Hanger Clips

Desperately Seeking Fiction

2006-05-31T10:44:00.000-05:00

I needs me a good break from non-fiction, philosophy, and theology. But, I knows not where to go for a good book.

Any suggestions? I am looking for quality fiction, not airport junk reading. Can be old or new.

In January someone suggested to me that I read "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. Looks interesting, but, that's all I have so far by way of suggestions. I figure someone out there must have some thoughts about a good novel or 3 to read this summer.

thanks!!!

technorati tags: fiction

Why Marriage is Tough

2006-05-25T10:48:00.000-05:00

I guess a while back an organization called LifeWay Christian Resources conducted a survey and determined a "Top 10 List" of Issues facing families today. An interesting idea I suppose, although I am unclear as to what such a list achieves. But anyways, Andreas Kostenberger has written an interesting critique. He says, essentially, that these top 10 items keep everyone distracted from the root cause of failure in most Christian marriages. What we really need, he says, is for:

"Christian men and women to rediscover the biblical teaching on marriage and the family on a profound, spiritual level, and to commit themselves to live by this teaching in the midst of those other issues."

Interesting idea. Sounds good. Not sure what it means on a practical day-to-day level though.

Also, why does it sometimes feel like we, as Christians, are constantly commiting and re-commiting ourselves to something?

(HT: JT)

Living the 1 Peter Life

2006-05-10T16:17:00.000-05:00

I am in the middle of finals week and it is nuts. So, I will post more about immigration when school is done.

In the meantime, a pastor from around here is blogging from a conference up in Seattle. He reports:

The Reform & Resurge conference is on full force. Three speakers today. First was Darrin Patrick of The Journey Church in St. Louis. Darrin is an SBC'r and a church planter with Acts29. His talk was just perfect for me, exactly what I needed.

He said that your biggest challenge in ministry is yourself. He used James 1:1-4 to talk about how those who walk with God will be a mess because God wants to build our character through trials. The process of going through trials is painful, but we need to focus on the product of trails not the pain of trails. Why would we want to avoid trials when it's the trigger to God's power?

This spoke to me. I don't think he means "our lives will be a mess" in an out-of-control way. I think he is just trying to emphasize the role of suffering in following God (and "suffering" can mean so many different things).

More thoughts about immigration

2006-05-02T20:47:00.000-05:00

I can't stop thinking about this issue.

I realised today that probably the majority of Americans have absolutely no idea what is involved with trying to apply for visas and work permits. I don't expect that they would know either. But, I think for the average person they probably envision a system similar to the way the DMV operates. Meaning, most folks probably assume that getting a work permit, "doing things legally" is no more involved than applying for a new drivers licence.

If only it was that simple. It isn't of course.

In fact, I think if the average American had to deal with the INS (now the DHS) on a regular basis, immigration reform would get taken care of in no time at all.

Let me put it this way - applying for just about anything via the INS makes filing your taxes look easy.

I am fortunate to have a Green Card. I was also fortunate to have been able to afford a lawyer to help me with the process. Even so the paperwork was astonishingly confusing, and the entire process took 4 years and numerous visits to the INS office. Not many people are as lucky as me.

Just as a side note, the INS office in San Jose, where I lived, would only allow 200 or so people inside every day (the exact number varied). So, if you wanted to stand a chance of getting inside the office, you would have to start lining up way before the office actually opened. It was normal practice for people to literally camp out over night to ensure that they could get in the office the next morning. And I'm not talking about "occasionally some obsessed people would camp out overnight." I mean, EVERY NIGHT there were people sitting on the ground outside the INS office waiting in line for the office to open the next morning. The earliest I got there was I think 4am one time. That's because I showed up at 6am once and didn't make it in the building.

So, yes, technically speaking, as long as you entered the country legally, and fall into one of a very number of categories of people who are eligible for a work permit, it is possible to do things the legal way.

That said, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that so few people choose to go this route.

The other fallacy I hear a lot on the radio and around town is that "illegals just need to apply for work visas the proper way".

Unfortunately if you are in this country illegally that automatically means you cannot apply for any kind of legal work visa or residency permit. If you enter illegally there is no process available to you to become legal. The last time I checked the law, if the INS found you to be in violation of the terms of your visa, or if you were found to be here illegally, you would be deported and barred from re-entering the country for 10 years.

OK, I'll get off my soap box now.

My friend Dave wrote a blog today about the wedding of one of his close friends, Scott. He says that Scott is a funny guy, and as evidence he shared Scott's comments on this whole immigration issue. It made me laugh:

"We need to get rid of all illegal aliens. Especially Alf. Man, that guy eats cats. Get him out of here. Once you're done with him, let's move on to Mork. Anyone who travels in an egg is no good."

Hah - Mork. Impressive cultural reference considering Scott's youth.

Calvin on Cults

2006-05-02T11:11:00.000-05:00

In working on a paper I have been doing research in Calvin’s

Institutes of The Christian Religion. The following quote really struck me. Specifically, I think he explains very clearly some of the reasons for the popularity of new age religions.

(As a side-note, this is the first time I have actually read something written by John Calvin himself, as opposed to commentary about Calvin, or theology based on Calvin, or books by contemporary folks who call themselves Calvinists. )

I am not unaware how much more plausible the view is, which invites us rather to ponder on our good qualities, than to contemplate what must overwhelm us with shame — our miserable destitution and ignominy. There is nothing more acceptable to the human mind than flattery, and, accordingly, when told that its endowments are of a high order, it is apt to be excessively credulous. Hence it is not strange that the greater part of mankind have erred so egregiously in this matter. Owing to the innate self-love by which all are blinded, we most willingly persuade ourselves that we do not possess a single quality which is deserving of hatred; and hence, independent of any countenance from without, general credit is given to the very foolish idea, that man is perfectly sufficient of himself for all the purposes of a good and happy life. If any are disposed to think more modestly, and concede somewhat to God, that they may not seem to arrogate every thing as their own, still, in making the division, they apportion matters so, that the chief ground of confidence and boasting always remains with themselves. Then, if a discourse is pronounced which flatters the pride spontaneously springing up in man’s inmost heart, nothing seems more delightful. Accordingly, in every age, he who is most forward in extolling the excellence of human nature, is received with the loudest applause. But be this heralding of human excellence what it may, by teaching man to rest in himself, it does nothing more than fascinate by its sweetness, and, at the same time, so delude as to drown in perdition all who assent to it. For what avails it to proceed in vain confidence, to deliberate, resolve, plan, and attempt what we deem pertinent to the purpose, and, at the very outset, prove deficient and destitute both of sound intelligence and true virtue, though we still confidently persist till we rush headlong on destruction? But this is the best that can happen to those who put confidence in their own powers. Whosoever, therefore, gives heed to those teachers, who merely employ us in contemplating our good qualities, so far from making progress in self knowledge, will be plunged into the most pernicious ignorance. (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2.1.2)

Holy, Holy, Holy

2006-05-01T15:41:00.000-05:00

Today it hit me what an important and serious task I have undertaken by attending seminary. I mean, I always knew that, but it just kind of struck me at a different level today. These are not just academic studies. This is not just about writing papers and taking quizzes. This is about Heaven and Hell. Salvation and Condemnation.

Over the weekend I read through 1 and 2 Samuel (for a paper), and reading such a big chunk of the Old Testament has reminded me how mighty and Holy God is. There is something to be said for fearing the Lord, and taking him and his work very seriously indeed. Yet, when was the last time I heard any preaching about that? Mostly I hear about all the things that God has done, is doing, and will do for us. I can’t remember the last time I heard someone preach about God’s holiness.

Immigration and law

2006-05-01T15:05:00.000-05:00

A thought I had today, after hearing commentary on the radio and reading informal polls in online newspapers, is that a large number of people really do think that all illegals should be deported because they are a drain on our society, and that there should be stricter measures in place for craccking down on illegal immigration. Of course, I totally disagree with this point if view, and it really bugs me a lot.

I heard someone say this morning "This is simply a matter of law. At the core this is a legal issue only. They are here illegally. They must be sent home." And I thought, you know, for issues and problems that are distant from us, that don't affect us or impact us, it is so easy to call for strict enforcement of the law. When it's not our families, our lives being affected, it is simple to talk about deportation and imprisonment and fines. But when those issues strike closer to home, well, then we suddenly call for more grace and clemency.

So, I don't know where I am going with all this, but I thought that the commentary surrounding this issue seems to point to a Biblical understanding of human nature - we only want justice when it involves punishing other people. We never want justice when it involves punishing us.

Hence the importance of grace.

I can't find my way home (thoughts about immigration)

2006-04-26T15:46:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: I am not an American. I am a British citizen, living legally in America on the basis of a Green Card that I acquired through a real, bona fide marriage (to my awesome wife). We have two kids, I love this country and one day I hope to become a legal citizen. In the meantime, without that assurance of citizenship, I perpetually carry with me irrational fears of being deported. As such, my opinions are undoubtedly skewed and I do not therefore pretend to be unbiased or objective about this matter.

Today at Trinity I attended a special chapel session entitled "Evangelical Responses to Immigration Reform in America." The goal was to have certain key people from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School talk about how the church should engage the hot button topic of immigration reform. Specifically, participants were asked to respond to an article that appeared in The Washington Post recently, in particular the following paragraphs:

More than 50 evangelical Christian leaders and organizations voiced their support yesterday for an immigration bill that would allow illegal immigrants to become U.S. citizens without returning to their native countries.

The statement marks a deepening split among evangelicals over immigration. It was signed by a mixture of Hispanic and white church groups. But most of the nation's large, politically influential evangelical organizations either back rival legislation that focuses on border enforcement and the deportation of illegal immigrants, or have been silent on the issue.

Hispanic evangelical leaders said yesterday that they have received support from Roman Catholic, Jewish and Muslim groups, but have been bitterly disappointed by the response of most of their fellow evangelicals, both white and black.

"This is the watershed movement -- it's the moment where either we really forge relationships with the white evangelical church that will last for decades, or there is a possibility of a definitive schism here," said the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, which serves 10,700 Hispanic evangelical churches with 15 million members.

(If you want to read the brief letter from the 50 evangelical Christians, you can read it here: http://www.earnedmedia.org/wr0404.htm)

Dr. Averbeck opened the session with a brief survey of passages from the Old Testament. He referenced:

Ex 22:21-24, Lev 19:18 and Deut 10:16-20. He said these are strong statements regarding God’s reaction to people who mistreat aliens/strangers/sojourners. He then said that we need to pay close attention to where God’s heart is in this issue, and how we are to treat others in society. God reacts very seriously to mistreatment of other people.

Then he continued by pointing out that there are privileges for aliens but also responsibilities for them, quoting Lev 18:26, and saying that the Bible also calls upon aliens to obey the law and to be responsible members of society.

Finally, Dr. Averbeck commented that, with regard to the two proposals in Congress; the “send-them-all-back” proposal and the “legalize-them-all” proposal (the McCain-Kennedy Bill), he felt that both options were a bit extreme and that we should look for a middle ground. As he said, “Legal responsibility and compassion for aliens are two concepts that have to be brought together somehow."

The next presenter was Dr. Priest, who informed us that the Hispanic population in the US is currently estimated at around 43 million people. He said that there are more Hispanics in the US than Spaniards in Spain, than Canadians in Canada. "The Hispanic community is an enormous part of our society and our community. Do we really understand and accept this? There are enormous challenges and hardships for a large proportion of this community, especially the children, with regards to basic health care, food, education, language, etc."

He continued, "Some people estimate that as many as 500,000 people went on short term missions trips to Latin America last year, and yet often we retreat from Latinos in our very own communities! The Latino community has been and continues to be very responsive to the gospel. There are today in the US maybe 8 to 9 million evangelical Latino believers. That is more than the Jewish community in the US."

Dr. Priest noted that the large Catholic Seminary in Mundelein requires every seminarian to be fluent in another language. He asked us, "How come evangelicals don’t stress the importance of foreign languages or cross-cultural engagement?"

He concluded by saying that credible engagement requires a deep commitment that goes beyond this issue to more learning, more relationship, more supporting, more action (as Christians), and more work in creating a place where Latinos feel welcomed and loved.

The next commentator was Dr. Cha, who opened with a story about the experiences of Japanese-Americans living in America during World War II. Dr. Cha sees many parallels between their experiences and the experiences of the Latino community today, especially the illegal immigrants. Anyone "different" is generally considered to be foreign, different, a threat.

Dr. Cha told us that Japanese American churches today often have interesting historical ties to what are now liberal or mainline denominations, because those were the only churches that opened their arms to the persecuted Japanese-Americans in the 40s and 50s. This was, Dr. Cha contends, a phenomenal missed opportunity for orthodox conservative churches who were either silent or supported persecution of “foreigners”.

Today, once again, mainline churches have stepped in to show support for the Latino community, but where are the evangelical churches? The conservative? The orthodox? The reformed?

Dr. Cha affirmed that yes, there are complicated issues involved but stressed that we need to communicate to the Latino brothers and sisters that they are not alone, that we hear their cries, that we are praying with them and for them. We want to partner with them, to help them. We cannot be silent and we cannot side with a cold, hard, "minute-men" type mentality.

Dr. Feliciano was the next speaker. Unfortunately I had a hard time following his train of thought. I think he was talking entirely off the cuff, compared to the other speakers who had prepared notes ahead of time. At least, that was the impression I got. His comments, as far as I could catch them, were:

The undocumented immigrant issue is larger even than just a Latino issue.
Often in America’s history America has treated immigrants in a …
Many immigrants have lost a sense of who they are…
Immigrants should not abandon who they are to “become American” (they should acculturate not assimilate)
Ted Haggard of the NAE, says that the NAE is “diligently working with its members to partner effectively on this matter…”
However, the SBC, NAE, NBEA, and FoF have not taken a position yet…what will hearing the gospel look like if we never break patterns of silence when we should be speaking our voices?
Not advocating openly breaking the law, but we also need to be humane in our treatment of other people…
Let us not waste this opportunity!
The US only gives out 50,000 green cards a year. If there are 11 million illegal immigrants, then how in the world are they all going to become legal workers?
Why are so many evangelicals remaining silent on this issue? We cannot ignore it and need to speak out about it.

Dr. Feliciano's most interesting point was the following question: "I wonder if the evangelical church looks at Latinos as 'landscapers and laborers' in the Christian church economy, as opposed to potential pastors and leaders and teachers?"

The last person to speak was a PhD student whose name I did not catch. His comments were also not super coherent:

Compassion and extension of gospel should be extended without discrimination
Status of who you minister to should not affect preaching the gospel
A lot of immigrants are just trying to survive, living in poverty
Many churches are/should be (?) extending hospitality in love
Education issues, health issues,
Always living in fear that the father will be deported, and then what happens to the family?
What about ethical issues of church policy – should membership be extended or not? What about leadership positions? Teaching positions?
How evangelicals respond to this will affect the way that the world church perceives of the state of American evangelicalism.
Polarizing the issue avoids the many complexities involved.
Political preferences should be submitted to Jesus for examination.

The Panel then moved to a Q&A format:

1. “Inaction is action” But, how do we navigate the many issues involved? How do we act responsibly?
Dr. F: We make decisions the same way as we make any other decisions, on an individual basis. I will participate in the march in Chicago next week, because I see this as a justice issue. But, someone else might not.
Dr. A: Read the Luke 22 passage (the “Good Samaritan”). Something does indeed need to be done. Yes, there is always a chance of being labeled in ways you might not want to be labeled. If you don’t want to get into trouble, stay home.
Dr. Priest: Evangelicals think selectively and we haven’t been thinking about the Latino population well at all. We’re coming to the table late in the game.

2. (inaudible question)
Dr. Cha: 13-15% of undocumented immigrants are from Asian countries. And what about the ethical issues of supporting free trade through NAFTA but not free movement of people?
Dr. Priest: The judgments we make need to be based on the human dimensions. We should not make the assumption that all law is God-given and good. The law can cause problems and pain and suffering.

3. If we don’t hold the line, aren’t we encouraging illegal action?
Dr. Priest: We are not talking about individuals, but family groups, children in school, legal children of illegals etc.
PhD student: For most illegals, they say, “Give me a process whereby I can get legalized, because the existing process is impossible.” This is not just about a free ride for people, or a chance to cut in line, but for most people there is an honest desire to seek a real way to become legal, to follow laws that are actually “followable”
Dr. F: Past behavior predicts future behavior. History shows that Latino segment is largest growing sector of America and they are facing the same problems the Irish community faced, Polish faced etc. etc. We have a system that seeks to regulate this issue, but it is broken. We are SO privileged that so many people want to come here. By the way, how weird is it that so many Americans are going abroad for health care today?

4. What implications are there for the church if we remain silent?
Dr. A: Well, that sounds a bit like a rhetorical question. With regard to the future, the US must retain control of its borders. This issue is not a simple question. Complications have to be confronted head-on because the Bible clearly teaches compassion.
Dr. Cha: Immigration is not just a US problem. Western Europe is having big problems as a result of failed immigration policies. There are all sorts of problems with guest worker visas creating a “second-tier” of citizenship among people. No nation has ever been able to deal with immigration in a way that has proven to be effective. Biblically this is a moral issue. Finding a Biblical, ethical and legal solution would be a great gift to many people around the world.

My personal opinion is that sending people home and making illegal immigration a felony are just horrible, horrible ideas. Because I am not a citizen, I find myself getting very passionate about this problem, and the various proposed solutions. I had a severe reaction to a congressman from Indiana I heard on Moody Bible Radio a few weeks ago saying that he felt deep down that it was "the right thing to do" to deport all the illegal immigrants. He tried to sound compassionate and had just finished talking about his faith and how important prayer was for him. But I couldn't understand how someone, anyone, could honestly say that they just saw mass deportations as the best solution to this problem. It really got me going.

But... then I realized something. As passionately as I feel about this issue, there are equally passionate people with completely opposing views. How in the world do I process that? Furthermore, the zeal that I feel, the absolute conviction that I am right, equals the passion and zeal that homosexuals have for defending gay marriage, or abortion rights activists have for defending “a woman’s right to choose.” Zeal, passion, intensity by themselves cannot therefore be the final arbiters of what is right. So how do we determine a right course of action?

One thing I am curious about is why are prominent evangelicals so quick to jump into politics in order to “defend marriage” or oppose abortion, but not so quick to jump in on the side of compassion and sanity in support of America’s massive population of illegal immigrants?

Why get involved in those issues and not this one?

Or, conversely, for people like me, why get involved in this issue and not those issues?

Why is it that I would gladly and willingly march for this moral issue but I would never march for those moral issues?

What should govern WHAT we do or do not get involved in?

I wonder, is it easier being for something as opposed to against something? That is, it is easier to argue for more rights, more freedom, more of anything than it is to say we need less of something, more restrictions? Does that impact what issues people get worked up over?

Well these are all unanswerable questions I suppose.

I'll end by saying that it is deeply disturbing to me that no prominent evangelicals have really stood up in support of the immigrant community. I admire the folks who signed the letter above, but with all due respect to them, they are not really the movers and shakers of American evangelicalism. I admire what they did, and it's a great start. But until the big guns weigh in on the matter, evangelicals will be perceived to have dropped the ball on this issue.

One more question - what about all the churches that have services en espanol? Why are they not commenting?

I should note that in all fairness I did hear a prominent evangelical (Chuck Colson) talk about immigration recently, but his line of argument was so ridiculous I honestly couldn't take him seriously. He suggested, with a straight face, that the immigration problem would not be a problem if abortion wasn't legal in America. After all, he argued, if abortion was illegal, then there would be millions more Americans to do all those menial jobs the immigrants currently do! This is honestly what he said. His solution - make abortion illegal.

Just goes to show that some conservative evangelicals are completely obsessed with abortion and homosexuality to the absolute detriment of every other issue. Sigh.

How does a President sink his own ship?

2006-04-26T14:35:00.000-05:00

By hiring someone who said recently that "racism no longer exists."

http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/04/tony_snow_clip.php

Yes Mr. President. You picked a real winner there. Way to go. Great choice for the new face of the White House.

Time to fire the incompetent staff members who approved this decision without, apparently, bothering to do any background checks. When someone has been on TV for 10 years, as part of a political talk show, ON FOX NEWS, it's pretty much inevitable that they said something stupid at one point or another.

Sigh.

Gay student expelled

2006-04-12T21:56:00.000-05:00

I don't know enough to be able to comment for myself, but this story is probably going to top the Judas Gospel as the biggest religion headline of the week. So, here's some good commentary from someone much closer to the situation than me:

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/sin-cynic

Spring has sprung

2006-04-11T22:06:00.000-05:00

I WANDERED lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
(William Wordsworth, 1804)

Original sin?

2006-03-27T21:03:00.000-06:00

So, there was an interesting conversation on some blogs recently about the ethics of writing sermons. The bulk of the debate seemed to revolve around whether or not it is appropriate to borrow/use/steal/buy material from other pastors/preachers/teachers/leaders. Specifically, is a website like http://www.pastors.com a good idea or a bad idea? Do pastors need to develop all their sermons completely from scratch? Or is it ok to buy material pre-packaged?

The issue came up when I read the following blog:
"Pastoral Plagiarism" (thanks to Justin Taylor for the link)

Before reading any more of this blog entry, go read the one on "pastoral plagiarism" (and the article that sparked the debate) and let me know what you think.

I am not a pastor, nor am I a pastor-in-training. So, I am not under the weekly pressure to produce a sermon, nor will I ever be. So, from that point of view I don't think I'm in a good position to comment either way. Clearly there are a lot of bloggers who feel very strongly that using pre-packaged sermon material is absolutely wrong. But conversely there are many pastors and churches who appreciate this service.

I think that clearly anyone who steals sermon material and then passes it off as their own is in the wrong. No question there. But, is there a real sin committed by buying a sermon outline, fleshing it out yourself, and then preaching it on Sunday? What if you've had a rough week and haven't had time to fully prepare? What if your family is in the middle of a crisis and you can't spend 20 hours doing sermon preparation?

Although I agree that it would be preferable for all pastors to work out their own sermons under the inspiration of God, I think I understand that this won't be possible in all situations. And although I don't like the idea of pastors buying their sermons online, I'm hesitant to broadly condemn anyone and everyone who does this.

As for the "effectiveness" issue - sure, it sounds shallow on many levels. But at the same time, if you come up with a good illustration, or rhetorical technique, or historical fact, or exegetical insight, why not share that with someone else? Why not use whatever resources are available to you? If Rick Warren preaches an awesome sermon, about some issue I was hoping to address to my (hypothetical) congregation, then would it not make some sense to buy that sermon and pass it on to my church?

Those who are most angered by resources such as pastors.com seem to ignore the fact that pastors and teachers use all sorts of ancilliary material in preparing their sermons; countless commentaries, grammars, encyclopedias, dictionaries, academic articles, footnotes, translation notes, conversations with other people, devotional material, Christian books, systematic theologies, TV shows, movies, radio programs, Christian music etc. etc. There is no such thing as a perfectly divinely-inspired, unadulterated, straight-from-God-to-me sermon.

Rather than there being a clear dividing line between these kinds of secondary resources and those at pastors.com, it seems to me, in my naivete, that we are looking at something that more closely resembles a sliding scale of available helps. Different pastors are going to be all over the map according to the needs of their congregation and the resources available to them. Some will go the easy way and buy a package deal. Others will slog it out by themselves and try to create something original and unique to them and their church.

Ultimately I think that is is within God's ability to work in the hearts and minds of everyone involved, regardless of the where the sermon originally came from. At least, that's my take on this issue. As I say, I'm not a pastor, and it' clear that folks seem to be coming down strongly on either side of this debate.

Continuous Partial Attention

2006-03-27T15:12:00.000-06:00

There's a fascinating article over on MSNBC about something called Continuous Partial Attention." Basically this describes the way that modern communication devices such as Blackberries, cell-phones, laptops, wi-fi access everywhere etc. keep us from ever giving our full attention to one particular task. Instead we constantly flit back and forth from one thing to the next, always waiting for the next input from our ever-present, always-on digital assistants.

Levy says:

But there's a problem in the workplace when the interruptions intrude on tasks that require real concentration or quiet reflection. And there's an even bigger problem when our bubble of connectedness stretches to ensnare us no matter where we are. A live BlackBerry or even a switched-on mobile phone is an admission that your commitment to your current activity is as fickle as Renée Zellweger's wedding vows. Your world turns into a never-ending cocktail party where you're always looking over your virtual shoulder for a better conversation partner. The anxiety is contagious: anyone who winds up talking to a person infected with CPA [continuous partial attention] feels like he or she is accepting an Oscar, and at any moment the music might stop the speech.

I think we can all relate to the image of talking to someone and feeling like at any moment they are going to cut you off in favor of something better, more interesting, more pressing, or more alluring. It's amazingly annoying. And, truth be told, I am as guilty of this crime as the next person.

Of course, the temptation is to say, "well, big deal, so I spend a lot of time talking on my cell-phone." But, in light of recent blog posts and comments about quiet time/devotionals/prayer, I am concerned about how this intrusion of technology really damages both our relationship with God and with other people. It's impossible to ever connect deeply with another person if part of you (or me) is constantly keeping one ear/eye/chat channel open for some other more important/more urgent need.

We have stopped watching the main program and are instead obsessed with the constantly moving news ticker racing across the bottom of the screen.

Quiet Times

2006-03-24T13:17:00.000-06:00

So, thanks for everyone's comments about quiet time. That was an interesting thread and I appreciate the different thoughts about the problem. It's nice to know I am not crazy.

What I found has been working is to get up at 6 (which is not an extra-pious time of day - it just happens to be the time I need to get up in order to get to school on time). Then I read a short devotional from this book:

Every Day with Jesus: The Spirit-Filled Life, by Selwyn Hughes

Followed by a devotional from:

By Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional, by Martin Luther
(obviously Luther didn't write the devotional, but the devotionals are excerpts from his writing, with no extraneous commentary)

Then, I try to read 4 chapters from the Bible, following the Murray M'Cheyne reading plan. You can read about that plan here:

http://www.edginet.org/mcheyne/info.html

There's nothing special about this plan - it just happens to be one suggested by a professor, and so far I like it.

Of course, all of the above is subject to change according to what the morning throws at me. And, technically speaking, if I was trying to be anal about it, I am already "behind". But, the main thing I took from our discussion is that this quiet time is something intended for my benefit in developing a closer relationship with God and not a duty that I owe God. Anyway, less guilt and obsession about the whole venture has been immensely helpful and I can honestly say that I am enjoying this quiet time more than ever before, and I no longer beat myself up if I have to skip a day for some reason.

Been sick

2006-03-24T13:10:00.000-06:00

A lingering old has had me down and out. Hence the long absence from this blog.

Online accountability?

2006-03-14T16:57:00.000-06:00

So, talking about routines, I need some help staying regular. No, I'm not talking about All-Bran, I'm talking about spiritual discipline here. It's amazing to me that I can, evidently, be so stuck in and controlled by certain routines and habits in my life (see post below), and yet for other things I find it almost impossible to set up a regular habit.

So, that said, I am trying to commit to a regular "quiet time" every morning before I leave for school. I have tried this many, many times before, but never been able to sustain it for more than a few weeks. Usually it goes well for a week and then I get sick, or oversleep, or need to cram for a test, or whatever, and then suddenly I am behind in my reading, and then something else comes up, and before I know it, it's been months and months...

I know, I am in seminary! This should be a given, right? Well, what can I say? I am not perfect. And I am trying to fix this. And, it's not like I just sit around and watch TV all day. And, I wonder who else here at school is working so hard on their classes that they don't have much time for regular reflection and reading that isn't assigned? Who knows.

Anyways, the point is that I know I need to start doing this. So, it worked this morning. And, probably it'll work tomorrow, but after that...

So, if you can think of a way to help me stay on track, or a way to stay accountable, that would be awesome. Someone once said that you need 40 days of doing something to make it a habit. I feel ridiculous saying this, but honestly doing something every day for 40 days seems pretty much impossible right now.

Hmmm... My inner geek dreams of some sort of javscript I can insert into the blog to track this? Maybe there is a comment form I can install in the sidebar for general blog comments not tied to a specific post.

Anyways, back to Millard-Erickson now...

Why vacations should be banned…

2006-03-14T14:26:00.000-06:00

We are, generally speaking, creatures of habit. Or at least, so "they" say. I have no idea who coined that phrase originally, and personally, I have always rebelled against it. "Creature of habit" sounds to me like a great description of a cow or a chicken, but not me. Habits are boring, confining, stifling, routine.

And I don’t want routines.

I try to avoid getting stuck in a rut, doing the same thing day in, day out. Over and over. That’s for hamsters in habitrails.

And yet…

For some reason vacations throw me off completely. Maybe it’s a sign of getting older. Maybe this never used to be the case, I don’t remember. (Another disturbing reminder of my ever-increasing age).

All I know is that my wife’s parents, in an act of amazing generosity, took us to Mexico with them over Spring Break. It was amazing. We stayed on the stunning island of Cozumel, which is near Belize, on the Caribbean coast. Beautiful sun, beautiful sea, delicious food. I think I wore my swimsuit all day long and the coldest it got, even at night, was about 70 degrees. What a place.

But it took me at least 4 days to actually settle down and relax once we got there. I am apparently so used to my little routine-that-is-not-a-routine that going away threw me off completely and it was really hard to adapt. I was so tense and wound-up I didn’t know what to do. Where were my books? My classes? My Greek vocab cards? My daily quizzes? My long commute? My computer? I was flapping around like a fearful flailing flounder on the floor of a foreign French fishing boat.

But, eventually I did adapt…and settled down...and relaxed...and tuned out...just in time to come home and be thrown out of whack all over again. And now I have to suddenly get back into my old routine-that-is-not-a -routine again and my brain is just not functioning. Reading takes longer. Analytical skills are gone. Drive and motivation are way down. Focus has evaporated. What on earth is going on?

No stress.

Stress - my dear friend, my best buddy, the one who sustains me at 2 in the morning as I struggle to pull together random thoughts and quotes into meaningful prose has left me and I don’t know where he is.

If you have any suggestions for where I can find him, please let me know.

In the meantime, I propose that we do away with vacations – they obviously do more harm than good.

This is not a blog

2006-03-14T12:40:00.000-06:00

That is, if you define a blog as something that is updated regularly...

What can I say? We were out of town, and then busy trying to get home and classes started and, and, and....

Excuses to one side, more stuff is coming soon. In the meantime, if you drink coffee, then check this out:

Muslim, Jewish and Chrstian coffee farmers are coming together in Uganda to form a fair trade cooperative

Pretty interesting story!

Now, go buy some of their coffee:

https://www.securesitehosts.com/thanksgivingcoffee/mk/

Viva Mexico

2006-03-01T20:23:00.000-06:00

I shall be away from my computer for the next week.

Hasta luego!

Guinea Pigs and "The Constant Gardener"

2006-02-28T22:21:00.000-06:00

My wife and I watched the movie “The Constant Gardener” last night. It’s a somewhat depressing film about a British diplomat in Kenya, Justin Quayle, whose wife is mysteriously murdered. Although he is by nature a submissive man who prefers the quiet, controlled solitude of a greenhouse to the messiness of the world, the catastrophic death of his wife forces him to take a stand against his superiors, and he uncovers a sinister plot to take advantage of the poor in Kenya.

The movie itself is very well made. It moves carefully and precisely, at a pace appropriate to the personality of the main character. The cinematography is excellent, the story is pretty good, and the acting is fantastic.

But movie-making skills to one side, the subject matter is disturbing. Over the course of the movie Justin learns that the British government has agreed to help a large Canadian pharmaceutical firm test an experimental new drug on native Kenyans. In exchange for the British government casting a blind eye to the pharmaceutical company’s lack of ethics, the company will invest millions of dollars into economically depressed areas of England. The Kenyan test subjects are not informed about the tests, do not consent to be a part of the trial, and many of them suffer fatal side effects that are suppressed from the official results. Justin learns that his wife uncovered this plot and told the British Government, who in turn had her “silenced.” Sounds like fantasy, right?

Well, I would have thought so to, had I not just read an article in Wired about the outsourcing of clinical trials to poverty-stricken areas of countries such as India. The article, titled “A Nation of Guinea Pigs”, won’t be available online until March 1st, so I can’t link to it here, but the gist is that major pharmaceutical companies are starting to do clinical medical trials for new drugs in the rural areas of countries such as China, India, and Brazil.

While not quite the same scenario as the movie, the article follows the impacts, both positive and negative, of such trials in a small hospital in rural India. In a region where medical care of any sort is scarce, doctors and hospitals are more than happy to enroll their patients in medical trials that will bring in significant amounts of cash:

”Patients in Sevagram are poor enough that the benefits of taking part in the study would amount to a health care windfall; among other things, Boehringer Ingelheim guaranteed participants two physicals during each of the three years [of the trial]… moreover, the hospital would receive about $665…Kalantri [the doctor in charge] talked the matter over with the chair of the hospital’s ethics committee, and the two concluded that the trial drug itself, with its possible side effects and limited efficacy, would provide little benefit to their patients. Then they went ahead and signed up.”(emphasis added)

This is pretty scary to me. I mean, I suppose this is not exactly an isolated case and possibly the same sorts of things happen everywhere, all the time. Life is all about compromises. But, I think that with a heart tenderized by the movie “The Constant Gardener” it is really hard for me to read about these kinds of ethical decisions and not cringe in disgust and frustration.

The article points out that part of the problem is the “reticence” of Americans and other westerners to participate in clinical trials for experimental drugs. The bottom line is that we rely heavily on these drugs, and they have to be tested before they can be approved. If intelligent, well informed Americans won’t participate, then someone has to. And unfortunately those “someones” happen to be the poor of the world.

“As many as half of all clinical trials are already conducted in locations far from the pharmaceutical companies’ home base, in countries like India, China, and Brazil. And many industry analysts expect the market to skyrocket…the market in India for outsourced trials will hit $1.5 billion by 2010… drug trial outsourcing is seen as the fast route to economic and scientific growth – a money train that the country can’t afford to miss.”

Indeed, in January last year the Indian government did away with a law that had previously restricted clinical trials to “drugs proven safe in trials conducted in the country of origin…India, the brilliant hub of outsourced labor, was positioning itself in a newly lucrative role: guinea pig to the world.”

Shouldn’t we be appalled by this? I know we can’t interfere in the way other countries run themselves, and India is free to do whatever they want, but this just seems to be so wrong to me. I don’t even know who to blame, because everyone is culpable – the Indian doctors running these trials, the Indian government who want the trials, the big pharmaceuticals for outsourcing the trials, the western patients who desire more and more drugs… the problem eventually comes all the way back to me. No-one is really innocent here. Except maybe the folks who are being experimented on…

Back in India Dr. Kalantri says:

“When I try to explain that a drug is experimental, that it might not work, the understanding is not there. One woman said to me, ‘What do you mean, the drug might not work? All drugs work!’ “

To be fair to Dr. Kalantri, he expresses a lot of hesitation about the trials. But not everyone worries about potential ethical problems. The CEO of a New Delhi company that is in charge of clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies says: “Are patients here more reliable? Obviously. They’re poor. They’re illiterate.”

So, does that make it acceptable?

I say, absolutely not. We should never compromise the sanctity of human life in the name of science.

Never.

This has to stop.

New Look

2006-02-28T16:19:00.000-06:00

I got sick and tired of the retro 70's look and switched to a new template. One day I'll migrate the whole site to a place with better templates, but for now, blogger will have to do. In the meantime, the color of the month is lime green. Makes the text a bit easier to read. I think.

Feedback accepted.

Especially if you have pointers for where/how I can make a blogger site look better!

Burned out on Greek

2006-02-27T21:08:00.000-06:00

OK, so three posts in one day might indicate that my mind isn’t exactly in my studies right now…

Which is a shame, because actually it is. I am super engaged and totally on fire...

For all my classes except Greek that is.

Systematic Theology? Fascinating and challenging.
Survey of the NT? Engaging, stimulating and exciting.
Christianity in the Non-Western World? Tons of reading, but awesome.

However, as far as Greek goes, I have reached the proverbial wall.

Not only have I reached that wall, but last week I ran smack dab right into the middle of it. I whacked my head on the hard brick, fell down on my butt, and now everything is spinning and I am seeing stars.

Except, instead of stars I am seeing case endings and morphemes and tense formatives whizzing around me. I feel like I’m stuck in a giant vat of koine alphabet soup.

Not really the best time for us to be moving straight into the ever-so-thrilling world of grammatical studies in Daniel Wallace’s super-exciting “The Basics of New Testament Syntax.” Now there's a page-turner.

Woo-hoo!

Syntax!

Joy.

All I do is scan my eyes across the page because the information is not sinking in at all.

What in the world am I doing? I like languages - I majored in French Literature for crying out loud! I even enjoyed Greek for a while, but this is getting nuts.

Surely not every seminarian needs to also be a linguist also, do they? Why is it so imperative that I learn every little subtle grammatical point? How do they know all this stuff anyways?

Sigh.

Please pray for me to cool my horses, take a deep breath, and keep plodding away. The joy of learning Greek is gone.

This is turning into a marathon and I am wondering why I need to be running it.

technorati tags: koine Greek morpheme

Agency

2006-02-27T20:16:00.000-06:00

I heard the following quotes on a special NPR program this afternoon. It brought to mind conversations we have been having recently in our "History of Christianity in the Non-Western World" class about "agency." Meaning, "who are the principal actors in a given event?" For example, if we only speak about the Opium Wars in China as an act of British aggression to force trade upon China, then we are only considering one side to the story. The only actor is England. China is portrayed as a passive recipient of their aggression. To some extent this strips the Chinese of any active role. In this particular case there was a whole history of events going on behind the scenes that led up to the Opium Wars.

Anyways, that's all beside the point. But we have been talking a lot about considering free-will and autonomy and responsibility for actions. So, all that was running through my head when I heard the story about New Orleans today.

On returning to New Orleans after Katrina:

“When we were in San Antonio, people said to us, ‘Why don’t you just stay here in Texas?’ But they didn’t understand. I wanted to go home. New Orleans is my home.”

“And besides, everywhere you go there are natural disasters, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes… You can’t escape natural disasters. You just learn to live with them.”

“Yeah, and if you think about it, it wasn’t actually the hurricane that did us in. It wasn’t the hurricane that was the problem, it was the breaching of the levees.”

Note, I am not meaning to criticize anyone in New Orleans. They have gone through more suffering and heartache than I can imagine, and it is totally understandable for them to be angry and frustrated right now. I would be devastated if my house was washed away by a flood, my neighborhood was destroyed, and my city trashed.

That said, I think it is an interesting perspective; that the hurricane wasn't the problem, it was the army corps of engineers who didn't build the levees correctly. On the one hand, yes, that was part of the problem. But...

I guess it's a coping mechanism of some sort, right? Trying to comprehend a catastrophic event of this scale is impossible, so you have to zero in on something smaller, something more manageable? Or maybe there are other things going on?

My gut response is that it sounded like an emotional reaction, some sort of denial. So, how does a pastor respond to (potentially) misplaced anger and denial in the cycle of grief and mourning? Obviously with care and kindness and compassion of course. I mean, these folks lost everything. But, compassion etc. are just emotions. What do you actually say?

UPDATE: In today's Tribune there is an interesting article about the factor race plays in the discussion of Katrina:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0602270206feb27,1,789677.column?coll=chi-opinionfront-hed.

Note, you'll need to register to read the article, so I would usggest going here first: http://www.bugmenot.com/view/www.chicagotribune.com.

One key quote:

We can talk about the White House's inability to cut through bureaucratic red tape and quickly settle disputes among response agencies.

We can talk about the failures of a half-dozen federal agencies, particularly the Department of Homeland Security.

But can we talk about the governmental failures of Katrina and policy changes without at least considering the race question? Can we mount a sincere effort about what went wrong without discussing the poverty, the lack of opportunity, the invisibility of the residents?

A lot of people will look at the failures and see them as being unrelated to questions of race. Others will see them as being fundamentally rooted in race.

"We as a nation have to make a decision about what we do next," Lacewell said. "And something still quite apparent is that blacks and whites often have vastly different views about what happened and how to fix it."

Made in China

2006-02-27T19:35:00.000-06:00

Is it at all weird that my Bible is made in China?

Sure, it sometimes seems as if everything I own or use is made in China. But there seems to me to be a huge disjoint when it comes to Bibles, considering the sort of religious persecution that Christians frequently endure in China.

Don’t people try to smuggle Bibles in to China?

Yeah, yeah, I know, those are Chinese Bibles, not English Bibles. But still, on some level it just seems odd.

American companies pay Chinese companies to print, bind and ship English Bibles to America. Meanwhile, various ministry organizations here in America raise funds to try to smuggle Chinese Bibles into China.

Where are the Chinese Bibles printed? America? Europe? China? Are Chinese Bibles printed in China, shipped here, and then smuggled back into China?

What is it like working at the factory that prints and binds the Bibles

What do the workers think?

I suppose it’s doubtful they can read the text any more than I could read a Chinese Bible, but they must know it’s different than the other books they print. Or maybe they don’t know. Or maybe don’t care. Shoes, books, cars, Bibles. Whatever. One manufactured item is just like any other.

I think I think too much sometimes.

Lost

2006-02-23T14:52:00.000-06:00

Two papers and a midterm are done. One more midterm next week, and normal homework etc. BUT, in the meantime, a few minutes to think about my favorite tv show of all time (for now): LOST.

What a great show.

So, is the Mystery Man from Minnesota really one of the others? That creepy look he gave at the end of the show makes me think yes. But, since LOST is all about plot twists and turns, who knows. Maybe he is some sort of remnant from the Dharma Initiative. Something fishy is going on, that's for sure.

I do know that I was wondering about the weird red hieroglyphics. And thank goodness some computer geek was too. So if you want to see the fruits of the research:

http://www.thetailsection.com/2006/02/lost-one-of-them-timer-analysis-two.php

What did we do before computers that enable us to take detailed screen captures from our tv sets?

I am so glad I live in 2006 and not 1906.

Wisdom from our Elders

2006-02-21T08:44:00.000-06:00

I am in the middle of working on a paper, but I had to post on this topic.

I heard a story on NPR this morning that I thought was just amazing. It's about an organization called the Elder Wisdom Circle. In short is a large group of people over 60 who pool their experience to offer advice to us "young 'uns". Now, this is NOT about empty paternalistic platitudes or endless reminiscences about "the way things used to be". Rather, it is an opportunity for younger people, or, actually, anyone, to ask older folks for advice, and to seek their wisdom in issues they are struggling with. It's sort of like a giant "Dear Abby" advice column, but with more meat. In a world that criminally devalues the importance of age, wisdom, and experience, I think this is a fantastic idea and I hope that it continues to be successful.

You can hear the NPR story here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5197122

And the official website is here:

http://www.elderwisdomcircle.org/

No posts this week

2006-02-20T08:05:00.000-06:00

Paper + Paper + Midterm = No blog updates until Friday February 24th

Head first at 85mph

2006-02-17T12:20:00.000-06:00

No, this isn't some high-powered sermon analogy. I'm talking about "The Skeleton," perhaps the most appropriately named speed event in the Winter Olympics. (Luge sounds lame in comparison). In this insane event riders go down the same run as the luge, but headfirst, on their stomachs. Yes, that's right, headfirst. At 85 mph, their faces just a few inches from the ice.

I didn't even know this event existed until this morning, when I read that GREAT BRITAIN WON A SILVER MEDAL IN THE SKELETON!

Astonishing.

Now, remember, this is from a country that prides itself on deference, politeness, and tea with milk in it. Our preferred winter event is the massively exciting curling. That’s where we do really well – sliding big stones across the ice. Something nice and slow and calm and quiet and peaceful.

“The Skeleton” is the polar opposite of everything British. Indeed, it sounds like the perfect thing for some kind of crazy nutball out-on-the-edge American like Bode Miller, who, after his rather average performances in Alpine Skiing may want to consider switching events.

Our last big Winter Olympics sporting hero was the infamous Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, who managed to finish in last place in the ski jump in 1988. His best jump was 65 feet short of the rest.

Since then we have had some small glimmers of joy in the Winter Olympics, but I have to take my proverbial hat off to Shelley Rudman and her silver medal. Not just for doing so well, but for excelling in something that is so un-British.

UPDATE: Ms. Rudman’s boyfriend, Kristan Bormley is in the running for a bronze medal in today’s men’s skeleton. We’ll have the results soon...

Am I a black hole?

2006-02-16T15:58:00.000-06:00

My friend Dave pointed me recently to a sermon by Erwin McManus on the subject of prayer. Actually, it was a podcast, and you can listen to it by subscribing to the podcast via iTunes. If you don't have iTunes then you are still in luck because Dave actually ripped it into a stand-alone file you can download via his blog. It's really good and you listen to it if you get a chance.

But that sermon isn't the reason I am writing. I am writing about a comment McManus makes in a different sermon, entitled "Making Space for Strange Things To Happen". In that sermon McManus recounts a story about a couple who were flying on a plane when the cabin lost pressure and all the little oxygen masks popped out of the ceiling. All except for one. The wife had her mask just fine, but the husband's mask for some reason did not come down. So, this poor guy is desperately scratching away at the ceiling trying to get his mask to come down, while his wife is sitting calmly next to him, sucking in the oxygen from her mask, and expressing no desire to share. A bizarre story, certainly, especially if it is true.

But here's McManus' point. He proposes that many of us as Christians are so inward focused that we have ignored the primary mission of the church. Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Yet, sometimes it seems as if we are so comfortable enjoying that nice oxygen that we don't want to share it with anyone else.

One of my teachers gave a very similar message the other day. He compared us to black holes. He said that we basically absorb anything and everything that comes near us, and never give anything out. We suck in all this good teaching and preaching, prayers and worship, books and resources and music and support and fellowship. And none of it ever makes it out of our gravitational field. We have become, in his words, "centripetal", inward focused, luxuriating in the blessings and promises of God. And yet Jesus Christ himself ordered us to instead be "centrifugal", spinning outwards, sharing and preaching and reaching and loving the whole world.

So what am I? Am I simply consuming my faith? Or am I spinning it out to the lost, the weary, the lonely, and the broken?

The Da Vinci Code

2006-02-16T12:19:00.000-06:00

Check this out.

The Christian Mind: Sony Gives The Microphone to Da Vinci Code Critics

Relationships

2006-02-16T11:32:00.000-06:00

So, if you've ever studied Romans before, you've probably spent a lot of time thinking about doctrine. The book is full of it. But there is a lot more there... Take a look, for example, at the last chapter, Romans 16

Now, usually I get to this part of the letters and skip over it. "Blah, blah, blah..." It's boring. Who wants to read a whole long list of personal greetings to random people? Well, one of my professors brought out a subtle but extremely thought-provoking point about these last words from Paul.

He suggested that these extensive personal greetings show an intensely personal side to Paul, a man who was deeply connected with individual people. He wasn't a "CEO-type pastor", removed from the congregations he was founding. No, Paul knew that doctrine and instruction without relationship was empty. He cultivated close personal relationships everywhere he went, and he kept track of these people, praying for them, writing to them, thinking about them.

And so the application for us to do the same. We can teach and preach and try to reach others, but without that personal relationship it's hard to really connect with someone. Of course, we can't know everyone by name, but teachers and leaders in the church should follow Paul's example and remember that excellent teaching must be supported by some kind of personal interest in the students.

This may come easy to more outgoing folks, but for me I know I struggle with this. There is a big part of me that would love to just get out there, say my thing, and then leave. But, I am realizing that it is just as important to slow down and get out of my comfort zone and try to develop and build those relationships first. Or at least, in conjunction with, my teaching.

Yellow grey

2006-02-16T11:29:00.000-06:00

We are in the middle of a winter storm here. Nothing even close to what they experienced out on the East Coast. In fact, we may not get much snow even. But we do have some rain and sleet and the sky is the most bizarre color right now, a sort of yellowish grey that is extremely ominous. One of those days when it is nice to be inside, in a warm room, with a cup of coffee.

In honor of Rachael Ray...

2006-02-11T20:19:00.000-06:00

...tonight we made our own "30 Minute Meal". It turned out pretty good, so I thought I would share. Once again, I am drawing a blank when it comes to a name though...

1 rotisserie chicken, meat pulled off into bite size chunks (you don't need all that meat for this recipe, just some of it)
1 pound radiatori or fusilli pasta
5 medium portabella mushrooms
Couple handfuls cherry tomatoes
1-2 cups chopped baby carrots
1 jar alfredo sauce

1. Cook the pasta and drain.
2. While the pasta is cooking, drizzle garlic olive oil on the mushrooms.
3. Put the mushrooms on a baking tray and broil for about 6-7 minutes.
4. Drizzle regular olive oil on the tomatoes, and pierce them so they don't explode. Then toss them in with the mushrooms and cook for another 4 minutes. Watch carefully to make sure the tomatoes don't burn up.
5. Drizzle the cooked mushrooms with balsamic vinegar, then chop into bite sized pieces
6. While the mushrooms are cooking, saute the carrots in butter and sprinkle with sugar, then add 1/2 cup chicken stock, and cook till tender
7. Add alfredo sauce to the pasta, then fill the empty jar about half full with chicken stock, put the lid back on, and shake it up good to get the last yummy bits of sauce out of the jar, then add to the pasta.
8. Add the chicken, and stir it all around.
9. Add the mushrooms, carrots and tomatoes and mix.
10. The only seasoning we used was freshly ground black pepper. We didn't add anything else.
11. Optional - we added 2 tbps of juice from mushroom pan for some extra flavor.

One lucky squirrel

2006-02-11T18:01:00.000-06:00

As I was driving down our street today a squirrel darted out into the middle of the road, faked left, faked right, and then sprinted back the way he came and shot up a tree. It all happened so quickly I barely had time to break or anything. It was one hyper squirrel.

But, that got me thinking. You know, I think I sometimes I am a bit like that squirrel. No, I haven't run out into the middle of the street recently. And no, I don't forage for nuts. And no, I am not usually quite *that* jittery. (While I may like my coffee, I am a far cry from the woman who came into Starbucks when I was studying the other day and ordered a FIVE-SHOT AMERICANO. Wow. That's like taking crack or something. She might seriously be able to out-fake the squirrel. But, I digress.)

No, I am talking metaphorically, or symbolically, or analagously. You learned teacher-types out there can correct my mis-use of technical terms at the end.

Anyway, I was thinking about how big and amazingly patient God is. All through the Bible, especially in Psalms, we hear about how God is “slow to anger.” Way back when he makes his covenant with Moses, in Exodus, it says:

“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ex 34:6)

I am so thankful for that slowness. Meanwhile, I am more like that squirrel, racing around, darting back and forth, never in one place long enough to take in the fullness of God’s glory. I race forward in faith out towards some goal, then suddenly get distracted by something and dart off over there, then I see some sort of danger or threat headed straight at me and I react instantly, darting off in another direction, only to realize that I’m over-compensating, and so then I turn back again, narrowly avoiding whatever threat was there and ending up back where I started, only now I can’t remember why I stepped out in faith to begin with.

And all the while I imagine that God is sitting over on the other side of the street saying, “whoa, hey, slow down there, just… no, wait, I… come back… ok, great, now, as I was saying… wait, come back…watch out for that… no not that way… sigh. OK. Wait. Stop. STOP.”

STOP.

STOP.

STOP.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalms 46:10)

I think “stillness” is a spiritual discipline that has to become a greater priority for me this year, before some big semi flattens me on the gritty asphalt of life.

And now for something completely different

2006-02-10T21:39:00.000-06:00

Phew! Those last two posts were kind of heavy. So, now, something light.

Well, sort of.

We have a new favorite flavor combination at Cold Stone Creamery:

Coffee ice cream
Pecans
Brownie
Caramel

I haven't made up a name for it yet. Suggestions?

Tree-huggers unite!

2006-02-09T14:27:00.000-06:00

I was really encouraged to hear on NPR yesterday that a large group of evangelical leaders had signed a statement calling for a reduction in greenhouse gases. Essentially, from what I can gather, the statement is a call for Christians to pay more attention to environmental issues. You can read the full statement here. In the conclusion it says:

” Numerous positive actions to prevent and mitigate climate change are being implemented across our society by state and local governments, churches, smaller businesses, and individuals. These commendable efforts focus on such matters as energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy, low CO2 emitting technologies, and the purchase of hybrid vehicles. These efforts can easily be shown to save money, save energy, reduce global warming pollution as well as air pollution that harm human health, and eventually pay for themselves. There is much more to be done, but these pioneers are already helping to show the way forward.
Finally, while we must reduce our global warming pollution to help mitigate the impacts of climate change, as a society and as individuals we must also help the poor adapt to the significant harm that global warming will cause.”

This is a cause I can gladly and willingly support.

On the flip side I read the following comments this morning, from an article published last November. Note this was before the official statement came out yesterday:

"A major obstacle to any measure that would address global warming is Senator James M. Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican who is chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and an evangelical himself, but a skeptic of climate change caused by human activities.

Mr. Inhofe has led efforts to keep mandatory controls on greenhouse gases out of any emission reduction bill considered by his committee and has called human activities contributing to global warming "the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people."

"You can always find in Scriptures a passage to misquote for almost anything," Mr. Inhofe said in an interview, dismissing the position of Mr. Cizik's association as "something very strange."

Mr. Inhofe said the vast majority of the nation's evangelical groups would oppose global warming legislation as inconsistent with a conservative agenda that also includes opposition to abortion rights and gay rights. He said the National Evangelical Association had been "led down a liberal path" by environmentalists and others who have convinced the group that issues like poverty and the environment are worth their efforts."

Ah yes, those poor misguided evangelicals who have been led astray by crazy liberals and encouraged to (gasp!) take care of the poor or (the horror!) consider that they might have some responsibility for the environment. Us evangelicals are so easily led astray like that.

"What would Jesus do?" According to Mr. Inhofe, we would probably stop wasting time with those pesky poor people and go buy a Hummer instead. Perhaps he would be interested in Jonathan Swift’s Modest Proposal.

Interestingly, this new focus on environmentalism is not supported by all evangelicals. Mr. Cizik and the NAE, despite being supportive last year, appear to have caved in to pressure from the more conservative elements of evangelicalism, and refused to sign the statement released yesterday. According to an article in Christianity Today:

”Cizik originally signed the statement, but said his name was withdrawn "to display an accommodating spirit to those who don't yet accept the science on the severity of the problem."
Last month Dobson, Colson, and 20 other evangelical leaders, including Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, wrote Haggard urging the NAE not to adopt "any official position on the issue of climate change," due to disagreement among evangelicals over "the cause, severity, and solutions to the global warming issue."
Both Ball and Cizik emphasized that the NAE never planned on adopting ECI's statement on global warming. Despite Haggard and Cizik's absence, 34 signers are members of the NAE's board or executive committee, and another 50 Christian organization heads also have ties to the group, according to a knowledgeable source.”

Honestly it doesn’t surprise me to hear that Colson and Dobson are not supportive of this statement, although it is sad since they appear to be able to exert significant influence on American Christians. Personally, I don’t drive a hybrid, but I look forward to the day when it is considered normal and natural for Christians to be more involved with issues of poverty and the environment.

In the meantime, I'm off to hug a tree.

Out of Africa?

2006-02-06T23:12:00.000-06:00

Philip Jenkins, in his book The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity asserts that if we extrapolate current demographic trends out to the year 2025, there will be "around 2.6 billion Christians in the world, of whom 633 million would live in Africa, 640 million in Latin America, and 460 million in Asia. ... Africa and Latin America would be in competition for the title of most Christian continent" (3). As such, according to Jenkins, Christians in Europe and America should be aware that there will be an accompanying shift in influence from the Northern hemisphere to the South, a shift that will have a major impact on Western Christianity.

I think there are some debatable points in his book, but it is an interesting read nonetheless, and it has hhighlighted for me the importance of paying attention to what is happening in Christian circles outside of America. As such I was fascinated to read Bono's speech at the National Prayer Breakfast last week, where he once again urged America to take the lead in helping poorer African nations deal with crippling debt and poverty. It's an amazing speech for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which is hearing Bono talk about the Old Testament. You can read the text here: http://www.data.org/archives/000774.php.

He concludes by saying that:

"There is a continent—Africa—being consumed by flames. I truly believe that when the history books are written, our age will be remembered for three things: the war on terror, the digital revolution, and what we did—or did not to—to put the fire out in Africa."

This speech seemed reasonable enough to me, ignorant as I am with regard to economic development in other countries. The travel-writer Paul Theroux, however, is apparently more savvy about these matters, and has expressed his disdain for Bono in an article in the New York Times from last December (note that Theroux was not responding to Bono's prayer breakfast comments, but rather to Bono's various speeches and activities from last year).

You can read Theroux's article reprinted in the Herald Tribune here: http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/19/opinion/edtheroux.php

So, what am I supposed to think? Can someone tell me?

Just kidding. But seriously, although from other books I have read by Theroux I am used to his somewhat pompous way of talking about himself, and I do think that in large measure he is offended by the Christian element of Bono's work, he does raise some very compelling points. As long as trained Africans continue to leave Africa, and money is poured in without any paper-trail or accountability, nothing is going to get better. Giving money may appease our consciences while at the same time doing very little to ease the suffering of those struggling in extreme poverty or dealing with AIDS or civil war. Yet at the same time I do think there is real value to the work that Bon is doing, whatever his motives may or may not be. I think that although in the big picture things may look grim, in the small picture there are changes taking place, and I am confident that Christian organizations are working extremely hard to make a real, tangible difference in the lives of the poor and oppressed across the African continent.

A blog is hardly the place to hash out significant solutions to these problems, but I am throwing it out there for discussion anyways. If Jenkins is correct about the growth of Christianity in Africa, then we should have a deep passion for the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Christ. The problem, I suppose, is how to express that passion. Bruce WIlkinson, of Jabez fame, had a passion to help, but that ended with his retirment, not just from Africa, but from ministry altogether: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/002/8.76.html.

There must be some sort of middle ground between Bono and Theroux. It seems ridiculous that we could have so much money here in the US and there still be so much poverty in Africa. And it's tempting to assume that a redistribution of that wealth, even in small amounts, would solve everything.

My conscience compels me to do something. Or is it just my guilt about being affluent? Or both?

Movies?

2006-01-22T17:15:00.000-06:00

What have been your favorite movies of the last year, either on DVD or in the theater?

We haven't seen many at all, and the ones I have seen were not that great. Take, for example, "The Fantastic Four", which we watched last night. Very glossy and shiny and superheroey, but not juch substance. Spiderman is so much better. Then again, it's easier to develop one character than four.

So, suggestions needed!

Another movie cashes in on Jesus

2006-01-16T19:11:00.000-06:00

No, I'm not talking about Narnia. But listen to this voiceover from a movie preview I just saw:

“Even though you have been raised as a human being, you are not one of them. They could be a great people…they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you, my only son.”

No, it's not Jesus Christ we are talking about here. It's Superman.

And I don't for one second think that this kind of language is accidental. I mean, the idea of a supreme being sending a savior to earth to care for inept human beings, someone who is both human and super-human... These are ideas ripped right out of the New Testament and repackaged in a shiny blue jump-suit with a red S on the front.

I'm not suggesting this is something new with this particular movie incarnation of the Superman character, but the preview really rubs me the wrong way.

Kids say the funniest things

2006-01-10T12:21:00.000-06:00

Like my 3 year old's rendition of that holiday classic about Rudolph. As far as she is concerned, the lyrics are:

"Dew-drops the reindeer red-nose..."

As my friend DAT says, "killer cute"

:-)

(My goal this year is to end every blog entry with a smiley face)

;-)

Still haven't seen Narnia

2006-01-10T12:15:00.000-06:00

I'm sure the 3 people who read this blog have all already seen Narnia. And, I'm guessing you all enjoyed it. We haven't seen it yet. Mostly because we have been away, and we have two young kids, and trying to see any movie is hard. But. I also have some mixed feelings about seeing a movie version of a book that I resonated so deeply with as a child. I am hesitant to let a movie supplant the Narnia I have already created in my own imagination.

Anyways, along these lines, this article was recommended to me by a friend. Interesting perspective. Let me know what you think. I haven't seen the movie yet, but he raises some interesting points.

A Tale of Two Kitties

I am too tired right now to offer my own commentary :-)

Sin

2005-12-12T20:39:00.000-06:00

I have 2 young kids. We live in a fallen world. We are sinners from birth. How do I teach them about sin without it becoming legalism?

It's easy right now - I just say, "Don't touch that!" or "Stop hitting your sister!" and then there are consequences for not listening or disobeying.

What happens when they start asking me why it is wrong?

"Because you will be punished"
"Because it's not nice"
"Because society doesn't condone that osrt of behavior"
"Because I say so"
"Because God says so"
"Because it may have unforseen consequences later on down the road"
"Because the Bible says we shouldn't"
"Because my church says we shouldn't"

I don't think any of these communicate with the heart.

I have all sorts of fancy intellectual arguments I can spring for them. And I can turn to my reference books on systematic theology and have them read pages and pages about God's holiness and our sinfulness.

But, how in the world do I reach their hearts?

How do I convey to them the idea that sin is more than a long list of "thou shall nots"?

Lewis Debate?

2005-11-16T16:44:00.000-06:00

Well, here I am again, confused about what I have missed recently. My buddy Dave was asking me last night what my thoughts were on John Piper. Specifically because Piper has made some comments about CS Lewis that are not exactly flattering. Which is odd for both Dave and I, who generally hold CS Lewis in high esteem. Did we miss something? Was there some lesser known sequel to Mere Christianity called Merely Christianity?

Perusing the web I came across this blog entry from February 2005, about CS Lewis.

It doesn't answer my questions, but does offer some interesting perspective. Most of the comments at the bottom of the blog entry are kind of blah, but if you are interested, scroll down to the very bottom, starting with this one: "Posted by: Joel Thomas | February 15, 2005", and then this one: "Posted by: keith | February 14, 2005" and then this one: "Posted by: Terry | February 14, 2005".

Then, if you interested in this topic, leave a comment. I'm curious to know what, specifically, people like Piper consider to be so bad about Lewis?

(The photo has nothing to do with anything other than the fact that I am still reeling from the freezing... excuse me, below-freezing... temperatures here in Chicago today. I'm not cut out for this.)

Crayons

2005-11-16T16:02:00.000-06:00

Yes, I know, I'm making a big deal out of nothing. But listen. We've lived in paradise for the last 7 years. When I see on TV that there's a "high" of 27 degrees, and I step outside and the snow is falling horizontally because the wind is so strong, well, I don't know what to do with myself.

So I take photos. And this is what happened to our daughter's sidewalk chalk overnight.

Yesterday morning, in the dark gloom before the snow, our daughter opened the blinds in our kitchen and looked outside. With a puzzled look on her face she turned to me and said, "Papa... um, I don't understand. It's daytime, but, but...where is the sun?"

Now, how am I supposed to answer that one?

Winter has arrived

2005-11-16T10:39:00.000-06:00

According to the weather channel it is 28 degrees outside right now. With snow flurries. Meanwhile, in our old home town of San Jose, CA, it is forecast to be 73 degrees today, and sunny. Of course. I am not sure we're ready for this.

Wow

2005-11-15T08:37:00.000-06:00

My dad took this photo yesterday from his balcony overlooking the River Thames, in England. Pretty amazing sunset.

Just how big is God anyways?

2005-11-14T14:58:00.000-06:00

I just met an interesting guy named Chris. He was sitting in a traffic jam the other day, frustrated with all the cars on the road, when it hit him that in every car was somebody as unique and complex as himself. That might sound obvious, but have you ever stopped to consider that God is working in the lives of every person you meet? All those eye-opening moments in your life, all those little revelations you experience, all those minor miracles God brings into your life– they aren’t unique to you. They may be uniquely tailored to your specific set of circumstances, but you aren’t the only person experiencing those kinds of events.

That moment of perspective was eye-opening for Chris, and for me also. I know that I get so wrapped in my own story sometimes that I forget the big picture. Yes, God is working in miraculous ways in my life, often without me knowing or understanding why, but I’m not the only one. He is simultaneously working in the hearts and minds of just about everyone else around me. Talk about a reality check! I sing about God’s power every Sunday, and frequently meditate on his grace and mercy in prayer, but it’s all too easy to forget what those words mean, and just how big God really is. Funny how sitting in a traffic jam can give you a little glimpse of what is really going on in the world.

More U2

2005-11-12T11:16:00.000-06:00

My buddy Dave just went to see U2 in concert and he can’t stop going on about how good it was. Not that I can blame him – I am sure it amazing. I’m just jealous I can’t go. Now we have 2 kids it’s a bit hard to go to rock concerts.

Anyway, I just dug up my original CD of The Joshua Tree. Inside was a ticket stub from a U2 concert. In March 1992. Man I suddenly feel old.

So buried in a moment of nostalgia, I started reading the lyrics in the CD booklet. And here's something bizarre. I was looking at the lyrics for "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". In the CD it says:

I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her fingertips
It burned like fire
This burning desire

But if you look at the lyrics as displayed on the official U2 website, it says:

I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her finger tips
It burned like fire
(I was) burning inside her.

The meaning of the last line has changed a little bit, don't you think?

A great song either way around though.

How to Read a Newspaper

2005-11-11T16:58:00.000-06:00

If you want to read newspaper articles online, you have to register first. Which, honestly, I am sick of doing.

So, here's what you do. Go to http://www.bugmenot.com and enter the URL of the news site you want to read. The site then gives you a username and password to use to get access. Perfecto.

Persecution as Entertainment

2005-11-08T11:23:00.000-06:00

I must be getting cynical. I just saw this announcement written on the whiteboard in my classroom:

Free pizza lunch
with Persecuted Bulgarian pastor
Mon Nov 14th 12:00-1:30
Here in this room

I think this should be re-written to more explicitly state what the current phrasing implies:

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, step right up, step right up...

Next Monday, here, in this place, for one hour ONLY, come and see a REAL, LIVE persecuted pastor!

Yes, that's right, a persecuted pastor, here, in this room, and IN THE FLESH!

You heard me right! I am talking about an actual pastor from the persecuted church!

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see an actual persecuted pastor from the strange mythical country of BULGARIA! It really does exist!

You've read the stories, now see one of them with YOUR OWN EYES!

You're kids will be amazed! Your spouse won't believe you! Your colleagues will be jealous!

And to top it all off, we'll be having FREE PIZZA FOR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!"

U2

2005-10-11T19:58:00.000-05:00

Forget American Idol. I saw U2 perform live on Conan O'Brien the other night and they were amazing. First of all, they've been together as a band for 29 years now. (Which, by the way, is better than 50% of marriages). Secondly, Bono has a really amazing voice. I am not an expert, but I know enough to say that he has amazing control and range. Really amazing control. And this was for a live performance on TV, which usually sucks. Thirdly, well I can't think of a thirdly. But, these guys rock. Yeah, they're old, yeah they've had their ups and downs, yeah, you may not like all their lyrics, or their lifestyle, or whatever. Who cares. Sometimes you have to put that stuff aside and just admire the raw (God-given) musical gifts.

Time to laugh

2005-10-11T16:57:00.000-05:00

I hate link referrals to "funny websites." Except when I think they are actually funny. Like this one. And with Halloween costume parties just around the corner, I feel this is appropriate.

Warning: some of these photos and captions made me snort with laughter. If you value your computer at all, do not drink and click at the same time.

Parade of Unfortunate Star Wars Costumes

What do you do with vodka?

2005-10-10T16:48:00.000-05:00

OK, I've tried drinking it straight (in college, with disastrous consequences), and I've tried mixing it with OJ or tomato juice (not so palatable after my college experiences with drinking it straight), and I've even tried using it to flambé food (and almost set the kitchen on fire in the process). But now I have it - the perfect use for vodka that doesn't involve inebriation, burning frypans, or sarcasm...

Baked penne pasta with a tomato vodka cream sauce.

This is not "just another recipe". This meal is off-the-charts-good. It was my birthday yesterday and my wonderful, creative and talented wife made a giant batch of this for the family, and it was just outstanding. I know, this is a heavily biased opinion, but so is my entire blog. I'm not trying to be obejctive. But let me tell you this - this meal is now in my top 5 of favorite meals of all time.

Seriously, this is worth going through the hassle of printing it out, buying the ingredients and making it yourself at home. It is awesome.

So, a big shout-out to Emeril for creating it, and a HUGE THANK YOU to my amazing wife for making it for me. I love you!

And, finally, I have found a reason to warrant buying vodka.

In tomorrow's episode we will discuss the sumptuous dessert the followed up the perfect pasta, so stay tuned.

Death sucks

2005-09-22T14:33:00.000-05:00

I’ve decided I don’t want to die. In fact, I don’t want to suffer either. Yeah, I know, that’s a pipe dream, and yeah, I know, as followers of Christ we are supposed to expect suffering, and yeah, I know, as heirs to the kingdom, death is not the end of the story for us. But you know what, I’m just not feeling it right now. I’m not in that good-Christian vibe right now, and frankly, I don’t want to die, and I don’t want to get old, and I don’t want my body and mind to fall to pieces over the years.

Funny what going to a funeral will do to you.

My wife’s grandmother didn’t make it through her aneurysm surgery, and died in the recovery room. That was about 3 weeks ago now, and this past weekend we went out to New Jersey for the funeral service. Actually, I guess technically it was a memorial service, not a funeral, since she was cremated.

I’ve decided I prefer funerals.

I never felt close to her, even though we had talked on many occasions, and I married her oldest grand-child. In fact, now that I think about it, I always felt like it was hard to get close to her, since she was always asking me so many questions. I don’t remember ever getting many opportunities to ask her anything. Too late for that now.

Why are funerals better? Because there is a coffin, which you know contains a body, the body of the person that has died, and psychologically there is something important about seeing the person after they have died, or at least knowing that the silver box with all the flowers contains that person. There can be no illusions that they are “away on vacation” or that somehow they might show up at any moment and ask you what all the fuss is about. A dead body is unequivocal, un-debatable, horrible, and final.

I am not talking theology here. I don’t really care what you may or may not believe about the after-life, but rituals surrounding death are pretty important, and I like the Western tradition of a funeral service and a coffin.

At least, that works for me. Maybe you would prefer to be cremated? I do kind of like the idea of a funeral pyre, like the one Luke makes for Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi. But the point there is the same – those left behind can see the dead person. In most cremations that’s just not the case. My wife’s grandmother was literally here one day and completely gone the next.

The memorial service was ok. She was a Unitarian, and as such the service avoided any kind of traditional hymns or doctrinal statements of faith or belief. But, there was a huge outpouring of memories from many, many people whose lives had been touched by my wife’s grandmother. The memories were amazing. She had touched many people with acts of kindness and generosity. A great reminder for me, for anyone, to think about the kind of legacy I want to leave behind.

Her ashes were tossed into a hole in the ground by the creek at their house in an unceremonious, informal bizarre way. 2 pounds of ashes. A whole life reduced to a plastic Ziploc bag holding grey-white ashes. Some went in the hole, some flew up in the air. The family members nearest to the hole had to stand back to avoid the ashes blowing in their face.

We left the ash-shedding service early and went back inside with the kids. A giant hawk or eagle appeared out of nowhere and circled 4 times over the group, drifting on a warm pocket of air before flying off over the house. The eagle wasn’t her spirit, it wasn’t her life force, she wasn’t reincarnated. The eagle was just an eagle. But maybe God sent that bird to remind me of his power over everything. Or maybe it was just a bird curious to see what was going on.

Stop the spam

2005-09-22T14:02:00.000-05:00

Credit offer. Limited time. Get it while hot. Special super prize awaiting in the special. Mortgage 1% and insurance specials are yours.

Maybe my blog is being indexed by google now? Perhaps somehow that is how it is getting picked up by spammers? Then again, I suppose 2 rogue entries isn’t so bad.

But, what a waste of time for them to post comments on my blog… they must have developed a way to automate posting their ads. Odd.

Either that or I must come across as being a complete sucker.

More information than we needed to know

2005-09-14T08:49:00.000-05:00

At my office we have a highly sophisticated, finely-tuned system for monitoring who is or is not in the office on any given day.

It's called email.

There are about 120+ people in our office, and any time anyone is going to be out of the office for more than 2 hours, they are required to send out a "Schedule" email to the ENTIRE office. So, we get about 50 of these emails every day, saying things like "Schedule: Going to see my accountant, back at 4pm" etc.

Every now and then some folks include way too much information, like this one:

"Schedule: Dentist. This is the last one, and then no more for at least 6 months. whew.
Moral of the story: Don't wait 10 years between dental visits!"

Yuck

Scary

2005-08-16T10:58:00.000-05:00

My wife’s grandmother is 83 years old and was just diagnosed this morning with a descending aortic aneurysm. Left untreated there is a 30% chance of sudden death. And apparently the size of the aneurysm is unusually large. The surgeon said that 98% of aneurysms that size have already ruptured, so she is very lucky it hasn’t yet.

83. And facing major, major surgery. Not good at all. Please pray for her.

What’s my Nineveh?

2005-08-16T10:26:00.000-05:00

I’ve decided that August must be “Preach From Jonah Month.”

The church we visited two weeks ago had a sermon based on the book of Jonah.

The church we visited last week studied Jonah in the kid’s program

The church we went to this morning had a lesson on… Jonah (and the following goofy graphic in black and white in the sermon notes):

http://www.pitts.emory.edu/woodcuts/1570BiblC/00002833.jpg

Next week we’re going to a cook-out at my parent’s church, where they are going to show… yes, you guessed it, the Veggietales Jonah movie for the kids(at a special presentation hosted by Phil Vischer, the founder of Veggietales, who also goes to their church). It’s going to be great.

But, this has to be more than coincidence, right?

And if so, then what is God trying to tell me? My daughter has figured out her application - God lives in the belly of a whale. But, I’m guessing I should be hearing something deeper than that.

Which makes me wonder, what is my Nineveh? Is there something I am trying to run from?

Or maybe I’m already in my Nineveh, but whining and complaining too much?

Or what?

2005-08-11T11:13:00.000-05:00

CNN reports that the UN wants Iran to stop work on activities that could lead to the production of nuclear weapons.

To which the Iranians will no doubt be thinking, "Or what?"

They don't care if the US or anyone else imposes sanctions.

After the Iraq war debacle nobody is going to be invading Iran any time soon.

So, what exactly does the UN plan to do?

It's like that old Robin WIlliams impersonation of a British policeman trying to arrest a bank robber:

"Stop! Or I'll say 'Stop!' again!"

What did I miss?

2005-08-11T10:24:00.000-05:00

Ever step into a conversation or debate and realize you have no idea what the two sides are arguing about? I had that experience this morning when I read the following short article by a Chicago-area pastor.

Why I’m Not Emerging: A Brief Response to the Emerging Church

Very odd.

I like to think I’m up-to-date with what’s going on in the world, but I feel like I missed something here.

Now, I know there is a movement afoot called the emergent church, and I know Brian McLaren is the unofficial spokesperson, and his book, A Generous Orthodoxy has generated a lot of debate.

However, I guess I was just a bit surprised at this pastor's tone. He sounds as if he feels attacked in some way, or threatened by the emergent church. It's almost as if he had just read something implying that all churches and all Christians should sign on to McLaren's point of view. Which, from what I can gather, would be pretty antithetical to the whole emergent church vibe.

I suppose I have just been completely sheltered from this debate, so it's hard not to feel like "what's the big deal?" Which is exactly the kind of comment which would apparently push some people right off the edge...

I am not a fly

2005-08-10T14:58:00.000-05:00

When I married my wife, I naively imagined it was just the two of us (like the song from Austin Powers with Dr. Evil and Mini-Me, except more romantic and less creepy). Anyways, I soon learned that I wasn’t just marrying my wonderful wife. No, apparently marriage is a package deal – not only did I get her immediate family, but I also inherited her extended family at no extra cost! In our case that’s like 40 people for the price of one.

Which has actually been great, for the most part, because there are some really cool and interesting people in that group of 40.

But, as in life, there are some people that just rub you the wrong way. And it can be hard to deal with that in a family setting.

Take religion for example. Out of that group of 40 you find the following:

Very conservative Christians
Moderate Christians
Liberal Christians
Unitarian Universalists
Muslims
Hindus

Not too shabby eh? That hits most of the major world religions. Believe me, family reunions can be quite a challenge at times.

Which brings me to my question. My father-in-law was at a family reunion recently, and went for a walk with some folks. He absently swatted away a wasp at one point, and commented out loud that he was going to have to put out his yellow jacket traps soon. Then he continued,

“yeah, last year we must have caught several thousand wasps over the course of the summer.”

At which point one of my wife’s cousins, who is part of a Hindu sect, said,

“the life of a wasp, the life of a dog, the life of a human – what is the difference?”

Now, that’s a conversation killer if ever there was one.

For someone you meet on a bus or a plane, you might just roll your eyes and walk away. But with family, what do you do?

Do you just blow them off and move on to another topic? Do you try to engage them in a philosophical discussion about life? Do you try and point out to them the enormous gaps in their world-view? How do you remain loving and sincere and honest all at the same time?

My first inclination is too mock them for being so stupid. But, that’s not really loving.

Then I want to mock them some more, to prove how superior I am. Again, not loving at all.

Then I want to mock them in front of other people so they can see how funny I am.

You can see where this is going.

But, this is actually kind of a serious problem. I really do struggle to accept some of these views and find a way to converse with the folks who hold them. I don’t want to blow them off – they’re family. Talking about football and the weather just seems so lame. But pretty much any other topic always involves getting into conversations about values and beliefs. And then we hit a brick wall. Like my father-in-law did. And in his case he was just making idle chit-chat.

There’s a family wedding coming up soon, followed by a reunion in October. This is something I have to work out soon.

Perfect timing

2005-08-05T10:11:00.000-05:00

Kids. You gotta love them.

Last night I was having a pretty deep conversation with my father-in-law about the Holy Spirit. We were talking about how God guides us, and then we got talking about specific moments when we felt like the Holy Spirit had led us to do this or that. It was a really deep, totally awesome, and at times, very serious, conversation.

So, my father-in-law starts telling me this story:

"When I was about your age, and we were living in this rickety old house a few miles from here, I was really stressed out and got up early one morning. My whole body was tense and I couldn't sleep. It was really awful. So I got up and went for a walk all around the neighborhood, then I came home, had some devotional time, and then started working out. I was hoping the exercise would helpclear my head. I had been praying a lot, and then, out of the blue, clear as a bell, it was like I heard this voice in my head. It was amazing. And what I heard was..."

At which point my eldest daughter comes sprinting into the room, screeches to a halt on the tile right in front of us, and with the hugest smile on her face says at top volume:

"HI GUYS!!"

And then races back out again.

I mean, I think professional actors struggle to get that kind of timing right. It was amazing. I mean, she interrupted my father-in-law at exactly the right moment for absolute maximum comedic effect. Incredible.

How to choose a church

2005-08-02T09:55:00.000-05:00

First we traded in our California license plates for Illinois plates.

Then we closed out our California Wells-Fargo bank accounts.

Then we had to pay for some new local resident photo ID cards so we could use the local park district swimming pool.

(Which, by the way, was the best $10 I have ever spent. When it is 100 degrees and 70% humidity, the ONLY places to be are in a refrigerator or in a swimming pool. )

Pretty soon we’ll have to trade in our CA cell-phones for Illinois phones, and before you know it we'll be talking about "da Bears"

Lots of changes.

But so far, these have all been pretty easy. You need a cell-phone? Go to the cell-phone store. Need a new driver’s license? Go to the DMV. But what do you do about churches? New license plates don't really impact your life in any way, but I can't think of anything more influential in our lives over the last 7 years than the churches we attended. Finding a new church is a really big deal.

According to Yahoo, there are 10 churches of various denominations just within a 2 mile circle of where we are staying right now. Expand that out to the entire Chicago area and you’re talking thousands of churches.

Now, of course you can pare that list down fairly quickly. We’re not Catholic, so that cuts the list down. We are also looking for an English-speaking church, and not a Greek Orthodox or other ethnic variety church. Not because there’s anything wrong with Catholic, Spanish, Polish or Greek churches, but that’s not we’re looking for right now.

Then it’s a matter of choosing your flavor of Christianity. That cuts the list down even more. For us, we ruled out Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Mormon and Seventh-Day Adventist. Then you have to consider Presbyterian or not? And if so, which brand? Do you want PCUSA or PCA? Apparently I am told there are Big Differences there so we have to be careful not to mess it up.

But now what? Just go visit a new church every weekend? There’s only 52 weeks a year, assuming we are never sick or out of town on vacation, so in reality we’re talking like 45 Sundays a year.

That severely limits the number of places we can visit. Because, after all, one visit is rarely enough to know for sure if a church is a good fit, right? I mean, what if the main pastor is out of town, or they have a guest speaker? And besides, don’t all churches have good weeks and bad weeks?

And what do we judge the churches on anyways? Music quality? Seat comfort? Whether or not they offer free donuts?

OK, so I think I have a good “feel” for what I am looking for, but shouldn’t I be able to verbalize those criteria a bit better than just “I like the feel of this place” or, “I didn’t like the worship”? Aren’t those lame excuses? Or are they legitimate? Does God really like the idea of me comparison shopping for churches? OK that’s a rhetorical question, and given the country and culture I am living in, our dilemma is nothing out of the ordinary, and it’s not really sinful. But it does seem like we are wasting time…

We visited one church recently that is a fairly conservative Presbyterian church, with a pretty formal service style. I was really having a hard time focusing because it was so rigid and stiff. For the sermon they always use a quote from the OT as well as a quote from the NT. This sermon included an excerpt from the story of Gideon and the fleece. And just above that was a tiny 1 and half inch square black and white picture of something that looked like a bunch of Spanish conquistadores standing around in their suits of armor.

Then I looked at the little inscription and it said it was a woodcut made in 1570.

1570

At that moment I knew this church was not going to be a good fit for me. Woodcuts are for museums, not Sunday morning church services. I mean, I don’t want to offend any art historians out there, but I can’t think of anything more astonishingly boring than going to church and looking at a 450 year old woodcut drawing in the program. What exactly were they thinking? Is it supposed to liven up the otherwise graphic-and-color-free program? Is it supposed to help me visualize what was going on when Gideon put the fleece on the ground? (apparently Gideon wore a lot of fancy armor and sported a finely groomed mustache and a long ostrich feather in his helmet).

Maybe it was supposed to remind me that they have been preaching sermons about Gideon for almost 500 years? Or to put me in a serious mood of contemplation so I pay attention to the serious sermon? I have no idea. But the point is that I can’t see myself attending this church on a regular basis because my sinful, arrogant, cynical, snooty, post-modern self would just get too frustrated about this kind of thing.

BUT

As incredibly boring and sleep-inducing as the services at this church are, they have an amazing sense of community. It’s a very small congregation, but it’s clear that the people really do care and pray for each other. And have done so for years. One man gave a powerful testimony at the end of the service about the powerful impact the church has had on his life over the last 25 years, supporting him in missions work, in parenthood, in marriage, and in his walk with Jesus. It was awesome. Exactly what you would wish for in a church.

So, that leaves me perplexed when it comes to finding a new church. I still don’t think this particular church is the right place for us. But what is?

The joy of kids

2005-08-01T14:45:00.000-05:00

I love my two daughters very deeply. But that doesn't mean they don't cause me some stress occasionally. Last night, for example, my youngest daughter, who is 9 months old, woke up every hour for the entire night. And her big sister, who is 2 years and 9 months, tossed and turned all night long because of a stuffy nose. Which wouldn't be too bad except she woke up and insisted on sleeping (aka tossing and turning) in our bed.

And who is going to tell a sick child to go sleep in their own bed?

Oh well. Thank goodness there is a Starbucks around the corner from us. You know, the prevailing theory about the discovery of coffee is some rubbish about a goatherder in Ethiopia who observed animals behaving in a rather excitable manner after eating coffee berries.

Poppycock!

There's no way a goatherder discovered coffee while out strolling the hills. What does he need coffee for? He has it easy. No, it was a parent, brain fried from lack of sleep, tired, cranky, and irritable, desperate for something, anything, to perk them up.

mmmmm....

....Coffee

Gotta go brew some right now.

National Treasure

2005-07-29T16:02:00.000-05:00

OK, so we are way behind on movies. But we have 2 kids under age 3 so I think we have a good excuse.

Last night we saw National Treasure, with Nicholas Cage. You know, that's the one where he finds a treasure map behind the Declaration of Independence. Honestly, I loved the movie! I am complete sucker for hidden-treasure-map-movies, and this was a great one. Like Goonies for grown-ups. Fun fun fun.

You can't have church without a waterfall

2005-07-25T15:10:00.000-05:00

The cynical part of me really finds this disturbing:

Lakewood Church opens

Honestly, it's astonishing to me that a church could take over a sports arena. That's amazing growth. I guess that's good. I think. I mean, more people coming to Christ is a great thing. And there's some enormous potential for growth and development and outreach etc. But then again, that's almost too many people. And what kind of impact are they really having on their community? Like the article says, in a supersize society it's no surprise we have supersized church also.

And waterfalls? In church? I'm sure it's beautiful and tasteful etc. but aren't those more appropriate for a mall or a hotel lobby or something? I wish I could find a photo online somewhere but no luck yet.

But all that said, I can't rip on them too much since just yesterday morning I was reading Philippians 1:15-18:

It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

I am looking forward to studying this passage in more depth this fall because if you think about it, it's kind of confusing. Is Paul really saying that it's ok if some guy is preaching Christ because he wants more money and power and prestige?

Geek humor: Iraq

2005-07-25T12:42:00.000-05:00

Well, it's happened. I'm officially a computer geek. Why? Because this cracks me up:

The War on Terror

(If you think the Bourne shell has something to do with a movie starring Matt Damon, then this will be over your head)

An interesting song by Tupac

2005-07-23T13:53:00.000-05:00

Interesting song I heard yesterday on the radio, called "Changes", from "A Tribute to Tupac Shakur". I was stuck in traffic for 1.5 hours and ended up listening to a hip-hop station that was playing this song. Of course, I love the original version by Bruce Hornsby, which is a pretty incredible combination of great music and great lyrics, such as:

Standing in line marking time--
Waiting for the welfare dime
’cause they can’t buy a job
The man in the silk suit hurries by
As he catches the poor old ladies’ eyes
Just for fun he says, "get a job"

So the Tupac version keeps the same melody but uses different lyrics (with a similar message):

Come on come on
I see no changes wake up in the morning and I ask myself
is life worth living should I blast myself?
I'm tired of bein' poor & even worse I'm black
my stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch
Cops give a damn about a negro
pull the trigger kill a nigga he's a hero
Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares
one less hungry mouth on the welfare
First ship 'em dope & let 'em deal the brothers
give 'em guns step back watch 'em kill each other
It's time to fight back that's what Huey said
2 shots in the dark now Huey's dead
I got love for my brother but we can never go nowhere
unless we share with each other
We gotta start makin' changes
learn to see me as a brother instead of 2 distant strangers
and that's how it's supposed to be
How can the Devil take a brother if he's close to me?
I'd love to go back to when we played as kids
but things changed, and that's the way it is

Check it out over on iTunes. I'd say it's worth 99 cents. I never thought I'd want to buy or listen to anything associated with Tupac Shakur, but what do you know. Never say never.

By the way, this doesn't necessarily mean I agree with everything he says in the song, I'm just saying it's thought provoking and musically enjoyable.

I think that "Huey" refers to Huey Newton, founder of the Black Panthers. What do you think? (I'm pretty sure he doesn't mean Huey Lewis).

Why history matters

2005-07-22T13:59:00.000-05:00

I've never been a fan of history. Honestly, it has always bored me to tears. I have these horrible memories of stuffy old teachers droning on and on about people, places and events that have no connection to anything at all. We were forced to memorize endless dates and facts, and then take stupid multiple-choice tests that were specifically designed to confuse us. Was that 450,000 men killed in the battle of 1454 in Bass-sous-le-change? Or 540,000 men killed in the battle of 1544 in Bras-sur-le-change? Who knows? Who cares?

I avoided all history classes in college, so you can imagine my dismay when I discovered that I would have to take at least one, and maybe more, Christian history classes at seminary. I feel sleep coming on just thinking about it.

BUT

Then I read this article by a history prof over at Bethel, and it changed my attitude entirely. Basically, he says that theology without action is dead, and history is where we see theology put into action, where we see and read and learn about real faith acted out in real ways by real people. And that’s where meaning, purpose and understanding come from.

I’m still a bit hesitant about taking history classes again, but I can see some good reasons for doing so now.

Homesick

2005-07-22T10:54:00.000-05:00

I am having a really hard time adjusting to our new surroundings here in the mid-west. Unlike my friend Dave who is enjoying a paradisical vacation in the heartland of America, my experiences up here in Wheaton are a little different, and I feel like ranting.

First of all, this heat is ridiculous. Sure, Wheaton has nothing on Phoenix. The mercury hasn't gone over about 96 here, but the HUMIDITY is a nightmare. I can't believe what an enormous difference it makes. It's like someone is smothering me with a heavy wet blanket. Every time I step outside it's like someone is sucking the life out of me. It gets to the point where I don't even want to go outside.

What were the settlers thinking when they were headed west? Maybe it wasn't intentional to stop in Chicago after all...the humidity just stopped them dead in their tracks and they couldn't muster up the energy to keep going. That's the secret history of how the mid-west was really settled.

You know things are bad when you are watching an episode of American Chopper from January, and there's a couple of feet of snow on the ground, and everyone is complaining about how cold it is, and yet you find yourself wishing you were there...

But I can’t even enjoy the fringe benefits of a mid-west summer because Chicago is in the middle of a drought right now! So, no thunderstorms, no rain, no green grass, no lightning bugs. Everything is dry and brown and yellow. The sky taunts and teases us with clouds, but no rain. The only places that are green are where obsessive home-owners have been watering their yards day and night.

It’s depressing.

Hot, humid, and yellow.

I miss my home. I miss my friends. I want to go home now.

Moving

2005-07-22T09:55:00.000-05:00

Well, we made it. San Jose, CA to Wheaton, IL. With two young children and the entire contents of a 3 bed, 2 bath house.

Praise God.

And I don’t mean that irreverently. It’s an amazing feat, and not something we could have done without God’s protection and guidance. Not to mention the support and generosity of many friends and family members. In particular, I want to highlight…

Dave, the greatest co-pilot ever. You housed me when our house was packed up, you fed me when I was too tired and stressed out to be able to think about cooking, you helped pack our truck, and then re-pack our truck when I realized we had forgotten a lot of stuff, you drove with me in a non air-conditioned car through some of the hottest parts of the country in the middle of the summer, and you endured my negativity and snappy, crabby behavior at one of the most stressful times of my life. You are an amazing friend and I really appreciate everything you did for me and for us as a family. Could not have done this without you buddy.

By the numbers: Moving

2005-07-15T17:57:00.000-05:00

9,435 = lbs weight of all our stuff, according to the trucking company
1,512 = cubic feet we used on the moving truck
2,258 = miles from our house in San Jose to Kari’s parents’ house in Wheaton
3 = drivers who piloted our Volvo at some point on the trip
3 = kids involved with the move (our 2 + Justus)
118 = degrees Fahrenheit, as recorded at a Utah rest area
30 = Liters of water consumed en route
12 = bottles of Starbucks Frappuccino coffee drinks downed to stay awake
2 = iPods used
11 = number of highway patrol speed traps that we slowed down for just in time
0 = number of tickets as a result of our judicious use of the brake pedal
4 = people sad to leave their home and friends :-(

GI Jesus

2005-04-15T13:48:00.000-05:00

Too much craziness right now, what with trying to sell our house and getting ready to move half way across the country. Interestingly, I've only ever moved West in my life, which is kind of like always going back in time. Now we're moving East, moving forward in time instead. But, either way around we ain't getting much sleep at all right now since the only time we can do any packing or cleaning is after the girls go to sleep at night.

OK, but back to the point of this post, which is to highlight this most wonderful website:

One2Believe

How cool is that! I have to get the complete set. Apparently they are working on some other characters. I want to see Jael with a bloody tentpeg in her hand, or maybe Samson. I would have thought he'd be an obvious choice for this kind of thing. I imagine him looking a little bit like He-Man but with longer hair. No, wait, what about the prophets - just pull a string sticking out of Isaiah's back and hear him pronounce judgement on Israel over and over and over again. What better way to witness to your co-workers than a little talking doll?

The downside here is that I don't think they have any plans to produce bad guys. For example, they aren't planning to make a Jezebel doll, or a Judas doll or a Pharaoh doll. But, everyone knows the best part about action figures is having them duke it out on your living room floor. I suppose I could pit Moses against Jesus, but, I don't know, that just seems like it might be crossing a line.

Jonathan

Sell me Jesus

2005-03-29T21:30:00.000-06:00

Very interesting short article over on the CMS blog about church marketing. Well, actually it's a brief review of a new book called "Blue Like Jazz". I have no idea why his book is named that, and you'd certainly have no idea it had anything to do with Jesus from the title. But, there you go. Go read the blog entry anyways.

Get thee to a nunnery!

2005-03-28T16:51:00.000-06:00

OK, so yesterday's front-page story in the SF Chronicle Sunday edition was an article about a woman who joined a convent 15 years ago...and is still there. Except unlike most women who join a convent when they are young, she didn't join until she was 60 years old (after being married and having 10 children and 18 grand-children). Her name is Ann Miller, and apparently she was a high-flying, high-society type person who knew all the right people and went to all the right parties. But she traded it all in on her 60th birthday for a life of extreme ascetism. Sounds very noble, right? I suppose so, but this paragraph made me wonder:

Then she threw herself a going-away bash at the Hilton hotel. "The first two-thirds of my life were devoted to the world," she told 800 friends as they enjoyed music from two orchestras and tucked into caviar, coquille of seafood and fine wines. "The last third will be devoted to my soul." It was Oct. 30, 1989, her 60th birthday.

The cynic in me can't help but wonder about someone who throws a big party to announce to everyone that they intend to spend their retirement years "devoted to their soul". She talks about it as if she were tending to a garden. I was expecting her to say something like "I spent the first two-thirds of my life devoted to myself, the last third will be devoted to God". But instead it sounds far more like the focus is on personal self-improvement.

Now, admittedly, 15 years in a strict convent is a pretty remarkable feat, and I would have thought that 15 years of focusing on God and being away from television, the internet, email and cell-phones etc. would enable anyone to really zero in on God in pretty profound and amazing ways. At least, that's what I hope. But, it still just kind of sounds odd. Like this was all just a pre-arranged thing that she could do to ensure her salvation.

And doesn't God call us to serve him for *all* our life, and not just part of it? I don't think the writer of the article particularly cares for her, or what she did, but I wonder how many people will read the article and marvel at her nobility for "sacrificing" everything for God? I worry that her actions perpetuate the myth that we should keep our spiritual lives and our day-to-day lives completely separate.

Bizarre.

A Good Friday Dream

2005-03-25T12:55:00.000-06:00

Well, this kind of thing never usually happens to me, but I had a dream last night that was eerily appropriate considering today is Good Friday. So, here it is:

The beginning is a bit vague now, but I think I was travelling overseas somewhere - it wasn't San Jose, but wherever it was, it was near a river. I was walking along and came across a small sheepskin rug that was arranged in such a way that it looked like a nest, and inside was a container holding 12 tiny little eggs. I stopped and looked more closely and realized that the eggs were alive - that there were little baby birds inside. I reached out my hand and cupped the eggs - they were really really warm, as if they were generating heat, and I realized that they were about to hatch. There was nobody else around, and I knew that if I didn't do something the babies would die because it was too cold. So, I carefully cupped one little egg, just as it started to hatch. Sure enough, a tiny baby bird emerged, with dark brown feathers, it's eyes still sealed shut, and it's wings folded back from being curled up inside the egg. It squirmed around in my hand, but was obviously content. Then another one hatched, and then another. There were now three little birds, and as I tended to the second and third ones, the first slipped into some kind of puddle of water, but I rescued it. They didn't make any noise, but needed my warmth and protection. The other eggs didn't seem ready to hatch yet, but I could tell that these 3 (or 4 - thinking back, I think there might have been 4), desperately needed my help, and I realized I had to pick them up and take them with me.

We started to walk along the road. The sun was shining, everything was very clean and neat, but I could tell I needed to get the birds somewhere. I just didn't know where. They started to grow at an amazing rate. Already they were the size of small hens, but they were absolutely beautiful. It's strange to think of a chicken as being beautiful, but they really were. They had these wonderful dark brown feathers that were soft and smooth, and they cuddled close to me and needed me to protect them. (ie these were not the standard springtime little yellow baby chickens). Suddenly three men started to notice me, and I had this feeling that this was bad. I tried to walk in the other direction, and not look at them, but I could tell they were worked up about something, and were headed directly towards me. As they got close I could see that they were angry, yelling and screaming, and trying to get in a fight with me.

At first I couldn't understand the problem, but then I realized it was because I was a Christian. I don't think I've experienced persecution before, but in my dream it suddenly became very real. I had obviously done nothing wrong, and yet these people were crowding around me, yelling and kicking and trying to punch me. I kept saying I hadn't done anything wrong, and I didn't want a fight, and please leave me alone, but they were too worked up. Then someone picked up a stone and threw it at my head. I think the first time I managed to duck, but then another stone came flying in and smacked me hard, and then another, and another. These weren't giant rocks, just small pebbles, but big enough to really hurt. As I was trying to find a way out, another man came up with a big, 1 gallon, cardboard carton of milk, ripped open the top, and started dumping it over my head, while laughing and mocking me, which got the rest of the crowd laughing also.

All the time I was still holding these beautiful hens, and trying to keep them safe, but I was starting to realize that I couldn't protect them from the persecution, however hard I tried. At that moment somehow I suddenly found a way out and everybody disappeared. I barely had time to pause for breath before animal control suddenly appeared. There were two people driving in an old, beat-up, modified golf cart, like the ones you see in movies that they use for picking up the balls from driving ranges. There was a cage around the whole thing, to protect the people inside. They stopped, got out and came rushing over. They wrenched the hens from my hands and started to chastise me for having taken them away. I tried to explain that I wasn't taking them away, I was trying to protect them, but they wouldn't listen. They just kept accusing me of taking the hens away from their mother, and reiterating that the hens had to go home to be with their mother. "I *know* that" I repeated to them, getting more worked up, but they still didn't really listen, and simply bundled up the hens and drove off.

It wasn't too traumatic to see them go away - I knew that it was the right thing, and the best thing for them. But it was intensely frustrating that the animal control people didn't understand me, and didn't seem to want to try and understand me. It was very important to me that they recognize that I was actually trying to *help*. In fact, I went back to the nest and the other chicks had all died, because it was too cold. It was sad, but I realized that I had done all that I could. At this point I went to the animal control place and was able to visit the hens, and watch them through a window. They were in a room that was heated and protected. They were safe and sound, and playing happily.

Bizarre, huh? What do you think it means? Anything? Maybe I've just been eating too many Peeps. Actually, I really haven't eaten any Easter candy yet this year.

The part that really sticks out for me is that I was being persecuted and basically stoned for being a Christian. A weird dream to have right before waking up on Good Friday. After breakfast I was getting my things together to go to work and I sliced my thumb on a piece of paper. It kind of hurt at the time - it wasn't one of those little tiny papercut nicks, it was a real good, long papercut that drew blood and everything. But a split second later I just looked at my thumb and thought "you're complaining about that? Today? On Good Friday?" But you know what, we're obsessed with the physical aspects of this world. Go watch The Passion. Go listen to a Good Friday sermon. You'll hear and see plenty about the physical pain and suffering that Jesus endured for us.

But the Gospel accounts really don't focus that much on the physical aspects of his death. There are just enough details so we know what happened, but no more. Maybe it was too much to recount, maybe it was considered culturally inappropriate. Or maybe it's because the spiritual separation and pain was far more painful for Jesus than the physical pain. Abandoned by his friends, his followers, and finally, at the last moment, separated from God as he took on the full weight of our sins. That awful moment is what sticks with me and gives me chills as I write this.

"My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"

I can't even bear to put myself in that position and consider what that would feel like. It is simply too horrible to imagine. In a bizarre way, the physical pain I can imagine, and I can sympathize with, and sort of understand. The spiritual pain and anguish, the separation from God - that's just too horrible to even imagine. I think there must be some connection to my dream, but I haven't figured it all out just yet.

Anon posts now allowed

2005-03-24T12:29:00.000-06:00

I thought I had the site set up to allow anonymous comments, but apparently not. It's fixed now, so feel free to leave anonymous comments now.

2005-03-24T00:33:00.000-06:00

Someone pointed me to this interesting and disturbing article on the foxnews website. It's an interview from the talkshow Hannity & Colmes. I have never seen these guys before because I don't watch Fox News, but they sound somewhat confrontational. Anyway, this doctor thinks that Terry is NOT in a PVS.

However, there are always two sides to the story. So, Hannity & Colmes interviewed a different doctor the next day.

So now we're back in the same situation as before - which doctor do we believe?

Well, to try and cut through the news-media rhetoric, I dug up Judge Greer's ruling from November 2002, which is pretty short, and pretty interesting. Take a read and see what you think.

While I Was Sleeping - Christianity Today Magazine

2005-03-23T11:26:00.000-06:00

So, we still don't know what Terri Schiavo's actual mental state really is, but this article should certainly make anyone think twice about pulling the feeding tube. It's written by a woman named Lindsey O'Connor, who was in a coma for 47 days after complications relating to the birth of her fifth child. She recalls how bleak and hopeless things looked for so long, and how close her husband and family came to giving up on many occasions. However, they didn't give up, and despite all medical opinions to the contrary, she eventualy came out of the coma, and is alive to tell the story today.

Now, from everything that I have been able to read, I think that Terri Schiavo's medical condition is a bit different. So, I don't think we should read Lindsey's account and jump to the conclucsion that since she came out of a coma, so could Terri. I think it does show that doctors tend to see the glass as half-empty most of the time, and that God can and does work amazing miracles.

But really I think the bigger story within Lindsey's account is that God can work in amazing ways to impact huge numbers of people through traumatic circumstances. Lindsey recalls the amazing way that her tragedy affected those around her, including her eldest daughter, Jacquelyn, who dropped out of her freshman year of college to help care for her newborn sister. Lindsey says:

"One night, in her car in the hospital parking lot, she pictured her life two ways—with God and without. Was her faith in God just her parents' teaching to invoke good moral choices, or was it real, hers, and worth anything at all? She pondered that age-old question: How could God let something so terrible happen? She decided that as difficult as this was to get through with God, going it alone terrified her. Her faith became her own that night."

Sure, she could have come to this conclusion any number of different ways, and certainly God didn't *need* such a tragic situation to work so powerfully in Jacquelyn's life. But, God did use that opportunity to bring faith alive in her heart. And that's the real message behind Lindsey's story - that God works through and beyond suffering and tragedy and death in ways we can't even begin to imagine. As she says at the end of her article:

Would I want to live without cognitive awareness? Well, no. Wanting to avoid suffering is human. Even Christ asked if his suffering could be avoided. I believe there are times when it is acceptable and ethical to remove medical treatment from our loved ones. But in all cases, we should weigh our desire to be released from suffering against a greater desire to glorify God. If I had predetermined no life support (or only short-duration support), as some have in advance directives, I'd be dead. I'd also perhaps have missed the greatest opportunity of my life to bring God glory, because he can use us for his purposes in any bodily state—even while we're sleeping.

While I Was Sleeping - Christianity Today Magazine

Church Marketing Sucks: Church: Why Bother?

2005-03-23T10:23:00.000-06:00

Stumbled across this blog entry from a year ago. The insights are really Yancey's, not the blogger's, but thought provoking nonetheless. My favorite quote is this:

"The church, he said, is like manure. Pile it together and it stinks up the neighborhood; spread it out and it enriches the world."

Funny...yet oddly profound also. Man, it's a hard job reforming churchs and people - it's a natural, normal tendency to want to clump together in groups or teams or cliques or whatever where everyone acts and thinks the same way. But Jesus calls on us to make church more than just an exclusive club.

Church Marketing Sucks: Church: Why Bother?

More on Schiavo

2005-03-22T17:17:00.000-06:00

I guess everyone has an opinion of one sort or another about the Schiavo case, but I think that this guy has a decent point in his post "Culture of Stupidity". Sure, maybe Terri Schiavo does deserve to live, and sure, maybe Michael Schiavo should do the right thing and let her parents actually take over care for her. But, Christians getting into the political mix would be well-advised to remember that Jesus had a whole lot more to say about taking care of the poor and needy - something that the Republicans are generally not very good at doing.

Gain the world, forfeit your soul

2005-03-22T12:50:00.000-06:00

It's almost impossible to cruise around the internet today without encountering some news story or commentary about Terry Schiavo. The bottom line is that you or I have no way to really know whether or not her brain is functioning. The lawyers and doctors for her husband say that she is in a persistent vegetative state, whereas the lawyers for her parents claim that she might be in a transitional state of some kind, with the possibility of recovery. How in the world am I supposed to figure this one out? I'm not a doctor or neurologist. All I have to go by are competing news stories, and eventually it seems to boil down to this - if you are a typical, run-of-the-mill, conservative republican, then you side with Terry's parents. If you are a typical, run-of-the-mill, liberal democrat, then you side with Terry's husband. So which team do you want to be on?

Personally I think that either solution is horrible and painful and sad. To let her die by removing her feeding tube is a very serious decision to make, and I would not want to be the person who ordered that, or did that, or had to watch her die as a result. I would not want to be directly responsible for the death of another human being. Then again, leaving her alive is not exactly the wonderful option that it has been made out to be. She has been in some sort of comatose state for 7-8 years now - how many more do we keep her body alive for? What does that achieve? Who, exactly, are we really keeping her alive for? For herself? For her own benefit? What does she gain by being kept alive in this condition? Or is it so that others can avoid dealing with the pain and agony of her death?

Either way around, this case is a reminder of our fantastic corporate denial of the reality of death. One day I will die. And so will you. That is an absolute certainty. Sooner or later it happens to everyone. However, we spend an enormous amount of time and energy trying to avoid that fate. We pop supplements and pills, exercise 24 hours a day at the gym, try to avoid bad foods, drive safe cars, and sanitize everything we can. Even air fresheners now contain anti-bacterial agents. Air fresheners! I mean, give me a break! Are you really telling me that a squirt of Glade is going to purge this entire room of all dangerous bacteria? It's obsessive-compulsive behavior, and it's because we fear death.

Now, fear of death is normal - it's hard-wired into us from day one. But the danger is that this leads us into an obsession with life. In averting our eyes from death, we forget why we are really here. In effect we are taking our eyes off the goal, looking away from the finish line. This is why I love the movie Gladiator. It shows a guy who has his eyes firmly fixed on the afterlife. Because he knows that there are some things more important than what we can see and hear and taste and touch and feel right now. Although they don't show it in the movie, I'm sure that deep down he still would have had some fear of death, but the point is that Maximus could see beyond death, and that profoundly impacted the way he lived.

When we live life thinking that death is to be avoided at all costs, we also start to think that suffering must also be avoided, since suffering is awfully close to death. And these are completely false worldviews. Contrast that with the Apostle Paul:

"And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." (Acts 20:22-24)

God was telling him that he had to go to Jerusalem, and that he would encounter hardships and prison, and probably even death along the way. But he wasn't worried about that because his eyes were fixed on the goal. Paul's entire life was centered around this one thing, it was his life purpose, "to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me." And so, you might say, "well good for Paul! Thank goodness I haven't felt compelled by God to do the same thing."

Really?

In Matthew 16:22, Jesus has just told the disciples that he would be betrayed and killed in Jerusalem, and Peter, in a totally normal, avoid-death-and-suffering-at-all-costs sort of way, blurts out impulsively,

"Never Lord! This shall never happen to you!"

You can just feel Peter's pain and anguish at the prospect of Jesus dying. Jesus, the man that Peter loves so deeply. Jesus, the man that Peter always seem to be trying to look out for, as if Jesus was his little brother. And so here, his protective nature comes out and he leaps forward, as if to say,

"Don't mention the 'D-word'"

But Jesus has a completely different perspective for us. He rebukes Peter in the sternest possible terms, saying,

"...you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

I love how Jesus cuts straight to the heart of the matter here. He is telling Peter, "Hey, it's time to take this to the next level. Time to change your persective once and for all. Stop thinking like the world, and start thinking about God."

And then he goes on to say,

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glody with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done." (Matthew 16:24-27)

That seems pretty clear to me. Elevate the importance of the physical body, of life, of this corporal, tangible, material world, and you will lose sight of the things that really matter. Paul understood this clearly, and spent his entire life focused on serving Christ, even thought that meant all sorts of suffering and hardship. He understood that there was a bigger picture he was a part of, that there was more important things than living a long comfortable life. Paul was focused on the goal, and he never took his eyes off it.

And this is what bugs me most about the whole Terry Schiavo case. Sure, yes, there are all sorts of moral and ethical and legal and biological arguments to be made on both sides of the case. And as Christians we are called to be compassionate and loving, and we are also called to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and to preserve life and not to take life. I heard a commentator on the McNeil-Lehrer News Hour the other day who was lamenting the fact that our societal presumption appears to be towards death, and we have to fight to preserve life, whereas he wishes it was the other way around - that our presumption in all such cases should always be towards preserving life. As in a trial where the jury must find the accused guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt, the same should be true here - the husband should be forced to show beyond a shadow of a doubt that Terry's wishes were to have the plug pulled. Absent that, our presumption should be to preserve life.

However, let's not forget in all this that death is not the end. And ultimately what is far more important here is not Terry's physical body, her physical life, her physical death, but her spiritual life. Whether or not she is kept alive by a feeding tube is far less important than whether or not she will be kept alive eternally by the power of Jesus Christ. Christians should be far more focused on that aspect of this situation than anything else. Because ultimately Terry will die one day, and whether that is today, tomorrow, or 10 years from now, the question will still be the same - Do you know Christ?

For those of us not in a coma, Paul has a word for us in 1 Corinthians 6. His reminder is that our lives are not our own. We "were bought at a price." And as such our lives should be fully committed to God, not fully committed to avoiding death. Terry's case should be a wake up call to all Christians that God has important work for us to do, and time is running out.

Purgatorio

2005-02-24T11:45:00.000-06:00

OK, so we're addicted. The TV series Lost is amazing. I'm so frustrated that we missed the first few episodes because we're completely hooked now. The big questions are "where are they?" and "what's going on?" Last night I think we figured it out. The key was a movie we saw several years ago called "A Pure Formality". It's a French flick with English subtitles, but well worth watching if you can rustle up a copy. You'll have to watch the movie if you want to figure out what I think the solution to Lost is.

Rip Van Winkle

2005-02-24T01:02:00.001-06:00

I was listening to a fascinating radio discussion yesterday on KQED. It was an interview with a guy named Robert Macneil who just wrote a book called "Do You Speak American?" The book is basically the hard-cover version of the original TV documentary and web-site he made for PBS. I didn't see the TV series but the web-site there has a lot of interesting stuff on it, including a list of "Beastly Mispronunciations." Be sure to read his commentary on how not to say the word "nuclear".

Anyway, what really caught my ear, and what terrifies me on so many levels, was an off-hand comment about Dick Cheney using the f-word on the floor of the Senate. I almost ran the car off the road - he said what!??! The Vice-President of the United States of America? Using the f word in the Senate? Where am I? I feel like I fell asleep and woke up in another world or something - swearing in the Senate?! Every debate I've listened to from the Senate has always been overly polite and courteous, to the point of being annoying. Anyways, I looked it up, and sure enough it did happen last year, although, according to this web-site,

"According to Senate rules, profanity is not permitted in the chamber. But when the exchange occurred between Leahy and Cheney, the Senate was not in session so there was technically no foul."

So, I guess he got off on a technicality. But still, that's nuts. I know everyone has a bad day, and everybody says things now and then that they later regret. But I found myself wondering what would have happened if a senior Democrat had been the one to use the f word. I imagine the moral outrage from the Right would have been overwhelming. But because it was Republican it was just a small blip in the news. Bizarre.

Now, what else have I missed?

69 Days in a Black Hole

2005-02-24T00:50:00.000-06:00

Has it really been that long? I pride myself on not letting work interfere with my life, and I like to think of myself as someone who never gets stressed out. But 69 days of not writing proves otherwise. So, OK, I finally admit it. I've been under some stress at work recently and it's taken a toll on the creative part of me that enjoys writing and thinking and communicating. Excuse me for a moment...

AAARRRGHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahem.

Anyway, as I was saying, I know that work is negatively impacting my life because our giant mega super extra fabulous project at work just finished today, and hey presto all of a sudden I have the urge to write again. It was like someone flipped a switch in my brain. It's intensely aggravating to think that I could let work take such a firm grip on my life, but there you go. The proof is in the pudding. Not that I'm trying to equate my writing with pudding or anything. But, well, you get the idea.

Yahoo! News - 'Lap Pillow' Offers Solace to Lonely Men

2004-12-16T15:49:00.000-06:00

Yahoo! News - 'Lap Pillow' Offers Solace to Lonely Men

Just when you thought the Japanese had cornered the market in weird behavior, they come out with us. Weird and offensive. A double whammy! Bravo to the Japanses company that invented this particular masterpiece.

And just in time for Christmas.

A Bad Dream

2004-12-15T09:21:00.000-06:00

I was just reading my friend Dave's most recent post about the best Christian music this yea r. It got me thinking about some of the high-points we've heard from Christian artists, and some of the low points also (the award for most disapointing album of the year goes to Third Day for the sub-par "Wire")

So, while contemplating all that is good about Christian music, I heard the most bizarre Christmas song EVER recorded in the history of the world yesterday. Well OK that may be a small exaggeration. Go ahead and look this one up online somewhere. It is HORRIBLE. Nice idea, but horrible. Like a mixed drink gone bad. Or something.

So, basically, Burlap to Cashmere decided to do a version of "Holy Night". Sounds good, right? Well, yeah, except they decided to layer that on top of Jaci Velasquez singing "For God So Loved The World". Again, nice idea, but the end result is terrible.

It's wonderfully produced and mixed etc. It's not out of tune singing or anything. But it just doesn't work musically. It doesn't ever come together as one complete song. Instead of sounding like a single cohesive unit, it sounded more like the radio was mistakenly somehow playing two songs at once, fading one song in, then the other, back and forth. Like a bad joke by the DJ.

It was like mixing orange juice and chocolate milk - the end result left me feeling queasy.

Please, please don't try this at home.

When your neighbor dies

2004-12-14T13:39:00.000-06:00

My neighbor died. It's surreal. It was just the other day that he was showing me his new RV, and getting excited about taking his family on road trips and camping trips. Now he is dead. The funeral is over. And his body has been cremated. Meanwhile his wife is left wondering what on earth just happened. He was a young guy, only 42. And his wife had just given birth to a beautiful baby boy. One night he went to bed with a fever. The next day he was dead.

Every day I see his car sitting in the driveway - untouched, unmoved. No-one wants to go near it. It's creepy. It's sad. It's confusing. I can't quite wrap my head around the finality of it.

The Home Front

2004-12-07T13:03:00.000-06:00

I was looking for coupons in the junk mail this morning when I spotted an ad for a sporting good store. I took a look to see if they had any special deals for paintball guns (which they didn't). However, what I did see really surprised me. There was an ad for a special price on a new knife. It's all black, including the blade, and it's called the "Homeland Security Knife" I almost fell out of my chair. This has to be the most ridiculous item I've seen in a while. Talk about profiting from people's fears. This is truly unbelievable.

So, who exactly are you planning to secure with your Rambo-style military knife? Have we gone back to the Cold War days when people were worried about Communists parachuting into the heartland and attacking our quiet suburbs? I feel like I've gone back in time 20 years to 1984 when Patrick Swayze and his merry band of gun-toting teenagers saved America from the Russians in "Red Dawn". I suppose this knife would have appealed to them. But honestly, are people really thinking that anyone is going to invade America today?

Yes, we have been attacked by terrorists several times now, and probably will be again in the future. But in not one of those cases could any civilian have done anything to prevent the tragedies from ocurring. And certainly a Homeland Security Knife is not going to do anything to make anyone or anything more secure.

But what do I know. I don't own any knives.

Almost into the iPod world

2004-12-06T12:59:00.000-06:00

Santa Claus has promised to deliver early this year - we're getting a 60GB iPod Photo this week. Pretty exciting, except for the fact that our main desktop computer at home is so old that the iPod may not work with it. Our desktop PC is a Pentium II, 400MHz, built in 1999, which is pre-USB 2.0. So, even though I can theoretically just buy a new PCI card to upgrade the computer, the PCI ports on my motherboard are so old that I don't think the newer PCI cards will work with them. It's pretty annoying. And buying a new computer doesn't solve all our problems because we have a ton of files on the current machine that need to be copied off...how on earth are we going to do that with USB 1.0?

First post

2004-12-02T20:29:00.000-06:00

This is a test of the new blogger setup. The type-face is kind of big but I guess that's OK. I am typing this while holding our 4 week-old baby on my lap. She starting to wake up. Gotta finish this quickly.