Ash Wednesday Report

Okay, as a part of a pretty non-liturgical church, I don't have any kind of normative lenten expectations. Still though, like many evangelicals in this situation, this time of year affords an opportunity to dabble in the church calendar by participating in some sort of personal fast.

Every year I approach lent in pretty much the same way, eagerly anticipating the chance to embark on a temporary fit of discipline, particularly one with a little more spiritual flavor than your typical new years resolution. Every year I have trouble knowing exactly what to give up, though, so I spend most of Ash Wednesday trying to make up my mind. This is a great opportunity for the weakness of my flesh to show itself.

I always have dozens of ideas of things I could fast from during lent. The problem is that almost all of them require virtually no sacrifice whatsoever, and thus seem to be unfit. I'm trying to have a little sense of humor about this, even though it really is silly that I think of some of these things. Anyways, in recognition of my own weakness and in a little bit of humor, I think I'm going to submit a list of things that I've thought about giving up for lent.

10. sodas
9. political conversation
8. physical labor
7. salad
6. dancing
5. sermon criticism
4. sandals
3. x-Box
2. the radio in my car
1. lunch.

Really biting sacrifices, eh? I feel so embarrassed when I think of what this season really represents.

Okay, okay

Okay, so in a world where I would reveal my masked subjects, it might be possible that I would agree to the identifications proposed in the comments to the last post. But I'll never tell, so there!

Today I'm in Memphis at grad school and have spent the day puzzling through my class, which is called Contemporary religious Thought (syllabus) and basically covers different thinkers of the last century. Today we were working through what is called process theology, which I have to say contains, in my view, what a whole host of problems. I think it's good to take time sorting through systems like that though, even if in the end you don't buy what they're selling. I think learning to talk with and learn from those with whom we differ is a major skill critical thinking, and can open up so many possibilities of understanding. I don't mean that in a fluffy we can learn from everyone kind of way, either. I just think thoughtful dialogue and the ability to think critically and honestly are useful skills in sharpening our own conclusions. So thanks, process theologians, for the food for thought.

Today we also had a great discussion about whether God created the world from nothing, ex nihilo, or whether he just ordered the world out of its chaos. (Process theologians are not the only people who would argue the latter position.) Particularly, at least some people think that what some places in the Old Testament describe is God becoming master of the chaotic world and giving it form and order. Other places read as though God whips up the earth from scratch, or less then scratch, nothing. Personally, I think that scripture describes it both ways at different times. I believe that ultimately he made the world from nothing, but that accounts like in genesis 1 describe him giving the world order against the forces of chaos to describe the battle god is engaged in from the beginning of creation. He created a world where struggle was possible, where chaos was allowed to have some play. In the end, though, he is at work fighting the chaos, and will be ultimately victorious over it. I need to spend some more time sorting this out though.

Report from fifth period

Okay, this class has easily been the best as far as work level and general behavior. Also, I'd like to record the following conversation, as I think it is a funny one for high school sophmores. I do this with permission, though I will still mask the identities.

Student A: "Hey, Student B."
Student B: "Yeah?"
Student A: "Do you know what I'm going to do if John Williams wins an academy award?"
Student B: "What?"
Student A: "Scream."
Student B: "Okay."

Substitute blog

Today I'm blogging from a pretty unique location, among some new friends. I'm substitute teaching for high schol english, which is a great way to make new friends. Except last time I made a new friend I forgot her name. It's Kim, I now know since she's in my class today, too. Everytime I'm here I meet her again, then I forget her name, which is very bad for friendship. She's either terribly offended, or just used to it, which can't be good for her self confidence. I think she has good self esteem, anyways. She denies it though, which makes me feel worse.

Asha is another new friend that it appears I've met repeatedly. Kaent didn't seem sure, but I think he was just being nice.

Substitute teaching is the best. Really it boils down to hanging out with students all day as they do various forms of busy work, or play games...er...build hand eye coordination. It's funny to watch the students react to the assignments. Different classes react so differently to the exact same set of instructions. Some take them ultra seriously, and hurry through them, and some just sit there and do absolutely nothing. Most of the students today have been pretty good about getting through their work, but the variance is still pretty interesting to watch. The main function of the substitute teacher is to man the holding tank and make sure the students don't escape, and I feel as though I'm fulfilling that obligation. I even feel like they're getting some work done, so hoorah for being a part of the educational process. Before I passed out the worksheets for the class I'm in now I gave a fine motivational speech about how valkuble their education is and how they had a chance to be active in their own learning processes. The kids seemed to enjoy it.

Oh yeah, my Super bowl pick. I was very disappointed at the last touchdown by the Eagles. It looked like my 10 point prediction was going to be dead on up until that last TD. Overall, I thought it was a great game, and one of the best football games I watched all year. Congrats to the Pats!

Picking the Pats

Okay, it's super bowl sunday, so really quickly before church, Let me make my pick. give me the Patriots by 10. Here's to football played as a team sport!

We're also taking part in the "Souper Bowl of Caring" which is a national grassroots fundraiser. Check it out at:http://www.souperbowl.org

There's a really neat story behind this and how it's grown.

Come Together

Alright, a sleepy saturday morning with nothing much to do except read and write on the blog! Now that doesn't come once a week like the calendar says it should. Seems like it was 1992 the last time a saturday llike this rolled around.

I'm still reading in this Luke Timothy Johnson book, Scripture and Discernment and he gives another good road sign that points towards how we think about the church. He suggests that the doctrine of the church must begin with the local assmbly, because of Jesus words, "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20).

does that suggest that this is the primary identity of the church? Is it primarily the gathering together of people in the name of Jesus? I think that opens a lot of doors of self-understanding for the church if we begin in that place. to meet in the "name of Jesus" is such a loaded phrase, and can mean so much. It gives us a good boundary too, since it would mean we can only do as "church" what we can faithfully do in Jesus' name. It is full of promise too, since it comes with Jesus' pledge not only to be with us, but to honor our askings. The more I look at it, this passage in Matthew 18 also deals with accountability(if a brother sins against you...), forgiveness(seven times?), mission (lost sheep), and even leadership (who is the greatest). I think this is a place I want to spend some time over the coming days, and see what it yields.

Grace.

Woo-hoo for "being" healthy!

Okay, this week seems like a dull blur in my mind, but the fog seems to have lifted and I feel much, much better. Therefore, as an act of gratitude I hereby lift the "healthwatch" curse that has been on this blog over the past week, and pledge to post nothing about my nose, throat, or other congested area for a period of no less than two weeks. Hoorah!

Luke Timothy Johnson in Scripture and Discernment: Decision Making in the Church, Abingdon press, 1996

...Some groups tend to be defined more by the tasks they perform, while others by simply "being" a certain way. It is not always possible to distinguish one from the other since both kinds of groups make both task and identity decisions. Nevertheless, it is fair to say that groups defined by "being" a certain way (a "community of the pure," a "witness to the truth," a "school of the Lord's service") will find decisions concerning identity more difficult and threatening than those Concerning tasks. For groups whose purpose is fulfilled by a certain kind of "doing," on the other hand, "task" decisions will be more difficult.

When I read this, it made me think about some of the resaons we miss each other in the church, and come away without understanding each other's perspective. I think we're all over the map in how we understand her. some of us think of her as identity driven, some of us think of her as a task organization. Probably most of us think of her somewhere in between, with different purposes that sometimes seem to be in conflict with each other, if not in some sort of ambiguous relationship with each other.

This self-understanding of the church is something I think about all the time. Who are we? What are we supposed to be doing? The more I think about it, it seems like the problem isn't that scripture says too little about those things. It's that it says so much! I mean, in reality, isn't that what so much of scriptre is doing, telling us who God is so we can understand who we are, telling us what he did so we can understand what we're supposed to do? Our understanding of identity and task is response to our understanding of his identity and task.

So where do we come out? I think He is the creator, so we are the created, and we are partners in his creating. I think he is the Savior, so we are the saved, and partners in his saving. He is revealer, so we are the ones who have heard him and who continue to proclaim him. He is Lover, and so we are loved, and we are part of his loving. Is this a good way to start?

sickly, but working on it

Okay, so this year it seems worse. I mean, I know that every year there's a cycle when it seems like everyone on earth is sick, and we're all passing around some crazy germ that makes us cough our heads off. But for real, I think this year it must be worse. Some schools around here have closed for a couple of days, and the ones that haven't aren't able to get a lot done, with so many students gone. No quorums anywhere.

I've got a couple more days in front of me before I finish off the junk I'm hacking through. I felt better today, but my throat hurts...ah, a new pain, at least. My wife has somehow still managed to stay healthy, and that's good, particularly since I would never be able to get her to take any medicine anyways. I'm glad she doesn't have to worry about it.

I haven't felt social at all the past couple of days. Usually my spirits stay pretty high throughout this sort of thing, but maybe I'm just past my threshold for it. I just want to crawl in a solitary hole for a couple more days and emerge a healthy human. Alas, that's just not the way it works.