« August 2005 | Main | October 2005 »
September 30, 2005
Transitioning into relationships....
One of the interesting things about being a college director, or the "pastor" of college students is that they are in the midst of a huge transitions in life. This is not the only stage or time in life where transition occurs, but it is one of the most obvious. The move from high school to college, often away from home, with entirely new communities, new cities, etc. And while they are in college, they are trying to attain skills, abilities and more to transition into young adulthood, into a new career, and possibly into a marriage, and sometimes kids early on. The 17-23 age range that most of my students fall into is filled with transition. Add to this the new fields of study that identify new groups of development and transition such as emerging adulthood and the The Twixters. Transitioning abounds in life, and very dramatically in the college years.
What is interesting to me as the college director, is that my life is constantly transitioning as well. I think some would hope and expect that the "pastor"/director would be stable in the sense that transitioning was over for a while, and all the answers could come forth, so that the students could be properly guided into the right places. But I am finding more and more that the leader of a group is constantly in transition, often mirroring that of the congregation. And I think this is a good thing. I think it is a good thing to constantly be asking the questions that need to be asked, and to wrestle with the things that need to be wrestled with.
As I head into this new school year as the college director, I find myself in my own transition as I am going back to grad school again, but this time to work on the MFT at Fuller Theological Seminary. I am hoping, and believe that it will be, a good compliment to my M.Div. that I received at Fuller in 2003.
Prior to going back to school, I started reading, as you know (since I can't stop talking about it), Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology, by Eugene Peterson.
Peterson's thoughts have been taking me down a different road then I have traveled before, and I am finding myself in a transition point. A transition mainly, from thinking about God in only abstract terms, which is so easy to do when one has gone through seminary, or Bible college, or just loves to read and identify with God on an intellectual level...to a more relational one. I know a lot of info about God. But that is entirely different than really knowing God, and interacting with Him on a relational level. Peterson has been showing me these things, and I am beginning to understand the necessity of our spiritual lives being grounded in community and in relationships, rather than intellecutal and abstract places, which we love to do. Relationships are slow, hard work, full of ups and downs. And we would prefer efficiency and impersonal means, because it is easier to get things done if you take out the relationship. It is easier to be in community if you don't have to deal with the relationships; it is easier to be in community if you can just put people in groups and refer to them in impersonal terms. And it's easier to deal with God when we objectify Him in simply intellectual ways; we love talking about God's attributes, and impersonalizing Him in that way, because it is much more difficult to really wrestle in relationship with God. God transcends our theories and ideas. He definitely shows us who He is, but to simply say, this is all God is, and He can't operate out of these boxes, is to depersonalize Him. That's an easier God to work with then the God I see the people of Israel in the OT, and the people in the NT working with.
It's like me thinking I new all about marriage because I had read the books, talked to people, knew the theories, etc...but wow, what a difference it was to then enter into a marriage relationship with another person. People and relationships don't operate strictly in the depersonalized and theoretical ways that we talk about them.
Peterson goes on to say this:
What is dangerous is not ideas but the academic mind that abstracts both things and people from particular relationships into concepts. And what is dangerous is not programs but the programmatic mind that routinely sets aside the personal in order to more efficiently achieve an impersonal cause. These are not only dangerous but sacrilegious, for it is precisely relational particularities and personal intimacies that are at the center of our God-given, Holy Spirit-formed identities as the beloved who are commanded to love. (pp.314)
Peterson writes beautifully on the relationality of community, and how community is reflective of the relationality between the Trinity: between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is a relationship that exists between the Trinity that cannot be reduced to programs and theories. We try to do that, but to do so would really take out the mystery of the relationship that exists in both unity and particularity. The Trinity is a perfect relationship, and human relationships and community can only hope to be a glimmer of what takes place between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But as people that are made in the image of God, we bear a resemblance, and inherit the importance of relationships. Our being, our life is grounded in relationships, and it is grounded in community where relationships exist. Not in ivory towers and textbooks and philosophical and theological theories...though they can point to what exists in relationship, they can never be a substitute for relationships. "Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness..'" (Gen.1:26). We see the existence of relationship in the Godhead at our creation.
Peterson's book has been highly influential in helping me understand the importance of relationship and community. So I was very excited when I began my Child and Family Development class this week, and as I began to peruse the texts for reading. All of the texts deal with relationship; deal with particularities of relationship, and not abstract ideas. Most of the texts use the model of the relationality of the Trinity as a basis for looking at human community.
My students love being in relationship, and they know that it is hard work. They know when we are trying to replace relationships with quick fixes, and programmatic solutions, that depersonalize the people in the process, and throw abstraction onto our relationships with God. As the church here at Bel Air Presbyterian Church grows, and as our own college community, The Quest grows, we are wrestling with how to be in relationship with one another; a process that is slow and hard, and is not always the easiest solution to growth in numbers.
My training in theology was most often very abstract as we learned to study Greek, Hebrew, systematics and more, often removed from relationship. But being in ministry has shown me what it means to take the tools that I acquired and to put them to the hard, slow work in ministry. And as I begin this program in Marriage and Family, I am more fully understanding the importance of relationality in our communities.
There is very rich reading in this area of study, and there are some amazing books, by some amazing theologians. Here is the reading list for my class, and some are more theological in nature than others, but they all point towards the importance of relationship, which I found was something that was often missing in my "strict" theological training.
The Family: A Christian Perspective on the Contemporary Home, by Jack and Judy Balswick
The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design, by Urie Bronfenbrenner
Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications, by William Crain
Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development, by William Fowler
Notable Selections in Human Development, by Rhett Diessner and Jacquelyne Tiegs
The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei, by Stanley Grenz
Autonomy and Relatedness in Cultural Context: Implications for Self and Family, by C. Kagiticibasi (class handout)
The Season's of a Man's Life, by Daniel Levinson
The Season's of a Woman's Life, by Daniel Levinson
The Logic of the Spirit: Human Development in Theological Perspective, by James Loder
Theories of Human Development, by Neal Salkind
Reforming Theological Anthropology: After the Philosphical Turn to Relationality, by F. LeRon Shults
Recent Theories of Human Development, by R. Murray Thomas
Human Development Theories: Windows on Culture, by R. Murray Thomas
After Our Likeness: The Church as The Image of the Trinity, by Miroslav Volf
Posted by rhett at 11:33 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 28, 2005
not a big surprise.....
Posted by rhett at 03:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
transitioning and some words on the significance of the church....
I have been a little slow in writing much these last couple of weeks. I find myself in the midst of some major transitions: 1) all of the schools within the ministry I pastor have almost all returned, so we have been gearing up for that by training new leaders, organizing our Wednesday nights, etc. 2) I just started graduate school up again; a new program with new things to read and study, so I have been working away at that 3) I have just found myself in a period here, with little to say (big surprise, I know), and a lot of time thinking, reflecting, and wondering about other things.
In all of this, I have been reading as I mentioned in the previous post, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology, by Eugene Peterson. And this book is challenging me like no other book I have read. Great stuff.
This excerpt has given me pause, as well, on the significance of the Church in our culture. It's an especially important question that I have been wondering about, given our proximity to Hollywood, the entertainment industry, and more. Peterson says this:
"It gives us pause. If we, as the continuing company of Jesus, seem to have achieved an easy accomodation with our society and culture, how did we pull off what Jesus and the community of Jesus failed to accomplish? How has it come to pass that after twenty centuries of rejection, North American Christians assume that acclaim by numbers is a certificate of divine approval?
The significance of the church has never been in King Number. Its message has seldom (hardly even, in fact) been embraced by the mighty and powerful. Strategies are introduced from time to time to target 'important' leaders, men and women in high places in government, business, or the media, for conversion. It is not a practice backed by biblical precedent. There are, of course, Christians in high places politically and prominent in the celebrity pantheon, but their position and standing doesn't seem to mean anything strategically significant in terms of God's kingdom. To suppose that if we can just 'place' Christian men and women in high prominent positions of leadership, we are going to improve the efficacy of the community in its worship, missions, or evangelism, has no warrant in Scripture or history." (pp. 288-289)
Wow! Convicting. Especially in our Church culture that worships celebrity, and often caters to them. Why do we thing that celebrity, or status in the world, will somehow validate the ministry that we are about? That it will validate our church? Our worship? Etc.
Maybe not everyone struggles with this, but it is something that I have been grappling with, and am seeing in my own experience.
Posted by rhett at 09:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 23, 2005
A breath of fresh air......
Dictionaries are wonderful tools and we would be the poorer without them, but in Gospel matters they are among the lesser helps. The reason is that everything in the Gospel is personal, relational, and embodied in particulars. There are no generalities. Every word is embedded in the Story and, in the most comprehensive sense, incarnate in Jesus, "the word made flesh." Isolated in a dictionary a word has no context and therefore no relationship, no "flesh." For those of us who are interested in living the truth and not just acquiring information, it is necessary to discover the meaning of a word by looking it up in the Story, not the dictionary.
Eugene Peterson in Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places (pp.271)
Like my Greek professors were always reminding me. "Stop translating a Greek word apart from the text."
Posted by rhett at 03:09 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Good reading.....
The Reciprocating Self: Human Development in Theological Perspective
As some of you know, I am about to begin my MSMFT program at Fuller Theological Seminary next week. The good news is that I don't have to do the theology courses since I finished my MDiv there in 2003. So hopefully it will be a little less course work.
But I started reading one of the required texts, which I listed above. And it is pretty amazing. This book deals a lot with theological anthropology, and the idea of relationality, and reciprocity in relationships. This is a topic that I find fascinating, and I am really looking forward to this program.
I am excited about brining my training in theology and psychology to better serve the communities I am a part of.
Posted by rhett at 02:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 21, 2005
Great...this should really be good for discipleship and spiritual formation.....
The New Bible that can be read in 100 minutes.
Why?
Publishers the 100-Minute Press say the book has been written for those who want to know more about Christianity but who do not have the time to read the original in full.
I mean, really! Who has time to read the Bible! Just give me the snippets...the good stuff!
What are we doing?
Posted by rhett at 12:51 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
LOST.....
LOST has slowly become my favorite show on television, and I can't wait to watch my Tivo'd copy of it later (I probably shouldn't miss the college group I pastor on Wednesday nights to stay home and watch it).
I think the show is pretty amazing, and to add more layers to what you are already watching, here is a
What do you think?
Posted by rhett at 12:28 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 20, 2005
Unbelievable Book & The Reality of Leadership in Community. What does it mean when community isn't shaping up to our expectations? And leaders, do you have realistic expectations of community, or are you doing more damage?
Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology
Do you know when you read something amazing, and all you can think about is, "I have to share this with someone right now!" Or you think to yourself, "Everyone must read this. It's life changing!" But then you realize, not everyone is always excited about your discoveries. Sometimes people have to come across things for themselves, or there has to be a process of personal transformation, before they grasp your own transformation from something you have read. You know what I mean? I think we have all been there. But I'm going to do it again.
Eugene Peterson, in my own humble opinion, may be one of the best theological/spiritual writers that there is. Everything I read by him is amazing, and everything he writes is new. He doesn't tend to beat the same drum in book after book, but rather, comes to each book with fresh Biblical insight and wisdom.
His latest book, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology has been a life transforming book for me. I began this book back in March, but had to put it down for many months, because I was quite unprepared to read on. Peterson is not one of those authors that you can cruise through. You could if you wanted to, but one needs time to think on and process the stuff that he writes. And this book is one of those. I just recently picked it back up, and am nearing the end.
And as I was nearing the end, I came across some unbelievable writing and thinking concerning Moses and his leadership. Peterson provides some beautiful insight, and unlike many authors, he is more concerned about living out our Christian lives, rather than just information gathering, which is what much Christian writing is.
And this passage concerning Moses was something that I badly needed to hear. It's something that we as Christians and pastors and leaders need badly to hear. Leadership in community is always a baffling thing at times, and we can tend to idealize ministry and leadership, rather than grounding it in local community. Local community gives us grounding, keeps us from escaping reality as leaders, and keeps us focused on the realities of life in the trenches.
Concerning Moses, and the closing writing and sermon in Deuteronomy 32 and 33, Peterson says this:
After Moses had preached his sermon, he wrote it all down, handed it over to the priests, and ordered them to read it every seventh year to the congregation--men, women, children, aliens--during the autumn Feast of Booths, the feast devoted to remembering God's providence through the forty wilderness years. Deuteronomy was to be their text for living; every seventh year they would get a refresher course (Deut. 31:9-13).
He then appointed Joshua to take over the leadership from him and take the people across the Jordan into the new land.
The scenario on display on the Plains of Moab that day is totally satisfying: a congregation of free people, thoroughly trained in worship and obedience, ready to enter a land of promise. Moses' sermon has just brought it all present and alive before them, those splendid sentences and stories reverberating in their ears. Joshua holds the reigns of leadership that Moses had just placed in his hands. Moses and Joshua stand before the Tent of Meeting; the pillar of cloud, God's presence among them, appears in confirmation and blessing. A dramatic, satisfying moment. A perfect ending.
Except. Except that there is one thing more. God has a private word with Moses. It couldn't have been pleasant for Moses to hear; and it certainly isn't pleasant for us to read. But if we are going to be prepared for the reality of living as a holy community, we must read it. Here it is:
"Moses (I'm paraphrasing here), you are about to die and be buried with your ancestors. You'll no sooner be in your grave than this people will be up and whoring after foreign gods of this country that they are entering. They will abandon me and violate the covenant that I've made with them (31:16)....So here's what I want you to do: Copy down this song and teach the people of Israel to sing it. They'll have it then as my witness against them (32:19)...when they begin fooling around with other gods and worshipping them (31:20)....When things start falling apart, with many terrible things happening, this song will be there with them as a witness to who they are and what went wrong. Their children won't forget this song; they'll be singing it.
"Don't think I don't know what they are already scheming to do behind my back, behind your back. And they're not even in the land yet, this land I promised them' (31:21).
So Moses wrote down this song that very day and taught it to the people of Israel" (31:22).
The song provides the rhythms and metaphors that will keep Israel's experience, both their sins and God's care for them, alive and present for understanding and sharpening the holy community's life of worship, love, and obedience in the generations that follow. But it can't have provided a very satisfying ending for Moses. He had done his best. He had preached his best and final sermon. He had written this stunning book of wisdom, love, and grace. He had transferred his authority into the competent hands of Joshua. The pillar of cloud had filled the air with the blazing light of God's presence. And then God whispers to Moses, "And one more thing, Moses--everything is about to fall to pieces; these people can't wait until you're out of here so they can dive into the orgiastic sex-and-fertility religion of the Canaanite culture. So write out one last message that can be read after you are dead--make it a song so the children can learn it and will be able to pick up the pieces and recover this holy community that you started and that you have served so faithfully and well these forty years."
Moses, at the end of his life, hands over leadership to Joshua, teaches the people his song, blesses the community tribe by tribe, and then trudge up Mount Nebo to Pisgah Peak with the entire Promised Land spread out before him in a wide-screen vista. There he dies. God buries him (Ch. 34).
He dies, by all human accounting, a failure, and knowing that he is a failure, knowing that everything that he has worked in leading, training, and praying for this community will unravel as soon as the people enter Canaan. It is a familiar story for readers of Scripture, even though frequently suppressed. What does this mean? It means that we have to revise our ideas of the holy community to conform to what is revealed in Scripture. It means that we cannot impose our paradisical visions of hanging out with lovely, upbeat, and beautiful people when we enter a Christian congregation. It means that God's way of working with us in community has virtually nothing to do with the world's idea of getting things done, of what "works" and what doesn't. It means that God hasn't changed his modus operandi of choosing the "low and despised in the world (I Cor. 1:28) to form his community. It means that we who want to get in on what God does in the way God does it in all matters of community, will have to give up pretensions of shaping an organization that the world will think is wonderful as we parade our accomplishments to the tune of "worship" or "evangelism."
(Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology, pp. 264-266.)
How many times have I read that passage and walked away not really grasping the contextual reality of the community Moses was a leader in, and the reality of his own life. I've always been one who tends to idealize and romanticize leadership and ministry and the spiritual life. But the text of Scripture will not allow us to do that. Genuine community will not allow us to do that. God will not allow us to do that. And Moses is just one example.
Maybe it is time for us as Christians, and leaders and pastors to realize that genuine community is not about us, or our gifts, or our skills, but it is about the work of God. It is about living out in real places, in real situations, and with real people, the Spiritual life. This life does not allow us to live and dwell in wishful thinking and constant romantic dreams, that have no grounding in reality. Should we have ideals, and wishes? I think so. But community, and life with God, does not dwell permanently in these places. It dwells in reality. And our ideals and wishes should not be forced upon a community, or upon situations if they have no place in that community.
It reminds me of what Bonhoeffer says is his book Life Together:
Innumerable times a whole Christian community has broken down because it had sprung from a wish dream. The serious Christian, set down for the first time in a Christian community, is likely to bring with him a very definite idea of what Christian life together should be and to try to realize it. But God's grace speedily shatters such dreams. Just as surely as God desires to lead us to a knowledge of genuine Christian fellowship, so surely must we be overwhelmed by a great disillusionment with others, with Christians in general, and, if we are fortunate, with ourselves. Only that fellowship which faces such disillusionment, with all its unhappy and ugly aspects, begins to be what it should be in God's sight, begins to grasp in faith the promise that is given to it. The sooner this shock of disillusionment comes to an individual and to a community the better for both....
Every human wish dream that is injected into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be banished if genuine community is to survive. He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial....
God hates visionary dreaming; it makes the dreamer proud and pretentious. The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others, and by himself…When things do not go his way, he calls the effort a failure. When his ideal picture is destroyed, he sees the community going to smash. So he becomes, first an accuser of his brethren, then an accuser of God, and finally the despairing accuser of himself. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together)
HT:Dan Kimball and The A-Team Blog who have been discussing Bonhoeffer and community.
Posted by rhett at 02:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Blogging Conference.....Coming Up
In a few weeks, I will be taking part in something that I never would have imagined...even six months ago. I hardly knew what a blog was until about a year and a half ago, and everyone around me thought I was crazy, or making things up about this so called "blog." But a year and half later, everyone knows what one is, and everyone seems to be getting in on the action.
That's why I am excited about GodBlogCon on October 13th-15th at Biola University. There is going to an amazing group of speakers and bloggers in various seminars and breakout sessions.
If you are interested in registering for this conference, it is not too late, and we would love to have you.
I am also leading a breakout session on Blogging for College Students, which will be a great opportunity for pastors, or people who work with college students, to gather together, and to discuss blogging ideas for this age group, as well as beginning the process of forming our own college bloggers network.
And....I'm looking forward to meeting all these other bloggers in person. Should be a great couple of days.
Posted by rhett at 02:26 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 19, 2005
Important new theological site....
Hugh Hewitt launches his new blog, One True God. This is going to be an important, and exciting blog to read, as he has gathered together a great group of scholars from a diverse theological tradition. Here is the list of scholars, but to read their bios, if you don't know who they are, check out the new site.
Albert Mohler
John Mark Reynolds
Mark D. Roberts
Amy Welborn
David Allen White
The first question that Hugh, as the moderator, asks:
September 18, 2005
Question #1 - Demons
Subject one: The Exorcism of Emily Rose is a movie about demon possession. Millions of Americans --the majority of them young adults-- have seen this movie.
Questions: Do you believe in demons? Why? What should be the attitude of a mature Christian believer on the subject?
Posted by rhett at 10:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 18, 2005
Discipleship and Spiritual Formation. Difference?
This discussion, with Dallas Willard and Richard Foster is great, and I believe they are articulating what many of us are thinking about, wondering about, and just have questions about, but are unable to articulate ourselves. Of course I could be speaking just for myself, but I don't think I am.
My favorite passage of the discussion/interview:
"You can't hope to accomplish in 40 days what it takes 40 years to do. There has to be a willingness for barren day after barren day after barren day, a willingness for new forms of worship, new forms of living."
Posted by rhett at 10:03 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 16, 2005
Black Eyed Sceva continued....
Way Before The Blog All that is Black Eyed Sceva and good in this world......
Posted by rhett at 05:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Black Eyed Sceva and Model Engine........no one was like them!
This post on this site has brought back a lot of memories.
In 1995 I was standing in the cleared out sanctuary of a church waiting for the headlining Christian band to come up and play. Christian music, at least in the small band, alternative format, was in its prime, and there didn't seem to be one weekend that went by where there weren't Christian alternative bands playing in my hometown of Phoenix, AZ. But this night was different. Everyone came out to see the opening band, a local favorite, and between their set and the headlining act, almost everyone went home. Hundreds of kids left, and there were only a handful of us in the room. And I mean, probably 50-60 people.
We were waiting for this band that we had never heard of before, and we figured, well, we might as well stay around. Three guys walk up to the stage, and as they began to play, we knew that we had never heard anything like them before...from the music...and especially to the lyrics. It was a transformative show. And who was this band. Black Eyed Sceva, who went on to become Model Engine.
Their first album,
Way Before The Flood
was absolutely brilliant. I have played that album thousands of times. And Jeremy Post's lyrics are unbelievable.
That album was followed by,
5 Years 50000 Miles Davis
was also unbelievable.
And then that was followed up by,
The Lean Years Tradition
Obviously I am not giving you much as far as each album and what type of music it was, but I'm not much of a writer when it comes to talking about music. All I know is that this band, and these guys were unbelievable. They transformed the lives of many people through their music, and I have yet to find a band such as them. And Jeremy Post's lyrics...a course in Church history, theology, philosophy, literature and more. All I know is that they disappeared to soon, and I wish they were still playing.
Why am I writing this? Mainly because this link was sent to me by my good friend Aaron, and apparently I wasn't alone in my admiration of this band, or of Jeremy Post.
Posted by rhett at 01:10 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Organic intellectuals: I'm learning something new every day....
I was reading over at Tony Jones yesterday, and came across this idea of organic intellectuals, something that I did not know about before. One can learn plenty of new things at Tony's site.
The below was taken from this site.
Organic Intellectuals
This brings me to my second theme. Gramsci saw the role of the intellectual as a crucial one in the context of creating a counter hegemony. He was clear that the transformation from capitalism to socialism required mass participation. There was no question that socialism could be brought about by an elite group of dedicated revolutionaries acting for the working class. It had to be the work of the majority of the population conscious of what they were doing and not an organised party leadership. The revolution led by Lenin and the Bolsheviks in Russia in 1917 was not the model suitable for Western Europe or indeed any advanced industrialised country. The Leninist model took place in a backward country with a huge peasantry and a tiny working class. The result was that the mass of the population were not involved. For Gramsci, mass consciousness was essential and the role of the intellectual was crucial.
It is important at this juncture to note that when Gramsci wrote about intellectuals, he was not referring solely to the boffins and academics that sat in ivory towers or wrote erudite pieces for academic journals only read by others of the same ilk. His definition went much further and he spread his net much wider.
Gramsci's notebooks are quite clear on the matter. He writes that "all men are intellectuals" [and presumably women] "but not all men have in society the function of intellectuals". What he meant by that was that everyone has an intellect and uses it but not all are intellectuals by social function. He explains this by stating that "everyone at some time fries a couple of eggs or sews up a tear in a jacket, we do not necessarily say that everyone is a cook or a tailor". Each social group that comes into existence creates within itself one or more strata of intellectuals that gives it meaning, that helps to bind it together and helps it function. They can take the form of managers, civil servants, the clergy, professors and teachers, technicians and scientists, lawyers, doctors etc. Essentially, they have developed organically alongside the ruling class and function for the benefit of the ruling class. Gramsci maintained that the notion of intellectuals as being a distinct social category independent of class was a myth.
He identified two types of intellectuals - traditional and organic. Traditional intellectuals are those who do regard themselves as autonomous and independent of the dominant social group and are regarded as such by the population at large. They seem autonomous and independent. They give themselves an aura of historical continuity despite all the social upheavals that they might go through. The clergy are an example of that as are the men of letters, the philosophers and professors. These are what we tend to think of when we think of intellectuals. Although they like to think of themselves as independent of ruling groups, this is usually a myth and an illusion. They are essentially conservative allied to and assisting the ruling group in society.
The second type is the organic intellectual. This is the group mentioned earlier that grows organically with the dominant social group, the ruling class, and is their thinking and organising element. For Gramsci it was important to see them for what they were. They were produced by the educational system to perform a function for the dominant social group in society. It is through this group that the ruling class maintains its hegemony over the rest of society.
Having said that what was required for those who wished to overthrow the present system was a counter hegemony, a method of upsetting the consensus, of countering the 'common sense' view of society, how could this be done?
Gramsci, in his Notebooks, maintained that what was required was that not only should a significant number of 'traditional' intellectuals come over to the revolutionary cause (Marx, Lenin and Gramsci were examples of this) but also the working class movement should produce its own organic intellectuals. Remember that Gramsci said that all men were intellectuals but not all men have the function of intellectuals in society. He went on to point out that "there is no human activity from which every form of intellectual participation can be excluded" and that everyone, outside their particular professional activity, "carries on some form of intellectual activity -, participates in a particular conception of the world, has a conscious line of moral conduct, and therefore contributes to sustain a conception of the world or to modify it, that is, to bring into being new modes of thought". This sounds as if he was exaggerating the possibilities but what he was really trying to convey is that people have the capability and the capacity to think. The problem was how to harness those capabilities and capacities.
Gramsci saw one of his roles as assisting in the creation of organic intellectuals from the working class and the winning over of as many traditional intellectuals to the revolutionary cause as possible. He attempted this through the columns of a journal called L'Ordine Nuovo (New Order), subtitled "a weekly review of Socialist culture". This journal came out at the same time as the huge spontaneous outbreak of industrial and political militancy that swept Turin in 1919. This outbreak mirrored events throughout the industrial world that shook the very foundations of capitalist society.
Gramsci's insistence on the fundamental importance of the ideological struggle to social change meant that this struggle was not limited to consciousness raising but must aim at consciousness transformation - the creation of a socialist consciousness. It was not something that could be imposed on people but must arise from their actual working lives. The intellectual realm, therefore, was not to be seen as something confined to an elite but to be seen as something grounded in everyday life. Gramsci wrote that "the mode of being of the new intellectual can no longer consist in eloquence - but in active participation in practical life, as constructor, organiser, "permanent persuader" and not just a simple orator-" [Gramsci 1971 p10]
The creation of working class intellectuals actively participating in practical life, helping to create a counter hegemony that would undermine existing social relations was Gramsci's contribution to the development of a philosophy that would link theory with practice. His philosophy was a direct counter to those elitist and authoritarian philosophies associated with fascism and Stalinism. His approach was open and non-sectarian. He believed in the innate capacity of human beings to understand their world and to change it. In his Notebooks, he asked the question: "is it better to "think", without having a critical awareness, - or, on the other hand, is it better to work out consciously and critically one's own conception of the world?". He wanted revolutionaries to be critical and made it clear that "the starting point of critical elaboration is the consciousness of what one really is -". [Gramsci 1971 p323]
The role of informal educators in local communities links up with Gramsci's ideas on the role of the intellectual. The educator working successfully in the neighbourhood and with the local community has a commitment to that neighbourhood. They are not 'here today and gone tomorrow'. They may have always lived in the area and have much in common with the local people or they may not. What is important is that they develop relationships with the people they work with that ensures that wherever they go, they are regarded as part of the community ('one of us'). "They can strive to sustain people's critical commitment to the social groups with whom they share fundamental interests. Their purpose is not necessarily individual advancement, but human well-being as a whole" (Smith 1994 p127).
Posted by rhett at 12:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 15, 2005
I Repent also...
Posted by rhett at 03:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Donald Miller in CT
As you know, author Donald Miller is coming out to our college ministry, The Quest in October. Here is an interview with him in Christianity Today.
Posted by rhett at 03:07 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Bell and McClaren.....
Veteran Youth Minister Tony Myles has a posting at his other site that is a "loose transcript" of a conversation he had with Rob Bell and Brian McClaren over breakfast during a Zondervan gathering.
Posted by rhett at 02:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 14, 2005
Compiling lists....
Back in January, TIME Magazine compiled a list of The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America. It was a controversial list in many ways, but I suppose that all depended upon where you were coming from, and what you determined to be influential. The list seemed to weigh heavily on the side of Conservative-Political-Evangelicals, with the usual names making the list.
Now I see that RELEVANT Magazine has compiled a list of the The 12 People Who Risked It All To Make A Difference. This comes in the issue titled, "The Vision Issue" which I suppose is assuming that these 12 people are visionaries for various reasons. Some people made the list that I would have expected, and some I had never even heard of, while some I wondered why they were on the list.
Compiling lists is a tricky endeavor. No one is ever happy. It reminds me of the sports talk shows I listen to in the car. They can spend hours debating who should be in the Hall of Fame. Which World Series Team is the best ever, and can you really compare different eras. Things like this. Things that are very subjective.
The outcome of a list can depend on things like one's age, social circle, etc., etc. I'm wondering if I should make my own list right now, since I'm not completely happy with any of the lists I have seen, except for a few names. But making me happy is not the point, nor should it be the point.
But let's just look at the names that TIME and RELEVANT compiled. Not that this is a fair comparison of course, because they are listing different things. Those who are influential vs. those who risked it all to make a difference. And the reading base of these two magazines probably couldn't be more different. But I guess that is my point. Maybe we are heading down different paths....that is...maybe Christianity is quite polarized right now, which would be nothing new, but it seems like it is becoming more and more, glaringly apparent. But this is my own wondering....
Here are some names: (and if you are wondering who some of them are, GOOGLE 'em) And the names are not in any order of importance.
RELEVANT MAGAZINE
Rob Bell
Josh Jackson
Jim Wallis
Jon Foreman
Mike Cina
Kayne West
Sonny Sandoval
Brandon Ebel
Curtis Martin
Barbara Nicolosi
Bono
Pete Greig
TIME MAGAZINE
Rick Warren
James Dobson
Chuck Colson
JI Packer
Mark Noll
Bill Hybels
Billy Graham
Rick Santorum
Jay Sekulow
Michael Gerson
Douglas Coe
David Barton
plus 15 more...
Like I said, this is not a fair comparison, and from a statician or sociologist viewpoint, I would be in error for comparing this data with one another. But the point is not that. The point is the difference in names that come to mind when one thinks of Christianity, and those who make a difference, or are influential, or are visionaries. And I wonder if we were to ask the same groups to compile each other's list for one another, if we would just not end up with the same group of names. The people who compiled the TIME list would put the same names down for the RELEVANT list and vice-versa.
Posted by rhett at 11:45 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 13, 2005
Kicking off the Fall School Year....and getting confused with a Texas politician....
One....I am counting down the days until all of my students return. Most of the schools are back in session, and though this is a year round ministry, I am super excited about having everyone back when UCLA returns to school.
We will begin this Fall with a Welcome Back Worship Night on September 28 at 8pm in Evans Chapel. And then the following week on Wednesday, October 5 at 8pm in Evans Chapel, we will begin our Fall series as I start with the topic of Journeying in our Faith.
For more info. about our ministry
Go to The Quest
And a whole other tangent, I was beginning to wonder why I was getting so much traffic from the site Burnt Orange Report: News, Politics and Fun from Deep in the Heart of Texas. I mean, I am a Texan, but this was suddenly all cleared up when I realized the site belongs to politician Rhett Smith. I knew there was a politician out there by that name as my brother had pointed out to me. And I had been to his site. But why all the traffic all of a sudden.
Well I went to his site and read the following:
September 12, 2005
Rhett Smith to Run for Governor
By Karl-Thomas Musselman
I wasn't sure if I should have posted this in the BOR Humor category or not, but then again, I could put most gubernatorial posts on either side of the aisle in that category. But Rhett Smith, former candidate for President, then Congress against Lamar Smith (and of the infamous "Wall of Tortillas" he wants UDems to build down I-35), and then candidate for Mayor of San Antonio, now wants to run for Governor. As a Republican.
Of course, he'll have to face some stiff competition. From Perry or Strayhorn. Or maybe Kinky Friedman. Or Chris Bell, or John Sharp, or Felix Alvarado. Or the biggest threat, Jennifer Gale.
Of course, he will have to do without his old campaign site www.rhettsmith.com as it now belongs to Los Angeles Grad Student who's much cuter and going to the "God Blog Convention 2005". For what it's worth.
Posted at 10:04 PM to 2006: Texas Elections | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Hilarious.......Politics is not in my future.
Posted by rhett at 06:18 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
The role of clergy in the online reformation....
Will Samson is a great blogger. I love reading his blogs because I believe he writes about things that are a bit off the more usual trodden path of bloggers. And his blogs are usually calling attention to things that are not always that popular or hip in Christian evangelical circles, such as issues regarding poverty, race, debt-relief, economics, non-partisan politics.
So this is why I post this interesting blog entry by him.
Ebay, Skype and the Role of the Clergy.
Here is an excerpt from Will:
While I am not sounding the death knell on paid church staff - far from it - it seems to me that the role and substance of that role will be changing dramatically. Rather than being keepers of a guaranteed epistemology, pastors and priests will increasingly be playing roles of networkers and relationship builders. Ironically, I have begun to wonder if the increasing ability to tie people together relationally won't return the clergy to something more akin to a parish priest?
Posted by rhett at 01:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The emerging of the web....and it's effect in writing, the Church, leadership and more....
Ryan Bolger, has a fascinating post on his blog today, called The Web as Prophetic Critique to the Church?. Ryan comes to this piece after reading over at Steve Collins blog.
The main thrust of the discussion between these two bloggers is this (if I am interpreting it correctly). That the web, has taken away control from authors. Authors used to write, then send it to publishers, get it critiqued, etc. But now, with the emergence of online writers, thinkers, etc., more and more texts, and writings are being pushed out there, and critiqued before a product has been finished, etc. The control that an author once had, has changed, and now there is a give and take if you will between an author and the community.
They go on to assert, whether or not this is the same thing happening in the church. Pastors usually control the situation, and are looked to as one with ultimate authority. Is that changing? With online blogging, and communities, there has been a more free exchange of ideas, theology, etc, and the control that a pastor once asserted is now being given over to a more dynamic exchange in community.
This is my paraphrase of what I am reading between them, though they state it more elqouently: Bolger states,
What might the church learn from the web? Any modern church leader is trained to maintain control over the whole process of what we know as church, manifesting most specifically in the maintenance of order. Our church authors/producers/leaders are not prepared to release the text/church service/way of life to the readers/consumers/members. None of their training has prepared them for this uncontrolled way of living in community. So much of church training assumes the leader will face a passive audience that will receive their 'text' in its entirety. We are not trained to participate in church as an ongoing dynamic conversation of equals. I know this, because I train these same leaders.
What would it mean for leaders to let go of control, to realize that it is pointless to try and contain the life of faith, just as pointless as it would be to attempt to control the web? What would happen if our authority to act as leaders came from the many unsolicited links one receives rather than the title one bears? What would happen if our members can post 24-7 and are not required to sign in through a single portal, i.e. not seek permission for ministry but are trusted as friends and colleagues to create meaningful God inspired activities?
This is definitely a scary proposition for many, especially those who have a stake in the current system. I think that I am not alone in stating that most of our hesitancy as people in making change, is that there is a certain fear in us. We fear what change would mean for us. We fear the loss of power. We fear the loss of job, etc.
Bolger closes by saying,
I'm just posing a few questions, to which I do not have good answers. Stepping back a bit, it has been an elusive task of the church to see the priesthood of believers realized. If we want to imagine what that an egalitarian, spirit-led community might look like, we need look no further than the liberating freedom that many experience within the web community.
I appreciate that much of the critique of the church, is coming from those who work in the church; those who have a stake in it. These aren't people from the outside, who have no knowledge of how it works, etc. But these are people with vested interest, who have much at stake, and who are asking good questions.
It's interesting to note that these conversations in this blog began with discussion over author controlled text, and how the web has been breaking away at that with much online discussion. I have seen this happen in my own life. Before my blog, no publisher, or author was coming to me to critique their book, or to get my feedback. And why would they? I don't work in publishing.
But this morning in the mail, I received two books from the authors and their publishers, asking if I would review their books, and then post an online review on my blog. For some reason, they are asserting that I have a certain voice, speaking to an audience, with a certain sphere of influence. Though this may be true, this was not happening before. But these authors/publishers have been letting go of control and learning the benefits of working in community.
These two books are:
No Holds Barred by Mark Roberts
and
Common Grounds by Ben Young and Glenn Lucke
I will let you know more about these books as I begin to read them, and comment on them.
But this whole discussion, that Bolger and Collins, and others are talking about is very interesting. It raises all sorts of questions about the future of church leadership. And for those who have studied much in the way of interpretation or hermenuetics, I'm sure some of the things being raised makes you wonder about the tasks regarding these things as well.
This also raises questions about authority. Where is authority good, and maybe where has it gone haywire? I have a certain authority as the college director in the ministry I oversee, but how do I wield that authority I guess, is a bigger question. Not that there is authority, but how do we lead others?
I require all my student leaders to read Henri Nouwen's book, In The Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership, because I believe he presents the best model for Christian leadership, etc. I won't go into detail about this book at this point, but his model as the leader who humbly leads from within, is the most Biblical model that I have seen presented yet. A model that seems to base itself more on a Biblical outlook of scripture, rather than the CEO business models we have been getting fed.
Posted by rhett at 08:38 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Online learning with Rob Bell.....
Reg, over at his blog, has pointed me to this:
Barnes and Noble Book Club: Velvet Elvis
It's really amazing to me the growing discussions that are taking place online.
Posted by rhett at 08:25 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 12, 2005
New theological group blog....
Mark Roberts is a part of a new theological group blog, Theologica. Looking forward to reading what all these people are writing, discussing, and debating about. This blog appears to represent a pretty good diversity of theological opinion.
Posted by rhett at 01:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Traditional Church vs. Missional Church.....
This is a topic I am very interested in myself. I will not comment much on this topic as I am still working through some things, and I'm afraid, anything I say, will come out of my mouth before I have properly grasped it.
But I am currently working on this idea of missional living in our communities, and it is something that I am basing our Fall Retreat at The Quest around. I am interested in how my students live missionally in their communities, away from our big Wednesday night meeting. How do they live missionally at work? How do they live missionally at school? How do they live missionally in their apartments and dorms?
I think this is a great conversation to be having, and I'm glad that many are brining to the forefront of discussion.
Posted by rhett at 01:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 09, 2005
Utlizizing student bloggers in your ministry......
This isn't so much a post to propose a theory to utilizing student bloggers in your ministry, as much as it is to give an example:
Ashley Alexander is someone that I have known since her freshman year in college at LMU. She had served for three years on my leadership team as well, providing awesome leadership, especially in the areas of planning retreats, socials, and getting some small group movement going on her campus. She just graduated this year, and has moved to Hawaii for a job (yeah...tough moving to Hawaii after college). Before blogging, I would never have been able to communicate with her in such a fashion as we do now. But blogging has allowed myself, her friends, the students in our ministry, as well as others, to communicate, and engage in conversation with her. Whether she is posting theological thoughts, to thoughts on music, or something even more random, blogging has definitely created a different avenue of community that did not exist before. One of the best things about blogging is communicating with students who go abroad for a semester or year, and read their blogs, and chart their journey.
Ashley has a great blog. Keep it up. You can see some of my other student bloggers in the left column..some of which have graduated, and some which are still in the ministry.
I am the presenter of a seminar at GodBlogCon at Biola from October 13-15th. Join me as we talk about blogging for college ministries and the students you work with. If you are interested in this conference and seminar, go to the website and register.
Posted by rhett at 03:51 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Unbelievable....
Biola philosopher Dr. John Mark Reynolds has something I have never seen done before, over at his blog. In a post called, Church Rides at Disneyland, he determines which rides should be favored at Disneyland, according to which religious tradition you belong to. Very creative. Very funny. And I'm not so sure if I like the rides I'm supposed to like.
My favorite entry:
Ride for All Calvinists:
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
No matter what you do, you end up in Hell. It is reported that some elect riders end up in Club 33 at the end. The rest of us have no way to confirm this.
Posted by rhett at 03:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Mark Roberts on the hurricane, Section B....
Did God Send Hurricane Katrina as an Act of Judgment? Section B
Thank You Mark for this post...enough said.
Read the post, but here is a summary of what Mark said:
1. God certainly could have sent the hurricane as an act of judgment, or for any other divine purpose.
2. Yet the fact that God could have sent Hurricane Katrina does not mean that He did.
3. There is ample evidence in Scripture for the view that not all natural events are directly caused by God.
4. There is evidence in Scripture that negative natural events are not necessarily caused by God as judgment on sin.
5. The one who argues that God sent Hurricane Katrina as an act of judgment opens up a Pandora's box of theological problems.
6. God will use the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina for His gracious purposes.
Posted by rhett at 03:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 08, 2005
Blog tagging....
So I was tagged (more blogging lingo) by Mike DeVries, and I thought I would tag a few other bloggers as well. Translation: Let me link some of the bloggers I love reading, and who I think are saying great things. This is not a comprehensive list of all the ones I read every day. But here is a list of six, pretty different blogs.
Mike DeVries Mike's blog is constantly challenging me; and I seem to be resonating with a lot of what he is saying, and working through himself.
Craig Williams. I love his insight. He does a great job of working through books and I always find what he has to say great.
Cameron Jorgenson Just know that as a Ph.D student, he writes sporadically right now. But always great. One of the smartest people I know. You will be reading his books soon.
Ryan Bolger He has me re-thinking issues regarding the Church, especially the missional aspect of it.
Smart Christian This site does a great job of linking all kinds of interesting and relevant articles and blogs; good place to find discussion that runs the theological gamut.
Lars Rood. Looking forward to the thoughts coming out of the mouth of my former boss; especially as he is working on his D.Min. in Emerging Leadership at George Fox University.
Posted by rhett at 06:38 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
The looting we watch others do, and the looting we do ourselves....
I was reading one of Mark Roberts' blog on looting, titled: Am I As Bad as the Looters?
And I was struck by the opening of the second paragraph I have listed here.
In general, we humans tend to minimize our own wrongdoing. Sometimes we do this by rationalizing it. Sometimes we do this by blaming others. Sometimes we do this by accentuating the sins of others so that we come out looking pretty good by comparison. This last case is the one that can catch us as we become angry over video clips of looting along the Gulf Coast.
"But," you say, "I haven't looted. I haven't stolen anything from anyone." Good, that's the way it should be. But, before you become too self-satisfied, you might ask yourself: "Have I ever copied software onto my computer that I didn't purchase? Have I ever taken possession of tapes, CDs, or MP3s of copyrighted music for which I had no intention of paying? Have I ever intentionally understated my income on my tax returns? Have I ever "borrowed" supplies from work without giving them back?" If you can answer "yes" to any of these questions, then you have stolen. Your actions weren't caught on video and played for the world, of course. But, morally speaking, robbery is robbery. Are you really so innocent? Am I?
Even if you can answer "no" to all of the questions above, and I know many people who truly don't steal, you might find other kinds of sin more to your liking. Like pride, perhaps. Or judgmentalism. Or a lack of compassion for the poor. Or . . . you name it. Would you really want the contents of your heart displayed on the six o'clock news? I know I wouldn't.
Posted by rhett at 06:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
On the hurricane, from people smarter than me.....
Of all the incessant ranting in the media, blogs, pulpits, etc., about whether or not this hurricane was caused by God, or not, we are lucky to have someone as studied and thoughtful and humble as Mark Roberts, when it comes to interpreting the Word of God.
In his post Did God Send Hurricane Katrina as an Act of Judgment? Section A, Mark Roberts, makes four points: Here are some excerpts, but you will need to read the rest for yourself.
1. God certainly could have sent the hurricane as an act of judgment, or for any other divine purpose.
2. Yet the fact that God could have sent Hurricane Katrina does not mean that He did.
3. There is ample evidence in Scripture for the view that not all natural events are directly caused by God.
4. There is evidence in Scripture that negative natural events are not necessarily caused by God as judgment on sin.
Posted by rhett at 05:59 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
The cat is out of the bag......
I know I made a quick reference yesterday about this.....
But author Donald Miller will be speaking to my college group, The Quest, on Wednesday night, October 26.
You can find this information at our site, or over at his site.
Posted by rhett at 01:52 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 07, 2005
Grace grinders continued.....
Scot McKnight seems to have stirred up quite a conversation over at Jesus Creed, with his posts on Grace Grinding. He follows up this post with Grace Grinding: Some Concrete Examples. From all the comments as well, it appears that some people love being grace grinders.
I think that we are all guilty of being grace grinders, whether it is something we do frequently, or rarely at all. I think this is why this conversation hits so many people, so close to home. The tragedy of it all though, is that those who truly relish in being grace grinders, will probably never ever be aware of what they do. By proclaiming the letter of the law, they kill the spirit of it, and injure those in the process. Rather than give life, and extend grace to others, they claim the law, or what they see as the moral high ground II Corinthians 3:6.
It reminds me of something my professor used to say in class. He would remind us of the moral smugness of the comment, "I love the sinner, but hate the sin." And just how ungracious that comment is to people. We cannot claim to hate someone's sin, but love them. Their sin, their pasts, though clean, and renewed, is a part of who they were and are. He would tell us that we cannot claim love as a moral highground while holding the object of love, or that other person at a distance. Jesus did not do this, so how can we. I think that those people who want to be grace grinders, are these same people who want to claim a higher moral ground, yet not get themselves dirty by interacting with sinners...they would prefer to keep them at a distance. That phrase is our attempt at extending grace, but wanting others to know that there are strings attached. It is not grace freely given.
Posted by rhett at 06:23 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Donald Miller...
I absolutely love reading Donald Miller. I loved reading Blue Like Jazz.
I loved reading Searching for God Knows What
So it's not a big surprise that I just bought Through Painted Deserts this afternoon.
I will let you know what I think of it, as I work my way through it.
I am also looking forward to this Fall, when I am brining out Donald Miller to speak to my college group. Should be a great night.
Posted by rhett at 06:02 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Going to College: Advice to Students and Parents #2
As I continue my little series on advice to college student and their parents, there is one issue that rears its head time and time again, and in which I feel must be addressed.
Success
It is the idea of what constitutes success. Usually for students that means, good grades, make some friends, find a significant other, and then find a job when you graduate. For parents, they are similar: good grades, good grades, don't spend too much money, find a job...most parents are a little weary if their student gets too committed to another person in college...they often feel it inhibits their child from certain ambitions, and having the freedom to go anywhere, no strings attached.
How a student and a parent defines success during the college years is very vital, I believe.
Re-Defining Success
I tend to work with a very committed, passionate, hardworking student. The students I get from UCLA, USC, LMU, SMC, music and acting schools, tend to be high achievers. Success in their eyes is the end result...the final product...making it! Having a career, pulling in a good salary...that is how success is often defined, whether they, or we admit it or not. And over the course of a student's career in college, and over the course of a typical school year, I see this burden and strain begin to weigh heavily upon them. Success in their eyes is all about the end result: Get good grades, so I can please the parents; so I can get into grad school; so I can get a good job. Once I get these things, then I'm ready. I think this is success in both the parents and students eyes at times. I hear this story, time and time again.
I would like to see success defined more wholistically. Success as defined by not only grades; but one's social life; meaning, do they have good friends, a good community, a good social support; are they well-rounded; do they get involved in extra-curricular activities; do they go to church, or have a small group Bible study; do they have time to have fun, and relax; do they have time to serve the community? I think these are things that we don't often think about enough, until we have already graduated.
I would like to see success defined in the journey, in the progression from year 1 to year 4 or 5. Not defined only by getting through to get to the end result. I would like to see students and parents have the mindset that life is happening now...it's not on hold until they graduate, then they are adults, and can live life. Too many students wait and wait, and postpone things, hoping that once they graduate, well then, they can do the things they want.
I work with lots of students. Those who are bookworms, and pull down the 4.0's. That's what defines them. I work with student-athletes, who run from practice to rehab to training, and from game to game, in and out of season. They are defined by that. I work with those in the Greek system, who have one event after the other, from the beginning to the end of the school year, and I rarely see them. They are defined by that. This is a stereotype, but this is what I often see, whether they see that or not. But the students who seem to be the most well-rounded, are the ones who are involved in more than one thing; who see their life, and success, as defined by more than the one thing they are known for, whether it be grades, athletics, socially.
The students who I often witness as being the most well rounded and healthy are the ones who study and find grades to be important; but they make time for friends and community; they make time to get invovled socially, go to sporting events, and volunteer in the community; they make time for worship and Sabbath. They strike a good balance between work and play and rest.
This is something that we are not usually good at as people. Living a balanced life. And this is something we are not always good at as parents...helping model this life to our students, or helping them achieve it themselves.
This is something I need to achieve in my own life as well. And too often do I hear the regrets from those who have been all consumed by one thing during their four years. They have missed out on a lot. And not often enough, I am able to see the ones who have lived a more balance college life, finishing up with no regrets, and with a hunger to move out into the world.
So how will you define success for yourself this next year? How will you as a parent define success for your student?
These are impportant questions to begin asking, so that you both have the freedom to explore them together.
Posted by rhett at 05:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The New Monasticism....
I'm telling you, there is a growing conversation and movement taking place in Christianity. And it is this return to urban renewal, communal living, and a monastic lifestyle. Not one that is done in solitude, but in community. This concept is the cover story in the new Christianity Today issue, "The New Monasticism: A fresh crop of Christian communities is blossoming in blighted urban settings all over America."
I am beginning to ask myself questions that I have never thought about as well. Like, how do my wife and I, live intentionally, and missionally in our new neighborhood? What is our role in that community? That seems like a good place to start. Instead of leaving, and retreating to some other place to live missionally, maybe we have been called there.
In fact, I think I am already beginning to see a shift in the ministry I oversee, as more and more students are having questions about community, and how they can live more intentional lives.
Posted by rhett at 05:30 PM |