Ahh...Insight

"He is a very shallow critic who cannot see an eternal rebel in the heart of a conservative."
--GK Chesterton

Marking Time...

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

--Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Now For Something Completely Different

Okay, so not to change the subject, but it looks like Britney Spears is back on the market after filing for divorce from husband Kevin Federline. Oh sure, we all knew it was going to happen, but a newly-single Spears is an interesting development in the world of entertainment news. One news source apparently listed it higher on their "ticker" than midterm election results.

On a similar note, Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Philippe are also formally separating. I'll admit that I hold Ms. Witherspoon in higher regard than Ms. Spears, but this bevy of blondes currently on the market provokes some interesting thoughts: how many across America are suddenly going to think of these women as "available," even though both are recently split-up, and neither are yet formally divorced?

It is strange the way how we think of celebrities as "common property," cultural icons that belong in some way to us all. The way celebrities capture our imaginations in film or music causes us to project ourselves onto the picture of their lives. We begin to consider their life events as somehow our life events too. And in the fast-and-furious world of Hollywood marriages, these women are now "available."

I admit that I do this as well, and while I never held out much hope for Spears and Federline (come on, who did really?), I'll admit that I'm saddened by the separation of Witherspoon and Philippe. They seemed to me like a classy couple, intent on staying out of the spotlight and putting their family (two children) first. In a week with sad news coming from all across the country, it's hard not to feel a little melancholy about life. Even the weather is grey and rainy.

So, whatever happened to role models? What happened to people we could look up to and try to emulate? It's very hard to find them in the religious arena (as Ted Haggard recently proved), and perhaps even harder in the marital world. Okay, so I suppose I'm just asking for trouble if I look for marital examples in Hollywood, but sometimes I just want someone famous to "stay the course," so that I can have a little faith that it is possible to succeed. It's nice to point to someone that everyone else knows and say, "See? it can be done!" Ah well, I guess I'll hold out hope for tomorrow...

Grace & Peace

Life Is Hard

I feel very sad. Somewhat overwhelmed. There's a sense of betrayal, mixed with frustration and anxiety. And I just feel sick when I think of the fallout over the next few weeks and months. I need to pray.

Evangelist admits meth, massage

What Would YOU Do?

From Marshall Sahlins here:

"There is a story often repeated in European annals of the strenuous efforts made...to convince the Hawaiin King Kamehameha of the comparative merits of Christianity." In 1798, the American trader Townsend heard that:

Capt. Vancouver was very anxious to Christianitze these people, but that can never be done until they are more civilized. The King Amma-amma-hah told Capt. Vancouver that he would go with him to the high mountain Mona Roah and they would both jump off together, each calling on their separate gods for protection, and if Capt. Vancouver's god saved him, but himself was not saved by his god, then his people should believe as Capt Vancouver did. (Townsend 1888:74)

This expirement did not appeal to Vancouver, and he not only declined to perform it, he did not even mention it in his "Voyage." Thus ended the discussion on religion. (Golovnin 1979:207)

This makes me wonder: what would I do in this situation? Part of me thinks that this is exactly the kind of challenge that God relishes. I think of Elijah at Mt. Carmal, mocking the prophets of Ba'al, and calling on God to vindicate his role as a prophet and to bring Israel back to God (I Kings 18:16-46). But then I think of the temptation of Jesus - how he refused to jump off the temple even though he would be saved (Matthew 4:1-11). Perhaps we are not to put God to the test that way.

Of course, it's not a clearcut answer. The Hawaiian case was for the cause of the evangelism of an entire people (like Elijah), and not for the selfish motivation suggested by Satan in the temptation of Jesus. But the temptation story is much closer by comparison to the story described above. I just don't know what I would do. What would YOU do??

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Ahhh...The Subtle References

"La plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas."

I love this quote. I finally came across the original author. Does anyone want to harbor a guess? (Hint: It was written in 1862).

And, for bonus points: what is the well-known contemporary film that references the English translation?

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In Praise of "the Dash"

I love "the dash." I first picked it up reading Kerouac. Later in life, a friend was fond of writing long letters in the style of Kerouac and Ginsburg. I think I find the dash vaguely romantic and, when used correctly, a marvelous way to convey emotion.

Undoubtedly, the best definition of "the dash" that I have seen is as follows:

A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than a parentheses.

(Bold and underlining added)

*from The Elements of Style, fourth edition, by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, page 9.

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"Hats Off" for the Clergy!

In God's Potters, Jackson Carroll puts forward the results of several years of survey and research on the nature and role of pastors in American churches. I was fascinatedby the number of hours that clergy report working in the survey conducted for this book. Carroll notes that mainline Protestant clergy report working 50.8 hours per week, higher than any other manager and professional group (averaging between 42-49 hours). This leads me to speculate on the nature of professional occupations in general, and specifically on the role of clergy: when is it okay to “take off the clergy hat” in the life of a minister in order to simply be a regular person?

In my experience, it is difficult for a professional in a recognized profession to ever take off that hat once it is established. For my friends who are doctors, even before they are licensed they become a source of free medical advice to their friends and family. My friends who are lawyers are always asked to give out free legal advice. Even professions like accountants and veterinarians are constantly asked minute questions about tax law or taking care of a beloved pet.

As it is for other professions, so it is for clergy. Once ordained (and often even in seminary), we are asked for “free religious advice” from friends, family, and even the occasional stranger. In the novel Gilead, the main character notes that, even while on a trip to another state, people recognize him as a pastor and ask him to “open up a little scripture,” or simply say a prayer. From the stories of more experienced clergy, it is not uncommon to encounter a stranger who, in learning of the profession of the clergyman, will ask him theological questions or will begin opening up about extremely personal issues in a “confessional” setting without ever “making an appointment” or even visiting the pastor’s church!

It is likely that this kind of interaction is quite simply “part of the job.” As clergy, this is the mantle we take on when we accept the responsibility of God’s call on our life. But even if that is the reality, how do we begin to practice the necessary “self-care,” especially as it relates to sabbaticals and downtime away from the profession, that is necessary to prevent burnout? How do we recognize, and work out, that “being a pastor is not the sum total of one’s life” (pg. 103)?

Grace & Peace

Currently Reading "God's Potters" By: Jackson Carroll

"Hang on God, I'm Waiting for my Calling"

“Work and Integrity” got me thinking about seminary, and religious education in general. As a society, we need properly trained engineers, doctors and lawyers. But I wonder why we are so committed to graduate-level education for pastors? What is this instinct that pastors need to have a Master’s degree in order to be properly “prepared” for ministry?

Until very recently, this level of education was not required for ministers. Even colonial preachers, who were required to have formal ministerial training, would enter college between the ages of 14-16, spend a few years studying (mostly liberal arts), and then move on to a church. During the Second Great Awakening, Methodist and Baptist pastors were often little more than itinerant prophets who experienced a profound encounter with God and felt called to share His love with others.

It seems that the “elite,” educated clergy model rests on a notion of “pastor-as-civic-leader” that no longer exists. There was a time, especially in the late 19^th and early 20^th Centuries, when the pastor served as a focal point for civic organization and cohesion – like the doctor or judge. The pastor needed to be highly educated – not primarily for his religious duties – but so that he (and it was mostly “he”) could adequately lead the secular civic society. The current equivalent might be something like a city councilman. But is that what pastors are really for? Can you imagine a biblical story of God calling someone, only to have him or her say, "Well, that sounds good God. Now, if you'll just wait three years for me to get the necessary education, I'll be happy to serve." Yeah, right.

Nothing seems more foreign to me than sending a ministry candidate far away from his or her church in order to be “trained for ministry."

Grace & Peace

Currently Reading "Work & Integrity" By: William Sullivan

Honor the Sabbatical and Keep it Holy

I think the relationship between full-time ministry and necessary “sabbaticals” is really important - and really complicated. Kurt Schuermann says (pg. 114), “The landscape of ministry is littered with the wrecked careers and shattered lives of people who believed that they could function without giving into the need to escape reality.” It was really fascinating to learn that it takes ten years for experts to consider us “accomplished” at any give task – while at the same time acknowledging that after ten years of full-time ministry, many pastors are exhausted and ready to quit. Just when sociological and cognitive-science research says that they should be at the “top of their game,” these pastors have nothing left to give. I know that PB usually takes the entire month of August off from church: no cell phone, or even checking e-mail for a month! Elbo's parents are full-time missionaries; they take really regular sabbaticals/furloughs, paid and financed by their supporters at home and by their missionary organization. They once took eight full months off!

But all this emphasis on sabbatical is an interesting thing: my father works at his desk job fifty weeks a year. He has done so for as long as I’ve been alive! Excluding federal holidays, he works consistently with only two weeks vacation - year-in and year-out. How is it that he is able to function with only two weeks vacation, when Elbo’s parents once needed eight months? I can imagine a difference in stress loads, and I’m sure that the mission field requires a greater degree of flexibility, and more working with people. Is that commensurate with the degree difference of vacation time needed? It seems that 21^st Century, America has both a perverse fascination with, and a phobia of, relaxation and leisure. We point to European societies with long vacations admirably, and then turn around and highlight African societies that have almost none.

When it comes to Sabbaticals, what is the balance? How can we find it?

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A Man Who Never Ceases to Surprise

The war on terror will not be won "until we shake ourselves free of the wretched capitulation to the propaganda of the enemy, that somehow we are the ones responsible".
-Tony Blair

I have to admit that when New Labour first won the Prime Minister's Office in England, I never thought that a man like Tony Blair would have the courage to say and do the things he has done. He will be missed.

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When Accusations of Violence are Violently Protested

From David Brooks here:

"As anybody who has traveled around the country or listened to talk radio of left, right and center knows, these genteel manners [or America's political elite] do not inhibit the masses. Millions of Americans think the pope asked exactly the right questions: Does the Muslim God accord with the categories of reason? Are Muslims trying to spread their religion with the sword?

These millions of Americans believe the pope has nothing to apologize for. They regard the vicious overreaction to his speech, like the vicious overreaction to the Danish cartoons, as another sign that some sort of intellectual disease is sweeping through the Arab world.

What these Americans see is fanatical violence, a rampant culture of victimology and grievance, a tendency by many Arabs to blame anyone other than themselves for the problems they create. These Americans don’t believe they should lower their standards of tolerable behavior merely for the sake of multicultural politeness, and they are growing ever more disgusted with commentators and leaders who are totally divorced from the reality they see on TV every night."

Word.

Currently Reading "The Communist Manifesto" By: Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels

so brilliant

"The Nation that makes a great distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools." - Thucydides

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Blame it on The Feds

According to Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service, in each $3 gallon of gasoline, between 10-25% of the total cost (.30 -> .70) is comprised solely of federal, state and local taxes. While the percentage varies by state, it is ridiculous to me that hard-working people might not be able to afford important things because they have to pay an extra $.50/gallon just to drive to work.

This kind of squeeze is felt hardest by middle and lower income people, who barely can afford to drive to work already. The federal government needs to stop spending billions of dollars on programs that don't work, and start letting people use their money to get to work or daycare, and not to feed Uncle Sam's bloated appetite.

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Recovering

Just arrived back home. It's been a long eleven days, but all is going to be okay...by the grace of God.

Hallelujah.

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A Necessary Recension

I stand corrected. I appears that Anti-Blog and HG37 have started a NEW BLOG (I don't know what was wrong with the old ones!) to chronicle their adventures in the aforementioned far-away land. While this might be a principally chronological storytelling forum (as opposed to theological reflection), any news is good news.

I anticipate with joy following their many adventures in the coming weeks.

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Anti-Blog and Another Stall

After numerous promises of insightful and scathing thoughts on the Christian life, I realize that Anti-Blog has reached a juncture where it will be difficult for him to post anything like that in the near future. Namely, he has taken himself and HG37 to a far distant land without the continual internet access provided at home.

This is unfortunate, because I realize just today that Anti-Blog has gone longer in his posting lapse that at any other time in his posting career. It is a shame for him because he eschews the forum to coalesce and articulate his excellent ideas. It is a shame for us, because we lack his insight.

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Why Vineyard?

So, I found the following an interesting and concise historical explanation for the "sources" of Vineyard theology. It's taken from a short article entitled "Why Vineyard?", written by Don Williams, PTS grad and Ph.D from Columbia, as well as founding pastor of Coast Vineyard in San Diego. You may find it enlightening...

The Theological Structure of the Vineyard
The Vineyard’s “Statement of Faith”...is fed by a number of sources. First, the creeds of the Church Fathers. We confess the Trinity, one God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the two natures of Christ incarnate, both fully divine and fully human at the same time (God and Man).

Second, as heirs of the Reformation, we agree with Luther, “He only is a theologian who can distinguish between law and gospel.” Abandoning salvation by works or salvation mediated by the church, we hold to Pauline “Justification by Faith” alone. Like the Reformers, we concur that “Popes and councils can err.” Thus we accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, the Word of God written, as the only absolute authority for the church. This (sola Sciptura) is the final rule for faith and practice. And like the Reformers, we know that “still our ancient foe, doth seek to work us woe” (Luther). Spiritual warfare is our lot in this world. While we live in Christ’s kingdom, we do battle with Satan’s kingdom, knowing that the victory has already been won. As Luther sings, “Let goods and kindred go. This mortal life also. The body they may kill. God’s truth abideth still. His kingdom is forever.”

Third, we embrace the themes of the Evangelical Awakening of the 18th century, led by John and Charles Wesley. We believe in the necessity of personal conversion to Christ through the “new birth,” authored by His Spirit, and personal holiness as its necessary fruit. The character of Christ and the works of the kingdom: reaching the lost, healing the sick, serving the poor, and seeking justice for the oppressed, come through this transforming work. As Detrich Bonhoeffer writes (in proper sequence), “Only he who believes can obey and only he who obeys can believe.”

Fourth, we are heirs of the “Great Century of World Missions” (the 19th Century), and believe that the “Great Commission” stands, making us intentional “missional communities.” Calls for conversion and church planting are not optional. As a movement, we exist to bring the nations to Christ.

Fifth, we are also heirs of the 20th Century Pentecostal/Charismatic renewals. We welcome this stream of the Spirit into the church, while remaining solidly evangelical in our theology. As our “Statement of Faith” confesses: “We believe in the filling or the empowering of the Holy Spirit, often a conscious experience, for ministry today. We believe in the present ministry of the Spirit and…exercise…all of the biblical gifts of the Spirit.” This leads to action: “We practice the laying on of hands for the empowering of the Spirit, for healing, and for recognition and empowering of those whom God has ordained to lead and serve the Church.”

Sixth, the “Biblical Theology Movement” instructs us. We see New Testament faith as fully “eschatological.” This means that we are not simply waiting for the End, we are living in it. The consummation of all things has already begun in the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and the outpouring of his Spirit at Pentecost. We live in the tension of the kingdom come and coming, “the already and the not yet.” We grow in sanctification and build churches knowing that the kingdom is here, but not fully here.

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Ye Olde Preaching Rotation

Sometimes, it is just how you feel.


By the grace of God, VCFNH has a number of very gifted speakers. On any given Sunday, no fewer than ten people could deliver God's Word to on relatively short notice. Several of us really enjoy preaching, and the Great PB has graciously allowed 4-5 of us to preach sermons throughout the summer. It's a "guest preacher series" from within the congregation.

This Sunday will be the first of two consecutive Sundays for me. I have never preached two weeks in a row (at least, not adult sermons), so I am looking forward to the opportunity. I considered (gasp!) a series, but decided that weas too bold even for me! Ultimately, that isn't God's leading anyway.

Keep your eyes peeled for my "shameless plug" - an audio recording of the sermon. In case you're terribly bored and have nothing else to do. Yeah, right...

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hablas ingles?

Have you ever wanted to know What Kind of American English You Speak? I think this is pretty fun, and reveals a lot of the idiosyncrasies that I noted when I first moved from California to Yale, with roommates from all over the country (Cleveland, DC, the Bronx). Let me know what you think!

Jason's Linguistic Profile:

50% General American English

15% Upper Midwestern

15% Yankee

10% Dixie

5% Midwestern

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