As I am almost done with three full years at a non-denominational Christian university, I am able to look back on my time here and reflect on what has occurred in my faith during my time here. As could be expected, my pre-college expectations were demolished. Being raised in a conservative non-denominational (which basically meant Baptist without having any sort of official affiliation) church for most of my life and committing to go into full-time ministry my junior year in high school, I thought that college was going to be a cake-walk spiritually. I was just going to go to college to learn how to be a good youth minister and organize things and plan events and manage money. I already had my faith figured out and knew what I believed. I knew that my faith would be secure at a Christian university and that I would not be in danger of losing my faith like so many of my friends who went to public, secular universities (God help their souls).
And then I got here. My favorite professors were Presbyterian (don’t they sprinkle babies or something heretical like that?). My roommate was a Calvinist (which is a dirty word, right?). One of my suitemates attended an Assembly of God church (Those are the crazy people, right?). People would dance around during worship in chapel (God wouldn’t want someone to distract other people from worshipping, of course). All of these things went against what I had grown up knowing and believing. And yet, at the same time, I discovered that all of these people loved Jesus.
And so, I was at a crisis of faith. Here I was, at a Christian college, getting a degree in youth ministry, and I felt as though my faith was being crushed. To me, attending a Christian university has been a test of faith for me. Some people think that going to a Christian school is the wussy way out, that it’s easy to be a Christian at a Christian university. For me, this wasn’t the case. My faith was put on trial here. Being exposed to so many different faith backgrounds, so many different cultures, and so many different understandings of what it means to be a Christian has forced me to rethink what it means for me to be a Christian. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I learned that I wasn’t even close.
And so here I am, and I now know less about what I believe than when I enrolled here three years ago. Although I know less, there are other things that have increased. The grace of God is bigger in my life now; I am more aware today than ever about how much grace is needed to keep this world turning. My humility has grown out of my acknowledgement that I don’t have it all figured out. I understand better what it means to say that I can do nothing to save myself, but that it is all by God’s grace. I would rather have God’s grace and love real in my life than have my certainty in my theology, and that’s what has happened.
I still don’t have it all figured out. I think that my time here has begun a life-long quest that will never end. My theology will constantly be changing. I will rethink what it means to be a Christian. But through it all, God will remain constant. I thank God for my time here at JBU, that it is not a bubble theologically, and that it does truly challenge the faith of a believer.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Grace Unspeakable
As I observe life, the world, and the scriptures, I am increasingly becoming a believer in total depravity. It seems clear to me that we all have God, as well as the life that he has called us to, dead wrong. And I don't mean just a little bit wrong, but a lot wrong. To even reflect on the thoughts of being free in Christ as compared to how we live our lives and "do" church makes it obvious how much we are missing the mark. Is this a bad thing? I'm not so sure. All that this does is point back to the utter grace of God in the light of our utter depravity. And that's always a good place to be. For me, it is at times of such reflection, that there is no call for action, revolution, or reformation, but that of humble silence in the presence of Grace. There we find our value. Not in what we do, but in who God has declared us to be.
Friday, February 04, 2005
Enough Already
I’m not sure what to think of this. As I was leaving Alicia’s room over in her dorm, I saw a flyer advertising a new weekly worship get-together in the lobby of the dorm. That got me thinking. How much is too much when it comes to “doing stuff.”
We’ve got chapel three days a week, we have passion groups, we have campus ministries, students are involved in churches, there are retreats for every group on campus, there are men’s groups, women’s groups, other special opportunities for worship, and the list probably goes on. Everyone seems to want to start their own spiritual niche, rather than contribute to the existing things that we have going on here. No wonder we have so many denominations in the world.
I guess my question is: is this wrong? Is it right? In one regard, people start all of these new programs/events/retreats/whatever with “good intentions,” trying to meet some “unmet” need, but do we have to have a separate ministry for every need? Do we need ministries at all if we are doing what we are called to do as Christians? I think that all of these additional ministries perpetuate the thinking we have here in America of distinguishing between the sacred and the secular. What we fail to miss out on is that there is no such thing as secular for a Christian. Christians are Christians, whether we are worshipping God or eating in the cafeteria. We take the Holy Spirit to Masterpieces of Literature as well as to Passion Group. We bear the image of God wherever we are. So then why is it that we feel obliged to create even more “spiritual” segments of time? And why is there never enough?
I don’t know what the problem is. I’m sure I’m a part of it somehow. Everyone thinks they can change the world, but they don’t want to start with themselves.
We’ve got chapel three days a week, we have passion groups, we have campus ministries, students are involved in churches, there are retreats for every group on campus, there are men’s groups, women’s groups, other special opportunities for worship, and the list probably goes on. Everyone seems to want to start their own spiritual niche, rather than contribute to the existing things that we have going on here. No wonder we have so many denominations in the world.
I guess my question is: is this wrong? Is it right? In one regard, people start all of these new programs/events/retreats/whatever with “good intentions,” trying to meet some “unmet” need, but do we have to have a separate ministry for every need? Do we need ministries at all if we are doing what we are called to do as Christians? I think that all of these additional ministries perpetuate the thinking we have here in America of distinguishing between the sacred and the secular. What we fail to miss out on is that there is no such thing as secular for a Christian. Christians are Christians, whether we are worshipping God or eating in the cafeteria. We take the Holy Spirit to Masterpieces of Literature as well as to Passion Group. We bear the image of God wherever we are. So then why is it that we feel obliged to create even more “spiritual” segments of time? And why is there never enough?
I don’t know what the problem is. I’m sure I’m a part of it somehow. Everyone thinks they can change the world, but they don’t want to start with themselves.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
A Theology of Change
I’m pretty close (I hope I hope I hope) to getting a job as a youth pastor, which is really exciting. However, as usual, when someone new comes in to anything, there will eventually be some sort of changes taking place. Inevitably, this means that people will be uncomfortable and skeptical about changes because they aren’t used to them yet. So, I thought it would be good to think about making ministry changes in a theological sense, so that when I do decide to make changes, hopefully there will be some sort of theological foundation for doing whatever it is I want to do. Here it is:
We don't like change because we like being comfortable. As human beings, we try to avoid anything that makes us uncomfortable, because to our natural inclinations, comfort is better than discomfort. The problem with this mindset comes when we read the Gospels. We find this in Matthew 16:24, as well as other parallel passages in the other Gospels: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'"
Taking up one's cross isn't a comfortable place to be. One, crosses are heavy, which makes carrying one a pretty large ordeal. Two, crosses are a symbol of death. It’d be like carrying a noose or an electric chair with you. Not a very comfortable combination? Christ calls us to a state of discomfort.
But, why is comfort bad? Because when we are comfortable, we think we've got it together, we think that we're doing ok, and we come into something with expectations. If our expectations aren't met, then we are disappointed. Here's the problem: throughout history, God has broken the expectations of man in order to communicate his message. When we get comfortable, we expect (and therefore limit) God to speak within a little box of expectations that we have created. When we are uncomfortable, and don't know what to expect, we listen for God to speak in any way because we don't know what to expect. By not having a preconceived notion about what is going to happen, we listen to God better so that he is able to mold us into who he has called us to be. When we are in uncharted territory, we have to rely on God, not ourselves.
So, in a spiritual sense, discomfort is better than comfort, which means change is better than stagnation. Think of a creek, where it gets still, mold and algae develop, but where the water is flowing, it stays clean. Our spiritual lives are the same way. When we start getting comfortable, then we start missing out on what God has in store for us.
We don't like change because we like being comfortable. As human beings, we try to avoid anything that makes us uncomfortable, because to our natural inclinations, comfort is better than discomfort. The problem with this mindset comes when we read the Gospels. We find this in Matthew 16:24, as well as other parallel passages in the other Gospels: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'"
Taking up one's cross isn't a comfortable place to be. One, crosses are heavy, which makes carrying one a pretty large ordeal. Two, crosses are a symbol of death. It’d be like carrying a noose or an electric chair with you. Not a very comfortable combination? Christ calls us to a state of discomfort.
But, why is comfort bad? Because when we are comfortable, we think we've got it together, we think that we're doing ok, and we come into something with expectations. If our expectations aren't met, then we are disappointed. Here's the problem: throughout history, God has broken the expectations of man in order to communicate his message. When we get comfortable, we expect (and therefore limit) God to speak within a little box of expectations that we have created. When we are uncomfortable, and don't know what to expect, we listen for God to speak in any way because we don't know what to expect. By not having a preconceived notion about what is going to happen, we listen to God better so that he is able to mold us into who he has called us to be. When we are in uncharted territory, we have to rely on God, not ourselves.
So, in a spiritual sense, discomfort is better than comfort, which means change is better than stagnation. Think of a creek, where it gets still, mold and algae develop, but where the water is flowing, it stays clean. Our spiritual lives are the same way. When we start getting comfortable, then we start missing out on what God has in store for us.
Friday, January 28, 2005
Neat Quotes
Found at http://www.theotherjournal.net/:
"I’m not mad at liberals who want to perform some procedural form of democracy. What I am upset about are Christians who think that is their primary task in the world in which we find ourselves. And I want them to remember that our first task is to be the church of Jesus Christ, that’s our politics. " - Stanley Hauerwas
"Evangelicals tend to turn the gospel in a system of belief rather than a body of people through which we are embraced through God’s salvation that makes us different." - Stanley Hauerwas
"There's a big argument right now as to whether American Flags should be in churches... I don't have any problem if you put the flag of every nation in the world in the church, but to single out one nation is to say that this Jesus that we worship calls us to loyalty to one nation above all others? Because I've got to tell you, I am committed to justice for all people, not just for Americans. And I am committed to all of humanity, not just to Americans. I think that Jesus calls us beyond our identity as nationalists and calls us to be internationalists." - Tony Campolo
"Well, I think that what he called the 'Defense of Marriage Act' is ridiculous because I've got news for you-- it's not the gays that are getting divorced, it's the heterosexuals. If you want a defense of marriage bill, you will begin to put some restrictions on who can get divorces and how they get divorces. The problem with American families right now is not that the homosexuals want to get married, it's that the heterosexuals are getting divorced." - Tony Campolo
"When somebody tells me he's a Methodist, Baptist, or Presbyterian, it doesn't mean a thing. I want to know whether this person has a personal relationship with Jesus, whether he believes in the doctrines of the Apostles' Creed, and whether he takes the scriptures seriously." - Tony Campolo
"I’m not mad at liberals who want to perform some procedural form of democracy. What I am upset about are Christians who think that is their primary task in the world in which we find ourselves. And I want them to remember that our first task is to be the church of Jesus Christ, that’s our politics. " - Stanley Hauerwas
"Evangelicals tend to turn the gospel in a system of belief rather than a body of people through which we are embraced through God’s salvation that makes us different." - Stanley Hauerwas
"There's a big argument right now as to whether American Flags should be in churches... I don't have any problem if you put the flag of every nation in the world in the church, but to single out one nation is to say that this Jesus that we worship calls us to loyalty to one nation above all others? Because I've got to tell you, I am committed to justice for all people, not just for Americans. And I am committed to all of humanity, not just to Americans. I think that Jesus calls us beyond our identity as nationalists and calls us to be internationalists." - Tony Campolo
"Well, I think that what he called the 'Defense of Marriage Act' is ridiculous because I've got news for you-- it's not the gays that are getting divorced, it's the heterosexuals. If you want a defense of marriage bill, you will begin to put some restrictions on who can get divorces and how they get divorces. The problem with American families right now is not that the homosexuals want to get married, it's that the heterosexuals are getting divorced." - Tony Campolo
"When somebody tells me he's a Methodist, Baptist, or Presbyterian, it doesn't mean a thing. I want to know whether this person has a personal relationship with Jesus, whether he believes in the doctrines of the Apostles' Creed, and whether he takes the scriptures seriously." - Tony Campolo
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Dang it!
I just wrote a fairly lengthy entry and then it got lost. So I'm a little upset about that. Oh well.
Instead, here's some quotes from Kenda Creasy Dean in the latest round of articles from youthspecialties.com. Interesting stuff. It's worth reading the whole article.
"In other words, instead of winning teenagers' trust for the sake of presenting a Christian message (think, playing crazy games with teenagers for an hour before hitting them with a God-talk at the end, or hanging out at a skate park to gain enough street cred to invite skaters to church), we befriend teenagers for the sake of Christian friendship, because this is a time-honored way Christ chooses to reveal himself to us (Matthew 18:19)."
"Is our theology lithe enough to stretch across many different frames for ministry and many different forms of Christian life? Do young people experience God as synonymous with particular people (like their small group) or a particular practice of ministry (like singing with a praise band) or a particular context (like camp)? Or have we helped them develop a repertoire of faith practices supple enough to take Christianity beyond any single faith experience?"
Instead, here's some quotes from Kenda Creasy Dean in the latest round of articles from youthspecialties.com. Interesting stuff. It's worth reading the whole article.
"In other words, instead of winning teenagers' trust for the sake of presenting a Christian message (think, playing crazy games with teenagers for an hour before hitting them with a God-talk at the end, or hanging out at a skate park to gain enough street cred to invite skaters to church), we befriend teenagers for the sake of Christian friendship, because this is a time-honored way Christ chooses to reveal himself to us (Matthew 18:19)."
"Is our theology lithe enough to stretch across many different frames for ministry and many different forms of Christian life? Do young people experience God as synonymous with particular people (like their small group) or a particular practice of ministry (like singing with a praise band) or a particular context (like camp)? Or have we helped them develop a repertoire of faith practices supple enough to take Christianity beyond any single faith experience?"
Monday, January 24, 2005
No promises...
I had something that I wanted to write about, but as I logged on to do it, I totally forgot about what that was. So, in attempt to jump-start my thinking, I'm just going to write. If this goes into nowhere, I'm sorry. But, since no one reads this anyways, I'm only wasting my own time.
A great opportunity has come my way in the past week. Last Tuesday, I found out that two out of my three internship possibilities that I considered as a "good" chance at getting officially fell through. The last one might as well be over as well. The youth pastor doesn't seem to be a very personable guy (or maybe he just doesn't return phone calls or emails). Then the next day, I got an email saying that there is a church about 30 minutes from here that needs a youth pastor. I went and visited with the pastor and am going back in a little over a week to teach wednesday night as a sort of "trial" run. If all goes well, I should have a part-time job until the semester is over and then a full-time job for my internship. God is good.
Referreeing is going well. I am starting to feel really comfortable on the court and confident in my ability. It's really fun and I make some decent money doing it. I can't complain.
Noah preached a good sermon on pride the other night. Which got me thinking... pride is not saying "I'm good at X" but instead saying "Because I am good at X, I am better than person Y" or something to that effect. At least, that's what popped into my head. I need to look at it some more, but it's interesting. Pride is either a result or a cause of one demeaning the value of the grace of God, I can't decide. But someone who realizes the utter infinitude of the grace of God must understand their total human depravity and therefore cannot have pride within them. Given that we are all prideful, it just goes to show that none of us can even come close to fathoming the grace of God. Which makes it even all the more amazing.
We need to sing more hymns in church. Some hymns are terrible, just like a lot of our contemporary songs, but lots of hymns are really good. And I mean really good. The words are usually just so powerful. We sang a few in chapel Sunday, but the third verse of "It is Well with My Soul" God to me, I teared up a little bit. Here's the words:
My sin... O, the bliss of this glorious thought,
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well with my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul.
If more of us would keep those words in the forefront of our minds, then we'd be living a lot less pridefully and conforming a lot more to the image of Christ. Simply amazing. It doesn't get any better than that. It's amazing how much of Christian life, Christian theology, Christian thought, Christian practice, Christian anything can be traced back to the Cross. We should find ourselves there more often.
A great opportunity has come my way in the past week. Last Tuesday, I found out that two out of my three internship possibilities that I considered as a "good" chance at getting officially fell through. The last one might as well be over as well. The youth pastor doesn't seem to be a very personable guy (or maybe he just doesn't return phone calls or emails). Then the next day, I got an email saying that there is a church about 30 minutes from here that needs a youth pastor. I went and visited with the pastor and am going back in a little over a week to teach wednesday night as a sort of "trial" run. If all goes well, I should have a part-time job until the semester is over and then a full-time job for my internship. God is good.
Referreeing is going well. I am starting to feel really comfortable on the court and confident in my ability. It's really fun and I make some decent money doing it. I can't complain.
Noah preached a good sermon on pride the other night. Which got me thinking... pride is not saying "I'm good at X" but instead saying "Because I am good at X, I am better than person Y" or something to that effect. At least, that's what popped into my head. I need to look at it some more, but it's interesting. Pride is either a result or a cause of one demeaning the value of the grace of God, I can't decide. But someone who realizes the utter infinitude of the grace of God must understand their total human depravity and therefore cannot have pride within them. Given that we are all prideful, it just goes to show that none of us can even come close to fathoming the grace of God. Which makes it even all the more amazing.
We need to sing more hymns in church. Some hymns are terrible, just like a lot of our contemporary songs, but lots of hymns are really good. And I mean really good. The words are usually just so powerful. We sang a few in chapel Sunday, but the third verse of "It is Well with My Soul" God to me, I teared up a little bit. Here's the words:
My sin... O, the bliss of this glorious thought,
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well with my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul.
If more of us would keep those words in the forefront of our minds, then we'd be living a lot less pridefully and conforming a lot more to the image of Christ. Simply amazing. It doesn't get any better than that. It's amazing how much of Christian life, Christian theology, Christian thought, Christian practice, Christian anything can be traced back to the Cross. We should find ourselves there more often.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
I'm the worst blogger ever
Random thoughts:
- So, it's been 2 months now since my last blog, pretty bad if you ask me. I really need to work on that.
- I can't believe some people's blogging habits (or should I say addictions). It seems like all they do is read stuff on the internet and write stuff for their blogs. Do they get paid for this? Some people write stuff that's fit for a journal article, not a meaningless blab on a blog. Maybe one day I will be as cool as those folks.
- I'm only taking 14 hours this semester, but it seems like I've got just as much work as before, which stinks.
- In addition to being a TA for 10 hours a week, my new job involves me refereeing 5th and 6th grade basketball for the local Boys and Girls Club. I really enjoy it and look forward to every saturday when I can go and make a few bucks doing something I consider fun.
- I got a lot of books for Christmas, which made me very happy, which makes me a nerd. A rundown of what I got: 1.) A 38 volume set of the Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Series (a collection of writings that were important in the early church, from the apostolic fathers through around 400 or 500 AD I believe) 2.) Ethics by Deitrich Bonhoeffer 3.) Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry by Doug Fields 4.) Mere Christianity by CS Lewis 5.) The God-Bearing Life by Kenda Creasy Dean 6.) Practicing Passion by Dean and someone else, I forgot 7.) The Best Question Ever by Andy Stanley.
- My fiancee got me the TOP GUN collector's edition DVD for Christmas which rocks because it is the best movie ever. I've watched over 2 hours of the special footage thus far and am only affirmed in my believing in the superiority of this movie.
- I've read most of The Best Question Ever, and it's a decent book, it'll make good sermon material one day.
- I'm down to one option right now for my internship that is required for me to graduate. If this final option falls through, maybe I'll go out into the desert preaching and eating locusts.
- When Rusty and Noah and I start our church somewhere down the road, they have decided I will be designated the Pastor of Philosophy. What exactly that means, I'm not sure, but I think it has a lot to do with me reading lots of books and questioning everything the church does. Sounds like the perfect position for me.
- One of my life goals is to have a library as large as Dr. Johnson's and have actually read everything sitting on my shelf. I already am behind on my reading with the paltry library I currently have. Once I'm Pastor of Philosophy, I'll get to catch up.
- I love my fiancee. I wanna be married.
- So, it's been 2 months now since my last blog, pretty bad if you ask me. I really need to work on that.
- I can't believe some people's blogging habits (or should I say addictions). It seems like all they do is read stuff on the internet and write stuff for their blogs. Do they get paid for this? Some people write stuff that's fit for a journal article, not a meaningless blab on a blog. Maybe one day I will be as cool as those folks.
- I'm only taking 14 hours this semester, but it seems like I've got just as much work as before, which stinks.
- In addition to being a TA for 10 hours a week, my new job involves me refereeing 5th and 6th grade basketball for the local Boys and Girls Club. I really enjoy it and look forward to every saturday when I can go and make a few bucks doing something I consider fun.
- I got a lot of books for Christmas, which made me very happy, which makes me a nerd. A rundown of what I got: 1.) A 38 volume set of the Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Series (a collection of writings that were important in the early church, from the apostolic fathers through around 400 or 500 AD I believe) 2.) Ethics by Deitrich Bonhoeffer 3.) Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry by Doug Fields 4.) Mere Christianity by CS Lewis 5.) The God-Bearing Life by Kenda Creasy Dean 6.) Practicing Passion by Dean and someone else, I forgot 7.) The Best Question Ever by Andy Stanley.
- My fiancee got me the TOP GUN collector's edition DVD for Christmas which rocks because it is the best movie ever. I've watched over 2 hours of the special footage thus far and am only affirmed in my believing in the superiority of this movie.
- I've read most of The Best Question Ever, and it's a decent book, it'll make good sermon material one day.
- I'm down to one option right now for my internship that is required for me to graduate. If this final option falls through, maybe I'll go out into the desert preaching and eating locusts.
- When Rusty and Noah and I start our church somewhere down the road, they have decided I will be designated the Pastor of Philosophy. What exactly that means, I'm not sure, but I think it has a lot to do with me reading lots of books and questioning everything the church does. Sounds like the perfect position for me.
- One of my life goals is to have a library as large as Dr. Johnson's and have actually read everything sitting on my shelf. I already am behind on my reading with the paltry library I currently have. Once I'm Pastor of Philosophy, I'll get to catch up.
- I love my fiancee. I wanna be married.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Emergent Post #1
I title this as post #1 because there will probably be a lot more to say about this as I continue to formulate my thoughts. When I first heard about the emergent movement, I really felt as if it was something that dealt with the needs I saw in the church as a whole and became really excited about it. However, I must say that I am getting a bad taste in my mouth with a few of the people who claim to be "emergent." It seems as though they would rather be an exclusive club than edify the body of Christ as a whole. Instead of thinking of ways to help heal the dying church in America, they are wanting to go start their own churches and critisize those who do not. In addition, "real" emergent folk get up in arms over churches who do call themselves "emergent" but who don't fit the emergent mold (as accused by the "real" emergent people). Doesn't this go against everything emergent stands for?
I thought emergent was about opening up communication and dialogue within the Body of Christ. Excluding certain churches because they don't fit the mold seems contradictory to what emergent stands for. I think the people who call themselves emergent have a lot to give to the church. But they need to begin doing it in a more prophetic way rather than try and create an exclusive group of churches. If the end goal of emergent isn't that the Body of Christ as a whole become healthier as a result of this movement (or "conversation" as they like to call it), then I want no part in it.
We need to be exploring ways to get our message out, not ways to start our own churches. This sort of reform might need to come from the laity. I have no idea how many pastors and church members have any idea what emergent is or what it stands for; I'm willing to bet it's a fairly small number. But they need to know. The church needs help. Why are we keeping it to ourselves?
I thought emergent was about opening up communication and dialogue within the Body of Christ. Excluding certain churches because they don't fit the mold seems contradictory to what emergent stands for. I think the people who call themselves emergent have a lot to give to the church. But they need to begin doing it in a more prophetic way rather than try and create an exclusive group of churches. If the end goal of emergent isn't that the Body of Christ as a whole become healthier as a result of this movement (or "conversation" as they like to call it), then I want no part in it.
We need to be exploring ways to get our message out, not ways to start our own churches. This sort of reform might need to come from the laity. I have no idea how many pastors and church members have any idea what emergent is or what it stands for; I'm willing to bet it's a fairly small number. But they need to know. The church needs help. Why are we keeping it to ourselves?
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Those darn Christians
I was informed today that in the local newspaper (small, Bible-belt town) that a letter to the editor was published saying that voting for Kerry would be like voting for Satan.
I'm glad he spoke for all us Christians. Now those of us with a brain have to undo crap that people like this say. Arg
I'm glad he spoke for all us Christians. Now those of us with a brain have to undo crap that people like this say. Arg
Monday, October 18, 2004
I can't believe it
The Astros won game 5! Amazing. Who woulda thought?
I got to see my fiancee today. That was wonderful. I missed her.
I got to see my fiancee today. That was wonderful. I missed her.
Friday, October 15, 2004
Astros... and then chasing a rabbit
After winning the first playoff series in franchise history, the Astros look like they are up to their old tricks. I missed most of game 2, but from what I could tell, middle relief gave up the game yet again. We've gotta win these two at home to stand a chance.
On a totally separate note, my fiancee is out of town and I miss her. I hope she is having a good time.
Tomorrow I get to look over the lesson for my 6th grade small group on Sunday night, work on an assignment for Dr. Lambert, write a summary of the second half of Augustine's The Spirit and the Letter, write one paper, and attempt to start at least two others. It's a good thing I'm on my own this weekend so I can maybe get some stuff done. Prepare for rant...
Rant: I really love school. I really do. I know I'm in the right major because I love reading just about every single book that I have to and I enjoy all my classes. The problem is, I just don't have time to do it all. History of the Christian Church might be the best all-around class I'm taking this semester, but there's lots of nights that I don't have time to do the readings that I actually want to read. I'm very intrigued by the primary source material we have for that class and wish I had time to look at it more. I have a pretty big paper due in this class that I would love to spend lots of time on and attempt to publish, but I don't think that's gonna happen.
Communicating the Christian Message is a class that I would like to take seriously, but it simply takes a back seat to all my other classes this semester. Yet again, I enjoy the reading about different theories about preaching and communicating.
Philosophy of the Christian Faith is a great class with lots of reading from Augustine. Yet again, I'm not able to read everything for that class as often as I would like. I loved reading Confessions and am drawn to the way he lays things out and presents his thoughts. I have a pretty large paper for this class as well that I think might be worthy of publication if I have enough time to do as well on it as I know I can.
New Testament Book Study and Hermeneutics is a wonderful class that I am keeping up with the reading. I feel like too many youth ministers are lazy Bible scholars and I'm doing my best to change that. This might be the class that I am taking the most seriously and am putting the most effort into. The paper for this class with be the largest paper I've ever written and I plan on kicking butt on it. If this paper isn't the best in the class, I won't be happy. I really want to do well on it.
Foundations and Practices of Youth Ministry is a great class that has a manageable amount of reading. The two books we read are good and the assignments about them are well-written to make you think. I think that JBU has a fabulous Youth Ministry program. I feel prepared to go into any ministry as a result of this degree because it teaches you how to think theologically, not how to be a youth minister. We just adapt our thinking to youth, but it's not very difficult to apply that to any context. Anyways, Youth Ministry at JBU rocks. I recommend it to anyone. Bring your thinking cap though.
On top of school, I'm working about ten hours a week for Dr. Lambert and spending about 12 hours a week doing church stuff. And trying to plan a wedding and keep my fiancee happy. Oh yeah, I have to eat too. And sleep.
I know a lot of people have much busier schedules than I do. I don't know how they do it. I feel stretched as it is. For those who look at me and think "I wish I had it as easy as him" I have the utmost respect.
Rant over. Back to work.
On a totally separate note, my fiancee is out of town and I miss her. I hope she is having a good time.
Tomorrow I get to look over the lesson for my 6th grade small group on Sunday night, work on an assignment for Dr. Lambert, write a summary of the second half of Augustine's The Spirit and the Letter, write one paper, and attempt to start at least two others. It's a good thing I'm on my own this weekend so I can maybe get some stuff done. Prepare for rant...
Rant: I really love school. I really do. I know I'm in the right major because I love reading just about every single book that I have to and I enjoy all my classes. The problem is, I just don't have time to do it all. History of the Christian Church might be the best all-around class I'm taking this semester, but there's lots of nights that I don't have time to do the readings that I actually want to read. I'm very intrigued by the primary source material we have for that class and wish I had time to look at it more. I have a pretty big paper due in this class that I would love to spend lots of time on and attempt to publish, but I don't think that's gonna happen.
Communicating the Christian Message is a class that I would like to take seriously, but it simply takes a back seat to all my other classes this semester. Yet again, I enjoy the reading about different theories about preaching and communicating.
Philosophy of the Christian Faith is a great class with lots of reading from Augustine. Yet again, I'm not able to read everything for that class as often as I would like. I loved reading Confessions and am drawn to the way he lays things out and presents his thoughts. I have a pretty large paper for this class as well that I think might be worthy of publication if I have enough time to do as well on it as I know I can.
New Testament Book Study and Hermeneutics is a wonderful class that I am keeping up with the reading. I feel like too many youth ministers are lazy Bible scholars and I'm doing my best to change that. This might be the class that I am taking the most seriously and am putting the most effort into. The paper for this class with be the largest paper I've ever written and I plan on kicking butt on it. If this paper isn't the best in the class, I won't be happy. I really want to do well on it.
Foundations and Practices of Youth Ministry is a great class that has a manageable amount of reading. The two books we read are good and the assignments about them are well-written to make you think. I think that JBU has a fabulous Youth Ministry program. I feel prepared to go into any ministry as a result of this degree because it teaches you how to think theologically, not how to be a youth minister. We just adapt our thinking to youth, but it's not very difficult to apply that to any context. Anyways, Youth Ministry at JBU rocks. I recommend it to anyone. Bring your thinking cap though.
On top of school, I'm working about ten hours a week for Dr. Lambert and spending about 12 hours a week doing church stuff. And trying to plan a wedding and keep my fiancee happy. Oh yeah, I have to eat too. And sleep.
I know a lot of people have much busier schedules than I do. I don't know how they do it. I feel stretched as it is. For those who look at me and think "I wish I had it as easy as him" I have the utmost respect.
Rant over. Back to work.
I'm a nerd
Over the past few years, I've been adding books to my amazon.com wish list that I eventually want to buy. As I take all of these cool classes at school and hear about good books in class and from other people (or stumble upon them myself), I put them on my list so one day I will eventually get to read them.
The problem is, the list is growing WAY faster than I can purchase, nevertheless read, the books. As of today, I have 68, that's right, 68, books on my amazon.com wish list. Most are biblical, theological, or "Chrsitian " in nature. I've got commentary sets on there, classis Christian writings from the past, and a lot of new stuff dealing with the "emerging church." I don't even know which book to buy first!
One thing that I've realized looking through my list is that I miss Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I read his book The Cost of Discipleship my freshman year and have always wanted to read more of his stuff. He's a magnificent contemporary theologian. I was remined about how great of a writer and thinker he was this past weekend at the National Youth Workers Convention. Tony Jones read a quote out of his Ethics and got me thinking about him. Maybe that will be the next book I buy. But there was also this other seminar that weekend by a guy who wrote a book that I want t o read as well...
And the cycle continues.
The problem is, the list is growing WAY faster than I can purchase, nevertheless read, the books. As of today, I have 68, that's right, 68, books on my amazon.com wish list. Most are biblical, theological, or "Chrsitian " in nature. I've got commentary sets on there, classis Christian writings from the past, and a lot of new stuff dealing with the "emerging church." I don't even know which book to buy first!
One thing that I've realized looking through my list is that I miss Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I read his book The Cost of Discipleship my freshman year and have always wanted to read more of his stuff. He's a magnificent contemporary theologian. I was remined about how great of a writer and thinker he was this past weekend at the National Youth Workers Convention. Tony Jones read a quote out of his Ethics and got me thinking about him. Maybe that will be the next book I buy. But there was also this other seminar that weekend by a guy who wrote a book that I want t o read as well...
And the cycle continues.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
the first one!
Well, I guess that it was only a matter of time before this happened. I mean, everyone's doing it, so why not me?
As much as I hate to be a conformist, blogs are an amazing idea. You can post your thoughts and let other people tell you how dumb or brilliant you are.
This blog is for me as much as anyone esle. I've come to realize that I do a lot of thinking here as I'm in college and I probably forget more than I remember. In order that I don't forget, I'll try and keep cool thoughts here. And it's nice to see other people respond to what I have to say.
Hopefully some people will respond to the things I write, but if not, that's fine with me. At the very least I'll get to look back on all this junk I've written one day and be glad that I'm not the naive, immature, "gotta-change-the-world" college student I once was.
PS - I love my fiancée.
As much as I hate to be a conformist, blogs are an amazing idea. You can post your thoughts and let other people tell you how dumb or brilliant you are.
This blog is for me as much as anyone esle. I've come to realize that I do a lot of thinking here as I'm in college and I probably forget more than I remember. In order that I don't forget, I'll try and keep cool thoughts here. And it's nice to see other people respond to what I have to say.
Hopefully some people will respond to the things I write, but if not, that's fine with me. At the very least I'll get to look back on all this junk I've written one day and be glad that I'm not the naive, immature, "gotta-change-the-world" college student I once was.
PS - I love my fiancée.
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