Isaiah 5:8 and Us

"Woe to you who add house to house
and join field to field
till no space is left
and you live alone in the land."
-Isaiah 5:8

Isn't it fascinating to read this passage in a series of woes having to do with personal sins like drunkeness, lying and bribery? We'd preach the last three any given day, but it's rare to hear a sermon or even a church discussion on Isaiah 5:8 and it's implications for Western Christians.

Sometimes I feel like I'm beating a dead horse, but today I just feel like I need to ask the same questions that I've asked a million times before:

1. How can we continue to bless wealth when scripture continually points out how wealth brings about peoples' (and nations) downfall, while poverty is blessed by the Lord?
2. When will we recognize that God is on the side of the oppressed?
3. When will we recognize who the oppressed really are?
4. If God supports the weak and opposes the strong, what does that mean for us?
5. Does might ever make right?
6. What sort of future does God have in store for us? I mean this in a dual sense, as in, what sort of future does God desire to provide for us, and what sort of a future judgment can we look forward to, considering our actions as a people?

Sorry for the half-rant. I've been reading about Central American revolutions, the church, and American responses and I'm just a bit more frustrated than usual.

Peace,

Matt

New Article by...well, by me of course.

I just added my monthly "column" to the silhouette blog. It's an extension of a post I put on this blog a few days ago concerning mental health and ministry. Check it out. I'd love to get your feedback. It's right here if you are interested.

Peace,
Matt

Leonardo Boff on NPR?! Awesome.

This morning I turned on NPR and heard Leonardo Boff taking on the Pope. What could be cooler than that? I've been pleasantly surprised more than once by Benedict, but am still more than a little suspicious of him and wonder what he might say when he's in Brazil this week. Some of his criticisms of liberation theology are worth listening to, but the options he offers instead seem to be disconnected from the people who are suffering.

Anyways, that's enough from me; listen to this and let me know what you think.

Peace,
Matt

Coupla Links You NEED to See

My friend Justin recently pulled a bunch of randoms, including myself, to start a blog where each of us contributes a monthly article. I published mine a few days ago, and although I wanted to say more, go deeper, and spend some time cleaning up the writing style, I'm pretty excited about what I wrote. Anyways, you can check it out here, and I'd love to get your feedback.

In other news, my good friend Kelly has recently started blogging. He is a genius and you should check out his blog for great photos, cultural critique, travelogues, historical musings, book reviews, or whatever else he throws out there. Also, if you can help him find a job as a high school history teacher next year, I think he'd greatly appreciate it...

Adding one more, since I don't think anybody has read this post yet... Check out this post by Jordan Cooper. It's some excerpts from Eugene Peterson's new book. First of all I didn't even know he had a new book out, and second of all, he is implying some pretty tough but cool food-for-thought for pastors and church-goers. I like it.

Peace,
Matt

Ministry and Mental Health Work

I have done very little thinking on this subject, and even less reading, so I write the following blog with the intent of getting any sort of feedback and support I can.

1 Samuel has a very fascinating story-line that is rarely discussed, at least in the circles I run in/read within. It is the story of Saul. Saul acts as the first king of Israel, which is a tenous position at best. He rules God's chosen people, and God himself chose him for the job. But he also is acting as king of Israel, a job that was reserved solely for God. Yet he begins as a man of both physical and spiritual strength. And everything is going well. Until David shows up. But what really happens at this point? Does Saul turn evil, or is something else going on? There are multiple times where Saul repents, prophecies, seeks out the Lord, prays, etc in this narrative. But he also tries to kill his son-in-law, visits a witch in Endor to speak with the dead, and eventually kills himself. His actions are inconsistent, and point towards some form of mental illness. Which is why I don't think we ever really talk about him in church. Was he a good man or a bad man? I don't think he was either; he was a complicated man. And so he is too difficult to preach or teach about. Yet maybe that makes him a much better subject for study and Bible-wrestling than David, Solomon, etc.

In the few years I have been involved in paid ministry I have dealt with more people with some sort of mental health issue than I ever expected. As a minister with a strong passion for social justice, as well as being the husband of a special-education teacher, I welcome these interactions and am overjoyed that people who have aspberger's, bipolar, schizophrenia, OCD, or just IQ's that are very low, find refuge and acceptance within our church. Amen, and I hope that it only continues.

My problem is how to be a shepherd for somebody who is so other from me. How do I talk to a high school student about cleaning up his life, not fighting or drinking anymore, and getting back on track with Christ when he's also talking about government conspiracies and his bipolar disorder is taking him places that I can't even begin to understand? How do I respond to a mom calling me because she's worried that her son listens to Tool too much, but the truth is that his schizophrenia causes him to be irrational and nearly impossible for me to reason with? Or yesterday when a man comes to me for spiritual guidance but then rants for 75 minutes with no coherence between stories, thoughts, prayer requests or anything else?

Here are some of the questions that arise for me because of these questions:

1. What sort of healing should we look to Christ to provide for somebody like the people described above? Especially when we want to respect them just as they are and as the person God made them to be? Should we pray for mental healing like we would for physical healing?
2. What does spiritual growth look like for somebody with aspberger's? Or, to make it even more day-to-day, what should I expect from a teen with severe ADHD?
3. Does/should any of this make a difference in their walk with God?

Those are the questions rolling around in my head. Answer if you wish. Please don't look down on me or talk down to me on these, as I'm only struggling to figure out how to minister to every person God puts in my path.

Peace,

Matt

[WWFS: What Would Foucault/Freud Say?]

Sherman Alexie Lecture in Bellingham

Two days ago I took some high school seniors to hear Sherman Alexie speak at a local high school. If you don't recognize his name, you might remember a certain movie called Smoke Signals that was based on one of his books. Alexie, if you weren't aware, just realeased a new book called Flight. It turned out to be an amazing, fun evening.

Alexie is not only a great fiction writer, but he is also an accomplished poet and even a stand-up comedian! And he put all of his talent out there for us to enjoy. A local professor interviewed him, he read from his new book, he recited some poetry, and ended the night with a 20 minute monologue that felt like a mixture of a modern-day comedy act and ancient Indian story-telling.

As for Alexie's new book, all I can tell you is that you need to read it! Beyond the references to Kurt Vonnegut and Slaughterhouse Five, there is a strong story about justice and how complicated it is to find in either the past or the present. There is one chapter that absolutely blew my mind: it involves a drunken, dying Indian wandering Tacoma. He gets into it with a guy on the street, continually yelling "I want some respect!" Finally the man asks, "How do I do that?" At first the Indian doesn't know how to reply, but then he says "Tell me a story." And the man does. And it is a heartbreaking, true story. And in his comedically tragic way Alexie shows how the sharing of a story opens up a tough white guy and a broken Indian guy and they can find a way to respect each other. I would like to write more about it, but all I'll say before I end is that this book is hilarious, painful, beautiful and well worth reading if you are at all literate and/or caring.

Peace,
Matt

I Got Robbed

It's true. Yesterday I had one of those classic, "Why the crap am I still doing ministry and does what I do even matter?" moments. Here's the Reader's Digest Condensed version of what happened:

I have local high school students to my house every Wednesday for free lunch. It's a great way for me to meet local teens outside of a church building. They love the food, and I love meeting kids who don't try to put on the religious show for me. Yesterday a student who was there for only the second time ever stole a book off one of my bookshelves. It was Douglas Coupland's Generation X, which I absolutely love, but also only paid $3 for. The loss of the book in itself was no big deal, considering 1/2 of the books I loan out to friends I know I will never get back. What bothered me was the betrayal. It hurt. And it made me angry. And sad.

Last night I sat up in bed thinking. And thinking some more. I thought about stopping my Wednesday lunches. I thought about finding this kid and confronting him in a less-than-kind manner...

Then I thought of that scene in Les Miserables when Jean Val Jean (sorry for spelling errors) is caught with the stolen candlesticks and the priest not only refuses to press charges on the guilty man, but gives him much, much more than he had originally stolen. So I decided that I will carry with me, whenever possible, another Coupland book titled Life After God, so if I ever see this young man again and can give him the rest of his book set. The book, if you haven't read it, ends with a statement that in truth, even the devout atheist narrator needs God.

So that's my plan, unless I hear of something better. So what would you do if you were in my shoes?

Peace,
Matt

Back With Pictures!

I took these in Oregon. Read closely and ask yourself if you would really feel comfortable being led anywhere in this particular church.

On a serious note, my vacation was wonderful. I spent a lot of time in Bend, OR, and made it down to Redding, where it was in the 90's! Pretty darn good compared to the PNW and its never-ending winter. And I also read a lot of books. Surprise, surprise.

Peace,
Matt