Vacation?

Does it really count as a vacation if you fill out a change of address form for the place you are staying? This summer, my wife and I are moving to Chicago so that I can attend seminary. We chose Chicago because I was offered a full scholarship (which covers housing as well) for the three years we are there. Furthermore, it puts us close to my parents, friends who live in the city, and has plenty of opportunities for my wife as well as for me to pursue a PhD. after seminary.

However, we had to be out of our apartment in Jacksonville by June 15th and can't move into our place in Chicago until August 3rd. So, we are homeless for the next few weeks. Kristy's parents live outside Durango, Colorado and we decided to stay with them for that time. We have no home of our own... so one could argue we moved in with my in-laws. From the outside, this looks like a really long vacation, but in reality it is simply a blessing to have family that can help you out when you need it.

Really, the church should be a family like that. When I have something that someone else needs, I should jump at the opportunity to provide for that person. I know I have been on the receiving end pretty often in my life. No matter whether I am giving or receiving, I feel blessed to be a part of the process of God working through community.

From what I hear, community is a big part of the seminary experience. I am looking forward to living across the hall from the same people I will attend class with, debate with, get frustrated with, laugh with, cry with, and provide for as well as depend on for the next few years. While I was with Young Life in Northern Kentucky, we experienced a level of community that I want to strive for even today. The sharing of meals, housing, cars, money, and lives hearkened back to the Acts 2 example. It was amazing, and it has profoundly shaped me.

This time in Colorado has been great so far. I have started on my studies so that I can hit the ground running in Chicago. I have also taken some time to read a few books that I wanted read as opposed to them being assigned.

Anne Lamott is an author that I adore. I don't always agree with her, but she is brutally honest and vulnerable and her ability to craft words is top notch. I also read Desire of the Everlasting Hills by Thomas Cahill. Another one I would highly recommend. Overall, this homelessness/vacation has been reinvigorating and I will be ready to get going come August.

I know, I know

So, I really wanted to be consistent with this blog, but the last month and a half was a bit crazy. I erased (for the most part) two research papers a week before they were due. I finished them, graduated, went on a cruise, and have been working at my other jobs like crazy. Now, things are settled a little, but we are moving in 3 weeks, which means things are going to get even more insane.

Point is, I know I want to write on here once a day, but I am allowing myself the freedom to write when I can. Right now, I am working on a post about "being still." Hopefully I will have it up in a couple of days.

Wordsmith

A Poison Tree by William Blake

I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I water'd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine.

And into my garden stole.
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see,
My foe outstretch'd beneath the tree.

We must be willing to forgive, even when it is not sought. For if we cling to an incident where we were slighted, it will fester into bitterness, which will turn into a grudge, leading to an obsession for revenge. Only the action of forgiving leads to a life of freedom.

Oh, a book of poetry you should read is Zombie Haiku by my friend Ryan Mecum. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I am not a connoisseur of the culture surrounding the undead.

And I love this movie.

Blasphemy or Hilarity?

I think God has a pretty good sense of humor; however, where does one draw the line? I am not saying this clip at all crosses it... in fact, I think it is cool that they actually talk about 'paying debts' and the sacrifice of it. Also, the ending where people forget so quickly is so true... at least of me.

Anyway... I thought this was hilarious so I thought I'd share it.

Case of the Mondays

So today is a little stressful. Kristy came back in town... which is great. Unfortunately, I have a huge paper due tomorrow. Now, I have been working on this thing for quite sometime, but I have also changed my mind on its structure and content several times. It is now crunch time. I have to have this thing done by 6am so that I can proofread it, print it, turn it in, and get to work on time in the morning.

The good part is that it is actually not due for the class until April 21st, but I am turning it in for the History competition and the entries are due tomorrow by noon.

Pretty much I am going to be up all night.

Again, I have not procrastinated at all. This is a completely new experience for me in that I have been working on it incessantly for weeks and am so consumed with it being perfect that I have revised and rewritten numerous times. I think I have it the way I want it but then I find a different angle.

Ugh.

Real

I saw this Calvin on another blog and just had to re-post it. The final frame really hit me. It reminded me of The Velveteen Rabbit. My favorite character in the story is the Skin Horse and I thought I would share his story today....

The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

"I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled.

"The Boy's Uncle made me Real," he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always."

The Rabbit sighed. He thought it would be a long time before this magic called Real happened to him. He longed to become Real, to know what it felt like; and yet the idea of growing shabby and losing his eyes and whiskers was rather sad. He wished that he could become it without these uncomfortable things happening to him.

...Don't we all.

'Sola Pastora'

For those down with Missional lingo, sola pastora isn't a new term. However, for those of us just learning, it is the label used for the propensity of many churches to employ (or worse... build themselves upon) a single, charismatic - as in attractive, eloquent, and exciting... not necessarily 'slain in the Spirit' - pastor, usually male.

It is dangerous for one person to have that much responsibility... for the church in general AND for that person specifically. No one can keep all of those plates spinning on their own. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not saying that it is absolutely necessary to have more than one paid staff at a church. In fact, I am not saying it is even necessary to have any paid staff at a church. What I am saying is that the church - local and universal - needs to utilize the concept of the priesthood of all believers. We are each uniquely gifted, and we are each uniquely necessary to accomplish the work of the Kingdom of God.

For too long we have exalted the image of the 'Lone Ranger'. However, we forget that even Mr. Reid (the LR's real name... in the original he had no first name) had Tonto. Well, most actually do remember that. But did you know that the LR's nephew - the son of his brother who was killed by the bandits who also left LR for dead - Dan, and his trusty steed Victor (son of Silver), also helped LR? Also, there was a man who knew LR's secret. It was he who provided LR with all of the silver for his silver bullets.

Okay, now that you know I am an incredible dork... let me reiterate that churches need to move beyond their dependence on a single pastor... heck, beyond their dependence on the professional ministers... and begin to empower the laity for ministry. This is the true function of the pastor, and then to get out of the way... or better yet, join in.