William H. Willimon, Methodist Bishop and co-author of Resident Aliens (and other books that I haven't read), is now blogging. I found out from Jordon Cooper. I am going to go ahead and suggest checking it out regularly.
A Peculiar Prophet
Friday, October 27, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Marriage and 'The End of the World'
I was in Raleigh, NC, this weekend for the wedding of my good friends Ryan and Anna. It was probably the nicest wedding I've ever been to. It was over-the-top fancy and I haven't eaten better hors d'oeuvres in my life. It was also my first non-groomsman involvement in a wedding. I was a 'reader'. I warmed up the crowd with Revelation 21:1-5 before Doctor Steven Scott Garber (as the program very nicely spelled out) took it home with an amazing homily.
I love homilies that include readings from Wendell Berry and no one can read Berry aloud like Garber (I think it was a selection from Hannah Coulter but I'll have to check on that). The homily had a simple but profound point: In your marriage-to-be what is your telos, and what praxis is sufficient to get you there?
Perhaps it was appropriate that I read from Revelation before Garber got up to speak. All joking aside, I did warm up the crowd with those 5 verses:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
But what is our praxis?
I love homilies that include readings from Wendell Berry and no one can read Berry aloud like Garber (I think it was a selection from Hannah Coulter but I'll have to check on that). The homily had a simple but profound point: In your marriage-to-be what is your telos, and what praxis is sufficient to get you there?
Perhaps it was appropriate that I read from Revelation before Garber got up to speak. All joking aside, I did warm up the crowd with those 5 verses:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
That is our telos. Left Behind? I think not.But what is our praxis?
Friday, October 06, 2006
Amen!
This man has been alive for four of my lifetimes.
WASHINGTON -- Thinking about retiring? Waldo McBurney of Quinter, Kan., isn't. In fact, the 104-year-old has just been honored as America's oldest worker by Experience Works, a group that provides training and employment services for seniors. A 1927 graduate of Kansas State Agricultural College, which is now Kansas State University, McBurney had a nearly 25-year career in agriculture. He now works as a beekeeper. In the last few years he's maintained as many as 100 colonies. But that's just part of his story. McBurney began long-distance running at 65, and running competitively at 75. At age 80, he set a Kansas state record for the 10-mile run for runners his age and went on to set records in running, long jump, discus and shot-put into his 90s and 100s at the Senior Olympics.
Retirement? McBurney said, "I can't find it in my Bible."
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.
104-Year-Old Named America's Oldest Worker
POSTED: 7:55 am EDT October 5, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Thinking about retiring? Waldo McBurney of Quinter, Kan., isn't. In fact, the 104-year-old has just been honored as America's oldest worker by Experience Works, a group that provides training and employment services for seniors. A 1927 graduate of Kansas State Agricultural College, which is now Kansas State University, McBurney had a nearly 25-year career in agriculture. He now works as a beekeeper. In the last few years he's maintained as many as 100 colonies. But that's just part of his story. McBurney began long-distance running at 65, and running competitively at 75. At age 80, he set a Kansas state record for the 10-mile run for runners his age and went on to set records in running, long jump, discus and shot-put into his 90s and 100s at the Senior Olympics.
Retirement? McBurney said, "I can't find it in my Bible."
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
America's Young Theologian
I wanted to point everyone to a great post about a guy named Walton. As you'll see it's not really about Walton, but it has everything to do with Walton. You can read it at America's Young Theologian.
"People with disabilities don't suffer from being disabled...they suffer from us." - Stanley Hauerwas
"People with disabilities don't suffer from being disabled...they suffer from us." - Stanley Hauerwas
Monday, October 02, 2006
New Website
Hey everyone. I hope you're doing well.
My friend Matt, along with myself and a few other close friends (although Matt did all the work), has started a new blog devoted to the idea of doing business as Christians. It can be found at http://churchinbusiness.blogspot.com . I'm excited to be a 'contributor' to this forum even though my experience in the business world is short and a few years old now. There should be some good ideas generated and hopefully some lively discussion. Check it out.
My friend Matt, along with myself and a few other close friends (although Matt did all the work), has started a new blog devoted to the idea of doing business as Christians. It can be found at http://churchinbusiness.blogspot.com . I'm excited to be a 'contributor' to this forum even though my experience in the business world is short and a few years old now. There should be some good ideas generated and hopefully some lively discussion. Check it out.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Great T.S. Eliot Quote
[Radio] is a medium of entertainment which permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the same time, and yet remain lonesome.
-T.S. Eliot
I think the same could be said about TV. Thanks to Sean for showing me that one.
-T.S. Eliot
I think the same could be said about TV. Thanks to Sean for showing me that one.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Colorado Pictures
Here are a few pictures (with my new camera!) that I took this last week in Colorado. The trip was great and along with the end of the trip comes the end of my 'summer' job at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church.
I may or may not post again before I leave for my road trip to Canada (which has been named 'Canada or Bust, eh?' because my good friend Dany is getting married tomorrow night and I have a lot of packing to do. Regent College, here I come!
I may or may not post again before I leave for my road trip to Canada (which has been named 'Canada or Bust, eh?' because my good friend Dany is getting married tomorrow night and I have a lot of packing to do. Regent College, here I come!
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Lack of Blogging
It has been a while since my last blog. Over a month, actually. Its funny because sometimes I actually believe people read this and are wondering what I'm doing. Then I realize that most people who would ever read this probably know me and don't really care what I'm doing instead of blogging. Unless you're my mom. Hi Mom. :)
Let's see...what has been going on?
Well, the summer is slowly coming to a close. I'm going to recap what exactly I have been doing, using the trips I've taken as my main bullet points.
1. Galveston Staff Trip. Galveston, Texas. This was sort of a staff orientation trip. My official title is 'Senior Staff' but I feel my role is much different. Jennifer is the female Senior Staff and she actually fulfills that role much better than me. I tend to gravitate towards big-picture issues instead of dealing with the staff from a ministry perpective. Sure, its still ministry, but not the kind that I was probably hired to do. There are some reasons that I won't go into, but I think that it has been OK. This trip I layed out the foundation for what I wanted to work with the College Staff on: Christian identity.
2. High School Workcamp. Boerne, Texas. This is THE trip of the summer. 175 high school youth (all from one church!), 15 College Staff, 15 college volunteers, 30-something parent volunteers, and about 8-9 permanent youth staff. Its a big mission trip that would be a logistical nightmare if we didn't have a Youth Pastor like Steve Cragg. The theme of the week was 'Journey'. I had a small group on this trip made up of 6 high school guys that went great. We really struggled through some issues and worked on moving them towards a comitted Christian life. Mark and I did a little 'skit' (is that the right word?) where we put on robes and played Roman cross builders. We actually constructed a cross on stage and had some dialogue about who Jesus was and his message. Great trip, as usual, and really gets my mind thinking when it comes to doing ministry because of all the issues that come up during the trip. Oh, and in the big Workcamp skit titled 'SpellQuest', a mockumentary about spelling bees, I played 'Ned Reierson' (groundhog day anyone?) the Founder and Chairman of W.U.R.D.S.--The Worldwide United Regulatory Department of Spelling. Good stuff....
3. Middle School Workcamp. Houston, Texas. This is a smaller, 'cliffs notes' version of high school workcamp. About 80 middle school kids, less volunteers, same staff. My last post came on the last night of this trip. Many questions still remain.
4. Rafting Trip. San Marcos, Texas. This trip is a non-mission trip that is pretty much just a fun trip. Not much Jesus talk, just community.
5. Colorado 2K6. Pagosa Springs, Colorado. This is the best trip. This trip involves only the graduated seniors and college types. I have been working on a reading packet for this trip that I hope gets some of these kids some resources for thinking about the Christian life before they go off to college. Its a critical time for some because they need a bit of a reminder of what life is all about before they let the colleges they attend tell them another story. We leave this Tuesday.
So that's what I've been doing. I've been trying to read some Hauerwas, Berry, Brueggemann and Wright before I go off to school.
Oh yeah, I'm going to school soon. Regent College in Vancouver. I'm so ready. I leave August 6th for an 8-day road trip on the west coast. Once I get to Vancouver I need to find a place to live. Once that is done and as long as it doesn't take too long, hopefully I'll be making a trek to Alaska. That's an extra bonus, so we'll see.
So many questions this summer. Am I fit to be a 'minister'? If not, what do I need to develop about myself? What do I need to allow God to really have his way with? What are my strengths? Weaknesses? What is the point of youth ministry? How do you do any ministry involving both evangelism and discipleship well? How much do you compromise in order to be 'relevant'? How do you train leaders well? If I end up not being a pastor, what other things am I fit to do? There are so many more, including some more theological questions and less introspective.
That's all. Maybe you stopped reading a while ago.
I'm going to bed now. Goodnight.
Let's see...what has been going on?
Well, the summer is slowly coming to a close. I'm going to recap what exactly I have been doing, using the trips I've taken as my main bullet points.
1. Galveston Staff Trip. Galveston, Texas. This was sort of a staff orientation trip. My official title is 'Senior Staff' but I feel my role is much different. Jennifer is the female Senior Staff and she actually fulfills that role much better than me. I tend to gravitate towards big-picture issues instead of dealing with the staff from a ministry perpective. Sure, its still ministry, but not the kind that I was probably hired to do. There are some reasons that I won't go into, but I think that it has been OK. This trip I layed out the foundation for what I wanted to work with the College Staff on: Christian identity.
2. High School Workcamp. Boerne, Texas. This is THE trip of the summer. 175 high school youth (all from one church!), 15 College Staff, 15 college volunteers, 30-something parent volunteers, and about 8-9 permanent youth staff. Its a big mission trip that would be a logistical nightmare if we didn't have a Youth Pastor like Steve Cragg. The theme of the week was 'Journey'. I had a small group on this trip made up of 6 high school guys that went great. We really struggled through some issues and worked on moving them towards a comitted Christian life. Mark and I did a little 'skit' (is that the right word?) where we put on robes and played Roman cross builders. We actually constructed a cross on stage and had some dialogue about who Jesus was and his message. Great trip, as usual, and really gets my mind thinking when it comes to doing ministry because of all the issues that come up during the trip. Oh, and in the big Workcamp skit titled 'SpellQuest', a mockumentary about spelling bees, I played 'Ned Reierson' (groundhog day anyone?) the Founder and Chairman of W.U.R.D.S.--The Worldwide United Regulatory Department of Spelling. Good stuff....
3. Middle School Workcamp. Houston, Texas. This is a smaller, 'cliffs notes' version of high school workcamp. About 80 middle school kids, less volunteers, same staff. My last post came on the last night of this trip. Many questions still remain.
4. Rafting Trip. San Marcos, Texas. This trip is a non-mission trip that is pretty much just a fun trip. Not much Jesus talk, just community.
5. Colorado 2K6. Pagosa Springs, Colorado. This is the best trip. This trip involves only the graduated seniors and college types. I have been working on a reading packet for this trip that I hope gets some of these kids some resources for thinking about the Christian life before they go off to college. Its a critical time for some because they need a bit of a reminder of what life is all about before they let the colleges they attend tell them another story. We leave this Tuesday.
So that's what I've been doing. I've been trying to read some Hauerwas, Berry, Brueggemann and Wright before I go off to school.
Oh yeah, I'm going to school soon. Regent College in Vancouver. I'm so ready. I leave August 6th for an 8-day road trip on the west coast. Once I get to Vancouver I need to find a place to live. Once that is done and as long as it doesn't take too long, hopefully I'll be making a trek to Alaska. That's an extra bonus, so we'll see.
So many questions this summer. Am I fit to be a 'minister'? If not, what do I need to develop about myself? What do I need to allow God to really have his way with? What are my strengths? Weaknesses? What is the point of youth ministry? How do you do any ministry involving both evangelism and discipleship well? How much do you compromise in order to be 'relevant'? How do you train leaders well? If I end up not being a pastor, what other things am I fit to do? There are so many more, including some more theological questions and less introspective.
That's all. Maybe you stopped reading a while ago.
I'm going to bed now. Goodnight.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
'Meaningful' Youth Ministry
How do you do 'meaningful' youth ministry?
After a long day of work in the Houston humidity and heat the nearly 100 middle school youth gather together back at the church. As I sat in the back of the room tonight I thought on this as I watched minute after minute of programmed time go by. First it was the video, then the skit, then more video, then a slide-show, then small group time. Coffee break for me. Now we're back together...testimonies (if you can even call them that), then a short talk--which tonight was actually just the reading of a devotional book (i'm pretty confused about that one)--then communion time. Now the kids are dancing and will be for a little while longer. They will sleep a bit tonight and then get on a bus and head for Dallas to spend the day at Six Flags Over Texas.
So is this youth ministry? I don't know what these kids leave with. I'm sure a lot of them leave with that warm, fuzzy feeling that we call 'God'. Granted, this is a Methodist church and who knows what anyone believes here anyway, but I still get this pessimistic feeling about the whole thing.
I have the day off tomorrow so maybe I'll try to write some more about this. I have to go play babysitter for a few more hours...
peace
After a long day of work in the Houston humidity and heat the nearly 100 middle school youth gather together back at the church. As I sat in the back of the room tonight I thought on this as I watched minute after minute of programmed time go by. First it was the video, then the skit, then more video, then a slide-show, then small group time. Coffee break for me. Now we're back together...testimonies (if you can even call them that), then a short talk--which tonight was actually just the reading of a devotional book (i'm pretty confused about that one)--then communion time. Now the kids are dancing and will be for a little while longer. They will sleep a bit tonight and then get on a bus and head for Dallas to spend the day at Six Flags Over Texas.
So is this youth ministry? I don't know what these kids leave with. I'm sure a lot of them leave with that warm, fuzzy feeling that we call 'God'. Granted, this is a Methodist church and who knows what anyone believes here anyway, but I still get this pessimistic feeling about the whole thing.
I have the day off tomorrow so maybe I'll try to write some more about this. I have to go play babysitter for a few more hours...
peace
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