More Wonderings & Wanderings

I sent my friend a link to an article on Salon.com. And then I sent her another one, "because it appears today I'm trolling around Salon." She said, "it's fun to see what blog or site you get caught up in by the flurry of "read this!" links posted in various places."

In case I wasn't all up in YOUR feed, here are some things I've enjoyed. 

• Mark Driscoll and the conversation about him are hardly strangers to polar opinions. The promotion of his new book stirred the usual hornet's nests. Christianity and Pop Culture and an interesting comment on it all, though: 
• "We don’t need another post on Mark Driscoll, either for or against. We don’t need to talk about the moral implications of giving away prizes for favorable book reviews, or about detractors that are cruel in their critiques. What we need to talk about are the ways we as Christians need to get off the merry-go-round of vitriol in dialogue, of responding to every mini- and mega-theology debate that appears on our Twitter and Facebook feeds. There is quite enough of this going on." The poor guy then had to actually ask that people who tried to win his ipad giveaway please read the book first.
  
• By Heart is a series in which authors share and discuss their all-time favorite passages in literature.  Rosie Schapp, author of Drinking with Men, reflects on her relationship with William Blake: 
• "But in a quietly perceptible way, my experience of grief shifted, as though the passage told me to live in that grief as long as I might need, that—through memories, through love, through the very impulse to grieve—it was entwined with joy; that stitched somewhere in my sadness—which seemed insurmountable—was a thread of happiness. This time, Blake did not save my life. Instead, he lit a little votive in the small, dark chapel of loss, by whose light I started to see a way through."
  
• when we need women behind the pulpits -
    Preston Yancey blogs about women's voice in church. I have been really struggling with my place in the church and our church lately, discouraged by the unchallenged status quo of microphones for men only. I'm not demanding a microphone, but I am weary of never hearing a voice that sounds like mine. I loved this line:  "I forget that it still seems strange for some to say that what should be at issue is calling not gender and that the Holy Ghost is awfully fond of surprising us and overturning our paradigms."

And the Salon articles that started the morning's wanderings,

• When modems used to hiss
  Google Internet Cache—the Roman ruins of the 21st Century. Jacob Savage waxes nostalgic about coming of age the same time the internet did.
• The baker’s lament ; As a pastry chef, I watched my artwork vanish in seconds. But its ephemerality was also what made it beautiful. 

Wonderings and Wanderings

I rue the demise of Google Reader and its capacity for sharing. I miss my passionate, scholarly community with great taste and interesting attentions.

Lately, I've been finding things online and emailing them to friends, who sort of indulge me here and there by glancing at them. I didn't expect more than that with Google Reader, either, but Email isn't fitting for this sort of casual dissemination.

I thought I'd try something new, based on a blog I've been reading for a while. He does something called "The Weekly Town Crier" where he does sets of links of interesting internet things, and I enjoy them. He mostly posts on Fridays. I can't say how regular I'll be, but maybe if I consistently did this, it would lessen the inbox burden I can sometimes create for you.

Enjoy!

• Foo-Fighters frontman Dave Grohl  talks about a documentary that inspired his music career, while he's promoting an interesting one he made himself. I loved this quotation: "I honestly believe if you had more stuff, like music documentaries, or live performance shows, that people would be more involved and love music more. Because you can see that it’s people.” Yes. Music isn't must music. It's people.

• California-based mega-retailer Amoeba Music, the last big record store on the block, has moved into the digital age with both feet, with its inauguration of a revamped website. And possibly the most intriguing element of that site, and a direct reflection of Amoeba's dig-deeper philosophy, is the so-called Vinyl Vaults section -- thousands of rare and out-of-print LPs, 78s and 45s that flow through the company's three outlets in any given week -- now available for sale via download. READ THE REST here.

• Why Men Still Hate Going To Church - An article in Leadership Journal makes a few suggestions about what we need to do to make church more palatable to men. An excerpt that stuck out to me: "I get more pushback from men who are well-established in the church than I do from women. Women sense the need. Women see their husbands bored. They see their sons dropping out. They see their brothers irreligious. They sit on the pew with nine other women. They know the situation on the ground."

• An insane surfer sets the world record for tallest wave ever surfed. This was amazing.
  

• A famous article in the Atlantic about Introverts that mainly started the conversation about introverts and extroverts, and its follow-up piece about the dating life of introverts and extroverts. The woman in this TED talk about the Power of Introverts is less belligerent than the Atlantic guy is, but I'm really stuck on the subject of Introversion and Extroverts because of the bizarre chemistry of our leadership team. My friend Nathanael would dislike most of these because they work in stereotyping and don't really address the complexity of the relational and internal worlds of both introverts and extroverts.
  

• My friend Troy  thinks about Henry David  Thoreau and Facebook today: "Much of the time, when I look at Facebook (or Twitter, or Instagram, or whatever other social medium), I end up wondering what the point is. Did I learn anything? Did I add anything of value to my life? We live in a time when instant (or near-instant) communication is viewed as a great achievement, a time when almost everyone has the ability to say almost anything to almost anyone...I should say: I'm not a Luddite. But I am worried about something that I think Thoreau points to here, to our inventions being "pretty toys" and "improved means to an unimproved end," and I think we'd all be better served by a serious consideration of the ends, than by a fascination with the newest means."

• The Clocks at Grand Central Station Are Permanently Wrong, And they're that way on purpose. I loved this. But my clocks are also all wrong.
  
  
  
  
• A new band I found, The Lone Bellow, covers a tune by John Prine, another folky new favorite. This is a good introduction to them both. The Lone Bellow covers John Prine's "Angel From Montgomery".  --There are some tight harmonies and a good percussive guitar style that make re really excited for what 2013 holds for these guys. They are trying what Delta Rae was going for, only they do it better. You may also really like their track "The Two Sides of Lonely". HERE is the review of their album in PASTE magazine.
  

• This list is hilarious. It has Marvin Gaye, the Beatles, Dave Matthews.. Some of these are really spot-on. Sort of a Rorschach Ink-blot test for music nerds. What Your Favorite Record as a Kid Says About You Now

•  Avant-garde musician Beck Hansen recently produced a new “album,” Song Reader, that was not released in stores or via mp3 files. Instead, he released the score and asked his fans and other musicians to upload their interpretations of the score for others to hear. The tagline on the website says, “Only you can bring Beck Hansen’s Song Reader to life.”  THIS author thinks all this is somewhat of a metaphor for what God did for us with the scriptures. Thoughts?

Prayer and Ethics

Personal Ethical Statement

As a minister, member of my spiritual community, and follower of Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God and Savior of the World, I believe I am called by God to proclaim His love. I am also called to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God each day. (Micah 6:8). As I move through each day, I follow the path of conduct as revealed to me by scripture and when I pray the Orthodox prayer of the Optina Elders. I adopt the following principles so that by further prayer, practice, and self-discipline, and reliance on Grace, I may testify to the love of God and become a worthy example for those I seek to lead and serve each day.

The Prayer of the Optina Elders

Grant unto me, O Lord, that with peace of mind I may face all that this new day is to bring.

•    I will set apart Jesus Christ as Lord of this day and all of my activities, events, and relationships. I will be prepared to give an answer to any who ask about the peace I have in my day. (1 Peter 3:15)

Grant unto me to dedicate myself completely to Your Holy Will.

• I shall give my undivided love to God. (Deut. 6:5) I will not spend this day pursuing the false idols of wealth, comfort, security, or power.

• I will pursue the path of obedience. This includes yielding to God as He speaks to me, in accordance with the guidance He has already provided in His Word. I believe all Scripture comes from God and is useful in discerning His will and instructing others in that discernment.  (Ex. 20, 2 Timothy 3:16). Wherever possible, I will use scripture to guide my own behavior to the best of my understanding, and I will counsel others by its teachings to the best of my understanding so that we may be in accordance with God’s will.
• I will yield to the authorities instituted by God for my own safety and well being, because they can guide me toward the will of God.  (1 Pet. 2:13-17). This includes the civil government (Rom. 13:1-11),  church government (1 Tim. 2), family government, and community relationships (Heb. 10:24-25, Eph. 5:21)

For every hour of this day, instruct and prepare me in all things.

• As a Christian, minister, teacher, and member of my community, I commit to regular and sufficient time for development of intellectual and spiritual capacities. This includes study of the bible, current thought, and the expressions of the human experience as found in art, music, and literature so that I may better apprehend God’s nature and its daily revelation to people; and so also that I may use my skills, talents, and gifts to bring glory and honor to Christ and my community.

•  I will manage my time, resources, relationships, and gifts so that I can maintain vitality in my ministry as well as physical, emotional, mental, and relational health in my family and community. (Eph. 5:15)

Whatsoever tidings I may receive during the day, teach me to accept tranquilly, in the firm conviction that all eventualities fulfill Your Holy Will.

•   To the best of my ability, I will respond to the events and news of the day with peace, grace, hope, joy, and love, through prayer and practicing the presence of God.

•  I will not complain (Phil 2:14) and I will rejoice and offer prayers of thanksgiving in response to ALL things. (Phil. 4:4-7)

•   I will communicate with others in a way that facilitates their tranquil acceptance of the events and news of the day, humbling considering the needs of others as I discern where and how to speak. (Phil. 2:3)

Govern, Lord, my thoughts and feelings in all I do and say.

•   I will make every effort to be self-controlled and alert, preparing for action, and controlling my thought life so that I may grow in peace and obedience, both internally and  by my actions. (1 Pet. 5:8, 2 Cor. 10:5)

•   I will make every effort to speak the truth, as best as I understand it, in love. (Eph 4:15)

•   I will bless, not curse, either in thought to action, those who offend, grieve, or persecute me. (Rom. 12:14)

•   I will seek to speak only what is helpful in building others up according to their needs. (Eph 4.29)

When things unforeseen occur, let me not forget that all comes down from You.

•  I will work to remember that God has a plan for my day and my life, and that God is active in arranging my circumstances for my good and His glory. (Prov. 19:1, Prov. 16:9)

Teach me to behave sincerely and reasonably toward every member of my family, that I may bring confusion and sorrow to none.

•  Family is defined as both biological and those assigned to me by God, discerned through prayer, in my spiritual community. (Eph 4:25)

•   I will seek peace and pursue it in my community, regardless of my preference or feelings toward another person. (1 Pet 3:11). I will not hold grudges or leave a conflict unsolved. (Eph 4:26-27)

•   I will be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. (Jas 1:19)

• I will strive in my communication and relationships to be pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere, so that as a Christian, minister, and member of my community and family I may exemplify the wisdom and righteousness of God. (Jas 3:17)

Bestow upon me, my Lord, strength to endure the fatigue of the day, and to bear my part in all its passing events.

•  In my profession, I will work as unto the Lord, doing all things in the name of Jesus. This means working to the best of my ability, as efficiently as possible. (Col. 3:17 &23).

• When the demands of the day tempt me to despair, I will not. Instead, I will remember that Christ is my strength. (Phil 4:13)

•    I will  aspire to live quietly, and to mind my own affairs, and to work with my hands, so that I may walk properly before outsiders and be able to contribute to my family and community. (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12)

•   I will take every opportunity this day affords to care for widows and orphans as they cross my path, and to show mercy to both the poor in body and poor in spirit.

Guide, Lord, my will today and teach me to pray, to believe, to hope, to suffer, to forgive, and to love.

Amen

Monk on the Road

In case you haven't heard, I've moved. I've moved to California, and I've moved over to this blog for my primary posting. While some of longer writing will still appear here from time to time, daily life by the bay will be shared with a Monk on the Road.

"I think that the dying pray at the last not "please," but "thank you," as a guest thanks his host at the door. Falling from airplanes the people are crying thank you, thank you, all down the air; and the cold carriages draw up for them on the rocks. Divinity is not playful. The universe was not made in jest but in solemn incomprehensible earnest. By a power that is unfathomably secret, and holy, and fleet. There is nothing to be done about it, but ignore it, or see. And then you walk fearlessly, eating what you must, growing wherever you can, like the monk on the road who knows precisely how vulnerable he is, who takes no comfort among death-forgetting men, and who carries his vision of vastness and might around in his tunic like a live coal which neither burns nor warms him, but with which he will not part." --Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

P is for Providence

In class, as we were working on models of creation and scientific reconciliation, we were challenged to choose one and defend it. I find these decisions difficult, but as I wrestled with it, a new standard occurred to me: I’m not just looking for truth, I’m looking for a truth I can live with. This makes all the difference when defining my own worldview: a worldview isn’t merely a set of ideas I comprehend and occasionally reference. It’s the set of ideas I’ve decided to live with, for better or worse.

In the creation exercise, I chose the pictorial day theory of reconciliation. This suggests that God revealed to Moses the sequence of creation in a series of visions, and Moses chose to organize and communicate them in terms of days. As a writer and an artist, the literary framework theory fits my context the best—it works in image and metaphor. Beyond its personal appeal, I chose it because it offers the most amount of space for both science and scripture to live in. It doesn’t insist on scientific proof we’ll never have, such as the exact age of the earth. It also doesn’t let the science we do have threaten the claims of the bible. It still follows a logical, recognizable ordered pattern, which is congruent with our scientific observations in creation, and our spiritual ones about God’s nature. But most important, it liberates the conversation from the confines of the literal six days hog-tied to soteriology. The credibility of a bible I’m willing to live with depends upon much more than the claim of 6 days. Questioning 6 literal days does not undermine the bible’s authority as much as pitting it against science, in my view, unnecessarily.

I then turned my attention to the doctrine of Providence I sifted through the ideological possibilities and measured those views against my world. I realized I’m unwilling to live with the idea of limited providence. A God I’ll stake my life on must offer comprehensive control or provision that is utterly independent from all other forces—a provident omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence that is subject to nothing, especially not me. Also, I can’t live with a reality that selectively includes Divine influence and assistance. I’m too aware of natural evil, the general moral evil, and my own faults and frailty. If God is our only hope, we can only hope that He is everywhere, working in everything, all the time.

Yet, I realize I can’t live with the idea that God eliminates or limits genuine human freedom. A divine totalitarian is inconsistent with both human behavior and His own definition of Love. Inherently, some aspects of love are voluntary. Observable reality shows that our choices have effects, and often painful effects from poor ones. If freedom is genuine, we must be permitted to choose poorly. Yet, I recall a set of historical political illustrations from the Great Depression that Norman Rockwell created for FDR. They were called the “Four Freedoms” and they changed the definition of American Freedom. They shifted the definition of Freedom from “Freedom to…” to “Freedom from…”. Not only should we be free to choose our leaders, but we should be free ­from fear and hunger. When I think about God’s capability to make us free from that which torments our earthly existence, I am not sure I’m unwilling to sacrifice my volition for the guarantee of peace and provision. I’m not impressed by what human volition has earned us.

This is partly why I have difficulty with the discussion of freedom and human will so commonly confined, again, to soteriological matters. I’m thinking of conversations that involve flowers and five points. They seem to trivialize the definition of freedom and our dilemma. Perhaps it would be better to begin the conversation with providence and extend it to soteriology, not work backwards from it. But I think it would be best to start the conversation with Jesus, who models the only conceivable solution to the quandary. God’s providence is deeply connected to freedom, yet the nature of freedom is deeply voluntary. And the consequences of (at least) human volition threaten or ruin the freedom and goodness He’s offered. However, if we voluntarily surrender our volition to God, praying “Your will be done”, as Jesus did, then freedom and will are reconciled. And that is a reconciliation I can live with.

Posting

I have had a momentous year, but there's little to show for it here.

For the last nine months, I have been doing a different kind of "posting". My best art and insight has been "posted" with 28 cents and the help of the mailman.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, it's not that I've abandoned it. It's just that you're not on my mailing list. Sorry.