Poiesistheou

Migrating

2007-11-16T10:12:00.001-05:00

As great as Blogger has been for the past year and a half, I've finally migrated elsewhere in search of a bit more professional look and an easier address to spell. My new blog is at http://christopherbrown.wordpress.com/ . It's the same title (for now, at least), and I'm still in the process of updating links and such. If you're linked to me, please update to the new one. Goodbye Blogger and thanks!

Grace and Peace!!
Chris

Presbymergent Article in Presbyterian Outlook

2007-11-12T09:57:00.001-05:00

An article I wrote about the recent Presbymergent event in Pittsburgh for The Presbyterian Outlook is available online at this page . (Yes, it requires a password to login, but it's free!) There are also several articles in current issue by Presbymergent personalities like Adam Walker Cleaveland, Bruce Reyes-Chow, and Neal Locke. Enjoy!

An Experiment in Exercise and Prayer

2007-11-08T11:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday afternoon, for the first time in weeks, I had time to go for a run. I started running regularly during my junior year of college as a way to get in shape (having previously never been very athletic), and kept with it throughout my senior year, even running in the Bolder Boulder in May of 2005. During that time, my runs became a place for me to clear my mind, think, and sometimes pray while I exercised. Sadly, the busy schedule of seminary has made this a hard discipline to squeeze into my schedule.

Recently I've also been doing some reading on the topic of contemplative prayer . My morning devotional times are usually filled with reading the daily lectionary and then a time of intercessory vocal prayer. Though I've sensed the need to become more meditative in my devotions, I've been hesitant to move in that direction - the length of the lectionary doesn't lend itself to pondering particular verses and I sometimes feel guilty spending time in prayer that doesn't include intercession for others. Still, I feel like my devotional times are more work a time a basking in the presence and love of God.

As I stepped into the workout room at the seminary yesterday, I was thankful that there was no one else around. I chose not to turn on the TV or any music, deciding to take this opportunity to try to contemplate and meditate and pray while I ran. I climbed onto the treadmill, got up to a decent pace, and then let my body settle into the rhythm of the run. After a moment, I started to repeat a simple one sentence prayer, over and over while I ran: "Jesus, fill me with Your love. . . . Jesus, fill me with Your love. . . . Jesus, fill me with Your love." After a full minute of repeating that prayer while I ran, I changed the words: "Lord, fill me with Your Spirit. . . . Lord, fill me with Your Spirit." Recalling an argument I'd had with Eileen earlier in the day, I next prayed, "Jesus, melt my anger. . . . Jesus, melt my anger. . ."

For 25 minutes, I ran at the same pace, the same rhythm, changing these short mantras ever minute or two. Eventually I thought of words and illustrations that came directly from the experience of running. When I was out of breath, I found myself praying "Give me new lungs to breathe Your Spirit." When I was tired, I said "Lord Jesus, finish the race." This ended up being the most calming, peaceful, and concentrated time of prayer I've had in months - just the sound of my feet on the treadmill, the rhythm of the run, and the repeated words of these short prayers.

I was hesitant to post this for two reasons: the first is Matthew 6:6, "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." This command of Jesus has been one of the easiest for me to obey, simply because I pray best when I am alone. It's uncomfortable for me to publicize my prayer-life, but as a soon-to-be-pastor, I know I'll have to learn to be open about my own spiritual disciplines if I'm going to one day model them for a congregation. The second reason is that I know some of seminary friends may read this and then it would feel awkward if we ever ran into each other in the workout room. Nevertheless, I thought this might be a helpful idea for anyone who comes across it and I hope the idea proves valuable for anyone who reads it. And I'm curious, has anyone out there had similar experiences or found other ways to integrate exercise and prayer? What other practices like this lend themselves to a holistic view of our relationship to God?

The Unforgivable Sin of Presbyterianism

2007-10-28T20:41:00.000-04:00

Tonight I preached at The Open Door. All went well - the sermon was fine, the rest of the service worked out alright, no major technical problems. But I made one major mistake: I forgot to read the scripture passage!!

Here's the explanation: Reformed theology says that a prayer of illumination should always come before the scripture reading in a worship service. We do this because we acknowledge that without the Holy Spirit's help, we cannot understand scripture. I, however, in past preaching experiences had fallen into the bad habit last year of always reading the scripture passage, then praying, then moving into the sermon. So tonight I decided to make a conscious attempt to place a prayer for illumination in the correct place. So I prayed before the scripture reading, and then because I'm in the habit of moving straight from the prayer to the sermon, I completely skipped over the scripture reading! I was completely oblivious to this until Eileen tried to explain it to me when we got home tonight. She even tried to interrupt the sermon to tell me to "read the passage". I thought she just meant the verse I was referring to at that particular portion of the sermon, so I re-read verse 25 and moved on. Only now, an hour and a half too late, am I realizing that I actually omitted the core portion of the worship service. John Calvin would role over in his grave. I talked about the Word in my sermon, but failed to read the Word of the Bible. Praise God for grace - now let's hope no hardcore Presbyterian pastoral nominating committees find this out.

For those of you who were there tonight, the full passage was Ephesians 4:17-32 -

17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Those who have been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who
listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (TNIV)

Thoughts on Amos Yong's "The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh"

2007-10-21T10:02:00.000-04:00

For the past two weeks I've been working my way through Amos Yong's book The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh for my "Readings in the Theology of the Holy Spirit" class. It's my first experience reading Pentecostal theology, and I have to say that I've been quite impressed. It's been a joy to read, and has in many ways been an exercise in learning from the theology of the "other". Last weekend at the Presbymergent event we helped organize at PTS, John Franke gave an incredible lecture about our need to become more multicultural in our theology. In order to be true to the Gospel as it is manifest in various cultures and contexts, we have to decenter traditional Euro-American theology and start learning from other ethnic and cultural and denominational theologies. So, I'm considering this reading a chance to learn from a different part of the Christian tradition - one that makes up the bulk of Christians in the global South today.

Points I appreciate:

Yong's theology is in dialogue with post-modernity. Rather than taking a modernist or foundationalist approach to theology, Yong privileges scripture, tradition, the community of the church (over individual interpretation), and (obviously) the leading of the Holy Spirit over reason. As a result, truth is contextual to the worshipping community in what he calls a "shifting foundationalism that recognizes all truth claims as historically embedded without having to locate their ground on any one undeniable foundation" (p. 156). Yong's theology is also post-colonial. As an attempt at global theology which embraces the pentecostal traditions in Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia, Yong is working with theology that has grown in the wake of receding imperial power.
Yong's theology includes a holistic view of salvation, including social justice within the Gospel. On pages 91-98, he lists and discusses the "multidemensionality of salvation" in Christ: personal salvation, family salvation, ecclesial salvation, material salvation, social salvation (subcategorized as racial, class, and gender reconciliation) and cosmic salvation. The cosmic aspect of salvation values Creation, seeing God's redeeming work in Christ as extending to the entire earth. Through examples like that of the Association of African Earthkeeping Churches (see previous post), Yong shows how Pentecostals are recognizing the responsibility we have to shamar the earth, to care for it as we were commanded by God to do. Lastly, this holistic view of salvation shows that Yong (and other Pentecostals like him) are not separating evangelism from social justice. He is careful to show how the Azusa St. Revival in 1906 brought together people of various races in a way which became a distinguishing characteristic of early classical Pentecostalism.

Places where I have reservations:

The hermeneutical privilege of Luke-Acts. Yong treats the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts as the lenses through which all the rest of scripture is read. . . . To what extent can or should we have a canon within the canon? It's safe to say that many Protestants already do practice this to some extent: The principle that scripture is authoritative as it bears witness to Jesus Christ gives privilege to the Gospels in general, placing the teachings of Jesus as the control over all other parts of the Bible. Thus we read the Pentateuch through the lens of the Sermon on the Mount - Jesus' authoritative interpretation of the Law. But can we safely isolate just the Gospel of Luke and its sequel as more authoritative than other Gospels because of the emphasis Luke gives to the Holy Spirit?
The expectation of charismatic gifts. While this is thought by most outside of Pentecostalism to be the hallmark of the movement, Yong actually does not place too strong an emphasis on charismatic gifts such as speaking in tongues. They are not required for salvation, but at points he does say they are to be expected. If charismatic gifts such as tongues are to be expected, doesn't this place Christians without such gifts in a second-tier? This expectation is also in tension with Yong's own emphasis on ecumenical dialogue and theology; the goal of the book is one sense to provide foundations for a "global theology". Altogether, I would say that this expectation should be read in the light of 1 Corinthians 14, both for the sake of recognizing the function of spiritual gifts and for the sake of ecumenism.

I look forward to finishing the book in the next couple weeks, and may try to post more reflections. (I can already tell that his chapter on other religions is going to inspire some creative thoughts.) More to come . . .

Environmentalist African Pentecostals

2007-10-15T18:39:00.000-04:00

Going along with Blog Action Day, I wanted to put up a quick post about an interesting eco-theology phenomenon I just learned about. In my reading for my Theology of the Holy Spirit class, I came across a denomination called the Association of African Earthkeeping Churches. They're a Pentecostal group in South Africa and Zimbabwe that sees the work of Holy Spirit as extending healing to all of Creation. They have a complete eco-theology and even have a liturgy for tree planting ceremonies which is similar to the eucharistic liturgy. Their bishop was quoted as saying, "Deliverance, Mwari [God] says, lies in the trees. Jesus said: 'I leave you, my followers, to complete my work.' And that task is the one of healing! We the followers of Jesus have to continue with this healing ministry. So let us all fight, clothing, healing the earth with trees!" [quoted in Amos Yong; The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh [Baker 2005] p. 62.)

How cool is that?! It may sound strange to some folks, but it at least highlights the importance of caring for Creation. It's encouraging to see evangelical books like this coming out now as well. Perhaps we should take a lesson from our African Pentecostal brothers are serve God by planting a few trees?

Why I'm Excited for the Next Two Weekends . . .

2007-10-04T16:18:00.000-04:00

This fall is already turning out to be incredibly busy for me, so much that I'm wondering if I need to drop things to have more free time. The problem is, these are all things that I'm passionate about, especially the things that are happening over the next two weekends:

Tomorrow I'll be heading to Louisville, KY, for a retreat with the Company of New Pastors, a PC(USA) program designed to help seminarians transition into ministry. I'm excited about the trip for two reasons: (1) there are going to be amazing people there from seminaries across the country, and (2) there is built-in "free time" to rest and relax during the weekend.

Next weekend (the 12th and 13th) is also the Presbymergent: Always Reforming conference here at Pittsburgh Seminary. It's going to be a great event, featuring some wonderful people from the Presbymergent community. Plus, I'm going to be leading a fun "unconference" (see here) seminar on Friday night. Here's the description:

"Presbymergent Poetry Party: This is a chance for Presbymergents with proclivities for producing poetry and prose to share our work and ponder the use of creative literary arts in worship. Bring something for a casual open-mic reading, or just come and chat about how we can more creatively use our words to convey the Word."

Registration's still open, just go here!

Songs for Peace

2007-09-21T08:50:00.000-04:00

Today is the International Day of Peace, which is supposed to be an day when soldiers observe cease-fires, people of faith pray for peace, and the ideal of peace is held up for the world to see. As a seminarian, this holiday has me thinking a lot about themes of peace in relation to worship, and the difficulty we have integrating the two.

I help lead music for a student-led worship gathering at PTS every Monday morning. Next Monday, the president of the seminary’s Peace and Justice Fellowship is going to be speaking, and she asked specifically to have songs about peace incorporated in the worship service. At our practice yesterday, though, we had quite a difficult time finding songs until we settled on Charlie Hall's “Micah 6:8”. I’ve been a Charlie Hall for a long time, partially because his songs include themes of justice. I also love Derek Webb , whose songs such as “My Enemies Are Men Like Me” and “Love Stronger Than Our Fear” are beautiful expressions of Christ’s call to peace.

The problem is that most of these songs are not written for corporate worship singing. It’s easy to write praise songs about emotional connection to God; it’s much harder to write worship songs about authentic discipleship. Where else can we find genuine worship songs that lift up justice and peace as part of God’s will for the Kingdom? Perhaps we just need to start writing more praise songs that express Jesus’ call for us to be peacemakers and love our enemies. I know there are a few attempts at expressing themes of hope and justice coming up in new music, such as this . Is anyone out there aware of others?

Always Reforming: Emergence in the Presbyterian Church

2007-08-24T18:59:00.001-04:00

Last April, in a string of comments on Presbymergent, some other people and I brainstormed the possibility of a special gathering for "Presbymergents" here at Pittsburgh Seminary. Thanks to PSF, Continuing Ed, and a lot of hard work by Brian and BJ that gathering will be . . .

Always Reforming: Emergence in the Presbyterian Church

. . . on October 12th & 13th, 2007, featuring John Franke, Nanette Sawyer, Adam Walker Cleaveland, Brian Wallace, BJ Woodworth, Andrew Purves, Scott Sunquist and a whole host of other amazing pastors, leaders, teachers, and students.

I'm extremely excited about this event - if you're interested in registering, just follow the big link above!

Slowing Down with Poetry Before Ordination Exams . . .

2007-08-23T16:51:00.000-04:00

For three weeks, I've been searching for time between traveling and visiting my family to study for my ordination exams. Tomorrow, a few dozen seminarians and candidates for ordination will meet in the Knox room at PTS to take the Theology and Worship ordination exams - six hours of testing, some of which is open book. The next day, we'll take the church polity exam, and then be given a passage to exegete in a paper to be turned in next week. All of this to determine whether or not we are sufficiently educated to become Ministers of Word and Sacrament. I think it's fair to say that it's an intimidating process.

I spent most of today sitting in coffee shops and bookstores reading. Seeking refreshment during a study break, I wandered over to the poetry section of the bookstore I was in. One of my professors at CU used to talk about how we need poetry because it "slows us down." When we are frantically running about, chasing after a hundred tasks at once, the blank space on a page or inverted syntax or clever turn of a poem somehow can calm, slow, and make peaceful our minds. It's one reason why the biblical writers and prophets so often used poetry - it's the natural vehicle of epiphanies. So I decided to slow down. First with a few poems from Wendell Berry's Given and then with a few more from Czeslaw Milosz's Second Space.

Both books struck me with the calm quiet faith that stands behind the writers. Berry's book wrestles with tension between the mourning of death and the hope of resurrection. Milosz examines the process of growing old, naturally turning toward faith. And in the face of death, both writers words are filled with peace. Their lessons reminded me of the need to slow down, reflect, and savor life as a gift - a challenge when studying for the tests that impact the rest of my life. This week I've felt a need to be prepared spiritually as well as intellectually for these tests. I don't know how possible this is, but I want to go into these tests with a worshipful and prayerful attitude. So, while I will study a bit more, prayer and now some poetry will also accompany my preparations, and I pray that God will settle the nervous hearts of everyone else who will be taking these tests tomorrow.

"May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us -
yes, establish the work of our hands."
-Psalm 90:17 TNIV -

Travels in August . . . Family, Wine, Guitars, and Music for the Emerging Church

2007-08-20T11:05:00.000-04:00

The past three weeks have been a whirlwind of traveling all across the country as I'm trying to enjoy one month of freedom between the end of CPE and the beginning of my last year of seminary. First I went back to Colorado, where I preached twice - once in the Eckert Presbyterian Church, which was founded by my great grandfather nearly a century ago, and once in Delta Presbyterian Church, the church I grew up attending. I also spent a lot of time visiting family. Every time I go back to Colorado, I come back with something new that I've learned about members of my family. This time I found out that one of my great-aunts grew up in Pittsburgh, and that one of my dad's cousins had been the first female moderator of her Presbytery. While I knew she was very active in the Presbyterian church, I had no idea how much work she had done at the presbytery level until this most recent visit. Anoher highlight from Colorado was visiting some of the wineries in my home county with my dad and uncle John. Western Colorado has been gaining a reputation as a wine-growing region for the past few years, and I have to say that the wines we tried there were definitely higher quality than some of the ones that Eileen and I tried in Erie on our anniversary trip. My personal favorites were from Alfred Eames Cellars (which is owned and operated almost single-handedly by an amazing guitarist who used to play in a band with the woman who taught me to play guitar), and Jack Rabbit Hill, which produces some incredible organic red wine.

After that trip, Eileen and I came back to Pittsburgh for three days, then drove to Bethlehem, PA, to visit my mom and her side of the family. Our time there was packed as well, as we took trips to the beach in New Jersey, watched my newest baby cousin be baptized, and toured the Martin Guitar factory in Nazareth. At Martin, I was amazed to see how much expert work goes into building a guitar. It struck me as an incredible metaphor for how fragile yet beautiful life is in general (perhaps a topic for a later blog post . . .). At the end of the tour Eileen and my mom and I went into a special room where they let you try out some of Martin's finest guitars. Out of the five or six I tried, there was one in particular which I just fell in love with. The D-45 Koa has officially become my dream guitar . . . at the startling price of $9599!! I will never be able to afford that, nor could I in good conscience justify spending that much on a guitar for myself, but it just sounded so good.

Last of all - I have to put in a quick ad for two new cds that are coming out. First is the new Caedmons Call cd, which will feature again their former band-member and one of my all-time favorite musicians Derek Webb. The second cd that I'm excited about is Songs for a Revolution of Hope vol. 1: Everything Must Change. As the Brian McLaren's preface on the website explains, the cd is designed to present worship songs that reflect themes of justice and hope, rather than individualistic me-centered Christianity. I've often wondered why there wasn't a more explicit connection between the emerging church movement and musicians such as Enter the Worship Circle who so obviously share common values. Part of the reason this cd excites me so much is that connection is being made. Plus, it features some of our favorite artists from Boulder - Aaron Strumpel and The Blackthorn Project. I started listening to Aaron Strumpel last year when he did a cd in the Enter the Worship Circle "Chair and Microphone" series - it's filled with raw, beautiful, simple, emotional, and intense songs of lament. As for the Blackthorn Project, Tim and Laurie used to be members of our favorite local band in college: "Newcomers Home". We were sad when Newcomers disbanded, but Blackthorn's music is amazing as well, and much more bluegrass than Newcomers were. I hope someday to use their hymn arrangements in church . . . . Anyway - thank you for reading so far in this long post, buy these cds and support these amazing musicians. Amen!

CPE & The Problem With Clinical Distance

2007-06-26T18:04:00.000-04:00

A few years ago, a spot appeared on my right foot. It would bleed, just a little bit, leaving spots on my socks. Over time, it got worse. No amount of bandaids and neosporin led it to heal, and after a few weeks, it actually seemed to be growing. It bled more, but it also turned into a little mound, a lump. Thinking it was either cancer or stigmata, I decided to go to the doctor. I made an appointment at the student health center of my college and showed up expecting a full diagnosis and prescription for treatment. Instead, the intern who examined my foot sat six feet away from me, on the other side of the room, squinting at my foot through her thick glasses. After a moment, I asked if she wanted to see it closer-up. She ignored my question and simply said, "Well, it looks like a wart, but warts don't bleed."

That was it. No ideas on what it was, where it came from , or how to care for it. All that medical training sure went a long way.

What went wrong? She wouldn't get close enough to see my wound. As I've gone through CPE this summer, I've realized how important it is to get close to people emotionally and spiritually to effectively minister to their wounds. The professors at my seminary who taught my pastoral care class talked about how empathy and compassion are impossible for anyone but Christ. I do believe this is true, but I've discovered that I honestly use it as a cop-out to avoid truly getting close to people in my life. I've long savored the depiction of God given in Psalm 139 as the only One who knows everything about me, but I'm learning that this image of God was never meant to prevent us from experiencing intimacy with other people as well. My biggest struggle with CPE this summer, and in turn where I am growing the most through the program, is that it's making me less afraid to get close to other people's pain, and in turn I'm growing less afraid to show other people my pain. It's interesting that what I've talked about here more in terms of ministry and mission is really teaching me about authenticity and how genuine ministry and mission can't be done without authenticity.

In the end my foot ended up being ok. I went to a podiatrist who, after a much more careful analysis, said "Well, I don't know what that is, but I can cut it out of there for you, if you'd like." Trusting her expertise this time, I agreed. The mini-surgery took place that day, in a couple weeks my foot was healed, and I've never had a similar problem since then. I never found out what the source of the bleeding spot was and I never knew what to make of it until now. Surely ministry is both more effective and more rewarding when you're next to someone instead of squinting at them from across the room.

Help Kensington & The Simple Way

2007-06-22T06:41:00.001-04:00

Two days ago, a seven-alarm fire destoryed a large warehouse in the Kensington nieghborhood of Philadelphia, home to The Simple Way. The fire and its aftermath left eight families homeless, did other damage to the neighborhood, consumed all the belongings of two of The Simple Way's members, and destroyed the facilities of the after-school program run by The Simple Way. More information and details, including pictures, are available on their website. Please consider donating to help provide relief for the members of the community and for the The Simple Way - this is an incredible chance to take tragedy and turn it into something that shows Christ's love for the world!!

CPE as a Missional Experience

2007-06-15T18:57:00.000-04:00

A lot of people I talk to see CPE as a hoop to jump through on the the way to ordination - some sort of extra hurdle that ministry preparation committees place in front of seminarians as a nightmarish hazing ritual.

For me, that is (now) not the case.

While my committee on preparation for ministry "strongly recommended" that I complete CPE, and while I wasn't exactly looking forward to an emotionally stressful summer, I'm now learning to love my CPE experience. Part of that love has come from seeing CPE as a chance to be missional in my ministry.

This works two ways. The first is that in visiting the sick we are following Christ's example in mission. Applied to pastoral care in a hospital, Thomas Oden wrote "As God himself came to visit and redeem his people (Luke 1:68), so we go on behalf of God's Son to visit and share that redemption in our own arena of service" (Pastoral Theology p. 171). For a Christian to walk into a sick patient's room, unexpected and likely unwelcomed, is to literally follow Christ in the incarnational way in which he visited us. Nevertheless, we are called to do this. In John 20:21, Jesus says to his disciples, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." We are sent into the world with a mission to participate in God's redeeming work, and every part of a Christian's vocation has potential to be a part of that mission. This summer, I am learning to participate in God's mission through the emotionally trying but incredibly rewarding practice of CPE.

Second, we are promised not just that we follow Christ in visiting the sick, but that we meet Christ in the experience. In Matthew 25:34ff., Jesus is speaking about the final judgment and he says:

34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (ESV, italics added)

There Jesus is, hidden in the skin of the oppressed, the sick, the hungry, and the imprisoned. Do we grasp the incredible power of this idea as a practical spirituality? I didn't until this summer, and after three weeks of CPE, I'm still just beginning to. So now I go to CPE each day expecting to see Christ in the patients whom I visit. Often, I find that I leave patients' rooms having been ministered to by them as much I sought to minister to them.

One last thought: Four years ago, I spent a summer in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where I taught English and did relational evangelism with Thai, Buddhist, college students. Though I did not then and still do not feel called to a career as an overseas mission worker, that summer transformed my life. In the same way, though I do not feel called to chaplaincy as my specific ministry in life, I know this summer will change me as well. There's something about living in a different culture, being immersed in community, and engaging in service for Christ, all for a short period of time, that opens the doors for the Holy Spirit to transform lives. I look forward to seeing what sort of mischief God will be up to this summer and in months to come as I process the whole experience!

Father's Day Prostate Cancer 5K

2007-06-09T22:32:00.000-04:00

On Father's Day, Eileen and I will be running in a 5K race here in Pittsburgh to raise money for Prostate Cancer research. Most people are familiar with the Race for the Cure for breast cancer, which functions in a similar way. This particular race is especially important to us, though, because I have an uncle who is a prostate cancer survivor and we want to support efforts to help more men like him fight against this cancer. If you're at all able to donate, please click here. Thanks!!

Outlook Article

2007-05-22T06:06:00.000-04:00

For anyone who's interested, an article I wrote for the Presbyterian Outlook is available at The Miracle of Preaching. (Thanks for the compliment, Reformed Catholic!)

Five Days in Colorado . . .

2007-05-22T05:54:00.000-04:00

As I typed this, I was sitting in the Denver airport, on my way back to Pittsburgh after spending five days back in Colorado. In addition to visiting with my family, admiring the mountains, and sipping 1554 (one of my favorite New Belgium brews), I spent time with my Presbytery’s Committee on Preparation for Ministry and was approved as a candidate for ordination in the PC(USA) . The whole time was refreshing and encouraging – a true retreat which I desperately needed at this time.

First, this trip really gave me the confirmation that I needed to know I’m headed on the right path to be ordained in the Presbyterian Church. During the three and a half hour flight from Pittsburgh to Denver on Wednesday night I read Tim Conder’s chapter in Emergent Manifesto of Hope. This essay on “The Existing Church / Emerging Church Matrix” gave me a framework in which I could better understand my identity as a Presbyterian with interest in conversation of the emerging church. Conder suggests three practices for building mutual credibility between emerging and existing church structures. The second of these three is a “less selective appropriation of history” (p. 105), where Conder suggests that the emerging church dialogue should feel free to draw upon the theologians of the Reformation. Up until reading this, I had felt as though there was little way to bridge the elements of the Presbyterian tradition which I do affirm and the new context of the emerging church. Of course I recognize the limits of modernist theology and would critique much of Calvin, but now I see space for me to discuss the elements of Presbyterian theology which I think do lend themselves to the emerging church. Those will be discussed in later blog posts.

Second, and this actually has to do with my time in Colorado, I love my Committee on Preparation for Ministry. Mary, our moderator, puts in hours upon hours to make the experience both enjoyable and fruitful for the inquirers and candidates and this weekend was both. My care team was very encouraging and affirmed the calling I felt to work with young adults or college students, possibly even in the context of a church-plant. To my delight they suggested that Eileen and I would be a good fit for a church in a college-town. They also made it clear that I need to learn how to rest – a project which I’ll start working on as soon as finals are over. I especially appreciated time with Tom Hansen, the pastor of First Pres. Grand Junction , whom I look forward to getting to know better. Another new friend is Russel, the youth minister at First Pres Durango. It was refreshing to interact with pastors and seminarians from places other than Pittsburgh – from outside of the traditional Presbyterian bubble that seems to cover so many churches in the city, as well as the seminary.

Third, I learned that I actually have Mennonite ancestors. This was a surprise to me, given that neither I nor my dad knew this before my uncle told us on Saturday, but I’m excited by it. Since coming to Pittsburgh, we’ve meet many Mennonites whom I admire and whose tradition I’ve wanted to learn more about. Now I also have a family connection! My great-grandfather J. A. Hunsicker, who founded the Eckert Presbyterian Church near my hometown, grew up in a Mennonite family. In seminary he was attracted to the Reformed tradition, and the church he pastored in Kansas before moving to Colorado was simply a “Reformed” church. It wasn’t until his arrival in Eckert that the new congregation he pastored there decided it wanted to be affiliated with a Presbyterian denomination. So now that I’ve learned to embrace my Presbyterian heritage, perhaps its time for me to learn more about the Mennonite tradition as well.

That’s all for now – more to follow when I have time, as I process through the events of the past few days. . . .

Earth Day, Hebrew, and Creation-Care

2007-04-21T13:09:00.000-04:00

As I've learned Hebrew this year, I've had fun picking up on the various meanings of words that get lost when we translate the scriptures into our own language. One of my favorite words has been shamar. It means to keep, protect, preserve, watch, and guard. Often, the word is used to talk about how God takes care of humanity. Psalm 121 has the most beautiful expression of this idea in verses 5-8: "The LORD watches [shamar] over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep [shamar] you from all harm—he will watch [shamar] over your life; the LORD will watch [shamar] over your coming and going, both now and forevermore." (TNIV).

Another place this word shows up, which is appropriate for the events of this weekend, is in Genesis 2:15: "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care [shamar] of it." (TNIV). In this part of the creation story, The Lord tells humanity to shamar the land - to watch over it, protect it, guard it, and keep it. How often we've gone wrong thinking our purpose was to dominate the earth God gave us, when instead we're supposed to be good stewards of it!

Tomorrow is "Earth Day" - a day when environmentally conscious people across our country will join in recognition of the fact that we need to take care of the planet that's been given to us. How many Christian churches, however, will actually celebrate it as a day to care for God's beautiful creation? I just finished watching Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth, and I can say that it is certainly worth your time to see. My friend John has some great reflections on eco-theology posted on his blog, which I would certainly recommend (most were published last August, in a five part series.) For some other reference sites, check out Allegheny Front, a local environmental radio show, and Ideal Bite, which has quick tips on practical things ordinary people can do. May God help us be faithful to shamar this beautiful world!!

(This picture was taken by my wife Eileen on our honeymoon. It's of Peyto Lake, from the Icefields Parkway near Banff. Lakes like this are created by the melting of glaciers on the mountains seen here. When we were in Banff two summers ago, we saw ominous pictures comparing the size of the glaciers decades ago to their current sizes.)

How (Not) To Speak of God

2007-04-16T15:02:00.000-04:00

A review which I wrote of Peter Rollins' book How (Not) To Speak of God has been posted at The PTS Logos. Check it out.

Shameless Commercial Plug . . .

2007-04-03T18:51:00.000-04:00

Derek Webb has a new CD out and it's fantastic. Check it out at www.theringingbell.com .

Tim Keel, Henri Nouwen, Immagination, and Solitude

2007-03-14T10:24:00.000-04:00

The past weekend was an amazingly busy mix of activities where I saw God at work in my life and the world around me. The first was the event hosted by Emergent Pittsburgh on Saturday which was led by Tim Keel, pastor of Jacob's Well, talking about leadership in the emerging church. Sarah Louise talked a little bit about the day on her blog and included a link to an article by Henri Nouwen that Keel recommended. Nouwen's article, titled "Solitude to Community to Ministry articulated much of what I've been feeling this year as I've been so busy with seminary, church work, and the stresses (and joys) of living in community. As Nouwen's article articulates so well, we need time alone with God, to hear God's voice telling us that we are the Beloved, before we can function appropriately in community and ministry. As an introvert, I have discovered this year just how much time I need to spend alone with God in order to maintain my sanity. What I am discovering now, though, is that frustrations with church, with housemates, with school, and so on, are all tied to the fact that I so often fail to listen intentionally to God in silence and in solitude. Silence and solitude. Over spring break I also finished reading 12 Marks of the New Monasticism, the final chapters of which convicted me strongly that I am not disciplined enough in my own "devotional" life. My morning readings of scripture often devolve from times of prayer into times of study, turning my quiet time into just another seminary exercise. My prayer life has grown dry. Altogether, I need to return to a more disciplined time of spiritual formation. I need to create a place where in silence and in solitude I can learn to listen to God's voice. Incidentally, this makes me think I need to read more Nouwen and Merton, but I'm honestly too wary of buying one more book to clutter my nightstand or interrupt the readings I have to complete for school.

And there's the rub: I am being convicted of the fact that I have neglected spirituality and imagination for the sake of the academy, but I won't let go of the academy. Either way, I need silence and solitude, places where I can hear God's voice so that I can stay nourished in lives of community and ministry.

The other point that Tim Keel made which struck me the most was the need for imaginative leadership. I used to be a creative writing major in college, but my love of poetry and fiction has been sapped by dense theology books (which I honestly do also love). I need to seek new ways of opening my imagination up to be creative again. I need to learn how to think in terms of narrative and use narrative in my preaching. I need to reawaken my right-brain.

And again, there's the rub: too many first person singular pronouns.

This need for creativity and a reawakened imagination is obviously tied to the need for more intentional spirituality. I can do none of these things by my own effort, but only by the work of God in me and through me. And that is best realized (at least for me now) in practicing silence and solitude. This doesn't mean that I'm going to ignore my wife or housemates or go join a monastery - it means that I need to change the wake I approach spirituality, the way I pray, read scripture, think and live, both in community and alone.

Tim Keel of course had many other valuable points on Saturday, many about church organization, the story of Jacob's Well and his own time at Denver Seminary. Another point which struck me was the idea of stability - but that will be covered in another post. I thank God for this weekend and for the Holy Spirit's work in all of it.

Remodel

2007-03-02T10:49:00.000-05:00

Tired of and bored with the appearance of my blog, I decided to do some remodeling today. It looks a little cooler (at least to me). Also, I finally fixed the misspelling in the title: For the past year, I've lived with the knowledge that I had omitted an iota in poiesis, the Greek word for the process of doing, making, or building, but it took until now for me to fix it. An iota may not seem like much, but it was significant to Jesus (see Matt 5:18 ESV), so it deserves its rightful place in my blog title.

Outsourcing evangelism.

2007-02-08T15:33:00.000-05:00

While using my handy Logos software to do a little background study for a paper at school, I came across something disturbing in Nave's Topical Bible. As if I needed a reminder of the negative effects of Christendom models of churches, I was shocked to discover that Nave's has no entry for "Evangelism" in its catalog of Biblical subjects. Instead, the evangelism entry reads, "EVANGELISM. See Minister, Duties of."

Evangelism is part of the pastor's job description because it is a part of every Christian's job description. Instead, most Presbyterian churches I've been a part of operate in a model of church where we still expect unchurched people to magically show up on Sunday morning if God wants to save them. Forget going out to spread the good news of the Kingdom in the world - that's the pastor's job. It seems that many church members outsource their duties as ordinary Christians to the staff of the church. We outsource children to youth pastors. We outsource responsibilities to ensure social justice to mission committees. And as this example blatantly shows, we outsource the work of evangelism to the pastor. All the while, we forget that the job of the pastor is to "equip the saints for ministry" (Eph. 4:12), so that all of the Church, pastors and lay-people, ordained and non-ordained, engage in ministries like evangelism, witnessing to social concerns, and nurturing their own children in faith. I pray that more and more church-members will start to realize their own responsibilities and that God will grant me the grace to lead congregations this way.

Black Gold: Fair Trade Coffee

2007-01-31T08:38:00.000-05:00

After not blogging in a while, several things are happening this week that are making me want to write more. The first has to do with coffee. Last night Eileen and I watched the movie Black Gold with our friends Ben and Megan. It's a very well done documentary regarding fair-trade coffee and it gives faces and names to the farmers who produce the commodity which we so mindlessly consume billions of cups of every day. Perhaps the most moving scene in the film for me was seeing the Ethiopian farmers who produce the coffee we drink praying to God that they would be paid a fair wage for their work. To find out more, or learn how to get a copy of the movie, click the link above.

While I have known about fairly traded coffee and other products for a while, I have to confess that I am by no means consistent in buying them. I always buy fairly traded coffee to drink at home in the mornings - that I have done for a while. But when my middle-of-the-day caffeine craving hits, I find myself buying whatever I can get from whatever coffee shop happens to be most convenient. The most common of these places is the seminary's cafeteria, where the coffee doesn't even taste good!

So, I repent. Starting today I will no longer buy coffee at the seminary's cafeteria or at places which I know do not pay fair prices for their coffee beans. At some point I hope to talk to Mike, the chef at our cafeteria to find out if it's possible to get fair-trade coffee at the seminary - perhaps Pura Vida, or some other company which sees fair-trade as a Christian vocation. In the mean time, though, I'm cut off. Hello caffeine headaches.

Advent Hope: As Christ came to us . . .

2006-12-11T17:35:00.000-05:00

We are called to come to Christ in the same condition that Christ came to us: vulnerable and wounded.

In the incarnation, Christ came to us in one little mass of vulnerability, a baby. Born in unsanitary conditions, susceptible to disease, that little child was defenseless against the harsh realities of this world. Matthew 2:13-18 tells us that Herod even commissioned the murder of all the male children in Bethlehem to try to kill the Christ-child. Of course, Jesus grew up to be the Man of Sorrows, suffering and dying for our sake: Jesus was no stranger to pain and brokenness. As I drove home from the church today, I was struck by how aptly the words to the Derek Webb song “We Welcome You” (#6 on i see things upside down) describe this:

“as You came to us so we come to You, fragile as a baby hopeful and new,
but learning fast that to walk is to fall, soon we’ve done it all”

It’s no secret that we’ve fallen – the pain we experience every day bears witness to that. Christmastime brings out the wounds we all bear as a result of sin, whether our own or the effects of another person’s sin which have been afflicted upon us. Shattered families, addiction, depression, etc., all inflict pain upon the world’s population, and the idyllic images we see of perfect families, happiness, and excesses of material gifts create simulacra in our minds to which reality cannot live up. Life here is flawed and painful, no matter what the movies tell us.

The miracle of Christmas is that Christ comes to meet us, to be God-with-us, in the midst of that very brokenness and accepts it himself. That is why we are able to come to Christ just as we are, waiting to be transformed by his power:

“we come broken and we come undone, we come trying hard to love everyone
but we come up short in all that we do, because we do, so we come to You”

At youth group last night, as I listened to a group of teenage guys talk in allusions and hints about the deep pains in their lives that surface at Christmas, I tried to point them to our only source of hope. I quoted Psalm 42:5, “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him for the help of his presence.” To that suggestion, one of the kids responded with, “I’ve given up on hope.”

I’m writing this because I’m convinced that in times when the circumstances of life make us despair that much, the absolute most important thing to do is to look to Christ. Only in Christ do we have the hope of becoming new creations, of making this world a new creation, of finding the forgiveness, love, grace, and freedom that allows us to extend the same mercies to others. The part that hurts, and the reason that boy said he was giving up on hope, is because hoping in Christ does not alleviate all our pain. Sometimes the pain intensifies, like a surgery that rips us open so that healing can begin. Sometimes the pain sticks with us like Paul’s thorn in the side, haunting us, humbling us, reminding us of our need for Christ. Again, Webb’s words speak the simple truth about this:

“You came to show the way not around but through, so through it all we come to You”

Not a way around the pain, not medication (cf. Webb's song "Medication"), not anything that blurs our vision of reality now, but a way to endure thanks to the even more real redeeming power of our God, who came to us fully exposed to the pain we feel.

“as You came to us so we come to You, dirty and hurting, then dead in the tomb
but raised redeemed to show off the scars, ‘cause You’ve brought us this far”

This Advent, I pray that God will grant us (me, you, our families, the kids at Northmont) all the grace to realize that in Christ we’re “raised redeemed,” even if we still bear the scars of this world, because our hope is Christ.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” -1 Peter 1:3 -

Jumonville!

2006-11-20T10:54:00.000-05:00

Keith Kaufold told me last week that there’s something different about Jumonville (http://jumonville.gospelcom.net) , something that you notice in the air as soon as you step out of the van, something that is definitely spiritual. And he was right. The weekend that Eileen and I spent hanging out with Northmont’s Youth Group at Jumonville went far better than I could have ever imagined. (Thank you to all of you who knew I was nervous and intimidated by the prospect of spending the weekend with high-schoolers and who prayed for us – we felt your prayers for us up there!)

We arrived Friday night after a lengthy bus-ride, including some confusion about directions. The rest of the night is a blur in my memory now, going to Club (worship), running across the campgrounds in the dark, drinking hot chocolate with kids at the top of a mountain. Of course, we knew better than to expect sleep. My cabin didn't even attempt to fall asleep until 2:00AM on Friday night. At 3:30 Corey (one of the other leaders) and I were awakened by the sound of stereo blasting "Veggietales!, Veggietales!" at full volume throughout the whole cabin. The guys in our group, especially Mark, Caleb and Chris, made all kinds of mischief over the weekend, often ticking off the leaders and making us laugh out loud at the same time.

By Saturday, I was settling in and having a great time with the kids. Realizing that the order and structure of the camp were exactly like the Young Life camps (http://www.younglife.org) that I attended multiple times in high school. Saturday night, just like at a Young Life camp, a message about the cross of Christ and how Jesus heals our brokeness was followed by sending all the kids and leaders outside for twenty minutes of silence, alone in the cold night. During that time I prayed for all of the guys in our cabin, and when we all arrived back at the cabin that night, it was clear that God was at work in their hearts. For over an hour, we talked as a group honestly, genuinely, and emotionally about struggles, pain in our lives, and the need for God's help. At one point I had a flashback to the Young Life camp at which I "accepted Christ" nine years ago. I remembered hearing my Young Life leader quote Philippians 1:6 to me, "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." After hearing one of the guys share his own particular struggles, I realized that he needed to hear it as well, and so I payed it forward, pointing him to this encouraging verse the same way Todd Laws had done for me years ago. (Thanks Todd!)

That night it was easier for everyone to sleep, worn out physically and emotionally from such an intense day. I went to bed overjoyed at seeing how God was transforming these lives that weekend. As I've mentioned before on this blog, I've had a love/hate relationship with youth-ministry this year, at times being intimidated by all the kids and yearning to give them something deeper than just games, and at other times being delighted by the fact that a 6th grader asked me a deeper question than any adult at Northmont still has. This weekend, I loved every minute of the time we spent ministering to these teenagers, and I hope they know that. More than anything, I hope they will one day look back at this camp experience and be able to point to it as a stepping stone on the way to a lifetime of following after our Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that "He who began a good work in [them] will continue to perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."

Thinking Aloud About Rest and Stress

2006-11-03T12:39:00.000-05:00

For the very small number of people who have asked for an update on the youth group kid in my last blog, suffice it to say that nothing new has happened. Youth group stuff is still interesting, although I've lost the momentary passion I had during that blog post and have retreated to wishing I could just do the couple things I do well: preach and play guitar.

Stress seems to be taking over my life right now. Finals, papers, work, church, commuting, relationships, and the lack of time to adequately handle all of those have frankly left me feeling a bit depressed this week. Why do we work ourselves to death like this?

Monday morning I preached at our student-led contemporary worship service, talking about how a recent death in Eileen's family had reminded me of my purpose for ministry: proclaiming the resurrection life that comes with following Jesus Christ. That's a very broad purpose-statement, applicable supposedly to any Christian. Even so, in the midst of my more specific life situations and ministries in which I'm involved, I'm coming up short on motivation right now.

Dr. Son, my Christian Education professor, made a comment on Tuesday that caught my attention: "Rest is not the absence of labor. It is to rediscover the purpose of our labor." I have a short period absent from labor every Friday night and Saturday morning - but that hasn't been providing the rest I need this year. What I need is to reconnect with the very One whom I preached about as the purpose for ministry: Jesus.

I'm learning now that I need a Sabbath that is specifically focused toward God. I need to pray. I need to practice spiritual disciplines like fasting, silence, mediation and reflection. But my early mornings now are spent in Hebrew homework rather than in prayer. One solution might be "practicing the presence of God", a la Brother Lawrence. The first time I read that book it changed my whole view of spirituality, yet it's remarkably hard to follow through on, especially when you aren't doing manual labor such as dish-washing or gardening the way he did. Lord God, please help me now - I need You alone to pull me through times like this.

"Strangely out of place
There's a light filling this room
Where none would follow before.
I can't deny it burns me up inside.
I fan the flames to melt away my pride.
Do I want shelter from the rain,
Or the rain to wash me way?

Face to the ground to hide the fatal cut.
I fight the weight; feel you lift me up.
Can't deny it burns me up inside.
I fan the flames to melt away my pride.
Only had a second to spare
But all the time in the world
To know You're there.
You are the shelter from the rain
And the rain to wash me away
I need You, I need You, I need You."
-Jars of Clay-

Eating My Words About Youth Ministry

2006-09-28T16:23:00.000-04:00

"I'm not made for youth ministry."

"I can't play the silly games."

"I don't know how to talk to kids."

These are excuses I've made since I was in high school about why I could never go into youth ministry full-time. Even at that age, I hated the egg-smashing, oreo-cream-smearing, gallon-of-milk-chugging, and gluttonous-junk-food-consuming thing that I thought youth ministry was. I said I wanted substance, which Todd Laws happily delivered in Friday morning Bible Studies at Starvin' Arvin's. Of course, part of the reason I didn't like the games was because I wasn't good at them, I was afraid of getting messy, and all my friends already thought I was a dork - why prove them right? So when people like Andrea Howard told me in high school that I should consider youth ministry, I laughed.

Now, though, I'm being forced to reconsider.

Last night I spent a couple hours hanging out with the youth group at Northmont. Two things happened. First, an example of a game I enjoyed: There is a hyper-active sixth-grader named Nick who goes to Northmont's youth group. He's constantly bouncing off the walls and maintains a perpetual sugar high by chugging Pepsi and eating candy. Last night, when he started hitting me in the head with a pillow, I jokingly whined to Sean, the youth minister, "Sean, Nick's picking on me." The response came back, "So, hit him." So I did. With a pillow of course. But it was hard enough to knock him over and we all, including Nick, busted up laughing. I did not know there were such simple pleasures in life.

Second, something of substance: Over our dinner of cheese pizza, Nick started complaining to me about the war in Iraq. Eventually he told me that he wanted to be Buddhist because he believes in peace. I told him Christians believe in peace, too - it's a lot of what Jesus taught. He responded with, "But W. doesn't believe in peace, and he says he's a Christian." Wow. There's a lesson in that for us to learn about the witness our supposedly Christian nation sends not just to other countries but to youth as well. But what I want to focus on is the depth of his words. This sixth grader is well-aware of world events, aware of other religions, aware of Christian hypocrisy. An hour later, the discussion of the whole boys small group (middle and high school) turned to the war in Iraq and the guys voiced opinions from every position on the spectrum. This conversation about the ethics of war, basic theology and missiology, and the connection between the teachings of Jesus and teachings about Jesus, was deeper than any interaction I've had with the adult members of the church.

When I met Eileen at Starbucks later, I was beaming. She smirked, knowing that I enjoyed my time with the youth group - a prospect that months ago had intimidated the crap out of me. God's doing a lot in my heart right now, and I've noticed it the most in the past couple days. It's going to be interesting to see what will happen through the rest of the year. My next interaction with the youth is the "Harvest Day" activity on Sunday - maybe I'll have more to share then. Praise God for the way His Spirit changes our hearts and transforms our lives.

Free Derek Webb Music

2006-09-01T09:13:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite musicians, and one of the few Christian musicians exercising a prophetic voice today, is Derek Webb. So I'm happy to announce that, as of today, you can download Derek Webb's latest cd, Mockingbird, completely free at FreeDerekWebb.com. I've been a fan of Derek's music ever since he was a member of Caedmon's Call, but even more so since he started his solo career and began dedicating his songwriting talents to speaking challenging truths to the Church today. As Christians we have a responsibility to be concerned about politics and society, and the songs on this cd speak a convicting message to a Church that often fails to think critically about these issues. Please check it out - it's free and it's great music!

Starting a Season of Community

2006-08-28T08:28:00.000-04:00

"How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!" Psalm 133:1 TNIV

Last night Eileen and I met our two new roommates, who together bring the house total to six, or five and a half. Explanation: Oliver, a longtime friend of Kendall with only two classes left in a Masters program here is going to be staying at the house from Sundays through Wednesdays, while commuting home to New York state to be with his wife of one year during the rest of the week. Since he's only living there half the time for half the year, we jokingly say he's half a housemate. Allison, a friend of Jen from her college ministry years with CCO at Chatham, will be living there all the time, having just finished Mission Year in Oakland, California. Together the six of us will be living in community, sharing the house, our possessions, and all the joys and trials of life in the coming year.

Before going to sleep late last night, the six of us gathered downstairs in the living room and spent close to half an hour praying for each other and for the house. Looking around the room at every different face, I knew that this was one more reason why God brought us to Pittsburgh. The connection with our housemates that I felt last night while we prayed was strikingly similar to the feeling I had when Jonathan and Michael and I gathered for prayer every night of our summer in Thailand. Praise God for the gift of brothers and sisters who are passionate about living out their faith together! I look forward to the adventures that are ahead of us!

Moving to Garfield, An Anniversary,West Virginia, and Church

2006-07-31T12:34:00.000-04:00

The past two weeks have been packed for Eileen and me, hence the lack of new posts during that time. Everything that has happened, however, is significant, so here's a quick overview of what God's been doing in our lives:

1) Moving. As of July 22, we no longer live in the Seminary's apartments. That day, with the help of a few friends from the Open Door and from the Seminary, as well as with a U-Haul truck four times bigger than necessary, we moved into a house in Garfield, a neighborhood just a few blocks away. The owners of the house are Kendall and Jen Pelling, and we are renting a bedroom from them while sharing a kitchen, living room, and dining room. The house is over a hundred years old but feels almost brand-new thanks to Kendall's remodeling expertise. There are two reasons why we're doing this: a) It's a chance to live in Christian community, sharing possessions and space with each other the way the early church did. There are many other Christian communities doing this in America's cities and inner-cities today (Simple Way), and while the house probably won't take on the monastic flavor that others have, it will be an amazing experience. I don't know how God will change us during this time, but as our lives together take shape, I pray that Christ will be glorified and that we will all become more like Him through this time. b) This is the first time Eileen and I have lived in a mostly African-American neighborhood. A distinctive mark of similar Christian communities which I mentioned above is a passion for racial reconciliation, manifest in moving into neighborhoods that other white folks might not. This will also be a new experience, but priceless, I am sure. Praise God that now after talking/blogging here and there about problems of racism in Pittsburgh, I get to walk the walk.

2) Yesterday was our first anniversary! Praise God for a year of love, growth, and joy. Of course there were rough spots, but Eileen and I would both surely say we've grown through them. To celebrate, Eileen and I took off to Faith Mountain, a retreat center for pastors in the middle of rural West Virginia. Our weekend there was amazing as we enjoyed the beautiful mountains of WV, hiked, explored the small towns nearby, and spent time reconnecting with God and each other. Once we have pictures available, I may post a bit more about that trip, especially the bizarre looking turtle we stumbled upon while hiking.

3) Right after we returned from WV yesterday, we went to the Open Door where we participated in a special prayer time for Amara and Emilee, two young women whom we were blessed by every Wednesday in our weekly Bible study at the Open Door. They are each leaving Pittsburgh, both to New York state, though for different callings. Saying goodbye to them at the Creasys' house last night made me think about how the composition of the Open Door will change this year. Even as Eileen and I become a bit less involved there so that I can pursue field education at Northmont United Presbyterian Church, I know part of my heart will always be with the folks at Open Door. I have encountered no community like it who as a church embodies what it means to be followers of Jesus. I'm grateful for all the encouragement they've given me this year and look forward to seeing what God will do in the future there.

So with moving, church busy-ness, and the celebration of our first anniversary, it's obvious that a lot is happening in life. I hope to post more about the insights and lessons that I learn in the coming months. Praise God for his faithfulness and life in Christ!

A Response to Backwoods Presbyterian Part 2

2006-07-17T16:17:00.000-04:00

To Backwoods Presbyterian: Thank you for your willingness to share your own experiences of poverty in rural West Virginia. You have some great ideas and I appreciate the perspective your travels around the world brings, but there are two things I must clarify.

One: Your comments seem to accuse me of just wanting to "throw money" at the problem of poverty. First, I've been addressing the attitudes of wealthy Christians, not suggesting particular political agendas or proposed solutions to poverty. I certainly realize it's not that simple and recognize that much has to change in the mindsets and attitudes of some people living in poverty. Being new to Pittsburgh and new to urban environments myself (I come from a small town where homelessness is unheard of), I don't have the experience or vision yet to know how to change the people affected by poverty. What I do know, however, and what I hope to convey in my blogs about this subject is that as followers of Jesus Christ we are called to avoid greed like the plague. I believe that a great deal of poverty is in fact caused by greed (i.e. the stealing of aid-funds by governments in countries you mentioned). However, if we are followers of Christ, we too must watch out for greed in every aspect of our lives. That America has become an icon for the idolatrous religion of the wealthy is what I mean when I say we are complicit in the problem. Would Jesus be pleased by business people making millions upon millions of dollars in unjust ways? Of course not, and yet some churches are filled with those very people. If I may be bold, I will say it is inexcusable for a person who claims to be a Christian to become wealthy. Why? Because Jesus told his followers, not just the rich young man, to sell their possessions and give to the poor. Because our material comforts lull us into a spiritual sleep (think of Christ's words to Laodicea in Rev. 3:14-21 - they're wealth distracted them from worshipping God). And because God cares about economic justice (all the Prophets).

Two: You seem also to assume that racism does not exist in America today and is not at least somewhat to blame for the problems facing inner-city minorities and immigrant communities. This winter, an incoming student here at PTS told me about an encounter she had with a local realtor: Moving here from another state, she contacted this man to look at houses in the area of the seminary. When she told him her price range, he responded with "Oh, if you have that money then you don't want to live down near all those black people." Little did he know that she was African-American. It's not a violent example, so it would never get in the newspapers, but it shows how this subtle racism works. The man automatically assumed that a woman with that much money could not be black. It's that same attitude that allowed white anglo-saxon protestants (yes, I think we are partially to blame because of our failure to follow Christ) moved out to the suburbs of Pittsburgh fifty years ago to escape the minorities living in the city. So much for listening to Galatians 3:28.

That's all for now. Thank you again for your comments and ideas and may God use both of us to glorify Him on this earth today!!

A Response to Backwoods Presbyterian

2006-07-17T11:15:00.000-04:00

To: Backwoods Presbyterian : Thanks for your comments and for being willing to engage in discussion about this issue. Your citations from Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians, however, aren’t quite applicable to poverty as we see it in third world countries and in the inner-cities of America today. If you read quickly through the rest of Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians, the “idleness” he’s protesting is that of Christians who assumed Jesus was going to return in a matter of days. “If Christ is coming again, then why waste time working in this life?” Paul corrects that, though, by reminding them that no one knows when Christ will return (1 Thess 5:1-2). His point is not that everyone should work to be independent or even to produce income – it is that we should be about the work of the Kingdom and other work which supports it in this age because we do not know when Christ will return.

Unfortunately, many people who are privileged with a comfortable American life don’t realize how hard it is for others who live in poverty. I agree with you also that poverty does not mean “not having a tv”. Poverty is deeper than that. It’s not being able to feed your children because the man who got you pregnant at sixteen ran away and your own parents are drug addicts. Poverty is dropping out of school because you’re afraid of gang violence and then never being able to get a job that pays a living wage. Poverty is an African woman infected with AIDS because her husband visited a prostitute and their country doesn’t have the resources to teach people how to prevent or treat the disease. I don’t believe any of these people are “idle” by choice, and they certainly aren’t being idle for the reasons Paul is challenging in the letters to the Thessalonians. Rather, I think it is our ignorance and our own desire for personal comfort that stops us from helping them. Our ignorance and our complicity is the problem, not the laziness of others. Perhaps we’re better off citing James 5 in this discussion: “1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.”

Seminary Entertainment: The World Cup of Theology

2006-07-10T11:15:00.000-04:00

Here's something that will make all you other seminarians and theology dorks smile: A Finnish Ph. D. candidate is hosting the "World Cup of Theology" on his blog. You just have to see it.

Read this article: http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2006/06342.htm

Then check out the blog: http://shrinkinguni.blogspot.com/

Brian McLaren, Hell, Systemic Sin, and Rural America

2006-07-06T10:30:00.000-04:00

I just finished reading Brian McLaren’s book The Last Word and the Word After That. (No – not his newest book. I’m cheap, so I bought this one at 50% off and am waiting to read The Secret Message of Jesus until it’s on sale too.) On the surface the book is mostly about the doctrine of hell, its development and its perversions. Though McLaren admits that some of his scholarship about the historical development of the idea of hell is speculative, his real point is the book is rock solid: an obsession with hell as Western Christendom has portrayed it for centuries distracts us from Jesus’ message of the coming Kingdom of God.

Here's how that works: When we view salvation as simply fire insurance, a way to escape hell and make it into heaven, we miss the ethical thrust of the Old Testament prophets and all of the New Testament. When we add to that our Protestant understanding of the means of salvation, we exclude our actions from the equation, allowing us to believe they are of no consequence. That leads, McLaren says, to a tacit approval of systemic injustice in our world. Assuming that we have the correct belief, we focus on the don’ts of the Bible’s commands and label all the do’s pejoratively as “works righteousness.” Hence we endorse agendas that overlook issues of social justice in today’s world, and even exacerbate it by promoting the commercialized Christianity that is so prevalent in America.

When I was back in Colorado in May, I had a conversation with my old high school Young Life leader about issues of poverty and the social gospel. Because of his own theological beliefs and his work's emphasis on evangelism, he understandably sought to remind me that “poverty exists because of sin.” I agree with one reading of that phrase, but probably not the reading he intended.

Since I’ve been living in Pittsburgh, I’ve seen more of how the sin of oppression unfairly forces poverty and other ills upon the already poor, regardless of their own personal morality. I think my friend in Colorado meant that individuals sin and end up in poor circumstances as a result of their own sin. Theologically he’s more conservative than I am, and as McLaren suggests, I bet his doctrines of hell and salvation influence that interpretation of poverty. But I think geography has a factor as well.

In rural America, where I grew up, systemic discrimination and injustice occurs on a smaller scale than in big cities. Racism is present, but poverty is more often the lot of pregnant teenagers and single parents, making it too easy to blame their circumstance on individual sin, especially sexual sin. In that environment, people see individual sins more than systemic and corporate sin. The same is probably true in many suburbs.

But does that mean it that systemic sin and oppression do not exist in rural areas? To what extent do rural communities actually endorse sins of oppression by passively ignoring them because they do not perceive the effects? What about suburban areas? Does education play a role in these differences? What would Jesus have to say to the rural church about poverty, oppression, and sin?

The Aftermath of PUP

2006-06-23T09:12:00.000-04:00

After spending a few days pondering the precarious position of the denomination to which I belong, my mixed feelings about the passage of the PUP report have reached some resolution, though not necessarily a clear-cut one or one that you might expect. Let me explain.

First, I do not think PUP is as good as people want to spin it to be. Having read Edward Koster's article from the Outlook on PUP's passage, I'm not convinced that the action of the GA in any way strengthens the authority of the Book of Order. Koster seems to think that because the amended version of recommendation five allows for juridical review, everything's ok: "Whether the examination and ordination and installation decision comply with the constitution of the PCUSA, and whether the ordaining/installing body has conducted its examination reasonably, responsibly, prayerfully, and deliberately in deciding to ordain a candidate for church office is subject to review by higher governing bodies." Koster might be right, if every PJC in the denomination was committed to upholding the Book of Order as it stands including G-6.0106b. The simple fact is that they aren't. Look at the recent acquittals of William Parr and Jane Spar, who both performed wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples, but were declared by committees in their presbyteries not to have contradicted the denomination's constitution. Simply making decisions "subject to review by higher governing authorities" does nothing to win the trust of people who have watched the governing authorities contradict their own constitution.

But (secondly), I do not think PUP is as bad as people want to spin it to be. Given that we live in a post-denominational society, where very very few people actually choose a church solely because of its denominational affiliation, the approval of recommendation five does seem to allow an appropriate decrease in institutional power. Yes, it gives leeway to practices contradicting Scripture, but in so doing, it lays groundwork for the deconstruction of the national institution of the PC(USA). As Kruse Kronicle has diligently noted from the inside of the GAC, they are downsizing in recognition of the PC(USA)'s no-longer-privileged status in America. I would say that the institution of the denomination as we have known it is honestly in hospice, and rightfully should be if Presbyterians want to effectively work for Christ within American society. Presbyterian history, tradition, polity, and theology are all worth preserving, but can be done so without the bureaucracy that the national institution has become. People throughout the denomination realize this, but few are putting it into practice. The up-side of PUP, and the only positive spin I will put on its passage right now, is that it sets in motion significant changes in what we think a denomination is, and that very concept is in need of rethinking.

Though my obsession with Presbyterian politics for the past two weeks may not indicate this, I would like to identify myself more with the emergent church movement in terms of missiology and ecclesiology. Though it may sound strange, I think that PUP's passage is forcing us to redefine our denomination in ways that favor a shift toward emergent styles of church leadership. Fellow Presbyterians and emergent church friends - do you think there is any truth in this?

PUP Approved by General Assembly

2006-06-20T18:43:00.000-04:00

The General Assembly of the PC(USA), an hour and a half ago, approved the Report from the Theological Task Force on the Peace Unity and Purity of the Church, including recommendation 5, by a vote of 298-221. That means that ordination standards, including sexuality, are now considered a "local option", and that presbyteries across the country can choose whether or not they follow the "official" standards of the denomination's book of order.

Any opinions from fellow Christians who've been following this saga? What's next for the PC(USA)?

Watching General Assembly

2006-06-19T12:33:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the technological miracle of webcasting (http://www.pcusa.org/ga217/streaming.htm), I was just able to watch as the General Assembly of the PC(USA) approved the new paper on the Trinity which has caused some controversy this year. Andrew Purves, a professor here at PTS suggested that the passage of this paper could be more serious in its inherent meaning than the PUP report because of its implications for how we address and name God. The paper only affects worship and study resources produced by the Office of Theology and Worship, however, so it's not a doctrinal or confessional statement.

Good or bad? Meh. Here are some thoughts I wrote about it after reading it this spring: "This paper sounds rooted in traditional non-heretical understandings of the Trinity, but I’m left with a few points of discomfort. Line 631 – Can the Holy Spirit be analogized as a womb when the Spirit’s function is so much greater than this? While “Mother, Child, Womb” at least retain the personal aspects of God, why neuter Son to Child? Also, in the public eye, this would risk confusion, even though unintended, with Mary as Jesus’ mother, and necessary caution should be taken to avoid suggesting that we are worshipping Mary. 777-778: the idea that in proclamation of the Word of God, God is Speaker, Word, and Breath is very interesting, but is a triad like other analogies, useful for understanding, but not for a name. 885- The Rainbow, Ark, Dove triad is cutesy to the point of being laughable, devoid of personal meaning, and perhaps in danger of being perceived by the general public as childish and/or idolatry. 937 – Giver, Gift, Giving – this triad forgets that in the NT the Spirit is our “deposit” of salvation, a gift of sorts as well. Perhaps “Purchaser, Ransom, Deposit” would convey that. 938- Truth, Goodness, Beauty – this triad confuses the attributes of God that are common to all persons of the Trinity." I do think the metaphors suggested might be useful in understanding the Trinity, especially Speaker, Word, Breath, but it is not a name for God. Enough fuss has been made about the paper, though, that most people will understand the distinction between names and metaphors. So, while I'm not thrilled, I'm not upset that it passed - worse things can happen.

Watching GA has also been fascinating as I've watched online as Doodle Harris (our TSAD) and Robert Gagnon (one of our professors) have asked questions or spoken in the plenary. Tomorrow should be interesting - especially if Gagnon speaks on the PUP report and G.60106b. Anybody have predictions?

I've also found several other blogs from commissioners, GAC people, and advisory delegates that have been fun to read as the assembly continues. Here are some of the best: http://futuremoderator.blogspot.com/ , http://krusekronicle.typepad.com/kruse_kronicle/ , http://ariel-at-ga217.blogspot.com/ , and http://gruntledcenter.blogspot.com .

Gracious Lord God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, please work in and through the actions of the General Assembly this week. Bless the commissioners with diligence, attentiveness, and hearts in tune with your will. Grant us all the ability to hear You speaking into the important decisions at this time. Amen.

Please Pray for the PC(USA) General Assembly

2006-06-14T08:59:00.000-04:00

As the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) begins, the delegates and commissioners there who'll be voting about important matters in the future of the church are in desperate need of our prayers. As a former YAD at GA in Richmond, I know how exhausting all the politicking, arguing, and debating can be, and I can also tell you that it usually happens with very little worship or prayer actually happening at the Assembly. People on both sides of every issue come in with predetermined ideas about what's best for the church and rarely take the time to listen to each other, much less listen to God.

In the Lord's prayer, Jesus taught us to pray for God's concerns for this world before our own. In saying, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" we are praying for three specific things to happen: 1) We pray that God would be revered as holy by all people (that "every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord"), 2) We pray that the Kingdom of God in all its facets (physical, social, spiritual) will continue to extend throughout our world, and 3) We pray that God's will and desires will be actualized in this world.

Whichever side of whichever issue you take, please pray those three things for General Assembly this year, namely God will be glorified, that God's will may be done, and that God's Kingdom will be made manifest in the actions of the General Assembly. When we pray for our own opinions, we're bound to see more hatred and division within the church, but if we would all pray solely for God's glory and will for the PC(USA), and actually listen to God's leading in Scripture and the Holy Spirit, then there may be hope for a new peace and faithfulness at this General Assembly.

National Presbyterian Seminarians Conference

2006-06-13T15:08:00.000-04:00

For all of you Presbyterian seminary students out there, I have to let you know about an event that's happening at our seminary this summer. From August 9-12, 2006, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary will be hosting this year’s National Presbyterian Seminarians Conference . There will be three plenary speakers (Dick Ray, Edith Humphrey, and Gary Hansen) and several workshop leaders from local and regional church leaders. Dick Ray is the Consultant for Theological Enrichment at Presbyterians for Renewal, and Edith Humphrey and Gary Hansen are both professors at PC(USA) seminaries. The conference will also include lots of time for seminarians from across the country to meet each other and make valuable connections. It is all sponsored by Presbyterians for Renewal and more information is available on their website. Scholarships are generously available for PC(USA) students, so cost should not be an obstacle. For anyone who’s looking at a future of ministry in the PC(USA), especially after this year’s General Assembly, this conference is a great opportunity. If you have any questions just email Presbyterianseminarians@pfrenewal.org .

Contextualization and Consumerism 2

2006-06-05T17:01:00.000-04:00

My gratitude goes out to Brian for his thoughtful comments on my last post. In response to those comments, here are some more thoughts. First, I'm using "consumerism" to refer to a culture/lifestyle which makes the pursuit of material possessions a chief priority in life. Regardless of what the possession is (a t-shirt or a big-screen-tv), the pursuit of it for its own sake characterizes consumerism, and if we take seriously Jesus' teachings about possessions and who will inherit the kingdom of God, we would have to say this consumerism is flat-out sin.

I take for granted that there are some necessary possessions, such as food, clothing, and even our homes. In every one of these cases, the buyer can treat the possession properly (with modesty and gratitude to God) or sinfully (idolatry). The real estate market definitely adds elements of materialism to even modest homes, but the attitude of the purchaser is the issue. Is the house purchased because of what a nice house it is, or because of the opportunities for mission and fellowship come along with it? For example, buying a house in a neighborhood where you live and work is fully appropriate when it is done incarnationally (i.e. for the sake of living in proximity to the people with whom you are called by God to work), but not if it is simply because a person wants a nicer house. Either way, a lapse into the sinfulness of the community (be it buying drugs from a crackhouse near by or buying a brand-new Hummer) would be inappropriate.

The reason is this: When we contextualize the Gospel to translate it to American culture, we have to do so in a way that uses different languages and media to convey the truth of Jesus Christ, but remains faithful to that truth. Thus while we use the culture's language, we still have to critique the culture's sin.

As Brian pointed out, the use of expensive electronics by churches may seem extravagant materialism to some, but there is a difference between using tools and idolizing status symbols. A projector and a laptop enable praise songs to come alive in the voices of a young generation. Mp3 players and the internet allow people who wouldn't or couldn't step foot inside a church to access the Gospel. The culture's language (up-beat music, film, etc) is used to communicate Christ, and Christ convicts us of the need to repent of the sinfulness of other parts of the culture, including empty impractical consumerism.

I'm raising this question in regard to American culture because I think some other efforts at contextualization fail at effectively critiquing the culture's sin of consumerism. Example 1: Should someone ministering to high schoolers or college students wear Abercrombie and Fitch to be attractive to his/her target people group? I would say no. Doing so would convey a truncated Gospel, one divorced from action, because it conveys a subliminal endorsment of senseless materialism, human rights abuse, racial stereotyping, and sexual objectification. Certainly the Gospel can be made attractive to a younger generation without compromising moral standards demanded by Jesus Himself.

Example 2: Christmas. Everyone knows that Christmas commercialism is not Christian, but we still spend billions of dollars on it as a country every year. Last Christmas, as part of the "Buy Nothing Christmas" campaign, I saw an advertisement with a picture of Jesus and the caption, "When did I tell you to buy this much stuff for my birthday?" Here the medium of communication was an advertisement. The message was conveyed using our cultural language (advertising!), but the message was fully congruent with Biblical teachings. Contrast this with trying to Christianize Christmas by just reminding people that "it's the Incarnation we're celebrating" but still encouraging them to buy and sell needlessly. Which is more effective at conveying Biblical truth? Which is the better example of cultural contextualization?

If in Jesus Christ we are forgiven of our sin, but also convicted of the need to repent, how do we translate the Gospel to the cultural language without subliminally endorsing sin through the media we use? Doing so in America requires some very creative thought, and I would love to hear more suggestions.

Contextualization and Consumerism

2006-06-04T22:19:00.000-04:00

So I've been reading a book called "The Shaping of Things to Come" by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsh. It's about being missional churches in the midst of the secularized society we're increasingly finding ourselves in, and has some great points about the contrast between the way today's Church does things and the way the early Christians of the first three centuries did things. I understand their view of the Church, and of missions, except I ran into something today that seems hard to apply in our setting. After describing how some foreign missionaries in a Muslim country "contextualized" the Gospel (i.e. made it possible to understand in terms of that country's culture), they say this on page 93: "Their approach is to fully embrace the host culture in every way, but without sinning." Excellent point. But if we turn it around and apply it to how we reach out to American culture today, can we fully embrace our culture without sinning?

Overall, it seems American culture is based solely upon consumerism, which can quickly become sin. Add to that the fact that most of what's marketed in our society is sinful in some way: explicit sex in pop-music and movies; sweatshop labor in the clothes we wear; unabashed gluttony in fast-food chains; etc. If we were to strip away consumerism and all its companion sins, what virtue is there left in contemporary American culture which Christians can "fully embrace . . . but without sinning"? I do not intend to seem anti-American in this - I'm just having a very hard time understanding what there is in our culture that is not sinful, and would welcome any suggestions. What is there about American culture that Christians can honestly endorse and embrace? How do we contextualize the Gospel to communicate it to this culture without compromising our integrity and getting caught up in a host of other sins? Any ideas?

Today's Headlines

2006-05-27T11:27:00.000-04:00

Read: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06147/693671-84.stm

Psalm 2:1 "Why do the nations rage?"

Psalm 46:8-10 "Come, behold the works of the LORD, who has wrought desolations in the earth. 9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. 10 'Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'" NASU

Mic 4:1-3 "And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. 2 Many nations will come and say," Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths." For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 3 And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war." NASU

How long, O Lord? How long until You reign in peace?

The Future of the PC(USA)

2006-05-04T16:28:00.000-04:00

I'm growing increasingly discouraged in my view of the Presbyterian Church (USA). At the Wednesday evening contemporary worship service on campus yesterday, Don Dawson preached about the need for a church to care about missions, lest it turn in on itself, collapse, and die. In firing over fifty of their missionaries this week, that is exactly what the PC(USA) seems to be doing to itself. The reason for the "budget cuts" of course is the shrinking numbers within the denomination. What's wrong in this chain of logic? "Our denomination is shrinking, so let's cut the programs that seek to evangelism." What?!

Secondly, there's the debate about the report from the Task Force on the Peace Unity and Purity of the Church. For non-Presbys out there, this report was commissioned a few years ago in hopes of creating some sort of definitive answer to the denomination's bitter intra-political debates. Neither liberals or conservatives are especially pleased with the PUP report, though, probably because it demands more time to discern the answers to the questions at hand. It does so by suggesting (idealistically) that the denomination remain unified while allowing its ordination standards to be applied selectively by each presbytery. In plain language, local groups of church would be able to ordain anyone (regardless of theology, sexual orientation, or other controversial issues) with no recourse from the national church.

At a lunch-time discussion of the report yesterday led by Dr. John Burgess, it became apparent that while the report may have the best intentions and might even be a solution in an idealistic world, in reality it will do more harm than good. Whether it passes or fails at this summer's General Assembly, people will be upset and will surely talk about splitting the denomination.

It is times like this that I am thankful that I've always identified myself as a Christian first and a Presbyterian second. My faith is in Christ alone, regardless of what comes of the denomination I happen to be a part of now. In all honesty, I felt called to serve within the Presbyterian Church specifically because of all that is wrong in it now, and that's why I'm at a Presbyterian seminary now. Now the question is whether or not there will be one denomination, two, or several for me to choose from when I finish school.

Without speculating about the answers to those questions now, I will simply say that I'm thankful for the emergent church movement and what it's doing to transcend these downfalls of denominationalism. I'm grateful for the Open Door and the other like-minded churches and people here. Whenever I wonder why God called me to leave Colorado and come to seminary in Pittsburgh, The Open Door is the first answer. In a post-denominational world, churches who 1) care about following Jesus in both word and deed and 2) will actively engage their culture and surroundings to do so will surely be the most "successful."

"Illegal Immigration" and American Inhumanity

2006-04-30T15:16:00.000-04:00

As the immigration debates have heated up in national politics recently, I've noticed a disturbing inhumanity in the language used to talk about these people. Let me emphasize the word we should use: people. I grew up in a small town in Colorado with a relatively high number of immigrants from Mexico in its population. My high school friends used to joke about them. For example, in an American History class our teacher started listing statistics. After she gave the number of illegal immigrants living in Western Colorado, one student whose family owned a fruit ranch near town interjected, "And half of 'em work for me!"

I had a few Mexican friends in high school, but for the most part stayed within the boundaries of the social segregation that was assumed in my hometown. After finishing school at the University of Colorado, though, I worked in a grocery store where half of my coworkers were Mexican, and many, if not most, of them were undocumented immigrants. Through the little bit of Spanish I learned in high school and the little bit of English they learned in the workplace, we talked, learned each others' stories, and came to share profound amounts of respect for each others' lives.

One of my supervisors had worked multiple fast food jobs, supporting a wife and kids on that thin wage for over a decade before finally getting the better job at our grocery store. Another man never learned much more English than "how can I help you" and "thank you very much", but was the hardest worker in the department and supported his wife and kids on that slim wage as well. Yet another man sought to continue climbing the ladder by applying for a promotion to "coffee-specialist", and even though he knew the job and the product inside and out, couldn't get the job because he didn't speak enough English.

Then came the month where the store did a "social security audit" verifying the SSNs of all their employees. Some numbers, of course, came back with problems. To protect the company, many of my friends were let go gracefully, given two months to find another job rather than being fired immediately. The man who was my trainer told me with tears in his eyes, "We all know this happens. It is sad. But we will find other jobs." He started looking for work in construction, others went to landscaping, and still others back to fast food. Their lives were uprooted, the relationships they'd built destroyed, and their years of hard work wiped away.

Seeing their pain and their struggle, their efforts to make a living, to provide for their children, and still have money to send back to family in Mexico, makes an impression. It is easy to talk about "illegal immigrants" the way the newspapers do. But when you're talking about mis amigos de esa tienda de abarottes, you realize they are real people.

Maybe that's why I got so upset with the "letters to the editor" in the newspapers today: A previous article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had pointed out that our European ancestors were illegal immigrants when the Mayflower washed ashore. An astute point. Today a local woman responded by writing "The [Native] culture was nearly destroyed in the process and thousands were killed through disease and a genocidal cleansing of land. . . . We should remember what happens to a people who don't [sic] control their borders to illegal immigration." Grammatical idiocy aside, this woman was insensitive enough to suggest that these people would bring disease and genocide to American culture! Another example: In a recent letter to the editor in my hometown newspaper, The Delta County Independent, a man likened immigrants to "a truckload of worms that has been progressively multiplying for decades."

Immigrants are not worms. They are not here to destroy our country. They are here because they are real people, seeking real ways to support their families, and trying to give their children a better life.

Now add to this basic human right the theological truths that we Christians believe: Abraham was an alien in a foreign land, as were the Israelites in Egypt and later in captivity in Babylon. In the Incarnation, Jesus Christ came as a foreigner to our level of humanity. Since Christ came, Christians have recognized that we are all aliens in a strange land, not at home until we arrive in heaven. We are, in St. Augustine's terms, the City of God dwelling within the City of Man. The letter of First Peter opens by calling us "strangers in the world". How can we, strangers in the world, blessed by the immigrations of our spiritual forbearers, deny justice to immigrants in our own nation today?

Think on the words of Malachi 3:5 (NIV): "So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty.

How God is Challenging My View of Academia (Poverty Part 3)

2006-04-19T16:12:00.000-04:00

Thank you to my good friend Randy for the thoughtful comment in response to my last posting. Randy always has a way of speaking truth directly and forcefully, as seen in that comment. Recognizing that Jesus' words about riches, wealth, and the blessings of the poor have to do with a lot more than just spending our money wisely, it's time to ask, 'what else can we do to live up [or down] to what Jesus calls us to?'

Right now I'm reading a book by Shane Claiborne called The Irresistible Revolution. Shane is one of the founding members of a Philadelphia-based inner-city ministry/community called The Simple Way (http://www.thesimpleway.org). Fed up with the insulation of white Christian suburbia, Shane and some friends started going on regular trips to the inner city to have fellowship with a group of homeless families who lived in an abandoned church. Notice the choice of words there: they went for fellowship. The only mission they were on was to help protest the forced eviction of these families, but by taking on the literal role of Jesus in spending time in fellowship with them, they ended up falling in love with everyone there and making fellowship with those people a regular part of life. Eventually, they succeeded in preventing their eviction, with the help of several answers to prayer. The book conveys the power of the story much more than any summary I write can, so I certainly recommend it. What I can say, though, from having read a third of the book, is that I have been moved almost to tears several times while reading it because I see him doing ministry and making a difference in the world while I'm sitting here reading about it and "studying to do ministry".

Theology is important, no doubt, but there comes a point when scholarship insulates us from Jesus' calling in the same way that riches do. For example, take the difference between Matthew's version of the beatitudes and Luke's: "Blessed are the poor in spirit" vs. "Blessed are the poor." While I bet Jesus did mean to bless those who are grieving, mourning, and depressed, I've heard numerous people write off this blessing of the poor implying that Jesus only meant those who are poor in spirit. If we believe he only meant the poor in spirit, it's easy to start thinking that it's fine to be wealthy and miserly, all as long as we recognize that Christ meets us in our emotional sorrow.

That is, of course, a load of crap. But that's exactly what we feed ourselves when we start rationalizing away the brazenness of Jesus' message. This morning in Exegesis, Dr. Gagnon talked about how Jesus' words "Eat my flesh, drink my blood" were intentionally offensive because they were meant to call attention to his exclusive saving power. What do we do with that in church today? Call it symbolism and then forget what it symbolizes, namely the fact that Jesus' himself is The source of life.

So now I am left wishing that I was getting more real tangible experience in ministry right now - both to the poor in spirit and to the just plain poor. That is what my field education will provide in one aspect next year, but since I'll be working at a fairly well-off suburban church, I'll surely still be wrestling with these distinctions. Until then, I still admit that I'm not living up to Christ's calling here - I only pray that God will have mercy upon me until I actually do.

Parting thought: in the summer of 2002 I spent two months in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Living in the city, teaching English to college students, we met people who were mostly in the top ten percent of the country economically. Even so, we ate meals that cost only fifty cents each, standard fare for a full plate of rice, veggies, and some meat. Two weekends we traveled out to the rural villages to visit the people who work mostly as rice farmers. There the kids rarely get more than a third grade education and are lucky if they don't either go to jail for growing marijuana or become teenage prostitutes in the tourist areas in southern Thailand. Here's a picture of a typical family. We were some of the first Americans they saw and also some of the first Christians. What sort of message did we convey by showing up with all our digital cameras and multiple sets of clothes? Is that the Gospel? How could we have better represented Jesus to them?

More Thoughts on Apostolic Poverty

2006-03-31T11:41:00.000-05:00

My good friend Jimmy from Colorado posted a very thoughtful response to my last post, which leads to this revision/continuance of what I had talked about. To view his post, just scroll down and click on the comments to my last one. In summary, Jimmy made some great points about 1) how the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 suggests that what we do with our money matters more than what we have, 2) how Richard Foster wrote in "Celebration of Discipline" that God doesn't want us to be either rich or poor (because the extremely poor can be just as preoccupied with money as the wealthy), 3) and the education of Paul is evidence that he came from a wealthy background. I'm sure that all of these ideas are true, but I still think we need to add a couple qualifications to them. While I think Jimmy is exactly right that God gives us economic blessings so that we may be blessings to others, I think there are subtle ways in which we often fail to use that money appropriately.

First think about it this way: in order to have wealth, you have to acquire it. Regardless of what one does with his/her money, doesn't God also care about how that person got the money? Check out Deuteronomy 23:18: "You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute into the house of the LORD your God to pay any vow, because the LORD your God detests them both." (NIV). Obviously prostitution was then and is now considered to be immoral and offensive to God's design of sexuality, hence profits made from that were not acceptable to God even if someone tried to present them as an offering to God. Now let's apply this to today's business world. Of course there are many perfectly honest companies and executives out there, but we know there are just as many who are not perfectly honest or faultless in their business ethics. If it is acceptable in God's sight to possess wealth, does that hold true for people who made their money in the tobacco industry? Or the pornography industry? Or drugs? I have a feeling God detests those products like God detests prostitution. So what about companies that are economically immoral? Most people agree that sweatshops amount to cruel treatment of the workers. Would God approve of the wealth possessed by a person who made his/her money by marketing merchandise made in sweatshops? Furthermore, does God approve of us buying clothes that are made in sweatshops because we want to save the extra money to include in our tithe at church? The lines there are getting pretty blurry.

This leads to the second point: even if we received our wealth justly and honestly as a blessing from God, are there moral implications for how we go about preserving that wealth? Let's use coffee as the example now. "Fair Trade" coffee hit the market after people read horror stories about the way workers on coffee plantations in Africa and South America were abused and not even paid enough to live on. (For more info, see http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/coffee/). If my need for caffeine forces me to buy cheap coffee and thus perpetuate the degradation of a worker in a third-world country, does God approve of that? I don't think so. What if I need the coffee to stay awake to study for my seminary classes? I still don't think God would approve. One of the core themes in the Old Testament Prophets is that economic exploitation is dishonoring to God. Therefore, while it may have been acceptable in God's eyes then for people to possess some degree of wealth (the kings of Israel?), it wasn't acceptable if that meant the oppression of others. Here is one final example that carries this idea one step further: God created the earth and said that it was good, and even though God gave us dominion over the earth, he probably didn't intend for that dominion to lead destruction of his good Creation. When we buy food that was grown using pesticides that pollute the ground, we are polluting God's Creation. When we buy other products that are made in a manner that demeans Creation, such as non-recycled/recyclable materials or gas-hogging vehicles, we are also polluting God's good Creation. And why do we do these things? Because we love our money too much to pay the premium for a hybrid car or organic food. And of course this doesn't even scratch the surface on the even larger issue of moral investment/divestment. If we put our savings in mutual funds or stocks that include companies that are unethical in their business practices, are we too not responsible for their sin? When Sharon Watkins, the Enron "whistle-blower", gave a guest lecture here at Pittsburgh Seminary last Fall, she mentioned the fact that responsible investment is one of the only ways to hold unethical companies like Enron responsible. If we divest the savings we have in immoral companies and instead invest them in socially-responsible companies, we send the powerful message to business executives that we value people and morals more than just money and interest.

I write all these things realizing that I am far from perfect in living up to these standards. Most of the ideas I listed above are ones that I am only now beginning to explore in terms of actually making a difference in the way I live. But that is what it means to repent - when we realize we are in sin, we repent, turning the other direction and making a difference in our lives. In sharing these thoughts, I guess I am initiating the repentance process for myself, which for now may just be a heightened awareness of the impact my decisions make. The more people there are who have the awareness, though, the more people who will make a change in their lives, and that has the power to change our society.

Holy Lord God, please help us, though we fail to live up to Your perfection, to at least live in a way that pushes us ever closer to You. Forgive us our oppression of others, and grant us the ability to see the economic decisions we make through Your eyes. If You bless us with wealth, guide us by the power of the Holy Spirit to show us how to manage and use that wealth as You alone see fit. Amen.

Thoughts on Apostolic Poverty

2006-03-28T22:16:00.000-05:00

"Rich or poor, God I want You more than anything that glitters in this world. Be my all, all consuming fire." - Charlie Hall, All We Need -

Rich or poor. Emphasis on poor. On the phone tonight I had a chance to catch up with my best friend from college who told me about his recent feelings of conviction about his own selfishness and materialism. Providentially, since getting married and moving to Pittsburgh, Eileen and I have tried to live our life here together in a non-materialistic way. Tried because we have not always succeeded - a la the deluxe coffee table we have courtesy of Eileen's parents. But there have been some successes. For example, as I'm typing this, I'm wearing a shirt I bought at a thrift store and pants given to me by a friend. Beans and rice were lunch today. And after paying the copay at a doctor's office today I was left with a grand total of ninety-five cents in my checking account.

At the beginning of the semester Professor Scott Sunquist frequently reminded our Church History 1 class about the continual importance of apostolic poverty for the early leaders of the church. Athanasius, St. Patrick, Columbanus, and many more boldly set the examples for what poverty meant in conjunction with the Gospel. At the same time as I was hearing this in class, Eileen and I were getting involved at The Open Door - the most unpretentious and genuine church I've ever attended. The sermons may not make a big deal about it, but it is obvious from the fact that we meet in a cold and drafty old church building currently under renovation that the community of The Open Door embodies more genuinely the virtues of apostolic poverty than any other non-monastic church I know. Add to that the connection with the intentional communities associated with the people of the Open Door who move into the poorer parts of the city for the sake of setting a Christ-like example for their neighbors. Perhaps that community is more sensitive to the riches of poverty because of their own personal experience as well: as a tangible reminder to pray for the concerns of people in the community at church a couple weeks ago, people were invited to write their personal prayer concerns on a rock which would then be taken home by another person who would commit to pray for that concern and person. Right now I'm looking at a rock that reads "failure, poverty, and debt". I can relate to the debt - I graduated college with credit card debt and no job, and that debt was eventually only relieved by the generous wedding gifts we were given.

Perhaps this is why "debt" in the Calvinist tradition is so often used as a metaphor for sin: it is a pit we simply can't get out of on our own. And just as in realizing our spiritual poverty we are forced to come to God for His gracious cancellation of our debts, our physical poverty in this life serves as a tangible reminder of our ever-present need to depend upon the Lord.

So where does this lead? To the lyrics of Derek Webb's song, Rich Young Ruler. (http://www.derekwebb.com)

"Poverty is so hard to see when it’s only on your tv and twenty miles across town,
where we’re all living so good that we moved out of Jesus’ neighborhood,
where he’s hungry and not feeling so good from going through our trash.
He says, 'More than just your cash and coin I want your time, I want your voice. I want the things you just can’t give me.'

So what must we do? Here in the west we want to follow You.
We speak the language and we keep all the rules (even a few we made up).
'Come on and follow me, but sell your house, sell your SUV, sell your stocks, sell your security
and give it to the poor.'
'What is this, hey what’s the deal? I don’t sleep around and I don’t steal.'
'But I want the things you just can’t give me.
Because what you do to the least of these my brother’s, you have done it to me
because I want the things you just can’t give me.'"

May God grant us the grace and ability to live up to what these words suggest.

2006-03-20T09:09:00.000-05:00

This morning I read some words of Jesus that really struck home for me. In Mark 10:29-30 (NASB) , Jesus says, ÂTruly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospelÂs sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.Â To come to Pittsburgh, Eileen and I left behind all the friends we'd made in Boulder, CO, and our families in Colorado, Chicago, and Phoenix to come here so I could attend Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. At the time I didn't think the distance from friends afamilyliy would affect me much - I seemed to believe that emotional attachments like that didn't have as big an effect on me. Eileen took it harder, and even though she's done a better job of keeping in touch with friends in Colorado, she still misses Boulder even more than I do.

Yet now we are anything but lonely here in Pittsburgh, and this past weekend testifies to how much our new family here has grown. Friday we had a St. Patrick's Day party with friends from the seminary, the Open Door, and others, and we were blessed by the presence of every one of them in our apartment that evening. Saturday night BJ and Katrina Woodworth welcomed us to their house to hang out and chat, graciously including us in their family's birthday festivities for BJ. Then last night at the Open Door, it really sank in how much the community there has become an essential part of our lives. As John Creasy preached about how we have been "adopted" into the family of God, I saw how that process becomes tangible in the new church communities we join.

Jesus is faithful, and his words are true. Of course that shouldn't be a surprise, but it can be surprising at times to read in the Gospels something Jesus taught two-thousand years ago, and suddenly have it dawn on you how true it is in your own life. Praise be to God for the families we've been blessed with both at home and here in Pittsburgh. May God grant us the ability to continually live as a part of God's family: "Jesus said to them, 'My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.'" (Luke 8:21). Amen.

2006-03-06T15:30:00.000-05:00

Myself and my lovely wife Eileen.

poesistheou?

2006-03-06T14:16:00.000-05:00

What do I mean by poesistheou? The inspiration for this blog title actually goes back to a class I took at the University of Colorado. One of my majors there was Creative Writing, and I remember a day where my poetry professor explained the etymology of the word poetry. Poetry has its root in the Greek word poesis, which means the process of doing, making, or being in action. When a person write poetry, he or she is using words as building blocks to create something, a linguistic work of art that acts upon the reader/listener. So, poetry is quite literally the process of doing language.

That said, as a seminary student who still tries to write poetry, I've noticed especially this year that there are some aspects of God that can only be described in poetry, song, or art. A professor here named Scott Sunquist likes to point out the importance in church history of people who "sing their theology". As systematic as we make it, some things about God can't be confined to black and white prose on a piece of paper. So one aspect of poesistheou is that it's about dealing with God, thinking about God, talking about God, relating to God poetically, musically.

The other side of poesistheou is that because poesis basically means action, I want to try to be aware of God's action in this world. As I've grown out of the shallow faith I had in high school, I've come to see that God is more at work in this tangible world around us than we can ever imagine. Being religious isn't only about believing, it's about acting on that belief. So, the idea of poesistheou ends up being not just how we think about and believe in God, but how we act. It includes how we interact with God, with other people, and how we see God acting in this world. God is real, active, and beautiful in ways that are beyond comprehension - that is what I mean by poesistheou.