[LIF] Reading Week begins!

Because I front loaded my week with classes I end up with an extended reading week! Unfortunately I forgot my chequebook yesterday when I was at the school so I had to go back today. I did get to attend a student council meeting, but the whole day I've been stumbling around making little progress. Part of the problem is that I'm still a bit stunned. Today I submitted my application for the Masters of Theology with a concentration in Systematic and Historic Theology. What is scary is that the faculty head thinks they will accomodate my course mix-up, they think my work shows I'm ready for this step. I only needed two profs to write me letters of recommendation, the first two I asked were very eager to help. I've been dreaming of this since 2000 when I started and now it is finally happening.

I need to be competent in French by September, I have signed up for help with that. That is daunting but very doable, I have lots of support with friends and we can switch to French at home between me and Sharon. Sharon emailed me a lot of great links for French resources, what a great wife. It will be important to come up to speed in French fast because as soon as I start my Masters I am also going to start German.

Kenny was asking what my focus will be on, I don't have to choose right away and the methodology course will also help me narrow my subject. The Masters at St. Paul is an interesting programme, basically it is a course to see if you are ready for the Doctorate programme. You write maybe a chapter's worth of a thesis - 40-60 pages. And you work in all the disciplines attached to Theology: Spirituality, Ethics, Systematics, Biblical Studies, etc. They want to make sure you don't narrow your studies too soon. It is completable in a year and I know a bunch of the other students applying this year. Soon as I narrow it down I'll let everyone know.

I feel like a chapter of my life is closing, and in fact it is. I know that this transition is from a wide focus to a more narrow focus. This is good, but it is hard to choose. I love so much about many aspects of thoelogical studies. I really enjoy history and biblical studies. I am going to miss taking Political Ethics with Ken Melchin (that was going to be my last required course in my undergrad degree). I am going to miss Spirituality with Heather Eaton, she has opened me up to more diversity than any other professor at St. Paul.

The good side is that as one chapter closes another opens, and with it new possibilities. I've come to expect that God is in the possibilities so that is exciting. Please pray with me that everything will work out for me to graduate this Spring and start right in on the MATh degree. And yes, it is really funny to me that the degree is named that when I have trouble with simple arithmetic at times.

[LIF] Distractions, distractions, distractions...

I think Ze Frank's vidpost on procrastination the other day was appropriate for me. Or rather it discribed my present state to a tee. I am 1/2 a page from completing the paper due tomorrow and I still have to re-read the short stories for my English midterm. I fell asleep trying to do the reading and now am late making supper. Last night I was up until 2AM working on the paper and managed to grind out a mere 4 pages??? I was scattered. This is that unrefined moment in every semester when the immensity of the workload (no matter how heavy or light it actually is) hits me. I always make it through, but it isn't pretty. I can usually grind through papers a lot faster than that and I am actually clocking some impressive reading speeds this semester (thanks Kenny). The problem is I've seen an entire season of Kenny vs. Spenny, surfed the majority of the blogs listed on this site - daily, and read almost all of the novel for my English class. Grant it the novel is reqired reading - but not just yet. It is just so well written. Medicine River if you are wondering, laugh out loud funny in places gripping with its realism.

Well, my wife is on her way home from work and I need to finishe supper, pack up my study materials and head out to the coffee shop where it is harder to procrastinate.

[LIF] I'm in Shock!

I was under the impression that I had two full semesters left on my degree, but it turns out that I had some advanced standing for my College course! So I'm two courses away from a BTh!!! Now one of them is an ethics course and I won't get that until the Fall, but wow that is amazing. Next week I'm meeting with the faculty head to discuss moving right into a Masters. That means I will need to do langauge studies this summer - French to start then I'm hoping to do German in the not too distant future. I'm still in shock!

[THO] Resurrection and Grace

"The raising of Christ from death is an expression of the surplus of grace, for 'where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more' (Rom. 5.20). This added-value of grace becomes effective when liberation from the chains which bind the victims and the guilty to the past allows them to move out into the new shared life in the powers of God's righteousness."

- Jürgen Moltmann, In the End - The Beginning: The Life of Hope, Fortress, 2004.

[THO] Malcolm X

Reading James Cone yesterday I kept running into references to Malcolm X. I had bought this film at a yard sale in the summer but due to its length I've put off trying to watch it. That is until yesterday, I wanted some context and what I got was a brilliant movie. Malcolm X is Black Theology worked out in the life of a very charismatic man. At one powerful moment in the film a police officer makes the comment about Malcolm's charisma, "that is too much power for one man to have." I wonder if the same would have been said of Moses by the Pharoah's warriors!

This is a raw movie, you really get the sense that the fight for liberty is so all consuming that it blinds one to other injustice. Watch how Malcolm treats women and sympathetic white folk. Spike Lee really captures the whole of the man, warts and all. What is really profound is that Malcolm, like Romero, has a series of messy conversions. These are true horizon expansions. His message continually reflects the evolution of his heart as he becomes more and more aware of how big the struggle for freedom really is.

I was chatting with my neighbour about the film and was saddened because he seemed to not be interested in hearing about the life of a Moslem. My comment was that this man, Malcolm X, was doing theology. As I reflect on that, it is never comfortable when we do theology. Especially when we realize how much we are personally implicated in the systems of injustice. If you haven't seen this movie, it is worth watching. Brother Malcolm was a truly great man of God, let his life speak to you about your own committment to justice.

[THO] Romero

My community watched the film Romero last night. It is my third time seeing the film that explores the life of El Salvadorian Archbishop Oscar Romero. I highly recommend this film, it is full of insight. I wanted to share a few here.

Right at the beginning of the film Romero is talking with his friend Father Rotullio and Romero, troubled by what he overhears in the marketplace, cautions his friend about fostering subversive ideas. The response was profound: How can I love God whom I cannot see if I cannot love my neighbour whom I can see.

Romero's conversion is slow and painful, full of wrestlings. It is, in other words, very real. There are many uncomfortable moments. But to see this "man of books" find courage within himself to recover the violated host from the occupied church really moved me. I often wonder what I would do if faced with a similar circumstance - would I risk my life for the gospel? Romero encourages me that in that moment there is a strength that cannot be gained from books, and that strength is sufficient.

Finally listening to the radio this morning they were talking about global climate change. The concensus is that 90% of scientists agree that the climate is changing and that we are responsible. Driving home last night a fellow preacher had the oddacity to suggest that if the climate is changing that's just God's will, fatalism like that drives me nuts. Even though I felt the speakers on CBC held too much faith in a technological solution they were calling for a social transformation. Romero says that economics is the root cause of the injustice in his country. That critique is common to Liberation Theology and is apt. In fact all of the world is implicated in this injustice. This must be part of the social transformation, a conscientization, if we are to see justice not just ecologically but socially and politically as well. We can't afford to throw up our arms in the face of crisis, and we can't afford to ignore the fact that our economic choices have global repercussions. We need to find a better way.

[FUN] Wood Spider

My buddy Mike sent me this, it takes a real Canadian to fully appreciate.

[THO] Modern Church Mystic

I have to choose a 15th or early 16th century figure to research for my Modern Church History course. I really have my heart set on a mystic, I was thinking of Jeanne Guyon but she is born just a little too late. The ones that come readily to mind are: John of the Cross, Jakob Boehme and Theresa of Avila. I can only choose one and I would really like someone with a sense of Earthiness. I'm open to suggestions, I need to start some preliminary research soon.

Thoughts?

[THO] Introducing Liberation Theology

"So the criticisms made of liberation theology by those who judge it on a purely conceptual level, devoid of any real committment to the oppressed, must be seen as radically irrelevant. Liberation theology responds to such criticism with just one question: What part have you played in the effective and integral liberation of the oppressed?"

- Leonardo and Clodovis Boff, Introducing Liberation Theology, p.9. (Orbis, 2006)

[FUN] God, Inc.

I'm a big Office Fan, especailly the British version, so this totally tickled my fancy. Enjoy! Special thanks to Michael. More episodes can be found here.

[THO] Theology in Praxis

This is proving to be a difficult semester, not that the material is any more difficult but this is the first year where I think I'm actually getting it. Theology is making a demand on me and it is scaring the crap out of me.

Last year I studied ecology and it did change me, I did become more ecologically conscious, I did become more vocal about our responsibility for the environment and I did reduce my ecogical footprint. But this semester that seems like childsplay.

Usually I am good at making the connections between my courses, ecology and grace flowing together, ecclesiology bringing about a point of praxis for implementing the theology I'm engaging with. But while I made those connections last year, this year the connections are making themselves! It is as if everything I read is challenging my ideological framework and asking me - what have I done as my response to the death and resurrection of Jesus? Have I simply built up a nice fortress (status quo) and lived there with a slightly edgy message but still safe in my own ivory tower? Or have I stepped into the world of the oppressed and said truly that I will live the message that I have come to preach? It is never easy and it is never safe.

But isn't that Jesus? What makes us think that following the most revolutionary characters ever to step onto the stage of history will be safe? What blindness we must read the bible with. What arrogance we must bring to the liturgy week in and week out.

So far this semester I think for the first time I've understood that being a Christian means being political. I've fought that my whole life. And this isn't what most Christians think being political means, it isn't trying to make sure that those who will support the status quo get in power. No it is intensely revolutionary. It is stepping into the face of those who continue oppression in this world. It is getting in the faces of those who support systems that profit from the plight of the oppressed poor of our world. It is refusing to arogantly think that we deserve luxury, entertainment and ease while so many groan in agony for their redemption. I mean, of course, that this is my sin that I must get right.

Repentance is not just saying we are sorry, it is an intensly political orientation towards God and God's project in this world. It is about becoming a people of the Kingdom. It is about becoming a people of liberation. It is about saying yes to Jesus call that we take up our crosses and follow him. It is a lot harder than our self-serving personal piety would have us believe.

Someone once said the greatest lie the devil ever told was that he didn't exist. I think the greatest lie he told is that we can live our lives as Christians as if Christ doesn't matter. The supports for that lie in my life are cracking all around me. This is a hard year. I doubt I will be the same person at the end of it.

[THO] Tillich as quoted by Cone as quoted by Segundo

"I am not unaware of the danger that in this way [the method of relating theology to culture] the substance of the Christian message may be lost. Nevertheless, this danger must be risked, and once one has realized this, one must proceed in this direction. Dangers are not a reason for avoiding a serious demand."

Paul Tillich (from Liberation of Theology, Juan Luis Segundo)

[THO] Personal Salvation

I think it is NT Wright that has me thinking in this direction, but I have been reflecting today on just how important my relationship with God is. I know I love to talk about the social implications of grace and some pretty heady theology, but there is something that to me is vital about my relationship with God. I don't pretend to think I have a market on it, or to understand God completely. God knows my views have shifted over the years. But I do know I have a real connection with God.

I was reflecting on some of the language around panentheism that I've been meditating on recently. I love that language but there is the possibility that the God of revelation gets lost in all that. I have been involved in quite a few different spiritualities before giving my heart to Christ and none of them really scratched that deeper itch. In fact none of them left me with a personal relationship like the encounter that left me on my face in New Brunswick so many years ago. That isn't a connection with an abstraction, but with a person.

I felt it would be good to lay those cards on the table. That is central to who I am. I love Jesus, about the simplist way to put it. I don't love the Christian faith or Christian Spirituality (well I do, but that I love it as an after thought not as a primary motivator) - I love the God who met me in that gymnasium and arrested me (I was going to walk away). I love it when I sense God's presence near me. I love it when I hear God's voice speak to me. Those things are core to who I am and why I am so passionate about theology and worship. Consider it my bias.

I am willing to talk abstractly about it, if you've been here a while you have probably seen that more than once. I am even willing to go for critical distance to try to understand my experience better. But, I always end up back here, at the feet of Jesus lost in worship.

I just thought you all should know that.

[LIF] No Email!!!

For some reason I can't get my email from Sympatico, but my wife can??? I've tried all sorts of things, even going online and using their getmail programme. But no luck? It is a bit frustrating actually.

This week has been a bit crazy. I have friends going through rough times and we have mice in out basement. So far I've caught two of them. They made a big mess of our Christmas ornament boxes, we didn't notice until putting them away. And they got into some of Sharon's expensive cereal! (She has Celiac disease so everything costs more for her.) I bought six more traps, but talking to neighbours who also get them frequently, I'll probably only catch one or two more. I'm not too crazy about picking up dead mice, but at least they are just in the basement! Last time they got upstairs and left poo everywhere, what a mess to clean.

I think I just heard a snap!

[THO] Thomas Berry

OK so I know he isn't a theologian, more of a cultural historian and self-proclaimmed geologian, but I am more theologically oriented so that is where I engage with Berry. I've run into Berry over the last few years via Heather Eaton, an ecofeminist theologian at St. Paul University. Berry is a brilliant observer of our culture and I believe has profound insights into how humanity has arrived at this point in history. I should be clear that I share Berry's concerns that at this point in history we face a crisis that will end our era in a geological sense, and that this is due to the way we, as a human species, have lived on this planet we call Earth.

Berry minces no words when dealing with the arrogance of humanity. That we could extract to exhaustion from our homes is something akin to the fowling of our own nests - something other species wisely avoid doing. But rather than harp on how we, as a species, have destroyed our home and future. He begins to paint a picture, using symbolically charged language, of a way forward. I don't find him a pessimist even though I would say he is a realist.

Now how Berry does this is where the trouble resides. Christians tend to be very suspicious of anything that challenges their worldviews, especially cosmology into which the Christian project has invested so much of its energies. So to entertain notions that challenge the assumptions of these worldviews, such as a Teilhardian evolutionary framework (which Berry build on), is taboo. Heather was sharing how she quoted Berry in a report she did for some Roman Catholic board and was called a heretic for doing so. Yikes. But like NT Wright says, "Christians shouldn't be afraid of the truth", wherever truth is found.

I'm posting on this because I've decided to engage with a number of other students over the course of this semester for some extra studies. We are going to look at the works of Thomas Berry. We are going to try to swim in his waters to get what he is saying. Should be fun.

[LIF] Good News and Bad News

I showed up for my AM class only to find it cancelled, there were only two students registered. The prof. was there and stomped off after saying he couldn't run a course with only two students. I know it is not economically viable, but it could have been pretty rich to only have a couple of students.

The good news is that I managed to quickly switch into John Gibaut's Modern Church History class. I love Gibaut, he is very pastoral. I found him in the halls and he seemed happy that I was going to be a part of his class. I did Contemporary Church History and Liturgical Theology with him so far. He's the one who encouraged me to publish my paper on Primitive House Churches (or sit on it for some post-grad work which is the option I've left open). Also he's affirmed my calling to be a professor in the past. With a focus on the Reformation this should be a great class for me.

So far I've picked up some great books:
The Great Work - Thomas Berry
Evening Thoughts - Thomas Berry
Reformation: Europe's House Divided 1490-1700 - Diarmaid MacCulloch
God is Green - Ian Bradley

Coming from Chapters Online:
Intersecting Voices: Critical Theologies in a Land of Diversity - Dan Schweitzer
The Cambridge Companion to Liberation Theology - Christopher Rowland
A Theology of Liberation - Gutavo Gutierrez
Introducing Liberation Theology - Leonardo Boff

Coming from ChristianBooks.com (I'm trying them out for the first time):
The Challenge of Jesus - NT Wright
Gustavo Gutierrez: Essential Writings - James Nickoloff
Flame of Love - Clark Pinnock
God Will Be All in All: The Eschatology of Jurgen Moltmann - Richard Bauckham
Early Church Fathers Post-Nicene Volume 2 The City of God, Christian Doctrine
Early Church Fathers Post-Nicene Fathers Volume 1 rolegomena--St. Augustine
Early Church Fathers Volume 6 The Fathers of the Third Century
The Resurrection of Jesus - Gerd Luedemann
The Sayings of Jesus: The Sayings Gospel Q in English - James Robinson
Traffic in Truth: Exchanges between Science and Theology - John Polkinghorne
Faith in the Living God: A Dialogue - John Polkinghorne & Michael Welker
Christian Faith and Religious Diversity - John B Cobb Jr
Psychological Biblical Criticism - D. Andrew Kille
Experiences in Theology - Jurgen Moltmann
Adventures in Missing the Point: How the Culture-Controlled Church Neutered the Gospel - McLaren & Campolo
The Social Setting of Jesus and the Gospels - Wolfgang Stegemann, Bruce J. Malina & Gerd Theissen
Science and Wisdom - Jurgen Moltmann
The Kingdom and the Power The Theology of Jürgen Moltmann - Geico Muller-Fahrenholz
The New Historicism - Gina Hens-Pizaaz

(Kenny, I might not be able to consume as many books as you, but I sure can make my shelves look pretty with them).

[LIF] Classes started today!

I began the day with the brilliant systematic theologian, John van den Hengel. I've taken Trinitarian theology from him in the past and he studied under Schillebeeckx. This is a course in Christology and from the first class I can say this will be one awesome ride! We are using NT Wright's The Challenge of Jesus as a sort of introduction, but once we've covered frameworks the real fun will begin. We get to test drive some of the prof's own work in Christology by using his to be released Figural Interpretation of Jesus. I'm a bit stoked. Prof. John remembered me and we had a warm greeting in the hall at break. He knows I'm a big fan of Moltmann and certainly Moltmann was present in the opening discussion!

Then the day got better as I hit Heather Eaton's Introduction to Liberation Theologies. She has a bit of a different take on it than other courses where I've studied Liberation Theology (Ken Melchin in the context of Grace and James Pambrun in the context of Christian Anthropology), in fact she spent time studying under Gutierrez in Peru! We are focusing less on a historical emergence and more on how Liberation Theology as a method is influencing other theologies, such as Feminist Theology. This is a small class of about 14 which will make for a great dynamic, plus a third of us were in a class on Ecology with Heather last semester. Good times!

After that I skipped over to the Ottawa U campus to find the English required course I've been putting off for six years! This one is on fiction and isn't too bad, literary criticism. I have just been avoiding it because it seems like a waste of time when I used to write for a living and am a straight A student. Oh well, we do what we have to. I have been telling myself to read some fiction, too bad I couldn't read my new Harry Potter novel for that class. But we do get to do some Poe which I used to love reading as a youth.

Tomorrow I'm up early for a course on Philosophical Hermeneutics. Should be fun.

[LIF] Kenny Tagged Me!

Kenny has tagged me to share five things about myself that you probably don't know. This is tough as I am a pretty public kind of guy. But you might not know that...
1. I played guitar on the main Worship Team for Assemblee '94 of the Canadian Baptist Federation. A big event here in Ottawa, we had Tony Campolo speaking to the youth. I was even on television as the only guitarist that could make the Sunday outdoor worship celebration. I was the second youngest member of the band, the drummer was a kicking young musician from Montreal. At the time I didn't own a guitar with a decent pickup so I borrowed one for the event.
2. I once tried to learn Hindi. As part of Mission Toronto (93ish) my team worked with Operation Mobilization and connected with a local Hindi congregation in Mississauga. The pastor, Solomon, was a wild man. I stayed with Prakash Masih's family and his father never spoke to me. I heard him share his testimony through a translator one night and it was amazing, so I started to learn Hindi to speak with him. When he realized what I was trying to do he began to speak with me in English! I was really gung ho on learning the language but after the missions trip I landed in Ottawa with no Hindi friends to continue with.
3. Going back even further, my Mom claims that as a toddler I would crawl around at the cottage eating flying ants! I just remember that these critters surfaced in a big way about once a year. I used to love taking a baseball bat and swinging it through the air for the tick, tick, tick sound.
4. I am a philatelist. That's a stamp collector Chris! sheesh. That might not be news to some of you, but what is really peculiar is that I love Machins. The two stamps above are Machins (named after the designer). I love them in all sorts of shades and in both sizes. I love them on letters, on postcards and in my dedicated Machin album. It isn't a queen fetish so much as a love of organizing. You see for only one design there are many variations including the invisible to the naked eye phospher tagging that was used by the post to help with sorting mail.
5. And finally, I hate computers! Yeah I know, I know, blogging and all that. In fact it is rare to see me without a computer for very long. But the fact is they frustrate and annoy me and I often wish I could go back to life without them. Computers have been an integral part of my life since as a young lad I programmed Apple IIs and Vic20s. My first personal computer was the Texas Instruments TI994A. I even taught software development at a college for two years! Apple started to undo me, up until then I couldn't imagine a powerful system that actually worked. But in the world of IT consulting it was less and less practical for me to carry around my old G3 laptop. So away it went and when my SCSI drive died in my 7300/180 I pretty much gave up on Macs. But now I have little patience for PCs, the computer is one of the few things that has the ability to provoke me to swearing! Yeah, I think that they were created by the devil himself, and I am not a fan of him either.

Well that's me, who to tag, who to tag: NakedPastor! You're it.

[THO] Happy New Year

Yeah, I tagged this correctly. I started the online day with a request for prayer from a dear friend who is supposed to be heading to Thailand. This is how I heard about the horrible New Years bombings there. My dear friend is still willing to go, and rightfully asked for prayer. His trip is to encourage several urban ministries in Bangkok and Phnom Phen. So I prayed my prayer in an email, sent him an encouragement, promising to keep this trip in prayer. He has left the decision in the hands of the trip coordinator, another godly man he trusts.

Then I read this post that Ben recommended on prayer. I was deeply encouraged. I'm sure you will be as well, no matter what the New Year has to bring your way.

Thanks Kim for the post on prayer. Godspeed Joseph and safety in Thailand if that is where you end up.

Have a prayerful New Year!

[THO] Worship IX

Well I promised this a long time ago; it has taken me a while to get to it. The start of the series is here.

A Theology of Worship

I should begin with a disclaimer that a blog post is hopelessly inadequate to express a complete theology of worship. There are many excellent books and resources available already for anyone who has been following this series and would like to go further. I’ll list a few good ones at the end of this post. My intent is not to give an exhaustive theology of worship, but to situate worship theologically and give a few jumping points for further exploration. For me theology has to be practical, it has to translate into something real for the person in the pews. Theology should challenge our preconceptions and propel us both towards God and into the world to which we are sent. If theology is just a reassembly of words than God help us.

Who do we Worship?

Any good theology needs to be unabashed about its assumptions, even if those assumptions are flawed. Not that I think this is flawed, but honestly who doesn’t think they have a good grasp on truth. To talk about a theology of worship we must begin with the object of worship. There is only one real worthy object of worship; everything else is but a reflection. The Westminster Shorter Catechism tells us that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. There is something of the truth of worship in this statement. Worship should be all about God. On our parts it is our acts of glorifying God with our hearts, minds and strength. Worship is the rightful response to God’s manifest goodness. And it is completely enjoyable.

What is Worship?

So if God is the object of worship then what exactly is worship? What is interesting in the Evangelical church is that worship usually gets explicitly tied to the liturgy. In my church family it is not uncommon to have someone talk about worship and you know they really mean only the singing. Even if they are talking about private times of worship, it is usually singing (otherwise we’d call it prayer). But this type of compartmentalisation of activities only confuses the issue. It allows us to have worship time and other times, which creates the illusion that God is relegated to certain aspects of our lives and not others. There are a host of historical issues arising out of American denominationalism that just exacerbate this mindset, but a wholistic vision of worship is really the corrective that is needed. Worship is as much a participation in the liturgy as it is how we live our lives. Perhaps we could refer to the joys of liturgical celebration as high worship and regular living as low worship, but both are legitimately the place of worship.

How do we Worship?

If worship is not isolated to the liturgical life, then the categories of what constitutes worship suddenly become harder to pin down, and that is actually helpful. Surely singing and celebrating the Eucharist are easily identified as worship. The focus is on God. Such activities are rich with the potential to mediate an encounter with God. In such activities it is easy to see how people are changed by the transforming presence of God. But do not these activities also seek to orient our Christian living with the same nuances? Our songs let worship sink into our hearts so that in the midst of life the same songs come bubbling back to the surface, reminding us that in all we do it is for the glory of God. Our participation in the Eucharist opens us to God’s intimate work that touches every aspect of our lives, redeeming, transforming and calling us into better ways. I recently investigated the standard Eastern liturgy of St. John Chrysostem and discovered, along with Alexander Schmemann, a picture of life in the world. The liturgy was meant to model the Christian life in the world, as what Schmemann calls life for the world. Not that in the midst of life we expect a soundtrack rolling (let’s just leave my inner thought life out of this right now) but there are moments when we need to confess our faith in God, there are moments when we need to offer aspects of our daily life up to God and definitely we are called to respond in life, much as in the Church, to the unfolding liturgy of life. How we respond is how we worship.

When do we Worship?

With that in mind, the when of worship becomes universal as well. When we attend the service we give ourselves to worship as a way of saying with the Church, I will live for Christ today. I will offer my voice, my time, my money, my fidelity, my heart, really everything, I will offer it all to the one who offered Himself for me. Paul tells us in Romans that this is the only reasonable response to what God has done. God’s work doesn’t suffer ecclesial bounds, and so neither can our offering. So just as we did in the Church, so do we also in the world. Worship is how we live all the time, or at least worship is how we should live all the time.

Why do we Worship?

To finish up the who, what and whys I just want to say a word about why we worship. We think about worship in the Church and it is obvious, we worship to corporately glorify God. We already mentioned the Pauline exhortation of worship as a reasonable response to God’s goodness. But there are other reasons why worship, especially worship as a way of life, is important.

Most people in our churches already know how great God is. We worship corporately to bolster our own spirituality. But really if our worship is only Sunday morning and maybe a midweek group, then we are missing the chance to give God glory in the world that God so loved. Yes, God has a special love for the Church, but the Church isn’t the end of the Kingdom, it is simply a sacrament of the Kingdom. When we live as if the Church is the Kingdom we miss the fact that the Church only really exists to prepare a bride. The Church gathers the people of God and spurs us on towards Kingdom, especially in relationship to the World. So we worship at all times so that God is glorified before the nations. We worship so that the world can see, just as we see, how great the love of God is.

We worship because it is what we were made to do. I mentioned the Westminster Shorter Catechism and it is important that we realize why we were made. There is something that is so fulfilling about living the life you are meant to live. And worship is the orientation that gets us there. Paul’s exhortation continues to tells us that as we worship God with our whole selves, we will then be able to discern his perfect and pleasing will for our lives. We worship so that we will become who and what God had in His heart from the beginning.

I hope this series was encouraging; I look forward to your comments.

Some Resources I have Found Helpful:

• Brent Helming, Hot Tips for Worship Leaders (Vineyard Music) – Very practical advice for leading congregational worship. This is a book I would love to give to every aspiring worship leader.
  
• R. C. D. Jasper and G. J. Cuming, Prayers of the Eucharist: Early and Reformed (Pueblo Publishing) – A great collection of Christian liturgies.
  
• Henri Nouwen, With Burning Hearts (Orbis) – A great reflection on the Eucharist.
  
• Noel Dermot O’Donoghue, The Mountain Behind the Mountain (T&T Clark) – The power of sacred imagination.
  
• Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World (St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press) – Great exploration of the Eastern sacramental life.
  
• James White, Introduction to Christian Worship (Abingdon Press.) – A great introduction to Christian liturgy including a great bibliography.
  

[THO] Rescue Me

I'll let Rik say it for me. This song has brought me to tears on several occasions, it always brings me into worship.

[LIF] From the New Computer

It has been a while since I've last bought a computer. The last one I bought from an old friend who was putting them together at the time. The SCSI card in there never really functioned right and I decided that if I bought another PC it would be something brand nameish. I really want a new Mac but I can't justify the cost. I went out boxing day and bought a new Acer with oodles of drive space and a decent processor. I will upgrade the ram at some point, but really the only thing I'm doing that uses this is a bit of video editing on our home movies. I am far from the power user that I used to be, in fact I actually dislike computers and wasn't happy spending most of yesterday migrating software and email from the old computer. There was a time I loved that kind of stuff, but now I have much better things to do with my time. I wouldn't have bothered but my main box is starting to die on me. It is on its second power supply and this ones fan is making horrible white noise. I run Win2K server on it, in a partition far too small to accomodate the OS and obligatory Windows crap the OS accumulates. I really need to rebuild the machine from scratch and add a new power supply. I've had that machine do some wierd things that I'm pretty sure are hardware related so the days of depending on that box are gone. It will make a nice kids computer though.

Speaking of videos, I assembled a video tour of my library that I'll post up here. I have to make sure the image I swiped off the net isn't going to get me in trouble first. Geeky eh? It is amazing what things you can come up with doing when you are avoiding your real chores - today I did a pile of cleaning which should make my wife happy. The house hasn't recovered from the new toys that our kids accumulated! But I am making some progress. Tonight I need to spend a chunk of time reading for my upcoming review of The Portable Seminary. I'm almost done the "systematics" section which is more like Orthodox dogmatic theology minus the obligatory references to early church controversies. I'm used to much richer fare, but as an overview this isn't that bad, just wish it took a few more risks. Seminary, for me, is about engaging with the big questions not learning the pat answers.

[LIF] Tis the season to spam greatly

What the heck is up with the sudden influx of holiday spam? I seem to have won the lottery with regards to notifications that my stocks, banks and penis are failing to perform??? I mean who told them about my stocks? What perverse notion has prompted this onslaught of spam? Are they trying to capitalize on holiday spending? As if I have any extra cash to invest in dodgy internet deals (or even free time with my wife to... well let's just leave that one shall we). Maybe it is just my turn in the cycle of spambots, it does seem that from time to time they deem me worthy of their cascade of joy. But I can't help but think something more nefarious is at foot. Anyone else gotten the holiday influx?

[LIF] Merry Christmas!

Hope you and yours are having a blessed celebration of our Lord's birth.

I scored some nice books, this is to make Kenny jealous!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (I wait for the soft cover and always get it at Christmas, been a long wait!)
John Wimber - The Way In is the Way On (Oh yeah! I've been jonesing for that one)
Jurgen Moltmann - The Source of Life (Pneumatology, Molty style!)
Miroslav Volf - After Our Likeness (I've wanted to read that since I first saw it in 2001ish.)
David di Sabatino - The Jesus People Movement (Got this and the Lonnie Frisbee video, I can't wait to see the video!).

Gotta run... kids are finishing up breakfast and I have more toys to assemble...

[LIF] Such a Little Bug!

Holy crap I got hit hard. We were driving to our annual Christmas potluck. I'm thinking of all the lovely food we are going to eat, the great fellowship with people connected to Freedom in all kinds of fun ways, singing songs (thanks again Dan) and laughing up a storm. But an interloper had other plans. As we are driving I started feeling a bit dizzy. We were stuck in traffic and it kept coming in little waves. I normally ignore discomfort like that but it was bad enough I thought that Sharon should be aware, so I told her. Our friend BJ was sitting up front with me, she seemed rightfully concerned. I promised to pull over should it get worse. Well we stopped off to pick up a gift for someone who helped us out a lot this year and I got out of the car for some air. I was still dizzy. And it wasn't long before I pulled over to let Sharon drive. By this time when I got out of the drivers seat I almost fell over from dizziness (I'm stubborn as my good wife likes to point out). We were almost at Kinship so when we pulled in I staggered out and went in to find a couch to lay down. I went to the den because it is sort of out of the way from where the party was going to happen. Laying there I broke into a cold sweat and had to keep my eyes closed or else the room spun wildly. I was a bit concerned.

Michelle came and asked if she could get me anything, I told her I was feeling nausious. She instantly came back with a garbage pail that I blessed with vomit throughout the evening. Not a fun way to spend the night. Sharon covered me with blankets, helped me get to the washroom and back to the couch, and generally took care of me like the wonderful loving wife she is. At one point I asked her to kill me, yeah I get drammatic when I'm sick - but usually only when we are alone at home. Out in public I tend to put on a really brave face. But this was bad. In fact the only thing that came close to how messed up I felt was the time I had food poisoning in Mexico and passed out on the plane ride home.

Come time to leave and Vince helped me up. Actually it took Vince and Steve to help me to the door. Apparently when I got to the door Raj was coming in and I looked at him all deadpan and said, "you really don't want to get this man." And then continued on my way. That's so bizarre, but apparently Raj got a real kick out of it. Vince just chalked it up to me being a joker to the end. Sharon related that during the meal everyone was commenting on how good the lasagna was, she told them I made it and then there was a long pause. "Frank made it..." Raj broke the silence. I am laughing just thinking of how funny that is. I'm praying hard none of them gets this. They prayed a lot for me too, my kids prayed for me all the way home. In fact Chelsea (3) made up several 'Chissmiss' (her pronounciation is so cute) songs with "make daddy better for Chissmiss" in them. I was blessed but laughing was so painful (still is today).

When I got home I made a beeline to my bed, ditching clothes desperately as I went. Sharon tucked me in, brought me a water (I found in the middle of the night) and a bucket. Then she went to sleep with our oldest. Sometime in the wee hours the worst of it broke, but yesterday was a pretty tender day for me. My breathing has been shallow, it is a bit better today. And I had lots of little dizzy spells. Today I've only had one dizzy spell, and I'm feeling a bit better. My muscles ache and my chest is still a bit constricted. No mucous build up though, so I'm not sure what that means. But I'm sure I'll live.

I noticed that my marks are starting to come in. So far three A-s. I was hoping to get at least an A on one of those, but one of the A-s was a course I thought I'd get my first B+ on, that is a relief. I work my butt off to try and keep my marks in the As. One class to come, I think that one should be at least an A-, maybe an A as I did do quite well on the paper.

[LIF] The Vue from Here

Edit: I should proudly point out that this is not your average vehicle, it is a hybrid engine which really makes me happy. There is a review of the Vue Green Line here.

We are the proud owners of one sweet ride. Well actually GMAC leasing owns it, but we get to drive it (for a monthly fee of course). We are pretty happy, our first real drive in it was to church on Sunday in Carleton Place where I was guest worship leader. The drive was nice, the service was great and we are dog tired!

I spent most of Thursday and Friday resting, exams really drained me. Sunday wore me out and we did marathon shopping today. I am crazy tired. Tonight we did up Christmas cards, yeah I know we are a bit late. Better late than never though. It has just been that kind of hectic month. We have two services this week, well one is our annual potluck, should be great. I'm making a gluten free lasagna (from scratch). Good news is I'm almost done my shopping, just a few more stocking stuffers and something for some friends and we're done.

I'm actually enjoying The Portable Seminary, a book I'm reviewing for Christian Week. The first section is all about Biblical studies and starts off with the predictable stuff on Biblical inerrancy (it is an Evangelical book that is for sure) but then launches into a much better than expected discussion of original langauges and hermenteutics. Just started the Systematic theology section, we'll see how this one stacks up. I have to finish the remaining 600+ pages and write a 400 word review by the 12th of Jan. Got's me some reading to do. I'm also trying to get ahead on my DDM scenario writing for Wizards of the Coast. Should have one ready to submit tomorrow night, just need to test it out a bit more.

If I'm not blogging so much the next two weeks, know that I'm probably running my behind off or just chilling with my wife and kids. Got me a bottle of rum and tomorrow I'll pick up some Eggnog to go with it. Mmmmmmm, eggnog. Don't worry, if you drop by I do like to share.

[THO] Mary from my mySpace

This is a repost from my mySpace blog. I only use the mySpace blog to either point people here or to chat with a few friends who seem to like the mySpace world. But I thought it might be enjoyed here, even start up a little discussion about Mary. So enjoy. (As a point of interest the icon on the right is a traditional Eastern icon for Christmas. Note the baby Jesus in a cave reflective of this burial tomb (even the swaddling cloths suggest this) and the old guy talking to Joseph (bottom left) is the Devil.)

=============

I recently posted on the Freedom Log about tackling Mariology in an exam. I've been studying (mostly part-time) at a Catholic University for six years now and this is the first year I've really encountered a nuanced teaching on Marian thought and doctrine. I encountered it in an Eastern Studies course with John Jillions and in a Catholic Ecclesiology course with Catherine Clifford. I really enjoyed wrestling with this topic a bit simply because it is not something that really comes up in any of the traditions I have been part of, at least not in a healthy way.

On the Roman Catholic side the focus was Vatican II and beyond. So in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) there is a whole chapter on Mary. This document really outlines the importance and structure of Mary's relationship to the Church. But to outline that I should try and crack a few chestnuts with regard to popular protestant thought about Mariology. First the whole idea of saint worship is troubling to all Christians. Anyone faithful to the Catholic teaching would make a clear distinction between veneration and worship. God alone is to be worshipped. The lives of saints are celebrated as both Christian encouragement and as interceders in the Great Cloud of Witness. Second the idea that Mary's role in any way overshadows or replaces Christ's role is also troubling to all Christians. Lumen Gentium (LG) makes this very clear (LG.62).

In the proper Catholic teaching on Mary the Theotokos (God bearer), like all good teaching on Mary is more concerned with what we are saying about Christ and the Incarnation of Christ than about Mary herself. So, for instance, the virgin birth is an important dogma because it expresses our conviction that Jesus was born with both human and Divine natures. He is not a mere human who attains deification, but rather God who humbles himself to take on humanity. In the East there is really only one absolutely necessary dogma on Mary, that she is the Theotokos or the one who bears God. Like Catholocism there are a number of additional interesting Marian streams of thought, but these are more a matter of local devotional practices.

Back to the Catholics. What is cool is that many were pushing (in the 70's IIRC) for Mary to be officially given the title Co-Redemtrix. A confusing term that is meant to capture Mary's necessary role in redemption, meaning her obedience to God. This title was dropped because it could easily be confused with Mary being elevated to the position of Christ. Indeed some theologians have even extrapolated that Mary was the the third person of the Trinity usurping the role of the Holy Spirit (Boff). These are pretty dangerous claims and do not sit well with the mainstream of Catholic Marian teaching.

There are some aspects of Marian thought in LG that are disturbing. Hurdles that I think we should address. LG. 54 says that Mary occupies the highest place in the Church after Christ and that she is closest to us. When she is absent from our ecclesial langauge she is really not that close to us. Also this is based on a heirarchical vision of Church which is being challenged more and more. Mary does deserve a special place in our hearts and church life, but this is taking it a bit far.

LG. 56 talks of Mary as the predestined mother. This is based on flawed fall theology. And it refuses to admit that Mary had any choice in the matter. If she had no choice then her role as an example of faithful obedience is diminished. Also there is some crazy notion of Eve's virginity, Catholics seem to really value virginity in an almost supernatural way. But we'll talk about why in the next problem area.

LG. 57 tells us that, apparently, Jesus' birth consecrated Mary's virginity. This is anatomically impossible to begin with, but what is most interesting is that it is part of the lingering Catholic hangup with all things reproductive. Sex is seen as sinful and so for Mary to continue to be holy there is a myth of her perpetual virginity that is carried on in Catholic tradition. I say myth because some Catholics live or die on this one. But I think there is value in the myth if it says something about Christ (which I bet it does for many Catholics) but for me it is unneccessary. Mostly because it is based on flawed notions of human sexuality and original sin. But more because the important issue is captured already in the dogma of Christ's immaculate conception, this does not need to be carried over to Mary (sorry Pious XI).

I like that the discourse on Mary is placed in the context of the Church. This shows that Mary is also a member of the Church. As a Christian from non-Marian and anti-Marian roots this gives me a framework for understanding why she is venerated as she is. Indeed I've seen similar devotion to living and dead pastors in the movements I come from. And yes sometimes it gets out of hand. But most of it is meant to be encouraging. Is that not the real role of Mary? To encourage us to radical obedience. For myself there is room in my spirituality for encouragement. You won't find me incorporating a Rosary into my devotional practice but I do think I will find space to bring thoughts of Mary into my ownmeditation, especially in this season of Advent.

Love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

[LIF] I'm Done!!!!!

When I landed home earlier today it was all I could do not to crash! I wrote 2.5 hours straight on my last exam. I don't recall ever having to write into the third hour before. I filled 2.5 exam books and boy was that exhausting. What a great exam though, the last question was a choice between an essay on Mary or an essay on the Pope. Both questions were nice an juicy, but how could I pass up writing about Mary? I took the ecumenical hang up road and began exploring the Vatican II perspective of Mary. Some of it I recoil at, especially when it talks in terms of predestination of Mary, but some of it is really good for those of us in traditions that usually laugh at Mariology. I ran into Mary in two courses this semester and I must say I have a new appreciation for Mary's role in the Church. I do have to agree with the East though that the two infallible papal declarations are completely unnecessary. Actually these are only two infallible declaration ever made, don't buy the creeping infallability crap spread to slander Catholics. The immaculate conception declaration is that Mary was immaculately conceived which is based on a flawed fall theology and the assumption of Mary dogma is just aptly named. But what we say about Mary is usually to support what we say about Christ, so you can forgive the sometimes zealous Mariologizings of Catholics. I think that Mary should be discussed amongst protestants, but then again I'm for a reintegration of hagiography as a means of Christian encouragement. Will it happen, likely not anytime soon. Does it matter, not really in terms of eternal things. But it is a hard point ecumenically and there could be a lot more understanding from our side on what the Catholics are actually teaching and promoting (and even not promoting, they did decide against making co-redemptrix an official title of Mary).

I am glad to be done exams, now to catch up on all the jobs I've neglected since paper crunch. Tomorrow I clean my office, prepare worship for a sister church that has invited me to lead, prepare the livingroom for our yearly tree trimming and if I have time, clean the bathrooms. Got my work cut out for me.

[LIF] Package Day

A couple of packages arrived today. Both collatoral material for writing projects. I was napping when FedEx arrived at the door with my package from Wizards of the Coast, woke me pretty quick. But what was most surprising was the book Doug Koop sent me to review for Christian Week. It is huge!!!!! The Portable Seminary edited by David Horton. What an interesting mix of contributers, I'm really set up for the holidays now.

I finished my Eastern Studies exam as well as handed in my Ecology take-home. Two down, two to go. I have a study group tomorrow morning so things are going well. And I picked up my Grace paper, which the prof. said was Excellent. I'm going to clean it up a bit and see if I can find a home for it. The essay was called "The Weaker Grace: How the Evangelical Vision of Grace Leads to an Inadequate Social Response" and is a critique of the Evangelical overemphasis on personal salvation. I identify that even when Evangelicals do respond socially it is skewed because of an emphasis on decline narratives and escapist eschatology. But what is fun is that I use the work of Moltmann as the basis for the critique and as a way forward to a stronger vision of grace. One that keeps the important insight of personal salvation but adds a dimension of real social grace. At the very least I'll post it at the Moltmann Yahoo! Group listed in the sidebar. I might see if I can get a magazine to pick it up though as I think this is an important area for dialogue. I would love to see the Evangelical church mature the Protestant vision of grace so that we can take serious the many political issues we face in our day. If you have suggestions of publications I might submit my work to, please let me know.

[THO] The Insufficient Response

It took a bit of wrestling but I have been convinced that a deep cosmological shift is required of Christians. The problem with the operative cosmologies such as the young earth or stewardship paradigms is that they are blinded by their anthropocentrism. I used to think that you could overcome this with an ecojustice or ecofeminist critique. But you can battle the injustice of androcentrism and still have a horribly arrogant vision of humanity.

It is this anthropocentric arrogance that is the real achilles heel. By placing ourselves at the centre of the universe we assume that all that was and is exists only for us. The world is really only a temporary sandbox in which we play until the real deal arrives. But the problem is the real deal has arrived and Jesus didn't come to take us away, but to send us as well into the Earth. And it isn't a pie in the sky dreamworld he is concerned with here, but a restoration that happens as the age to come breaks into the present, which is also the locus of its final inbreaking. We are saved for the world, not from it.

Now this salvation orientation is not a plunge into the world, but rather a transformation that happens within the world. As we follow Christ into the world that God loves, you know the one He created and called good, then we are transformed into Christ for the world, so that salvation can come to all the world. This is incredibly cheapened if we think it stops with people. That is why our narrow cosmologies are quite insufficient.

We can do great things out of stewardship and ecojustice paradigms. But if we are just mitigating the risk of our own discomfort while waiting out the eschaton then we miss all that God has in mind. We also miss what the whole Earth groans and waits for. Not to mention the complete arrogance of such a position, why would we expect to move to an otherworld when we've so violently raped the world we have been given?

The vision of the universe that science presents is amazing. It is like the thickly starry night of a country sky, you realize how small and insignificant you really are. When we humble ourselves before God and God's creation our response takes on a needed dimension. How can we know that we emerged from billions of years of evolution in an ever expanding universe the smallest segment of which is beyond our ability to comprehend, how can we realize this and go on treating our home like our personal garbage dump? How can we any longer allow the widescale massacre of entire species, biocide in which we are also complicit? How can we continue to buy into the sickness of commercialism which produces engineered for the garbage heap products which simply waste the last of our precious fossil fuels to make? How can we continue to dump poisons into our own drinking water, so much so that we have an entire industry of stealing and reselling water to the poorest of the poor? The answer is we can't. When the gravity of our own culpibility hits us we are forced to take a restock of our lives. It is arrogant to think otherwise.

But many will continue to live in the comfortable little narratives that make them so heavingly minded they are of no earthly good. Such forget that the promise of Jesus in the Revelation is He will return to destroy those who destroy the Earth. I think it is time we took Jesus seriously.

[THO] Study Group

Spent the afternoon in a study group for my Grace course. We were talking through how Gutierrez understands the work of grace in Liberation Spirituality. We had to bring in Ken Himes, Dorr and Voegelin to understand how We Drink from our own Wells tackles the the critique of the CDF on Liberation Theology. Namely the accusation that Liberation Theology legitimizes revolutionary violence and associates Christianity with political movements. Himes was a discussion of Just War theory and helped us understand why revolutionary action is so bad in theory. But unfortunately we are living in the shadow of two world wars and the suffering faced by Latin Americans is precisely the product of the colonial governments that should be the praxis of God's activity in the political arena. Dorr begins the political conversation around the preferential option for the poor which is used to say that God is actually on the side of the oppressed poor in this. So should it surprise us that when the poor rise up and engage the political powers they also have an encounter with God? Well, if we really think about how this happens in Gutierrez's book we should be a bit surprised. But stepping back I keep thinking this is exactly what love does and if hope is not hope for this world then how can we say that our hope is in the Living God who was willing to step into this world and who promises that we will never be without His presence. Run on sentence maybe, but this is a big concept and the cornerstone for Liberation Spirituality.

Now to sit down for three hours and spill out everything we reviewed today. I'm going to read through my notes one last time, but I think I have my head around it well enough to do the exam.

But first I need to complete my Ecology take-home. I have one b-day party and a trip to lease a new car, but other than that this weekend is all about the exams.

BTW, we are pretty much sold on leasing a Saturn VUE hybrid. We are pretty stoked.

[LIF] Life is Quick...

Had a great study group last night, well there were really only two of us. But the thing was I could pretty much outline the whole course and understood it. So you would think today would be a snap to write the take home. Yeah, right. Well one thing after another and a nice day to myself is a write off. I'm going to try to write is tonight after kinship. I slept a spell this afternoon so I might be up anyway tonight.

I landed a book review for the holidays, The Portable Seminary. It should arrive in the mail soon. Exams will be done soon. I have church tonight which is going to be fun. This day really just flew by too fast.

[LIF] Richard's Fault

Your 'Do You Want the Terrorists to Win' Score: 91%

You are a terrorist-loving, Bush-bashing, "blame America first"-crowd traitor. You are in league with evil-doers who hate our freedoms. By all counts you are a liberal, and as such cleary desire the terrorists to succeed and impose their harsh theocratic restrictions on us all. You are fit to be hung for treason! Luckily George Bush is tapping your internet connection and is now aware of your thought-crime. Have a nice day.... in Guantanamo!

Do You Want the Terrorists to Win?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

This was the quiz Richard had on his blog. I couldn't resist, but it isn't like the results surprised me. The creator has some great "Worst President Ever" t-shirts over at his blog. Reminds me of the sarcasm of Landover Baptist Church.*

* Landover Baptist was set up as a parody site by Whitewolf games to trash one of their new apocalyptic role playing games. They were trying to generate some negative publicity which has worked for RPGs in the past. Unfortuntaly for those who have stumbled on the site you can see that this has taken on a life of its own. I'm not even sure if you can find a reference to the Whitewolf game on there anymore. Chris Tilling - this site is especially for you, you will laugh your merry Engish arse off reading such classis as 'Lucifer's Toychest' and ordering your own What Would Jesus Do thong!

[LIF] Grace Paper is done!

My critique of the modern Evangelical vision of grace is complete and handed in. I loved working with Moltmann on this one, of all my papers this is the one I think is most important this semester. I think Moltmann does a great job of keeping the tension between a personal grace and a social grace, I personally think this will be the challenge of our generation. In fact I think that is one of things that the Emergent/Emerging contexts touches that is very valuable.

I have one more little paper due Monday on Berry's The Great Work. And I've been invited into a small group of students who want to study Thomas Berry from a Berryite. I'm hoping that works out, it isn't for credit but I think it will be worthwhile.

I'm going to work on the last Worship series article right after my exams, sorry for the huge wait! Then I'll jump right into the promised Kingdom series. My paper on the Kingdom of God as it influences Vineyard Ecclesiology came back - 88% which is awesome as Prof. Clifford is a really tough marker. It was a fun class, I now officially know more than I wanted to about Roman Ecclesiology. I appreciate a lot about the Catholic Church, but I sure am glad I'm not a Roman Catholic.

Well we have snow today, the kids want to go out and I am thinking it is about time.

[LIF] Not sure if I am Crazy, but...

Christianity.ca emailed me a while back wanting to re-run my article on Poker from Christian Week. I hesitantly agreed provided they fix up some editorial mix ups from the Christian Week version - the friends I talk about in the intro are not fundamentalist whack-jobs like the Christian Week version could lead you to believe. They are simply concerned, like many conservatives about the Poker craze and its effect on young people in particular. So today it came out here. In some ways I am happy to share our experiences. But the only letters that I saw come back from the Christian Week run were not even worth responding to. Maybe there will be some good discussion generated this run, but it is interesting that they came after me for this article. I suspect partly because no one else dares write it. I imagine in some denominations it would be akin to coming out of the closet. "You play poker? Don't know you that will make you go blind and cause your kids to rebel???"

Anyway I was comforted when another Vineyard's weekly letter hit my inbox announcing Poker on the agenda at a midweek gathering. I'm not alone, and once again God is reminding me I am in the right family. I might be the quirky emergent fellow in Ottawa, but they know how to make me feel loved. I would really love to hear your comments on the article, even if you hate it and think I'm going to burn in hell over it.

[THO] How TO be Emergent (Please)

Pretty consistantly I see the Emergent conversation either misreprented or misunderstood. As someone who sees a lot of value in the Emergent conversation I think it is about time to try and clear the air. I added the word please because what I see happening is Emergent is becoming the latest fad in the Church which makes it much less than helpful. (The same could easily be said for Missional). So if you are looking at joining in the conversation please weigh the following:

1) Don't miss that Emergent is a critique.

I am fond of saying that Emergent is at best a conversation and at worst a movement. The reason for this is that when a critique becomes a movement, it is starting from a fairly negative foundation. Some of what troubles me about fads is that they tend to just adopt methods or principles and miss the real purpose of what is happening. Emergent is what has always happened in the Church, there is always that edge that wants to take us out a little deeper, engage the culture a little better and see God as a little bigger than we have been. Emergent is best understood as walking in that tradition - it is not a comfortable place because it often is experimental and almost always misunderstood. So this isn't something new, but something that is definitely needed. Not to be embraced as a "new" methodology, but as a prophetic word that is trying to call us to a better place as the Church.

2) Don't think a few candles makes you Emergent.

Emergent isn't something you try and attach to how you have done church in the past. It is a conversation that dares to ask how what we are doing is working (or not working). It is a conversation that is happening amongst pastors, priests, leaders and laity from a wide range of ecclesial settings. That is one of its primary values. It doesn't look like anything because it is not a form, philosophy or even a methodology. It is a conversation and you are welcome to join in. In fact you have likely already joined in and not even realized. Sure there are some Emergent churches that use candles, but many don't and if you listen to the conversation - some actually shouldn't.

3) Don't think of Emergent as something other than the Church.

Emergent is not a new church. It is a natural function of the glorious Church of Jesus Christ. It just happens that some felt it was helpful to name it. Think of how many movements within the church have been named. Pietists, Orthodox, Protestants, Methodists, Revivalists, Charismatics. Sure some of us like the labels now, but these labels can be double edged swords. Please, if you want to make a new church, don't call it Emergent, in fact why not consider not doing that at all. The Church has had enough schism for ten Milleniums.

4) Don't think if you are Emergent you won't need the rest of the Church.

If you think Emergent means you don't need the conservatives that dislike your Emergent ways then you are sadly mistaken. One of the critiques that Emergent brings is that of a high degree of disunity. Now the critique is nuanced with a cry for diversity as the basis of unity, but let us not mistake that for a call to disunity. Again this is why Emergent is best as a conversation, conversations happen best with more voices not less, even those voices you don't always want to hear.

5) Don't miss that Emergent means a call to authenticity.

The main critique I hear over and over is one that asks, "where is the authentic experience of the Church?" It would be a shame to have that go forward and build something highly inauthentic. Emergent isn't a call to do what isn't you. It is a call to work within your blessed tradition and maybe reach a bit broader audience. It is a call to wade a bit deeper spiritually. To embrace practices from other traditions only when they are going to foster something deeper, something real. It definitely doesn't jettison the gospel or try to mush everything into a form of relativism. It might question some of the ways we describe this (and even understand this) but only so we can better frame our faith and communicate it to others, say in a way they can actually recieve (authentic). It is about being true to ourselves and the call of God on our lives. Anything less than that should raise a warning flag. Like I keep saying, Emergent isn't a fad we can jump on to try and make our church the hottest thing since sliced bread. Those sorts of things are a dime a dozen and if they really worked we wouldn't need new ones every few months. Emergent is something deeper, it is a conversation and you are welcome to join in.

I could go on, but I think this conveys what is immediately on my heart. There is a great Emergent conversation going on over at Resonate, and I'm sure there are others. I hope to hear you there.

[Edit: I fixed my title.]

[LIF] One Down, One to Go

My Eastern Studies paper is now done! I have a grace paper due Thursday and then it is just exams (which I start getting Monday). Even though I was really depressed doing the Eastern paper I did end up with a paper I am quite happy with. I compared the liturgy with a picture of the Christian life and was able to easily trace the themes of suffering and joy. In fact I ended the paper in joy which is both appropriate and makes for an excellent ending note. Now it is time to really buckle down with Moltmann and finish up my grace paper.

I am soooooooo tired.

[THO] The Divine Liturgy of Does This Ever End?

This was painful to get through. But it did give me a sense of what actually is going on. It is pretty hard to figure that out from words on a page. I was assuming a whole lot more of this was accessible to the people, boy was I wrong. I am not sure why it is so maddening to see a priest calling the occasional phrase over his shoulder at the people, but it is. I think what is more frustrating is that after watching this and pouring over the text I just don't get the sense of what Schmemann sees. It is going to be a long night.

[LIF] Paper Crunch continues...

Still working on my papers. I keep getting drawn to my paper on grace, my working title is “The Weaker Grace” and I’ll probably tag on “How the Evangelical Vision of Grace Leads to Inadequate Social Response”, or something like that. I keep bouncing back and forth from Moltmann to a range of Evangelical authors (including Haggard). My working premise is not that Evangelicals don't respond socially (in fact the opposite is true) but that they respond either as a form of risk management or simply out of a bad narrative bias. Fun, fun, fun. Meanwhile I have yet to complete my reading and analysis for the paper due Monday! This is going to be a crazy week. My paper on Vineyard ecclesiology has already been submitted. I wish I had more time to work on that one, Sharon felt I spent too much time unpacking history. My concern was that the prof. likely does not have any background in where the Vineyard comes from. I’m usually lumped in with Pentecostals.

[THO] Lonnie Frisbee

I just ordered this video as well as Di Sabatino's The Jesus People Movement. I've been waiting a long time for both of these (really just an excuse to buy David's book). I'll have to review it here. Lonnie, for those who have never heard of him, was the figure who was central at the Mother's Day visitation that really shook up the Vineyard. He is so important that Vineyard historian Bill Jackson devoted a whole appendix to Lonnie. He was also, ironically, a major figure in the roots of the Calvary Chapel movement (sorry Hannegraff). But what is even more interesting, this lightening rod for God died in relative obscurity because his whole life he struggled with homosexuality. The fact that God so powerfully used a gay man really ruffles feathers. Let you all know when it arrives!

[THO] Moltmann and Grace

The coming lordship of the risen Christ cannot be merely hoped for and awaited. This hope and expectation also sets its stamp on life, action and suffering in the history of society. Hence mission means not merely propogation of faith and hope, but also historic transformation of life.
Jurgen Moltmann, Theology of Hope, 329-330.

Just getting my head around Moltmann's view of grace for a paper I'm going to write in the next week or so. Loved this quote!

[THO] Stacking up Capitalism

Part of the job of a theologian is to be able to look at the world and understand what is going on. To make judgements and when something is problemmatic, to sound the alarm. I mean that in the most prophetic of senses.

I've been thinking a lot about how we engage with the world around us. Introspective I know, but I think this is vital. The obsession that I have with stuff is incredible. I have a collector mentality and derive pleasure from sorting things. In fact it is one of my wierder traits. I like order, even though I live a lot of times in chaos from the sheer amount of stuff I have collected over the years. My wife is into purging, which is healthy for me, but it doesn't make it easy.

What got me thinking about this is a bit of TV I've seen lately, an advertisment and a show I saw tonight. The show was 'How Clean Is Your House' in which Kim and Aggie tackle the house of a literal rubbage collector. They dragged 4+ tonnes of crap out of this small flat (not exaggerating) and scrubbed some of the vilest crap I've ever seen. Now I live in a pristine castle compared to this man, but you know it is not hard to imagine being swallowed up by all my own crap. But for me it isn't recycling rubbish or being unwilling to part with broken stuff that does me in. I actually am pretty good at chucking real garbage. (Well if you look at my library there is a bit of crap in there that I should purge, likely will now that my shelves are full, say goodbye Josh McDowell!) What does me in is the allure of stuff that I just don't need.

Take this cup stacking game that is advertised on the tv all the time now. At first I thought 'that might be fun', but then I thought about it. 'What the heck?' They are re-selling the common plastic cup as a game??? This is the empitome of capitalism. Convincing the masses to buy more crap that they won't ever need because it fuels the artificial economy and keeps the wealthy happy in their relative comfort. But are we happy? Even the rich? The thing is for capitalism to work we all have to buy into this buy to be happy deal. If someone wakes up and begins pointing out that they are just re-selling cups then possibly the illusion will be shattered. Well, I can hope can't I. (The illusion is necessary because it lets us sleep in a world where our capitalism hides incredible disparity and oppressive poverty in the world, but let's keep this light shall we.)

Sears has this new wish big campaign for Christmas shopping, where folks are going home with more oversized things they likely don't need. It is madness, sheer madness. But what drives me nuts is I am the worst culprit. I fight with my wife over buying new tools I could borrow from neighbours. I purchase more paintable terrain than I could ever use to populate a battle map, or make sure I have oodles of miniatures for trading, yet hesitate when the offers to trade come in? I am just as sick as the whole system.

I think what this points to is my next Lenten fast. Instead of giving up food or coffee. I think this time I'm going to give up buying, in fact I think I need to find something each day of Lent to either give away or chuck out. Think of it as a protest of the capitalism that so enthralls my soul. Lent is a ways off yet, so I have a chance to get my ducks in order first. A chance to flesh out the ground rules. Last year I gave up Internet Poker for Lent, and you know what I've played maybe three times since giving it up. It was hard, damn hard actually. I really enjoyed the thrill of gaming. I actually enjoyed making new online friends. But giving it up I realized how much I was missing out on simple things, like playing with my kids (or letting them have the computer long enough to learn how to use it well). And I wasn't really playing that obsessively before! I wonder if this will change the way I feel about buying into this commercialism driving society. I know I am already very distrustful of capitalism. I see the cup game and it is like writing on the wall.

[LIF] Nightmares and other stuff

I have been spending my online moments getting through the 3 hour documentary Sam pointed to in this post. All I can say is holy crap! I ended up having an interesting chat about Leo Strauss in my Grace class (at break) after the first hour of this. Not sure I have the tools to sort through it properly, the thesis is pretty darn scary and makes me very glad Rumsfield is gone! Kenny, would love to hear you weigh in on this.

I've been progressively stuffier over the last four days, today I have a sinus headache. Yuch. Two papers to try and finish today (one is just little on the Eastern Churches Pneumatology)All the Easter papers should be "God Said it so we believe it and say it twenty times each liturgy." But they usually end up in me working out my frustrations over the horrid texts. This week we did Kalistos Ware and it is like a breath of fresh air. Sure I don't agree 100%, but Ware doesn't make me feel like a knob for having a different opinion.

[THO] Theological Influences

There has been a lot of buzz about books that have influenced our theology and I feel a bit out of it because I can maybe list a handful of really prominent influences view books, but the real influence belongs to the context of where those books came into play. I discovered Moltmann in James Pambrun's classes, that is also where I discovered Ricoeur, Lane and Charles Taylor. I discovered O'Donoghue in a Celtic Christian Spirituality course which was very influential on my theology of worship and evangelism (George Hunter jumps to mind). Also without John Gibaut I would not have developed such a passion for the Eucharist. Heather Eaton put writers like Johnson, Soelle and Berry in vivid context. And I could go on. So I was delighted when Ben decided to list his top 20, in no particular order, theological influences. Here are mine.

1. Eucharist - for anyone who has discovered the richness of the Eucharist there can be no doubt that theology starts here.


2. Planting a church - I am convinced that theology and church belong together.


3. James Pambrun - a systematics professor par excellance. Probably one of the best lecturers you could even meet, and passionate about theology.


4. Celtic Spirituality - I came at this from a few routes, but the biggest was a course at St. Paul. This has impacted my theology of worship, evangelism, community and life.


5. Questioning my Pentecostal roots - this is likely why I have so much trouble with the course I'm taking on Eastern Christianity. Questions are good.


6. My wife - sometimes in the middle of wrestling through questions my wife will say something profoundly grounded and help me make sense of the bigger picture. She is definitely a gift to me.


7. Ecumenical Friends - I am part of a lot of mixed tradition communities which has always been a source of rich theological insight for me. I guess that is why I persist with such communities even when I am the minority voice in the conversation.


8. The Bible - yeah there are a few books that make this list, but I have had the sheer privilege of studying under Walter Vogels who is able to hold the tension of a historical critical analysis and a love for the sacred Scriptures. I bless my Pentecostal heritage for its emphasis on reading the Bible has made it so that the Scriptures are part of my vocabulary.


9. John Gibaut - how could I not acknowledge his influence on me. He encouraged me to study the primitive house churches and imparted a passion for the Eucharist that marks almost everything I do liturgically. A finer Anglican Scholar I have yet to meet.


10. Training Ministers - I prepared and ran a year long ministry formation class for leaders form Freedom and the Smiths Falls Vineyard. I focused on the Vineyard, but we covered biblical interpretation, preaching, history, theology and spirituality. It was intense but I learned so much.


11. Philosophy - for helping me gain a critical distance from my engaged theology.


12. Jurgen Moltmann - both from books and from the dialogues those books have spawned. Moltmann is my homeboy!


13. Heather Eaton - she taught me how to take my spirituality apart and put it back together again. That is one of the most imporant abilities for a theologian.


14. Theology Blogs - man I am loving the richness of this community. I list many of the regulars I follow in my sidebar, but more often than not I'm following their links in the rich conversation that happens on the web.


15. Eastview Baptist Church - where I was given wings to fly and the freedom to realize I am not a Baptist. That is also the place where my library began, thanks Aubery!


16. The Vineyard - where I found a home. Kingdom theology is the bomb!


17. My kids - I think Luther was onto something when he said you are not a man until you change a diaper. My kids make me think deeply about a lot of things. Who the heck tried to tell them we aren't animals?


18. Experiences - I've had lots of freaky experiences along the way. The influence of witnessing healings, visions, guidance and other Kingdom realities can not be overestimated. I might not be Pentecostal, but I am definitely not a cessationist.


19. Worship in Song - I am oriented towards worship in this way. Especially to participate. I love to pick up my guitar and just worship. This has shaped my theology with a leaning towards the expressed love of God.


20. Preaching/Teaching - especially lectionally, but any time I've wrestled with scripture to prepare a message for our community (or another community) I've been blown away by how God shows up. Though it is scary, I do love it when the Word challenges my preconceptions.

[LIF] Haggard and Joseph

My buddy Joseph emails a semi-daily newsletter called Coffee Jesus. Yesterday he was lamenting the responses to Ted Haggard's indescretion. Of course Joseph didn't name Ted, but a quick look at my Yahoo! showed me the story. I think Joseph was more upset at how the Christians were responding to this tragedy. When I read it my heart was very sad for everyone involved, but mostly for Ted who will likely always have this shadow over him. Christians are not good at dealing with their heroes floundering, we tend to shoot our own wounded. Joseph also included this tounge in cheek video of the Americanization of Jesus - but I took no comfort in its jangly song (but maybe you will).

I would encourage you all to pray for your pastors and leaders. I think a big part of the problem is found in our ecclesiologies that just don't work. I could also have some interesting comments on the pressures of a mega-church. I also could find many issues to disagree with my brother Ted about and maybe point a finger there. But no matter what it always boils down to our own responsibility in our own affairs. And when we are honest with ourselves we dare not think if we were in Ted's shoes we would do any better. So let's pray for the Haggards as well. God let your love rest on your servant. Thank you for the courage in you he has found through all this. Protect and restore his family. And God have mercy on us all, for we all have the capacity to go where our brother has found himself.

[LIF] Back to the Grind

Had a great weekend of gaming, I actually took the prize last night. I wasn't too thrilled with my pulls in a sealed event - got a second Pit Fiend if anyone is looking for a trade. But I fireballed the first band until they were so soft I swatted them away like flies. The second band was Richard, who I think is a really good player. He came at me with the Solar (angel). He could have played points denial and maybe won, but he is a much more noble player than that and it cost him the game. His one chance to use the slaying arrow and he missed! Doh. My last matchup was with the new player Jason. He was good for his first time out to our group. His band had a Maug and an Owlbear for rending power, but I was careful, got off my fireballs when it counted and kept my Fiend from the big guns until he could easily mop up. It was a total party kill! We had all pitched in on a booster which I pulled a second Solar from.

But this crazy weekend also included a whole day in which my router refused to connect to the Internet! That meant having to get an extension on my paper for tonight's class. Sucks, but at least I have half of my next big paper done and my paper for the class this afternoon is complete. I am definitely not happy with the Eastern studies class. I'm sick of being the one who always has to tear apart the readings. I'm tired of writing papers about how the authors miss the point. I fear it is going to take me quite a while to begin liking Eastern Christianity again after this. Ignorance, in this case, is bliss.

This week we have out sending church pastors coming to visit us. I'm making a chili! Should be a really good time, George and Janet are a lot of fun to have around. Because Elyssa is just getting over the chicken pox they can't stay with us (it wouldn't be right to boot Elyssa out of her bed). But we have them for a whole night, Friday. I've invited the whole Freedom Vineyard to hang with us. Hope we can have a bit of worship as well.

Better get off to class.

[DDM] Bloodwar Is Here!

Lots is happening in the world of Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures! This new set is really nice. Colourful and really interesting sculptures. Tonight I am hosting our local release party! Yeah, I know it came out Friday, but that didn't work for most of us. I really don't have time for it tonight, but how can we not have a sealed event in honour of the new set?

I bought a case for myself and opened them up with my oldest daughter. She loves helping me open up minis. The first one was the Githyanki riding a Red Dragon - what an awesome miniature. There are a lot of demons/devils in this set, it is Bloodwar after all. Which doesn't thrill me too much, I always prefer the more standard fantasy fare of dragons, spiders, warriors and the like. But I must admit the Pit Fiend is a nasty beast and a great sculpt. I can't wait to field him in an Epic game.

I have two new articles published. A scenario for minis where two necromancers dual by summoning undead. It was supposed to be for Halloween, but was bumped by articles for the new set. The problem with an article coming out the same time as the gallery for a new set is that it gets lost in the shuffle. The other article was for Knowledge Arcana and is a piece on how to run a great game of minis. I share some of the insights I've gained from organizing gaming communities in Ottawa. KA has great editors and I think they did an awesome job with the layout for my article, I love the images!

I'll probably lay low for a bit on the scenario writing. Paper crunch at school and all that fun stuff. I know going into this new set of minis I was thinking I'd slow down, maybe cherry pick the next couple sets. But if the next set is as sweet as this one I'm going to be hard pressed not to pre-order a case. We'll just have to wait and see.

[REV] A Quick Drink from the Well

Last week I had 7 days to read Gustavo Gutiérrez's We Drink From Our Own Wells. I hate power reading such a deceptively profound book. And I would commend it to anyone who is wrestling with Liberation Theology, especially to evangelicals who think that Liberation Theology is just Socialism dressed up like Christianity. Gutiérrez reveals that Libeation Theology is deeply embedded in the experience of God in the midst of situations all of us would find intolerable if we were truly to face them ourselves. Liberation Theology is an orientation towards hope and the pursuit of justice that can only be described as the inbreaking of God's Kingdom in the lives of the oppressed. I am carefully using the term oppressed because we have some romantic notions of poverty in North America that do not describe what it means to be poor in 'developing' nations.

Gutiérrez begins with the definition of a Christian "as a follower of Jesus" (p.1) a great place to start for any theology. Because he begins here I think this book would be incredibly accessible to folks who have been afraid to Liberation Theology. He then begins to describe a spirituality that arises in the midst of a foreign and oppressive land (foreign to the Kingdom that is). "We are confronted with a reality contrary to the reign of life that the Lord proclaims." (p.10) It is this that is the reality of many oppressed in our world.

His insistance though is that it is in the face of such adversity that spirituality is born. And from the depths of spiritual experience a profound theogical reflection is able to occur. This is the experience of German Political Theology in light of the horrific Second World War. I find it interesting that in the evangelical world there is a glamourization of martyrdom. Something deep inside us knows that real theological reflection occurs in the midst of real social challenges. Yet that same evangelical world is quick to dismiss what is going on in neighbouring countries, right under our noses. To this Gutiérrez makes an incredibly bold claim, one we need to consider. "There is no authentic evangelization that is not accompanied by action on behalf of the poor." (p.44)

The other aspect of this book that I think makes it accessible to evangelicals is how Gutiérrez works with scripture. This book is predominantly a scriptural study - profoundly contextualized, but a study of scripture much like I would expect from contemporary evangelical writers. I think that is also what makes this book deceptively simple. It is not a simple text. There is something profound in what Gutiérrez is asking his readers to take in. It challenges our whole notion of what it is to do theological reflection. It calls us to be aware of the deep injustices that occur in our world, but not to lament and throw money at them - but rather to come along side in solidarity with the oppressed in a way that changes our own comfortable views of reality. In that place we encounter the Lord, surprising though that may be.