Young People - Do We Want Them?

I like reading studies, however insufferable they can be at times. Still, I find this one rather relevant to the condition of the mainline church. I hear these myths often about young people leaving the church. I hear them even from people who have worked with young adults for many years and should know better. The troubling thing, for me, is that we don't seem to be able to do anything about these realities. I've known these myths have existed for years; I've even preached on some of them over the years. Now, I should say, in full disclosure, that I pastor in a church that has a remarkably large number of young people involved. I am also in a community that has an above average number of  young people in it. Still, I feel like even in Guymon we are ignoring realities. Ten years from now, will there be anyone under 40 who cares about the Church? Or under 50 for that matter? Anyway, the link to the study I'm going on about is below.

http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/534-five-myths-about-young-adult-church-dropouts


Also, I've been reflecting on a few things Lovett Weems has said. Get this:

-Giving in the United Mthodist Church (in the US) has reached a plateau and is now declining

-34,000 congregations and $6.5 billion in annual giving (in the US); yet we cannot net even 1 new disciple in a year

-Clergy as a whole are less concerned about reaching young adults than the laity as a whole are

-Laity as a whole are unwilling to make the changes to worship and budgets required to attract these young adults

This is quite a situation. Still, I am not one of those doom-and-gloom types. Nor am I one who thinks we need to just get the right program in place or listen to the right church growth guru or built a tower to heaven in order to turn the ship around. I've been reading Kenneth Collins' book John Wesley: A Theological Journey. It's pretty much a standard historical account, but I always find tidbits worth remembering. He recounts Samuel Wesley's advice to his son when John decided to seek Orders with the Church of England. Samuel wrote to John and told him that all of his goals and activities in ministry should grow out of three main points. "The glory of God, the service of His Church, and the edification and salvation of our neighbor." That should be John's motivation for ministry, according to his father.

I wonder what the church would look like if clergy ran their course in ministry with those three points always firmly in mind. It really isn't about me, after all. It's not about my future appointments, even (I know what future I have in God, and that is enough). It's about glorifying God, serving the Church, and shepherding people into salvation.

With this in mind and recognizing the myths of young adult dropouts, I can't help but think that the only think keeping the Church from entering a new day in America is...well...us. That is a sin I am willing to coffess. I hope others would coffess it as well.

Generational Narcissism - A Few Brief Thoughts

Found this today. Thanks to Padraic Ingle for sharing it originally.

http://www.immersejournal.com/immerseblog/whats-your-theology-of-development/

A very good article. In my own ministry, I have certainly found this to be case. I preached last Sunday, not on the issue of narcissism, but particularly on the issue of entitlement. Perhaps they are two sides of the same coin. My assumption has been for many years that current teenagers/young adults did not start developing an undeserved sense of entitlement (or narcissism) on their own. It's not as if this started somewhere around 1990 out of the blue. They've been taught this behavior. I have found one of the best ways to combat these issues is not by whining about it, but by structuring ministry in such a way that it doesn't feed into the narcissistic/entitlement tendencies. You have to say, regularly, "This is not about you!" Most important, I believe, is that you don't build little kingdoms of young people. I was at a church a while back with absolutely wonderful space in their facilities for Youth. I'll admit, I was a bit jealous. The youth of that church had an entire wing to themselves! Who wouldn't want that? I'm not so sure it's healthy, though. I had the opportunity a few years ago to pursue building a new youth facility across the street from the church I currently serve. I rejected that proposal because I didn't think giving the youth that kind of separation would be healthy for their development. Instead, we ended up remodling space inside our main building. Our current Youth Room is fantastic, but it also requires our youth to be engaged with the rest of the congregation. Multi-generational ministry is critical. A healthy youth ministry will always bleed into a larger program of life-long formation. Young people grow into more responsible adults (and are more willing to take responsibility) when they are forced to interact with people older than them. As an interesting caveat to this, the current generation of millenials tend to get along really well with elderly folks. Is it because they have similar views on what it means to belong to something? To serve? To give? For whatever reason, mentoring possibilities are very rich when paring these two generations together.

Reflections on Steve Jobs

So I readily admit that this came out a bit cheesier than I had envisioned in my head. I think I would recind this entire article, except I'm sure it's already on it's way to print, so I might as well make it official and post it for all to see. So, yeah, I made a knee jerk comparison between Abraham and Steve Jobs. Yes, I realize now that he was a Buddist. What can I say? I should have shelved this one for a few hours before hitting send. Enjoy.

I was saddened to find out this week that Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Computer, had died of cancer. He was 56 years old. I have no idea if he was a man of faith (though I generally assume people in positions like his are not), but I think there is something quite faithful about this man as exemplified in his life. Admittedly, I’m a bit sentimental about his passing. I feel like I grew up with Steve Jobs, alongside the personal computer, the internet, cell phones, and mp3 players. There are a couple things I take from the life of Steve Jobs that I think really do intersect with the Christian life in positive ways.

            Firstly, Steve Jobs was a visionary. Lately, I’ve been reading through the book of Genesis again. The story of Abraham is a fascinating one in which a man of unexceptional means is raised up to be a part of something so much bigger than himself. God spoke to Abraham and said, “Look up at the stars and count them. As many stars as there are in the sky, so shall be the number of your descendants.” The Christian life is very much about dreaming big dreams. We do not look upon the world simply as it is, but we look upon the world as that great work that God is doing. We are going someplace, and the dreams that we have in relationship to our God are so much bigger than anything else we ever could have dreamt alone.

            We need to dream big and see the possibilities for the future. There is so much brokenness in this world today; it is easy to simply throw up your hands and say, “I’m done! I have nothing to offer here!” With the hunger, war, violence, and deep-rooted sin that infects all of humanity, what can we possibly do? The number of Christians continues to decline in this country, and we are under greater and greater pressure to do more with less. But much like the prophets of old, there is a vision of a new day, a better world in which darkness truly turns to light and salvation is realized in our midst.

            So, yes, people like Steve Jobs can teach us something in this regard. Dream big dreams, not small ones. Look up at the stars, and try to count them. The possibilities are endless. The visionary, Steve Jobs, showed us how to find that imaginative spirit given to us by our creator and use it to inspire countless millions to strive for the greater things, to love the beauty of the infinite, and to never settle for good enough.

            Secondly, Steve Jobs showed us how to accomplish great things through the everyday and simple. Various people over the years have reflected on how intelligent Steve Jobs was, but always with the addendum that he surrounded himself with people even smarter than him. His real genius was in his ability to organize other people. If there was a job to be done, he never believed he was necessarily the one to do it, but his job was to find the person who could do it better than anyone else. He was an expert organizer who knew how to work in the midst of people in the everyday, common things. He built relationships; he encouraged young minds; he put teams together; he saw the simple, daily tasks as paramount to the overall mission of the company.

            So, too, we Christians know that it is most often in the simple and the mundane that we find the fruit of our mission. St. Paul reminds us that we are gifted individually yet for the interworking of the entire body. And through our daily labors, the Spirit of God is pulling us together to accomplish that goal which is in Christ Jesus. It doesn’t take a burning bush to change the world. It takes faithful people who are willing to engage in the simple things, everyday with conviction and commitment.

            I believe that the world lost a great figure in Steve Jobs. My prayer is for the repose of his soul that he may find the light of eternity. May we all give thanks to God for the gifts of vision and simple work.

Grace and peace

Some Thoughts on a Barna Study

The following is my article for the church and community newspaper. I reflect a bit about a recent study by Barna on obstacles American Christians struggle to overcome in their spiritual journeys.

Spiritual Obstacles

            Today’s article is a reflection on a recent study released by the Barna Group. You can find the study online at www.barna.org titled “Self Described Christians Dominate America but Wrestle with Four Aspects of Spiritual Depth”

            George Barna (that guru of contemporary surveys and cultural observations) has recently released the findings of another study that does not reflect well on the American Church. The study sought to find obstacles in the American Church that people struggle to get past. They came up with four.

            Firstly, according to the study, American Christians struggle with Commitment. They found that 81% of self-identified Christians have made a commitment to Jesus Christ. (I could probably write a book about the remaining 19% who self-identify as Christian but have made no commitment to Jesus). 81% sounds pretty good, but the findings show that only 18% of them are actually committed to growing in their spiritual lives. Growth, it seems, is an obstacle to contemporary American Christians because they simply do not see the need.

            A second obstacle was not surprising to me. They call it simply Repentance. 64% of self-identified Christians, says Barna, have confessed their sins. It doesn’t say how long ago that was, only that at some point in their lives they have confessed their sins. Only 3% reported that through confession they have come to submit their lives fully to God. Only 3%! My preaching lately has taken to speaking a lot about submission to God. I have recognized this as a great obstacle in the church today. Christians do not think God desires much more of them than what they are currently giving, and that giving is very minimal. Transformation of a life into the image of the Creator cannot happen without submission, of which true confession will be a mark.

            Barna calls the third obstacle “Activity” by which he means the religious practices we commonly engage in to find spiritual depth. They found that 39% of Christians engage regularly in Church worship, prayer, and reading the Bible. Barna sees this number as pretty good. As a pastor I see 39% as abysmal. It gets worse. Less than 10% engage in deeper practices of self-sacrifice, service, fasting, meditation on Scripture – in other words, practices that will lead you forward in your relationship with God. American Christians tend to keep a simple check list in their minds: read the Bible? Check! Took 30 seconds to pray? Check! Read a verse or two from the Psalms? Check! We tend to think that as long as we cover the checklist, then we’ve done our religious obligation, and God will reward us with riches and good health. American Christians don’t so much want to grow in their faith as much as just appease the gods so they’ll leave us alone.

            The fourth and final obstacle is about Spiritual Community. A majority of self-identified Christians claim to feel comfortable in their faith communities. However, only 1 in 5 believes that growing into spiritual maturity requires a deep connection to a community of faith. They further do not believe that they need to be held accountable for their daily practices by their churches. The reality for the spiritual life is quite simple: you cannot grow in your faith if you are not willing to submit to God and the guidance of his Church. There is no Christianity without community. There are no Lone Rangers to this faith. God makes us responsible for one another, but Americans don’t want to be vulnerable to each other. We build up walls instead to keep others out.

            In their conclusions, the Barna Group noted something very telling. Most churches do encourage their people to engage in spiritual activities as a means of growing. The problem is that most church members confuse the purpose for growing. Instead of growing into the image of God, exemplifying the attributes of our Lord (let’s look at Galatians 5:22 for what some of that might be), Americans are seeking to grow into greater wealth, health, security, and fame. In other words, Americans actually think that if they just do a few little spiritual exercises once in a while, then they will be rewarded with material gain. They don’t want to go deeper because that would challenge them to let go of their material idols.

            My friends, this does not have to be the case. We were created in the image of God, and because of our sin we have fallen very far from God, far from the true place of blessedness, peace, and joy. Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, came and invited us to follow him, to deny ourselves, to take up the cross and go with him into the world. This requires submission. It requires confession. It requires seeking out deeper spiritual practices that will challenge our everyday idols. It requires giving yourself to a community of sisters and brothers who are on the very same journey. This journey is what we call “Salvation” in its fullest sense. Never be satisfied in your spiritual life. God is endless – without beginning and end. For the sake of our souls, we must dive deep into the soundless depths of God’s being. Only there will we will find a new life, a transformed life, a holy life.

Thoughts on the Call to Action

The United Methodist Council of Bishops is leading forward on the "Call to Action" which is an attempt to move United Methodism out of the statistical doldrums. Since 1968 we have lost around 3 million members. There is a lot of conversation surrounding the Call to Action. Below is a link to a conversation on this topic that took place at Duke Divinity School recently. There are also links on that page to the Call to Action document itself.

 http://divinity.duke.edu/news-media/news/20110906calltoaction

The Crumbs Beneath Thy Table:

Reflections on Exodus 16 and Matthew 20

This is an abridgment of a sermon I preached a few weeks ago on Exodus 16:2-4, 10-16 and Matthew 20:1-16. A further abridgment of this will be in the newspaper this week. They are actually the lectionary texts for the upcoming Sunday, September 18th.  The original title of the sermon was "When Grace Falls". 

         

          The people of Israel were wondering around in the wilderness with Moses at the lead. Imagine this wilderness – this desert place. This was not a comfortable place for the people of Israel to be. Recall that prior to this time of travel they had been slaves in Egypt. They had been a settled people, not nomadic people. They had been city dwellers and construction workers. They were not a traveling kind of folk. They were not like the pioneers, venturing out and fending for themselves, making a life in the harshest of conditions. These Israelites had never had to do this before. So even though the wilderness is a difficult place no matter who you are, for these Israelites it was the hardest of times. It was so difficult that they began to think about the good old days when they were just slaves in Egypt. Oh those were fine times, weren’t they? Everyone had food to eat; it was simply grand to be a slave. We all at times look back at the “good old days”. The grass was always greener back then, wasn’t it? We fool ourselves into believing that we have it so bad, when in fact the blessings abound (we just don’t see them clearly).

          But complain they did, and God was quite unsettled by it. As the story goes, God did not dismiss the complaints, but in fact heard them. God caused bread to fall from the sky and quail to appear each day. By God’s own provision, the people had their fill of food (and they didn’t even have to work for it).  I would like to say that this was the only time they complained. It was not. Complaining is something that seems to go alone with human living.  

           And, yes, we will all find something to complain about. It’s all a bit trite; a bit cliché. Don’t complain. Count your blessings. Be content with all you have. Those are wonderful platitudes, but perhaps the scripture today has something deeper to say to us than just the typical old sayings.
          Almighty God – the one who created the universe out of nothing; the same God who stretched the heavens, who crafted you and me in his very own image; the Sovereign Lord over all at whose very name the mountains tremble – this God called Israel together to follow him out into the world: to serve Him, to worship Him, to keep His commandants and live as a holy people. God then made a covenant with Israel that He would forever and always be with them.

Try to put yourself in the story. Imagine yourself there and the wonders you beheld. You saw with your own eyes the plagues that fell upon Egypt. You walked on the dry land across the Red Sea. You heard the voice of the Lord God speak! From Exodus 16:10, “And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord said, ‘I have heard you.’” The voice of God is not a small thing, but even more, God rained down bread for the life of the people (Exodus 16:14).

            Grace is so abundant you can almost pick it up off the ground. Everywhere that God is, there is grace to be had. Grace is, very simply, the undeserved presence of God among us. God’s very presence is grace, and it brings with it forgiveness and the strength to live day to day in the face of hardship. God’s presence is active; it’s not just God residing out away somewhere; God is doing stuff in your life! God is speaking to you, guiding you, preparing you for the future. God’s grace brings out of us repentance and a desire for reconciliation. All of us are unworthy so much as to gather the crumbs beneath God’s Table. But, remember, grace is the undeserved presence of God among us. Wherever God is, there is grace to be had. It falls upon us, and you can almost just pick it up off the ground.

In my experience we tend to have at least two problems when it comes to grace. On the one hand we don’t trust that God’s grace is available. On the other we act like we’re entitled to it when we’re not. On the matter of not trusting in the availability of grace, simply look at the Israelites. They took one look at this bread from heaven said “What is it?” (the Hebrew word for “What is it” is Manna). We so often do not comprehend that God is active in our lives even though God promised to be. I’ve heard it so many times: “I just don’t feel like God is in my life. I don’t feel God near me. I used to feel the presence of God, and now I feel nothing.” When did being Christian become all about feelings? There are days I don’t feel like following in the ways of God. And yet, there are other days when I know with certainty that God is speaking from the cloud. Still, on those other days when the mountains do not tremble and the cloud does not portray to my liking the glory of God I must still trust that God promised to be present always – that God’s grace will still fall abundantly.

We also struggle on the other end of the spectrum, I’m afraid, with thinking that we deserve God’s grace, even perhaps more than others. There’s this story from Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus tells a parable of a landowner who goes out early in the morning looking for workers. He finds some day laborers who agree to work all day for a typical day’s wage. As it turns out, there was a lot of work to do that day, so the landowner went back out at 9 o’clock and again at noon and still again at 3 in the afternoon. Each time he gathered and hired more workers. He went out the last time at 5 o’clock and hired the last bunch. When the day was finally over (at about sun down), all the workers from the day lined up to receive their wage. The landowner paid them one by one, beginning with the ones who started working at 5 and went on down to those who worked all day. In a twist, the landowner paid everyone the same wage. He paid them all for a full day’s work. Didn’t the workers who had been there all day deserve more than the ones who arrived late? The landowner simply tells them that he can do what he wants with his money. It’s his after all! So it is with God’s grace: you don’t get to decide who gets it; you don’t get to decide how much; and you don’t get to horde it all for yourself. It’s God’s to give, and he just lets it fall from the sky so that everyone has the opportunity to live. 

My sisters and brothers, hear the Good News. Our ancestors ate manna in the desert. God graced them with the promise of himself. God’s grace is abundant and free, and it is here to be received for the sake of your very life. It is for you, for your neighbor, and for all who are in need of God. Will you receive God’s grace today? Will you share it? In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Thoughts on 9/11

I write a weekly article for the church that also gets printed in the Guymon Daily Herald. This is my article from last week reflecting on 9/11.

When the World Changed

            I was in college when the twin towers fell. I remember so many people filled with fear. I also remember being confused about what it was supposed to mean. So many times since then I have listened to people talk about how the world changed on September 11, 2001. I suppose that’s true. Every time I go through an airport, I find some of those changes. But I wander if it is good for us to see 9/11 as the great defining moment of our lives.

April 11, 1995, means a lot to me. That was the day the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building blew up in Oklahoma City. My mother grew up in Oklahoma City, and she insisted on going to witness it for herself. I remember her tears as we went downtown. In a way, life changed after that. It certainly left an indelible mark on me.

I sat at a table with a group of older women a while back. One of them started speaking about her late husband. She got to talking about when they were young and courting. They were happy and careless in those days. Then her voice got quiet and her face drew long. “That’s when they bombed Pearl Harbor,” she said. I remember my grandmother telling me once how everything changed when “the big one” hit (meaning World War II). My grandfather never spoke much about that war and his experience fighting in the Pacific and in Germany (he served in both theaters), and I don’t blame him. I think it changed him in ways that no one else in the family could ever really understand.

            Tragedies force us to change. A loved one dies, a house burns, a tower falls; change is simply in the nature of human experience. We get awful romantic about “the way things used to be.” Even I like to think about more innocent days before mandatory seatbelt laws, a Wal-mart on every corner, and genetically enhanced meat. I am only 30 years old, but I have come to appreciate how we mark the passage of time with celebrations and remembrances which help us stay connected to the important aspects of these previous ways of life. We develop customs and ceremonies to help keep cadence with change. And, yes, we cling to the tragedies as the most important and life-shaping. September the 11^th is often seen as the worst tragedy ever to happen in our national life. It is a grave and solemn remembrance.

Abraham Lincoln once remarked, “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.” Lincoln knew about tragedy. He lost a son and led the country through its bloodiest war ever. Having lived in the American South, I can say with some authority that the Civil War is still seen as the great American tragedy, and it still draws on people’s emotions and fears. I wonder, though, if it is appropriate for Christians to look upon national tragedies as the most life-forming events. Did the world really change that much after 9/11 or April 15, 1995, or December 7, 1941, or even 1861?

We Christians have a slightly different narrative. We believe that the world changed forever during those confusing three days when our God – who we murdered on a cross – was being gloriously resurrected . Ultimately, every event in human history from then on has been viewed through the lens of Christ’s death and resurrection. I often say that if we were to put together every despicable act humanity has inflicted upon itself – the concentration camps, the wars, the violence, and the death – still it would not compare to what we did to Jesus. Even the horror of 9/11 does not compare to the bleeding, suffering God dying on Calvary.  We did that. We tried to extinguish the light of the world because we loved the darkness so much. The Good News, however, is that there is no tragedy that cannot be redeemed through the Christ who rose from the dead.

Remember, Jesus died and rose so that tragedies like 9/11 would not be the end of the story. Jesus went through this great ordeal so that our suffering could be redeemed into resurrection. Jesus came out of the tomb so that no one would be left without the hope of a new day. We rightly remember the tragedies and the horrors of our time. Yet, we must be ever committed in our proclamation that “neither death nor life, nor angels nor demons, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

I wonder what kind of world it is when Christians look upon every tragedy in light of the triumph of Christ over death. As I often say to myself when I am facing a difficult situation, “Just remember, Jesus is still risen. Christ has overcome the world.”  I will never forget where I was or what I was doing when the towers fell. Those images are burned into my memory. But, I pray that God will never allow me to subvert the most important act in human history as the true agent of change in a world of lost sinners. May we continue to pray for our enemies, honor our dead, and live the lives of love and peace to which Christ calls us.

Grace and peace

Ellen Davis is one of my heroes. She has a way with words that I envy, I'll admit.

http://www.faithandleadership.com/sermons/ellen-f-davis-radical-trust?page=0,0

I've decided to go back to blogging. Internally, I suppose I feel I have something to say. I'm a preacher by trade, and so, understandably, I always seem to have something to say. Externally, I am never really sure if what I have to say is of any value to anyone else. As I read that previous sentence, I can't help but hear the voice of Stanley Hauerwas screeching in my ear: "People don't have values! Used cars have values!" Notwithstanding, people don't have to suffer to listen to anything I communicate. That's the reality of this late modern world, namely, that we have reduced everything to a choice. I can choose this or that. I can choose to suffer the preacher on Sunday or else make a very serious point to drown out all voices but my own.

All that being said, I have decided to go back to blogging. Maybe it is because I am so thoroughly a product of my generation that I desire to join in the cacophony of voices abounding over, under, and around us. Is that arrogance? Or perhaps it is simple wishful thinking that I could join in such a cloud of voices. Richard Lischer wrote a few years ago about coming to the "end of words," (in a book by the same name). He writes,

"Preachers continue to follow Jesus' example but in a culture that is suffering a certain exhaustion with words. Mass violence overrides the significance of language. The centralization of the means of communication only ensures that everyone thinks and talks roughly the same. The first causualty of the information age is truth. Passion and beauty have become expendable virtues." (Richard Lischer, The End of Words, William B. Eerdmen's Publishing: Grand Rapids, 2005).

I hope that I speak the truth. I hope that in this theologically watered-down age of narcissistic self-worship I do not waver from passion and beauty in my quest to be a truth teller. Indeed, is that not the sum of Christian ethics - to be truth tellers?

In summary, I am back to blogging. I cannot promise I will always be diligent in the work, but I suspect I will be truthful and full of charm and wit. I'll close this post, then, with a little bit of Charles Wesley.

Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go
My daily labor to pursue
Thee, only thee, resolved to know
In all I think or speak or do.

The task thy wisdom hath assigned
O let me cheerfully fulfill
In all my works thy presence find
And prove thy good and perfect will

Thee may I set at my right hand
Whose eyes mine inmost substance see
And labor on at thy command
And offer all my works to thee

For thee delightfully employ
Whate'er thy bounteous grace hath given
And run my course with even joy
And closely walk with thee to heaven

All Saints Below and Saints Above

In my ongoing engagement with the matter of real presence and so forth, I keep going back to the "Hymns on the Lord's Supper." Historically for Methodists (particularly outside the United States), the hymns were the primary means of catechesis. Unfortunately, the "Hymns on the Lord's Supper" was not generally the hymnal most Methodists used (obviously because it was an issue specific hymnal). The standard hymn book used by the Methodists in Wesley's day was his "Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists." They supplied other supplementary hymn books that focused on particular points of doctrine or times of the year (for example, the "Hymns on the Trinity" or the "Hymns on the Lord's Supper" or the "Hymns on the Nativity" and so forth). At any rate, in my own theological and liturgical reflections, I keep coming back to the notion of how it is that we receive Christ in the Eucharist who is the paschal lamb who is at the same time offered "once for all". Classic protestantism found this to be irreconcileable. I, however, don't think so, and the reason is connected to the notion of time in relation to eternity. What does it mean for Christ to be an "eternal sacrifice"? Liturgically (and I suppose this is a bit more eastern, maybe in connection with the liturgy of St. Chrysostom), time and space seem to suspend while the altar becomes the axis mundi of reality. Therefore, we see the very Paschal Lamb slain on Calvery, while at the same time we behold the glorified and risen Christ with whom we are joined as "a holy and living sacrifice." Where do I support this "time suspension" theory scripturally? I look at Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4. I contend that the prophet Isaiah and John of Patmos are beholding the very same scene: Christ crucified, glorified, and almighty ( pantocrator). With this in mind, the classic protestant critique that Catholics re-sacrificed Christ (or attempted to) is false. Yes, it is Christ crucified, but because in the context of worship, time and space are suspended and the entirety of God's economy converges at the altar (vertically) and disperses out into and among the people (horizontally) (this is why we talk about the Eucharist as the sacrament of sanctification and indeed the greatest of the sacraments). Ok. Why am I going on about this? I pulled out the "Hymns on the Lord's Supper" and all this that I had been ponduring over the past many months about time/space and real presence seemed to be summed up in one hymn. Here it is:

Let all who truly bear
The bleeding Saviour's name
Their faithful hearts with us prepare,
And eat the Paschal Lamb.
Our Passover was slain
At Salem's hallowed place
Yet we who in our tents remain,
Shall gain his largest grace.

This Eucharistic feast
Our every want supplies;
And still we by his Death are blessed,
And share his Sacrifice.
By faith his Flesh we eat,
Who here His Passion show,
And God out of His Holy Seat
Shall all his gifts bestow.

Who thus our faith employ,
His sufferings to record,
Even now we mournfully enjoy
Communion with our Lord.
And though we everone
Beneath his cross had stood
And seen him heave, and heard him groan
And felt his gushing blood.

O God! Tis finished now!
The Mortal pang is past!
By faith his head we see him bow
And hear him breath his last!
We too with him are dead,
And shall with him arise;
The cross on which he bows his head
Shall lift us to the skies.


By the way, the line "At Salem's hallowed place" is in reference to Melchizidek. He was the king of Salem in Genesis 14 who offered bread and wine to Abram. Now, this hymn focuses more on the Sacrifice of Calvary than anything else, but there is this sense of time/space suspension that Wesley is conveying. We see Christ crucified, and it is the very Christ offered by Melchizidek. How is this possible, except that we are drawn into the enternity of God through the avenue of divine worship. It is Christ sacrificed "once for all" because is the very same event at Calvary that we behold each time we celebrate the Eucharist. Furthermore, this is why the Sursom Corda (Up hearts! or Lift up your hearts) is so important to the liturgy. We affirm that we are "lifted up to the Lord", that is, we are entering into God's eternity where the contraints of time and space are meaningless. This is why the offering of the sacrifice is necessary, though with the corralary that we are offerred in union with Christ's one offering. I could probably go on and make a further argument using both Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4, but this is already long. Anyway, that's enough reflecting for today.

Peace

Barry

I Like These Type Things for Some Reason

You scored as Neo orthodox. You are neo-orthodox. You reject the human-centredness and scepticism of liberal theology, but neither do you go to the other extreme and make the Bible the central issue for faith. You believe that Christ is God's most important revelation to humanity, and the Trinity is hugely important in your theology. The Bible is also important because it points us to the revelation of Christ. You are influenced by Karl Barth and P T Forsyth. Neo orthodox 96% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 89% Roman Catholic 82% Emergent/Postmodern 57% Charismatic/Pentecostal 43% Classical Liberal 29% Reformed Evangelical 29% Fundamentalist 18% Modern Liberal 14% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

Bible in One Hand; Remote Control in the Other

So TV has come back into my life. We were seperated for quite a while, trying out new things...you know, just taking a break from each other. I was pretty happy without TV, but you know how TV is; just can't seem to live without me. I figured, hell, give it a couple weeks and see if we still love each other. Well, I don't want to sound all sentimental, but I think I'm going to ask TV to stay.

I've rediscovered a couple things since I got cable again. First, "Cheap Seats" is brilliant. I love this show. If you've never watched this show regularly, then you should be pistol wipped. Second, there's this new show on FX (otherwise know as soft-core for primetime) called "It's Always Sunny in Philidelphia." Wow. Just wow. This show is wrong in many ways. I would never recommend it to my parishioners (well, most of them anyway). But it's a very intelligent show. Demented, but intelligent (3 and 3-quarter stars). Finally, I get to watch reruns of Futurama every night. This is one of the top three greatest cartoon shows of all time. I hear that's it's coming back. We should all be so lucky to have TV in our lives (I can just see the faces on my former Iredell housemates).

Kal-El is Ka-Razy!

Superman Returns. I give it 3 and a quarter stars. The acting was generally good. I like that guy who played Lois Lane's husband (he's from Oklahoma you know). I really liked how they spliced in footage from Marlon Brando's performance of Jor-El from the original movie. Kind of creepy, though. It's kind of like TuPac. Anyway, it was a decent take on an seemingly tired character. But, I will say with confidence that I enjoyed the movie. One question, however. So, uh...Superman and Lois had a kid together (shock. surprise). It's not so shocking if you saw the love scene (well...assumed sex, anyway) in Superman II. It makes sense that Lois may have gotten knocked up at that point. But, still...um, how do I put this? Ok, so Superman is so strong that he literally carried an entire island into space. That's pretty strong. It's almost a kind of strength that one could...easily loose control of. So, fine. He had sex with Lois. Big deal. But Lois should be dead, right? He should have shot right through her! (Lord I hope none of my parishioners read this). It's not a new question, sure. I know I'm not the first guy to wonder. But, ok, he is Superman, so maybe he has crazy control over himself. Anyway, besides that...well done film. I liked Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, although...well it's a movie thing. The movies never really treated Lex Luthor like the comics. In the movies he's almost an insane comic relief to Superman's ever-serious boy scout-ness. So Spacey was well in line with Gene Hackman's interpretation. Still, the Luther as billionaire business giant (he's the epitomy of Big Business) or even as a mad scientist bent on ruling the world (a part of his character that kindly disappeared by the 1980's), the movies never really treat these aspects too seriously. The special effects were great, and I even enjoyed all of the allusions to Jesus (I, even I, thought it was thought provoking). It kind of reminded me of Mark Waid's "Kingdom Come,"this god complex that comes with being earth's mightiest hero. Of course, I think that there was something a bit shady going on with the telling of this story. Now, this is just me, but, the thing about Superman is that he was always the best of the best. This is classic DC storytelling, right, that the hero will always triumph over evil because the hero is the embodiment of all that is good, right, and moral. The hero is the archtype of the (dare I say) superman. It's German triumphalism. The heroes of Marvel, however, were different. As Stan Lee is constantly saying, "They have flaws." Even Captain America, big boy scout that he is, has a flaw - he is a man out of time. Anyway, my point is that in this Superman movie, the writers took a cue from the Marvel universe and decided that Superman needed to have real flaws to his character. He can't (literally) get the girl this time. What's Superman without Lois Lane? Also, there's this thing about him abandoning the people of earth for five years. He has this internal struggle about what his responsibilities are to humanity. The only thing missing was them jacking the classic Spiderman line "with great power comes great responsibility". I'm not at all pissed about this raping of the Marvel paradigm, because I think it makes Superman more interesting a character all around. But, still, I wonder where it came from. Okay, that's enough about that. Superman Returns. Liked it. Go see it.

My Kingdom for a Super Target!

Well, it's officially official. I have successfully completed seminary and moved back to God's country. The only thing is, I was pretty sure God's country was in Oklahoma, I just didn't know it was the Oklahoma Panhandle. Sigh. Yet, there are more glorious things to be had out here in the desert. I am now the Associate Pastor of Victory Memorial United Methodist Church. That's right. I'm now Reverend Barry Bennett. Life isn't so bad out here in No Man's Land (no seriously). I have a sweet parsonage, a nice office, a great staff (even a secretary!), and lest we forget, a regular salary. Ah, the love of God! Oh, to grace, how great a debtor! And betwixed them thou hast diedst for...oh, hell, I don't know what I'm saying. But really, it is an amazing thing that this God I serve would be so foolish as to choose someone like me for his Church. I can't really explain why, but I am certainly grateful. And to all ye naysayers out there, yes, life in the parish is pretty good. It's busy and demanding, but it's rewarding. I have learned in these past two months of ministry, one must laugh at life. As one of my duties at the church is handling emergency assistance (utilities, food, clothing, etc.), I have been engaged with the true brokenness of humanity. Finding hope in the midst of despair is part of what I do. And, because of this, I must laugh. To that end, I think I will start publishing my "quote of the week". I must be careful, however, that I do not get myself in trouble. The last thing I need is a parishioner calling me up angry because I posted for all the world to see some random funny thought of theirs. But, I'll chance it at least this once. So here it is: the quote of the week.

"I like Yoda. He's a good guy."

Classic.

It's a Divine Life

So here's my thought: facutly jazzercise. I mean, really. Wouldn't that be hilarious? Duke Divinity faculty jazzercising. Just the thought makes me laugh. Or better yet...faculty super hero personas. I suggest a five member team of earth's mightiest super scholars. David Steinmetz is "The Tecnocrat". He has a super intellect far beyond that of normal, old senile men...and his walker converts into various cool futuristic type of tools and weapons. Stanley Hauerwas is "Tex". He's just basically the asshole that everybody loves to hate and hates to love (and he can fly). Elen Davis is "Sister Shalom" (also the token woman). She can conjur up all kinds of Old Testament fury, like pillars of fire and lighting and thunder (though generally only in close proximity to mountains) and other wrath of God stuff. Willie Jennings is "Rampage" - basically your run-of-the-mill super strength, super invulnerability, with an attitude sort of hero. Finally, we round out the team with "The Padre" (also known as Warren Smith). He's got kickin' hand to hand combat skills, but also super advanced armor that gives him the ability to fire energy beams from his fists. Together, this team of super scholars fights evil (process theology, gnostics, Bowser) and oppression (Yale) whenever threats arrise.

Ok, so that's about as nerdy as it gets. It's late, and I'm tired, so whatever.

The "Man" Has His Own Blog

This is just a point of interest. It seems that bishop Will Willimon has his own blog. I find this funny, basically because I've always kind of felt like Willimon was a little caught up in himself. Don't get me wrong. I think he's a great voice in the Church and, from the little I've read, a good bishop. But, come on, the title of the blog is "A Peculiar Prophet" (the title of the recent book written in his honor). Now, I will concede that he probably doesn't keep the blog up himself. It's essentially postings of his sermons. I'm sure his assistant or someone else in the Northern Alabama Conference office does all the work, but still, it seems a bit...I don't know...odd. After all, this was the same guy who had a website devoted to his "campaign" for the episcopacy in 2004. Anyway, if you're looking for regular words from the bishop of Birmingham, check out his blog at willimon.blogspot.com

You Heard Me!

Here's why I'm a big nerd: I can actually recite from memory "In brightest day or blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight; Let those who worship evil's might, beward my power - Green Lantern's light." Oh, yes, my friends. I know the oath of the Green Lantern. Yet, I'm convinced that we all have small things that make us big nerds. Bo, for example, owns 783 orange shirts (one for every Eddie Sutton basketball victory). Bud can sing all the words to every song on the Cornhusker highlight videos. Thunder gets sick joy from beating up on 9 year-old Uzbek children via his Halo uplink. John Thompson keeps 3 full cases of KY jelly on hand at all times...just in case of an emergency. Jonathan Kelly...well, he loves Jesus and America too, so I guess that's kind of nerdy. My point is that it's ok to be weird, mainly so that you can have something to shove down your friend's throats when they start gettin' all cocky about their pure Thomism or New Perspectives or paradigm shifts or problematized jibaty-jee and cookaly-coo. So I leave with this, an excerpt from that greatest of tomes, William Shatner's Star Trek Movie Memories.

"He'd have found Scotty bored out of his mind to the point where he's now spending his days taking apart the Klingon bird of prey last seen in Star Trek IV in a futile attempt to at last uncover the secrets of her cloaking device. Uhura is next, equally bored, working for a Federation radio station as the host of a call-in advice program. Chekov too is uneasy, yawning his days away at a chess club while repeatedly trying in vain to defeat highter life forms with special Russian strategies. Finally, Kirk finds McCoy most unhappy of all. Hailed as a conquering hero, Bones is nonetheless drunk and disorderly at a high-society medical dinner in his honor. Disgusted by the money-hungry healers he's forced to endure in the civilian world, even the dependably cantatnkerous Bones jumps at the chance to once again become useful aboard the Enterprise."

Pure gold.

To Make the World Safe for Democracy?

Woodrow Wilson was really an idealist. Not that I'm against idealism, but one must reckon with one's own idealism, knowing what virtue it intends as its goal. Wilson, of course, was a Princeton, Enlightenment scholar. His "common good," I daresay, is not the same common good I strive towards. I, for one, see the common good as eternal communion with the virtue - God, who is "The Good". Well, anyway, democracy is not the eschatological hope. It is not that place where "we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise" (to coin a great Wesley hymn). So why am I going on about this? I watched Jarhead last night. My good friends, Bo and Bud, were with me. It is a disturbing look at the psychological effects of military conditioning. What happens, the movie begs, when one is programmed to kill, to be ok with killing, and to want to kill, but is denied the opportunity to kill? These young marines are trained, nay, re-programmed to desire killing, almost as a sexual release. There is a very telling scene when the marines are gathered to watch a scene from "Apocolypse Now." It's the scene when the helicopters are coming into the Vietnamese village to lay it waste. Civilian Vietnamese people (many children) are slaughtered on screne. The marines yell and screme at the movie they are watching, not in horror, but in eager anticipation. It's almost orgiastic. The main character in the film expresses on his face the look of a man caught up in the ecstasy of sex as he watches people being gunned down. This is what the marine corps did to these young men. It made them into killing machines who craved death. But, the conflict in the film is that they are denied their orgasm. The main character is trained as a sniper and goes to the Persian Gulf (Gulf War I). However, he never fires a shot. He almost gets to kill someone, but is denied that pleasure. The end of the war shows marines dancing and partying around a giant fire in the desert, shooting their guns into the air - shooting at nothing. It's ironic. They shoot. This is what they are supposed to do, what they are formed to do, yet they shoot at nothing. Ultimately, this is not the release they desire. They want to kill, but they can't. The death is inside themselves. Very disturbing, especially since I have a brother in the Marine Corps.

Eddie Sutton: Humble Servant in the Vinyard of God

Well, for all practical purposes, Basketball season is upon us. What this means for everyone, of course, is that Eddie Sutton is about to take the court for his 16th season at the helm of Oklahoma State University. Now, for those of greater ignorance out there in the world, Oklahoma State University (not Duke and certainly not North Carolina) is the home to the greatest basketball coach of all time. That man is Eddie Sutton (now it is arguable, of course, whether Eddie or his mentor Henry Iba take this title, but I digress). Basketball had its golden age in the plains. As any fool knows, the game was invented by James Naismith, a physical educator at a New England college. The game quickly spread out of the hostile conditions of New England to the plains, where sports dominated local life. It was the great rivalry between Henry Iba of (then) Oklahoma A & M College (now Oklahoma State University) and Forrest "Phog" Allen of the University of Kansas that made the game what it is. Oh, ye naysayers, harken to my voice! Basketball is what it is today because of Henry Iba. Naismith never could have conceived what his indoor game for physical ed. would become. Here are some highlights from the Basketball Hall of Fame website about Hank Iba.

"There are few in basketball circles who don't know about the legendary Henry Iba. As a collegiate coach at Oklahoma A&M and a three-time mentor of our Olympic teams, Iba did more than win national championships and gold medals. He transcended greatness. Mr. Iba's teams were methodical, ball-controlling units that featured weaving patterns and low scoring games. Iba's "swinging gate" defense (a man-to-man with team flow) was applauded by many, and is still effective in today's game. Behind dominating 7-foot center Bob Kurland, Iba's Aggies became the first to win consecutive NCAA titles (1945 and 1946). A&M teams won 14 Midwestern Valley titles, and were largely responsible for generating most of Iba's 767 victories, third best in NCAA Division I history. "Hank" also coached at Maryville College and the University of Colorado. He is the only coach in history to win two Olympic gold medals (1964 in Tokyo; 1968 in Mexico City), and he will also be remembered as the coach of the 1972 Olympic team that lost to the Soviet Union in a controversial ending."

Eddie Sutton played for Iba from 1955-1958. He is, today, a giant among coaches. Don't believe me? Here are some facts:

-Only coach in NCAA Division I history to record 30 or more wins in a single season at more than one shcool (won 30 or more games at Arkansas in 1978, Kentucky in 1987 and Oklahoma Sate in 2004).
-Just the third coach in Division I history to reach the 700-win mark in 32 years or less.
-Only Dean Smith won more games in his first 35 years as a Division I head coach.
-Four-time National Coach of the Year (1977, 1978, 1986, 1995).
-Eight-time Conference Coach of hte Year (1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1986, 1993, 1998, 2004).
-One of just two different coaches nationally to win coach-of-the-year in four different conferences.
-First coach in NCAA history to lead four different schools to the NCAA tournament (Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, OSU).
-Led teams to 26 NCAA Tournament appearances in 35 years, including 12 consecutive from 1977-88.
-20 of his teams have finished the season ranked among the nation's top 25, including 11 top-10 finishes.
-Has produced 25 20-win seasons, including three 30-win seasons.
-Has had only one losing season in 35 years as a collegiate coach.
-Has won conference championships in the SWC, SEC, Big Eight, and Big 12.
-Ranks second among active Division I head coaches in games coached with 1,080.
-Ranks second among active head coaches by victories.
-Ranks seventh all-time in victories among all Division I coaches.

So there you have it: Eddie Sutton. Humble servant. Basketball legend. GO POKES!

Near Misses

So last night (October 21) the Iredell House (the intentional community I am a part of - I have a link for it, check it out) had a party. This isn't so unusual, but this time we had this incredible band show up. I wanted to give them a not-so-shameless promotion. They are called the Near Misses, and they are incredible. I've put a link to their website up on this page. Check them out. Their song "This is Your Day" is my personal favorite. I've decided to rename it "Song of St. Paul". It's not really about Paul, but I like to think it is. Anyway, keep an eye out for this quintet of ladies.