the church geek

I’ve not run across a whole lot of things to point to this week, but here are a few items:

1.) While I personally object to calling those who serve the church volunteers (Did Jesus call the 12 volunteers? I don’t think so…), I do think there are some helpful thoughts in this post “The Top 5 Volunteer No-No’s.”

2.) Christine Sine shares the source of those amazing icons she’s been using to illustrate her posts.

3.) One of my favorite biblical scholars, NT Wright, engages in a debate about God and our pain on beliefnet with Bart Ehrman.

4.) Here is this week’s photo of beauty.

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My wife and I are very much looking forward to a much needed week of vacation coming up in a few weeks. In some respects it’s hard to believe that this will be our first week of vacation since the last week of August. As we anticipate our time away, we are always somewhat conflicted about how to spend it.

One difficulty is that we have a number of fairly sizeable outdoor and indoor projects that are requiring our attention. It seems that it is hard for us to get those sorts of projects done during our normal routine because we just don’t get a significant enough chunk of time off together on our weekends.

Fridays are our usual day off, but those often turn out to be our cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping sort of days and aren’t really conducive to starting a big project were not sure how long it will take to finish. So when vacation time approaches we think here’s our list of projects, which ones should we try to do? But who really wants to spend their vacation working around the house??

Another difficulty also has to do with the fact that we don’t get weekends. Meaning we don’t get to travel to visit our families or friends when other folks might be able to do that sort of thing over the weekend (especially over an extended weekend like memorial day & labor day which are non-existent for a pastor…) So, we think about the last time we saw so and so and we wonder if its time to hop in the car or get on the plane to go see them. While these are good and important trips for us to take, spending ourselves with people as we do on our jobs can make these types of vacations seem like more work than relaxation.

As pastors we’re also church nerds. So, when we get a Sunday off, we often ask where would we like to go worship? We think about the various churches we know or have heard about or that one of our favorite colleagues serves and we ask should we plan a trip to worship there? (In fact we do have reason to be in the Minneapolis area on this particular vacation and while we are there we are thinking about another trip to Solomon’s Porch.)

There of course have been the occasional Sundays on our vacations where we are so tired of church we decide not to go at all (but please don’t tell that to any of the members of our congregations…if you’re one of them you didn’t just read that…)

I think all of this is to say that while we definitely look forward to our vacations, we just don’t look forward to making all the decisions we need to make in order to plan them. Am I alone in this sort of dilemma?

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The text for this sermon is 1 Peter 3: 13-18

I must admit I’m not much of a reality show watcher. I do know however that one of the more popular reality shows over the past decade was “Fear Factor.” It featured contestants, competing to finish a series of stunts better and faster than anyone else.

Now, some of the stunts were just plain gross, like the trashcan scavenger hunt…In this game competitors jumped into a garbage bin to find one of eight different objects. When they found an object they had to find the very same thing in one of eight barrels filled with disgusting things like sludge, oil, lard or rotten squid.

Other stunts did a better job of living up to the show’s name of “Fear Factor.” These stunts required contestants to conquer various fears, such as the fear of heights, or of spiders, or of being trapped in very small spaces.

One stunt from a later episode of the show featured two contestants locked up in a small isolation pod. The pod was no bigger than what could hold two people crunched up in it.

To make matters worse, once the couple got comfortable in the pod, they were jolted with a 2000 volt electrical shock. The couple who faced and overcame their fears by staying inside the pod the longest amount of time won the contest.

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1.) Do you want to simplify your life? Here is a ’simple’ list of 72 ideas. I’m pleased to note that I already do many of them, but I sure have a lot more I could implement.

2.) Bill Tammeus must be a voracious reader. Lately I’ve been looking to him for reading suggestions. He has recently put out another list of faith based books.

3.) The Internet Monk, as thoughtful as always, has thankfully and helpfully debunked the myth of the “Fixer God.”

4.) My friend Mark points to an interesting post on the reality of hell. It seems that the more I read of Orthodox thought, the more impressed I am.

5.) Here is my photo recommendation of the week.

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I had a really hard time with my sermon this last week. I preached on two 1 Peter passages 1 Peter 2:18-25; 3:8-12 and addressed the practices of non-violence and non-retaliation.

The essential core of my sermon came from these verses:

Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps…When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.

In my sermon I pointed out that as I hear about events that are happening in the news I’m more and more concerned that we are spiraling into a society where violence and retaliation are becoming the norm. In contrast, Peter offers a different model for Christians, one in which these two things are not the norm. Peter clearly expects Christians to live by a different standard than the world around them.

Here’s the basic problem I’ve been dealing with: I offered no caveats in my sermon. Now, I did that for the very specific reason that I didn’t want to water down the message by saying it applies to this and this, but it doesn’t apply to that and that. I didn’t want people trying to figure out the various loopholes that might be available to get out of the difficulty of the message.

But that choice of mine may have come at an expense. It may very well have meant that someone who is suffering in an inappropriate and abusive relationship (though I’m not aware that anyone is in our congregation) or someone who has suffered some form of abuse (which is more likely in my congregation) may very well have heard the message, “Just endure it. It’s your calling as a Christian.”

This raises in my mind an ethical concern in preaching. I don’t remember this sort of issue or concern being raised or addressed in seminary, but I think it happens all the time. At the expense of making one important point, you may very well have to minimize contrasting viewpoints. So how do you go about weighing those things and determining the greater good?

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This sermon is for the Fifth Sunday of Easter. The text was 1 Peter 2:18-25; 3:8-12. (I choose to do the lectionary texts from 1 Peter in their actual order in the book.)

Last weekend, there was an article in the Gazette about two teenage boys who are designing a video game. It’s a project for their Sunday school class over at the Unity Center, on Blairs Ferry Road.

For the boys, the challenge of creating a video game wasn’t that big of a deal. The real challenge was coming up with a game that didn’t have all the violence, gore, and other graphics that are in most of the games they play at home.

Noah said, “We weren’t really happy about the non-violent aspect, but we did it.” Once they got over that aspect of the project, they realized how much fun they could have making a game.

Noah and Tom along with two other kids have been brainstorming ideas and suggestions for the game. Right now it is sort of “Pac Man” meets “Donkey Kong,” with elements of “Frogger” planned for the next stage.

Tom said, “We just used the ideas from old arcade games. Once you realize you can use the really old arcade games you see it’s not really violent. It’s not violent to hit a ball against a brick wall.”

In the first stage of the game, you have to jump barricades, maneuver conveyor belts and avoid life-stealers such as homework, bad lunch and bullies to get close to the end.

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You might ask why on earth would someone want to watch a movie about a guy and his “girlfriend” who just so happens to be an anatomically correct mail order doll? That certainly can’t be anything but trouble.

Well, in this case it’s not. In fact, Lars and the Real Girl just happens to be one of the smartest, most moving, and spiritually significant films I’ve seen in a long time.

Lars is a good but painfully awkward and shy man. The limit of his social activity is his office job, attending church on Sunday morning, and being dragged off to dinner by his caring but overly pushy sister-in-law. Lars keeps to himself in a room off the side of the family garage while his brother and sister-in-law have moved into the home not long after the death of their father.

One day a large package arrives for Lars, and later that evening he shows up at the door of his brother’s home introducing his new girlfriend, Bianca, whom he says has arrived after serving as a missionary in Brazil.

But of course she is nothing more than a full sized life like doll. His brother and sister-in-law think he’s gone nuts but eventually decide to heed the advice of the family doctor and to play along with Lars’ delusion until he no longer needs it.

What unfolds is an incredibly moving modern parable of the power of love and community, as first the church and then the rest of the town make the choice to wrap their arms around Lars and to accept his new friend, Bianca, as one of them.

Their acceptance helps Lars push past the many barriers that have kept him trapped for years. It also helps him to take note of his office co-worker and fellow church member, Margo, the ‘real girl’ who really loves and cares for him.

There is much to recommend about this movie and I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

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This sermon is for the fifth Sunday of Easter. The text was 1 Peter 2:1-10. The opening story came from a recent episode of Speaking of Faith. The 2nd story of the minister is from Sarah Dylan Breuer. And the Craddock story comes from my pastoral care professor’s book “The Spirit of Adoption.“

For five years, Ed Husain was an Islamic Fundamentalist. That was until he came close to a murder and he watched people he loved, one after another, become suicide bombers.

Husain was born and raised in Great Britain where his parents emigrated from their home land of India. In England, he grew up with all the advantages that life had to offer – good education, abundant healthcare, a comfortable living.

So, why did he turn to Islamic Fundamentalism?

Husain says it was mostly a quest for identity.

In the melting pot of the US, with its strong history of opening its doors and welcoming new immigrants, those who come here seem to quickly and easily identify with the values and cultures of their new home.

It is not the same in many European countries.

In Great Britain national identity is tied so tightly to being native borne English. This makes it difficult for new immigrants to identify with the values and culture of their adopted home country. It is not easy for them to fit in.

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1.) One of the critiques of the emerging movement is that it is basically composed of young, white guys with goatees. This post reveals that maybe the stereotype is not quite so accurate: Emerging Middle Aged Women.

2.) I’ve got to find more time to listen to podcasts. I just haven’t figured out the best way to make them a part of my life or my daily routine. When I figure it out, I’ll be sure to have this podcast, Watching Theology, on my radar screen since I like both movies and theology. (HT: Jake)

3.) Kudos to Shawn Coons for spear heading an effort to resurrect the remnants of the defunct 7% conference. He and others have been meeting to make plans for “alt7 - a gathering for PC(USA) clergy under forty.” It will be held at Montreat next June, which is 4-1/2 months before my 40th birthday.

4.) Twitter seems to be all the rage, at least for the next day or so. One thing I loved about Facebook was the ability to provide a personal “status update.” Twitter is solely dedicated to that purpose, so if you care to keep up with what’s happening with me you can check it out here.

5.) I’m back offering you a wonderful spring photo for your enjoyment.

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Over the last couple of years, I’ve been slowly working on the culture of prayer in our congregation. It’s not the quickest or easiest thing to do to change the spiritual ethos of any congregation, but here are few things we’ve done to help with that.

* About three or four months ago we began to publish a list of prayer requests in our worship bulletin. As a result, during the week, I’ve been getting phone calls and e-mails from congregation members wanting various people and needs put on the prayer list. A number of people have shared with me that they appreciate knowing that their concern is being lifted up by others in prayer. Right now the list leans heavily toward prayers for health concerns, but I’ve been thinking about expanding that and including other areas of concern on the list.

* When I first started here, I began our session meetings with a scripture and a short devotion and then asked session members for their joys and concerns. We have a prayer we say together and then I invite elders to pray, as they feel led, for the various joys and concerns as they’ve been mentioned. Sometimes, I’ll ask an elder at the end of the session meeting to close us in prayer too. I’m sure some are terrified by this, but I’m always surprised and pleased when an elder I haven’t heard pray before steps up to do it.

* I haven’t done as much of this as I’d like, but I’ve tried different types of prayers as models during the pastoral prayer portion of the worship service. I’d like to experiment with this more. In the past I have prayed model prayers, for instance I’ve used the five finger prayer and the Lord’s prayer as an outline and then prayed for specific things within that framework. I have also used bidding prayers where I suggest a category and invite people to pray for things silently (one time a congregational member actually prayed out loud, I’d love to hear more of that, and have wondered about encouraging more of that!!) I hope this helps people think about all the types of things they can and should be praying for.

All of these things I think are helping to re-shape the spiritual ethos of our congregation. I hope they are helping people see the different ways they can pray and I hope they are helping give them more confidence about prayer.

I’d be curious to hear if you have any creative ways of encouraging the growth of prayer in your congregation?

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Finally got out to take some photos of spring life budding forth. There is not much happening yet, but if you look hard enough you can find some.

These are the buds of a crabapple tree with an old crabapple still hanging on. I call this “Out with the old & in with the new.”

Taken at Morgan Creek Park in Cedar Rapids.

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1.) Adam Walker Cleveland provides a list of resource books on youth ministry. Other suggestions follow in the comments.

2.) Emergent Village points to an interesting new idea: Lectio Divina for the iPod generation. I’ll be interested to see how this takes off.

3.) Christine Sine offers some thoughts on preparing for pentecost. More than anything though I love the cool icons she uses to illustrate her posts.

4.) What is the gospel? The Reformed Angler points to the answers provided by four candidates for moderator of the PC(USA) General Assembly.

5.) I don’t have a favorite photograph of the week to point to, but Bill Tammeus points to a gallery of inspiring nature photos submitted by users of beliefnet.

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Jan’s post this morning stirred up some things I’ve been thinking about for a while now…

I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately on the Emergent Church and have also been delving into N.T. Wright’s work on the scriptures. As a result, I’m becoming more and more convinced that there is really something to the power of seeing the bible as narrative; as seeing it articulating the story of God’s work in the world and empowering the church in its calling within that story.

For the Easter season I’ve been studying and preaching on the texts in First Peter. Within that letter, Peter helps the gentile converts see how they’ve been enfolded into God’s story. How through the new birth of Israel the doors have been opened for them to enter into the fold of God’s chosen people.

It’s a brilliant move that gives ‘those people who were not a people’ an identity. It also helps them frame their struggles and persecutions within the larger story of God’s work; encompassing their present in what has happened in the past and the hope of what God will do in the future.

All of this has helped me begin to make a little more sense of those passages (especially in Matthew) that point to the ‘prediction’ of events in the Old Testament prophets that have been ‘fulfilled’ in Jesus Christ. In some sense, the early Christians took the themes of the prophets and framed the Jesus movement within the context of God’s work in history.

They enfolded their own story within the context of the much larger story of God’s work in Israel and in history. When it comes to Christians today, I think this has much to say to us. It helps us find our own identity in that much greater story. That is powerful stuff.

But here’s my struggle: Before I began engaging in the emergent church and exploring the scripture as narrative, I read Amy Jill-Levine’s book The Misunderstood Jew. I came away both impressed and convicted by the way the church can mis-read some of the New Testament texts and how they have often been mis-interpreted in ways that have done violence to the Jewish community of faith.

But, at the same time, I can’t see the Bible as telling an over-arching narrative without seeing that story as a comprehensive one detailing God’s continuous work encompassed in both the Old and the New Testament; seeing it as a somewhat seamless story, from the call of Abraham, to the rise of the church, to my own life today.

Maybe I don’t go so far - as Matthew seemed to have no problem with doing - as to use the word fulfillment, but I still in the end lean toward seeing it as a somewhat seamless story. At the very least, the New Testament gives voice to what happened in Jesus Christ by picking up and giving new life to all the shattered hopes and dreams of the people of Israel following their return from exile.

So does the way I see that over-arching story necessarily imply that I am doing violence to the Jewish faith? Is there someway to tell that story that still honors the Jewish faith, that doesn’t say the Jewish faith has been replaced? I don’t know. I’m still working on that, and I don’t have an answer. But at the very least Levine’s book reminds me to be much more careful about the ways I choose to tell that story.

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