blogging on the run

not had a lot of time to blog lately. we are in the process of moving from one house to another, just down the street actually. i am doing a lot of the renovations on the old house myself. I'm actually looking forward to the challenges. my thesis is almost done, just need to carve out the time to write. i just finished teaching a course on eschatology and politics in North America. the exams come in Monday which is also the day we take possession of the new house.

as I'm less stuck behind a desk for a while just trying out blogging via tablet. going to see how difficult Autocorrect makes my life.

Think on This

Jesus’ ethics do not stand apart from the kingdom, rather they inhabit the kingdom bringing about the redemptive work of God in history, even if they do so presently only in a provisional way.

Thoughts?

Faith

What is faith?

I have been avoiding this word in the thesis because it is too often used as a bit of a catch-all phrase. It could mean a set of believes or doctrinal affirmations, it could mean some sort of commitment to God or to the Church, it would mean some quality of spirituality that is not readily measurable, it could mean a combination of these things and more.

Sometimes we like to talk about "the faith" as being this monolithic ideal that we can simply appeal to without qualification. Such as when we talk about someone being a "hero of the faith". It could mean that they were a hero within the Christian religion, but more likely we name them a hero because they seem to embody something of our ideologies and desires. The term faith seems simply too loose to use in academic writing.

Yet, I find myself writing down this word all the time when I do my initial drafts. Mostly I just figure out what use I mean in that instance and pick a different word. But why is it such a go to word? Why can't I shake it? I do think that the term itself is useful.

I've spent some time in the past defining faith in particular ways. Appealing to the Bible and making a case for a particular understanding. I think this tactic would work except that every time I read the word in other contexts I realize that there is a whole package of meaning behind it just as particular as the one I want to imply. I'm not sure I'll give up the practice, but it is a good reminder that words are funny creatures.

So as a thought experiment I put the question to you: what is faith?

Maybe we'll spark a lively debate, but I think the real insight will be how varied and yet specific our ideas a faith are.

Ahistoricism

Some evangelicals have a funny relationship with history. Recently I heard the old trope, "we know what happens at the end of the book." It is a saying that means the person believes that the book of Revelation has summed up what the end will look like so we do not really need to be that concerned about the present. Ahistoricism is a lack of concern for history, tradition, and temporality. It is not anti-historical, some evangelicals are quite certain the time and history exists - despite the abusive re-readings they often do. But they just don't think that what happens here and now is the point. This kind of thinking is both a recent development within Christian eschatology and it is one of the big reasons that evangelicals suck at social amelioration.

Yeah I said suck.

I wish it were not the case because I actually believe that the gospel is supposed to be good news for all of creation. That the gospel has something to say to injustice and evil as it is experienced in the here and now. I actually believe that Jesus is the answer - I'm just not so convinced that enough evangelicals have been asking the right question to which Jesus has the answer.

What Are America’s Most Bible-Minded Cities? | American Bible Society

What Are America’s Most Bible-Minded Cities? | American Bible Society

What does it mean to be biblical? Or even Bible-minded? It is interesting that the graph the American Bible Society puts forward argues that it is consensus that establishes truth. Actually it is arguing from a set of preconceptions about the nature of the Bible - namely that it merely needs to be read a lot and believed to be accurate for one to be "Bible-minded". But the term "Bible-minded" has a lot more weight than just those presuppositions. It implies, at least in the evangelical world, that something is more desirable or more correct. We do this with our theologies when we claim they are "biblical" regardless of how many other theological propositions contradict ours yet also claim to be "biblical".

A mentor of mine once wisely told me that just because the majority of people believe something does not make it true. He urged me to think for myself. And my theology has grown a lot from that little piece of advice (I would never have a theology of an open table if it were not for him.) So when I see an appeal to consensus like this I get a bit concerned that someone is offering an easy way out - and easy ways often impoverish our faith.

Perhaps I wouldn't enjoy being in the most "Bible-minded" of American cities. But I do enjoy being around people who take the Bible seriously by wrestling with its words and not simply buying what other people have to say about it.

There is Still Time!

Call for Papers:

Canadian Evangelical Theological Association Annual Meeting

University of Victoria, Victoria, BC

June 2, 2013

The Executive of the Canadian Evangelical Theological Association (CETA) welcomes proposals for papers to be presented at the June 2, 2013 Annual Meeting to be held in conjunction with the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Victoria, in Victoria, BC.

CETA encourages submission of high quality papers on any topic of theological relevance to Canadian Evangelicalism. The theme for this year's Congress is @ the Edge and papers which address this theme in relation to Canadian Evangelicalism are encouraged.

Papers should be scholarly but not highly specialized presentations of about 25 minutes, aimed at an audience of scholars from across the spectrum of theological disciplines, including biblical studies; theological readings of Scripture; historical, systematic, moral, and pastoral theology; theology that engages culture, the church, other academic disciplines, etc. Proposals from graduate students are welcome.

Proposed titles, along with an abstract of no more than 250 words, should be accompanied by a short CV. To facilitate anonymous review of proposals, please include your name, paper title, institutional affiliation, and contact information on a separate page from your paper proposal. All proposals should be submitted electronically to the address below in Word, ODT, or RTF format by January 31, 2013. Please entitle your email “CETA 2013 Paper Proposal.” 

Papers chosen for participation will be notified by March 1, 2013.

Please email all conference paper proposals to Dr. J. Richard Middleton, President, Canadian Evangelical Theological Association.

The Pastoral Concern

This is too important not to engage with. UK evangelical Steve Chalke has come out in favour of same-sex marriage. What I feel is so important about his stance is that he articulates the very real pastoral concerns that I know many pastors are struggling with. How do we love like Jesus loved?

All through the gospels I see Jesus challenging the established norms about inclusion. Even with the Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7 (a passage I struggle a lot with) the key was how Jesus' challenged how the disciples were growing increasingly exclusivist and as a result the miraculous power of God seemed to be decreasing (read the context, before and after and ask what changes). History has also born this out, when we focus on keeping tight reigns on the church we see God begin to move outside of our expectations and even our comfort. As my charismatic friends would say, you can't put God in a box.

Tony Campolo declares that this could well be a watershed moment. Campolo is not willing to go as far as Chalke, but he does represent the engagement with this issue that is going on throughout evangelicalism. Chalke is not going to be as easy for evangelicals to dismiss as Brian McLaren who also recently endorsed the blessing of same-sex marriages through participating in the wedding of his son.

These are interesting times.

(edited: redletterchristians.org is back up so I linked the reference to Campolo's response, also worth reading.)

Getting Down to Brass Tacks

Yeah, sounds impressive doesn't it. Actually I have a paper down - waiting for feedback. Now it is finally time to put everything else aside and finish my thesis! This week is getting my head back into the game, rewriting the intro to include a slight change as well as make my background research chapters count. Next week it is time to reboot my physical fitness work. By the end of these two weeks I want to establish a work routine and a workout routine. If I'm good I'll reward myself with some gaming, if not I'll tie myself to my chair until I am good! At least that is the plan.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Why was this so different from the book? The attention to detail in the book was amazing. The characters believable - even the vampires seemed more believable. And what the heck was with that random horse sequence??? It just came from out of the blue and I guess it was supposed to wow me with special effects so that I would not care so much about dropping the story ball. But I care about story. Much as I love Tim Burton - there is none of what I love about Burton in this film. 

I thought the book would have made a great movie - maybe it will one day, but this isn't that day and this isn't that film. 

le sigh.

THO 2141 - The Kingdom of God

The university (Saint Paul) has just given me their course choice. The subtitle for this one is Eschatology in North American Theologies. This is a good strong subject for me so I'm looking forward to it. The biggest problem will be trimming the material to fit into a single semester course.

Human Rights

Regardless of where you land on the rights for gay persons to participate in church and society, Uganda's 'Kill the Gays' bill has to be the most unChristian legislation ever to be considered. I feel very angry that this bill is tauted as being Christian.  I have been trying to find a way to channel my outrage at the inhuman law they want to pass. Here is one way I've found - sign this petition.

Thank you.

Change.org|The Proven Petition Site

Teaching in the Summer!

I just got confirmation that I will be teaching this summer. I proposed three courses and am just waiting on my course code to see what one they want me to deliver. Oh happy day.

Collaborative Fiction and Zombies

One of the interesting features of ADHD is the ability to hyper focus on things you really enjoy or find interesting. That is how I managed to pull together one lecture, one RPG campaign setting, and a collaborative fiction blog all in a few days (plus I ran two other RPG nights and we had a really nice social evening with friends in there too).

Last week I showed up at my friend Richard's place for some gaming. We have an ongoing Call of Cthulhu campaign that meets bi-weekly. This was our off week actually but Richard wanted to try out a new role playing game (RPG) system called the one roll engine (ORE). This is the system used for the game GODLIKE which is a WWII super heroes game. That group is big on historical contexts - we play Call of Cthulhu in 1920s Alymer and the GM puts a lot of work into the historical details. Richard wanted to try the NEMESIS version of ORE which is meant for horror genre role playing - we re-ran one of our Cthulhu scenarios with the system.

ORE uses 1 to 10 ten-sided dice for each player. That is all. And one roll tells you a lot of detail. For example in combat one contested roll (two people roll their dice) you can tell who hit, who hit first, how hard they hit, and even where they hit. If they were also dodging you can find out how that went too. It is pretty elegant. You basically are looking for sets of numbers. It is also quite a bit faster than anything I've played before. Plus it feels awesome when you have 6 or more dice rolling off your hand.

I wasn't convinced that it would be a good replacement for the Cthulhu campaign, we've a lot invested already in our characters. But it solved a problem we had with the idea of running a zombie apocalypse RPG. In a zombie apocalypse characters are going to die, a lot, and they are not coming back like in D&D. So when you have a system where you spend oodles of time lovingly tweaking your character it sucks to not make it past the first hour. NEMESIS characters, especially when you drop the spells stuff, come together quick. So if you die, no big deal, you can find another character holed up in a house not far away, and bang you are back in the game. Actually I've made it even easier by creating a book of character archetypes - each having the same about of points in stats and skills and a third or less of those points are not already allotted already - so you pick an archetype and spread out a few skill points. Easy. Also I am having the players operate two characters at all times - they can switch between them, but only have to logistically operate one. If they die then they can keep playing while the story leads them to another.

Richard has taken to using customized FIASCO setups to establish the relationships between each of the characters. FIASCO is a great one night RPG that is more of an exercise in improv than anything else. With the right group FIASCO is an amazing game. So we set up a zombie apocalypse FIASCO scenario which we will run to relate the players characters to each other. I wrote an anatomy of the disease (I like the disease angle best for zombies) which details how it is transmitted and how it progresses in a person. Now I have zombies. Then I fleshed out a 44 page worldbook which includes: the player information (archetypes, etc.); rules tweaks; the FIASCO setup; NPC templates; collection of significant NPCs; rules for scavanging and travelling; and a chart that details survival items in terms of scarcity and value (for bartering). Right now I have place holder art all through it - stuff off google search - but if I make this into something publishable I'll try to get Richard to illustrate it. He has a game company and lots of experience doing this stuff. We'd probably not be able to charge much (if anything) because the NEMESIS rules are actually free!

I also decided that with such a rich storytelling opportunity, it would be fun to create a survivors website and invite people to participate by commenting on posts. So I set up Signs of the End which has a great but nasty URL! So far it follows the trials of a few people in Maine, our game will start at a high school in Lewiston, ME. I did a bit of scene prep, getting familiar with the area through google maps and searching things like gun laws in Maine. We will make good use of technology in this game. If you want to join in - why not have some fun on the blog? If you want to run your own campaign why not down load the NEMESIS rules and I could be convinced to let you have a beta copy of the setting book.

Keep safe people and remember rule #4: Double tap!

Cleaning My Office

It is more inspiring than it sounds.

I have not had a lot of time to blog here lately. That doesn't mean I'm not blogging. I've been a regular contributor to the National ThoughtWorks blog and have been setting up a new blog for a Superhero role playing game I'm running for my daughters (5 kids and 3 adults!). You can check out the blog for that one here. I'm encouraging the players to give me their background stories for the blog, but mostly I use it to post clues for possible adventure paths in the game.

Between prepping lectures (HTTP 1101: Trends in Western Thought), working on my thesis, being a dad, managing church related problems, and other writing projects this blog has fallen low on the priority list. I'll be back at it I'm sure, but for now you know where to find me.

Service Idea - Pulpit and Ministry Supply Network

Please tell me if there is something like this out there - I'd love to not re-invent the wheel. But from what I can find, other than some denominational lists, there is no relief minister service in my area. I am thinking this might be helpful. Here is the idea, please weigh in.

The service would allow ministers and leaders to offer their services helping out other churches and ministries. It would begin with a collection of some confidential data regarding the relief ministers: such as their denominational affiliation, what services they would be comfortable offering, expected rates, etc. This will be collected through an emailed form (using a locked pdf or some other format). The information will be used to match minsters to opportunities. I am thinking that like other professional service relief organizations the cost model will not impose on the ministers and leaders.

The service possibilities that a church/ministry/individual could request would include (please feel free to suggest others):

• pulpit supply
• worship leader supply
• seminars/workshops/training - speakers, planning, worship, etc. 
• ministerial mentors - think of counselors for your ministry
• weddings
• mystery worshipper - someone who comes as a visitor but gives you a report after the service
• sermon video taping - as I discovered many preaching jobs ask for video, we would be able to help with that

For each service there would be online forms which would include suggested rates. Rate negotiation would be handled by the network. This is where the cost model would be worked out. I would have churches submit the rate they usually pay a guest speaker (etc.) and match them up with someone who fits their needs and is happy to work at that rate. Having done a fair bit of guest speaking I know the stippends vary quite a bit. I am thinking that this will help churches in a pinch and also connect leaders to congregations in ways that can help them both grow. Win win. 

I'm thinking of starting in the Ottawa area, but I think something like this could easily grow beyond Ottawa. 

Thoughts?

National ThoughtWorks Blog: Opening Up of History: What Would Moltmann Say to ...

National ThoughtWorks Blog: Opening Up of History: What Would Moltmann Say to ...: Moltmann in Chicago 2009 One of the features of Jürgen Moltmann's theology that really speaks to me is how we, as the people of God's ...

History

I'm wrestling with notions of history a lot these days. One of the complaints, and I think it is justified, against evangelical theologies are their ahistorical quality. Certainly where such theologies disdain pre-parousia life this is true. But one of the cautions evangelicals have about Liberation Theologies and even the Social Gospel is the way it fully situates God's activity within historical forces. Within a kingdom theology (Laddian) perspective, might it not be better to find a middle way? The activity of God belongs to God alone. However, God is not passive or waiting, but actively at work undoing the effect of sin. As we align ourselves with God, we begin to do what we see the Father doing, as Jesus modelled. And in doing so we participate with God's effective work in history. However, this work is not salvific but redemptive - where salvation is secured in the consummation when God will bring an end to human history but redemption is the preparation of all things for the return of God. Does this model maintain the sovereignty of God, the significance of human action without reducing God's activity to just a historical force? What I want to articulate is a God who, while outside of history, is active within history: a God who is both now and not yet.

Thoughts?

Week of Intense Reading

This next chapter will be the most dense of them all. Chapter one (which is in the bag now) outlines the development of evangelical attitudes towards social engagement as they emerged from the turn of the 20th century Fundamentalist movement. That chapter used the broadest range of source material and took over a year to write (much longer to research). Everything is from an eschatological perspective. I could have looked at it from lot of different perspectives, but a thesis is a narrow beast. And besides I am convinced that "[e]very Christian ethics is determined by a presupposed eschatology." (Moltmann, Ethics of Hope, 9) The big shift I track is from the dominance of amillennial and postmillennial Protestant evangelicalism to dispensational premillennialism as a support for a changing relationship with society. An over reaction to the realized eschatology of the Social Gospel movement.

My second chapter is an intense look at the eschatology in Carl F. H. Henry's The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism. Henry, and others, are looking at different forms of premillennialism from the 19th century (Anglican sources) as a way of adjusting Fundamentalism from the inside. I buy his argument that the reaction against the Social Gospel, while justified, was too extreme.

This next chapter follows Moltmann's Ethics of Hope and attempts to outline the possibilities within his 'transformational eschatology'. I'm doing a slow, deliberate read of Ethics of Hope this week. It is so good. My reading list for the next couple weeks includes: Moltmann's Ethics of Hope (Tim Harvie); Sun of Righteousness, Arise!; and The Crucified God (reread). I have others, but those are the ones I'll spend the most time on. I'm already finding ways to putting this chapter together with lots of connections to what I've already done.

This has been the most productive summer.

RIP Bob Smith

One day, back when I was teaching at Willis College, I was off to get my usual coffee. I had tucked my bible under my arm to do some reading. At the lights a fellow made some comment about the bible and we got to talking. He shared how this man had approached him one day at a similar Ottawa crosswalk and chatted for a while, in the process this man had simply shared his faith and started this fellow on his own Christian journey. I asked a few more questions and was not surprised that the evangelist in question, the man who had approached him years before, was my old friend Bob Smith. Bob had this knack of knowing where people where at and how to enter into a conversation with them. He'd regularly sit down with strangers and chat with them about life and in the most easy going way he'd tell them about his relationship with Jesus. Many of those people would find their way to our little church - Open Arms Foursquare Gospel Church. A more motley band of misfits I've never encountered anywhere else - nor have I ever experienced a church with a stronger sense of God's presence. I know it wasn't perfect, in fact the church is not there anymore. But it was in that church that I first took on a pastoral role. Bob gave me that opportunity and, more than that, he was an excellent mentor.

Bob passed away this past week. I hadn't seen him in many years, last time I did age had taken quite a toll on him. He had a tendency to burn himself out in ministry, that didn't help I'm sure. But the way he loved people was exemplary. He always seemed to have time for people, listening, making them laugh and of course sharing his faith. I remember one of my first walks through the Byward Market with Bob, he was always seeing the best in people and with enthusiasm he introduced me to the people he called friends - although many, many of them would have nothing to do with any other Christians.

Bob would often share his own story of being a drunkard public servant - when one day he passed by an evangelistic rally on parliament hill. He met Jesus there and, like the woman at the well, nothing was going to stop him sharing Jesus with everyone he met. Bob preached of a Jesus who so loved him that when Bob was at his lowest, Jesus picked him up and gave him a new life. He preached this message on street corners and from pulpits. It wasn't a complicated message - but, nevertheless, it was a life changing one. 


The picture above was a common joy for us - Bob preaching. A typical Open Arms service ran three or more hours. Usually an hour of singing, then whoever introduced the speaker would preach their own sermon, then a sermon and before you knew it another hour had passed. Then we'd have extended worship and ministry times, praying for anyone and everyone. When you consider that we almost always came an hour early to pray for the service (some of the most incredible prayer services of my life!) there had to be something special there. I'm not sure I could stand that much time in most services - but the time there was like nothing else I've ever experienced. It was always over way too soon.

Bob has gone, but his mark on my life continues. I know that I am far from alone. Rest well my friend, you have earned your peace.

Lovers of Truth?

What does it mean to be a lover of truth? 

Does it mean we love statements that seem to validate the veracity of our own tightly held beliefs no matter how questionable the statements might be? (ie. accepting statements attributed to historical persons without verifying if those persons actually made the statements at all.)

Does it mean we close off all sources of knowledge that might possibly contain false, false according to our own ideologies, claims? (ie. refusing to listen to 'secular' media to find out what is happening in the world or only reading theologians who share your presuppositions.)

or

Does it mean we love the pursuit of truth trusting that if God is Truth then God is in the search?

How we answer these questions will decide if we are lovers of truth or lovers of feeling like we are right:

• One is a position of courageous faith - willing to risk it all to find God and the other is the false hope that if we shut our eyes then all our assumptions will keep us safe. 
• One recognizes that God, like Mr. Beaver says of Aslan, is good but not safe (tame) and the other is an effort to domesticate God. 
• One lays its own tightly held beliefs down before God the other makes idols out of ideas.
• One says we trust God wherever God leads and the other already knows where they are going (regardless of if God is leading). 
• One is willing to be continually transformed by the encounter of God and the other has set up a camp at the base of the mount of transfiguration ready to camp on their own interpretation of events rather than listen to Jesus alone. (Mark 9:5-8)

Something to think about.