[THO] Worship II

Whenever we begin a new kinship (our name for a house church group) there is a process of adapting the liturgy to the community. The people that initially form that community have a huge impact on how that liturgy is formed. We shape a liturgy from their likes and dislikes, their liturgical history and from a desire to push beyond the box of their previous experiences.

Worship styles and liturgical forms, much as we hate to admit it, are really a matter of taste. If you look at the responses so far on my best liturgical practices post, few though they may be, there is a diversity there. Some people want to be surrounded by artwork, others want no distractions from their focus on God, others prefer chanted and integrated liturgies and still others a staccato experience with clear demarkations between liturgical elements. All of these preferences form the building block for the community worship experience.

By uncovering these preferences we can create an atmosphere of worship in which the majority of participants can engage with the experience and in which we can begin to push them towards other liturgical shapes. But without that initial connection to preferences you will not achieve the essential connection with worship that will draw other worshippers to participate in the experience.

Worship as a corporate experience is quite different than worship in a private setting. As a member of a public praise band, Plugged' In, we used to gather for what we called 'experimental worship' sessions. We had no audience except God and we came with a sense of expectation that our various liturgical backgrounds would spark something unique that would touch the heart of God. And it did, those were amazing times. But that is quite a different experience than one could ever have in a congregation, well unless you have a very special congregation. Those experiences were not conducive for anyone else to follow and only worked because as a band we had a history together and had learned to play off each other. This ability to jam is what we translated into a very private form of worship - very special but not corporate in the sense I want to talk about here. But even though that is a differnt experience, it does still show that we worked from the basis of our preferences. Each of us played in our own style trying to simultaneously compliment each other's playing and to connect with our creator. If we ignore preferences we reduce the ability of our congregants to participate.

Participation in the liturgy, a word that means 'work of the people', is essential to draw others into the experience. Many times we come of the service tired, beaten, introverted and unless others are willing to be caught up in the worship then we will not be either. At this point it doesn't matter how much the leaders of worship have prepared the experience will just not be all it can be when you have everyone engaging in the work of worship. But when the foundation of the liturgical experience is one that a good majority enjoy, they will find themselves caught up in the worship despite their weeks. The result is a snowballing of participation in the liturgy, which is always a great thing.

Liturgical history is also important for a community. Many communities have deep roots in classic liturgical expressions. When these elements are introduced into your liturgy they provide a sense of comfort and familiarity. In our community we have a number of folks with Roman Catholic backgrounds, so it is important that as we develop the Eucharistic side of the worship we draw from those deep wells. Eucharistic prayer three has been our main touchstone, however it is important that we unabashedly adapt that form to our community and theological understanding. With a number in our community who have broken away from their Roman Catholic roots to pray that the elements become the body and blood of Jesus smacks of heresy and provides a stop to their worship. It is only after we have established a more true sense of the mystery of the Eucaristic experience that we have been able to re-introduce these phrases and have them enrich the experience of the liturgy. This is my final point, pushing the box we want to put around worship.

Liturgy is fluid, not static. Just as the people change, their work changes. I want to be careful to not say that it improves, because certainly it does, but the worship an older community enjoys might have been highly inappropriate to a new worshpping community. It isn't about moving towards an ideal but rather towards a worship that is particular to that community. A worship that challenges that community. A worship that is part of the process of making disciples of all women and men; and I mean that in the sense of putting women and men in the face of God rather than being a stale didactic experience.

If our liturgy is just what we like then we are never challenged to grow beyond our understandings of God and humanity. If our liturgy only draws from our common roots then we miss much of the richness of the Church. Yet if we throw too much, too soon into the mix of worship then we can lose the participation that is so essential for a great worship experience. We need to strike a balance of pushing into new relational avenues with God and providing a familiar and engaging framework for this push to happen.

This is not an easy one. Status quo is safe. But status quo will eventually get boring for worshippers. Any of you who has been through the process of introducing drums into the service in the 80s has seen how hard this can be, but how many congregations now feature drums in their worship bands? I see them all over the place and often used to great effect. If liturgy is about work, then it must be about accomplishing something. Guarding the status quo only accomplishes a spiritual stagnation and an entrenchment of elitist ideas about how 'we' do worship.

We try to not introduce a lot of new songs in our settings. Each worship leader comes with a different set of preferred songs so by mixing up the song leaders we do gain a variety of songs, but when we put together the songs for a liturgy we try to choose the majority of our set from songs we have done in the past and that the congregation has really engaged with. Adding new songs is not really a push but more of a way of building a resource of songs to give voice to a wider range of liturgical high-points. More about that in a further edition of this series. Where we push is more in how we execute those songs. Our base liturgical form is a three cresendo service: worship (in song), teaching (usually interactive and laid back), prayer (our comminity praying for each other often in smaller groups). Let us leave aside the form of our Eucharistic service which is monthly and quite different. Our basic form provides a familiar framework that folks know and expect. To push we will do things like introduce responsive readings or creeds into the worship in song. Change the teaching to a preaching or discussion. Have the prayer time take on more of an altar call type experience. Each of these foreign additions can keep the participants on their toes so to speak. Breaking their automatic expectations with a sense of anticipation. Often when you do a small change there is an increase in expectation that God too will do something new within our midst. If you change them all you run the risk of completely alienating the congregant. And these are merely a few of the possible pushes you could use.

A push works best if it is blatent at first and has the potential to be naturalized in after depending on how it impacted the quality of your communities worship. This brings us to Byron's suggestion of evaluating worship experiences within the context of a community. Look for that in Worship III.

[LIF] Nova Scotia

We arrived safe and sound in Truro. As we drove onto Robie street a sense of nostalgia washed over me, not as intense as previous occasions though. I am usually torn between giddy energy and angst whenever I come back to this town. So many of my most regretable moments happened here, of course they were very formative and in a wierd sense I am greatful, but still some of them still have left scars on my soul.

We are only here a few days and then off to the Vineyard National Celebration in Mahone Bay. That is going to be a great time, lots of stuff for the kids so Sharon and I will have a much needed break from them, and just hanging out with some old friends.

After that we'll figure out how to make our way back home.

[LIF] Dose <> Does

I keep seeing this and I'm going to explode if I do not say something. Now my typing isn't perfect, but I am concerned that this is becoming the new spelling? So far I have refrained from jumping on this everytime I see it, especially in gamer newsgroups, but I've had enough. It is time to declare war on something that really matters! The erosion of spelling and literacy!

If not I will be forced to admit Nietzsche was right: "That everyone may learn to read, in the long run corrupts not only writing but also thinking." (Thus Spoke Zarathustra: First Part, On Reading and Writing)

[LIF] Radio Silence...

I might be away from an IP connection for a few days. So in the meantime it is worth checking out a few interesting blog posts:

Desert Pastor has a great post on Shaking off 'Americentrism' which is a worthwhile read. He even mentions my web-friend Len!
Patrik in Finland has an excellent series running on the Eucharist.
Ben's poll on the worst theological invention still garners a heck of a lot more traffic than mine on the best???
And if you really want to keep tabs on me try Dan Wilt's excellent blog, I'm off to Mahone Bay to hang with my Vineyard family!

Don't forget to post your choice for best liturgical invention!

[THO] Worship I

After reading some of the comments on my post regarding the best liturgical invention, I can't stop thinking about the particularity of worship I am most comfortable with. So I would like to maybe share a bit on what makes that worship, especially the songs of worship, so special to me. Because this is something I've been involved in for many years I will also throw out some of the things I've learned about leading congregational and small group worship (both have their own particularities). I realize fully that worship is a very personal affair, and that corporate worship is very personal to the communities of faith in which they arise. But I believe there is a mandate within the Christian tradition to develop good worship practices that work well for your community. There is no "right" and "wrong" way to worship, there are better ways for sure as anyone who has experienced painful liturgy will attest. Those things come with practice and I would dare to say that with practice and sensitivity any liturgical format can be done in a way that promotes worship.

So let us start with this mandate to develop worship as Christian communities. Why should we be concerned about the development of worship in our communities?

Many of us want to romanticise a particular era or style. I don't think any of us are immune to this tendency, but it is worth noting. If we were to do a survey of the worship/liturgy of the Church we would notice that although there are some common elements (Eucharist for example) throughout and also some changes. Jasper and Cuming offer a wonderful survey of liturgies throughout the earliest days of Christianity up until the Reformation. (Prayers of the Eucharist, 1975). What is most striking about this survey is that the liturgy is appropriated into a variety of contexts, nothing is set in stone. Sure as the communities grow the liturgies capture more and more of the formalities, but that is a feature of large congregational worship versus small community and house fellowship worship. The more people in the mix the more work to make something that is good for everyone, or at the very least has entrance points for everyone to potentially take advantage of.

The Gospels also reflect the particularity of worship in four different apostolic communities. These communities championed different aspects of Christ's incarnation, seeing these aspects as most relevant to their worship. Of course my assumption here is that the gospels are primarily liturgical narratives intended for corporate worship. So the Marcan community recognized the humanity of Christ, while the Johannine community celebrated the mystery of Christ, Matthew celebrated the Messianic promise fulfilled in Christ and Luke celebrated the Lordship of Christ. Sure there are overlaps but each reveals an essential aspect of the incarnation (often aspects but I am generalizing to keep it simple).

So it seems clear that history bears out a mandate to do worship that is both faithful to the God who is worthy of worship and faithful to the community that longs to worship God. It is not fair to say that this changes in generations, rather it is highly contextual. One should not expect the same liturgy in an African Pentecostal community as one would find in an Asian Baptist community or even a Dutch Reformed community. Indeed some of what it takes to craft worship for your community is having an openness to other experiences seeing why that liturgical form connects with the community that embraces it.

It is these connections that I will turn to in my next post on this subject.

[FUN] Injurius Games

My buddy Jeff and I decided to try out Red Shirt's Injurius Games. So we went splits on some minis and rule books at CanGames. It helps that we know the guys who created this game and we play D&D Miniatures with them. It is quite a different game, kick and fun rules all based on a d12 (that's a 12 sided dice for the uninitiate). I describe it as gladiatorial combat with rocket launchers. The game is played in a 4' X 4' arena divided up in 3" squares (zones). You move your squad of gladiators through home-made terrain (buildings, obstacles, etc.) and try to take out as many other gladiators as you can in 6 rounds. Then you apply your battle honours to make your team stronger, faster and more deadly! Loads of fun for us gamer types.

But you start with nothing. Well a few unpainted miniatures. So far I have 2 squads of IG Legionnaires, 2 squads of Mecks, 1 squad of Space Orx, 1 squad of Reaction Marines, a deathball and 2 painted NRAAVs. I'm including some of the pics so you can see just how much work goes into this game. I now have a pile of terrain bits including a very cool water treatment facility, terrain with an unexploded bomb in it and tonnes of little bits and pieces. I'll soon be done the last few pieces of terrain so that I can clean up my modelling stuff to finally regain my music room.

Letter to a Fundamentalist

Michael Pahl wrote this excellent open letter that deals with the issue of scriptural inspiration. It is worth reading and digesting. I know myself that dialogues with my fundamentalist friends have been painful and I imagine a letter like this is really only well recieved by the already convinced. Maybe it will help us to be a little more merciful to our fundamentalist brothers and sisters.

[THO] Liturgical Trappings

Over an Ben Myer's blog there is a poll on what is the worst liturgical invention! What an interesting topic it has been, last I checked he ahd garnered 72 comments (only about 4 were me before you ask). What really struck me is that "tiny communion cups" is leading! Yeah, those silly little grape juice recepticles so common in the Church today. Is this further evidence of a real Eucharistic renewal in the Church? I sure hope so. Some of the early comments are priceless, like the guy who witnessed fat men in tights doing liturgical dance - yeah I know you want to rip your eyes out just reading about such a thing. Although I often suspected this is something that went on in freemasonry.

So what do you think is the best liturgical invention? It could be from any era, but something that was introduced into the church and just makes a lot of sense. If I get enough variety I'll make up a poll.

[LIF] Life is Busy

One of my friends once tried to tell me that being busy is a bondage. I tend to agree, but I am not sure what to do about it. Life just gets that way. Especially when you have two kids and a wife, a church to pastor, great friends and hobbies. It seems I get through one busy spell, catch my breath and hit another.

Right now we are preparing for our family vacation and a friend asked me to write and article for Christian Week. How could I turn that down? I also promised to write a new scenario for D&D miniatures before I left, I have a contract to write for them which is a lot of fun but a lot of work. And I am still preparing my liturgy for tomorrow night.

I spent the day at a local gaming store, with my oldest daughter of course, to run games for a D&D club there. Well none of the D&D club showed up but one young guy was interested and played against my daughter. She kicked his butt in Skullrunner, a little scenario I wrote. After that we hung out and played Pokemon, she kicked my butt. I got home and Sharon had made supper for a change, I'm the usual cook in the home and after supper I had a brief chance to read (Volf) while the kids played in the backyard. Sharon was off with her boss negotiating hours for this coming September. I just got the kids down and am free to work but what do I do - yeah I came here to type this up.

Well, best stop dallying. If I don't post as frequently in the next little while it is because I am busy.

[LIF] Doing the Stuff

Yesterday I spent the whole day at Joy Jam. This is my third year playing the Joy Jam festival and the third year our church, Freedom Vineyard, has donated water and helping hands to make this outreach a lot of fun. Brainchild of Matthew from Capital City Mission, Joy Jam wants to become Cornerstone North. We've had the joy of being there from the start! This is a day of free food, kids activities and music in an inner-city park surrounded by some of the poorest of Ottawa. Going out each year, and connecting with Capital City Mission through the year I'm starting to get to know some of the folks down there. There are a few old friends from my street preaching days, one friend in particular who always enjoys my music!

I was the last act to play. I got to close out the day which was both cool and a bit stressful. I had arranged to play with another guy, we had even worked up a set of music, but life conspired against us. Then I set up a background vocalist to at least make me sound good - and she had to bail on me as well. So I was guy with guitar. But it was fun. I even had some lady sitting right up front her eyes closed listening to every song, that was encouraging.

A lot of the acts were gospel music, and the first guy to play had a really great voice. Matthew's band, that he wants to name "Smells like Skunk", were pretty good doing all original pieces, they have a nice grungy sound. Then the main act was from Sudbury, the Mission Jam Band which were pretty good blues players. They let me into the tent just after 7 and by 7:15 I had my guitars by my side, a mic in front of me and I was ready to play. I started with "Let it Rain" which really needs Amanda Marshall to pull off, I was a bit fast but it gave me a chance to get my sound. I then launched into Rik Leaf's "Everyday" a song I always do down there. I did "Won't Back Down" which people loved, I do a fun version of that one that people asked me for before I went up. Then I grabbed my wife's guitar all tuned up in open E for a little Stones, "You Can't Always Get What You Want." That was my first time playing that song live, it was better with Nancy's BGVs but enjoyable none-the-less. Then I did my country set (smile), the Choir's "Behind that Locked Door" then to Andrew Smith's "I Come Undone". Then I did an original called "Fever", I think I've done that one somewhere else live. And at this point time is getting on so I finish up with "Heart of Gold".

[LIF] My Pocketbook Does Not Like Kenny!

I found All Books today. All I can say is wow. I managed to get out of there having only spent ~$40. This is what I scored:

The Portable Nietzsche (Viking Edition, the very one I was looking for and for like $8)!
Hegel's Philosophy of Right (Yeah I know, I couldn't remember if this was the one I had and it was. Downer. But it was only $10)
Heidegger Basic Writings (Oh yeah baby! I defintely want the copy of Being and Time they had there but this one sold me as it starts with What is Metaphysics. Yeah I know these are online but a book is so much nicer than a printout)
Beyond Good and Evil (Nietzsche) The one Nietzsche I wanted that isn't in the Portable Reader.

Kenny you need Hegel?

[THO] Convenential Extremes

There are a lot of ideas in popular Christianity that are quite disturbing when you think them through. Most of this poor theology comes out of a singularity of focus and a utilitarian approach to scripture. I want to explore both of these thoughts in relationship to what I call extreme covenent theology.

When we focus on anything to the exclusion of all else we create an object of worship out of that thing (which could be an idea or a practice as easily as it could be a physical object). And when that thing is anything but God then the imbalance leads us into strange places. This happens when we place a particular practice at the front of our theological musings as I have been recently discussing with regard to the affection of tongues over on Joe's blog. In a covenential setting it is seeing covenant as the defining quality of our relationship to God that creates the most trouble. When covenant takes the place of the mediation of Christ then we are thrown into a legalistic framework. Both God and man seem to be bound by the rules of this framework, and what gets espoused by proponents of this thinking is that if we pray just the right way, or give the right way, or even witness the right way then God is forced to respond in a pre-determined fashion. This smacks of witchcraft when we think about it.

God cannot be forced to heal, forgive, bend the laws of reality or anything we might try to manipulate God into doing. If this were the case then somehow the creation has gotten the upper hand on the Creator and the last time I read the bible God was still King and on the throne. But isn't that just easier to relate to than a God who freely gives, freely forgives (even folks we secretly don't want forgiven) and even freely heals?

The second problem stems from an approach to scripture that I would define as utilitarian, but might also be appropriately named instrumentalistic. Seeing Scripture as a series of "priciples" that when applied in just the right way will affect the desired results. Again this smacks of witchcraft.

Proponents of such theologies tend towards endless prooftexting to build their "principles". Often building an entire theology from one or two verses lifted entirely from their context. This type of thing always makes me cringe, and for good reason. It completely misses the point. Scripture is not some magic spell that makes God dance to our beat. On the contrary Scripture beats out the heartbeat of God so that we can join the dance that God has initiated. It is the story we find ourselves in, not the one we get to rewrite basd on our percieved needs and twisted desires.

Sometimes that song is disturbing to us. I know recently the dance has been hard because reading Volf's Exclusion and Embrace has been uncovering some real unchristlike aspects of my life. But there is no magic mantra in the bible that I can say to make that go away. Rather I am drawn into the dance that takes me into these places so that with God, as my dance partner, we can begin the hard work of salvation deeper and deeper in my soul.

So next time someone tells you to pray this way or follow this principle. listen for the drumbeat of God. That one might not sound as enticing, but trust me it is the one that will change your life. Sure I believe in covenants, but the one covenant that matters is what Jesus did for me on the cross. And that one lets me dance the dance that God has begun. That one removes me from the legalistic frameworks that can never lead to life. That covenant leads to freedom.

[FUN] All of Tübingen is celebrating!

Bringing home the victory to Germany it is Jürgen Moltmann! Jubilant crowds could care less about the huge airship darkening the stadium, crowds of theologians, wannabe theologians, liturgicists, feminists, philosophers, scholars and the like are dancing it up on the field. Balthasar gracefully embraced Moltmann with a look of, "we'll have to see about next century!"

No news yet as to the mystery of the kiwi or the huge blimp hovering above the Finnish stadium. Updates to follow!

[FUN] Huge Koala Blimp heading towards Finland!

Seems that the excitement in Germany over some other World Cup had distracted our infamous Koala villian, but the blimp is back! Must be awaiting the fierce knock-down drag-out fight going on between Von Balthasar and Moltmann. My Molty is looking spiffy tonight! Looks like this is one match that won't need to go to a penalty kick-off. But still what could be up with airship?

[UPDATE]
As the airship overshadowed the battle arena the crowd was bombarded with a booming slightly femine voice: "Who wins here faces me in Australia or I will reveal the secret of the kiwi fruit to the world!" Thirty minutes of insane laughter followed during which the contestants shrugged and began to match words, thoughts and influence in the ring!

Note supporters of von Balthasar have tried to invoke penalty after penalty, attacking the very questions at stake. It would seem vonB plays like the Italians play soccer! Perhaps he spent time in the Swiss guard, protecting the Pope in the Vatican? It is oh so confusing. Perhaps it is merely that his supporters want to win this one like they won the "other" World Cup!

[LIF] Minidisc Decisions

I am really cued to sound, especially music. I prefer the silence of a library, but end up doing most of my reading in coffee shops or late at night in my house. Unfortunatly that isn't giving me enough reading time, not to mention it makes me tired. Sometimes the coffee shop is too noisy. But I noticed something. It isn't the music, it is the lyrics. I am obsessed with listening to the lyrics! When it is just music then I am fine to read, in fact the pace helps me move along. But as soon as a song is sung I am distracted. Funny I can tune out the conversations of most strangers, but not my family. And I can tune out music, just not lyrics.

So I have an idea. I have a minidisc player and a couple great sets of ear cans! Those headphones that cover your whole ear - I have them from my home music studio. So now I have to programme a couple of these discs for the coming reading year. On one I want fairly contemporary stuff, both need to have consistent sound levels (not a lot of volume modulations) and the contemporary stuff needs to have a decent, but not too fast pace. I'm into everything from Portishead to Folk Rock, but I don't do classical music (sadly bad associations with my past has wrecked my capacity to enjoy classical music).

I want to throw it open to suggestions: Please indicate disc A (contemporary) or disc B (ecclectic). Also please make many suggestions for both. I believe in paying for my music so the more stuff I can get from say buying a compilation CD the better. I'm looking forward to your suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

[DDM] Bahamut Baby!!!

Yesterday I arrived home from the game store with 18 cases of freshly released War of the Dragon Queen Miniatures! OK before you freak, only 3 of them where for me. It was a lot of fun to watch my gamer friends come by and grab their cases. After supper a few of my friends came over to play a sealed event - that is you grab two unopened boosters and make a 500pt warband from the minis inside. I opened my first booster and it was the Aspect of Tiamat, I knew this was going to be fun! Second booster - Aspect of Bahamut! Holy crap I pulled the two fiercest rares in the set! Unfortunately they both don't fit. I had a tough decision so I finally went with Bahamut (pictured) and built my band.

Because of the excitement of people coming by and opening up their boosters we only got to play two games. The first one I decimated Greg's Sorceror on Black Dragon and Tordek band. He really rolled poorly on saves which made the game go really fast! The second matchup was against Jay with his Godslayer band. That was the only piece I was afraid of, it has a major hate on for the Aspects. He managed to confuse both my Fang Dragon and my Nightmare! But in the end I beat him with points. Jay has improved his play considerably, but he has also slowed down his play which I think cost him the game. All in all it was a fun night.

From my three cases, and a little trading, I pulled all the huge minis. I also snagged most of the rares I really wanted including 2 Cadaver Collectors! I need a few more Griffon Calvary but judgeing by how much people wanted them in our group, I might have some difficulty getting more than the one I pulled (first mini I pulled out actually). My girls helped me open the first two cases that afternoon, which was fun. Elyssa thought the Aspect of Tiamat looked so beautiful that she was crying happy tears when she saw it. My wife just thought it looked creepy.

[FUN] Moltmann!!!!

The crowd on either side is roaring their excitement. Each contestant has come out dressed in their fighting shorts and tees! Moltmann cuts a dashing figure as he rushes into the arena and looks to find his gladiatorial weapon of choice - this is serious theology folks! He eyes the Sword of the Spirit but opts for the Trinitarian trident of Immenant Social Might (+5 for you game nuts). Von Balthasar hefts a mighty mitre of Peter (+3 Holy weapon) and steps into the Ring of Decision. A bell rings out from Finland to the world and the frey begins! This is going to be fierce people, hold on to your hats!

Rahner kicked Jenson right out of the ring last match securing a solid bronze finish.

[FUN] We have finalists!

It is down to the wire are the World Cup of Modern Systematic Theologians! Battling it out for third and fourth place we have Lutheran Robert Jensen, the only Anglophone to make it that far and Roman Catholic giant Karl Rahner!

von Balthasar knocked out Jensen to earn the match against Moltmann coming up. That should prove to be exciting as both theologians seem to have a strong following amongst the blogizens.

[LIF] Happy Birthday G.

You are still my least favourite terrorist.

[FUN] Moltmann rocks the WCoMST!

This just in, Moltmann has kicked the crap out of Rahner! It is true, he had him up against the ropes just pounding away. Rahner put up a pretty consistent defence but was no match for the awesome creative force of Moltmann!

If I were into tattoos I'd get the letters TATK across my knuckles in honour of the event!!!!!

[LIF] OK This is Annoying

What the heck is Harper thinking with this? My buddy Joseph was ranting about this in his Coffee Jesus. I had to look it up, sadly I find the news depressing and this is a case in point. Now don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of Mr. Harper but still I didn't expect him to do something as stupid as this. Did I suddenly wake up in the States?

I just don't get it. Especially with someone who wants to win a majority government in the next election - you would think they wouldn't want to alienate a huge portion of Canada's population, let alone one that many of us feel have been trodden under the boot of the "white" man for too many years now. Just frustrating. Perhaps George Bush will be relieved that his position as my least favourite world leader is being challenged.

[LIF] Books!

Paid a visit to the local used book store and bought my very first Hegel! I also picked up Bibby's Unknown Gods which should be fun. I am pretty excited to actually have the dreaded Hegel on my shelf. I was hoping to pick up some use Nietzsche but alas none was to be found.

Currently I am reading Miroslav Volf's Exclusion and Embrace which is incredibly profound. I find that it is uncovering my own patterns of exclusion, especially in regard to how I construct my own identity. I am not liking what I see but the book is just starting and I think is going to be a good partner through a difficult personal journey. BTW Volf's Free of Charge is an incredibly worthwhile read! On the go I always have something from Moltmann, still The Crucified God. And devotionally I have added Nouwen's With Burning Hearts to my lectional readings, this is the book I would love to use as an intro for a course on Eucharistic Imagination.

I am thinking of constructing a Reading List, what I would like to read next. I'm just going to deal with books on my shelf already and give preference to books I've either started or haven't touched yet.

Thinking Biblically Ricoeur & LaCoque (started, need to finish)
The Idea of the Holy Otto (have picked at, but always wanted to sink my teeth into)
Philosophy of the Right Hegel
In Memory of Her Fiorenza
Religion Within the Boundaries of Mere Reason Kant
Theology of Hope Moltmann
The Rule of Metaphor Ricoeur
The Future of Hope Volf & Katerberg (read the Moltmann essay only so far)
Followers of Jesus Vanier
The Gospel of the Kingdom Ladd (I've never finished this one)

That should keep me busy a while. Of course this goes out the window as new books come into my house.

[FUN] WCoMST Getting down to the wire

Reports of Moltmann practice sparring with Walter Kasper tell us that the upcoming heat against Karl Rahner will prove very, very exciting!

Yes, we have it folks. Moltmann has stepped into the ring with Rahner! This is going to be a matchup that will reverberate through the ages! Moltmann is creatively jabbing at Rahner while Rahner consistently blocks the blows. I think his consistency will be a liability soon, yes, Moltmann has figured out the pattern of Rahner's defense. That mighty blow of influence has Rahner reeling! This is a grand fight folks! a grand fight!

Down on the pitch von Balthasar is still jostling with Pannenberg. Results to follow soon. Pannenberg seems to have taken an injury early on, we'll see how he fares at the end of that matchup.

[UPDATE]
Towards the end of the match, von Balthasar shouted "take this protestant boy!" as he scored the winning goal!

[FUN] WCoMST Continues

Yesterday we saw Rahner take to the field with J�ngel, and only one will emerge victorious. Rahner has been dominating that match, but it's not over until the Finnish man sings!

Not surprisingly Moltmann handily defeated the bishop of Rome. Those Swiss guards were no match for Moltmann's feminist legionnaires, all sporting spiffy bushy eyebrows. Suspiciously absent from that crowd was Mary Daly? In any case they were successful at preventing any violence from breaking out and promptly decided to change their name from legionnaires to "peer support group". Ratzinger took up his mitre and jumped in the awaiting Popecopter, heading towards Rome. Guess he has some business to take care of - we knew he wasn't going to stick around to cheer on Rahner.

[UPDATE]

Two theologians I know pretty much nothing about are duking it out! Gunton and Jenson (pictured above) - I'm following the comments to see if I can glean anything about them.

Meanwhile Rahner was awarded the victory! Despite the claims that he has led many astray, it seems Rahnger himself knows how to get out of the J�ngel!

[LIF] Canada Day

HAPPY
CANADA
DAY!

Off to spend time with family and friends, and hopefully see some fireworks with my oldest daughter. Rahner and Jüngel can wait...

[FUN] Jesus Style Pimpin'

Man this is just wrong! Thank's Kenny for the link.

[FUN] What we have been all waiting for...

Moltmann vs. Ratzinger

This is the big one folks. The crowd is immense today as these giants take to the field. Moltmann has come out swinging and Ratzinger has thrown down his miter to engage in theological hand-to-hand combat.

I really think this is no contest if you weigh both on the merits of their theological contributions, but being made Pope does tend to grant a degree of celebrity to a person.

Just to get you all caught up:

von Balthasar decimated Lubac.
Pannennberg destroyed Frei.

Brackets can be seen here.

[FUN] Catholics and Protestants Unite..Please

The debate rages over the impact of modern day ultramontanism in the World Cup of Modern Systematic Theologians. The controversy arose over the posting of links to the contest to several Ratzinger fan sites - yeah I had no idea either. The concern is that Ratziner as Pope Benedict has more traction then he did as Cardinal. I also can't get over that he gave some of my homeboys at Tübingen a hard time! But, that is really just water under the bridge now.

Moltmann took his heat against Congar, despite the Ratz-pack coming in at the last minute to support their Roman brother.
And Ratzinger dominated Gutierrez with the help of his Swiss guard and fans. Also it must have something to do with having much less creepy lips than Gutierrez.

Today two new heats began:
Jenson emerged onto the pitch with Tillich, someone is getting ripped a new one as the battle of the Lutherans begins!
And sporting spiffy well trimmed beards, Gunton and Zizioulas face off.

[UPDATE]
Looks like Niebuhr will have to accept the things he cannot change as the mighty Jüngel has prevailed.
Rahner showed Torrance what's what in their match, but will he be able to defeat the Jüngel?

[FUN] Still Awaiting the final results

Moltmann is holding his ground with Congar in a fierce battle.
Ratzinger has called in his secret Swiss Infiltration units to boost his votes almost guaranteeing his win against Gutierrez. This was almost as unexpected as the Spanish Inquisition!

As we await these games to be called two other matches have begun.

Rahner has taken to the pitch against Torrance. Rahner is a veritable juggernaut who is used to being taken on in the theological arena, just ask Metz! Currently he is wiping the floor with Torrances shiny white collar!

Jüngel has thrown down with Reinhold, who says I'm lesser now punk, Niebuhr! You can bet he will help Jüngel to accept the things he cannot change in this showdown!

Updates to follow.

[FUN] The Battle Continues

The crowds cheer wildly as the final contestants walk onto the pitch. Dressed in full Papal splendor, Benedict nee Ratzinger steps up to the microphone, ready to do battle with Gutierrez. The Swiss guard surrounds the field as these two giants begin to gather the votes that will either sweep them into victory or relegate them to the sidelines of this important match!

On the other pitch, Moltmann, looking strong but tired from chairing a recent symposium, steps up to his microphone. His mind sharp and ready to decimate his robed opponent Yves Congar. Moltmann issues his first piercing question and the duel begins!

Patrik has offered brackets here for those following the game.

[FUN] WCoMST 16 Theologians Continue

As the dust cleared only sixteen theologians remain to fight for the title. The last few days have been very exciting as many scrambled to try and catch up with Moltmann's lead. While the sixteen do represent a good cross-section of Christiandom, many were surprised to not see any women remaining. The feminist contingent has rallied behind Moltmann for the finals, as did Jürgen's wife - a formidable feminist theologian in her own right!

Jüngel took our Ruether.
And Ratzinger saved some face for Rome by defeating Hick.
Gutierrez barely defeated Zizioulas.
And Küng mystically edged out Schillebeeckx.
McFague didn't have a prayer against Jenson.
Frei narrated a grand victory against Lossky.

Our master list looks like this:
Jürgen Moltmann 9 +52
Robert W. Jenson 9 +51
Karl Rahner 9 +50
Wolfhart Pannenberg 9 +40
Hans Urs von Balthasar 9 +36
Joseph Ratzinger 6 +35
Eberhard Jüngel 9 +33
Colin Gunton 9 +23
John Zizioulas 6 +16
Reinhold Niebuhr 6 +15
Henri de Lubac 6 +9
Gustavo Gutierrez 9 +7
Hans Frei 6 +7
T.F. Torrence 6 +7
Hans Küng 3 +1
John Howard Yoder 3 –1
Yves Congar 6 –5
Paul Tillich 6 –5
Vladimir Lossky 3 –6
David Tracy 3 –15
Leonardo Boff 0 –16
Rosemary Radford Ruether 3 -17
Walter Kasper 0 –17
Edward Schillebeeckx 0 –24
Emil Brunner 0 –25
Gerhard Ebeling 3 –27
Dorothee Sölle 3 –27
Anders Nygren 3 –30
James Cone 0 –32
John Hick 0 -37
Mary Daly 0 –45
Sallie McFague 0 –48

Our contestants have been given a few grace days to rest up before they are thrown onto the battlefield once again.

In related news an ominous blimp has been circling the stadium, it is shaped like a giant koala bear, what could this mean?

[FUN] Standings So Far

The battle for Modern Systematic Theological supremacy continues! Here is a friendly reminder of the standings so far.



Jürgen Moltmann 9 +52
Karl Rahner 9 +50
Wolfhart Pannenberg 9 +40
Robert W. Jenson 6 +35
Hans Urs von Balthasar 6 +26
Colin Gunton 9 +23
John Zizioulas 6 +17
Ebehard Jüngel 6 +16
Reinhold Niebuhr 6 +15
Joseph Ratzinger 3 +12
Henri de Lubac 6 +9
T.F. Torrence 6 +7
Gustavo Gutierrez 6 +6
Hans Frei 3 +5
Rosemary Radford Ruether 3 +0
John Howard Yoder 3 –1
Paul Tillich 6 –5
David Tracy 3 –5
Yves Congar 3 –7
Hans Küng 0 –7
Vladimir Lossky 3 –8
Leonardo Boff 0 –14
John Hick 0 -14
Edward Schillebeeckx 0 –16
Walter Kasper 0 –17
Emil Brunner 0 –25
Gerhard Ebeling 3 –27
Dorothee Sölle 3 –27
Anders Nygren 3 –30
James Cone 0 –32
Sallie McFague 0 –32
Mary Daly 0 –45



In related news an unknown individual dressed in a koala costume has issued a challenge to the winner to come to a real contest in the outback of Australia. The identity of what some are naming a theoterrorist is as of yet unknown. However, Australians have reported several koala shaped blimps near Syndney.

More news as it breaks!

[UPDATE]Partial results have come in and the new matchups are posted!
Balthasar proved to Tracy that a cool name wins the day!
Congar and Boff fought valiantly, but Boff fell to the mighty Congarer!

UP next Jenson is a favourite over McFague, but Sallie will not give up without a fight!
Frei is fighting intensely againt Lossky.
Gutierrez is pitted against Zizioulas.
And heavyweights Küng and Schillebeeckx circle the arena looking for their opportunities to score!

The master stat list will be updated in a few days, updates on current matchups as we get them!

[THO] When Charismatics Get It Right

Went to my friend Ahren’s church today. It was fun because Michel, one of my parishioners, came with us and we met up with our old friend Gerard. I was surprised to find Achen’ Dave doing worship and they also had a guest speaker lined up. Don Kantel who works with Iris Ministries.

What was neat was that Don is a Charismatic, unapologetically too. And he is doing the stuff! Specifically working with the poor and fatherless in Mozambique. It was like God was challenging my rant a bit. In fact as I think about it there are a number of Charismatics that I know about that are doing the right stuff. But they aren’t the most vocal ones.

In fact for the non-Charismatics I know doing the stuff, this also holds true. It is probably a good assumption that some of the best ministry happens in relative obscurity. And I think that is the way it is supposed to be. After all last Wednesday’s gospel reading was about doing these things in private looking for the rewards that come from God alone.

One other thing that I have been thinking about is that we seem to place a lot of weight on getting the understanding right instead of just doing. Our assumptions about orthodoxy have overshadowed our orthopraxy. I for one would rather have ten folks completely giving themselves for the poor than just one who has all the dots correctly placed on their theology. We can work on getting the ideas lined up better (as if any one of us has it all figured out anyway) but it is a lot harder to get the heart lined up.

[FUN] Moltmann Rocks!

While I was worshipping in church, our dedicated theologians were pit in battle on the pitch!
Pannenberg ripped Brunner a new one! Although his victory dance left much to be desired.
Lubac pummelled Ebeling into submission!
In the main arenas crowds were screaming as Moltmann showed Torrence what depth is all about!
And Cone bowed to the awesome force that is Dorothee Sölle! The cries of her faithful feminist supporters rivalled anything we have heard so far in this contest. After she took her place in the fan box for Ruether who is about to give the Bishop of Rome more than he bargained for.
Also beginning their contest on this day of worship we have Hick about to face the Jüngel! It remains doubtful that Hick will emerge from this contest.
Tracy is up against Balthasar, many an RC fanboy has had a tough time deciding who to root for this day.
Congar is about to decimate Boff!

As always we have all the updates soon as they come in!




[UPDATE]
In a shocking turn of events, two of yesterdays matchups were cancelled. Somehow the jugdes had made an oversight and duplicated an earlier matchup. Screams of "foul" and "you wouldn't have this problem if you had a woman on the board!" Were heard from some of the more extreme supporters of Ruether (thankfully the more level heads realized that this error really had nothing to do with gender). Ratzinger was escorted off the field after blindly swinging away in his match, trying once again to make a stand for Rome.

The corrected matchups began right away:
Ruether is going to show us what a woman can do with the Jüngel!
And Ratzinger was relieved to be facing a less formidable opponent.

[THO] Should I cry? (rant)

I was enjoying Chris's last little blog effort on Crazymatics (that is Charismatics who behave in embarrassing ways). The thing is that I am a Charismatic, at least experientially. I have no problem praying for healing, dealing with spirits and moving in the prophetic. However, these things quickly become wacky when a few simple realities aren't checked. The first is the myth of unmediated access simply has to be recognized. The moment we think we are a pure conduit of the un-interpreted word of God, then we should probably sit down and shut up before someone gets hurt. Seriously. This is one of the biggest problems I have with Charismata as it is practiced in the Pentecostal/Charismatic church. Just because you see a miracle or two doesn't mean all of a sudden you are king, at least if Jesus relinquished that position He failed to inform the rest of His Church.

The second is learn how to read the Bible. Man nothing is more annoying than someone stringing random verses together to try and make a point that the authors of those verse would have cringed to see. If you want to interpret the scriptures for the Church then you better be willing to put in the time studying. Read the scriptures in context. Let them change you, instead of always trying to back up your own wacky ideas. I got yet another frustrating email from some Mary who I am sure means well but is really not doing herself or others any favours pointing people to this crap. I get these periodically, guess that is part of the burden of pastoring in a denomination that has a Charismatic reputation. What is worse her message was directed to our church and warned our church to get out of the church because there are no God called pastors in the church??? I only got that far before writing her back with a terse little "you've mistaken me for someone else" letter.

Sometimes I can laugh about this, but the thing is it is really frustrating. One of Chris's respondants made an interesting point, he wasn't aware of any Charismatics that were really doing work with the poor or people on the margins, that it was really just self-indulgent crap they were into. Having been involved in renewal movements I would say that a lot of it is self-indulgent crap. We started to realize that if after a year you are just flopping like a flounder everytime someone prays for you, but nothing else has changed in your life - something is not right.

OK here is the frustrating part. I like it when God shows up and floors me. The rare occasion it happens I usually end up on my face, or crying out loudly even. I love the times I've been in prayer rooms so thick with God's presence the only thing you can do is crawl under, yes under, your chair. I love seeing healings, deliverances, words that change lives, etc. I love this stuff. But that stuff isn't what it is all about. That's the third problem. We've mistaken the gifts for God and missed what God really wants to do.

I would get angry when folks in the renewal would start telling us it was now a revival. You don't get to name that - God does. And if it is a revival then folks are going to be changed. They are going to go out from the Church and feed the poor, find the lost, heal the sick, free the prisoners, love the unloved, and all the things that Jesus longs to do in our world! And if it is a revival then people are going to respond, they will come in and go out just like the rest. Until that happens all you have is a bless-me club. And that is what gets me angry. We have reduced the gospel until it has been completely stripped of power.

Sure you might think that is power knocking you to the ground. And it is. But it is nothing compared to what God really wants to do, and what God is trying to get your attention to do.

So the next time you end up in a meeting where God is present in a 'Charismatic' way. Do everyone a favour, especially yourself. Open up your ears to hear what God is really saying. I am convinced it will be more like "don't be afraid" instead of the fearmongering that is usually passed off in His name. And it will be "don't be afraid" for a reason - you will be about to enter the most challenging time of your life; as Christ is sent to the World so are you.

[FUN] WCoMST takes the field with a Silent Cry

As we await the results of the day 8 matchups, a new group of brave theologians have entered the pitch.

In the main arena we have Moltmann already delivering the smack-down on Torrence, ouch!
Sölle has emerged onto the field with her silent cry that is sure to crack James' Cone of silence. Definitely there will be a lot of suffering in that area.
Scanning the crowd Sölle seems to have a lot of supporters, is that Joan Chittister with the big "You Go Girl!" placard, yes, I believe it is. And there are more, Fiorenza, Gebera, Eaton, wow a whole crowd has turned out to root for her! Looks like the venerable member of the great cloud of witness has gotten herself a great cloud for the day. Fight well good sister, fight well.

In the second arena we have Pannenberg serving up a bit of Brunner for the crowds.
Lubac and Ebeling seem to be well matched, but with so many heavyweights not many have turned out to see what happens here.

Well it is still anybody's game folks, get over to Patrik's blog and support your favourites.

[UPDATE]Fans roared as Rahner scored the last goal, his cry of "I'll show you mystical!" threw the crowd into a ecstatic uproar that was slightly reminiscent of a Pentecostal youth ralley in full glossilalic steam! Nygren sunk to his knees in defeat and it is rumoured he is on his way to a monastary to recover!
The lesser of the Niebuhrs has proven he isn't the lesser theologian on this battlefield! As it became apparent that Daly was severely beaten twenty crazed koalas descended onto the field. Niebuhr showed his attackers what a Christian strong in the Lord can really do and threw each of them to the ground while literally tearing their leatherbound outback copies of Pure Lust! We have to assume he was just a bit upset that Daly would bring backup. When the dust cleared Daly was nowhere to be seen. In related news a large black and white blimp was seen heading from the arena towards Australia, what could this mean?

On the secondary pitch Gunton trounced Tillich in a suprising upset, and Yoder eliminated Kasper who was booed off the pitch by a concerned group of Anglicans led by Bishop Tom Wright! News is that Rome is not taking this further loss well.

[THO] WCoMST Daly brings bears!

It is day 7 of the World Cup of Modern Systematic Theologians. The newest contestants have made their way onto the pitch. The lesser Niebuhr stretches as he prepares to face Koala Queen Mary Daly. Niebuhr may be a favourite in this matchup but there is no telling what that angry looking mob of koalas will do if he defeats their queen!
Rahner came onto the pitch swinging, his first blow knocked Nygren right off his feet and he has yet to get back up. It is the oddest sight to see kicking Nygren and yelling “bourgeois this!” This could get messier than the koala bears folks!
Over in group Augustine things are looking downright civilized. Tillich and Gunton seem well matched at this point; Tillich might be a slight favourite in the match.
Yoder faces Kasper who is desperately trying to put his recent comments about the Anglican ordination of female bishops behind him.

As always we will keep you posted.

[STARTLING UPDATE!]
Küng did not expect the sleeper hold!!!! Zizioulas takes down one of the arguably most recognizable names in theology. What a match!
Gutierrez liberated his victory from Schillebeeckx!
Frei stood around in net telling himself stories while Jenson danced his way to victory!
McFague had a rough go yet again as Lossky more than doubles her score!
McFague was sporting a shirt that says "Rosemary Radical Ruether Rocks!" That's the spirit!

[THO] Reading Strategy

Last semester I realized just how ineffective my reading strategy was. The problem is that the more I read the more I have trouble remembering where I read something. This was very apparent when I was preparing a biographical essay on Count Nicholas Zinzendorf. I had a lot of sources and ended up reading, re-reading and often re-re-reading them to find that one piece of information I knew I had read somewhere. I am convinced my paper suffered for this, even though I did get a good mark on it.

I need a plan.

I want to work on a new strategy this summer. I need to not be tied to dragging my laptop with me as I plan on bussing to school this year for the extra reading time. So it has to be in a notebook. I've done scraps of paper, writing in the book, highlighters, sticky notes, etc. But I need something comprehensive and that I can begin practicing with everything I read so that I can use the material easier as my courses advance. I think this is going to be indespensible when I start graduate work.

So here is where I would love some suggestions. What do you do when you read a book? How do you make sure you aren't wasting your time getting ready to re-read massive portions of key texts? Is there a secret technique you are willing to share with me and my readers? I am hoping to work this out over the summer as I get ready for the fall semester.

Thanks in advance!

[THO] WCOMST Continues

Though the contestants are tired they continue to battle on.

Ruether absolutely destroyed Hick to be our first female winner, I am relieved to see the feminist theologians represent.
Despite the intimidation of the Swiss Guards Jüngel managed to put the Bishop of Rome in his place, back in his pontifical chair apparently and perhaps out of this contest.
Boff was unable to buff up his presentation enough to beat Balthasar (I still think his name would make a great Battlestar!).
Congar and Tracy fought well, but eventually Yves Congared Tracy!

Today's matchups prove to be interesting as well.
McFague has thrown into the ring against Eastern contender Lossky, it will be close but I predict a lossky for Lossky.
Frei is attempting to narrate his way around Jenson, currently they are neck and neck as they go head to head in the arena!
The ever popular Küng is fighting hard to hold his ground against the double-Z Zizioulas. Many are hoping he won't forget to use his Küng-pow to deliver the final knock out (Zizioulas will be catching some much needed extra-Zs)!
And it looks like Schillibeeckx hasn't eaten any wheatibeckx this morning as Gutierrez shows him the triumphs of liberation theology!

Keep watching folks, the battles have really just begun!

[DDM] Skullrunner

All this talk of World Cups got my creative juices flowing and out came Skullrunner, Soccer for Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures. This is the fourth of my scenarios published by Wizards of the Coast, it is pretty exciting. I am trying to write about one a month, which is quite a task. Each one requires a lot of contemplation as well as playtesting. Both things that are hard to accomplish with a 6 and 3 year old running around. Right now as we type I have a 6 year old spinning around in my office singing 'twinkle, twinkle little cat!' I can't help but smile, but at the same time it really makes it hard to keep a train of thought. What were we talking about? Oh yeah, Skullrunner. I'm going to run this one soon in our local DDM group. It's gonna be fun - if you are interested let me know and I'll add you to our mailings. We play various forms of DDM almost weekly. Even though we've been playing a fair bit of Injurious Games since CanGames. Rumour has it that I am officially listed as a playtester for their newest offering - Heroes of the Empire! Sweet.

[THO] WCoMST brings us Ratz in ze Jüngel

I can almost no longer bear to watch as Moltmann dominates Sölle in the arena. Sölle is ever graceful, but it is just hard to watch. Patrik, seeing our plight, offered up the next set of matches and they look like doozies!

In the main arena we have Jüngel vs. Ratzinger. How fitting a contest that will be. I am torn actually as I disagree with a lot of Ratzinger's stances but he is not a theologian to be taken lightly.
I predict that Rosemary will be our first female winner as she kicks Hick's arse all around the arena. This will be at least one of our most entertaining matchups!
Group Ephrem will be scrapping today with Balthasar vs. Boff and Tracy vs. Congar.

Highlights as soon as yesterday's matchups conclude.

[UPDATE] Both Moltmann and Sölle know a lot about suffering, Sölle has been gracious in the suffering of her loss. What an epic battle!
Torrence blew away Cone while thing just didn't Pann out for Ebeling.
Lubac and Brunner were cheered on to the closest of these matches. But it seems their battle was short lived in our memories as we turn to the epic struggle of Jüngel vs. Ratzinger, everyone wants to know if the Bishop of Rome will survive in the Jüngel! My money says he'll be sent back to Rome with only his Papal title this year.

[UPDATE] The Bishop of Rome is making headway against Jüngel boys early lead. We are in for a fierce heat today folks, it is sure to keep you on the edge of your seats. The Swiss guards have surrounded the pitch and keep staring menacingly at Jüngel which has led to our first allegations of interferance. Surely they would never try anything with the thousands of spectators watching from the stands - hey if you are watching why aren't you voting!

[LIF] Twisting words bites

OK, I laughed my behind off with this. This takes my rant against prooftexting to a whole new level! Remember those really important songs, the ones that like change the world. Yeah, don't twist words man it's just bad.

[THO] Aspirations

Even though we are having a spot of fun with the World Cup of Modern Systematic Theologians it has sparked a bit of reflection on my part about the roles of aspiration. I know that aspiration is a dirty word in some Christian contexts, often mistaken for pride and selfish ambition. But I can’t help wondering at how these great theological voices perceived themselves prior to their renown?

I would suspect that many of them never set out to be ‘the’ next voice in theology, in fact a great many of them can distinctly trace their influences. But what is it that they set out to do that led them on the course towards greatness?

Indeed it isn’t simply becoming a theologian. We often joke about career options upon completion of our various theological degrees as St. Paul. I don’t really have to worry having already embarked on a career in pastoral ministry. But that isn’t why I entered into theology – I really want to teach. Regardless of fame, I want to be one of those who shape the generation that comes after me. I want to see them reach greater heights for Christ and I want to see the Church become all she can be, all that God has in His heart for her. That is the best I can do to name my own aspiration.

As I keep glimpsing the lives of those great women and men of God who have gone before me, I wonder how many had similar aspirations to me. I also wonder of those how many really speak to generations instead of congregations. Maybe we miss a lot of really important voices along the way. It is amazing how few of the voices in the WCoMST I am really familiar with. Boy do I have a long way to go. Here’s to the journey, and to the aspirations that keep us travelling.

[THO] WCoMST tumbles into madness

Sheer madness I tell you! Two venerable warriors entered the pitch, Jürgen Moltmann (my homeboy) and Dorothee Sölle (my homegirl). This will prove a furious battle. Both write with poetic elloquence. Both bring the sometimes esoteric world of theology into the frontlines of life - calling us to really think about what a committment to Christ is all about. Both have excited me with their writings. I look around my room and realize Sölle is absent from my shelves, a few mere chapters sit in a pile of photocopies from my studies. A pang as I realize the need to rectify this as soon as possible. Behind me, always at my back (and often in my bookbag) sits Moltmann. Ahhh, yes this is where my vote has to go. I am deeply sorry Dorothee - see you in glory, I know you are already saving a place for me.

I shift my view over to the other battle of the day, why do Torrence and Cone both make me think of whirlpools. No matter, I am sure they will work it out on their pitch.

[UPDATE] In my Moltmannian frenzy I completely missed that there were games in the other stadium. Who could blame me really. However, these are not light matchups. The ever popular Pannenberger should easily dispatch Ebeling, but you can be sure Ebeling will put up a good fight towards the end. Lubac might have given Rome lots to think about but Rome often has a hyperinflated opinion of itself and its place in Chrissendom. I predict a solid victory for Brunner. Unfortunatly my reporters have yet to return from Australia so please excuse my focus on the main event in the JM vs. DS smackdown arena!

[UPDATE] The match ups this year are intense. Never has there been such ferocious theologizing on the pitch. It is as if all the rules of engagement are thrown out the window as these great men and women have at it on the playing field. Who will emerge as the ultimate 20th Century systematic theologian is anybodies guess.

Our intrepid reporters have returned from Australia, but no sign of that solitary Daly vote. Seems the koalas have been formed into a mercenary army armed only with their trusty outback leatherbound editions of Pure Lust. Let me tell you folks it is not a pretty sight. Almost as ugly as Daly's defeat at the deft hands of Karl Rahner. Oh the humanity of it all!

The lesser of two Niebuhrs made great strides against poker great Scotty Nguyen, uh I am sorry that was Anders Nygren (who was he again?).
Kasper put up a grea fight against Tillich, but midway through the fight Tillich delivered a kidney blow to Kasper which secured him the victory. These fights are nasty folks, just plain nasty.
Gunter and Yoder shot their way out of obscurity, Gunter earned himself the nickname Gunter the Hunter and Yoder became his first prey.

Things continue to heat up on the running games. Moltmann and Pannennberg are both dancing all over their opponents. It is still early folks and anything can happen. Get on over to the shrinkzone to weigh in for your theological favourites!

[LIF] Bibliophile

I made a new friend through the blogosphere, Kenny. I would recommend highly his post on Pope's article about Nietzsche that was posted on Mark Driscoll's blog. He captures much of what I was getting at with my post about prooftexting, at least in how Christians improperly use source materials.

Kenny is a self-declared bibliophile, a lover of books. I must admit that books are a passion of mine as well. I think he does a better job of reading them, I seem to do a great job of collecting them but a horrible job of reading them. I would be ashamed to say what portion of my growing library (500+ volumes when I counted it last year) I have actually read. You might have noticed the Library Thing link, that is merely a selection of some of the more interesting titles in my collection.

Well I finally took Kenny's advice and visited Benjamin books in the Rideau Centre. I was walking home from a gig playing for a urban mission I really love and dropped in on this wonderful little store. They had The Lonergan Reader for $9, I might have to return for that one. I couldn't resist Paul Ricoeur's "The Rule of Metaphor". I love Ricoeur as a theologian so I am sure I will appreciate his philosophy, after all he really is a philosopher. Thanks for the tip Kenny. Keep your hands off that Lonergan Reader!

The other odd little book I picked up recently is "The History and Social Influence of the Potatoe". It was at our church yard sale and I laughed so hard I had to buy it. So cool.

[THO] The fighting continues for the WTC!

Over at the World Theology Cup it is getting nasty!

Schillebeeckx lost to a theologian with two Zeds in his name???
Frei narrated his own victory against ecofeminist McFague!
Jenson showed the East what’s what!
But Küng and Gutierrez fought fiercly, with Liberation spelling victory for Gutierrez! What a match that was, the crowd was on the edge of their seat at every vote. There will be more dynamite matches like that one in the future we can be assured!

More matches underway as Daly fights for her life. Round 2 is underway, you predict who will emerge victorious on this field of battle!

[UPDATE] Breaking news, satellite imagery has revealed a lone supporter of Mary Daly deep in the woods near Syndney, Australia! A team of reporters has been dispatched but have only found huge hordes of deadly koalas in that area. Suprisingly each of these cute but deadly bears was sporting a copy of Pure Lust, the special outback leatherbound edition. What could this all mean?

[LIF] Church Garage Sale

We had a church garage sale today to raise money for the foodbank near where we are meeting as a church. We rose just shy of $330 selling off our old stuff, which is amazing! What was amazing was seeing our community working together to do something good and really having a great time with it. Lots of people were really blessed that we were doing this to raise money for charity – one lady brought us some stuff from her home to sell as well. That was so cool. I was also blessed by the fact that despite the truly miserable weather we had Friday, it was overcast but for the most part dry all morning today. What an awesome answer to prayer. We took lots of pictures so I’ll have to post a few when I get them from Gabriel.

[THO] World Cup of Modern Systematic Theologians

I am really enjoying the matches over at Patrik's blog. It just cracks me up that he would think of doing this. Moltmann all the way baby! I'll have to run a commentary at some point. I must admit I know about 1/4 of the theologians listed, yikes. I've been wiki'ing the ones I've never heard of which is really fun. Always looking for a Tübingen connection!

[UPDATE]
First round was amazing!
Gunton suprisingly upset Kasper!
Yoder presented a fine showing against heavyweight Tillich, but not strong enough!
Rahner, the crowd favourite trounced the lesser Niebuhr!
Daly really couldn't hold he own against Nygren (I must admit to moving on the the exciting Rahner-Niebuhr contest myself).
Ebeling proved that the master can overtake the teacher!
and as expected Pannenburg was kicking it oldschool over Lubac who was an early game favourite.

Anything can happen as the Freedom Log favourite as entered the playing field. I predict Moltmann and Sölle will dominate for team (Pseudo)-Dionysios!

[UPDATE]
Moltmann! Moltmann! Moltmann! Moltmann!
I'd call him the dominator, but that would just be wrong considering his theology. But Moltmann did not dissappoint his fans as he soundly smote Cone. (Sorry Cone but you didn't stand a chance against this heavy weight).
Unfortunatly Molty's running mate Dorothy Sölle did not manage to win, but she put in a good fight. (Obviously eloquence did not count enough in this match up!)
von Balthasar defeated Congar, I would have voted for Congar but Balthasar is just too much of a hip Battlestar Galactica worthy name! Damn my fickle voting patterns.
In other news Tracy boffed Boff.
The Ratz boy proved once again the papal annoyance at feminist theologians as he spanked the ever powerful Rosemary Radford Ruether with ever un-Pope-like behaviour.
And voters clearly showed that the would prefer to be in the Jüngel rather than in Hickville. Can't say as I blame them.

This is getting tense folks, almost every participant has been on the field once. Head on over to see the excitement for yourself. The big question on everyones mind is how Kung will fare on the liberation front, I predict this one will not be pretty!

[LIF] Con Man Strikes Again!

You might remember that last year we were taken by a con man. I just got the sad news that another Ontario Vineyard has had the misfortune of this guys visit. Luckily we have a picture now, unluckily he stole a check from them and forged himself a grand. This guy was very good, took a PAOC church before us and could talk the "church lingo" wherever he went.

If you see him don't hesitate to inform the police. We have a case open on him and now there is one down Toronto ways. His MO was that he came into the country and was robbed at the airport, lost his ID. He is super friendly and talks a up a storm. He made several fake phone calls from our place, and even had someone call for him. So he is likely not working alone. I don't think he is dangerous, except to your pocket book. The odd things all really added up after he had disappeared.

The ironic part is that he never really took anything from us that we wouldn't have given if he'd asked. Sure we wouldn't have been too happy about him running up a hotel bill like he did, but it was only money. When I got news of this I was sad again, not so much that he ripped off my brother (which does make me sad) but that he is still caught up in a web of sin. How sad is someone who has to prey on the people who only want to give? If you do nab him, please let me know.

[THO] Proof-texting Bites

What is wrong with proof-texting? I must admit that it is one of my pet peeves. Proof-texting is basically the practice of using small isolated snippets of scripture to back up an idea. Christians do it all the time, tacking endless bible references to their every statement as if to give their statements the weight of scripture. Heck, I used to do it myself.

There are a few things wrong with this practice. First if you look up those passages and read them in context they can often say something completely different than what the user intends. I recently decided to look up the verses proposed on a series of propositions at one of the blogs I read. I thought maybe a few of them might be stretches. What shocked me was that none of them actually bore out the points he was making – well unless you stretched them to say something they were not saying in proper context. If you are going to do this read the context, please.

The second problem is that they make your statement weightier than it deserves to be. I don’t think people intend to be arrogant when they do this, but it sure is an arrogant thing to say your words are as weighty as scripture. Really we know that most people are not going to check your context, especially if you include multiples of references. For some reason there is an assumption of unmediated access to the mind of Christ taken on by the average Christian and this leads to all kinds of heresies. Now I am not for taking the scriptures out of the hands of people, but for mercy sake lets teach people to be responsible with the scriptures. To study it diligently, which doesn’t mean just knowing verses. In fact to use the scriptures, as they were intended – read the whole thing in context. Maybe laity could be given scriptures without bible references in them – that would help.

The third problem is what I call the JW problem. Ever debate with a JW? They know all the key verses and are trained to bounce you to the next one before you can read the proper context and see why their claim is preposterous. What sucks is that Christians do this all the time too. It fails to honour the reader and let them encounter God through the scriptures for themselves. It reduces the bible to a supporting document for a series of propositions that we want folks to assent to. I would rather lead people to Jesus thank you very much.

Finally it shows a lack of respect for scripture itself. Well that probably already came out. But if we really respect scripture we won’t twist it to suit our ends, rather we will embrace it and let scripture change us. Wouldn’t that be awesome? No wonder we are encouraged to devote ourselves to the public reading of scripture. No wonder the rich synagogue tradition always included publicly reading the scriptures. It is meant to be read to the people of God so that through it we can encounter the Word behind the word, the Living Word Jesus Christ. I’m all about that.

So please, don’t proof-text.

[LIF] neo-vegetarian reculturationist

Bryan, over at the Christian Gamers Guild, referred to me as a:
"neo-vegetarian pseudo-sideways reculturationist"
It was in jest and believe me I took it that way. But I wondered at how accurate a reflection this might be on me.

Despite never having any vegetarian leanings on account of God screwing up and giving me omnivorous teeth (what was God thinking?). I do hold some similar values with my more nature-oriented vegetarian friends. I just find it hard to resist the modern conveniences associated with cheating against my values. So ‘neo’ should really be replaced with ‘hypocritical neo’, if I am to be honest. I should go elsewhere when they are out of organic carrots, but sadly I don’t.

Pseudo-sideways, well considering when I was young and very stupid I decided to try out the urban myth of smoking banana peels. We baked them up, scraped them into a couple pipes and lit up for an experience that left us (I had a partner in stupidity in those days, fellow named Melvern) with the worst possible headache that mercifully only lasted about an hour. But the initial effect of inhaling burnt banana rinds is to feel sideways. So yes I know what it is like to feel sideways. However, pseudo or imitation sideways is another story. Suffice to say I no longer smoke much of anything let alone banana peels so sideways does need some qualifier if it has any hope of fitting.

Am I pseudo sideways? I like to think I’m not pseudo anything, but my investigation of my neo-vegetarianism already proved that I am not as non-pseudo as I would like to believe. But I don’t really try to pretend to be sideways either. Maybe upside down? I think that works better for me, pseudo inverted. I am not really inverted, but sometimes my perspectives can appear inverted; quite possibly they are inverted from the norm, but in reality I am convinced my ideas are right side up, hence the pseudo qualifier.

Reculturationist. Huh?

Well let’s break this bad boy down. Re means I do something again. Culture is in this, but the declination seems to indicate this term is more of a verb, meaning that I like to either reapply culture or resituate something into cultures. Both are quite accurate – which is why the first two are troubling, how could Bryan be so accurate here and miss the first two? I’ll leave that for Bryan to ponder.

[THO] Architects of Hope

Just finished reading Jürgen Moltmann’s “Progress and Abyss: Remembrance of the Future of the Modern World” from The Future of Hope (Volf & Katerberg, editors). What a profound piece. It is a kick in the pants for all Christians, especially those who live in the privilege of the Western world. His political criticism is of our apathy rather than our mode. He sees our “view [of] democracy as a condition we possess, not as a process we are involved in” as the root of the problem. (p.20) I couldn’t agree more. Which is scary because I’ve often tried to distance myself from things political. Moltmann points out that “there is no such thing as nonpolitical Christianity” which is what I have begrudgingly discovered. (p.22). And he calls the Church to be the architects of hope (not the Kingdom of God – rightfully rejecting this ‘we are building the Kingdom of God’ nonsense so prevalent in mainline Christianity) for a world that has had its high enlightenment dreams dashed to the ground. If you get the chance this article is a definite worthwhile read.  

[DDM] CanGames

This time next week I’ll be running games at CanGames. I am really excited. Last year was my first year and I had all my games fill up. This year I am running five sessions, including two DCI sanctioned tournaments (one even has 32 spaces reserved!). It is going to be fun. Two of my sessions are themed warbands, Epic and 200pt. That is always a lot of fun. You never know what people will bring to an event like that, it is bound to be hilarious – last time I ran themed bands I brought my dreaded freaky beard band where all the minis sported freaky facial hair! But the one I am most keen on running is my famous campaign scenario: Warlords of the Fallen Gong.

Each player competes in a series of one-on-one battles using warbands of escalating point value (100, 200, Epic). Faction rules are in effect and your warlord has to be in all of your builds (the same piece). Each victory gains your warlord new magic items that can be employed in the following warband builds (they are handicapped for points at the start of the skirmish). The better you do the more goodies you collect. In the traditional game we would end with an all out, mega-map, every warlord for him/herself battle – but that takes oodles of time. So in the interest of sane gaming we are just going to have a series of contests and lots of prizes to hand out. It should really be fun.

Speaking of prizes, Galen_Games has donated a bazillion (slight exaggeration) common and uncommon minis (Deathknell and Giants of Legend primarily) which I have turned into a pile of rareless boosters. Also my friend Richard from Red Shirt Games is painting up some custom statues as prizes, he says he is planning on winning two of them so I know he will do a good job (he’s a wicked miniature painter BTW).

Red Shirt Games is also running their famous Monster Mash scenario using D&D Miniatures. I’m going to play in that one and hope to get me a prize, maybe a statue for my own use in RPGing. That would be very cool. I’m also registered to play in their own game – General Glen’s Rules for Toy Soldiers on Friday night.

I’ll post how things went. Still lots to do to get ready, but I am really exicted!

[DDM] Heavy Artillery is up!

My latest DDM scenario hit the web today. I am quite pleased with this one as it involves a fair bit of strategy. You have to create a band that can do three things:

1) Destroy the enemy's Arcane Ballista
2) Activate your own Arcane Ballista (otherwise you wasted 48 points)
3) Defend your Arcane Ballista until it is off the map

All that in 100 points (minus 48 for the Ballista). Happy hunting!

You can find the scenario here.

Tag you are it!

I have decided to use tags to help you navigate my messages, I'll add them in here and put a link to this post next to the warning page.

[DDM] Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures
[FUN] At least I find it fun
[FV] Freedom Vineyard
[LIF] Reflections on my own belly button
[REV] Reviews
[RPG] Role Playing Gaming
[SER] Gospelly Messages
[THO] Theological reflections

*Updated July 5, 2007.

What is Freedom?

“Living out of our new selves, we are always already where the command would want us to be.” (Miroslav Volf, Free of Charge, 2005, p.67)

Nothing exposes the lie of autonomous spontaneous freedom than the realization that not one of us is truly autonomous or spontaneous. Indeed each of us is the product of our environments. We make choices based on a plethora of varied influences; everything from media to what we think our parents would do. We often try to kid ourselves about our motivations, but really we are built to respond in this way.

Humanity is a communal creature, in that we thrive on social interaction - interaction that is also sometimes our downfall. Every interaction we have with others influences the decisions that we face throughout each waking moment. Often we end up trying to appease those around us, or at least do what we think would appease our community. We want to be liked. We want to be respected. We want to be significant.

So we play the societal games. Here in the West, consumerism is one such game; we amass the latest things so that we can be ‘normal’ like everyone else. This not only takes a toll on our environment, it also further impoverishes the already poor as they claw at this illusion of ‘normalcy’.

If this vision of freedom is flawed, then what is freedom?

The grain of truth in the lie of autonomous spontaneous freedom is that we do find freedom at the core of our being, living out of our uniqueness. But that kind of freedom is not found by trying to strip away all the outside influences. Rather it is found in realizing something about ourselves as created beings.

Jesus Himself says that the “truth will set you free”. (John 8:32) That passage makes a lot of sense in its context. Jesus is conversing with some believing Jews and tells them that if they keep his commands then they will be set free by the truth. Doesn’t that sound contrary to the popular notion of freedom? It should, because it is. Jesus is advocating a freedom not from God’s influence – but a freedom found by living in God’s influence. Volf uses the Pauline language of old and new selves to argue this same point. (p.66)

The truth that sets us free is the realization that living within the influence of God is exactly what we were made to be/do. When we realize that this is what we were truly made for then it all makes sense. When we live out of this framework then we no longer have man’s fruitless dream of human potential, but rather God’s amazing dream of human potential. These dreams are quite different.

Man’s dream is that we will become masters of our reality. We will conquer frontier after frontier and show what a dominant species really can be. We’ve been living that dream for longer than our planet can bear and now we are reaping the consequences of our arrogance.

God’s dream sees us loving, giving, restoring, cultivating and even redeeming. God calls us to partner with Him in the amazing project of humanity, bringing the realization of love to this world. Giving to the poor who are so neglected in man’s grandiose dreams. Restoring life where the machinations of progress have destroyed life. Cultivating a new kind of humanity, one that lives the great commandment to love. Redeeming the fallenness of humanity through the life of Christ expressed through our lives. This is a dream of freedom.

Thoughts?

Popular Notion of Freedom

“Behind this identification of freedom with autonomous spontaneity lies the notion of a self-defined and free-floating person. Strip down all the influences of time and place, abstract from culture and nurture, and then you’ll come to your authentic core. This core is who you truly are, the thinking goes – unique, unshaped, unconstrained.” (Volf, Free of Charge, 2005, p. 65).

This is the myth of freedom that Miroslav Volf so powerfully exposes. The lie of the autonomous spontaneous self is not the vision of freedom God has for humanity. Yet this lie is at the heart of the American Dream, a dream that saturates all of North American culture. The dream that supplants God’s place at the centre of ‘our own’ universe. It says we are good enough, smart enough and gosh darn it people like us enough to do anything we put our minds to. We are guaranteed success, whatever that means, on our own individual merits and abilities. This is a powerful myth and regularly destroys the lives of those unsuccess stories we chose to ignore. We love the success stories and we applaud the human spirit. But we close our doors to the struggle of the masses around us. This isn’t hope. There is no hope in such a corrupt vision of freedom. There is only death, competition, corruption and violence – sounds exactly like what we’ve reaped.

Thoughts?

Resonating in Ottawa

Joseph, Glen & Alan


me, Mike & Kenny


Tuesday a group of about 8 Ottawa Resonators all hung out at the Abbey (pub on Preston St.) for a few beer and the resolving of many pressing theological issues. However, we did fail to determine who killed papa smurph. Please help us by adding your speculations to the comments. (Note: the gals all left before the photo op began).

Weekly Messages

Our faith community, Freedom Vineyard, has a strong web component. I wanted to mention the weekly message that I post there. It seems that it should be part of my blogging experience, so instead of duplicating the message here I’ll just tell you where to look. I post almost every week on that Sunday’s gospel reading. Usually the message comes out Monday, but occasionally life is too big and it doesn’t hit the site until Tuesday. So if you are wanting something with a bit more substance and are tired of waiting for my next theological post – enjoy the message.

Great Concert

Looking around the room at all the different faces I was pretty excited. Most of them had some connection to our little community, a few had never been out to any of our events but were friends who had connected with us along the way. Some were just friends who show up at games nights and the like. Others were friends we hadn’t seen in years! Looking around I saw the community music knits together.

Oh and Andrew Smith was awesome! He’s playing in Kingston this coming Saturday, check out his site for details. If you can, go and see what he is up to. The man can play guitar!