October 31, 2007
wednesday linkage: halloween edition
In Halloween, I viewed the characters as simply normal teenagers. Laurie, Jamie Lee's character, was shy and somewhat repressed. And Michael Myers, the killer, is definitely repressed. They have certain similarities.
- John Carpenter
Today's linkage is homiletical, liturgical, missional, sabbatical, and an all around good time. So, get your grove thing going and give these a read.
To begin, here is the link to the two sermons preached at Community Church this past Sunday.
Gord is thinking about changing the worship order.
Beth preached at Reconciler a couple weeks ago. Give it a read.
Todd posted his sermon on this past Sunday's gospel passage.
Now don't misunderstand me. I'm not talking about self-flagellation or constantly praying for "us miserable sinners" who have a "sorely deserved punishment hanging over our heads." But what I am talking about is honestly. Like the psalmist says, God doesn't want burnt offerings, but rather humbleness and honesty and relationship.Lainie posted another top ten: Missional Bee-Attitudes.
Megan posted a final Sabbath post. This reminds me that I need to do the same.
Mae has posted something bloody. Give her a read!
Finally, if you will be in DC tomorrow night, you should catch this concert.
Tonight I'll be at Trish's show, Carpenters' Halloween, one more time. It should be a blast. Here's a Sun Times review.
October 30, 2007
happy birthday, chuck!
The true is only the expedient in the way of our thinking, just as the right is only the expedient in the way of our thinking.
- William James
Happy Birthday, Chuck!
October 29, 2007
monday videoblog: halloween weekend
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October 27, 2007
the race is done
Last week at this time we were running. Well, I ran and then I walked. Then I ran some more, but that hurt. So, I walked. Then I ran again. What is the definition of insanity?
I took this picture this week just to have a record and because I like the tired balloons. They look about how I felt on Sunday. The pain in my legs was a distraction while I preached. Heh.
We took the banner down this week and replaced it with the one advertising our mom and tots program, Let's Play Together. Ah, that reminds me, we are beginning another program on Wednesday mornings. It's called MomCare. It's for moms and other caretakers. Come with your young child and leave them with the baby sitter. Then join the group to talk about whatever you want to...parenting, work or the lack thereof, all with a trained social worker (who is also a mom with young kids). Baby sitting is $5. Otherwise MomCare is free.
Come one.
Come all.
Wednesday mornings beginning on Novemeber 7.
Yeah, we have a lot going on at the church. Swing on by!
satreday quiz ala jorge
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| You scored as Orthodox You are Orthodox, worshiping the mystery of the Holy Trinity in the great liturgy whereby Jesus is present through the Spirit in a real yet mysterious way, a meal that is also a sacrifice.
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satreday politics
This is what happens when your endorsement does not go as planned. You are risking more than your 501(c)3 status! The Romney candidacy is going to be very interesting to watch. Should his faith tradition matter? Nope. But there it is. We may not like it, but many people vote with their ecclesial allegiance first. I wonder how a conservative Republican Catholic candidate would do? Would we get to see the old Protestant frustrations emerge?
Prominent S.C. pastor endorses
Mitt Romney, then regrets it
By Greg Warner (Associated Baptist Press)SPARTANBURG, S.C. (ABP) -- Don Wilton, a prominent megachurch pastor in the key early-primary state of South Carolina, withdrew his endorsement of Mormon presidential candidate Mitt Romney Oct. 23.
Wilton, pastor of First Baptist Church in Spartanburg and former president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, said Oct. 19 he was "proud to stand alongside Gov. Romney as he pursues our nation's highest office," according to a press release from Romney's campaign. The announcement received wide local and national media coverage, including stories on CNN. Four days later, Wilton released his own statement saying his endorsement, which he authorized the Romney campaign to announce, was a "personal error."
Southern Baptists and other evangelicals are divided over support for Romney because of his faith. Many consider Mormonism to be a cult or non-orthodox sect of Christianity. Others say Romney's conservative social opinions should override his particular faith.
The Romney campaign, in a press release, said it agreed to withdraw all references to Wilton's endorsement.
Wilton said he made his endorsement as an "individual citizen." Internal Revenue Service rules prevent churches and other tax-exempt organizations from endorsing candidates, but church employees can make individual endorsements.
“While I did give my consent to the local campaign to use my affirmation of the governor’s stance on family values in my capacity as an individual citizen," Wilton said, "I made the mistake of not realizing the extent to which it would be used on a national basis. It was my personal error to agree to support Romney’s campaign.
"Until this incident I had never endorsed any person running for any elected office, Democrat or Republican," he added. "While I have had the privilege of meeting with a number of fine candidates over the years, I continue to believe my role and responsibility is to preach and teach the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ."
Recent polls of Republican voters in South Carolina show Romney gaining ground against frontrunners Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani -- even moving into second place behind Thompson, according to a poll commissioned by the Romney campaign. Romney is currently the only candidate gaining ground on the field.
An endorsement Oct. 16 by officials of the fundamentalist Bob Jones University in Greenville is expected to aid Romney's effort to lure evangelicals and conservatives. But an independent survey after the endorsement found that while 27 percent of S.C. Republicans said the endorsement made it more likely they would vote for Romney, 32 percent said it made them less likely. The same poll found 45 percent of Republican voters said they are less likely to vote for Romney because of his Mormon faith.
The South Carolina primary is scheduled for Jan. 19.
October 26, 2007
"a fine fellow"
Now that is a fine compliment. Lainie has a blog up and running. It's a good place to hang out and chat. Slide on by and say hello! She mentions me in the description of her blog. Wow. She's another Anglo-Baptist. I really resonate with her self-description. Excellent.
Thank you, Lainie!
a vid of mother teresa
Oh. Wow...
Trish was looking for a video of Mother Teresa to get the accent. She has an audition coming up where she has to read for the character of Mother Teresa. Really. Who knew?
friday mandodoxy and iranian wonderings
One of my fantasies in my life has been that I was granted access with a camera to go back in time, and to film the actual campaign of Alexander crossing into India through Iran and Persia.
- Oliver Stone
In other news, I spent last evening at a reception downtown. Family Matters is celebrating their 20th anniversary. To do so, they wanted to honor the founding churches. Community Church, North Shore, Lake Street, and St. Luke's all pitched in at the beginning. It was a good event. Truly. Family Matters is now a thriving institution trying to help people in the North of Howard neighborhood. I am looking forward to collaboration with them. No longer are they some project of the church. Instead, they are a partner in ministry in our part of Chicago-land. Heck, we have the same Cook Co. Comishoner serving our interests and needs. We may as well have a common voice.
Finally, what do you know about what's happening in Iran? I keep hearing things online and in the news that sounds remarkably like the rhetoric just before we jumped all over Iraq. I'm pretty sure that it's a bad thing to invade...Can we do that? I mean, logistically? Someone tell me what's what.
I'm around.
October 25, 2007
blurry giada
Well, the picture sucks. It's true. I was not allowed to use a flash, so my shaking hands (a constant problem) did their worst. Ah well. She was kind, lovely, and even asked to be remembered to Trish. Yeah. I'm a lot starstruck.
I'll let you know if the cookbook is any good. Stay tuned.
October 24, 2007
wednesday linkage: 6200
My first book is really about heat. That book, for me, was an exploration of heat as ingredient. Why we don't talk about heat as an ingredient, I don't quite understand, because it is the common ingredient to all cooking processes.
- Alton Brown
In other news, we hit 6200 comments yesterday on the blog. Yep. I've cleaned the spam out as it has come along and we still have 6200 comments. That's about 1000 comments a year. My, we are a chatty lot. Well done, folks.
Not much else to say. Oh! I am not preaching this weekend. This coming Sunday is Reformation Sunday. At Community Church Reformation Sunday is often our Laity Sunday. I don't preach. The people rise up and take over. It is an ecclesial coup d'etat. Lovely.
Here are the links:
Sister Julie has written about prayer...well, she linked about prayer.
But Christ’s example tells us something else important. We are deceiving ourselves if we think that we can pray always, make prayer a kind of respiration of the soul in the midst of daily activity, if we do not set aside fixed times for prayer, when we are free from every other preoccupation.Jane Ellen posted her sermon.
That is why it behooves us to remember that it is God we worship, and not (as vitally important as it is) the Bible. And in light of that, we do need to be persistent: in study, and in prayer, and in relationship-- yes, even (or maybe especially) in the company of those with whom we disagree.Rev Ref posted his sermon.
This is why I don't offer easy answers, because the Gospel is bigger than a few specific verses. This is why I'm constantly trying to get you to look at the Big Picture. This is why I am willing to talk with people who disagree with me. This is why I teach that being a disciple is a daily process and that evangelism over time is better for everyone in the long run.Rich has posted about the i-phone. "Let my platform go?!" Ha!
Arguments can be made about the vast distances over which American cellcos have to extend service; the daunting costs of tending and extending service. To all of which I say pish-posh: if everyone could buy any cell phone and download any amount of data for a low, low price per month, the market for such data services would explode, and money to make the upgrades would be pouring into coffers.Well, there you go. You all enjoy your day.
October 23, 2007
your mission, should you choose to accept it...
Julie Clawson posted this. I chuckled, so I thought I would share.
Top Ten Ways to Fail at Being Missional
10. Be very annoyed that some people belong to religions other than your own. Express this annoyance freely.
9. Don’t bother becoming a “regular” at local businesses. Just shop/dine/get- your-clothes-drycleaned at whatever place has the best sales that week. If, by some unfortunate coincidence, you do become a regular at a local business, don’t get to know the owner, employees, or other patrons.
8. Fixate on the quality of your missional targets: Focus on the local Unitarian Universalist minister, Mormon bishop, and Wiccan high priestess (who also owns your town’s only occult bookstore). Don’t give a second thought to that rather ordinary looking lady who you see every morning on the train. She doesn’t have a large enough sphere of influence.
7. If you see a problem in your community, don’t bother to check out what other organizations or individuals are doing about it. Just start your own project: You’ll get a lot more accomplished if you are in charge!
6. Don’t waste your time reading the blogs of other missional folk. So what if they share their own struggles, hurts, joys, and ideas freely? You take all your instruction from God, directly.
5. Never, ever, check out primary source materials produced by representatives of other cultures, subcultures, and religions. Christians have already written all you need to know about those unbelievers, and besides, cult members will have a bias that you want to avoid.
4. Avoid being “unequally yoked” with unbelievers by not engaging them in conversation, learning about their families, having lunch with them, inviting them to your home (or accepting a similar invitation), or working together to address community issues of common interest.
3. Be sure to email (from your work account, while at work) your “unsaved” work colleagues (especially those that you don’t normally interact with) with regular invitations to your church and its activities.
2. Never consider offering financial or material support to other folks engaged in missional work. After all, you need all your spare cash for your own personal ministry. Besides, most of them don’t have their own 501 (c) 3 corporation, and not getting a tax deduction would be poor stewardship on your part.
1. Learn every evangelistic technique, theory, and strategy out there, and work hard to perfect your practice of them, even to the neglect of every other area of your spiritual life. What does the Holy Spirit have to do with drawing people to God, anyway?
almost news
Land and Wallis had a debate about faith and politics. Read about it here.
Wallis and Land exemplified two sides of the evangelical spectrum. Wallis, a best-selling author and head of Sojourners magazine and Call to Renewal, is known for his activism on environmental, poverty and human-rights issues. Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, is a well-known denominational leader who supports traditionally conservative values.
a list
Tuesdays are always busy. You see, most everyone else at the church works Monday...including the church administrator. So, when I walk in the doors of the church on Tuesday morning, I have a list of things to do. This morning I awaken with my own list.
1. Keep coffee brewing.
2. Prepare for recording session downtown (I'll tell you more later.).
3. Get some grits (Be patient. The commercial goes away.). We should all eat more grits.
4. Thesis. Thesis. Thesis.
5. Visits. Visits. Visits.
6. Staff meeting.
7. Bible study.
I am sure that there are things I am missing or don't know about. Ad there are a string of e-mails for me. That I do know.
Ah...such is the life of the suburban parson. Y'all have a good day. I'll be back to tell you more. Honest.
October 22, 2007
monday videoblog: talking turkey
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October 21, 2007
an arc of interpretation
The Bible shows the way to go to heaven, not the way the heavens go.
Galileo Galilei
I know. I like those phrases. I can't help it.
"Lenses of Biblical interpretation..."
"an arc of interpretation..."
They're just so damn pretty. I like pretty. I can't seem to help that either. Ah well.
I am playing in the waters of providence and inclusivity. Is there an interpretive arc to Romans which is Paul's understanding of God's providence in including all of humanity into the promise of salvation. Yeah, I like the language. I read too many of these books about "promises of salvation."
But there it is again. If there is such a thing as covenant theology which states that God is unchanging, but the covenant changes according to the needs/aspirations/abilities of humanity, then maybe the above language says something more than "Tripp really likes this language." Perhaps.
God's greatest desire is the fruition of God's original statement, "It is good." And God is willing to go toe-to-toe with us in order to make it good. God will wrestle. God will deal. God will join covenant after covenant, witness us break each and every one of them, sign up again, and bend over backward to get to us.
The arc of interpretation in Paul's letter to the Romans is just this desire. Providence is the fruition of God's original statement "It is good." The trouble is that we seem to forget that such a thing is true.
Y'all enjoy your day. Go speak plain English somewhere, would ya? I need someone to balance me out.
October 20, 2007
the sermon...
Follow the extended link if you wanna read the sermon for this Sunday. I struggled with this one. The language does not convey the strength of my convictions. I am a little lost this time...I cannot seem to get where I want to in the manuscript.
Sermon: Proper 24 (29) Year C 2007
Community Church of Wilmette
October 21, 2007
There Is No Quick Fix
I am angry.
And I find it difficult to step into a pulpit when I’m angry knowing that the purpose of a pulpit, the truth-telling significance of the pulpit, is to proclaim the presence of God.
Ann Coulter, the political instigator, has been in the news lately. Once again the internet newswire is afire because of something she said in an interview. Usually I pay this no mind. I don't have the time for it. But this week I just couldn't let it go.
She made statements about Christianity that were untrue. She insulted our Jewish brothers and sisters. She hurt people…and not with the truth. Sometimes freedom and pain come together. But this was not one of those times.
She said, “America would be better off if everyone were Christian.”
She said, “[Christianity] is a lot easier [than Judaism], it's kind of a fast track.”
There’s more that she said. She becomes very political very quickly, but I want us to focus on her theology.
I just don't know what to do when I hear words like this. I think about our loved ones here. I think about Jewish spouses, of friends and family who struggle with their faith because of what has been done, is continually done, in the name of Christianity.
A friend of mine is known for saying “Bad theology hurts people.”
What Ann Coulter has said is bad theology.
Bad theology hurts people.
Good theology, however, saves lives.
This is why I am constantly striving after our own theological language here at Community Church. We have to be able to speak theologically. Theology matters. Doctrine matters. Scripture matters. Exploring it is not ephemeral or a simple intellectual exercise. It is a human endeavor with real, tangible results. It is storytelling at its greatest. Lives are at stake. I know it sounds dramatic, but it is true. And Ann Coulter understands this. That's what makes what she says so difficult for me. This is how she can set me on fire.
She said, “America would be better off if everyone were Christian.”
She said, “[Christianity] is a lot easier [than Judaism], it's kind of a fast track.”
Christianity is not a fact track. Christianity is complicated. It demands all of us, a total sacrifice. But this has never been easy for people to embrace. Paul knew this. And I imagine he had this truth in mind when he wrote to Timothy:
For the time is coming when the people will not put up with sound doctrine, but have itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)Paul offered this statement in his letter to Timothy. It should seem like familiar ground to us as well. Paul is not so much predicting the future as he is stating what is already afoot in Timothy’s congregation. This is a dynamic that has always existed in human communities. We look for the quick fix. There is always room for the snake oil salesman, the carpetbagger, the false teacher, or the guru with the easy path to self-actualization. We look for it. The same was true two thousand years ago.
Paul knew this and he wanted Timothy to remember something else. He wanted to strengthen Timothy’s place, his sense of what is true.
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:14-15)There’s an interesting clue hidden in the Greek here in our passage. “Whom” is a plural. It asks us to look back in the letter to when Paul encourages Timothy in his struggles as a young leader in the church by reminding him of the examples he had in his grandmother, mother, the apostle himself, and many others. Community is what shaped Timothy’s faith. The faith Timothy received is the blessing of those who had gone before him, those who journeyed with him.
Ann Coulter wants to see more Christians. She is right that this is an important part of our tradition. And that’s fine. That she later equates the faithful with any one political party, manifesto, or ideology is troublesome at best. No one party or political theory can contain the vastness of the Gospel.
We, as Christians, are called to invite people into our tradition. True. We are called to teach our children our tradition. Timothy was the recipient of such a blessing. Paul wants him to remember this. We are all the recipients of such a blessing. We are called to spread the faith, to hand it on. We are called to bless and to be blessed.
What will save the world, however, is not any one of us…any number of Christians. It is God who will saves. The scriptures, the stories, and the doctrine of the church repeat again and again that it is God who saves. In the end, it is God, not we, who save. We are no more than the vehicles of God’s grace, instruments of God’s peace, and evangelists of God’s good.
I think of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King from Atlanta, Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, Dorothy Day of Chicago and New York, Mother Teresa of Calcutta...Good theology saves lives. There are so many wondrous examples of good theology, sound doctrine, put to work. The fruit of the Holy Spirit are then revealed. People are led from slavery into freedom. The poor receive love. The silent are given voice. Paul wrote:
All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)What will help the world, help to show God’s love to all the peoples of the world, is if we Christians live into our own traditions, our own stories…allowing them to change us first. We cannot amass traditions that leave us stagnant, unchanged, we cannot accumulate for [our]selves teachers to suit [our] own desires. These stories and traditions are meant to change us…slowly, and inexorably into disciples. We are meant to wrestle with God and one another and, in the end, seek a blessing.
This is what we encounter in our passage from Genesis. Jacob is in trouble with his brother. He’s in real trouble. He expects to die. He expects his family to be killed in a single act of familial vengeance. This is the context of his encounter with God. He wrestles with God in the night. He struggles with what to do. It is a stalemate of sorts…and Jacob will not let the angel go. The angel blesses Jacob, but not without leaving a mark. Jacob is changed, wounded, and yet made whole and is able then to reconcile with his brother. There is no vengeance. There is peace.
This is why at communion you will hear me mention this story…”Those who wish to strive with God as did Jacob in the desert…are invited to this table.”
She said, “America would be better off if everyone were Christian.”
She said, “[Christianity] is a lot easier [than Judaism], it's kind of a fast track.”
Scripture is full of stories of wrestling with God. There is no simple list of things one must do to “be Christian.” The Christian journey is anything but simple. It is anything but a set of rules, a series of hoops to jump through. And we are the children of Judaism. Coulter should keep this in mind. We are the adopted children. Christ may have come to fulfill the Law, but we are adopted, grafted into the vine.
She said, “America would be better off if everyone were Christian.”
She said, “[Christianity] is a lot easier [than Judaism], it's kind of a fast track.”
18:2 [Jesus] said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 18:3 In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, 'Grant me justice against my opponent.'We have to take heart. We have to cry day and night.18:4 For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, 18:5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.'"
18:6 And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 18:7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 18:8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:2-8)
We must have faith…
…faith that our God is not an unjust judge, fickle, shallow or cruel. Justice is coming. Peace and reconciliation are coming. We must have faith enough to wrestle with God, to wrestle with one another.
I must wrestle with Ann Coulter. The work of the Gospel is too important for me not to. The work of loving the world is too important to my own salvation for me not to. I must love her.
She is a Christian. I have no doubt of this. I question her theology and the conclusions she articulates. This is true. And she sets me on edge. There is no doubt. But wrestle we must. Our shared salvation, our blessing in God, depends on it.
I expect no less here at Community Church. I expect us to wrestle. I expect us to seek one another’s blessings. To do this is to live into the story. But we must first tell the story.
We must constantly return to the story, the Gospel story. It is, after all good news, the tale of a journey with God, and the invitation we have all been given…
…to reveal God’s love to the world.
We must tell the story…again and again. We must remind one another of our stories. If we want to love our Jewish brothers and sisters, the Buddhists, our Muslim cousins, the agnostic, or the atheist, then we must wrestle. If we want peace, we must wrestle.
America would be better off if we wrestle.
And there is no quick fix. There is no solution but God’s grace.
Praise God.
Amen.
bummer
I wish I could include something about this in my sermon.
Completed in 2006, Bass’s research and subsequent writing examined 50 moderate to progressive churches and the approaches that are energizing their parishioners—in contrast to the “prevailing wisdom” of recent times that suggests only conservative megachurches are growing. Progressive churches, said Bass, “made this really interesting move” in response to the biblical scholarship of the 1980s and 1990s.Thanks be to Alban.“Basically, they’re saying it’s time to go back into the stories,” she said. “Instead of demythologizing them, we need to go back and reapply the integrity of the stories—to understand them as being real, true, and meaningful spiritual stories…. We can understand them, who wrote them, and why, but then something beyond that: there is an attempt to reach toward an ‘essential narrative’ in Jewish and Christian lives.”
Aggravated by what they see as religious rigidity, intolerance, outdated traditions, and political polarization, these members of the faith are intentionally planning and creating their own contemplative communities. They are doing so, apparently, with an enthusiasm and diversity that resembles Christianity’s earliest congregations.
October 19, 2007
two distractions
Garrison wrote something lovely.
What Happens When an Agnostic Follows the Bible Literally for One Year?
You may now return to your regularly scheduled procrastinations.
friday mandodoxy, stuff, and things
Only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday.
Unknown
So, someone sent me an email linking to this bit of musical virtuosity. It does not get much better than the Del McCoury Band. Holy cow are these guys good. The tune you can listen to is so simple...and they do it so well. It's magical. Thanks for sending that e-mail.
The journey to mandodoxy continues apace. I have two jigs under my belt now. That is a great thing. I linked to them a couple of weeks ago. Now the Mandoguru has me working on some three part monster of a jig that sounds like something from a movie. One part is playful. One part is grave. Another part is just hard to play. Three octaves (slight hyperbole) on a mandolin is a lot of noodling, people. It's a small instrument. Small, I tell you. And this tune covers much of it. And to make it cooler than thou, it is in D Mixolydian. Oy. Vey. There is much to do.
The Mandoguru is optimistic. He seems to think that I have the ability to get it down in a matter of two weeks. Ah, blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Please, God. *wimper*
So, that's what is new on the mandodoxy front. I am wrangling with small things now...little bits and pieces. Sightreading is not a problem. Well, as long as we stay in the usual familiar keys. Some day I know that the Mandoguru is going to hand me a ragtime tune in E-flat. That will be a sad day.
I am going to a play tonight...a review, really. The local high school presents this enormous thing every year. It is produced in its entirety by the kids. The lighting designer (I believe that is her job) is a member of CCW.
Lagniappe/Potpourri 2008: Out of the Frying Pan!Yeah, I'll be there. Then there will be pasta or something. Tomorrow morning is the Turkey Trot, that 5K I have been telling you all about. It's not too late to register!
Theme: The 7 Deadly SinsIt's a New Trier tradition that we've been slaving over for months.
Entirely student written, designed, directed and produced, this musical parody on North Shore life is a must see for EVERYONE.
See y'all there!
Here it is on guitar...
October 18, 2007
a sermon
I mentioned on Monday that I would post a link to Bret's sermon. You can find it on the CCW website. Here's a direct link. I think it is good stuff. He's a bright guy with good things to share.
live at brothers k
Good morning, all. I am at an Evanston coffee shop working through sermon notes, returning e-mails, and waiting for a 9:30 appointment to arrive. I have a meeting to prepare for a meeting. Don't you love that? Oy. But this should be a good one and I am enjoying this coffee shop. I love that they have free internet. I like the coffee. The guys behind the counter know all their customers, and tease one another ("Jocularity! Jocularity!" ala Fr. Mulcahy). It's really quite perfect.
I am still hung up on the 2 Timothy passage. I am trying to get my mind wrapped around the various kinds of not-so-sound doctrine...the quick fix, get-er-done, pseudo-psychological gradoo that sometimes passes for theology lately. Jorge quoted Larry yesterday. This is a great way to begin to think about 2 Timothy. The quotation is in reference to what Ann Coulter said recently about Judaism and Christianity.
From my view she speaks truth the way many heretics do: by getting some things right while speaking distortions of the truth that are hard to pick out because they sound kind of true or only a little bit off.Yeah...that's what I think the author of 2 Timothy is getting at. It is the trouble with all kinds of "almost-but-not-quite" theologies. As my friend Jennifer used to say "Bad theology hurts people." So true.
Enjoy your day, all.
October 17, 2007
wednesday linkage: within the narrative
We have to create bylaws to accommodate everybody's needs, not just those of businesses.
Chris Dee
Today's schedule is intentionally more gentle. I have a breakfast meeting with an old professor. I hope he remembers. I have a thousand questions. And then I have a lunch meeting with a congregation member. I know he remembers. I saw him last night at the meeting. Otherwise, I am free. I will bring some resources to pass the time this afternoon.
Tonight I am the house manager for Trish's new show. You all should come. It would be great to see you. I won't go home before the show tonight. I'll just head on up to Andersonville and loiter somewhere. You know, that 2 Timothy reading has really captured my imagination. What are others thinking about?
In other news, I have been a little overwhelmed with something that happened. It's all good, really. One of my congregants at CCW went to Richmond, VA recently. While they were there they stopped by Richmond Hill just to see the place I have spoken about time and time again. They met Ben, the Pastoral Director. He's likely the only one there who would remember me. It was unreal the things he said to them...really beautiful things. And he handed them a copy of the Richmond Hill vows. It would seem that Ben remembers some of my quirks. Time to focus on obedience again.
- Conversion of life: a commitment to live one's life as if it were a conversation with God, attempting to take responsibility for one's own inner transformation through a regular personal discipline of life.
- Stability: Committing oneself to the community of Richmond Hill and to the community of metropolitan Richmond as if it were a place of permanent residence, where one must live one's life fully and attempt to be a full part of the community's transformation.
- Obedience: Living a life of service where the question is which is asked is, "What does God want of my life?" rather than simply, "What do I want of my life?" The community's decisions are made by prayerful discernment and consensus.
- Hospitality: Community members commit themselves to the ministry of hospitality, healing, and racial reconciliation which are the vocation of the Richmond Hill community.
- Prayer: A commitment to the community's daily offices of prayer at 7:00am, 12:00 noon, and 6:00pm of the community, which include prayers for all the people and institutions of metropolitan Richmond, and to a life of personal prayer.
Okay, well I must needs be off. Time to get ready for the day. I hope you all are well. Follow some of these links if you feel like it. Some are familiar. Some are not. And here are one or two more if you need something to do. Enjoy!
Larry wrote about Ann Coulter.
Huw wrote about Halloween.
Mompriest shared a lovely poem.
Megan received some flowers.
the music video
October 15, 2007
lovely
Dave played a game, and its popping up in some other places too.
He says "By the end of the calendar year, I will send a tangible, physcal gift to each of the first five people to comment here, so long as each of those five people are willing to make the same offer in their own LJ or blog."
Let's do it. Like some have said, I am tired of junk mail. Huzzah.
monday videoblog: sleeping in?
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October 13, 2007
satreday...
I would say to housewives, be not daunted by one failure, nor by twenty. Resolve that you will have good bread, and never cease striving after this result till you have effected it. If persons without brains can accomplish this, why cannot you?
Housekeeping In Old Virginia Marion Cabell Tyree ed. (1878)
It would seem, however, that there is the fruition of a movement afoot to strip me of such enjoyable days. You can read the article from the LA Times here.I just don't understand. Hat tip to Amy.
the theatAH!
The oldest form of theater is the dinner table. It's got five or six people, new show every night, same players. Good ensemble; the people have worked together a lot.
Michael J. Fox
On Thursday evening Handbag Productions hosted a benefit for the Shambalah Center. Tippi Hedron, Veronica Cartright and even (surprisingly?) Nora Dunn were present. Nora is so beautiful! Anyway...Handbag has restaged their Birds. Here is a Tribune review. And here is a feature article. It's really interesting stuff. The place was packed. Tippi was charming. Veronica was hysterical. They spoke of "Hitch" and his quirks. Tippi spoke about her work with exotic animals. It was a great night.
Trish has been rehearsing for her "cabaret" showing of John Carpenter's Halloween. Yes, Jason, hockey masks etc. It's a musical. It is set to the music of The Carpenters...yes, The Carpenters, The we've-only-just-begun Carpenters. Are you scared now? You should be.
The Scooty & JoJo Show presents
Carpenters' Halloween
Created by
Scott Bradley & Jonny Stax
Starring: Patricia Austin, Charis Boyd, Scott Bradley, Zack Geoffroy, Annie Gloyn, Libby Lane, Michael S. Miller, Eric Pogrelis, & Jonny Stax
October 16th – October 31st
Mary’s Attic – 5400 N. Clark, Chicago, IL
Tuesdays & Wednesdays at 8pm
Tickets $10
For reservations email scootyjojo (at) yahoo.com
For more information visit www.myspace.com/scootyjojo
Let's get a group together.
October 12, 2007
gobble gobble
Once upon a time there was a turkey ministry. It lasted a good long while. People gave. Turkeys were purchased. People who would not have been able to afford it were given a feast. Then something changed. The wind kicked up. The air crackled. A Turkey Trot was born!
A booth appeared at a local festival.
Hats made a comeback on the fashion scene!
People came from miles around to find out more!
Then it appeared! What is this beside my morning coffee?
Behold! An advertisement in the local paper for said Turkey Trot!
Register today!
(It's a run/walk, folks. You can do it!)
October 11, 2007
outlines and stategerie
The beginning of an acquaintance whether with persons or things is to get a definite outline of our ignorance.
--George Eliot
The Protestant Reformation is one outline of the socio-political shifts in Western Europe. Calvin was in the midst of it, instigating and recording what was happening in Geneva and beyond. It's so damn fascinating. I have been exploring my ignorance of history, Latin, Greek and even the basement stacks of the library. O, Blessed Ignorance! Heh.
I've been exploring my ignorance at Community Church as well. This too has been rewarding. Yesterday there was a meeting to collaborate with a local family cervices agency on a program at the church. It was awe inspiring to watch these people work through all the details, to articulate a vision that they have for their church community. Wondrous indeed.
Today I am headed back to the library and then a mandolin lesson. It should be a good day. Every encounter with ignorance is an opportunity to become better acquainted with the world.
Adieu!
“Calvin found the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as the bond of our union with Christ in the Eucharist in a sermon Erasmus attributed to John Chrysostom, which Erasmus inserted into an edition of Chrysostom’s works published at Basel in 1530.” p. 257 John Calvin, the Church and the Eucharist by Killian McDonnell
October 10, 2007
an aside
Kay posted this. Well, that's something to think about. Apprenticeship to Jesus...another context for obedience?
a lovely evening
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
It was great. We met by the boathouse. We stood on the bridge together. Tattoos and piercings were the rule of the day. The bride's tea-length dress showed off a cyclist's legs. Her celtic tattoos were awe inspiring. She had a bouquet of lilies and peacock feathers. The groom was dressed in a black shirt and pants. He wore no blazer. He too looked great.
Come to think of it, I was the only one there who did not walk or ride my bike to the wedding. Had I but known!
After the ceremony we went to a local ice cream parlor where the couple had their first date. We were all still dressed from the wedding, bouquet, veil and clergy collar. The couple held hands and chatted with their friends. We all shared in a fifty-scoop sundae.
I left early so that they could simply enjoy the company of their friends...and so I could head over to Andersonville to meet my friend, Roger, for conversation and a cuppa jo. Roger and I talked about pet snakes, music, German women and the homeless man who suffers from Tourette's Syndrome who was across the street. Trish met us at about 9:30.
I love nights like last night. Occasions marked by intimacy and conversation always fill my cup to o'er flowing.
Have a great day, gang.
October 09, 2007
back at it...
Christ, in sending the [people] to the scriptures, sent them, not merely to read them, but carefully to search and ponder them. And did he not say, "Read the scriptures," but "Search the scriptures." ... Their meaning is not expressed superficially or set forth in their literal sense, but, like a treasure, lies buried at a great depth. And those who seek for hidden things will not be able to find the object of the search if they do not seek carefully and painstakingly.
--St. John Chrysostom
Thank God for Bret and Jenn at Community Church. I will be absent a ton this week. I am meeting my Johns again.
"To the great truths, What God is in himself, and what he is in relation to us, human reason makes not the least approach."
John Calvin, Institutes, Book 2, Chapter 2, Section 18
October 08, 2007
monday videoblog: sumero-akkadian rodeo
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October 07, 2007
sermon
Follow the extended link for my sermon. Today is World Communion Sunday. Huzzah! Everyone come to the table. Let's see what's for dinner.
Oh! Julie Windsor-Mitchell from University Christian Ministries at Northwestern University is here as well telling us about her work on campus and ways that we can plug in. I am tremendously excited about this. I hope we can work something out.
Sermon Proper 22 (27) Year C 2007
October 7, 2007 World Communion Sunday
Community Church of Wilmette
Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler
Luke 17:5-10; Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Reaching Out to Reach In
"O Lord, increase my faith!" Show me how to love. Make me love you more. Make me more faithful! You can do it! I want to be more faithful.
What a response from Jesus.
First, he tells the disciples that they don't have much faith (if any) in the first place.
"If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."
Let me tell you a little something about faith, says Jesus. The disciples and the others gathered to listen are missing the point entirely. So he offers up a metaphor about slavery and the expectations of the landowners. He equates these expectations with the expectations of God.
Just do what your told. Feed the hungry. Clothe the poor. Do justice. Love mercy. Pray. Sing. Be obedient. When you gather, do this in remembrance of me. There are no strokes in it for you. There is no reward here in it for you. There is no praise to be had here. Not now. If you want faithfulness, know your place first. Be fully obedient to God. Be a slave.
Sisters and brothers, I promise you that this kind of word was as popular in Jesus' day as it is now.
They were slaves. The people in Jesus' company were struggling under the weight of an occupying empire. Their lives were shaped by stories of slavery in Egypt and of exile in Babylon. Why would anyone wish to be a slave?
We say we want faith. We say we want to be closer to God. But then God comes along and says: "Great. Leave all you have and follow me." Or, as in today's reading, "Fabulous! Be my slave."
"Perhaps," we say to ourselves, "God did not understand the request." What Jesus offers is not a popular notion. I don't think it ever was. I am not sure it ever will be.
We want to be moved. We want "meaningfulness" and high emotions. We thrive off of our sense of satisfaction. We are motivated by such emotions. And we should be. But the emotions don't always come. Experience does not always motivate. Worship services don't always move us. Often we are simply more aware of God's absence than we are of God's presence.
Mother Teresa has been in the news a lot lately. The letters she wrote to her confessor are being published. People in various circles have been astounded to discover that Mother Teresa of Calcutta experienced long spiritual droughts, dark nights of the soul. In spite of her tremendous work and the accolades she received from a variety of communities, she still did not feel God's presence. She wrestled like any sane person would.
How can God allow so much suffering? Where is the justice? Where is the mercy? Where is God? Like Habakkuk did so long ago, she cried "Violence!"
What is actually revealed in these letters to her confessor is her surprising faithfulness. As much as we may find ourselves hung up on this proclaimed absence, what these letters underscore is her deep faithfulness in God, her obedience.
She did as she was told with no promises of reward, with no sense of God's presence. She was faithful. She was a servant. She was a slave. This is what it can look like. This is what makes her such a great example. In the end, faithfulness is about obedience and not about the "experience of the divine." The apostles in Luke were in the presence of God incarnate and they still had the questions, the darkness, the struggles. Mother Teresa's experience and example have a scriptural foundation in verses like the one we encounter this morning from Luke and in Habakkuk.
Habakkuk was an interesting person. He's one of my favorites. But I have a bias, you see. Habakkuk was a 7th Century B.C. Temple prophet. This means that his prophetic ministry was shaped and given context by the public worship of God's chosen people, Israel. Liturgy and prophetic witness. Yeah, I'm biased.
Habakkuk is giving voice to the frustrations of a nation. The Babylonians are bearing down on Jerusalem. God is silent. There stands Habakkuk in the Temple and God is silent. The Temple was God's house. God cannot remain silent while powerful people and their armies take what they want whenever they want. Right? Well, this is Habakkuk's question.
1:2 O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save? 1:3 Why do you make me see wrong-doing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. 1:4 So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous-- therefore judgment comes forth perverted.
Habakkuk sees injustice but he does not see God. He and Mother Teresa are in good company. Likely we can all relate to this. We all experience moments of disillusionment and sometimes in dramatic ways, horrific ways.
This time last year we were all in awe and horror at the news of the school shooting in an Amish community. We were horrified that something like this could happen. And we were in awe at the response by the Amish people. They proclaimed love, love of the perpetrator of the crime, love of his family, and love for their own children. When questioned about this response, the leaders of the Amish community stated that they are commanded to love. Their proclaimed love is an act of obedience.
This love was not a denial of the horrors of that day. They professed grief, rage, and remorse. But their guiding light was their willingness, their choice, to be obedient to Christ's commandment: "Love your enemy." In the reporting at least, no one said that they did this because it made them feel good. They were simply obedient.
This is the kind of obedience that Christ asks of us. This is the depth of faith that is asked of us. It is the faith of an Amish community. It is the faith of Mother Teresa. It is the faith of Habakkuk.
What is tremendous about this faithfulness is that it is entirely centered upon other people. This faithfulness does not actually lead us to some escapist place, or to some sectarian sense of Christian community. Look at the examples we have been given. This kind of faithfulness leads us outward into the world. It takes us out of the communities that we know and are comfortable with and encourages us to reach beyond ourselves.
By being faithful as Jesus suggests, we will perform miracles...perform impossible acts like replanting mulberry trees in the sea.
We will feed and clothe and make room in our hearts for the poorest of the poor like Mother Teresa.
We will walk out of our homes and visit our enemies, comforting their wives and children, and ask how we can be of service to them.
We will proclaim a vision of God's righteousness to all the world that will echo through the ages. It has been almost three thousand years and Habakkuk's words still ring out.
2:2 Then the LORD answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. 2:3 For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. 2:4 Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.
Jesus says "My yoke is easy. And my burden is light."
We will be called to be obedient...to be taken out of our comfort zones and do impossible things, miraculous things with mulberry trees, or our friends, neighbors, the poor, the needy, and the powerful...
People will be drawn to us because we first go to them. We will reach out in faith. And by so doing we will reach in, discovering deep wells of faithfulness and a church community shaped by growth and an increasing sense of God's presence.
We can live by faith.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
October 06, 2007
saturday musings: season three
"Islamic extremist is to Islam as _______ is to Christianity."
After hearing from the students, Josh writes down his answer: "KKK. . . . It's the Klan gone medieval and global. It couldn't have less to do with Islamic men and women of faith of whom there are millions and millions.Muslims defend this country in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corp, National Guard, Police and Fire Department."
- The West Wing: Isaac and Ishmael
Wait...Fantasy Politics?! What a great idea, like Fantasy Baseball, but with more paperwork. Incumbents would cost you more. And the team building strategy would be interesting. Would you call sub-committees? Huh. Okay, anyone out there play Fantasy Baseball? Do you have any thoughts?
Season three is the season that opened the week of the terrorist attacks in New York, DC, and Pennsylvania. Sorkin and the gang wrote a powerful episode to prelude the season...pushing their scheduled season premier back a week. I did not have the stomach to watch it yesterday. I'll get to it today. It's genius work.
First, however, I am going to yoga at the church ("Jesus is my guru." says the yoga instructor.). It should be fun.
October 05, 2007
friday foolishness and a little mandodoxy
The wise are wise only because they love. The fool are fools only because they think they can understand love.
- Paulo Coelho
The coffee is a lovely brew from Metropolis. I have a mug of it sitting beside me now. Mmm. I wonder about the whole roasting process. I've seen the machines. They are shiny. And they roast beans. But it's such a simple process that I assume a certain mystery has snuck in there as well. Ah, java.
Not much else to report today. Trish and I are finally going to celebrate our Anniversary. We were unable to on the 25th. There was too much going on. So, we postponed our hot date. She has made reservations at a swank little joint in the city. I'm looking forward to the evening. We've both have had incredibly busy weeks (or two). A chance to sit and catch up is most needed.
The journey into mandodoxy continues apace. The jig is slowly becoming part of my repertoire. I have been playing the Kesh Jig and the Irish Washerwoman. The second you would likely recognize. The first is new to me. But its a lovely tune. I am enjoying it greatly.
Many years ago I took a few lessons from the mandoguru. I was not ready. He introduced me to the jig and I panicked. I made several excuses about all the other things I had to do. I was in seminary, you know, so the excuses felt like good ones. I bailed. Coped out. Call it what you like. But returning a little over a year ago has proven to be the right move and the mandoguru has been generous in his understanding. The jig, sisters and brothers, is a beast. Don't let it fool you. Picking technique matters. And the mandoguru will not let me slack off and double pick my way through the difficult passages. No, sir!
The Kesh Jig (youtube ala Bothy Band...cripes!):
The Irish Washerwoman (youtube):
Have a great day everyone. For those of you looking forward to the weekend, go out and have some fun. For those who work the weekend, be upheld by the jig!
October 04, 2007
thinking to sunday
The proud are always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you're looking down, you can't see something that's above you.
- C.S. Lewis
Luke 17:5-1017:5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"
17:6 The Lord replied, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.
17:7 "Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here at once and take your place at the table'? 17:8 Would you not rather say to him, Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'? 17:9 Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? 17:10 So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, 'We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'"
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4I am looking at the idea of needing strokes when we do good things. Certainly there is a place for praise and positive reinforcement. But the Luke passage suggests that we are called to do good works for no other reason than we are "slaves" to God. It's about obedience and not positive reinforcement. Habakkuk has an interesting take on pride. I can see a potential relationship between the two ideas. Expecting rewards for the work that we do for God is a kind of pride.1:1 The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw.
1:2 O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save? 1:3 Why do you make me see wrong-doing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. 1:4 So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous-- therefore judgment comes forth perverted. 2:1 I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint.
2:2 Then the LORD answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. 2:3 For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. 2:4 Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.
What do you all think?
Oh! Today is the feast of St. Francis. Get yer pet blessed! I know a Baptist church in Iowa City that is having a pet blessing at 6pm. Slide on by!
October 03, 2007
wednesday linkage: get to readin'
The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet.
- Theodore M. Hesburgh
Emily wrote this lovely article on seeking a denominational home. She includes a bit about Reconciler in her narrative.
AKMA is excited to tell us something about Radiohead and how they share their music. On the net, information (and that includes the mp3 of your tune) wants to be free.
Sister Julie is thinking about hope, the virtue and the practice...and the encounter with God. Lovely stuff.
The Young Fogey is waxing poetical about book stores.
Beth Newman has written an editorial that caught my attention: On Behalf of Indoctrination. I know from personal experience that she is a good Baptist feminist theologian. Keeping that in mind as I read this really challenged me.
I am still chewing on some of the things from last week's leadership conference. I am thinking about the proper place for counting numbers in church. The scriptural witness does in specific ways (feeding the 5000 anyone?). I want to know if the numbers matter? How much should we fret about the logistics of being church? And where does God's gift of grace and our awareness fall into this? I am thinking more and more that counting numbers is a faithful exercise to recognize God's grace at work in our congregations and communities. It is like bearing witness to the fruit of the Spirit. We have to know how to recognize God's grace somehow. The scriptures suggest fruitfulness. Faithful counting may be about counting fruit...bushels, crates, pecks?
Y'all have a good day. I'm reading The Audacity of Hope. I am more of a cynic than I thought. Heh.
October 02, 2007
who knew?
Thanks, Cliff...
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-- Take the Quiz! -- | |||
utopian visions
Julie Clawson posted some thinking about Utopia vs. The Kingdom. Give it a read...
I am just trying to get all caught up after the weekend away. Whew!
October 01, 2007
another monday video post
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