me and my mission... to focus again on the salient points, Jesus sees his kingdom mission to be good news for the poor (like his mother and her words) and release for the captives and sight for the blind and liberation for the oppressed- that is, it is the year of Jubilee!

This is just the beginning. McKnight believes that Christ was creating a covenant-based community and any view of atonement must understand that and must encompass the kingdom vision of liberation. Three chapters in and this book has come at an opportune time as i write a 25 page paper on metaphors of atonement for the age of Globalization and Empire.

what fridays meeting means...

2008-03-16T14:36:00.000-07:00

Ive had a few people ask me what my meeting on Friday means for the rest of this process. Good question (Melissa and Paul). As far as timing, it virtually means that the rest part II of the process is on my own time table. I can finish, and move to part three (approval) as soon as i am capable of meeting with three men and working through a few texts. I am thinking probably a month.

That will lead me to the third and final part of the process, which will put timing back into the hands of the Synod. Thus we will see what happens. But at this point i am thinking no later than early summer...Possibly late April or early may.

that is in my process with the synod and the church wide organization. as for the church they too have their process and could possibly create so options prior to those dates.

hallelujah

2008-03-14T22:56:00.000-07:00

First i want to thank God for his immeasurable graces. Our provider has provided and brought extreme peace to a stressful situation. i went to my Theological review panel (TRP) in Berkeley Ca and it went fantastic. I dove a total of 16 hours of the last twenty-four and had an hour meeting with two professors and a representative from the church wide organization. Over all it went really really smoothly.

I had prepared with all my ability, and what was most clear was that the church wanted to do what was best for me and for their future. i was challenged and encouraged by their concern for me. the overarching question that needed to be answered in the opinion of the professor is the why question. why do i feel the call to transfer to the ELCA. some of you are wondering the same so i will share a bit of that.

1st heather and i have come to a sacramental understanding.
2nd the church has a profound expression of social justice and integrated churches.
3rd they have the same understanding of the word as i do
4th they are creedal and confessional a value i have come to love and respect through the catholic church

these are four simple but dramatic differences that have occurred, to lead to the change. the change is much deeper than this but this is a beginning of an explanation.

thus what is next? i am going to meet with some advisers on three topics; the creeds, liturgy and scriptural hermeneutics and the Lutheran church. I will meet with these advisers, due some reading and writting, and then move to the next step of approval.

thank god from whom all blessings flow!

why people move to california...

2008-03-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

this morning it was very hard to get up. Heather and i have switched lives and now i am forced to me a morning person and since she works nights she is more of a night person. thus waking up in the morning is often very difficult. not to mention now that it is still dark outside while i get up. but let me tell you today is an example of why people move to California. the weather is perfect. even in the darkness the world outside our bedroom this morning sounded like a Disney cartoon with all the birds songs. the air feels and smells clean and fresh (unlike summer). and with daylight savings time the days are lasting longer. Its almost 7:00pm and sunny. we live in the foothills of Brea and with all the recent rains the hills are a lush green with yellow wildflowers covering the hillsides like paint spilled down a canvas. the California poppies are so fantastic. their bright colors and the hairy pod like buds bursting off of long dainty stems create a awkwardly original plant that lines the roads in flower beds and natural groupings. as i sit in the bedroom typing this the sky is bursting with new colors purple blue cream and hints of yellow, orange and pink invigorate the evening sky. the air smells so fresh i want to eat it. maybe i will take a break tonight and go play some tennis.

i have about three to four more hours of study i would like to do. so i will get cracking and enjoy all the beauty of nature.

hotel cafe

2008-03-10T23:21:00.000-07:00

heather and i went on a date this weekend to the hotel cafe tour at the house of blues in downtown disney. this is our second year with this tour. if you haven't heard of it look it up. the artists are down to earth folksy and phenomenal. last year we went with our good friend Erin and Andy to the show in Boston. we wish they were in Cali. to go with us this year. However this year it was just us. the show was great once again but they way oversold the venue. there was no room and very poor visibility which screws the music because its a much more intimate music (singer/songwriter type)

i spent the day (during my study breaks) getting a bunch of the Cds for heather so she could put them on her Ipod. i hope she likes them.

my two favorites artists that were new this year to the tour were Ingrid Michaelson- she is this fab...quirky...clever...poetic singer.songwriter. And the other was a guy named William fitzsimmons-deep...dark...cathartic...sentimental...pure singer/songwriter.

check them out both are super cool and you can hear their music for free on the hotel cafe website.

friday...

2008-03-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

Friday is D DAY. i have been studying Lutheran doctrine, theology, and ethics intensely for the last 6 to 8 months. The last two weeks have been a cram session. i must say it is weird to have ones fate being held in the decision of others. This is were we are suppose to trust in the hierarchy of the church as part of the spirits movement in our lives. And truly in that context all i can say is "God, i submit."

i had a truly frustrating day today waiting on someone else's car to get fixed. i was told it would take an hour and it took four hours. looking back on the day however it gave a good period of quite to study and focus on what is to come on Friday. Plus it allowed me a chance to practice selfless love.

i think what is most fear causing about Friday is the lack of knowledge of what will be asked in the theological review panel. i will say that by Friday i will have done all i can to be prepared for the interview. i would like to ask god and all those who pray to ask that god would help me to get through this interview with a positive experience and a life affirming, future affirming process. I would love for them to recommend me with no reservations or requirements for the final section of the process. i pray i retain all the information of what i have studied

i am longing to be back working in the church. i miss preaching, teaching, and caring for the community.

gnilka: the prodigal son

2008-03-05T14:54:00.000-08:00

in our case the resolve of the son who has been driven into the worst of predicaments, to return to the father does not really arise from a repentant attitude but primarily from the quite sober realization that this is the only way for him to survive. he knows that he has nothing left to claim in his fathers house. the status as day laborer seems to be the only compromise possible. This realization directs the attention solely to the behavior of the father, who makes possible the sons return and ultimately his ability of repentance

it is the father who sees the son, runs to the son embraces the son, proclaims a party for the son. The father's behavior brings about the possibility for transformation. It is through Christ that i am granted complete forgiveness and renewed acceptance, thus becoming again able to experience the fathers presence as the father.

I found this parable renewed and profound today in my Christology of globalization course. there is both freedom and finiteness (Reinhold Neibuhr) found when we accept the principle of God's pursuance.

Back to the blog.

2008-03-05T13:41:00.000-08:00

I have missed writing for writing sake. Thus as i journey to this new part of life I am going to start blogging again. Feel free to join in or ask questions if you come across this. This is not meant for mere voyeurism, otherwise i would just write in my journal (which i have started to do again beyond this page.)

So whats new? Well i am currently going through the process of having my ordination recognized by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. As of Monday i am now an official candidate for recognition. Next Friday i will have my theological review panel in Berkley Ca. God willing and my abilities achieving that will go really well and the process should be finished in the next few months (best case scenario). This is a huge process for Heather and I of having our lives match our theology in a more cohesive way.