Visitors. We get visitors. We get lots and lots of visitors. Over 7600 since the blog started. So many that two of my free site meters kind of went on the fritz, and now I'm on my third. Who are they, and where do they all come from? Not sure, but based on some IP addressed and how they ended up on "The Office", here's another small sampling:
Suger Land, Texas
New Knoxville, Ohio: Check out this blog. It's written by the pastor of the New Knoxville UMC. He found my blog, I'm assuming, looking for details on the presidential crisis at Asbury (he's a grad), and kept on coming back. He must be a pretty cool dude, as he listed Metallica, Chris Tomlin, Bob Marley, and The Smiths as being musical influences. You'll enjoy his take, immensely.
North Hollywood, California (search words: "Brady Quinn's Sister")
Stockbridge, Georgia (search words: aaron wymer)
Dallas, Texas
London, United Kingdom (a re-occuring IP address directly linked to the blog... how cool is that?)
Qubec, Quebec
Downers Grove, Illinois (search words: "Bart Campolo")
St. Louis, Missouri (directly linked)
Tipp City, Ohio (search words: "my space ginghamsburg")
Orlando, Florida (search words: "akeela and the bee our greatest fear")
Allentown, Pennsylvania: They are living there in Allentown, where they're closing all the factories down, out in Bethlehem their killing time, filling out forms and standing in line... or so Billy Joel tells me.
Omaha, Nebraska (search words: "carlton pearson reacts to ted haggard"): Yeah, if you read the post entitled "Hell", and followed the links to watch the "Dateline" segment on Carlton Pearson, you'll know that because they both attended Oral Roberts University at the same time, NBC went to Ted Haggard (pre-scandal) to get a quote on Pearson's take on the afterlife. One of the more ironic interviews ever given.
London Ontario (search words: "bruxy cavey"): Lots of people have been searching for info on Bruxy and ending up here. His is a name you will hear more and more in North America.
Greensboro, North Carolina (search words: elijah "carlton pearson" - elijah list"): Don't ask me.. I have no idea.
Denver, Colorado
Ada, Ohio (Hi Cecily!)
Technorati Profile
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Just Guessing...
Spent most of my day today as an ambassador of the Beeson Pastor program, hosting a young couple from suburban Cleveland who came to interview for one of hard to get 12 slots available for the 2007-08 Beeson Pastor Class. It was no big deal... in fact I enjoyed it a lot. We toured a townhouse (ours, so they could see what it's like for a family to live in limited space), they asked a lot of questions, we toured the local elementary school, and then went to lunch at Applebees (so they could see where the WalMart is... seems to be the measure of civilization now).
They seem like a nice couple. The prospective Beeson Pastor (this is the first round of interviews... final decisions on acceptance won't take place until the winter) is ordained in the East Ohio Annual Conference, and appointed as an associate pastor at a church in suburban Cleveland. He and his wife both attended OSU (so we could talk football), and he did his MDiv at Ashland (Ohio) Seminary, which is the school where conservative disgruntled Methesco students (that's the school where I did my MDiv) would transfer after a year of liberation theology and hostility toward historical critical biblical interpretation. He seemed neither disgruntled, nor all that conservative... in fact he's enamoured with post-modern theological thought and practice, which I found interesting. Our numbers, it appears, are growing here in heartland.
Anyhow, we're eating lunch, and I'm asking questions, and in the course of conversation the couple lets it drop that the largest church in entire East Ohio Annual Conference averages less than 500 people in worship. That is to say, that over the course of the past 40 years, while the number of church who averaged a 1000 in worship or more grew by more than ten times in total number in the USA, not one United Methodist Church in the entire eastern half of the state could be considered anything larger than a mid-size church. Not in Akron, Youngstown, Canton..... or even in the Greater Cleveland Metro area.
Wow! That just seems... statistically impossible.
For me, knowing this now, the question arises, what reality are you faced with if you are an Elder in the UMC, leave to do Beeson for a year, and then go back to the East Ohio Annual Conference? If the system in East Ohio apparently defies churches growing large, or even big, and little (or no) money is available for a new church start, what might your work environment look like in your next appointment?
I'd guess that in 2006, in the vast majority of the potential pool of churches you are likely to serve you'll be faced with fighting the "worship wars", where people lay down the gauntlet over whether or not drums will be allowed into a sanctuary, even if nothing but 18th century organ music is played in the service they attend.
I'd guess there wasn't much of an intentional plan of discipleship for people in the congregation.
I'd guess that most of the buildings are older, require a great deal of upkeep and repair, and immense pressure will be put upon you as a pastor to raise the necessary funds to take care of the plant and the bills... let alone do new creative things to reach the populace.
I'd guess that a pastor's success will be measured mostly by whether or not s/he knows everyone's name, visits the hospitalized and shut-in, and tends to the needs of their flock, and less by whether or not the church is actual force for change in the community.
I'd guess that pastor will learn what it means to be blessed in a multitude of ways, but will also understand the words of Paul who said that he desired to know Jesus in his fellowship of suffering. That pastor will become intimately involved in that process. As Kent Reynolds, our resident class sage, told me once, if you step up to follow Jesus as a pastoral leader you get it all... the blessing and the Cross.
I know that was true for me at both Shawnee and Goshen. Tremendous blessings, but also a tremendous price paid. Unbelievable stories of triumph, and incredibly painful experiences. Any church or pastor looking to make serious changes will experience it all.
That's why it impressed me that this young fella understands the landscape, and just wants to take what he could learn, go back to East Ohio, and face not only a secular materialistic culture that is rapidly losing it's Christian memory, but an institution that apparently has not encouraged much creatively over the last forty years. And what's more, then he wants to encourage others to do the same.
So if the Beeson Pastor program big wigs are reading this, here's my take.... put your money on the guy from Cleveland! He's gonna rock the boat for the Kingdom of Heaven in a place that needs its boat seriously rocked.
And to all you faithful Methodists in East Ohio, or any other old-school, slowly declining United Methodist Church in this country, I'd encourage you to heed the words of Jesus and not be afraid. Embrace what God is doing next, so that I one day I can say, "I guess I guessed wrong".
They seem like a nice couple. The prospective Beeson Pastor (this is the first round of interviews... final decisions on acceptance won't take place until the winter) is ordained in the East Ohio Annual Conference, and appointed as an associate pastor at a church in suburban Cleveland. He and his wife both attended OSU (so we could talk football), and he did his MDiv at Ashland (Ohio) Seminary, which is the school where conservative disgruntled Methesco students (that's the school where I did my MDiv) would transfer after a year of liberation theology and hostility toward historical critical biblical interpretation. He seemed neither disgruntled, nor all that conservative... in fact he's enamoured with post-modern theological thought and practice, which I found interesting. Our numbers, it appears, are growing here in heartland.
Anyhow, we're eating lunch, and I'm asking questions, and in the course of conversation the couple lets it drop that the largest church in entire East Ohio Annual Conference averages less than 500 people in worship. That is to say, that over the course of the past 40 years, while the number of church who averaged a 1000 in worship or more grew by more than ten times in total number in the USA, not one United Methodist Church in the entire eastern half of the state could be considered anything larger than a mid-size church. Not in Akron, Youngstown, Canton..... or even in the Greater Cleveland Metro area.
Wow! That just seems... statistically impossible.
For me, knowing this now, the question arises, what reality are you faced with if you are an Elder in the UMC, leave to do Beeson for a year, and then go back to the East Ohio Annual Conference? If the system in East Ohio apparently defies churches growing large, or even big, and little (or no) money is available for a new church start, what might your work environment look like in your next appointment?
I'd guess that in 2006, in the vast majority of the potential pool of churches you are likely to serve you'll be faced with fighting the "worship wars", where people lay down the gauntlet over whether or not drums will be allowed into a sanctuary, even if nothing but 18th century organ music is played in the service they attend.
I'd guess there wasn't much of an intentional plan of discipleship for people in the congregation.
I'd guess that most of the buildings are older, require a great deal of upkeep and repair, and immense pressure will be put upon you as a pastor to raise the necessary funds to take care of the plant and the bills... let alone do new creative things to reach the populace.
I'd guess that a pastor's success will be measured mostly by whether or not s/he knows everyone's name, visits the hospitalized and shut-in, and tends to the needs of their flock, and less by whether or not the church is actual force for change in the community.
I'd guess that pastor will learn what it means to be blessed in a multitude of ways, but will also understand the words of Paul who said that he desired to know Jesus in his fellowship of suffering. That pastor will become intimately involved in that process. As Kent Reynolds, our resident class sage, told me once, if you step up to follow Jesus as a pastoral leader you get it all... the blessing and the Cross.
I know that was true for me at both Shawnee and Goshen. Tremendous blessings, but also a tremendous price paid. Unbelievable stories of triumph, and incredibly painful experiences. Any church or pastor looking to make serious changes will experience it all.
That's why it impressed me that this young fella understands the landscape, and just wants to take what he could learn, go back to East Ohio, and face not only a secular materialistic culture that is rapidly losing it's Christian memory, but an institution that apparently has not encouraged much creatively over the last forty years. And what's more, then he wants to encourage others to do the same.
So if the Beeson Pastor program big wigs are reading this, here's my take.... put your money on the guy from Cleveland! He's gonna rock the boat for the Kingdom of Heaven in a place that needs its boat seriously rocked.
And to all you faithful Methodists in East Ohio, or any other old-school, slowly declining United Methodist Church in this country, I'd encourage you to heed the words of Jesus and not be afraid. Embrace what God is doing next, so that I one day I can say, "I guess I guessed wrong".
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Ten Things I Think I Think (Video Version)
1) Really, I don't have much to say this week. Big deadlines for lots of papers are looming, and I really spent most of last week doing not a whole lot. Thus, since Dad loves it when I leave video clips, here are five for your enjoyment. Here's a pseudo debate between Jim Wallis and Tony Perkins on the eve of the past election...
2) This is a clip from Rob Bell's "Nooma" series. Rob Bell, founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, is considered one of the foremost post-modern preachers. He's become so popular that last summer he rented a bus, and booked thirty clubs in thirty days, and toured the country like a rock singer, only preaching instead of playing music. He sold out every venue he played. These videos were produced by Bell as part of a series meant to teach the Bible in a kind of non-familar sort of way....
3) This is an interview between James Dobson and Larry King on the Ted Haggard situation, and Dobson's theories on where homosexuality comes from...
4) This is a fascinating debate between Scott Atran, an anthropologist from the University of Michigan and Sam Harris, at a conference geared toward trying to engage a number of scientists to think about the issue of religion and ethics. Harris beats his drum that religion ends conversation because religious ideas aren't rational, but Atran does a devistating critique of Harris' postulates about religious belief and experience...
5) What would be your reaction if your church produced this clip to be used as part of their worship service on Sunday morning? Recently Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana made headlines by heavily promoting a sermon series that took on the topic of sex, and drew a lot of fire because of the way they chose to promote the series. Here's the link to the web site they created as a part of the promotion....
6) From the mouths of babes. A youth group talks frankly about their church...
7) A spokeswoman from the Westboro Baptist Church, which is the congregation demonstrating at military funerals. A bizarre clip inspired by a bizarre group of people...
8) The commercial that changed the way professional sports and Nike did business. A watershed moment in American advertising...
9) And even set to Christian music. Didn't think you'd get away from clips from this game did you?
10) Here's kind of a sample of what the church we've been attending in Lexington is like. It is, by no means, your ordinary church...
2) This is a clip from Rob Bell's "Nooma" series. Rob Bell, founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, is considered one of the foremost post-modern preachers. He's become so popular that last summer he rented a bus, and booked thirty clubs in thirty days, and toured the country like a rock singer, only preaching instead of playing music. He sold out every venue he played. These videos were produced by Bell as part of a series meant to teach the Bible in a kind of non-familar sort of way....
3) This is an interview between James Dobson and Larry King on the Ted Haggard situation, and Dobson's theories on where homosexuality comes from...
4) This is a fascinating debate between Scott Atran, an anthropologist from the University of Michigan and Sam Harris, at a conference geared toward trying to engage a number of scientists to think about the issue of religion and ethics. Harris beats his drum that religion ends conversation because religious ideas aren't rational, but Atran does a devistating critique of Harris' postulates about religious belief and experience...
5) What would be your reaction if your church produced this clip to be used as part of their worship service on Sunday morning? Recently Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana made headlines by heavily promoting a sermon series that took on the topic of sex, and drew a lot of fire because of the way they chose to promote the series. Here's the link to the web site they created as a part of the promotion....
6) From the mouths of babes. A youth group talks frankly about their church...
7) A spokeswoman from the Westboro Baptist Church, which is the congregation demonstrating at military funerals. A bizarre clip inspired by a bizarre group of people...
8) The commercial that changed the way professional sports and Nike did business. A watershed moment in American advertising...
9) And even set to Christian music. Didn't think you'd get away from clips from this game did you?
10) Here's kind of a sample of what the church we've been attending in Lexington is like. It is, by no means, your ordinary church...
Friday, November 24, 2006
Random Thoughts On A Lazy Saturday Morning
Special thanks on the video clip to Susanna Donald. Check out her blog!
One more day of rest, too much TV, Thanksgiving leftovers (as good as the original meal itself, as far as I'm concerned... am jonesing for Turkey sandwich as we speak), one last important college football game before the bowl bids are determined (I pick USC... SEC fans, your championship game is an after-thought now thanks to Arkansas loss yesterday), and a sermon tomorrow at Shawnee...
...then it's back to the Greater Wilmore Metropolitan Area and fifty-plus trains a day. On the subject of trains, here's an article posted just for my Beeson compadres: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OH_LISTENING_TO_TRAINS_OHOL-?SITE=WBNSTV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Here are a few random thoughts though, on a lazy Saturday morning:
- Took my father-in-law's Harley out for a spin yesterday. Don't know what was more amazing... time on a motorcycle (my first since the summer) or that the day was nice enough for a ride? A soul-stirring experience.
- For those curious, my mother-in-law came home from the hospital Tuesday, and yesterday Aimee helped her make a Thanksgiving meal. She finds out Monday if the chemo is making a dent in the liver cancer, so please keep praying.
- Fred and Kathy Diehl, my aunt and uncle, returned home to West Palm Beach today after a nice visit this week. It was great to see them, and I know The Great One has enjoyed their company immensely. A very nice Thanksgiving treat.
- I am discovering that my Dad has this maddening habit of clicking incessantly through endless cable channels, settling on some bizarre program, and then falling asleep. Three nights ago we ended up on a special on all the Presidents (Andrew Johnson, US Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes until I could take no more), and the night-before-last we ended up on some show on MTV featuring a tiny little skateboarder and huge African-American fellow who are good buddies (the episode featured them at a dietitian's office because the skateboarder is worried about the huge fellow's health.... never thought anyone would spend money producing a show where two people argue about "portion control", but such is this era of reality TV). Last night we ended up watching "What Not To Wear".
Conclusion? Not having cable tv isn't such a bad thing after all.
- Have been asked repeatedly, so here you go...
Top Ten Things I Want For Christmas Since World Peace Isn't Easily Gift-Wrapped:
1) A new electric shaver: Eli threw mine into the garbage can... we think. No big deal though as I bought it for a dime at the Shawnee Women's Rummage Sale in 1993. I think I got my money out of it.
2) A Pete Johnson "Legends of Ohio State" football jersey.
3) John Grisham's new novel.
4) Cheap tools from Big Lots.
5) New travelmugs I can leave on the desk of my study carrel
6) Babysitting for one evening so Aimee and I can eat a dinner at a place not featuring a clown as a mascot and watch a movie not animated.
7) Snow
8) Riding gloves.
9) An evening of bowling with my boys.
10) World Peace (a guy can hope and pray)
- In case you were wondering, some places out of the last hundred hits on this blog where people were located when they decided to dial in:
Gainesville, Georgia (search words: tony campolo universalism)
Hickory, North Carolina
San Francisco, California
Martinsville, New Jersey
Zelienople, Pennsylvania (search words: jeff greenway)
Norwalk, Ohio (search words: upwards basketball willard ohio)
Abidjan, Cote' De Ivory (Ivory Coast)
Bratislava, Slovakia
Seattle, Washington (search words: oxford round table)
Northhampton, Massachusettes (search words: ho-ag devo)
Orlando, Florida (search words: aaron wymer)
Palm Bay, Florida (search words: amber heistan)
Ayr, Ontario (search words: bruxy cavey)
Milton Keynes, United Kingdom (search words: sandy millar healing)
Monument, Colorado
San Jose, California
Omaha, Nebraska (search words: kohli and kahlier)
Salt Lake City, Utah (Hi, Aunt Beth!)
One more day of rest, too much TV, Thanksgiving leftovers (as good as the original meal itself, as far as I'm concerned... am jonesing for Turkey sandwich as we speak), one last important college football game before the bowl bids are determined (I pick USC... SEC fans, your championship game is an after-thought now thanks to Arkansas loss yesterday), and a sermon tomorrow at Shawnee...
...then it's back to the Greater Wilmore Metropolitan Area and fifty-plus trains a day. On the subject of trains, here's an article posted just for my Beeson compadres: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OH_LISTENING_TO_TRAINS_OHOL-?SITE=WBNSTV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Here are a few random thoughts though, on a lazy Saturday morning:
- Took my father-in-law's Harley out for a spin yesterday. Don't know what was more amazing... time on a motorcycle (my first since the summer) or that the day was nice enough for a ride? A soul-stirring experience.
- For those curious, my mother-in-law came home from the hospital Tuesday, and yesterday Aimee helped her make a Thanksgiving meal. She finds out Monday if the chemo is making a dent in the liver cancer, so please keep praying.
- Fred and Kathy Diehl, my aunt and uncle, returned home to West Palm Beach today after a nice visit this week. It was great to see them, and I know The Great One has enjoyed their company immensely. A very nice Thanksgiving treat.
- I am discovering that my Dad has this maddening habit of clicking incessantly through endless cable channels, settling on some bizarre program, and then falling asleep. Three nights ago we ended up on a special on all the Presidents (Andrew Johnson, US Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes until I could take no more), and the night-before-last we ended up on some show on MTV featuring a tiny little skateboarder and huge African-American fellow who are good buddies (the episode featured them at a dietitian's office because the skateboarder is worried about the huge fellow's health.... never thought anyone would spend money producing a show where two people argue about "portion control", but such is this era of reality TV). Last night we ended up watching "What Not To Wear".
Conclusion? Not having cable tv isn't such a bad thing after all.
- Have been asked repeatedly, so here you go...
Top Ten Things I Want For Christmas Since World Peace Isn't Easily Gift-Wrapped:
1) A new electric shaver: Eli threw mine into the garbage can... we think. No big deal though as I bought it for a dime at the Shawnee Women's Rummage Sale in 1993. I think I got my money out of it.
2) A Pete Johnson "Legends of Ohio State" football jersey.
3) John Grisham's new novel.
4) Cheap tools from Big Lots.
5) New travelmugs I can leave on the desk of my study carrel
6) Babysitting for one evening so Aimee and I can eat a dinner at a place not featuring a clown as a mascot and watch a movie not animated.
7) Snow
8) Riding gloves.
9) An evening of bowling with my boys.
10) World Peace (a guy can hope and pray)
- In case you were wondering, some places out of the last hundred hits on this blog where people were located when they decided to dial in:
Gainesville, Georgia (search words: tony campolo universalism)
Hickory, North Carolina
San Francisco, California
Martinsville, New Jersey
Zelienople, Pennsylvania (search words: jeff greenway)
Norwalk, Ohio (search words: upwards basketball willard ohio)
Abidjan, Cote' De Ivory (Ivory Coast)
Bratislava, Slovakia
Seattle, Washington (search words: oxford round table)
Northhampton, Massachusettes (search words: ho-ag devo)
Orlando, Florida (search words: aaron wymer)
Palm Bay, Florida (search words: amber heistan)
Ayr, Ontario (search words: bruxy cavey)
Milton Keynes, United Kingdom (search words: sandy millar healing)
Monument, Colorado
San Jose, California
Omaha, Nebraska (search words: kohli and kahlier)
Salt Lake City, Utah (Hi, Aunt Beth!)
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Hell
Been doing a little re-reading of Brain McLaren's The Last Word and the Word After That, particularly the part of the book addressing the topic of Hell. I've been doing this because Hell has been in the news lately. Carlton Pearson, a once prominant pentacostal preacher from Tulsa who was proclaimed a heretic for no longer believing that God sends anyone to Hell, was recently profiled on NBC's Dateline. Bart Campolo, founder and director of Mission Year wrote an article for the Journal of Student Ministries that's stirred up the evangelical world because he too disconnects the idea of God's judgment and Hell. Now too, Phillip Gulley and James Mulholland's controversial book proclaiming God to be a universalist, If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person, is out in paperback.
I picked up McLaren's book because in it there is a good de-construction of the concept of Hell as it is generally understood.... a place God sends people because they were sinners and did not ask Christ for forgiveness of those sins. And generally, the sins most cited as the ones that people stubbornly hold on to are individualized in terms of personal behavior (all forms of sexual sin, drunkenness, debauchery, wanton greed, etc...). McLaren posits the idea that this idea of individual sins meriting punishment by God is at best, an incomplete reading of Jesus' words on the subject. Matthew 25:31-46, which is generally one of the more famous judgement texts, makes it clear that God will separate the faithful and unfaithful based upon how they served others, particularly the poor and oppressed, and makes no mention of any other criteria. McLaren goes further to say that the idea that by setting individualized behavior (confession of Christ as Lord, issues of personal morality) as the standard for whether or not you make it into Heaven (and Hell), the people who interpret scripture this way are able to avoid greater questions about systemic oppression and subjugation of others.
In others words, people in power or in control of wealth, want to convey to those not in power with no access to wealth, that their lot has been determined either cause God pre-destined them to it, OR to not focus on improving their station in life but rather delaying gratification until the next one (Heaven). Also, if the improper personal behavior leads to eternal punishment, it becomes a good tool of those in authority to deter the masses from acting improperly.
Or, to make things even simpler, Hell is a tool of The Man to keep others down.
Because the concept of eternal punishment has presented in this fashion, as a manipulative tool to motivate some sort of response (whether that be a change in behavior OR a conversion to Christianity), those who have been turned off by this approaching are questioning not just the wisdom of scaring the Hell out of people, but whether the concept of Hell as it's understood in this sense if even biblical. McClaren posits the possibility that the Pharisees used the fear of Hell much in the same way preacher do today as a means of motivating people toward certain kinds of behaviors or rituals, which is exactly what infuriated Jesus. Jesus, instead, uses the concept of Hell against the Pharisees.
For example, while the Pharisees would teach that not following the extensive cleansing rituals proscribed by the law would jeopardize a person's eternity, Jesus turns that language around to say that anyone who put proscribing certain behavior or ritual above meeting the real needs of people in love is going to Hell, so as to re frame an already existing idea.
Kind of like the scene in the movie The Shawshank Redemption, where Andy Dufrane plays an opera record over the prison's loudspeakers to help the prisoners see themselves outside of the dehumanizing system designed to rob people of hope as imposed by the warden. Shawshank Prison was still Shawshank Prison, but somehow in the beauty of the music, it's walls no longer had the last word on how the prisoners should view the world or themselves or their fate. They were guilty in the eyes of the law, but that didn't mean that somehow their souls weren't yet still free. The Pharisees looked to imprison people in such a way that only they, under the guise of God's law, held the key.... Jesus says there is a way apart from them to the kind of freedom people are looking for.
The critique on the part of people like Phillip Gulley, James Mulholland, Brian McLaren, Bart Campolo, and Carlton Pearson (among many others) is that the churches have created the same kinds of prisons of hopelessness for people that the Pharisees did, where they, themselves are the only people who possess the key, under the guise of Jesus and Paul's words, to freedom from eternal punishment. While this has been a good motivational tool to help many people change their lives for the better, and push people to the ends of the earth to spread the Gospel message, somehow, these critics claim, the greater point that Jesus has died so that everyone would be free from condemnation is getting lost in the shuffle, particularly in cases where the people with "the answer" begin manipulating others for their own purposes.
Thus their question: as opposed to telling people that they will be freed from sin, death and hell if they profess Jesus as Lord, should we instead proclaim that people are free from sin, death, and hell because Jesus is Lord and invite them into living in that freedom now?
What... you think I'm going to write about football every day?
I picked up McLaren's book because in it there is a good de-construction of the concept of Hell as it is generally understood.... a place God sends people because they were sinners and did not ask Christ for forgiveness of those sins. And generally, the sins most cited as the ones that people stubbornly hold on to are individualized in terms of personal behavior (all forms of sexual sin, drunkenness, debauchery, wanton greed, etc...). McLaren posits the idea that this idea of individual sins meriting punishment by God is at best, an incomplete reading of Jesus' words on the subject. Matthew 25:31-46, which is generally one of the more famous judgement texts, makes it clear that God will separate the faithful and unfaithful based upon how they served others, particularly the poor and oppressed, and makes no mention of any other criteria. McLaren goes further to say that the idea that by setting individualized behavior (confession of Christ as Lord, issues of personal morality) as the standard for whether or not you make it into Heaven (and Hell), the people who interpret scripture this way are able to avoid greater questions about systemic oppression and subjugation of others.
In others words, people in power or in control of wealth, want to convey to those not in power with no access to wealth, that their lot has been determined either cause God pre-destined them to it, OR to not focus on improving their station in life but rather delaying gratification until the next one (Heaven). Also, if the improper personal behavior leads to eternal punishment, it becomes a good tool of those in authority to deter the masses from acting improperly.
Or, to make things even simpler, Hell is a tool of The Man to keep others down.
Because the concept of eternal punishment has presented in this fashion, as a manipulative tool to motivate some sort of response (whether that be a change in behavior OR a conversion to Christianity), those who have been turned off by this approaching are questioning not just the wisdom of scaring the Hell out of people, but whether the concept of Hell as it's understood in this sense if even biblical. McClaren posits the possibility that the Pharisees used the fear of Hell much in the same way preacher do today as a means of motivating people toward certain kinds of behaviors or rituals, which is exactly what infuriated Jesus. Jesus, instead, uses the concept of Hell against the Pharisees.
For example, while the Pharisees would teach that not following the extensive cleansing rituals proscribed by the law would jeopardize a person's eternity, Jesus turns that language around to say that anyone who put proscribing certain behavior or ritual above meeting the real needs of people in love is going to Hell, so as to re frame an already existing idea.
Kind of like the scene in the movie The Shawshank Redemption, where Andy Dufrane plays an opera record over the prison's loudspeakers to help the prisoners see themselves outside of the dehumanizing system designed to rob people of hope as imposed by the warden. Shawshank Prison was still Shawshank Prison, but somehow in the beauty of the music, it's walls no longer had the last word on how the prisoners should view the world or themselves or their fate. They were guilty in the eyes of the law, but that didn't mean that somehow their souls weren't yet still free. The Pharisees looked to imprison people in such a way that only they, under the guise of God's law, held the key.... Jesus says there is a way apart from them to the kind of freedom people are looking for.
The critique on the part of people like Phillip Gulley, James Mulholland, Brian McLaren, Bart Campolo, and Carlton Pearson (among many others) is that the churches have created the same kinds of prisons of hopelessness for people that the Pharisees did, where they, themselves are the only people who possess the key, under the guise of Jesus and Paul's words, to freedom from eternal punishment. While this has been a good motivational tool to help many people change their lives for the better, and push people to the ends of the earth to spread the Gospel message, somehow, these critics claim, the greater point that Jesus has died so that everyone would be free from condemnation is getting lost in the shuffle, particularly in cases where the people with "the answer" begin manipulating others for their own purposes.
Thus their question: as opposed to telling people that they will be freed from sin, death and hell if they profess Jesus as Lord, should we instead proclaim that people are free from sin, death, and hell because Jesus is Lord and invite them into living in that freedom now?
What... you think I'm going to write about football every day?
Monday, November 20, 2006
Ten Things I Think I Think
1) A storied rivalry.... the best in all college football. Number 1 versus Number 2. A Big Ten Championship. A shot at the National Title. The Heisman Trophy. A coaching legend dies on the eve of the game.
How much bigger could it have been?
Fortunately the game itself lived up to hype... so much so that it might have vaulted Michigan into the BCS Championship with a loss. However, USC, who has two games left to play and if they win them both they'll move ahead of Michigan in the polls and the computer.... which doesn't bum me out. I think the reality is that USC has maintained a strong program under the leadership of Pete Carroll, and they will probably be rewarded for doing so.
But if they both lose just once, it'll be Game of the Century II.
2) There were TWO big wins by Ohio teams yesterday. Big win in Cincinnati last night, as the Rutgers questions gets settled once and for all. Barely 20,000 made it to Nippert Field to see the 7th ranked team in the country last night. The Shoemaker Center seats about 19,5K for UC Basketball, and it'll be sold out every game. It'll be a long time before Cinci is a college football town. Great win, though... and led by a QB who was starting and playing his last game as a Senior.
3) Very nice service this morning at Shawnee. Our new youth pastor, Mike Stinson, preached a good sermon about worship. High School and Middle School students from the church did a super job of conducting worship. A friend of Mike came into town to lead worship, and he did a solid job. Left believing that God really does want to put my life's work up on his refrigerator. Kudos to all involved. A long-time member of the congregation said it was the best sermon she'd ever heard a youth pastor at the church give, which is a heck of a compliment.
Hey, wait a minute.... wasn't I a youth pastor at this church?
That's OK. I'm praying the youth ministry, and its youth pastor, thrive!
4) We'd ask for your prayers for Aimee's mother. Carol was admitted to the hospital on Friday when she was unable to get her breath. Apparently one of the side effects of the chemo is turning out to be her lungs filling up with fluid coupled with an irregular heartbeat. She was scheduled to come home to day, but as they were preparing her to be discharged she had a scary episode where her heart rate raced and she was not able to breath, so now the doctor is trying to figure out how to stabilize this situation. Liver cancer is just tough to beat, so once again, your prayers are very much appreciated.
5) Am looking forward to Thanksgiving, as not only will all the usual family members will be present and accounted for, but Fred and Kathy Diehl, mom's brother and his wife, will be coming in from West Palm Beach for the first time in many, many moons. Their family has been dealing with a number of personal issues, and without getting too specific, I'd also ask you pray for them and their daughter, Katie, although, specifically, I'd ask that you'd pray that Katie would discover how wonderfully made by God she is, and and how much she is loved by Him and her family.
6) On a message board within our campus online messaging system last week, Dr. Ben Witherington, most likely Asbury's most famous and respected scholar, stated that he was disappointed with the dismissal of the school's former president, Jeff Greenway, and that he believed the dismissal was pre-meditated (as opposed to official statement being released by the Board of Trustees, that this was not the case). When the other most respected faculty member, Dr. Jerry Walls, affirmed digitally that he agreed with Dr. Witherington, that alone was enough to generate a lot of conversation on campus. But when these statements made it into a number of newspapers and online publications across the country, a debate ensued as to whether or not the leak of the email posts to the "outside world" was ethical or not.
How many people could read this statement? All 1000+ students, and thousands more alumni. I guess, I'm wondering how this issue can even be debated when the "secret" is shared with tens of thousands of people. I'm guessing Dr. Witherington is smart enough to know the effect of his words. Just hard to believe people working on graduate degrees can be so naive.
7) Just saw about the 3000th ad for the movie, "Val Kilmer: The Rise of Taj"...... let's just say nobody from the film need wait on a voice mail from the Academy. The sad thing is that it'll appear on two screens here in the local theatre, while a movie like "Babel", which is actually thought-provoking, won't come within sixty miles of our fair city.
(sigh)
8) Here's a link to a page where you can listen to last week's episode of "This American Life" (http://www.thislife.org/ - scroll down to the episode named "Heretics"). It's the story of a pastor who's church declined from over 5000 people to less than two-hundred not because he had an affair or stole money, but rather because he stopped believing in Hell. I only heard a snippet of it in the van, and was so intrigued I found it on the web after we returned to my folks' house. If you've got the time, give it a listen.
9) Don't know if you heard about it or not, but Tom and Katie got married this weekend in Italy. I know you probably missed it. Just wanted to bring it to your attention.
10) Just flipped on "Intervention", a show which details the descent of individuals into drug addiction, and the last ditch effort on the part of family and friends to convince that individual to go to rehab. Right now, a beautiful young woman who has dropped out of school, become a stripper, and is the subject of two bench warrants for her arrest is throwing her life away in exchange to be drunk and/or high. You can see the pain in the faces of her parents, family, and friends who feel helpless in the face of addiction.
Anyone who says that evil is on the wane because humanity is evolving past it, needs to watch this show. The pain and emptiness of sin is real in this world, and there are billions of people are sacrificing themselves in some way to lies that have convinced them that they are not worth anything more than a moment of escape from immense self-loathing.
Let us not rest until all people understand that the sacrifice has already been made, and by grace is theirs for the taking. That's what it means for Jesus to be the way, the truth, and the life. The way out of destruction. The truth that love shared is the only thing that makes life worth living. And that life is meant to be lived, not in denial or isolation or at the expense of others, but fully and completely in ways that give others hope, and co-creates a preferable future for all.
How much bigger could it have been?
Fortunately the game itself lived up to hype... so much so that it might have vaulted Michigan into the BCS Championship with a loss. However, USC, who has two games left to play and if they win them both they'll move ahead of Michigan in the polls and the computer.... which doesn't bum me out. I think the reality is that USC has maintained a strong program under the leadership of Pete Carroll, and they will probably be rewarded for doing so.
But if they both lose just once, it'll be Game of the Century II.
2) There were TWO big wins by Ohio teams yesterday. Big win in Cincinnati last night, as the Rutgers questions gets settled once and for all. Barely 20,000 made it to Nippert Field to see the 7th ranked team in the country last night. The Shoemaker Center seats about 19,5K for UC Basketball, and it'll be sold out every game. It'll be a long time before Cinci is a college football town. Great win, though... and led by a QB who was starting and playing his last game as a Senior.
3) Very nice service this morning at Shawnee. Our new youth pastor, Mike Stinson, preached a good sermon about worship. High School and Middle School students from the church did a super job of conducting worship. A friend of Mike came into town to lead worship, and he did a solid job. Left believing that God really does want to put my life's work up on his refrigerator. Kudos to all involved. A long-time member of the congregation said it was the best sermon she'd ever heard a youth pastor at the church give, which is a heck of a compliment.
Hey, wait a minute.... wasn't I a youth pastor at this church?
That's OK. I'm praying the youth ministry, and its youth pastor, thrive!
4) We'd ask for your prayers for Aimee's mother. Carol was admitted to the hospital on Friday when she was unable to get her breath. Apparently one of the side effects of the chemo is turning out to be her lungs filling up with fluid coupled with an irregular heartbeat. She was scheduled to come home to day, but as they were preparing her to be discharged she had a scary episode where her heart rate raced and she was not able to breath, so now the doctor is trying to figure out how to stabilize this situation. Liver cancer is just tough to beat, so once again, your prayers are very much appreciated.
5) Am looking forward to Thanksgiving, as not only will all the usual family members will be present and accounted for, but Fred and Kathy Diehl, mom's brother and his wife, will be coming in from West Palm Beach for the first time in many, many moons. Their family has been dealing with a number of personal issues, and without getting too specific, I'd also ask you pray for them and their daughter, Katie, although, specifically, I'd ask that you'd pray that Katie would discover how wonderfully made by God she is, and and how much she is loved by Him and her family.
6) On a message board within our campus online messaging system last week, Dr. Ben Witherington, most likely Asbury's most famous and respected scholar, stated that he was disappointed with the dismissal of the school's former president, Jeff Greenway, and that he believed the dismissal was pre-meditated (as opposed to official statement being released by the Board of Trustees, that this was not the case). When the other most respected faculty member, Dr. Jerry Walls, affirmed digitally that he agreed with Dr. Witherington, that alone was enough to generate a lot of conversation on campus. But when these statements made it into a number of newspapers and online publications across the country, a debate ensued as to whether or not the leak of the email posts to the "outside world" was ethical or not.
How many people could read this statement? All 1000+ students, and thousands more alumni. I guess, I'm wondering how this issue can even be debated when the "secret" is shared with tens of thousands of people. I'm guessing Dr. Witherington is smart enough to know the effect of his words. Just hard to believe people working on graduate degrees can be so naive.
7) Just saw about the 3000th ad for the movie, "Val Kilmer: The Rise of Taj"...... let's just say nobody from the film need wait on a voice mail from the Academy. The sad thing is that it'll appear on two screens here in the local theatre, while a movie like "Babel", which is actually thought-provoking, won't come within sixty miles of our fair city.
(sigh)
8) Here's a link to a page where you can listen to last week's episode of "This American Life" (http://www.thislife.org/ - scroll down to the episode named "Heretics"). It's the story of a pastor who's church declined from over 5000 people to less than two-hundred not because he had an affair or stole money, but rather because he stopped believing in Hell. I only heard a snippet of it in the van, and was so intrigued I found it on the web after we returned to my folks' house. If you've got the time, give it a listen.
9) Don't know if you heard about it or not, but Tom and Katie got married this weekend in Italy. I know you probably missed it. Just wanted to bring it to your attention.
10) Just flipped on "Intervention", a show which details the descent of individuals into drug addiction, and the last ditch effort on the part of family and friends to convince that individual to go to rehab. Right now, a beautiful young woman who has dropped out of school, become a stripper, and is the subject of two bench warrants for her arrest is throwing her life away in exchange to be drunk and/or high. You can see the pain in the faces of her parents, family, and friends who feel helpless in the face of addiction.
Anyone who says that evil is on the wane because humanity is evolving past it, needs to watch this show. The pain and emptiness of sin is real in this world, and there are billions of people are sacrificing themselves in some way to lies that have convinced them that they are not worth anything more than a moment of escape from immense self-loathing.
Let us not rest until all people understand that the sacrifice has already been made, and by grace is theirs for the taking. That's what it means for Jesus to be the way, the truth, and the life. The way out of destruction. The truth that love shared is the only thing that makes life worth living. And that life is meant to be lived, not in denial or isolation or at the expense of others, but fully and completely in ways that give others hope, and co-creates a preferable future for all.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Unbelievable
Well, Aaron Wymer, a classmate of mine, wanted to see my face when he told me that Bo Schembechler had died. I'm not sure what he expected, but if the expression was glee or happiness, then he was profoundly disappointed. I'd never wish ill-will on anybody, and lest we never forget, Bo not only graduated from Miami of Ohio (my alma mater), but was Woody's protege. It is a truly a sad day.
See, here's the thing... without Woody and Bo there is no rivalry. Other teams in the Big Ten matter, and this game, while important, isn't what it is now.
Want to know why I love this game so much? We made the decision to go home today for Thanksgiving week largely so I could be at my Dad's to watch this game with him. After hearing we were going to be home, my brother and his wife decided to drive down from Toledo to watch it with us. Hopefully my Uncle Jack and his wife will surprise us and stop on by and together we'll all tell stories about past games, and specifically, about my grandfather, how he used to come down to Columbus when I was a baby and go with Dad to the Shoe, or how he taught us all to scream at the TV to root the Bucks onto victory. For our family, and for friends across the states of Ohio and Michigan, people come together, even sometimes people in red and people in blue in the same room, and there is as much talk about the past as there is about the now.
While I worked in Goshen, my boss, Dick Lyndon and his entire family were huge Michigan fans. Dick and his lovely wife Karen, grew up in Dexter, Michigan which is a 15-minute drive from Ann Arbor. For the five years I lived in Goshen, ours was the only church in all of Indiana where the congregation got caught up in the game, if only because Dick and I let them in on the rivalry. We used to watch the game together each of those years at his house, where I could give the Lyndon's extended clan ample crap. Dick is gone now. Every year I think of him and those wonderful days where we served the Lord together in that special place. Now, usually every year, Karen and I will still call one another on the day of the game. Apparently, a rivalry can even deepen friendships even if one guy grew up rooting for Bo, and the other for Woody.
And let me say this... when the rest of the country shouted Woody down after slugging that player from Clemson, Bo never went that way. Even though Woody's reputation was tarnished from that day on, Schembechler always spoke of the man with a mix of great respect and animosity... and you wouldn't want it any other way. As a matter of fact, even though he was still as intense as ever when The Game was about to be played, he always made it clear that it wasn't the same without Woody on the other side of the field.
Because in the end, what the two men taught us was that you hated to lose this game, more than just about anything else, but you didn't personally hate one another. It is still, after all, a game. A game that year after a year inspired both men to do their best with a passion that became so contagious that the rest of us couldn't help but get caught up in it. That's the most you can ask out of game. It can't give away anything more.... and nor should we want it to do so.
Tomorrow, then, join me in a toast... not only to Bo, but to Woody, and to all of those with whom we are bonded together because these two men demanded the best out of their teams, and one another, every single time.
That being said, I've thrown my prediction out for tomorrow. Anything could happen.
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