Dang-it!

Congress just passed a budget that will blatantly help the rich and hurt the poor. It's so bad that many republicans even objected to it! But the neo-cons had their antichrist-like friend Dick Cheney to make it happen, and our nation is now free to continue exploiting the least of these.

In other news, check out the Andrew Jones link on this site to see how Joel Osteen's wife helped her husband in their desperate quest to make all Christians look like complete a-holes. And here I thought only our "religious" politicians were going to do it all on their own.

What a start to the day...

Peace,
Matt

Costly Hope

During advent, we talk about peace, joy, love, and hope. Hope is on my mind today, so I thought I would dwell on it for a few minutes.

In The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer distinguished between cheap grace and costly grace, noting that cheap grace seems to be far too prevalent in the church (also, check out Jones' Embodying Forgiveness for a very in depth look at Bonhoeffer's view of grace). I think the same could be said for hope; we seem to look all too often for a hope that is cheap, rather than a costly hope. A costly hope is richer, deeper, but more painful to come to, so we opt for cheap hope. Let's look at this closer...

Cheap hope is an all-smiles form of faith that forces us to become shiny happy people holding hands all the time. We become people who speak of God's will and glory in ways that make the Lord look sick and/or cruel. We accept pain, suffering and death passively. We give up with large grins and wait patiently for heaven while the world around us crumbles. And when it really hits the fan and we are completely broken, we punish ourselves for not having enough faith, or give up completely on God because our poor theology has completely failed us.

We need to discover and grab hold of costly hope. It is hope for the realist, who sees and comprehends the dismal state of affairs around him or her, is absolutely broken by it, yet strives to press on and work towards the distant kingdom which is but a hope. It's a Hebrews 11 kind of hoping in which the end is often left unrealized and the one who had hoped is forced to come to terms with the fact that things just aren't going to be fair in this life when we try to gauge it on our measure of fairness. Costly hope wrestles with God over this. It is not passive in its hoping, as much as it is stubborn, striving for the good in the face of insurmountable evil, praying for the kingdom even as the fallenness of our world becomes overwhelming, screaming at our Father to take action and working towards what is right, all the while realizing that he is choosing to work through us. Costly hope mirrors the work of Christ, who willingly laid down his life on the cross, yet even on the cross wrestled with God. He wanted the kingdom to come, but did not like how it had to happen.

Life comes through death. We put our hope in a crucified God. Yet we continue to long for a world in which death's power is taken away and the spirit of life rules all things. We fight for life and have a hope that costs more than any form of cheap hope the world can offer.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses by Bruce Feiler, and Help! I'm a Student Leader by Doug Fields. Oh, and I'm also reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.

Currently Listening To: A live performance CD I recently found of famous people reading passages of Howard Zinn's The People's History of the United States. Certain parts of it bring tears to my eyes.

Tons o' Links

I've begun adding oodles of links to this blog. I'm planning on adding a lot more, so that by the end you should have a good idea of Matt in all of his Matt-ness by looking at the links. Let me know if any don't work, or if you find them at all interesting. And keep watching as the list grows.

Peace,
Matt

New Blog Format

I continue to claim absolute ignorance when it comes to working a computer. Honestly, I simply could not get my profile and links to the top of my page. Instead, they hid at the bottom under all my posts. To fix it, I simply changed the look of my blog. Let's call it a wardrobe change for winter fashion.

Peace,
Matt

Defeated

It was 25 years ago today that John Lennon was murdered. With where his mind was taking him, it would have been amazing to see what he was doing at age 65. Last night I watched No Direction Home, the new Bob Dylan documentary, in which he spoke about how the artist is "always becoming." That was Lennon. In a lot of ways Lennon was dreaming for God's Kingdom to come, and come soon, and it is sad that a man like that was taken away too soon. The same could be said for King, Medgar Evers, Oscar Romero, etc. It's frustrating sometimes

Right now at work I am helping to prepare an "advent room." It is a sort of gallery where people will experience waiting; waiting for things that they wish would come in this life, experiencing the waiting that the ancient Jews felt before Christ came, and seeking to understand what we are waiting for when we say we want God's Kingdom to come. My specific task is the second advent...to make a gallery of the future (why do I get stuck with the hardest task?). The images I came up with had to do with streams in the desert, polluted lands experiencing deuglification (a CS Lewis word), the hungry finding food, the downtrodden experiencing God, etc. I was very proud of all of these. One image I had was of an AK-47 that was transformed into farming equipment, based on Isaiah 2:4 and the dream that one day there will be no more violence. Call me crazy but I don't really think God loves war. Apparently I am, because I was shot down, as one of my fellow staff members found the very idea offensive. I tried not to preach my politics, and maybe I failed, but it seems idiotic (no matter which side of the current war debate you are on) to think that God loves war and wants there to be more of it in His Kingdom. Even if you think the current war is necessary (which it is not), how could you possibly think God likes it? Who are we gonna kill in Heaven? Am I taking crazy pills here?

Compounded onto all of this is the fact that my dad goes into the hospital today to see if he is still cancer free (it has been one year now since he ended treatment). It's so scary. I come to the world today feeling discouraged and defeated. But maybe that is what advent is about. Today is the day to see hope when everything seems preposterously out-of-whack and you can only look at the world and say "this is not the way it's supposed to be" (the title of Platinga's book on sin).

I am the one who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod of the LORD's anger. He has brought me into deep darkness, shuting out all light. He has turned against me. Day and night his hand is heavy upon me. He has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones. He has attacked me and surrounded me with anguish and distress. He has buried me in a dark place, like a person long dead. He has walled me in, and I cannot escape. He has bound me in heavy chains. And though I cry and shout, he shuts out my prayers. He has blocked my path with a high stone wall. He has twisted the road before me with many detours. He hid like a bear or a lion, waiting to attack me. He dragged me off the path and tore me with his claws, leaving me helpless and desolate. He bent his bow and aimed it squarely at me...
Yet still I dare to hope when I remember this: the unfailing love of the LORD never ends! Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day.
-From Lamentations 3 (NLT)

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: God in Search of Man : A Philosophy of Judaism by Abraham Joshua Heschel.

Currently Listening To: Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks.

Advent

I am reading/praying through Phyllis Tickle's The Divine Hours this advent. My plan is to do this year round, but I decided to start during advent. I've never prayed the hours before, nor really celebrated advent, but I am very excited about both. At one time I thought that both were a joke, as they were not explicitly detailed in scripture, but God is opening my eyes to the wonders of our Christian tradition, which is excitingly rich, and to the fact that his Spirit did not stop inspiring people just because the Bible was done being written. I would highly recommend to everybody that they try something like this.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: The two newest issues of Mother Jones (they put out two this month), the newest issue of Time (Effie got me a subscription), as well as Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me Ultima, The Named God by Stan Grenz, and the Tickle book mentioned above. Happily busy this season!

Life is crazy!

As my life continues its non-stop craziness, I thought I'd take a minute to share what's going on... First, I have to be ready for my Sunday night program coming up, which I'm not because I had to finish arranging post-retreat stuff and do my 2006 youth budget. Second, I'm speaking at a retreat in Cle Elum this entire weekend, for which I need to have 4 messages, small group questions, and activities and slides prepared for. The hard part is, third, I have to be prepared to discuss how we're going to do Advent this season ("outside the box" style). I drive straight from the retreat back to church to do my program. After that I have three days to do a week's work before taking off to do Thanksgiving (which will be great), followed shortly after by me running the Seattle Marathon. Tiring.

The good news is that I ordered Stan Grenz's final book, which looks extremely difficult yet entirely amazing. Maybe someday I'll write about what he did for my life. It's great to meet a theologian who is also a caring human being. Good heart and mind together...that's my dream.

Peace,
Matt

For those interested in Revelation...

Our mandatory class on Revelation was actually quite amazing. I typically feel like the freak at work because my theology doesn't line up with a lot of other peoples'. So when an outside expert came and shared about Revelation and affirmed everything I say and stand for, well, I just have to say that I felt much better about what I believe.

The most important thing to me was that he put the entire book in its 1st centruy context, which makes an amazing difference in how you read it. He also made sure to continually point out that the point of the book is to cause us to live differently today, specifically living into God's kingdom. If we are continually trying to figure out when the world will end, who the antichrist is, or whether or not some new technology is "the mark of the beast," we are no longer living fully into God's kingdom.

I could go on, but I have to go to work... My parting shot is this: Prof. Ron's reading of Revelation is that John's apocalypse was written because churches weren't being persecuted enough and needed to set themselves apart from their corrupt culture. Where are we doing the same? And why do we believe in a rapture if God calls us to be persecuted?

Okay, okay, one more thing. The rapture is garbage. It could happen, but it is doubtful. There is only one small passage in Revelation that could cause somebody to believe in it. Most rapture belief comes from Thessalonians. But the point of the passage is that the people come out to welcome their king into town, a common occurrence in the ancient east. Which means the king then comes into the city with the people, rather than lead everybody out. It is a historically based passage that continues to be read out of context.

Now I really have to get back to work. Maybe I'll blog more about this if anybody is interested.

Peace,
Matt

Human Rights for Some

"There's an enemy that lurks and plots and plans and wants to hurt America again," he said. "So you bet we will aggressively pursue them, but we will do so under the law."

"We do not torture."

So says the president, even as VP Cheney pushes to change a ban on torture being pushed through the senate so the CIA would still be allowed to do so. "The administration has said in a statement that while it does not condone torture, it opposes the measure because it would be unnecessary or duplicative and could restrict the president's ability to conduct the war (on terrorism) effectively under existing law" (USA Today). I feel like, as usual, I'm the only one hearing two very different things coming from one White House. Do these people have multiple personalities, or do they just see nothing wrong with blatantly contradicting themselves?

Meanwhile, the US has just reached an agreement with China over textile trade, never mind that they are one of the world's worst countries when it comes to human rights violations. Sure, they send people into Myanmar to completely decimate the northern forests, so the Myanmar army can then have an easier time wiping out the northern villages because they are a different ethnicity. And sure, they keep Western countries from asking about it because everybody loves China and doesn't want to tick them off. But who really wants to do anything about it considering China is one of our favorite providers of cheap (aka sweat shop produced) clothing?

And of course, the US has now become friendly with India, who illegally produced atomic weapons. We continue to threaten war on Iran and Korea for even thinking about it, but India is okay, even if the rest of the world (including the UN) is against their actions. After all, who needs the okay of the rest of the world when you are the US?

In the 21st century America has seized absolute power, which does corrupt absolutely, and twisted what was once good into something hideous and evil. Why do we care about human rights in some cases, but not others? Why do we think that every other Western nation is wrong when they disagree with us? I'm sorry for going so political, but something needs to change. I fear for the safety of the people of the US, who are becoming universally hated. I fear for the people of poorer nations who have to suffer at the everchanging whim of an overpowering capitalist system where the bottom line is all that matters. I pray for God's kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: The book of Revelation.

Back to complaints as usual

Okay, I've been trying not to complain as much on my blog lately, but today I just gotta let it out.

First of all, is even one person out there who really gets what the church is here for? I received an e-mail from a student today that literally said "this god thing isn't working for me anymore". What the heck do you do with something like that? Lately I'm averaging two people per week (literally) who threaten to stop coming to our church. Never is it a matter of theological disagreement, just simply people choosing when to be and not be "religious" depending upon their emotional state. Has anybody read the gospels? Do we get that this is about God, not us? About his kingdom, not our will? Frustrating!

Secondly, I have many theological heroes who fall under the "emergent" umbrella. Part of this means that they are supposedly bloggers. What sucks is this: their blogs have turned into massive advertisements! "I'll be speaking here next Tuesday..." "My book comes out next month and ______ says you should buy it..." I'm not saying they shouldn't mention these sorts of things, but really if that's all they mention, I'm done going to their pages. Which is exactly the truth.

Lastly, I am spending all day tomorrow in a mandatory class on Revelation. It could be good... the problem is in the fact that I seem to disagree with a majority of my church co-workers and I can't help but think that it's all about to hit the fan (again). I don't want to get peeved-off, or make anyone else angry. Guess we'll see what happens.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Religion, Politics, and the Christian Right by Mark Lewis Taylor. I love that it is based on Tillich's writing, but I'm still not overly impressed. I'm also reading some N.T. Wright articles dealing with the book of Revelation so I can be ready for tomorrow.

What is the bottom line?

Working at a church, the two things I am asked about the most (other than "What's wrong with those high school kids these days") are creation vs. evolution, and homosexuality. Typically I just listen to people share their views, telling me how stupid anybody who doesn't agree with them is and rationalizing any faults in their own arguments. When asked my opinion, I usually mumble some form of half-affirmation which they take as agreement. The truth is, my opinions are based on very different reasoning, and as much as I would like to bring them to a similar understanding, I know it takes time.

What is this understanding? I understand the Bible as the text that seeks to lead us into Kingdom of God living. It is a lifestyle that is centered upon God and our neighbor, begun by the crucified God and lived through grace, love, faith and hope.

So when somebody asks me where I stand on creation I have two answers floating through my head, which I share only if I think they can handle one or both. First of all, who's to say that the 7 days in Genesis are literal? The sun wasn't created on day 1, nor was man. Furthermore, as any Old Testament scholar will tell you, it is a poem. A poem! Do you read poems literally? No! Does that mean there is no way there can be a literal 7 day creation story? No again. If we believe in a God who creates the earth from nothing, we can also believe in a God who makes the earth look older than it is, or even plants some crazy old fossils for fun. Here's the point in all of it: it doesn't really matter. What matters is Christ crucified. What matters is that we live our lives for the sole purpose of glorifying God. A christian who spends their life arguing and fighting for two pages of the bible to be read in a certain way is missing the point. The bottom line is that our main goal should always be to live into the reality of the kingdom. If your faith rests entirely upon the creation story as literal truth, what are you going to do when this theory becomes fact? Become a citizen of God's kingdom and those sorts of worries won't be there. The rest of that stuff is a massive footnote.

As for homosexuality...that is a harder topic. William Webb's book did a great job of showing that God's view doesn't really change when it comes to this sort of thing. I do think that sooner or later there will end up being some sort of evidence that it is genetic. That leaves us in a sticky situation, one which leaves me pointing back at God's kingdom yet again. If we live for God's kingdom, we no longer live for ourselves. Which means all of us have to repel those things within us that cause us to desire living in a contrary manner. How can anyone who defines themselves by how they receive pleasure be living into God's kingdom? Living into the kingdom means living to please God, not ourselves. The problem with sin is that is causes all of us to be self-centered, and this goes beyond homosexuality to all people. This is why the US is so very far from God's will, though many incorrectly believe us to be some sort of city on a hill. At the same time, though, I do not stand against gay marriage. Maybe that sounds crazy with what I have already written, but I don't think oppressing homosexual men and women will suddenly cause them to want to change their ways. The kingdom has not been demonstrated to them at all at this point. Can we show love in a better way without supporting their actions? I hope so.

Somewhere in here is a glimpse of my bottom line. If I'm going to stand for something, it is going to be love, mercy, forgiveness. God's kingdom is the only thing worth living for. It's worth fighting for too, but that fight has already been won. Now it's just a matter of living as citizens. That's the bottom line.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Naked by David Sedaris. Hilarious and brilliant.

We Survived!

We went on a retreat last weekend, and somehow I actually managed to get every kid and leader home alive! Beyond that, we actually had a good retreat too! It was weird for me to be the behind the scenes, planner-type person, a stretching role for me. I've been encouraged by the conversations that occurred and the response I have received so far. I really didn't want to do a retreat just because that's what youth ministries do, and I think we succeeded in making it something more. I still don't know what I'm doing most of the time, but I'm following my beliefs about ministry and it seems to be working so far...

In other news, I am thinking about actually starting a MySpace account, not because I really want to, but because all my students have one and write back and forth constantly.

In other, other news, I'm going to run 22 miles this Friday. After that I start tapering down until the marathon at the end of this month. It's funny, but I actually think I'm going to be able to make it! Crazy.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Woman, Child for Sale by Gilbert King.

Currently Listening To: The Postal Service. Also, I've been listening to a David Sedaris reading that my friend Kelly gave me. It is brilliant/hilarious.

Takin' a break...

For the few who arrive at this site on a regular basis, you may have noticed a longer lapse between blog entries lately. It looks like I probably won't post anything until after next week. Why? Because I am currently training for a marathon (I'm up to 20 miles now), am putting on a retreat next weekend (not ready at all), and am dealing with some frustrating junk at work.

The one thought that is consistently stuck in my head is this: is there really any sort of "church discipline" any more? When does grace call us to call others on the carpet for things they've done?

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Soul Shaper by Tony Jones.

Relevancy

I was greatly challenged this week concerning my thoughts on relevancy. Like many church practitioners I have been attempting to share the gospel in a "relevant" way, which typically means playing songs or videos that relate to the culture, or using the popular lingo to talk about the gospel. I don't think any of this is wrong in and of itself, but I realized that there is a much bigger portion to relevancy that I have not fully put into practice.

The sort of relevancy I'm talking about is how the gospel relates to specific areas of our culture and media. What does the gospel deconstruct? What does it affirm? What sort of critique of modern culture does the gospel of Christ provide?

All of this is stuff that I have done, but never with this idea surrounding it. I think relevancy at this point becomes a question of "How does the culture line up with the gospel" rather than the slightly different but apparently much more followed question of "How does the gospel line up with the culture"?

Maybe all of this is just plain obvious to some, but it was eye-opening for me this week.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Six Degrees by Duncan J. Watts.

Derrida Quotes

Something has not yet arrived, neither at Christianity nor by means of Christianity. What has not yet arrived at or happened to Christianity is Christianity. Christianity has not yet come to Christianity. What has not yet come about is the fulfillment, within history and in political history, and first and foremost in European politics, of the new responsibility announced by the mysterium tremendum. There has not yet been an authentically Christian politics because there remains this residue of the Platonic polis. Christian politics must break more definitively and more radically with Greco-Roman Platonic politics in order to finally fulfill the mysterium tremendum. Only in this condition will Europe have a future, and will there be a future in general. (page 29)

The crypto- or mysto-genealogy of responsibility is woven with the double and inextricably intertwined thread of the gift and of death: in short of the gift of death. The gift made to me by God as he holds me in his gaze and in his hand while remaining inaccessible to me, the terribly dissymmetrical gift of the mysterium tremendum only allows me to respond and only rouses me to the responsibility it gives me by making a gift of death, giving the secret of death, a new experience of death. (page 33)

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading and Quoting From: The Gift of Death by Jacques Derrida.

The Church

The recollection of the crucified Christ obliges Christian faith permanently to distinguish itself from the 'Christian-bourgeois world' and from Christianity as the 'religion of contemporary society'.

A Christianity which does not measures itslf in theology and practice by this criterion loses its identity and becomes confused with the surrounding world; it becomes the religious fulfilment of the prevailing interests, or of the interests of those who dominate society. It becomes a chameleon which can no longer be distinguished from the leaves of the tree in which it sits.

But a Christianity which applies to its theology and practice the criterion of its own fundamental origin cannot remain what it is at the present moment in social, political and psychological terms. It experiences an outward crisis of identity, in which its inherited identification with the desires and interests of the world around it is broken down. It becomes something other than what it imagined itself to be, and what was expected of it.

-Jurgen Moltmann, The Crucified God, pp.38-39.

What if every American Christian read this quote, and while they nodded their head in agreement, really began to understand it and see just how terribly we have corrupted the Gospel, perverting everything Christ said to make our democratic/materialist/capitalist system feel like it came from Jesus' mouth? I don't know how much longer I can put up with all of it.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: PERELANDRA by C.S. Lewis.

Church

"The church is a whore, but she is my mother." -Martin Luther

Our Hermeneutical Task

I am on a real hermeneutical kick these days. After reading the articles mentioned on my last post, I finished Slaves, Women and Homosexuals by William Webb and continued my slow reading of Gadamer's Truth and Method. There is much for us to ponder as we study the Biblical text and think about what it is leading the Church to do.

I believe we have to read the Bible with a redemptive-movement hermeneutic. This means that we study biblical trajectories and ponder how those trajectories speak into our culture. For example, both women and slaves are treated better as scripture moves through time. The same can be said for homosexuals in the fact that they are no longer murdered, but cannot be said for the acceptance of their actions. As I wrote before, we must interpret scripture with the help of the Spirit, seeing the life in the text today.

This requires the church. Moltmann wrote that it was the Spirit, which is true, but we need to be able to discern the voice of the Spirit, which is done in community. We need to the voices of other believers (and even non-believers) to bounce ideas off one another and speak truth into our lives. Following a redemptive-movement hermeneutic is tricky and easily prone to error. The Spirit must be heard, and it is through the individual and the church of individuals that this happens. Our hermeneutical task is to listen to God's Spirit speak through the text, the culture, and our fellow believers, past and present. What a task!

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: The Crucified God by Jurgen Moltmann.

Motorcycles...

Motorcycles, Donald Miller, and Donald Miller's Impending Doom

Okay, that's an idiotic title, but we're going with it.

First bit of news is that I almost bought a motorcycle this week. It was a sweet bike, but way overpriced. I'm excited though, because that means I am officially looking and will hopefully own one soon. Vroom.

Secondly, I heard Donald Miller speak yesterday. It wasn't anything earth-shattering, especially since he basically shared what he's already written in his books, but it was still fun. I'm glad people are listening to a guy like him, who is trying to eliminate the whole "5 steps to biblical happiness" concept from Christianity and bring it back to a real feeling of loving relationship. It's a good start.

Lastly, I read some good articles yesterday that got me really excited about the hermeneutical task. Reading Jurgen Moltmann and Paul Ricoeur together was fascinating. I won't recap their arguments, but I'll try to share what I received after reading both and swirling them together in my mind. The author is not important (yes, like death of the author), but what is important is the transformation that occurs when a text comes upon the reader. The text is a mirror, showing our story for what it is and what is lacking. Think of Paul writing to the Corinthians. If we are thinking of authorial intent, the text has nothing to say to the 21st century believing community, because it is written to a certain group at a certain time. But if we put that aside and see how the text speaks into our own lives, how this story comes upon our own, we are transformed by the interaction. This is where the Spirit works. And we know it is the Spirit when it brings life. With the Spirit moving, the reader "becomes the reader of oneself," discovering a "new mode of being from the text itself." Our new mode of being, is not the suicidal will to power of Nietzsche, but an ontology of living into the New Testament narrative in which the Father, Son and Spirit demonstrate "relationships of fellowship and are open to the world."

Sorry if this doesn't make sense to you, the reader. I'm excited about it, but what do I know: I'm just the dead author of this blog entry!

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: I'm back on Gadamer's Truth and Method again. I had to take a break before. It is tough reading. Profound, but long.

Currently Listening To: A compilation of my favorite Wilco songs I put together yesterday.

Where the rubber hits the road...

Where the rubber hits the road in ministry

Last night was our second week doing youth ministry with an entirely new format. I continue to love it, but have to accept the truth about what I'm doing in the process.

Last week we had nearly 60 students. Last year we averaged between 30-40, so I was pretty excited. This week we were down to the mid 30's. I have been spoon fed the idea that numerical growth is the way ministry works, and though I don't entirely agree, it is still in my head and was harshly yelling its painful reminders into my ear throughout the night. But I know that many students didn't return because the night wasn't "fun" enough, which means I have to be okay with it.

The good news, though, is that many students took on the challenge given last week, which meant personalizing the message and trying to live out the Gospel in their own context. Some succeeded. Some failed. But they all wanted to share about their attempts either way! Equally exciting was that many of them took the daily devotions I made seriously and read through the first 11 chapters of Genesis. They brought a bunch of great questions, some of which I was able to answer, others of which completely stumped me.

I don't know how all of this will be viewed by my superiors, my church as a whole, or other youth ministries. What I do know is that for the first time I feel like I am doing ministry in a way that is faithful to God and scripture, and leading in a fashion that matches the way God made me. I like it.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Radical Reformission, The : Reaching Out without Selling Out by Mark Driscoll. Although I have had a multitude of issues with this guy (and still do), it is a decent book which would probably do the average Christian a lot of good. I see him taking a lot of the big theological thoughts floating around these days and boiling them down into some practical ways of living for the average Joe. That's a good thing.

Currently Listening To: NOFX's White Trash album. It's their best by far.

International Day of Peace

Today is the International Day of Peace. I'll be marching through downtown Bellingham and I would highly recommend that anybody who chooses peace over violence do something similar.

In other news, the US military death count in Iraq has reached nearly 2,000 (infinitely less than civilian deaths and illegal imprisonments in Iraq). No sign of any WMD's or Bin Laden (remember him?) yet, but we're gonna keep looking. Meanwhile we'll execute Saddam and prove to the world that violence is not the answer.

Sorry for the sarcasm... Sometimes I can't contain it.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: The newest issue of Rolling Stone (thanks Ron) and some wild articles I was given about the "Moral Majority." Glad their "morals" led them to put tax cuts as their number one priority: never mind starving children, AIDS, cancer, sweat shops, the decline of Christianity, war, etc.

Currently Listening To: No Direction Home, the soundtrack to the new Bob Dylan documentary. It's great, especially when the whole crowd is booing him for going electric and he responds by playing Like a Rolling Stone as loud as he can. Beautiful.

Volunteerism

Inspired by Putnam's book Bowling Alone, along with personal convictions to do something more than gripe about things I dislike in the world, I have become a joiner. Last Friday I joined the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center, and will be volunteering on Friday mornings by running the center. I'm very excited about this opportunity to help bring peace and justice in a world where both are hard to come by. I put a link to the WPJC for anybody interested.

Peace,
Matt

Teenage Faith Seeking Understanding

Jesus is popular with most people, be they Christian, Hindu, Agnostic or any other title a person may take on. He preached a loving way of life and offerred himself for the sake of others. When teens show up in my ministry, they rarely seem to have a problem with him. They may or may not be "religious," but Jesus is alright with them. The problem comes when I challenge them to seek answers. It doesn't feel like many people want to seek anything beyond their remote control these days.

Last night was the first night of our new ministry format. It went well. The hard thing for me is to see so many teenagers who just aren't interested in expanding their faith, in seeking to have a fuller understanding of who Christ is and what he means to their lives. They can show up and sit through two hours of our ministry, but that's it. The mega-church people call those people who show up at a service "seekers," but I don't really feel like many people are actually seeking. To seek means to search continually until you find answers. I wish everybody would become a seeker.

I gave our students daily readings, which equal about 5-10 minutes of reading a night, including another 5-10 minutes for prayer and journaling questions and thoughts. Some students jumped right on it. Some took the booklets but didn't seem too interested. Some didn't even touch them. I know I'm a dreamer, but I do think it would be amazing to see people of any age take the opportunity to learn more about the transcendent God who created the universe and loves humankind with all that he is. I wish teens would have faith that seeks understanding.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Listening To: Neil Young's new album, Prarie Wind, which hasn't been released yet but is available for listening on NPR.

Currently Reading: After Our Likeness: The Church As the Image of the Trinity by Miroslav Volf. Brilliant, full of depth, as usual.

Ah Crap!

Well, I changed the look of this site not realizing that I would lose all my links! I'm an idiot. I think I will add them slowly, so keep posted for exciting new links!

Is that good advertising or what?

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: The Courage to Be by Paul Tillich. I found an original copy at the used book store and am of course loving it. Tillich was a very brilliant theologian who I believe is too often overlooked these days.

Currently Listening To: An interview with John Dominic Crossan on NPR from 2004.

Storytellers

A few days ago I sat down with my friend Ron and watched Bruce Springsteen's VH1 Storytellers on DVD. To be honest, I've never been a fan of his. His later stuff always sounds pretty good, but Born in the USA just sounds like some guy yelling. Anyway, listening to him explain Devils & Dust just got to me.

He pointed out themes that were hidden in the lyrics rather than blatant. He explained the guitar parts and why the rhythm and tempo went a certain way to encourage a certain mood and the continuing themes of the song. I don't think I have typically given that much credit to songwriters.

As a storyteller myself, it made me wonder about how I could be telling the story better. I know that all the talk about story may be a bit cliched for some in the pomo camp, but there is some serious truth to it. We are continually retelling a story and it requires us to put a lot of thought into how we tell it. I listened to a 2 hour CD of Johnny Baker talking about how he tells the story through media and experiences beyond what 99.9% percent of churches would ever dream of, and it was brilliant. We have a calling to be good storytellers, and to put at least as much thought into how we tell God's story as Bruce puts into one song.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: True at First Light : A Fictional Memoir by Ernest Hemingway. Also, I recently read Jesus : A Revolutionary Biography by John Dominic Crossan. He is part of the Jesus Seminar, and a bit wild for the average Christian, but there were some amazing gems and thought provoking statements made amidst many things that I simply cannot accept. Also reading the newest issue of Mother Jones magazine. I'm still a nerd.

Principalities & Powers

Throughout his letters, and especially in Ephesians and Colossians, the apostle Paul mentions "principalities" and "powers." Newbigin did a great job looking into this and helping point out what the apostle may be referring to when he writes this sort of thing.

The word Paul uses for powers is stoicheia, which is literally "elementary spirits," or "ruling spirits of the universe" (p. 203). When Newbigin discusses this, he uses the example of kingship. The king may die and another king arise, but the kingship remains. The power is the kingship more than any individual king. So the battle is not simply with those who wield power, but the power that is above and beyond the person who has it. It is a spiritual battle.

Paul points out in Colossians 2:15 that these spirits, or powers, have been disarmed by Christ's work, though not destroyed. The truth to powers is that there has to be systems and controls in our world to prevent anarchy. So Christ has disarmed them and shown that he is above all powers, but he has not destroyed them because they are necessary. The role of the church, then, is to judge between good and bad powers.

Last weekend I watched The Corporation, a documentary about modern day corporations that are literally buying everything imaginable and taking complete control of human life. The wild thing was to realize that most people in these despicable corporations were "good people." They want to help the environment. They hate sweat shops. The celebrate life and equality. Yet their corporations turn out to be the poster-children for evil. How is this? I believe it has to do with principalities and powers. Furthermore, I believe that the church must have a response to these unmasked, disarmed powers if it is to be the Church of the risen Christ. Our response is a violent reaction to those spiritual powers beyond the men and women running corupt corporations and governments, requiring the full armor of Christ as we engage the powers and call them to live into their original, God-given calling.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Genesis, a commentary by Walter Brueggemann. It is amazing!

Red Robin = Good Taste

I just enjoyed a yummy Banzai Burger at Red Robin and it was good... As was the company of Mr. Ron Pai, who will be discussing worship at our youth ministry fall retreat. Way to go Ron! And way to go Red Robin!

(I really have nothing profound to share beyond that today).

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: The Origin of Satan (Vintage) by Elain Pagels. I don't think I really like it like I thought I would. I don't agree with her view of scripture, history, etc. Still, it is interesting.

The Blind Boys of Alabama

Last ThursdayI spent the day climbing Church Mountain, a 6,900 foot peak that was once the home of an amazing forest service lookout. It was beautiful, though I was a bit freaked out hiking through the massive meadow near the hike's end. Not that meadows scare me, but I was slightly frightened being the first person through that day and seeing massive amounts of bear poop all around me. Honestly, I just don't want to die.

But Thursday night we went to Seattle and heard the Blind Boys of Alabama play. It was great music and a great show. But the coolest thing was how these guys were able to just share their joy in Christ, talk about the Holy Spirit, and have everybody in the crowd think they are great! How cool is that?

Anyway, after that I spent a few days in Whistler mountain biking. I am now finally back, and hopefully ready to handle some more work. I think I really needed to get away from all of this for a while. I just hope it was long enough!

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey by Sam Keith, Richard Proenneke. It's awesome. I might just move away one of these days and not return...

The Logic of Mission

Lesslie Newbigin's The Gospel in a Pluralist Society is brilliant and a great read, but would be worth reading all 200+ pages just for his chapter on The Logic of Mission. Here's two amazing quotes from that chapter, which definitely deal with what this blog is mainly about and what the church should be like:

It is impossible to stress too strongly that the beginning of mission is not an action of ours, but the presence of a new reality, the presence of the Spirit of God in power... What really needs to be said is that where the Church is faithful to its Lord, there the powers of the kingdom are present and people begin to ask the question to which the gospel is the answer. And that, I suppose, is why the letters of St. Paul contain so many exhortations to faithfulness but no exhortations to be active in mission (page 119).

It will be clear from what I have said about Paul's eschatological vision of salvation that I am not placing at the center of the argument the question of salvation or perdition of the individual. Clearly that is part of what is involved, but my contention is that the biblical picture is distorted if this is put in the center... At the heart of mission is simply the desire to be with [Jesus] and to give him the service of our lives. At the heart of mission is thanksgiving and praise (page 127).

What Newbigin is implying here is fascinating and so important for the Church to hear! Our goal is to be transformed, and our transformation will cause others to ask questions! He points out that Jesus, and later the disciples, would show signs of the Kingdom of God, and it was because of these signs that people would ask questions. That is where the message of the Gospel would come in. There is still a message, but it is different. It's easy to threaten people with hell so they "accept Jesus into their hearts," but the Gospel challenge is for us to live differently, to live in such a way that our lives and actions are appealing to others.

If we are living lives of "thanksgiving and praise," the only possible result is holiness, a state of being in which the Church is set-apart and living in a way that demands a reaction, be it acceptance or rejection. We put good church services and altar calls at the center because we are afraid of the other option, which is living into the reality of the Kingdom and being transformed and renewed in the process. Yet that is the Way. We must begin living correctly, developing an incarnational orthopraxy, if we are to be the Church that Christ has called us to be.

That's just a small portion of what I would like to say about this chapter, but I have to go to work now. Maybe I'll explore these thoughts a bit more if I have the time/desire (or if anybody is even interested).

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Just read two articles from Leadership Journal on their website. One is a very short one by Brian McLaren which is okay, and the other is an interview with Dallas Willard and Dieter Zander about spiritual formation, which is a good read. Also, I'm reading a transcribed lecture by James Fowler on adolesence, personhood and faith. And I am waiting very impatiently for my Brueggeman text on Genesis to arrive from Amazon! Yes, I am a nerd.

Youth Ministry Changes

Ask and you shall receive! These are some of the things we will be doing to our youth ministry this year. We have been meeting twice per week, with nights that generally consisted of worship, a message and small groups. Sunday mornings were hang-out, lame game, group discussion, message. This might be better:

1. We will meet only on Sunday nights.
2. Though the nights will hopefully be fun, the draw is the Gospel, not program.
3. There will still be funny videos, skits, a game, etc.
4. We are going to go through the entire Biblical story this year. That doesn't mean every verse, nor every book of the Bible, but the story from creation to eschaton.
5. Every week we will look at a specific story from the larger story. After discussing it as a group (if there is a message, it will be short and interactive), every student and leader will be invited to write out how/why they will live their life differently and have the opportunity to share with the larger group.
6. The back of the piece of paper on which they write will have the weekly reading.
7. Every week we will discuss any questions/insights students had from the past week's reading.
8. Every week we will share how we did living out the challenge we took on the week before.
9. There will also be weekly small group discussion time.
10. Yes, we will have (musical) worship.
11. Monthly service projects are a must.
12. Yes, retreats and mission trips are in there as well.
13. Leaders will be challenged to spend time every week with one or two students.

There's a few other tidbits like different spiritual practices, and Effie and I will be hosting a coed seniors small group in our house, but that's most of it. I'm excited about this... It means that if students don't participate, our nights suck. That's scary, but on the other hand, if our night is based around program, we judge the night incorrectly. I'd rather be about impacting kids than producing a cool night. So there you go.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: How Can the Bible Be Authoratative, an amazing lecture by N.T. Wright that I read a year ago but wanted to be refreshed on. I just ordered Brueggemann's text on Genesis, which I am excited to read and comment on soon! The truth, though, is that my reading is going to be slowing down for a while, since most of my spare time seems to be going into home repair! Maybe I'll learn how to attach pictures and put some up to show how busy I've been. Okay, bye for now!

Palestinian Liberation

I would highly suggest people checking out the links on this site to either Google news or Ten by Ten to check out what is currently happening in Palestine right now. This is a great start for Palestinian freedom. We should be disgusted that our nation continues to take the side of Israel, one of the most evil nations in the world today. I know that is a bold statement, and that all of the Christians who are urgently seeking to force Jesus to come back as soon as possible want to support them no matter what, but the truth is that the people of Palestine have been abused and systematically robbed for too long. Today is an encouraging day, though we know that there is still much to be done before we can call anything a success.

I would highly recommend Justice and Only Justice: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation by Naim Stifan Ateek if you are interested in learning the history, theology, or possible solutions to this very complicated crisis.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: The newest issue of Sojourners, which is actually all about the Palestine/Israel conflict.

Random Life Tidbits

Here's what is happening in my life right now:

1. We officially bought a house and are all moved in. That is to say, all of our stuff is inside of its walls. I am now a resident of Ferndale, WA (or Ferntucky as my students say). We are mostly moved into the master bedroom, but everything else has to wait as we paint, rip out the carpet (which smells like dog), and put in Pergo flooring. And that's just the start! I rode my bike to work today, only to discover that Ferndale is a lot further from Bellingham than I thought!

2. I am getting ready for September 18th, which is the first day of our massive shift in the way we do youth ministry. It is frightening because it means putting everything that I believe about ministry out there and seeing if it "works." I really can't imagine going back once we start, so if this isn't successful in the eyes of my superiors, I really don't know what I would do.

3. There is an idea that was floating around in my head for months that I have now verbally shared with some friends concerning starting a business where all the profit goes to charity. At least, that's all I want to share about it right now. It's scary to talk about because it's something I really dream of doing but am not confident about.

4. I have fallen in love with some new CD's: everything by Wilco (my little brother burned all of their CD's for me) and The Killers album Hot Fuss.

That's my life right now.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church by Kenda Creasy Dean.

My Reality

In all honesty, I would have to say that the Willow Creek Leadership Summit was not nearly as bad as I expected. It seems that low expectations helped make it easier to handle! The truth, though, is that I came out of it more confused than ever. Here' my reality:

I love the church, but hate "going to church."

I want to serve others, yet it's people who give me ulcers and leave me feeling depressed and empty.

I want to do ministry, but feel like working at a church is only meetings and paperwork.

I care about the poor and hurting, but am afraid to follow my dreams of helping them.

I love my community, but am afraid to reach out to them and discover they don't feel the same way.

I absolutely love the students in my ministry, yet feel no connection with the church I work at.

I want to serve Christ in the way I feel led to do so, but am afraid of the way I would be looked at because of it.

I am tired, depressed, frustrated and angry. I am sick of the American church and the crap it calls faith. I'm also excited, energized and ready to kick @$$ in the name of Jesus!

That's my current reality.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is (Penguin Classics) by Friedrich Nietzsche.

Willow Creek Leadership Conference

Yes, this Thursday through Saturday I will be going to the Willow Creek Leadership Conference being hosted at Cornwall Church. I am trying to have a good attitude, but I also know that I have been to five before this one and have yet to be impressed. There have been good speakers, don't get me wrong, but I think this conference has definitely pushed the idea of leadership too far. This is especially true when I think about how much Christian spirituality has been pushed-out of pastoral ministry. Is our job to cast vision or point to the work of the Spirit? Hybels needs to read some Merton and Eugene Peterson books...

I'll give a full update when I return, with lots of ministry news as a bonus.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church by Kenda Creasy Dean. I've only read the first chapter, but it's already blowing my mind and making me shout hallelujahs out of my office!

Absolute Certainty

I spent last week at the Creation music festival, which I was surprised to discover I actually enjoyed. That was partly because I spent most of my time with students, but still, it was great.

There was one speaker who spent some time talking about creation. He spent some amount of time ripping into evolution, Darwin and the Big Bang, which of course are all lumped together when most Christians discuss any of these topics. He went on to other things from there, but I got to thinking about absolute certainty and the modern Christian need to "prove" the existence of God. Here are the problems I see in that:

1. God asks us to have faith. It doesn't require faith for me to believe 1 + 1 = 2. It does require faith for me to believe in an all-powerful God. God seems okay with that, so why aren't we? Frederich Schleiermacher tried to "prove" the existence of God using the modernistic rationalism of his day. Men like Lee Strobel and Charles Colson attempt to do the same thing today with science and history. With either argument, it's like we're trying to prove to people that they either have to believe in Jesus, or they are stupid. Hmm... That doesn't seem like the way Jesus did it.

2. Has anybody ever heard of Galileo? The church went nuts because what he said didn't line-up with the Bible. So there were threats, murders, etc, until finally the church conceded, accepted the obvious, and moved on. Christianity didn't die! So why be afraid? I think there are times when we have to reread our Bibles and be ready for changes to occur. If our foundation is a literal seven day creation, we are in trouble. But if your foundation is Christ, then you are fine. Once again I say that we put more faith in the Bible than in Jesus, and so we fight, threaten, and embrace ignorance in the face of challenges to the Bible.

Was Darwin right? I don't know. But we have to be ready for it. Tony Jones once asked what we would do if they proved homosexuality was genetic. These are the kinds of questions we have to be ready for and have better answers to than either dismissing science or quitting the faith. We are logical creatures who have been given divine revelation. We must bring the two together. Thank-you Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, Tony Jones and Rob Bell.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: The Gospel in a Pluralist Society by Lesslie Newbigen. It also inspired me to start writing this entry.

Christian Music

Though I hate the title "Christian Music," I'm thinking it has gotten a bad rap in recent years. Tomorrow morning I leave to spend five days at Creation West, Washington's biggest Christian music festival. Honestly, I'm not super-excited about the music, but that's partly because I just don't like concerts.

Any musician who is trying to use his or her gifts in order to praise God is alright with me. Yes, there is the whole issue with people getting famous and making bank off of worshipping God, which is frustrating to say the least, but the overall thrust of the scene is still good. I think many in the postmodern scene have ripped on this scene because it is corny and therefore an easy target...okay, I've often been one of them...but the truth is that we should be singing along with it and enjoying it, just as the ancient Israelites chose to sing David's songs rather than some trendy Jebusite tune that could be twisted to be about God. Let's not let the negatives of Christian music take away something great.

Just some thoughts from a guy who doesn't typically listen to Christian music but is thinking about starting.

Peace, and see you in a week,
Matt

Currently Reading: The Sacrament of the Present Moment by Jean-Pierre De Caussade.

What's New

Just an FYI for those (if any) who check-out this blog: there are two new links, both of which are incredible. Check them out, but be ready to spend a TON of time looking through all the amazing information they contain!

Peace,
Matt

Just Read: Velvet Elvis, the first book ever written by Rob Bell. It was great, though much of it was stuff he's used in sermons through the years. He does write some thoughts on the Bible which, though they aren't new, are great to hear from him. He is a non-foundationalist, meaning he doesn't believe somebody can just "do what the Bible says," but he is somebody who believes the Bible is vital for anybody seeking to follow Christ. Anyway, it's a good, quick read.

Food For Thought

I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive goodwill will proclaim the rule of the land. "And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid." I still believe that we shall overcome.

-From Martin Luther King Jr.'s Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech.

A New House

It is official...Effie and I are buying a house! Technically we are doing the inspection this morning, and if everything turns out okay, we are buying the house. Close enough. I am very excited, though it means we will be moving to the thriving metropolis of Ferndale. It's not that bad of a drive, though, and it gives me an excuse to buy a motorcycle. Can't complain there.

Other than the house, life is pretty much consisting of me working my butt-off right now. We are taking a group of students to Creation next week, and I have to have a budget in this week for our Fall retreat, which isn't until the end of October! It'll be good though--I think we are doing a 90's theme, and spending the weekend focusing on worship (especially if I can convince Mr. Ron Pie to come). Life is busy - - so much for focusing on Sabbath this summer.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Teresa of Avila : The Progress of a Soul by Cathleen Medwick. I bought it at a thrift store for $2. It's a good start if you want to understand this strange mystic, but I would add that it isn't exactly the most thrilling book, even though it involves a woman who is visited by God and Satan on a very regular basis.

Faith After Christendom

I feel like I've been a bit more candid on this blog lately, causing me to dig into the Bible a bit, as well as my unorthodox theology and political views. I guess the gloves are off, but I think I'll try to be a bit more discreet today... That being said, let's talk about Christendom.

A few months ago I had a long conversation with a friend who tried to persuade me that Christendom, and particularly Constantine and the U.S., was and is the greatest thing that has ever happened since Jesus, and because it was/has been allowed to last so long, it is obviously God's will that it happened.

I don't want to get into the whole issue of what is and isn't God's will (maybe later), but I do want to talk about Christendom. I believe that the most important issue at the heart of this is the differentiation of the old and the new covenant. Most people who talk to me about Christendom speak in Old Testament terms, such as "It is our divine duty to uphold God's moral standards in this nation," or "It is an obligation on our Christian nation to punish those who would violently attack God's people," etc. I think we in the U.S. are lucky that we really aren't God's chosen nation. Israel was God's original chosen people, and he judged them very severely when they disobeyed Him. As the richest country in a world where millions are starving, we should thank our lucky stars, if not our God, that we are not a chosen nation.

The truth is, God is not the God of any particular nation even if every person in that nation claims otherwise. YHWH is not a tribal deity, but the creator and sustainer of all living things. When a nation claims any sort of right to God, creating a Christendom of sorts, it sets itself up as judge. The problem is, Israel committed war as an act of worship in which God directed the people specifically how to act. No nation since has recieved a direct order from God concerning who and how to attack another nation. Instead, we have recieved Christ's direct order to love, judge not, and turn the other cheek. Moreover, he stated that we should not be like the kings of this earth who lord their power over others, but must instead become everybody else's servants. That's much different than the Christendom model.

I guess what I am trying to say is that every nation that has claimed to be "under God" has stood directly against everything God really stand for. When a person commits a terrible act and then thanks God for His help, this isn't a righteous act but a self-righteous act.

A God-fearing nation in the post-resurrection world would choose to cancel the debts of poor nations, donate medicine to those who need it, and have only the neccessary army to defend those who cannot defend themselves.

Christendom was and is a joke. It is like the baptism of a turd. Think about that...

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton.

Guilt and Carelessness in the Face of a Too-Small God

This morning I was meditating on Psalm 32, particularly verse 5, which says:

Suddenly the pressure was gone-
my guilt dissolved,
my sin disappeared.

I think God made this passage stick-out to me because I have a hard time letting go of things I have done. When it comes to my own life, I choose guilt over grace.

When I was done praying, I got to thinking about God's grace and how our reactions to it effect our lives. For those of us who let guilt run our lives, we are too quick to forgive and forget, believing we are the chief sinners and nobody has messed-up as bad as us, the unforgivable. We believe in God's grace for everybody except ourselves. At the same time there are those who accept grace too quickly, relying on grace at the expense of any sort of life change in which sin is eradicated from their lives. These people are often too slow to forgive, never really realizing how huge their own forgiveness really is in the scheme of things.

I believe both of these extremes come from a belief in a too-small god. We believe in a god who is either too weak to forgive every sin, or is too meek to be taken seriously. God is the definition of love and of strength. He can be kind and angry. We have to be able to hold both sides together in our hearts and minds if we are to begin coming to terms with our huge God. He is our gracious, intimidating, mysterious LORD. That is why YHWH is so awe-inspiring.

I for one no longer wish to worship a small god.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Postmodern Youth Ministy by Tony Jones and The Radical Bible, which was adapted by John Eagleson and Philip Scharper.

Lectio Divina

Reading Tony Jones' book Read, Think, Pray, Live was a wonderful reminder to me of how important it is to develop some sort of prayer/meditative rule for my life. It is a book aimed more at students than adults, but it was still very helpful for me. My job typically leaves me feeling stressed to the point of feeling an ulcer in my stomache that makes it feel as if an alien is about to pop out of me! When I practice lectio, which I have begun to do this past week, things feel better.

I don't want to promote this as some sort of "fix all your problems" solution to life, but it is amazing. I need a reminder to chill, rest in God's presence, and grow in faith in a way that is beyond simply learning more stuff about God. Dwelling in His presence is much more profound than knowing the "facts" about what being in His presence is like. One grows our brain, but the other transforms us. This week I am starting a lectionary to go with my lectio times, so we'll see how that goes...

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders.

Silence

I believe it was Rage Against the Machine who once said, "Silence. Something about silence makes me sick. Because silence can be violence..." Why am I so quick to praise silence, yet so slow to practice it?

The desert fathers escaped the hustle and bustle of city life to seek refuge and silence in the wilderness (check out Nouwen's The Way of the Heart or Merton's Wisdom of the Desert for more), seeking out and hearing God in an unprecedented way. Benedict and Ignatius were the same way, and the people around them, as well as the world both past and current, gained immeasurable wisdom and peace through their long endurance seeking the Lord. I know this was greatly beneficial to them and those they ministered to. I know this would do wonders in my relationship with God. Yet I rarely do it.

The truth is painful. I make myself too busy to seek God in quiet. I'm often too lazy to make the effort to find a quiet place where I can listen to God without distraction. Most of all I'm fearful of what may actually happen. I'm afraid of having to change or be confronted with realities I do not want to deal with, though in my heart it means transformation. I want silence, I want to be transformed, yet I don't act like it.

What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. -Paul

Seeking Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Read, Think, Pray, Live by Tony Jones.

Globalization...not just for those darn globe trotters anymore

With the G8 Summit going on these days, globalization is in the air. Of course, that air is so polluted I can barely breathe, thanks especially to our presidents brilliant choice to not sign the Kyoto Protocol.

Last night I watched The Yes Men. It is a documentary following a group of guys who speak at conferences posing as WTO spokespeople. They say terrible, outrageous things about slavery, sweat shops, etc., but nobody ever bats an eye. People are saying that our world is getting smaller, but I wonder if that's a good thing...

I've heard terms thrown around like "global community," but that isn't what I see. I see global cliques and outcasts (look at the history of NATO, not to mention the quasi-demonic WTO), with each country representing a middle schooler, only instead of getting picked on for acne or braces, millions starve while thousands do laps in their heated pools. Global community? Try global catastrophe.

It's at a time like this that the Gospel has to come in with something better than pie-in-the-sky faith or health, wealth and prosperity. The Gospel has moving and profound things to say to this situation. Our God is speaking, but we don't like what he is challenging us to do, so we ignore him. What are we going to do with the fact that there are wealthy Christians in a shrinking world in which others are starving to death? Or others are being systematically raped, abused and/or murdered? The neglected are closer than ever...what do we do? Is Bono the only one that is going to do something?

It is definitely time for us to start living intentionally. No more letting life happen to us. I think the Gospel tranforming our lives causes us to happen to the world. If we let it, that is...

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Queen Bees and Wannabes. I can't remember the author's name, but it's the book that the movie Mean Girls was based off of.

Happy 4th of July

So it's that day again. I'm glad we have freedom. And it was giving indeed for all those soldiers to go to their own deaths to retain that freedom.

My problem: every year I sit in church on 4th of July weekend and hear thunderous applause for America. I hear "God bless America" ringing throughout the building. I see men with tears in their eyes. I see all of those who served in the armed forces honored and applauded.

When was the last time you saw people get that excited about what God has done and continues doing? It's ironic that the most excited I ever see people in a church building is during the 4th of July. What about the church martyrs who continue being murdered for the sake of the gospel throughout the world? What about the men and women in the church who are daily taking up their crosses and making incredible sacrifices for the gospel? When do we stand up with tears in our eyes and applaud these people?

Maybe some tougher questions...Where do we get off saying things like "God bless America"? That statement is so nauseating I don't even know where to begin. Let's read the Sermon on the Mount together as a nation and then try saying that phrase.

"God blesses those who work for peace" 5:9
"Let your good deeds shine for all to see" 5:16
"If you are angry with someone, you are subject to judgment" 5:22
"Be reconciled" 5:24
"Come to terms quickly with your enemy" 5:25
"Anyone who even looks at a wome with lust in his eye has already committed adultery" 5:28
"Don't resist an evil person! If you are slapped on the right cheek, turn the other, too" 5:39
"Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! If you love only those who love you, what good is that? But you are to be perfect" 5:44-48
"Don't store up treasures on earth...store your treasures in heaven" 6:19-20
"You cannot serve both God and money" 6:24
"Stop judging others and you will not be judged" 7:1
"Why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own" 7:3
"Do for others what you would like them to do for you" 7:12
"A healthy tree produces good fruit, and an unhealthy tree produces bad fruit" 7:17
"Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as 'Lord,' but they still won't tner the Kingdom of Heaven" 7:21

Happy 4th!

Peace (and I mean that),
Matt

Currently Reading: The newest issue of Mother Jones magazine, as well as Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spake Zarathustra and Doug Fields' Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry.

Retraction

I published a post that was actually satire from Larknews, but I was duped into thinking it was real (oops). I would have kept it up anyway becasue the link was funny, but the posting was bad and messing up my entire blog! I've said it before and I'll say it again, when it comes to these computer gizmos, I just ain't cool.

Peace,
Matt

Oh by the way, today is my fifth wedding anniversary, so Effie and I are going to stay at the Chrysalis and even get some professional massages. Not bad, eh?

Kierkegaard's 'Dialectical Theology' and the Sacrament of the Present Moment

Yes, it is an intimidating title for today's weblog, but don't panic, it won't be that deep of an entry today...

I was continuing slowly through Gadamer's Truth and Method on the plane ride back from Florida, and was very intrigued by the concept of "contemporaneity," which he borrows from Kierdegaard. Gadamer claims that contemporaneity "constitutes the essence of being present." He speaks of this specifically concerning art, which "in its presentation...achieves full presence, however remote its origin may be." Art is always contemporary in this sense.

This was originally a theological concept stemming from Kierkergaard's belief that two non-concurrent moments can come together, specifically "one's own present and the redeeming act of Christ" so that "the latter is experienced and taken seriously as present." Gadamer expands on this, claiming that in the case of art we participate in the art, as the art participates in our lives.

Flipping Gadamer back around to shed light on our theological inquiries and specifically Kierkergaard's dialectical theology, the present moment becomes a time that is ripe with importance. I would add that this is especially the case because the present is not only full of Christ's redeeming act, but also Christ's future redemptive action in the eschaton. These are future and past events, but are also events that are causing different reactions in the present, and as such are experienced even now. Christ is always contemporary in this sense, as he comes near to save us (the incarnation and the cross) and as he pulls the present into its eschatological fulfillment.

All of this only supports what I spent last weekend studying, which is the sacrament of the present moment. This is what we are supposed to see a glimpse of in Sabbath time, but it goes beyond that. Every moment is ripe with the workings of God. Every second has been redeemed by Christ's action, is being sanctified through the power of the Spirit, and is being pulled into a future which will appear only when the Father wills it. Our time is holy because our God is present.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: The newest issue of Mother Jones magazine. It has some tough articles this month on overwork in America as well as the continuing physical and sexual abuse of women in America.

I'm Back

Wow, what a whirlwind tour of life! I had a leader retreat that went well, directly followed by a long, sleepless, overnight flight to Florida where I spoke at a retreat. The retreat was amazing and by the end every single student decided they wanted to take up the challenge of living the life of a disciple!

After the retreat I nearly missed my plane (I had to sprint through the Tampa airport), and then the plane at Dallas had engine problems, causing a 2 and a half hour delay. I got to Seattle late, causing me to be late to my last Mars Hill class, which was on Sabbath of all things! Afte the Sabbath class I went to a family reunion, and after that my wife's family spent the night to go hiking the next day after church! Busy!

Here's the frustrating thing: I go to this retreat where I feel loved and appreciated, then come back to do "Sunday School" with my group who spend the morning acting rude, bored and unimpressed. It was a frustrating end to a great week. I have no idea how to minister to teens. Most days I don't want to, but the problem is those days that go amazingly well. How do you rectify these two things? It is insane.

Anyway, I'm glad to be home, and to be back on the blogathon. I'll try to throw up some theoretical, theological, or hermeneutical thoughts very soon. Until then...

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: The newest issue of Soujourners, which has a short but good article on the brilliant author Graham Greene.

One Last Entry

I couldn't help doing this really quickly after Ron and Paul both did. I didn't know I had completely sold my soul to postmodernism, or that I had so much charismatic in me. Neato.

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern.
You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this.

Emergent/Postmodern - 100%

Neo orthodox - 71%

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan - 68%

Charismatic/Pentecostal - 61%

Roman Catholic - 54%

Modern Liberal - 43%

Classical Liberal - 43%

Fundamentalist - 18%

Reformed Evangelical - 14%

No Blogging For A Bit

First thing I have to say: Pink Floyd is getting back together for ONE SHOW! And when I say "getting back together," I mean it. Roger Waters is going to share the stage with David Gilmour and the band! The only one missing will be Syd Barrett, who is interesting, but probably better left alone. Unfortunately it is in England for the Live Aid show, but I'm still checking my piggy bank.

The other bit of news I have, which is even more exciting than the Michael Jackson case, is that I will not be blogging for the next 10-12 days (I can see the tabloid photographers getting excited already). I am going on a retreat with my high school leaders this Friday/Saturday, then leaving Saturday at midnight for Florida where I will speak at a retreat for a week, then returning Friday afternoon just in time for a two day class on Sabbath at Mars Hill. To top it all off, I have to welcome our new 9th graders on Sunday morning when I finally return to my home!

Short version: it's gettin' kinda hectic. Prayers would be nice.

Peace,
Matt

Hearing God's Voice

I'm aware that I didn't speak my whole mind when I recently wrote my Bibliolotry passage. I wrote that our goal is to know God. With that, I would like to say that we must seek to hear the voice of the living, active God. And scripture is a great place to start.

Honestly, I really do believe that God speaks to us through scripture. The problem I see is that we have often turned the Bible into some sort of schoolbook in which we seek concrete, scientific answers in poetry, perfect historical accuracy in stories, or symmetric storytelling between two different authors. We want the Bible to be a fact-book, or science book, or any other sort of book to prove that it is the "good book." The sad thing is that we have turned it into these different kinds of books and lost the voice that is within.

I don't know if this will make sense, but I'll try to explain; I don't know if I think the Bible is really "God's word," but I really do believe that God speaks to us through the Bible. What I mean is, there definitely seems to be a multitude of signs of human authorship. That was once a stumbling block for me. Now I see it as an amazing part of this story, that God's relationship with us has involved centuries or authors, nations, locations, all culminating in an amazing assortment of texts which compile into the beautiful story which is the Bible. And it is in truly listening to this text, rather than just "reading" it, that we hear God's voice.

This is an act of presence. It is a matter of shutting-up so we can hear our God. The same is true in our prayer lives. Can we stop and listen to God, since he has the first word?

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: An American Childhood by Annie Dillard.

Reactionary Faith

I think that everything having to do with incarnational orthopraxy is reactionary. By that, I mean that our actions, our lives, our prayers, our being itself is meant to a reaction to the creating, saving work of our God.

I first starting thinking this when professor Grenz talked to my class about Sabbath and got me thinking that Sabbath time gets us prepared for the rest of the week, and the week is a reaction to Sabbath. In a similar fashion, Eugene Peterson argues that all prayer is secondary, because God speaks first. As such, our prayers are our verbal reaction, or response, to the vocal God.

I would imagine that this could profoundly change the way we live out our faith, though I'm still not entirely sure how... My thought is that this can better balance the often opposing views of works versus sovereignty, in which we typically think that we need to do all the work for God, or that we don't have to do anything because God is in control. Instead, we can realize that we are joining in with God, reacting to the work he has done and continues to do. It is in reaction to grace that we then join in the Kingdom-building project.

Does this make sense? Is it as profound as I feel like it could be? Any thoughts on the implications? If not, I'll try to think up some more on my own this week.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Nothing new. I am stressed to the gills right now!

Cool Interview

Here's a cool interview with Henri Nouwen and Richard Foster:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/bcl/areas/spiritualgrowth/articles/le-7l1-7l112a.html

Enjoy!

A Community in the Spirit

For the past two weeks I have been seeing what happens when a youth ministry is based on communal faith. I am considering it an "experiment" and so far the results are mind-blowing.

Before the night began a freshman girl decided she wanted to start living this lifestyle and I was able to "say the prayer" with her (I'll write about that whole "say the prayer" thing another day). She wanted to be a Christ-follower after being lovingly welcomed into our group and hearing multiple student testimonies last week. Another student wanted prayer for an extremely dangerous surgery he is having, so 30 high school students gathered around him and prayed over him for nearly thirty minutes! That's not normal!

We aren't growing huge numerically. It is very slow, as is the spiritual growth. But both seem to be consistent. What more could I ask for?

Peace,
Matt

Bibliolotry

A few years ago a friend made a joke to me about the Holy Trinity that I don't remember, except that the punch line had something to do with "the Father, the Son and the Holy Bible." Is it just me, or have we elevated the Bible to the status of God, or even above God? I believe the Bible has become an idol in many peoples lives, specifically in the lives of most "good ol' fashioned, Bible believin' American Protestants."

I have heard sermons, with the emphasis on why the audience members need to come to Christ, that have went off-track for 20 minutes on why the Bible is infallible, inerent, 100% true, the written word of God, etc... "Believe the Bible and be saved" we preach! "Let God's word speak into your life!" we add, using the clever ploy of adding that Jesus is the Word, so we should study God's word and make it the center of our lives.

So am I saying we should ignore the Bible? No, no, no. But we have put the Bible so high up that it trumps the Holy Spirit. We don't need to follow the guidance of the Spirit when we have the guidance of the Bible. The Spirit has been long forgotten as a less understandable, strange part of God that is too complicated for us, the "people of the Book."

Feel free to study your Bible, but realize that our main goal is to know God more. That's what matters! The Bible is a multitude of voices talking about God, but listening for God in prayer and meditation, that is getting the message directly from God himself. That sounds right to me. Your thoughts?

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: How to Stay Christian in High School by Steve Gerali.

New Links...

Just an FYI because I am excited about my new links. My friend Paul's blog is super-cool and linked onto this blog now, as well as the Norton and Triumph webpages. I am really wanting to buy an old version of one of these bikes, but my wife and I are also saving to buy a house, so I don't know if it will ever happen or not.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis.

Got the guts?

I just started Eugene Peterson's book Working the Angles. His Contemplative Pastor changed my life, and I think this will be more of the same.

In this book, Peterson uses his usual blunt style to describe the modern-day pastor. This person could be taught in four easy classes, says Peterson, which would be Creative Plagiarism, Voice Control for Prayer and Counseling, Efficient Office Management and Image Projection (p.7). He mentions preaching, teaching, and administration as the work pastors are typically known for, but adds that these must be held together with prayer, scripture and spiritual direction (p. 5). Not surprisingly, I agree with Peterson.

The problem: church seems to be about pleasing people. People are not as pleased with a praying pastor as they are with a program pastor. And honestly, I seldomly have the guts to really go against what people want. It is a scary and lonely road. I'm in a career in which I often hear church attenders referred to as customers, and the idea of bringing spirituality into any of it is intimidating.

The solution: the first part of solving this dilemma for me is to be reminded daily that I am not in business, but am doing ministry. This is where incarnational orthopraxy comes into the picture. It is a deliberate choice to follow and live like Christ. It is right-living, both in who I am and how I live into my vocation. Some may not understand, and for them I have to try continually to explain, but also continue on the path I God has laid out.

All I need is the guts. I guess that's why I need to continue "working the angles" as Peterson says it.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: The Peterson book mentioned above, as well as Soul Gardening by Terry Hershey and How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler.

Passion

I got to work this morning and had two messages in the form of questions, one of which answered the second.

The first question was a voicemail from a fellow youth pastor asking my thoughts on how I stay passionate about doing ministry. I guess that's a fair question, and it was partly answered by an e-mail that was sent to me last night by a 15-year-old girl asking what she needs to do to become a follower of Jesus. Needless to say, that got me a bit excited.

So how do I stay passionate? First of all, I've discovered that close relationships with those I am ministering to is essential. Having a massive group of people in front of me is great for my ego, but really does nothing for my passion. Relationships get my passion going. But that's only half my answer.

The other half of my answer is this: I'm not concerned about passion. Feelings and emotions are important for us to be in touch with, but we cannot base our ministries on these because they change constantly. I wouldn't hold a ministry position for more than a week at that rate! When Effie and I went through pre-marital counseling, we were told that there would be times when we would fall in and out of love with one another throughout our marriage. The passion fades in and out, but there is something deeper there holding a marriage together. I think there is something profoundly deeper than passion, or even "calling" that holds us in our jobs. I don't even know what I would call this... vocation maybe, but that doesn't even do it justice. It is Spirit-led, and obviously somewhat incomprehensible for me. That's as close as I can come to explaining it.

Peace,
Matt

Still reading Gadamer's very thorough (aka long) Truth and Method. It is an amazing book. Oh, and I don't think I mentioned I am also slowly reading a book of poems by Alberto Rios called Teodoro Luna's Two Kisses.

Cycling Forward in Sabbath

I suppose I should refer to circling forward as spiraling, but that just doesn't seem to do justice to the idea that pushed its way into my head last night.

Ancient Israel, according to Grenz & Franke's Beyond Foundationalism was "set apart from the surrounding peoples" because they reached an "understanding of time as a linear historical span." In other words, they had a "development of a historical consciousness" (p. 254). Their history became "pregnant with future" to quote Jurgen Moltmann's Theology of Hope. The nations surrounding ancient Israel lived with a cyclical view of time, meaning their concept of time was based on a recurring yearly pattern. This can be seen in the Canaanite rituals in which the god of death (Mot) and the god of fertility (Baal) battle continually, with Baal winning in the winter (with new rains for the crops) and Mot winning in the summer (drought). Grenz and Franke claim Israel surpassed this belief with their linear view of time. I would half agree.

I believe Israel, as well as Christ-followers today, was cycling forward. This is most obvious with the Sabbath. With sabbath time we live in is cyclical as well as linear time. These two dimensions of time are held together in unity within Sabbath living. This is where we gain a "sanctuary in time," as Rabbi Heschel calls it in The Sabbath (p. 29). Sabbath cycles with the continual motion of six days of work, one day of Sabbath. It works God's followers into a pattern in which they find the flow of the Spirit working on a daily and weekly basis.

But Sabbath also is linear, not to mention eschatological. The day of Jubilee is the best example of this. It is the Sabbath event of seven Sabbath years. Every 49 or 50 years (there is still debate over the math) the Day of Shofar (or Jubilee) would occur and equality would occur. For God's followers this was something to be looked forward to with great anticipation, and they counted their cycles as they moved closer to an event in linear time. The two are brought together in this culmination of Sabbath days and years.

Maybe it's not surpising to discover the eschaton itself is Sabbatical. Read Revelation and see the blowing of the trumpet, aka shofar. The Day of Jubilee is literally called the Day of Shofar because on that day the shofar would be blown. So the Day of Jubilee, the Sabbath of Sabbaths, points forward to the eschaton. It is the ultimate example of cycling forward. For the Christian it is the connection point between who we are and who we are becoming. It is an eschatological ontology, a cyclical way of life working in a linear fashion. We are made to cycle forward like the wheels on a car. I believe that this is how God wishes us to live.

I hope this isn't too metaphysical, but I have felt a deep need lately to explore the issue of time, and the books mentioned here really helped me pull some thoughts together about it. Hopefully I can comment some more on it soon; especially if I get any feedback.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel and Sabbath by Wayne Muller.

Supply Side Jesus

If you have never seen this comic strip, you absolutely NEED to read it right now! It is hilarious, but almost too true to be funny at all. All it took was a person from the outside to look in and see the difference between what Jesus taught and what his American followers believe. If you don't really want your faith to effect your life, or if you don't want to be a disciple of Christ who actually lives for him, don't read it. Otherwise, take up this page and read.

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/132/story_13245_1.html

Peace,
Matt

Lazy or Loving? What is a pastor's job?

Last weekend was great. I went hiking, spent time with family, enjoyed a parade, watched a race end, went to a church service and barbequed with friends. I felt challenged and encouraged by different encounters throughout the weekend, and believe I did the same for those around me. So my question is: Is this the role a pastor should play in the community?

Perhaps not surprisingly my answer would be yes. I feel like I loved well this weekend, caring about close friends and family, fellow believers from both my own and other congregations, and also made connections with many people outside of the church community. The way God has been moving in my life in recent years tells me that this is my vocation in this world.

But I am pulled. I know this looks and seems lazy. Not just to others, but to me. Shouldn't I be in my office more? Shouldn't I be planning more official events with specific times allocated for "fellowship," "worship," and "teaching"? This model is so pervasive and I find it hard to resist. The church culture tells me that this is right. Yet the Spirit is telling me something completely different.

I think I am coming to the belief that a pastor who really wants to follow the guidance of the Spirit is going to look lazy. He or she will spend a lot of time having coffee or meals with people, talking about deep or trivial matters, calling or e-mailing friends, neighbors and strangers. It isn't a typical 9-5 job. It is a way of life. It is a matter of being. I believe the role of pastor is to be a good friend. It isn't a matter of work and effort, but ontology. It is the demonstration of incarnational orthopraxy.

Any thoughts?

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Finishing Beyond Foundationalism, and just started Truth and Method by Hans-Georg Gadamer.

Iranian Blogging

This is a pretty cool article. Apparently blogging is a big thing in Iran, and is playing an important role in their politics. Read, and check-out the blog links while you're at it.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?bid=7&pid=2947

Peace,
Matt

The Mainstream...Please make it stop

The next time somebody says the word postmodern to me in church I'm afraid I may turn violent! Something good has become mainstream and now everybody has their opinion on it. People say they don't believe in it, as if they can simply ignore a cultural phenomenon, or others say they are thoroughly postmodern, as if it were a cool-kid-church-club you can join and now are able to swear, smoke and light candles in your ultra-cool trendy megachurch that has grabbed on to postmodernism as a new "growth engine." Are people stupid? Has the church lost its mind? Did it have one to begin with?

My advice (though nobody really reads this) is this: don't try to be postmodern, because you'll only look like a moron. If you want to understand what is going on in the surrounding culture, as well as within the theological community, I urge you to do so. Learn. Study. Make educated decisions. But don't make arrogant presumptions. The modern world is hopefully ending, and this is a good thing in many ways. The church was and continues to be too caught up in Modernism. Let's see if we can find a better route through the maze of postmodernism, engaging the culture without pretending we can turn our backs on it or selling our souls to it.

I am not postmodern. I am a Christ-follower in a post-modern world. Join me.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis.