Who or How?

How should we live in the world is the question that the church must deal with. Over the past 150 years or so we have failed to adequately ask this question. Instead we’ve been focusing on heaven and hell and who will live there. I believe at some level these questions are related, but difference is one of perspective. (The first is asked from a position of security, the other from a place of insecurity.)

The Bible seems interested in talking about who will be in heaven only when talking about how they live here on earth. That’s interesting because the major theme of Protestantism deals with salvation by faith not works. Now I am a Protestant in this regard, I believe that salvation is not something I gain by what I do, but by believing in Jesus Christ. So how do we reconcile the difference here?

The book of James says that true religion, that is pure and faultless loves those on the bottom of the ladder (James 1:27). This passage echoes the prophets and the Torah of the Hebrew Scriptures; a person can’t read through the Old Testament for very long without coming across how to live. These Scriptures are written to a specific who dealing with how to live. I think this is teaching us the who and how cannot be separated.

Interesting in the Hebrew Scriptures there is very little conversation about what happens to the who in the afterlife. Take the book of Daniel for example, it follows the life of four Jewish boys in Babylon, you’d think as they’re dealing with the fall of their society there would be talk about heaven, but there is surprisingly no conversation about the afterlife – even in the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Instead we find discussion about how to live in a foreign land among people who do not believe in YHWH and the hope that God will provide for the who here and now.

In the book of Revelation, the book most often used to discuss the final destination of the who, is focused on how to live amidst persecutions. The major fault in many modern readings of this book is to only see pictures of afterlife. The book is addressed to seven churches in Asia. The author gives instruction to these churches then spends the rest of the book talking about troubles that will come, but how these troubles are nothing compared to the glory of God. Discussion on the afterlife is focused on providing strength and reward for how these church live faithful lives.

We’re spending so much time asking whether this person or that person are going to be a part of the who that we have failed to ask how we are to live. The who is a question dealing with status and power struggle. We are the ones who are right; we’re the one who are going to heaven. This is the language of a people fighting a culture war. This is not the language used in the Scriptures. The language of the Scriptures (how language) is the language of strength. If you don’t believe me re-read the stories of Daniel 7 or Revelation 19, in both stories God does not need to move in order to defeat the beasts – they just lose.

What do you think? Should we be asking the who question or should we be talking about the how?

worth

I often mistake my identity with what I do. This is because my culture has trained me to think of myself as a producer. I am only as valuable as my performance. I may not have been explicitly told this, but it is everywhere. Sports, movies, Politics, pop culture, and even the church...all teach the Gospel of Productivity.

The problem with that gospel is that it’s false. It’s a straight up lie. Our value is not tied up with performance; if this were so, we’d all be in trouble. The problem is that it’s everywhere! This mindset brings with it a large amount of insecurity: If I do notperform, I am going to be out! Heidi Klum on Bravo’s Project Runway says every show, “In fashion, one day you’re inthe next you’re out.” This is in all of life. It’s a rat race. There is no peace, only insecurity. 

The whole world has been evangelized with this message, and we must get the truth out! We must tell people that they’re living a lie. As a Christian I believe my worth as a human being comes from God’s love for me. God’s love for me never changes, regardless of my actions. He proved his love for us on a cross. This means that my worth can never change!

Worth, in this mindset, is an intrinsic reality- one that is unaffected by what I do. It does not go up or down with my productivity, or does it change when I purposely do good or evil; God continually loves me. 

This impacts how we treat the other in our lives. If God loves everybody regardless of who they are or what they do, how should I treat them? I should treat them as God does, with love. I should be willing to sacrifice myself for them. The problem is the productivity mindset is so entrenched into the way we view the world we miss this. We see the other as our opponent. We see the other as less valuable because of what they can do for us. We make life about a rat race with them. Unless we see the worth in all of humanity, we're only perpetuating the myth that worth comes from what we produce.<

All the conflicts and wars in the history of the world have their root here.

What is our hope in?

Over the past 100 years historians have begun to look back and define these times by economics and war. Think about it - the Roaring 20's and the Great Depression; World War II and the Cold War; and the fallout from Vietnam against Reaganomics of the 80's. We have been taught to see the world through these lenses. This is usually played out as times of Properity (i.e. the Roaring 20's) are good times and the times of Recession and want (Vietnam's fallout) as bad times.

We organize and record that which matters to us. Obviously economics matters to the Western world, because our hope is in our money! Obviously war matters to us, because we believe that it is through violence that our world is made better. This is not to say the bad times are not bad - it's never cool when people suffer - but does this mean that everything that happens in these times is bad? Times of Prosperity do bring along many good things - like jobs - but should we just say everything is good?

Money and war come back to the fact that we like to take care of ourselves. If I am an independent person, I need money to provide for myself. A person in poverty, has two choices: go without or have need supplied by another. So it makes sense that a time when economics are in a slump would be understood as bad - because many people aren't able to provide for themselves. The same goes for war. We were able to stand up and destroy evil! We did it with our muscle and brains! We created strategy and it worked exactly like we thought it should. When we fail at war, just like economically, we're in a tough place.

I believe that the church is a group of people who believe that economics and war are not the hope of the world. Instead we believe that Christ is our hope. If this is true, what are ways that we can subvert the popular understanding of the world around us?

Is a Pastor a professional?

Over the past couple decades the church has seen the rise of the professional pastor. The old school model of being a pastor is much different than the model that a pastor now follows. What has resulted is the mindset of ministry has changed - in good ways and in bad. Let's start by breaking down the old school model of ministering vs. the new professional model.

OLD SCHOOL

In the Old School model the pastor does not have an office, but a study. It is called a study, because that's what happens there. Offices are where office work is done, pastors study for their sermon. The pastor is frequently going to the hospital, people's houses, having people come into their study (at least half of a week is spent with people). We should also note that in an old school model, the pastor usually does not have a huge staff; often pastors are by themselves in churches of 250-300 people! The programs are instead run by volunteers or the senior pastor. Planning for events and programming falls into the responsibility of church boards, thus relieving the pastor from having to be on top of every detail of every program in the church.

So, in the Old School model pastors spend most of their time either with people or preparing for sermons.

Professional

The Professional model takes this Old School model and tweaks it just a little bit. First off, the pastor is now operates as the CEO/President of the church. This is a drastic shift in role of the pastor. This means that primary on responsibility is the job of dreaming up, planning, and executing programs in the church. Usually churches have pastoral staff, usually a youth pastor, a congregational care pastor, and/or a worship pastor. The pastor works in an office, because more than just studying is happening there.

What to think?

1 - I think we should note the the addition of professional pastors has created an atmosphere where growth happens. Often in the Old school model, churches would stay the same decade after decade. Actually the Old School model has much to blame for many of the issues found in the church today.

2 - The professional model, often looks in all sorts of places to help develop the church and its ministries. Today I was given a photocopy of the Harvard Business Review by a pastor. It discussed Pixar's technique for creating kick butt movies that everybody loves! Thus we see that it is open to a multitude of avenues of thought.

3 - There is a shift in priority. No longer is working with people the focus, developing the church is the focus. While yes, developing the church is really focusing in people, there is a subtle difference. One is dealing with the individual, one is dealing with programs. In this mindset a pastor may spend most of his or her time pouring into the development of a small group of leaders. The pastor must be strategic in time management, because one must prioritize responsibilities.

4 - The pastor becomes task/goal driven. Evaluation in the Old School model is very tough to do as it is pretty subjective. If the people in the church feel loved, and the sermon is good on Sunday morning that pastor is doing a good job. If not, then he''s in thin ice. The Professional pastor can be judged more objectively through a study of the church programs. Church begins to be treated through the lens of how tasks are accomplished. (Even if it is just a small level of speculation)

What do you think?

Chris Heuertz stops by ATS

Chris Heuertz, the executive director of Word Made Flesh, came to Asbury to speak in chapel today. When I was a student at IWU, he made a stop - preaching there for an entire week (I remember him, because he (1) brought a fresh view the world and (2) because he wore jeans in chapel.) - and both times I've encountered his teachings I have walked away changed.

His ministry works with the most vulnerable people in the world: women and children in the sex trade, AIDS victims, those enslaved in sweatshops, those literally under the boot of injustice. His takes on many issues were hard and made me very uneasy - as they should. Here are some of the things that he talked about that made me think:

1 - Clothing Tax: He has a relationship with an Indian family with 5 girls who work in a sweatshop. One time he wore a shirt from the Gap when he was with them. The girls looked at him and said they worked in the shop that made that shirt. What's sad is that shirt cost him what they get paid in 6 weeks of work. That's tough because clothing made in sweatshops makes up the majority of products in the states. The only way to avoid buying it is to make your own clothing (a la Shane Claiborne...who by the way is going to be at Asbury, Nov 4). So every time he buys clothing like this, he imposes upon himself a tax, which he sends to that people in India. 

2 - We need to change our language. We should be careful not to dehumanize those being oppressed; often this objectification starts with how we discuss people. This means we do not call people "prostitutes;" instead people being forced to prostitute themselves. We don't say the poor, but people who are poor. 

3 - Short Term Missions Trips = Voyeurism: When short terms missions teams go into places around the world to see the places of great oppression, this should be seen as voyeurism. Social justice is the 'cool' thing to talk about in the Christian world, and people want to see the bad side of injustice. The problem is that the people on the underside of power are just that people. There is really no difference between a missions team going to a brothel, "just to look around" and a peeping tom. (The last line is mine; don't assume that Heuertz thinks this)

4 - The Wounds of Christ: He spoke in chapel on the wounds of Christ. He said that the only way to recognize the glorified Christ and the corpse in the tomb is the wounds. He made a very brilliant play on the story of Thomas. His point was that Thomas didn't believe because until he saw the wounds. There are so many people in the world who don't believe the church because the body of Christ is not evidencing the wounds. 

5. - Righteousness and Justice> Chris made the point that our lack of righteousness leads to injustice around the world. He talked about how the way that we live effects the rest of the world. Our greed results in sweatshops in India. Our lust results in the trafficking of young boys and girls all over the world. Our partying results in foreign corruption and mob activity. If we were to become righteous in these areas, these injustices would go away.

What do you think?

(Asbury podcasts all of it’s chapels. Search for Asbury Theological Seminary at the iTunes Store.)

What is a Pastor?

A pastor is a Biblical Scholar. A pastor has been trained in the art of not just interpreting the text, but of explaining it in relevant ways which lead a congregation to apply the truths within it. This is because the Biblical text is the DNA of the church; it is these ancient writings which explain who we are.

A pastor is a theologian. A pastor must be knowledgable about the theological truths that center the Christian community. This is because theology is the codification (which is just a fancy word for labeling and organizing) of the truths we learn from the text.

A pastor is an artist. It is through the arts that the pastor communicates to his people; whether the spoken, the written, or the musical. The pastors job is to engage the people entrusted to their care with the Truth, but must be cerative with how it is presented. If the pastor ceases to be an artist, the text will not be properly engaged.

A pastor is a lover. These actions are all done out of love. The pastor does not do anything for the goal of any reward; simply out of love. When a pastor stops loving, their calling dies out.

Public Enemy #1

Jesus did not come to die.

Jesus did not come to earth to die. 

This belief (that Jesus' purpose was to die) is the biggest misconception today in Christianity. The point of Jesus' life, in my humble opinion, was not to die! If death was his purpose, it would have made logical sense for Herod to kill him when he was an infant. If Jesus purpose was to die, why did he spend 3 years teaching his disciples? Why debate with the Pharisees, rabbis, scribes, and priests? Why heal the sick, touch the lepers or eat with the sinners?

The fact of the matter, is Jesus is trying to do something else with his life. It is this purpose that leads him to heal, teach, touch love, debate, eat, and even go to the cross. Also, we should probably notice that Jesus goes out of his way to be killed, it is not an accident that he is killed. It is very purposeful. Not everybody was crucified, Jesus seemed to have done enough to make the right people angry in order to warrant the cross. So where ever Jesus is going with his life, he is heading in a very intentional fashion.

I think Jesus' mission was focused on living. He was bent on restoring life. Not on death and dying. Even his death resulted from challenging a religion that was no longer bringing hope to people but instead was power hungry, abusive, and was filling its coffers with dirty money. If we are to understand his death we should begin to ask questions about why he was killed. (funny I just wrote a post about that: here)

How should we understand Jesus' death? I think we should understand Jesus death by studying his life.

What do you think?

The Worst Day In US History

The worst day in the history of the United States was the day the US dropped the atomic bomb on Japan. We dropped a second bomb a week later, just to let them know that we could do it again if they wanted to push their luck. Innocent people were killed on those days - all in the name of victory. We claimed that we were on the side of good, that evil sometimes is so awful innocent people are hurt in order to restore good. So we can justify some innocent people dying in order to prevent stop the bad people. 

But should we consider any Japanese person innocent? They were supporting their government weren't they? Their government was the enemy of the United States, and they (the government) had attacked us. We could not allow that! Vengeance for the dead at Pearl Harbor demanded that we only accept an unconditional surrender from the people who had taken their lives. America deserved its revenge!

In all reality, it is this mindset that has lead to the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. I recently heard one of the Presidential candidates criticized because he didn't mention revenge as a response when asked how he would respond to another terrorist attack. Are we really that advanced a society? We're still promoting revenge... are we still in junior high? is the President supposed to act like the Godfather? 

What Jesus' life teaches us is that the world is not made better through revenge. Think about it, he is raised from the dead, what's stopping him from going back to the temple and having a little face to face with the priests? What are they going to do try to kill him? He's spending time with his disciples, explaining to them the point and purpose of his death. If there is anybody who has a right to revenge it's Jesus, but he refuses to play that game.

The cycle of revenge does not lead to resolution. World War II was a result of World War I (I know, very ironic.) Revenge only leads to more revenge. Until your family is feuding with another family for 150 years (think: Hatfields and McCoys). Revenge leads to bitterness and anger issues. Revenge leads to death. Revenge leads to killing thousands of people instantly with an atomic bomb.

Why Was Jesus Killed?

Why was Jesus killed? This is an interesting quest that many people never ask themselves. The usual pat answer is that he died for our sins. And while that is true, I want to know why the chief priests kill Jesus. You see there are very few good answers to this question. I think to understand the nature of the situation in Jerusalem circa 30AD may shed some light into just why he was killed.

The Gospels are quite clear; people wanted to and tried to kill him throughout most of the story. All four accounts naturally end with his death, so we shouldn’t be surprised when he is killed – but this still doesn’t answer why he was killed.


Wanna know why I think so? Read all entire post read --> here

God acts weak...

The Kingdom is built upon weakness. Strength is anti-kingdom.

Steve DeNeff was here last week, and he said this: "God divests himself into his people, so he is only as power as his people." This is very interesting as God is all powerful, there's nothing that he cannot do, but he chooses to limit himself. When Jesus was born, he was God, but yet he was defenseless as he trusted his well being to Joseph and Mary. Think about it, if Joseph hadn't left Bethlehem when he did, Jesus would have been killed by Herod. We do not see God just appearing and everybody falling down, instead he comes as a baby.


Possibly my favorite quote of all time is this: "The weakness of the Christ's cross is the ultimate criticism of all our attempts at power and security." What it is saying is that Jesus' salvific act was one that is trying to get us to see how dangerous our attempts at power and control are deadly! His act is not just about atonement, but it is also the way that the kingdom works. (Remember the cross was the sign of failure and the sign of being dominated a stronger nation.)

Thus, when we play power games we are not being like God or Jesus. They - even though all the power in the world was in their grasp - acted from positions of weakness!

Story pt. 2

We’re always being told a story. When we read a billboard beside the highway or listen to a commercial on the television, we’re being told a story. When we watch the news we’re being told a story. When our parents explain our family history, we’re being told a story. And these stories that we are constantly being told actually define reality. The billboard is saying us that if we buy a certain product we’ll be happy. The news is telling us that we need to see the events of the world in a certain way. Our family stories give us a framework for who we are. Stories are literally everywhere!

Recently, I met an author who is writing a book discussing this principle. He discovered that we learn the rules of life from children’s bedtime stories. If he is right (I think he is), then the question is not whether or not we learn how to live from stories, but what we learn. This means that the stories we learn as children, are actually teaching us the principles that we will live by as adults. (This is an interesting concept to think about as today’s children’s stories are told in now being told in comic books, movies, video games, and television. Now I am not condemning any of these mediums, but what stories are being told there?

It is in this light that we read the Biblical text. Notice how very little of our Scripture is written in the imperative (You do this); instead it is poetry, narrative, and correspondence. The Bible is really a story! When we understand the text is not a manual for life – but a collection of writings teaching us the true story – do we truly understand the nature of the Scriptures. 

Since the Bible is story - and stories are open-ended - we realize that it demands interpretation and it should be understood not to have meaning outside of its interpretation. Bible study then determines to understand the story, giving context for interpretation. This interpretation is called theology, as it is the explanation of the story. Preaching takes this interpretation and presents application for the hearer of the word. Thus the task then of Biblical scholars, theologians, and preachers is to research the story, interpret the story, and then apply the story to our world.

The question is what story is the Bible teaching us?
(for my take, check out Story pt. 3)

What do you think?

A project in redemption

Blogs, Facebook, & MySpace are all different forms of social networking sites. All online forms of ways that people can connect at different levels with each other - even when living miles and miles away. During my final year at Indiana Wesleyan, Facebook came on the scene and within a month nearly everybody had signed up and was constantly checking friends profiles.

This site allows it's members to post a message answering the question, "What are you doing?" These messages Today, the newest social networking site is Twitter. can be updated with either a text message or a computer. Thus friends are able to keep up with others where ever and whenever they feel the need.

In an attempt to strengthen the community at Asbury, the chapel office and office of community life, has attempted to utilize these networking possibilities. We believe that community is a combination of these, and we should encourage even this type of community building even as trivial as twittering. 

First, students were encouraged to 'twitter' back and forth between each other. Then, the chapel office started an official Twitter called 'Twiturgy.' Six times a day, a selection from the Asbury Reader (which is focused on the Sermon on the Mount) is posted - a very redemptive use of social networking!

If you would like to sign up and Twitter with me, my screen name is 'danrob' and when you do that, join up and also begin to follow 'Twiturgy!'

Abortion pt. 2 (As a Christian...)

As a Christian, I do not put my hope in laws. As a Christian, I do not put my hope in kings, presidents, or elected representivites. As a Christian, I do not believe that the world will become a better place because I can voice my opinion and my beliefs. As a Christian, I believe that the world is made better through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit working through the church. This is what makes me a Christian.

So, as a Christian, I also believe that Jesus calls us to stand up against the injustice of our day. As a Christian, I believe that Jesus gave of himself for those who had no voice. As a Christian, I believe that Jesus loves those who did (and do) evil. As a Christian, I believe that we do not live life in the black and white, that we should see the complexity of a thousand shades of gray. As a Christian, I believe that Jesus brought hope to those he met. As a Christian, I believe that I am called to follow the example Jesus set before me.

So, as a Christian, I read stories of Jesus not coming to condem the world, but to save it. As a Christian, I believe that Jesus came to proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. As a Christian, I read about Jesus telling the woman caught in adultry that he does not condemn her. As a Christian, I read of Isaiah telling the people of Israel to seek justice, encourage the oppressed, to defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

So...as a Christian, who is more worthy of my support: the unborn baby who can't defend himself or the unwed mother who has no support?

Thinking Outside the Box pt. 2

Thinking outside the box is problematic because usually the thinker is inside the box (which is why it's called 'Outside the Box thinking'). As American Christians, we've created a box, one that we're struggling to get outside of. We've been infected by the outside. Thus out box, just like Christian's boxes during many parts of church history, has become tainted and less than what it should be. For this reason, the church has failed to live up to it's calling. The church alienates the world, instead of bringing hope to it, when it fails to be true to it's nature.

For this reason, we look for catchy ways to attract people to the church. We try catchy marketing, campaigns, and creative approaches to our presentation in order to accomplish our goal of attracting people. The problem with this form of "thinking outside the box" is that it is really the box we've already created; it's not thinking outside the box at all. Thus we get stuck in a cycle that really is not taking us anywhere.

I believe the root of the American churches problem is that it fails to understand the unity of the who and how of Jesus. The who is right belief of who Jesus is, we call this orthodoxy (simply right belief). The how of Jesus is the context of the Biblical story this leads to orthopraxy (simply right living). Simply there is no division between the two - they are one!

I think we need to get outside the box of only making sure we have orthodox thinking. In this way of thinking, the emphasis is on getting people to believe what you believe. Thus turning orthodoxy (the who) into a product to be marketed (which just makes me cringe, I hope you did too when you read that). As Christians, we cannot do this, it fails to understand the unity between the who and how of Jesus.

How would we change our churches if we focused as much on how we live as what we believe. I think it would make people uncomfortable. We don't like being told what to do. We like being told things that don't affect how we live our lives. Quite often, we're very comfortable with who we are, or we've tried for years to bury what we're uncomfortable with and don't enjoy having to dig that up.

A Christianity that thinks outside the box would be a Christianity that challenges it's believers to live out the Gospel where they are. What would that look like? What would it look like if a congregation lived as one. How different would a church look if it was continually trying to give away it's power & authority instead of trying to gain more. What if a church started to treat their neighbors as more important? What if a church began to question the justice of the rich side of town opening new pools while closing pools on the poor side?

Maybe that would be thinking outside the box...

Abortion pt. 1

So it's election year which means that it is time to begin debating the major issues of our day. One that has caught my attention this election year is the abortion debate. I have been (and continue to be) a fervent pro-life supporter, but this year I am seeing the debate in a different light.

For one side, the argument is based around act of abortion. Abortion is killing an unborn baby, which is murder, thus it is wrong. (Don't get me wrong, I think that conservatives are right on this issue!) This is not a question of context; but of right and wrong. Murder is always wrong. This is not up for discussion.

The other side talks about the nature of the environment. They discuss how many single mothers cannot afford to raise a child. They say that women are the victims of men who leave them alone to raise a child. This cycle of poverty is wrong, and we should look for ways to protect these women from men who objectify them. I get this argument, and at many levels I agree with the feelings of this side.

One side's ethics support the poor, one side strongly stands upon the side of truth. Which side is right? My answer: yes!

We have to see both sides of the issue or we're completely missing the point. As Christians, we are called to love those who are at the bottom. We're called to support those who have no where else to go. And this does not mean we do this only when they agree with us in morals, ethics, and lifestyle. As Christians we need to see all the sides of the issue. We need to understand justice on both sides.

(please do not write me off until you read the second half of the series)

Thinking Outside the Box pt. 1

As I have studied local churches, I've discovered that many churches like to try "thinking outside the box." They do all kinds of things; they change the time, they meet in small groups, or sometimes even dim the lights. Sometimes churches go way outside the box; they ride motorcycles, tatoo people or they even try ancient forms of liturgy.

From my humble opinion, most church's attempts at thinking outside the box are mere gimics. They are only trying to do something a little crazy in order to get some attention. They really are not thinking outside the box at all; they're just changing the wrapping paper.

The overall concept of what these people are doing is staying the same. They are simply changing the way that they are communicating (i.e. trying to do something more extravagant in order to garner attention). We have learned this tactic from the business world. It is the constant re-packaging of a product that gains attention and boosts sails. One must becareful not to allow oneself to become boring or repetitive. Really? The answer is in how we market ourselves???

When I listen to people talk how to help churches grow; the answer usually comes back to marketing. "We need to be better about how we present ourselves. We need to be focused on being the type of church that fits in with our community, so they can grasp our message in their own context."

What do you think?

the massive knot in my back

Saturday night I was laying on the couch-watching the Wolverines look awful (right now I think firerichrodriguez.com is not far from being launched)-when I noticed that my back started to feel uncomftorable. By the time the game was over I had a painful muscle knot.

I had Steph try and massage it out. She did a good job and it began to feel a little better, but today when I woke up it came back - only this time worse! So today, I'm as stiff as a 2-by-4! I look like a dufis!

I can't bend. Sneezing hurts. Getting in and out of the car hurts! Getting into a prone position is painful, I tried to laydown on the couch and I about jumped out of my skin! I had to circle around the coffee table and try to land a second time. Needless to say, life is kinda annoying and painful right now!

Story pt. 1

In Christian circles there has been an increased emphasis on story in the past few years. Biblical theologians like NT Wright and Joel Green have discussed the nature of the Biblical story within the text. Popular Christian authors like John Eldridge and Donald Miller have written books about joining the story. But what really does this mean?

Let's diverge for a second. There are many traditions when it comes to Communion, Eucharist, Common Table, the Great Thanksgiving. Some traditions believe that during this time, the elements (aka bread and juice or wine) literally become the body and blood of Jesus. Other traditions believe that the elements are just reminders of Jesus' great work. Still others believe that something mysterious happens during this time, but the elements do not change. For centuries there have been wars and conflicts over this topic (the original worship wars if you will). Some would say words like: This is the Body of Christ...the Blood of Christ, others would be sure to emphasize this was just a representation.

England was especially afflicted with these wars (literally). One king or queen would hold a particular view, and would kill everybody who held the opposite view. As you can imagine this was a very unstable time; churches and communities were divided. Finally, the church realized that the point of the time at the table was not about the nature elements as much as it was about the time at the table. Now when they passed the elements they simply would say, "The Body of Christ was broken for you." as opposed to saying, "This is the Body of Christ!"

This shift allowed people from different view points on the topic to come together in peace. It moved the people from a dogmatic understanding of the elements and freed the people to focus on what they were doing. Christians (especially those of the Wesleyan, Angelical, Methodist tradition) believe that it is through the act of the Communion that God is present. That this Sacrament (translation: mystery) is speaking to us the Gospel message. We believe that the bread and the cup are the physical embodiment of the lyrics sung and the words spoken. When a believer takes part in this act, he is actually ingesting the Gospel message! You see the Table is not about the table.

In the same way there has been many centuries of conflict on the nature of the Biblical text. Some have emphasized that Text is just an inspired story, told to teach us about God. Some of emphasized the fact that it is (capital T) True; and if its not true its not inspired. Just like before, many people argue back and forth about the nature of the text instead of asking what is the point of the inspiration was.

This is where the Biblical theologians, popular authors, and many other Christian leaders are coming into the conversation. Just like the people of England were broken apart, the Church Universal has been broken apart by this divisive topic, and these Fathers in the Church have come along and said you're missing the point! Stop, the point of Christianity is not about the Biblical text, its where the Biblical text is trying to take us! Let's not focus on the minutia, let's agree its from God and move on.

August in Review!

This is the week inbetween semesters, so it has a very disjointed feel. The fall is about to start and it feels like everything is starting to fall downward towards the end of the year. Isn't that the way it seems, once September hits Christmas seems like it is next week. Even with that being true, it is still August! It has been one crazy month, it just absolutely flew by! I honestly don't know where the time went. Well actually I do:

One weekend Steph's mom, grandma, and cousin Amy came down and hung out with us for a few days. We showed them a good time in central KY. They got a tour of Lexington, Nicholasville, High Bridge, and of course Wilmore.

We discoverd the YMCA pool,. I thought was going to be a slab of cement with a diving board. Instead it's actually a nice little park with multiple slides and sections for kids and adults alike.

We pulled a prank on our new neighbors (here).

We've been getting up at 5:30 or 6:00am to go running and we've been getting to know the neighborhoods. It's really cool to see the morning routine of a place.

We also were able to see friends. Steph went to Indy to hang out with her friends from High School. They stayed at her friend Rachel's apartment (in downtown) and hung out in the city. They went to a baseball game, layed out by the pool, and had a few nice dinners together. We also were able to drive up to Cincinnati and spend a Sunday afternoon with my friend Dilly (aka Luke Delong) and his fiancie Leticia. We went to the Findley Farmer's Market (located in the stunning downtown of Cinci), then hung out at IKEA and Wendy's. Nothing beats hanging out with friends!

The Political conventions always leave us with some amazing (sarcastic) clips (here). Skip ahead to 1 minute 25 seconds to see political speeches are their best. Who thinks stuff like this is clever or funny? That's what I want to know...

It has been a good month, hopefully a sign of the season that is to come. I think it'll be fun. Shane and Shane are coming in 10 days or so. Shane Claiborne will be here on Election Day. Steph is running a marathon right after she turns 25! And who could forget our 1 year anniversary! HOLY COW it's already been one year!!!!! Time sure if flying!

Great Quote from Origen

I read this quote today in a book called Jesus for President, from a conversation between Origen, an early church father, and Celsus who is writing against the Christians. (The bracketed material is from the authors: Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw).

[Origen, quoting Celsus:] “If everyone were to act the same as you Christians, the national government would soon be left utterly deserted and without any help, and affairs on earth would soon pass into the hands of the most savage and wretched barbarians.”

[Origen:] Celsus exhorts us to help the Emperor and be his fellow soldiers. To this we reply, “You cannot demand military service of Christians any more than you can of priests.” We cannot go forth as soldiers with the Emperor even if he demands this. [Origen goes on to say that if the Romans followed the teachings of Jesus, there would be no barbarians]

We should note that Christians were rejecting the emperor because to fight for the Emperor was to place first allegiance to him. Christians do not pledge their allegiance to anyone other than Jesus.

Now read the quote again and instead of barbarians insert terrorist or extremist or Muslim. And instead of the emperor put something like President or King and instead of Romans put Americans.          

Once you do that maybe we’ll begin to see why these early Christians were killed.

 (and maybe why governments today seem pretty cozy with Christians around) 

Thoughts as I Exit from Greek Class

So I finished my Greek class today. On my final I received a 93%, which made my final grade an 86%. Actually this is about 4 points better than I made in the previous Greek course that I took. It has been a crazy month, and it’s finally over!

As I look at the grade that I received, it is really easy to say, “Man I could have done better.” or, “Man I should have worked just a little bit harder!” (Both of which I could have or maybe should have done.) The problem is that I can’t go back and redo that experience in my life. It is in the past and that’s all there is to it. I need to accept the fact that I received a B. It does not make me less of a person.

I’ve been thinking about this over the past few days, as I prepare for my final. I messed up. I was not prepared and missed the first day of class. I got distracted and only did a portion of one piece of homework and received a really bad grade on it. There were nights, when I didn’t study like I should have. I made some mistakes. I could have done better. That’s the honest truth.

BUT!!! I can’t continually beat myself down.

If I am continually looking over my shoulder second-guessing myself, I can never move forward towards becoming a better person. This is not to say that looking back at all isn’t a good thing, but there needs to come a time when I move forward. On the other side I need to look back and realize what mistakes I made so I can improve myself. I can look at mistakes and see them as failures or I can see them as formational opportunities. This means that I use the past to help shape the future!

The problem is that too many people either spend all their time beating themselves up over mistakes. This results in a person becoming completely insecure and always wondering what if. The other side of the problem is some people never learn from their mistakes. This results in a person who is completely insecure, wondering why they’re always screwing up. Neither person is getting better at what they’re doing.

Personally, I want to become a better student. So here is my formation plan.

 

 

To do this, I need to look at where I made my mistakes, understand the nature of these mistakes, make a plan to move forward, and finally give myself some measurable action steps to start implementing that plan. Here’s an example:

 

Mistake:                         I didn’t double check the date of the beginning of the class.

Nature:                         I am not organized.

Plan:                                    Get organized.

Action Step:                        Put my class schedule on Google Calendar & link it to my email.

 

 

Do you miss Mayberry?

So in the past few months, I've heard many references to Mayberry; once at Southland Christian Church many others from my Greek professor (Brad Johnson). As a result I've had the song "I miss Mayberry" stuck in my head for the better part of this summer. While many people miss Mayberry, I think they're misguided - Mayberry never existed. It's a myth and a bold faced lie!

Mayberry never existed. It only revealed the place we wanted the world to be. We want to think life is simple. We wanted conflict to not really exist. We all wanted to be innocent. 

Truthfully, there was never such a place.

The 1950's and early 60's should not be seen as a high time for American culture, but as a low time for honest appraisal of who we really are. Maybe the arts moving in the way that they have, is the result of people being honest about the way the world is.

What do you think?

Oh the irony!

Have you seen the Botox commercial? Its tag line is “freedom of expression.”

No seriously! It’s actually the message that Botox is using to advertise its product (A product that actually kills nerve endings in the skin not allowing it to move).

Like I said ironic.

what is the last and best hope of the world?

Barack Obama in a speech in April of 2007 made this quote, "I still believe that America is the last, best hope of Earth" in a speech at the Chicago Council of Global Affairs.

A Christian believes that the Church is the last, best hope of Earth.

Matthew Project pt. 2, a video link, and more!

You can find the second part of my series on Matthew here. I am attempting to write a series of essays trying to give a glimpse into a different look at the book of Matthew. I have 4 posts so far but it is a work in progress. Check it out add it to your reader or get the RSS feed for it! 

I also recommend you check out the video posted in the "Fun, Sarcastic, and Trivial" box on the right, or here, for a funny sarcastic look at the election!

I went to a Reds game yesterday, or that's at least how it was billed. The Astros won 13-4! The Reds didn't even get a hit until the 5th inning! Yup, they're terrible! I've posted a link of the game recap if you're so interested! I'm actually in the video if you look close enough here! ... just kidding! 

If you're interested in giving plasma with me I'm going to be going for the next couple weeks in the morning hours! It's pretty decent money! give me a call or post a comment and I'll get in touch with you!

And for your information, I received a 93% on my Greek midterm! Not too shabby for somebody who took 13 months off!

I'm a Jerk...

So, I feel like a total jerk.

I work at the seminary answering the phone in the evenings and perform sercurity rounds where I lock and secure the academic buildings on campus. The part of my job that I hate the most is I'm responsible to ask the skateboarders to leave the campus.

Now last fall we had some kids break into some buildings and stole some stuff. That and the fact that skateboarding can damage the sidewalks and if they get hurt the school could be sued help me to understand that yes there is a reason for their removal.

But I still feel like a jerk...

dan

p.s. to show i'm cool check out this link!

The Book of Matthew pt. 1

I'd like to do a series on the book of Matthew. In the past few years this book has been on of my favorite places to go to when I need a good word. I have taken a class on it here at Asbury and lucky me I get to read through the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7) this summer as part of the summer reading program for being a chapel intern. So this book has had a big part in shaping my life and my spiritual journey. I'd like to start with a very, very brief exercise in working through the structure of the book.

Before I get into Matthew, I'd like to quickly make one point: meaning is found in context. A sentence gives meaning to it's parts by their relationships. A paragraph gives a sentence meaning by relating it to other sentences. And so on and so forth. This is important in Biblical Studies as we look at verses. They must not be isolated from their context. So as we read a verse or a chapter we must be sure to attach it on the overarching context that it is located in. It is for this reason that we begin with a quick look at Matthew's structure. With that said let's look at the over arching context of Matthew.

The book of Matthew can be split into two major sections. The first major section going from Chapter 4 to the middle of 16. The second major section going from chapter 16 to the end of the book. A good way to summarize the first major section is found in 4:23. Here Jesus is said to begin to teach the good news of the kingdom to the whole region of Galilee. Likewise the second major section can be seen to follow verse 16:21. In this verse, Jesus begins to explain to his disciples that he is going to Jerusalem to be killed.

The First Half of Matthew:
So the first half of the book can be broken apart like this: He preaches the Sermon on the Mount (5-7). After that there is a two chapter section (8-9) where he goes around performing 10 great signs. He then sends out his disciples to spread this message farther (10). When the disciple return, Israel rejects Jesus teachings (11-12) which causes Jesus rejects Israel (13-15). The beginning of chapter 16 we find Jesus with only his disciples still following him and in a foreign country.

The Second Half of Matthew:
It is at this point that Matthew begins his second section. It begins with Jesus moving towards Jerusalem (17-21). This section climaxes with Jesus actually entering the temple. As he enters into the city he begins a series of teachings against the city and against the religious leaders there (21-25). These teachings lead to the conspiracy by the priests to kill Jesus which is carried out and Jesus is crucified after a scandalous "trial" (26-27). On the first day of the week, Jesus is raised from the dead! He then instructs his disciples that all authority has been given to him and they should go and teach what he has taught them!

This is the book of Matthew in a very brief nutshell: A proclamation (and subsequent rejection) of the Kingdom of Heaven. Then a climatic journey to Jerusalem (and the cross).

One big question I have as I look at this raw data: 'Are the two parts related?" For this sake of this series I am going to assume so. Which means we should ask another question, 'What does this mean about the Cross and the Kingdom of Heaven?'

This is where I will pick up next time. 

What are your thoughts?

week of drama pt. 2

Tuesday night, I had to take Steph to the ER. She had some sort of stomach issue that caused her to expell fluids from both ends. It was a sad sight. From about 5-8:30 she could do nothing but sit on the toilet and puke on the floor! I had no idea what to do! If it was just a little stomach issue, we didn't need to take her to the hospital, but when she didn't stop after 3 hours, and now was complaining of severe pain in the stomach, I knew we had to do something.

I called every friend I knew who is either a nurse or married to a nurse, and finally got in contact with our friend (who I now consider a saint) St. Emily Hiatt. When she heard Steph's symptoms she told us we did need to take her to the hospital. So we immediately got in the car and went to the ER.

The closest hospital to our apartment is St. Joe's in Lexington. When we pulled up Steph made a bee-line to the bathroom, while I checked her in and parked the car. As I was sitting in the waiting room, I heard her start to scream in pain. She was so dehydrated that she was completely cramping up! I got them to get a nurse from the ER, and they put her in a wheelchair because she could barely stand up.

When they got her into a bed, they told her they were going to have to hook her up  to an IV. Which she told the nurse she didn't want. The response she got was, "If we don't give you an IV, you could go into a coma." It was at this point that Steph realized how serious her situation was. She later told me that it was when she heard the word 'coma' that she stopped thinking, "I can take care of this!" The entire time she thought it was silly to go to the hospital. She thought her situation wasn't serious enough to warrant a bed in a busy ER. 

Of course Steph being Steph couldn't control herself. I went to go outside and make a phone call or get a Cherry Coke and when I got back she looked at me (hooked up to two IV's, in a hospital gown, and completely pale) and asked, "Did you see anything gross out there?" I about fell over laughing! Here she is in the ER and she's wanting to know if there's anything gross going on elsewhere in the ER!! Hilarious!

After they pumped 3 liters of fluid in her, and waited until her vital signs were normal, they discharged her at 3:30 am. She spent Wednesday in bed and on the couch. She's doing well and recovering nicely! But for a while there I was pretty scared. 

week of drama pt 1.

Once upon a time in a land far far away, I registered for my second semester Greek class. When I registered the dates posted were August 4th - the 29th. So I had prepared my entire summer with these dates in mind. Sadly, they were not correct.

(The correct dates for my Greek class were July 28 - August 22.)

So Monday the 28th of July I went to the library to perhaps take a glance at the syllabus, get an idea of what I needed to prep on, and take a look at the online classroom, when I noticed that the official summer term was posted as July 28th (not the 4th of August like I was expecting).

I began to panic. "Surely this can't be happening to me!" My heart rate went up. I began to profusely sweat. "This isn't possible!" But it was happening, and it was possible. I checked my e-mail and sure enough I had an e-mail in the inbox from my instructor telling me that he missed me in class that morning. My heart sunk into my stomach. I had missed the entire first day of class!

This is how I started my final year of grad school!

Late night carpet cleaning and new shoes

Late night carpet cleaning:
Tuesday night AD Carpet Care took a road trip south to Stanford, Ky to clean the Depot Restaurant. We finshed at the restaurant sometime around 2:15am, and I got home about an hour later.

Tonight (Thursday Night) we're cleaning the restaurant at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Lexington. We can't start there until 11pm. Which means we'll get out sometime about dawn!

This is the fab life of a carpet cleaner!

New Shoes:
I've been wanting a pair of Converse "Chucks" for a while. So Steph has been watching at Target a nice white pair for me. They were on clearence, and we were waiting until the price was perfect. Well the price finally dropped into the "we can afford that" range, so while we were out tonight we got them.
I'm pretty pumped!!

Thanks for stopping by and remember, Aloha means goodbye!

Childhood Heros

(Ray, Chris, Juwan, Jalen, and Jimmy)

Growing up, these guys were my heros.

Who could forget the black socks, the shaved heads, the dunks, the trash talking, the swagger, the baggy shorts, the hip hop flavor, or the time out?

Sadly, the University does not remember this teams all because one of the guys took money from a Booster while he was a player at U of M thus disqualifying the team from competition. Even though they never officially won a game, they're still my favorite team of all time!

$4.00 gas?!?!? i'll take the train

This is in no way an original thought, in fact, I heard it from my boss at AD Carpet Care who's about as far on the Right of the political spectrum as one can possibly be.

Today we're struggling with a couple of issues when it comes to transportation. First, we have an energy crisis, as we're locked into a bidding war over oil. We're competing with Asia, the fastest growing part of the world, for oil. Thus prices are going up. Second, we're dealing with our carbon footprint (aka: how much we are polluting). The problem with our energy situation is the vast majority of our energy comes from elements that are polluting the air.

What if we created a train system that went in the median of the interstate highways? What if in the tracks were solar panels? We'd have the ability to power the trains, plus many of the areas near the tracks. We would be able to use the routes already established (they were designed to be the quickest route between the major cities anyway). 

I know that there are many issues with this idea, but it is an interesting concept. What do you think? Do you think that a transit system like this would have any hope of working?

Life in General

Summer Update

1. working as much as possible cleaning carpets.
   
2. occasionally working the switchboard at the seminary
   
3. trying to find a Tigers or Cubs game to watch on TV
   
4. trying to get my "summer reading list" finished
   
5. helped a number of friends pack up and move away 
6. prepping for Greek class in August and Chapel Internship
   
7. we were able to go home a bunch over the past 2 months
8. meeting new people in our building 
9. we have the Beer Family Reunion (Steph's Grandma on her dad's side family) on the weekend of July 26-27 in Louisville
10. the first week of August I move to doing school work full-time until May '09 when I'll hopefully graduate

Political Thoughts

Not sure who to vote for in this election yet. Kinda a toss up to me right now as I don't really like either of the candidates. They both seem to have good positions on somethings and bad positions on the other. Maybe we should put Jesus as a write in on the ballot (Steph's idea). I wonder what would happen if we really did that! 

Random Thoughts

Also, I'm trying to get more organized in my life. It seems I'm a very flighty person. Since I've been married, I've realized that I forget a bunch of things (sadly sometimes it was paying bills). My goal for this year is to become purposefully organized in all that I do. This means I have to get a calander book, use it, and remember to check it for important information. Because I'm good at usually 1-2 of those three things. So hopefully by the time I graduate I'll be proficient at being the most organized person I can be! Good Bye Type B personality!!!

Viva la Vida, or Death and All His Friends

over the weekend steph and i purchased the new coldplay album "Viva la Vida, or Death and All His Friends" on itunes over the weekend! we both like it! we had downloaded the title track a couple of weeks ago, but we not sure of whether to get it or not. personally, i'm glad we did.

i think that this album is a very political statement. in an interesting interview with rolling stone chris martin (the lead singer) had a very candid conversation with brian hiatt (not the asbury seminary student). one of my favorite comments is in response to questions about a line from the song 'Death or All His Friends': "I don't want a cycle of recycled revenge." when brian comments that this line describes the state of the world, martin says, 

"And it's f______ true, man. you can see it everywhere. It's like, when are we going to learn? We're never going to learn, that's the answer. It's an ultimate bummer and the last humans on Earth will really kick themselves."

what if there was a group of people in the world who really believed that revenge is wrong. what if there was a group of people in the world who really believed that we should love our neighbor, and forgive those who do wrongs against us. what if these people actually lived this, and believed that their God had actually first done this. what would chris martin have to say to them?

sadly, the message of the church is that Jesus has broken the cycle of revenge, but we've allowed our message to move away from that. sadly, christians are often the leading proponents of revenge in this country. so maybe chris has a point...

In Michigan! Happy 4th err 2nd of July!

So it's 2am and I'm still awake! I just drove from Wilmore to my home in Michigan. There's nothing quite like putting 500 miles on your car in one setting! Unless it's 1500! We're going to be in Michigan for a while and then make a stop in the Fort to see family and party like it's 1776! (minus the redcoats coming to blow us away!)

Also, funny story. Stephanie's family has Sunday dinner together every Sunday night. Last Sunday night her mom, who is absolutely hilarious, made pork ribs for this dinner. Since they were pork, she seasoned them with Kosher salt in an attempt to make them a little less porky...This is my family!

I found a great top 10 list-The top 10 reasons why Men shouldn't be pastors. My friend Tom Fuerst who is a genius posted this list as a note on his facebook page, and I simply copied (I find myself stealing funny and insightful thoughts from him from time to time, so enjoy and know this didn't come from me.) and pasted it to my blog in the Fun, Sarcastic & Trivial section in the right hand margin of this page!

FYI...I heard an urban legend that says the Declaration was actually signed on July 2nd but there was a mix-up at the printer's and he mistakenly put in the 4th instead. So happy 2nd of July!

the Today Show

Every morning I get up and watch the Today Show while Steph gets ready for her day and every morning I hear the same story. The economy is bad! Oil prices are going through the roof! Etc. etc. I’m tired of it. Let’s get serious people!

I live in reality. Reality is that people do dumb things for seemingly no reason. Like the person with no job and no income thinking that is’ ok to get buy a house. STUPID! I mean come on why do you need to get a house? I know, I know that it builds equity; but can you afford it? The answer: No! The evidence: Mortgage companies are going out of business because of the volume of people having to file bankruptcy because of bad loans.

Another stupid thing is when people buy huge cars that cost literally hundreds of dollars a week to fuel. I ran into a guy who told me he spends around $300 a week on gas! He lives 30 minutes away from work and they use their vehicle for work related travel. I did a little math, that’s 15,600 just on gas!

I think that the problem is that people are continually trying to move up. I need a bigger house. I need a nice car, that’s not too small! I need the most in-style clothing. I need to go to the coolest events and most luxurious vacation spots. Nobody is content with who they are. This is a problem of epidemic proportions.

I’m learning to be content with myself. I’m trying to be ok with the fact that I’m not the funniest and coolest. I’m trying to learn to do with less (that means eating out less). We’re trying to survive with only one car (Steph’s Saturn station wagon). I’m trying to be ok with the fact that I’m working 2 part time jobs, neither of which I really enjoy doing.

Not that I’m better than anybody else, but I think that part of the problem with the economy is when we continually try and move up and be something we’re not. I don’t know just things I think about while Matt and Meredith talk about Today’s events.

races and machine guns

Two amazing things happened to today.

First:
Today ran a 5k race with Steph in Wilmore. It took me a record breaking 27 minutes and 1 second to finish this course! Stephanie's time was strong enough to finish third among the 24-29 year old women! That's right I'm married to a superstar distance runner! Major props!

Second
My boss at work today uttered this amazing phrase. It was poetry that struck the deepest cord in my heart. One only longs to hear phrases this beautiful and this true every day. Well maybe not everyday, that would make my head hurt.

He said,
“It is my God-given right to own a machine gun!”

After hearing something like this I am always completely speechless!

Thank you for being patient will I got the last three posts out of my system!

Thank you for putting up with me an my past 3 posts (booze pt's 1-3), as they have been a conversation I have been having with myself over the past few months. I hope that you are not offended nor annoyed by what you found there, but instead maybe thought about the issue a little differently!

If you have not noticed (maybe because you use and RSS feed to follow the blog) I've changed the format of this page. In an attempt to organize myself have decided to commit myself to post updates from daily Wilmore life on this site (Thoughts from the Press Box). I have committed to writing in two areas, the book of Matthew and Peace in two seperate places that I have created links for in the margin of the blog. I have also decided to write random Sports thoughts on another page (here). 

And once again, thanks for being patient while I got those last three posts out of my system!

booze pt.3 (concluding remarks)

If one were to disagree with the Wesleyan Church’s stance on alcohol, be a part of the Wesleyan church, and drink alcohol anyways, that person would have an issue. The issue would have nothing to do with alcohol. The real issue would be one of submission and rebellion.

Regardless of whether or you agree with all the membership guidelines of the church, the fact of the matter is that you committed to submit yourself to the guidelines of the church. For those of us who have taken the next step and have committed ourselves leadership in the church by way of ordained ministry there should be a deeper level of commitment. Sadly, many people who disagree with the guidelines confuse this with the fact that they have placed themselves as part of a body.

While here at Asbury, we are asked to sign a communal agreement on how we live called an ethos. The first paragraph of this ethos states: 

“The Asbury community is a family of believers who have committed themselves to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord…As servants of Christ…seek to develop relationships in mutual respect. They exercise their individual and collective responsibilities…for the whole institution to fulfill its ministries.”

So the point of an ethos statement is that it is an agreement of lifestyle commitments everybody can live by. The point is not that everything is Biblically accurate; the point is that we’ve set parameters for community. Living in community is about submitting to the community and sacrificing our freedom to that community.

This is the point of the Wesleyan Church’s special directives. We as the Wesleyans have set a certain set of lifestyle choices that we all have agreed to submit ourselves to. The point is not that we agree with the individual lifestyle choices, the point is we have committed to them. If one issue bothers us so much we cannot live by it, it is not ethical of us to just simply ignore it.

If we disagree with issues in the church, we should not rebel but instead push for change. (which is what happened at this summer's General Conference). We cannot call ourselves people of integrity if we simply ignore or break the commitments we made when we joined the church. 

In these three posts, I have tried to make two points:

1. As Christians we should understand that alcohol itself is not bad, instead the abuse and addiction of this substance is what is bad.
2. As Wesleyans even if we have issues with the church’s stance, we have covenanted to these stances of our own freewill. The choice to break these agreements is an unethical one.

But at the same time, I think that the Wesleyan church should change its stance on alcohol to a more holistic stance, a stance that acknowledges the real issues at stake – addiction and abuse - and remains true to them. This is important because if we do not, we run the risk of becoming legalistic. 

These are my proposals for the Wesleyan Church:

1. “As Wesleyans we stand against all destructive practices and lifestyles that from all the ways that we abuse that which God has created good. Thus we commit to living lives free from abusing that which God has called good.”
2. “As Wesleyans we believe we were created to live lives of freedom, free from the control of addictions. Thus we commit to being free from all addictions that we might truly live lives of freedom.”

 

Booze pt. 2

As Christians we need to understand the nature of creation as innately good. Just like a beautiful painting that has been covered in smut and smoke, the world has been distorted and its beauty has been hidden. Even though its been tarnished, we can never forget the painting is still beautiful underneath! And if cleaned off, its original beauty can be restored.

Why then does the Bible speak of drunkenness being bad? Is it because alcohol itself is bad? If your answer is yes, then how do we understand the fact that God created everything good? If God indeed created everything good then we must believe that even the ingredients that go into producing alcohol are innately good. If that is true how can alcohol be bad?

Just because alcohol can be abused does not mean that it is bad. It just means that as humans we’ve found a way to abuse the beautiful creation that we’ve been given to care for. This is the problem with humans: we abuse everything around us. We abuse our resources, other people, and all elements of creation. If you want examples look at domestic abuse, slavery, dog fighting, human trafficking, strip mining, sweat shops…the list could go on and on. We call this pattern of abuse sin.

What we need to understand is that abuse is sin. The problem is that it is very easy to not understand the difference between action and abuse of the action. This is called legalism. Legalism is just as wrong as the abuse itself, because it blinds us from seeing the beauty of creation.

Thus as Christians:
1. We need to understand the innate goodness that is in the world.
2. We need to stop being legalistic.
3. We also need to stand against the abusive (or sinful) nature that is the pattern for those around us.

Booze pt. 1

Recently, for those of you in the know, the Wesleyan Church had its General Conference. One of the issues that has been heavily debated over the last couple years is the issue of alcohol. Many of you know that the Wesleyan Church has a hard stance against drinking alcohol, and all of its members must affirm this stance if they are to be a part of the church.

Now I disagree with this position. I do not feel that a list of do’s and don’ts is appropriate. I don’t think that alcohol itself is necessarily wrong, but I do affirm that an addiction to it (alcoholism) and the abuse of it (drunkenness) are both wrong. (The addiction part because it is an addiction and it causes you to lose control, and the abuse part because we should not abuse anything)

Many young persons in the Wesleyan community agree with me and have made their voices known in the church. Apart of this group has decided that it is ok to drink citing the fact that there is no Biblical mandate against it. Thus, the church’s rules prohibiting drinking are wrong, and they have the freedom to drink. This is not an isolated group, but it stretches all over the denomination.

To me the issue of whether or not I should drink has nothing to do with whether or not there is a Biblical mandate. To me the issue is that I have made a covenant saying I wouldn’t. Until that covenant is changed, I am bound to it. To me this is not a Biblical issue, it is an integrity issue. I have decided that alcohol (or any other issue) is not worth me jeopardizing my integrity.

I personally do not find drinking to be that important anyways. If I need a beer or a martini in order to have a good time, I have a problem. Comedian Jim Gaffigan makes a good point in one of his routines; we make way too big an issue out of the whole issue. As he mimics somebody asking a non-mayonnaise eating person whether or not it is ok it they eat mayo.

More Thoughts to come…

Things to take away from this post:
1.) I chose not to drink, not because I find drinking wrong, but because I have covenanted myself to the Wesleyan Church.
2.)The real issue is abuse and addiction.
3.) If I have to have a drink to have a good time, maybe there’s another issue-namely addiction.

Election Thoughts...

It's election year, which means it’s the time when we get to hear a bunch of empty promises from politicians. Let's be honest, every four years we hear two lines:

1. We need to work some kinks out then everything will be good. It's the other party is holding us back from progress.
2. We need to make big changes before everything will be ok. The current party is wrong and we need to get a new party in place.

What really happens is that a new party comes into place and nothing really changes, because politicians only care about getting elected and don't want to do anything radical that would threaten this. So real change doesn't happen because people are worried about job security. (and who could blame them!) I just don't think that politicians will ever make the world a better place!

I'm not going to lie to you, I'm kinda burnt out on the political process because I don't think it works. I don’t think that the current party that is in power will ever work things out. And I don’t think that a new party, and the change they’ll bring along will make things any better.

I say all this because I have no idea who I am going to vote for. I can’t decide which line is the least false this time…

Rules for Driving in Lexington

1. be prepared to stop at least 50 times, because none of the stop lights are timed to help traffic flow
2. nobody is to use turn signals...ever
3. watch out for flying cigarette ash from drivers in front of you flicking their cigs unto the road
4. construction may take weeks, so be prepared to drive on half completed roads
5. driving should happen at 5 mph below the speed limit
6. making a right turn from the left lane is acceptable
7. patience is unacceptible
   
8. all cars must be outfitted with a Jesus Fish
9. cutting in front of larger vechiles is perfectly acceptible
10. rain, sleet, snow, and ice (or the forecast of) are perfect reasons to go 13 mph...even when the skies are clear
    

My sink is throwing up...

So we went to Indiana for the weekend because our friend Joel got married! He is now in Las Vegas with his beautiful wife playing the slots....errr watching one of the amazing shows. We were so happy for him.

It was a great weekend, but when we got back the apartment we noticed an interesting aroma. Now there is a back story here. Last week I was working and got a call from Steph saying that there was nasty black gunk in our sink and it smelled like burnt rubber. This was the smell that we encountered when we opened the door. Our sink had the hiccups!

So I went over to Maintenance and informed them of our issue. Jill, the receptionist, told me they'd get it taken care of. Steph called me at lunch and said that the maintenance guy was digging in front of our apartment trying to get it all fixed. So apparently it was something big that needed to be fixed! Yikes!!

Needless to say, our sink is done burping!

Great Story...

Mass Transportation

As gas prices continue to go up, owning a car becomes less and less attractive to me. The only problem is that if you don't have a car (and you don't live in a big city) you're out of luck. But what if you didn't need to own a car.

Whenever I go into Chicago, I take the train. It's just easier. I pay my bill and take a quick nap while I wait for me stop. The only thing I am responsible for is knowing the schedule. I love it.

What would it be like if we had the option to not drive. What if everywhere you wanted to go there was a subway, a train, or a city bus that would take you there? To me the idea sounds like it would be great!

The only catch is by buying into mass transit we lose a bit of our independence. But would that be ok if it means we become unaddicted to our gas guzzling vechiles. It's not that I am anti-personal transportation, but the issue is we're addicted.

Dogs are better...

The other day Stephanie and I were talking about what we'd name animals that we may or may not get in the future. We have different visions about our pet situation; I want a dog and she wants a cat. We figured we'd solve this by getting one of each. Now don't get me wrong, I like cats. They're fun! But I'd rather get a puppy.

Here's my deal. Cat's are very independent, they take care of themselves. You can put a cat in a house, put their food out, give them some clean kitty liter (or even just sand) and not worry about them for days. Even if you do worry about them, they only care about you when it is time for feeding. Stephanie's cat, Chocolate is a great example of this. She hates me! When I walk into a room, she hisses, growls, and even tries to scratch me, but when I am eating meat she is my best friend. I have no stomach for this type of pet.

Robert Di Nero in Meet the Parents is right when he describes dogs. They need you, they are happy to see you, and when you are angry at them their tail goes between their legs to...well if you have seen the movie you know what he says next. Dogs cannot live without you. You are their life! When I am spending time to feed an animal, I want to have the satisfaction of knowing that it actually cares about me-this will never happen with a cat.

Back to my first sentence, we were talking about pet names. I think it's absolutely hilarious to give titles (i.e. Sir, Senator, Coach, etc.). As we were talking about what to name our pets, we decided on naming the dog, Colonel Hank Greenberg and the cat Coach Bobby Knight.

Summer Randomness

Two points of interest that I would like to point out…

Today I learned that the state of Arkansas calls itself the ‘Natural State’ because when you think natural…usually the conversation goes back to Arkansas. This makes you think what type of process people go through when picking these cute mottos. Why is Arkansas natural?

Delaware calls itself the 1st state. This is because they were the first to ratify the constitution. Why is this so? Well because they are so small!

Did you know that two states make claims on flying? North Carolina says that it is first in flight, while Ohio claims that it is the birthplace of flight.

Abraham Lincoln’s importance is also shown as three states stake a claim on his life. Kentucky calls itself the birthplace of Lincoln. Illinois calls itself the Land of Lincoln. Indiana says that it is childhood home of Lincoln.

Michigan calls itself the Great Lake State. Minnesota says that it is Land of 10,000 Lakes. Who knew that having lakes was so cool!

Wilmore has been invaded. 75 bazillion cicadias have attacked our fair city. On trees, on the sidewalk, and in the grass for the past week or so these nasty bugs have jumped out at us. Steph and I went hiking a couple weekends ago and I noticed a ton of these guys hanging out in the woods…now they’re all over!

They don’t bite but today when I was driving home from work about 100 flew over my car like snowflakes. It’s unbelievable how they swarm. When we went to church in Lexington, we didn’t see any, but in Wilmore and Nicholasville they’re like locust.

Which brings me to my second thought…has God sent a plague against us?

Pain Free Living?

“And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.”

Summer is here, and that means I have some spare time to think. As well as thinking, I have been challenged to memorize Matthew 5-7 (the Sermon on the Mount), which is a pretty crazy passage. Not only is it long (I heard once it takes 19 minutes to read), but it’s intense.

I have been stuck on the first part of the passage, the part where Jesus explains the type of people who will be blessed. They are the poor in spirit, those mourning, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted. If you really think about it, this is not the type of person you dream of being when you’re a little kid. You don’t hear the 7 year olds saying, “I want to be a mourner!”…just doesn’t happen.

I was thinking the other day that most of the time the message communicated to us is that God wants you to not go through hard times. I hear it in prayers, in songs, in sermons, and in conversations. We pray asking to avoid hard times. We pray that God would spare us from pain and suffering. Sermons are focused on how to live a better life. Most Pastors are focused on giving biblical advice on how to have a more successful and fulfilling life. We’re focused on how to free ourselves from the issues of life that drag us down. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no masochist, but maybe we’re missing the point. Maybe there is more to life than just looking to avoid trouble. Maybe there’s more to life than sunny skies and being debt free (not that those are bad things either).

I am in the middle of reading the book, “The Politics of Jesus” by John Howard Yoder. He made the point that Jesus actually lives out the Sermon on the Mount when he is crucified. For instance, he mentions that in Matthew 5:40 Jesus says if somebody taking your tunic to give also your cloak. When Jesus is being crucified, he points out that Matthew very purposefully mentions the fact that the soldiers were dividing his clothes. How should we take this: Jesus is actually living out the Sermon on the Mount! The cross is not just the story of God becoming man and then dying so we can be saved. The cross is the example for us to follow.

Paul picks up on this in the book of Philippians, chapter 2, verses 5-8. He says that we should have the same attitude as Jesus. Who though He was God, didn’t seem to care to hold on to this and he became like a slave. As a man, he again humbled himself and died. He didn’t just die he was crucified. So Paul wants us to see that Jesus doesn’t care much about taking the easy route, and we’re supposed to be like that.

I don’t know where to take this topic any further. I’ve already said I’m not a masochist, and I do not enjoy struggling through life, but I think that Jesus is trying to tell his followers something. I guess I’ve read over this text a dozen times in the last year or so, and it has struck a cord in my mind that maybe I’ve been thinking about life wrong. I’ve wanted to find the easiest, the most comfortable, or the least painful way–but maybe that’s not the way of Jesus.

-Dan

What does it mean to be a martyr?

The word martyr literally translated means witness. So, the earliest Christian martyrs were believers who witnessed the kingdom message of Jesus by laying down their lives. Thus, being a witness of and dying for the Gospel message have become interlinked. What does this mean for our everyday lives here in 2008?

Christians in the early church were martyred because they said that Jesus not Caesar was Lord, and only Jesus was worthy of worship. They were killed because they believed that through Jesus hope was brought to the world, not the government. And because they did not support their government, they were killed. As they proclaimed hope in Jesus, they rejected the lie that hope comes from Caesar.

I think that today we have moved away from this way of thinking.

I hear Christians worry that the world will fall apart if certain politicians get into the Presidents office. I hear Christians worry about the end coming if a certain country obtains nuclear weapons. I often ask myself how I will survive if the government fails to control the economy. And we are constantly worried about a myriad of issues that we feel can only be solved if the proper elected official makes the right move. We have allowed a faith in a false god to creep into our lives.

For the early church to deny that Caesar is Lord might mean you would be killed, but it definitely would mean you would be removed from society. Romans believed that the world was being made right and peace was on earth because of Caesar’s presence; anybody who thought otherwise was ostracized. This is where the mark of the beast talked about in Revelation comes from. You would literally be not allowed to buy or sell in the marketplace if you did not proclaim that Caesar was Lord.

So, what does it mean to be a martyr today in 2008? Well first, I think it means that we understand the world completely different from those around us. The world is made better only through Christians living out the death and resurrection of Jesus – not any form of government. Second, this message is worth giving up our lives (whether literally or metaphorically). Finally, to be a Christian means that we must understand that suffering is a part of being a Christian.

compelling and rich

I've been meditating on this quote for a couple months now:

The weakness of Christ's Cross is the ultimate criticism of all our attempts at power and security.

What do you think?