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June 30, 2006
What a mess!
Last week the PCUSA was in Birmingham, Alabama for the big General Assembly conference. At issue were a couple of key votes among the many issues they were discussing. First, there is the whole issue about upholding the chastity and purity clauses for ordination. Mark Roberts has been blogging on this issue and their "schizophrenic" decision as he put it regarding this issue. Second, is the issue of encouraging Presbyterians to use new words to reflect the Trinity. Apparently, Father, Son and Holy Spirit is not suffice. Now most of you who read my blog know that I am always battling for the right of women in ministry and that I get pretty upset about the emphasis on Biblical manhood and patriarchy. But even I find this whole PCUSA thing quite ridiculous.
On one level, we can never find words that are suffice at describing God or the Trinity, but when we start picking words that almost seem ridculous and cause others to break down in laughter, something seems amiss. On another level I am also okay with God being described in more feminine terms. But I don't know how we begin to begin to describe the Trinity in more feminine terms without losing some important theological concepts. And to be completely honest, I could live with people saying Mother, Daughter and Holy Spirit, as I have friends in ministry who do that. I have acutally been told by others as well that I should start using more feminizing language in my talk about God.
I haven't done enough theological research or followed the PCUSA stuff in such detail that I clearly feel free to discuss at length some of these issues. As a pastor and as a male, I strive very ardently to use neutrual language when necessary, especially when it used horizontally (he, she, they, etc.). But I have found it much harder to apply that to my vertical language towards God. I find Father, Son and Holy Spirit suffice, though others may not. I am open for discussion, but I find many of the other choices that PCUSA has pushed for as almost laughable. Here are some samples:
The specific references to the Trinity in the report:
--Sun, Light and Burning Ray
--Compassionate Mother, Beloved Child and Life-giving Womb
--Giver, Gift and Giving
--Rainbow of Promise, Ark of Salvation and Dove of Peace.
--Lover, Beloved and the Love, and Binds Together Lover and Beloved
--Overflowing Font, Living Water, Flowing River
--One From Whom, the One Through Whom, and the One in Whom We Offer Our Praise
--Rock, Cornerstone and Temple
--Fire That Consumes, Sword That Divides, and Storm That Melts Mountains
--Creator, Savior, Sanctifier
--Rock, Redeemer, Friend
--King of Glory, Prince of Peace, Spirit of Love
--One Who Was, the One Who Is and the One Who Is to Come
Source: "The Trinity: God's Love Overflowing," a report by a committee of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
As one theologian said, I can live with speaking about the Trinity in supplementary ways, but not replacing or substituting Father, Son and Holy Spirit for these:
Daniel L. Migliore, a member of the committee that spent five years crafting the report, said critics miss the point. "What we are speaking of is supplementary ways of referring to the triune God-- not replacements, not substitutes," said Migliore, professor of systematic theology at Princeton Theological Seminary.
Or as my pastor said in the Los Angeles Times:
The Rev. Mark Brewer, senior pastor of Bel Air Presbyterian Church, is among those in the 2.3-million-member denomination unhappy with the additions.
"You might as well put in Huey, Dewey and Louie," he said.
Posted by rhett at 09:47 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 28, 2006
If you read Rob Bell or Donald Miller you might be interested in reading Brent Thomas' post, You Can't Not Have Doctrine, where he compares both of these writers and their books and how they are alike.
I very much like both Miller and Bell and have read pretty much everything they have written. Blue Like Jazz and Velvet Elvis have been two books that have influenced me in some very profound ways.
In Brent's post he makes the comment:
We need to be fair here and admit that Bell and Miller have some valid concerns. Doctrine is often far too rigid and exclusionary, it often formalizes and brings an academic air to truths that were meant to ignite our souls. But at some point we must exclude; some things simply are not Christian and for all the talk of springy relationships, I want to say that at some point, orthodoxy is important.
Being a friend of Brent and knowing that our theological paths are quite different, I do appreciate his acknowledgement of Bell and Miller and the concerns they do raise. It is a difficult thing to recognize those who often stand very opposite your beliefs. I wonder what Christianity would look like if we could all work together and "play off" one another's strengths? But it seems for now that there is a lot of fear from all of us based on the perspectives and the positions that we stand in. We fear the fundamentalists because of their views and the image that they often portray in the media, etc. We fear the liberals because we are fearful that they stand on nothing. These are general stereotypes of course, but it is a fearful thing to be in a place or position, knowing that you have no control over someone, and at the same time wondering how far they will push something.
The slippery slope is a fear provoking thing in many circles, yet I wonder sometimes if we live in too much fear of people going off the deep end if you will. Maybe...or actually, asking these questions and pushing the edge and walking the slippery slope is part of the journey in our faith....and if we don't tread this part of the journey we shortchange ourselves and fail to be authentic in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
Just wondering out loud. Again, Brent, I appreciate your willingness to engage with those outside of your "theological circles" and to acknowledge the good that they do, though you may disagree with some of their stances, etc. Maybe that will give me some encouragement to look at those that I disagree with and to see what good they do, and what I can learn from them (i.e. Piper, Sproul, etc).
Posted by rhett at 11:33 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 27, 2006
Porn Addiction and Women...
As you have noticed I have been blogging a little bit on sexual addiction and pornography. And one of the reasons I have been doing this is because I just finished up a week long intensive class on Addictions. And to say the least, the class was both amazing and shocking. And as we talked about sexual addiction and pornography I could sense that there was sort of a disconnect between the 8-9 guys in the class and the 50 plus women. I could sense that the men really grasped, or had personal experience with the powerful force of pornography, while some women, not all of them, quite didn't grasp it. That's not anyone's fault, but that women it seems in general have less contact with the online world of pornography, or at least of it's addictive and powerful force. I don't know if this is a true statement overall, but just one that seems true from my personal experiences and conversations with men and women in class. Or maybe it's more fair to say that women know that pornography is addictive, but they have been less likely than men to struggle with it, so that's where the disconnect, or different experiences color the perspective.
But I know underneath all of this is the whisperings I hear of an online growing porn addiction with women. Then I read this great article in Relevant Magazine Dirty Girls: The New Porn Addicts, by Anne Jackson.
Anne who blogs at Flowerdust, writes a gripping personal account of her own addiction to online pornography. Go to Relevant to read her entire article, but I especially found this quote powerful.
At least for me, viewing these outwardly flawless women fed a huge emotional need. I was able to put myself in the role of what I was seeing, and by doing that, it made me feel beautiful and accepted.
I was transformed into a perfect, sexy body, and I was desired and wanted. I was able to escape my own flawed physical appearance and be transformed, in my mind, to this perfect woman.
My online activities also played out in my daily life. I was engaged for about a year and cheated on my fiancee. After that, I "dated" several new guys a month, getting physically involved with them in some regard.
According to everything I had seen, to be accepted and loved meant a sexual relationship, and what girl doesn't need to be accepted and loved? I gave so many pieces of my body and my heart away during those years.
Posted by rhett at 11:50 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 23, 2006
Sexual Addiction
Chances are very high that if you have ever been online (which you are because you are reading this blog) you have probably been exposed to pornography or spam emails soliciting sex. If you haven't, then I would be very, very surprised. In fact, very shocked. I have talked about pornography before, especially as it relates to college students, but I have a renewed interest in this topic for several reasons.
1. Because in my MFT graduate work I am seeing the devastating effects of pornography and sexual addiction in families.
2. My work with college students in ministry, and my work with young children in my clinical counseling work has opened my eyes to the rampant sexualization of youth.
3. I think pornography and sexual addiction is a topic that effects many people and we choose to primarily keep it hush hush, ignore it, or completely sweep it under the rug.
I just finished up today a week long class on Addictions. When you think of addictions you think most often of alcohol and drugs. But then there are other addictions that are more acceptable, i.e. food, greed, caffeine, co-dependency, etc., etc. And then there are addictions that are very uncomfortable to talk about, i.e. pornography and sexual addiction. This morning in class the professor showed a video on sexual addiction and while that video was playing you could feel the tension, anxiety, shock, embarrassment, etc. in the classroom. Why? Not because people aren't aware of this addiction (many are not), but rather because we don't talk about it very much while many suffer and struggle with it.
As the professor got up and talked this morning he discussed at length this topic and some of his own intervention work with pastors with sexual addiction. I also remember writing my paper for my Practical Theology seminar on pastoral ethics, in which I did a case study on a prominent mega-church pastor who "fell" and lost the ministry and destroyed the church because of a sexual addiction that had gone unchecked. By that I mean, he, as many pastors, sometimes put themselves in places where they eventually become unaccountable to anyone. As their power and influence and iconic status increases they gradually move to places and positions where they become vulnerable to addictive behavior. Christianity Today asked the question this week in an article, Does Ministry Fuel Addictive Behavior?
This is an important topic for the church, especially since it is such a secretive topic that carries so much shame with it. I wonder how many of the people in our churches on Sunday struggle with sexual addiction? I hardly know of a guy who hasn't struggled with pornography at some level, and instant internet access doesn't help this out. This also just isn't a men's issue as we most often think, but there are many girls in our congregation struggling with sexual addiction, but it sometimes comes in a different form than how guy's express it. Last night I was watching CSI and they dropped a reference to "rainbow parties." What are rainbow parties you ask? Just read Michelle Malkin's blog on this issue. As Michelle Malkin puts it, "A 'rainbow party,' you see, is a gathering of boys and girls for the purpose of engaging in group oral sex. Each girl wears a different colored lipstick and leaves a mark on each boy. At night's end, the boys proudly sport their own cosmetically-sealed rainbow you-know-where bringing a whole new meaning to the concept of 'party favors.'"
Oh, and what about issues related to online communities such as MySpace? I know of many who are not on my space just to avoid the temptation of some of the content on that site.
I could go on and on, and give you tons of statistics. But the reality is, is that the Porn capitol of the world is in our backyard here in Los Angeles, and our culture is being affected by it in many ways. We are seeing it in the sexualization of our children and in the young, very young clients I work with. We see it in our ministries. But the reality most often remains is that we approach the subject with joking or with avoidance. We joke and say things like, "Oh, all guys look at Playboy...men are men. That's okay" Or we know that our kids are online for hours at night while we sleep, but we pretend that they are just playing online games. And when we choose to joke about a very serious topic or avoid it completely, we fail to help those in true need.
This next year I am going to talk about sexual addiction in the college group. I have touched on it briefly before, but this topic needs to have more attention paid to it, and my students need to hear the honest truth because this is an issue that I know they struggle with at times. I think that we would ultimately be surprised if we really knew who was struggling with this issue. It does not discriminate and affects everyone either directly or indirectly in some way.
Before I leave you with some resources, just let me say that sexual addiction comes in many forms from masturbation, to vouyerism, to visiting strip clubs, sleeping around, etc, etc....so I don't want people to think that pornography and men's struggle with it is all that I mean...but it is what is most often thought of and is a huge issue. So I hope that you look into this issue of sexual addiction....and if you need help, may you seek it.....and if you know someone in need of help, may you be the one person to step in and help them.
For additional information on sexual addiction, pornography, etc, I have listed some resources below. This is a very limited listing and there is way more information and resources out there, but I am only now beginning to learn about this topic more at length and how people can be helped.
Check out Celebrate Recovery, which offers sexual addiction help/support groups.
Visit the XXX Church website and check out the resources they offer. Listen to their podcasts as well which will illuminate and alarm you to the reality of pornography, etc.
Read Pornified: How Pornography Is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families, which is a book I haven't read yet, but am in the process of beginning because of countless recommendations.
Posted by rhett at 01:40 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Ordination? And the PCUSA....
When it comes to Presbyterian Churches USA, I attend a very unique one. Unique in that it is growing. Unique in that most people who attend our church rarely know we are Presbyterian Church USA. These statements may get me in trouble, but that is the reality. If you were to attend our 9am Traditional Service you would witness more of the liturgy and vestments that would cue one in on our denominational distinctiveness. But if you were to attend our 11am Contemporary and our 6pm Contemporary/Contemplative Service you would most likely not be cued in on our denominational facets unless a pastor stated it out loud in service.
This is nothing new to denominations and churches. I know of many churches that have dropped or veiled their denominational ties so as not to turn people away. I don't believe we have dropped or veiled our denominational distinctiveness at all....rather, it's just not an issue for the majority of our church. Most of our church could care less what denomination we are. They come because of community, because of worship, because of the preaching of the Word. Outside of that, the majority of people don't come into Los Angeles looking for a Presbyterian Church.
Sometimes when I am speaking in the college group and mention that we are PCUSA, I get staring looks from students as if to say, "What? Really?" Basically, it has no connection with their reality, or why they are there. In fact, if students were honest with me, most might be leary of being a part of the PCUSA because of what they have been hearing in church as of late. They are leary because of the politics involved regarding ordination, polity, etc.
What am I talking about? Are you lost? If so, no worries. It can be confusing sometimes.
Where do I fit into all of this you may ask. I originally went to Fuller Theological Seminary to pursue Ph.D. work with no intention of entering into the ministry. But then there was that pesky nine month church internship that is required in a Master of Divinity program. So I decided I wanted to work with college students and few churches had college ministries, so I decided to find one that did. And that was Bel Air Presbyterian. I called them up and asked if I could intern with them for nine months. They said yes, and six months into my internship they hired me as the full-time college director. That was in July 2002. Over those four years God has really given me a heart not only for college students, but for ministry in general. And my love and passion for the Church, which I have always been a part of, has increased even more. Despite the Church's flaws and foibles, it is a community that I love being a part of.
So what happens when a seminary student goes through a Master of Divinity program, but isn't pursuing ordination at the time? What happens is that it puts you way behind. The PCUSA ordination process is about three years full-time. It is a lengthy and demanding process. So here I am with a completed Master of Divinity degree and an almost complete MFT degree, but I am not able to perform any of the sacraments such as communion, weddings, baptisms, etc. Why? Because I am not ordained PCUSA as of yet. That's not their fault, but my fault.
So why do I tell you all of this? Because I am currently "under care" in the ordination process moving towards "candidacy." But I have been slow in this process....one, because life is busy and it's hard to fulfill some of the requirments I have left (3 months full-time/6 months part-time hosptial chaplaincy and 3 months full-time/6 months part-time church internship experience that is different from current church experience) when I already work full-time and finishing up graduate school and am married. Also, I have had questions about the meeting of the PCUSA at the General Assembly that has just happened. I have been waiting to see what they have decided on some issues.
And if I read Mark Roberts new blogging series on the PCUSA,
The End of the Presbyterian Church USA, makes you begin to wonder about the future of our denomination.
I am a newbie in the PCUSA world, relatively speaking, so I don't have much to offer from a techincal viewpoint of the Book of Order, etc. But I have recently been fielding more and more questions from students who are concerned about what they hear in the PCUSA. And I have also noticed that students don't care about denominationalism and the decisions churches make at times, as long as it directly doesn't impact their communities.
So while the PCUSA meets at the General Assembly this week for one of its most important meetings, most of our congregation is unaware and probably doesn't care.
So as for me now. I will continue to pursue the ordination process and minister to the college students that I love. But in the midst of all this, the future of the denomination I work in seems uncertain.
I will post more on this issue, but also read Mark Roberts blog if you have questions, or are wondering about what is going on. But for now, I leave you with a quote from him:
I'm sad to say I believe this vote is the beginning of the end of the PCUSA. I'm not saying this only because I believe that ordaining people who intend not to practice fidelity and chastity is wrong, but also because any institution that says "Here are the rules but you can decide whether the rules have to be followed or not" is doomed. Consider what would happen if the United States acted like the PCUSA. Under the Constitution, people are guaranteed the freedom of speech. But what would be left of our national union if states had the authority to decide whether or not to allow their residents to speak freely, and in what circumstances. We'd soon find ourselves in unending conflicts and general anarchy. This is where the PCUSA is heading, I fear. Of course some would say, given what has happened today, we're already there.
Today's vote to approve the Peace, Unity, and Purity Report has begun to rupture the fragile peace of the PCUSA. It has begun to shatter our institutional unity. It has given tacit approval to the tarnishing of our purity. I'm not suggesting that the people who voted in favor of the PUP Report believe what I just said. On the contrary, they believe that their vote will further the Peace, Unity, and Purity of the PCUSA. I wish I agreed. But I don't. Even though people I deeply respect have supported the PUP Report, I fear they've made a grave mistake.
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June 22, 2006
Benjamin Myers as always has great posts. Here is another great posting on Karl Barth, where he discusses Barth and universalism
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Is singleness a sin? Some think so...
Christianity Today has an article titled, 30 and Single? It's Your Own Fault
I have long thought that the church has at times done a poor job in really ministering to young adult singles...meaning, we usually have a group for them, but we usually only view that as a stop along the way, and that if people don't move on and get married, then something is wrong. I have heard from some pastors before that they view young adult ministries as sort of stopping grounds for those young adults who won't just grow up...so the ministry becomes their place until they grow up and join the rest of the church. That's my paraphrase of some conversations I have been a part of.
I was married when I was 30 years old. But I never saw my singlessness as a sin.
Posted by rhett at 11:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 21, 2006
"Does Ministry Fuel Addictive Behavior"
Religious culture has a hard time with pastors and pastor's families who have flaws. Of course, the healthiest congregations do not expect their pastors to walk on water, do not put their pastors on pedestals. But in my experience, such congregations are not the norm.
Thousands of pastors serve congregations that, despite rhetoric to the contrary, expect their leaders to maintain (at least for public viewing) near-perfect marriages, near-perfect families, and near-perfect lives.
While it may be fine that their pastor forgets to take out the trash, is hyper-addicted to football, burns the toast, or consistently forgets his wife's birthday (all endearing foibles that make good fodder for sermon jokes), he'd better not have any serious bouts of depression, credit issues, children who get caught selling ecstasy, or a wife with a drinking problem.
That quote from this article in Christianity Today really caught my eye for several reasons. 1) I am a pastor, who was raised in a pastor's home. And as a family we experienced our own share of struggles and trials; 2) I am in a summer school intensive class on Addictions at Fuller Seminary for my MFT program. These two things have me thinking more and more about addictive behavior within the church. For example, what is acceptable and unacceptable addictive behavior. Where alcohol use and sexual sin are most often preached about, other addictive behaviors such as overeating, gambling, pride, greed, etc. are constantly looked over...or as seen as more acceptable in Chrisitianity. What about co-dependency? That's a pretty acceptable addictive behavior in Christian churches as one of my classmates pointed out this morning.
As someone who was raised in a church and have always been a pastor's kid, I understand the pressure that pastors and their families feel to put on the "right face" in church. That's what congregations expect, and that ultimately can drive a pastor or his or her family into withdrawal from real issues that need to be openly faced or discussed. What becomes even more dangerous in when pastor's eventually reach a place where their addictive behavior becomes unaccountable to anyone, because they have reached such a powerful iconic status in their church, that nothing they do or say is confronted. Too many pastors and churches have hit the rocks because of that.
As I am sitting in my class listening about the in and outs of cocaine and heroine use; sexual and alcohol addiction; prescription drug use; eating disorders, etc......I either have the option to ignore it as not being appropriate talk for Christians, which often happens in many circles. Or I can pull my head out of the sand and realize that addictive behavior is not exclusive to any people group...it affects everyone, and it's about time that we in the church spend appropriate time addressing difficult issues related to online pornography and its addictive nature that is affecting a huge generation of mostly males...addressing alcohol abuse which affects way more in a congregation than I think many want to believe....what about gambling...it has become an acceptable church activity at many men's events, but do we realize that that addictive behavior is destroying many lives in our congregations.
Anyways...I'm ranting right now. But no one is exempt from being overtaken by addictions and we as a Christian community need to start addressing these things more openly, and be a part of the help and transformation process.
This is also an interesting topic in light of some of the big conversation on line related to alcohol use. Brent Thomas has a great post on the SBC's position on alcohol use. I happen to be someone who likes beer and wine, so I appreciate Brent's post. But as I have visited some AA groups for class this week, I am beginning to think about the challenge we have in the church to teach moderation and responsibility regarding some behaviors that can become addictive....and then how do we also protect the vulnerable. It's a tough challenge, but one I think the church community is up for.
Posted by rhett at 11:34 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 20, 2006
Happy One Year Anniversary!
My wife and I celebrated our one year anniversary this last Sunday, June 18th. I could tell you a lot about how amazing my wife is, or how fast this last year went...but some things you just can't put into words or shouldn't be shared with everyone.
So I will just say that time flies it seems, and I hear it goes even faster every year, and even more faster after kids come along.
But it has been a great year and a year where we can really look back and see just how transforming a process marriage is. You look back and realize just how little you actually knew.
Happy Anniversary, and I'm looking forward to many more years.....
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June 15, 2006
Great series on some great theologians...check it out!
Please go over to the blog of Ben Myers and check out his series, "For the love of God: 20 Theologians and why we love them."
It is a great series and I am learning a lot about some great theologians.
Posted by rhett at 10:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
About to be new brother-in-law...
This is a big weekend for our extended family...My wife and I are going to be celebrating our one year anniversary on Sunday, but I will say more about that later in the week as it gets closer.
But the other big news is that my wife and I set up her sister and my friend on a blind date two years ago. They are getting married tomorrow.
That guy is Drew Sams. Drew was a senior at USC when I was the college intern at Bel Air in 2001-2002. That same year, Drew was one of two students who was sitting on the committee to hire a new college director. That guy so happened to be me, and Drew was influential in getting me the job that I love. Drew later started going to Fuller and started doing more and more ministry at Bel Air. It was during that time that our friendship really began to grow and Drew has been a very influential person in my life and a great sounding board as we have discussed many things over the years, and we have talked many a night about ministry, and often the "emerging church."
Drew is now the high school pastor at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village after serving for a year as the high school interim director at Bel Air. Drew is a very gifted and thoughtful pastor and I have met few people who knows exactly how to engage youth culture and help draw them closer to Christ.
Congrats Drew and Erika! I am so excited for you. And welcome to the family.
Posted by rhett at 09:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Continued music from worship leaders....
As I posted yesterday, I want to thank our former college worship leaders as they always did a wonderful job in a very difficult area of ministry.
Yesterday I highlighted the 2002-2003 worship band and the many people in that group who are either playing professionally now or pursuing music.
From 2003-2004 Ed Rhee led our worship team and did an amazing job. Ed is a friend and a leader whom I have watched mature and develop in amazing ways both personally and musically over the last few years. He is a very humble person and is always willing to serve. I often end up calling him at the last minute a lot of times to lead worship for us, and he is always willing. I love working with college students and being able to continue that friendship when they graduate and watch it develop in new and exciting ways post-college. Thank you Ed. Please check out Ed's music and go out and see him perform when you get a chance.
From 2004-2006 Kevin Carey led our worship band. Kevin is a great friend of mine and eventually interned for me this last year as well. I have always been impressed with Kevin's passion both on and off stage and his pursuit and desire to seek after God. It has been a joy to watch Kevin develop as an artist over the last few years, and I was so excited one day when I was driving home from work and I heard Kevin's music being played on the Hugh Hewitt show. Hugh met Kevin at our college group one night and was really impressed with him and his music and decided to play it. Kevin, thanks for all of your hard work and leadership.
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June 14, 2006
Thanks to some great worship leaders....and check out some new music.
Living in Los Angeles makes for one of the greatest opportunities and one of the most difficult ones, when it comes to worship music. Since I have lived in Los Angeles (5 years now), I have never before in my life exprienced such a mass number of talented people musically. I never would have thought that the majority of worship leaders and musicians that come through our group go on to record and album and do it professionally. That's always been good news for our college ministry as our college band has always been led by amazing musicians, some college students who pursue music as a hobby or a life vocation...while others are not your typical students, but have come out here to go to a musicians institute, etc. Regardless of how they ended up in LA, these college aged students and non-students have blessed our ministry with some amazing music, as well as amazing worship leading...doing it in humble, Godly ways.
That can be a tightrope to walk at times...trying to balance musicaly excellency, while not allowing that to overshadow the act of worship, etc. Sometimes we have probably done it right as a group, and there are probably times we haven't...but overall, these students and worship leaders have been the key figures in teaching me about worship...teaching me about the high call of bringing God's people before Him in musical praise.
For the five years I have been at Bel Air, I have never had to worry about our worship, or who would lead, or who would step up when that leader was gone. So I want to thank those leaders and bands for their humbleness, grace and high calling to lead worship and to do it in an excellent way.
I can mention names, but I can't point you to everyone since not everyone has a blog, or MySpace page, website, etc. But I hope that you check out their music, because nothing has been more joyful for me as a pastor than to watch these students pursue their passion and in doing so, bless not only me and you, but God in the process.
So for the next few days or so, I want to highlight and honor those who did a very difficult job/ministry, and who did it with passion and humblness and grace.
Today I want to thank the praise band of 2002-2003, and I hope you will check out their awesome music.
When I took over as director of the group in 2002-2003 we were in a transition from one worship leader to the next, and God definitely provided. Laura Scott who was a senior at USC co-led as a worship leader with UCLA junior, Ed Rhee. They were absolutely amazing and were part of a worship album that year. Laura has one of the most amazing voices ever and when she would lead on guitar chills went through the chapel. When it comes to Ed, there are some songs that I can't imagine anyone else singing, and his demeanor and gentleness and talent on the piano were amazing. The rest of that band was made up by Sam Knaak who recorded our worship album at his studio, EarWitness Studios. Sam is also now married to Laura. We also had an amazing drummer that year, Mark Chipello, who is now the drummer for Tyrone Wells, who has also led worship for us a few times. Rounding out that band was bassist Dave Ross who is one of the most gentle and humble guys that I know, and who is gigging out his skills everywhere. Then there was Bryan Colmery who blogs at that page and has planted a church in Santa Monica. And last, Chris, our violinist, also known as "center stage."
You guys were amazing and we were blessed to have you lead worship. Thank you for sharing your gifts with others and helping us better enter into worship before God.
Please check out their music at their sites, because if you haven't heard of them yet, you will be hearing about them soon.
Posted by rhett at 11:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 13, 2006
"The Abandonment of the Teenage Soul"
Sunday at Bel Air Pres was Student Sunday, so I and the high school and middle school directors had the privilege of our ministries leading our congregation in worship and teaching. It was a great day and I am so blessed to be not only a part of this church, but to be a part of a great youth discipleship department. Two people that I am so impressed with and that are great friends are the middle school directors, RO and Mindy Smith. They run The Element and do a phenomenal job. When I have Jr. High kids one day, I want my kids in their program. That's how highly I think of them and I have a lot of respect for them. They are not only concerned with games and fun, but the theological content in their ministry and the way they communicate the Word. This last week they wrote an article for our Bel Air Pres Magazine called, The Abandonment of the Teenage Soul. It is a great article and a must read for parents and for anyone working with youth, etc...
As you read through the article you might notice the influence of youth ministry "guru" Chap Clark in their writing and thinking.
And on a funny and ironic sidenote....the ultrasonic teenage deterrent that they talk about in the first paragraph, is what teenagers are now using as their cell phone ringer because adults can't hear it. Talk about teenagers pulling a fast one over on adults...if you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the news that is all over TV today about this cell phone ringer, here.
In November 2005, The New York Times published an article about a device called the Mosquito that emits a high-frequency sound meant to drive youthful trouble makers away. The ultrasonic teenage deterrent has been acclaimed by police forces in the United Kingdom as the most effective tool in their fight against anti-social behavior. For roughly $1000, you too could join the further abandonment of the teenage soul by installing this high-frequency sound machine anywhere you don't want those pesky adolescents to congregate. Hopefully you won't have to actually engage in a conversation with them or initiate any type of interaction whatsoever; driving them deeper into what youth professional Dr. Chapman Clark calls 'the world beneath'.
Institutions that were originally designed for teens have dramatically changed in the past 30 years. Now instead of being about caring for kids or what's best for kids, they're often more about what's best for adults and keeping kids busy. Dr. Clark describes this as a "systematic abandonment of the young" by adults who are culturally charged with caring for kids. If kids don't fit in the pre-ordained boxes that adults control, kids end up hurt, abused, and left behind. The result is that despite the articles and research projecting an optimistic view of youth culture, we believe that kids are more empty, lonely, and fragile than ever before.
One example, in our interactions with little league baseball over the past three years, the "abandonment" is evident. Little league baseball is no longer about enjoying new experiences, appreciating the joy of play, working together for the common goal, and friendly competition. It has become more about what the parents feel about the kids play, and whether the adults are satisfied with the final score. In one experience, the coach screamed at the kids sitting in the dugout because they weren't paying attention to what was going on in the field, and instead playing imaginary games and drawing in the dirt...Did we mention they were 9 years old? We couldn't help but think that this coach perpetuated this idea of abandonment.
Unfortunately, we in the church are not exempt. We too are guilty of this systematic abandonment. For example, in most churches kids are not included in the "all-church" worship service. Kids are generally relegated to having their own room, and to conduct their own church service. Sadly, many kids graduate from high school having never seen the inside of their own church's sanctuary except for at Easter and Christmas. There are many other examples, but we don't have the time or space.
So what does that mean for us? Abandoned kids are waiting, but they are guarded. They're skeptical that anybody will care about them for who they are. But when caring adults are also attached to religious faith, they have an even greater impact. So kids need to be loved by caring adults who are authentic and not plastic. Adults who are willing to reflect the incarnational Christ and "step into" the world of teenagers.
In our context at BAPC, we cannot allow the hundreds of youth that attend our church to be left to the care of the 5 paid staff members of these departments. The old saying, "It takes a village to raise a child," must resonate and ring true here as well. When kids see adults who care for them, and who aren't out for themselves, then maybe kids will start thinking God really does care for them and their faith might mean something.
RO and Mindy both have their Masters of Arts in Theology in Youth, Family, and Culture.
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June 11, 2006
Wilderness Wandering...
"From the wilderness of Sin, the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages as the LORD commanded"(Exodus 17:1). This Old Testament text has been very reaffirming for me as the college director this last year, specifically because I am about to witness this June the first graduating class of seniors that I have had the privilege of journeying with these last four years. In July 2002 I was hired by Bel Air to become the full-time college director after a six month internship in the college department. As I look back on those four years I had little understanding of college ministry and sometimes that still seems the case. And I know that those freshmen coming in that year were not only unsure of me as the college director, but also unsure of themselves in the new life stage of college. But I have really begun to realize more than ever that life and ministry is process oriented and that we as people of God are on a journey from stage to stage. For the people of God in this text, their journey involved 400 plus years of slavery under the Egyptians, followed by a miraculous exodus from out of slavery and into 40 years of wilderness living. College students may not find themselves in the same predicament of being in slavery and wilderness wandering, but this life stage is a very disorienting process with its own type of wandering. This wandering consists of a multitude of conditions from the highs of mountain top experiences to lows of dwelling in the valley.
But over these four years the college students and myself have been on a journey together, traveling from stage to stage. And it is not a journey that we travel on alone, under our own desires and experiences, but we are led by the same God who has been leading His people through life throughout history. This is the beauty of Paul's words in I Corinthians 12, when he talks about many members, but one body, the body that Christ is the head of. No matter where we find ourselves in our journey, and no matter what stage we are traveling through, we are a community of people that God is directing out of slavery and through the wilderness and into freedom. I want to thank the senior class of 2006. They have been a community of people that have been the foundation of our college ministry and a people who have come alongside others in our group, one another, and myself, and they have made this journey traveling from stage to stage a very remarkable one. My prayers and thoughts are with you as you leave the college stage and are being called out into another stage of life by God. God has great plans for your life and I am very excited for you, and I am excited about the community that he has begun in us and that will continue on.
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June 08, 2006
Wrapping up a tough quarter and a very tough week: Saying goodbye to students and friends...
This has been a very tough quarter in school. I didn't know how difficult it would be, but managing full-time ministry, full-time gradschool and a counseling practicum has been nuts....but I have been learning tons. And though this quarter has been difficult I really feel that God has been stretching and teaching me a lot in the process.....it has been a refining process and I feel that I am growing and maturing.
Tonight was the last college night of the school year for us before we transition into our summer program. It was a great night but also very hard as we said goodbye to some seniors that we have been with for four years. These are students and friends that entered into the ministry in my first year as full-time director. I feel that we have all been growing together and that they are very much responsible for who I am today as a person and pastor. I think students often feel that it is the pastor that is supposed to do all the influencing and teaching and mentoring, but that is not always true, and ministry is a two-way relationship where both pastor and student grow and struggle and learn and mature together.
I am very thankful for those students who were the freshmen class of 2002. They have been a wonderful example to me and to our ministry of what it means to be in community...to care for one another...to love one another. It has truly been an amazing journey.
As I closed the service tonight I gave a devotional, sort of charge to the students. I wanted to leave them with a Biblical image that has been powerful in shaping my own life and that I think would be helpful to them where they find themselves now and on their journey. In Genesis 32:30-31 we read of the wrestling match between Jacob and a man (i.e. angel of the LORD; GOD). The text says, "So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, 'For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.' The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip." I love this passage. It is a beautiful image of man wrestling with God....a beautiful image of the encounter between the divine and human. This embodies I believe the struggle that we all face, especially some of my students who are seniors and who are wondering where life is leading them next. In this encounter with God we often walk away with a limp, just as Jacob did. A limp, or a weakness, or a flaw or some failure is often a symbol to us of life not turning out right, or a reminder of mistakes, and hopes not fulfilled. But maybe a limp is really a reminder of our encounter with God....for who can truly walk away from an encounter with God and walk away without marks or scars...our life is preserved, yet an encounter with God is a life transforming process, and we are reminded of it.
We catch up in the following passage with Jacob who is in fear of his encounter with Esau. And we read this in 33:10: "Jacob said, "No, please; if I find favor with you, then accept my present from my hand; for truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God." This reoccurring theme of "face" is a fascinating one in the Hebrew text and it is especially eloquent here. After seeing God face to face, Jacob responds to Esau that seeing him is like seeing the face of God. The student's wrestlings with God plays out in their wrestling and encounter with others in their life. Wrestling with God is a transformative process that helps us see God in the face of those that we encounter in our daily lives. There is this correlation between Jacob's wrestling with God and his wrestling with his brother. So too there is this correlation of our wrestling with God and our wrestling with those in our lives...with those people, those circumstances. Both of these encounters prepare us for one another and help make whole and complete the refining process.
To my students: May you continue to wrestle with God and with one another. And in this wrestling, may you be refined and grow more intimate. And may your encounter with the Divine prepare you for your encounter with the human.....and vice-versa.
I love you guys and gals......
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city trends in the emerging church...
So what top eight cities are the most "church emerging" in the world?
Here's what Here's what Google Trends says
1. Minneapolis, MN USA
2. Dallas, TX USA
3. Atlanta, GA USA
4. Seattle, WA USA
5. Chicago, IL USA
6. Los Angeles, CA USA
7. Sydney Australia
8. London United Kingdom
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More My Space...
Rich Kirkpatrick has some more thoughts regarding My Space. My students were kind of laughing at me tonight still for getting our group on My Space and a little late to the party. Yeah, I guess I'm not that cool anymore and a little slow now that I am 31. Haaa.
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June 05, 2006
Pulling my head out of the sand!
If you have read my posts at all in the last six months or so you will have noticed a lot of conversation about My Space and some of the concerns I have about it. i.e. pornography, preying on young children, conflicting online/in person personalities and convictions of people. I was also concerned that you are somewhat limited by the content after you begin to sign off and invite people. Sure, you can control your own page, but once you begin adding friends the rabbit trail goes on forever through an endless web of connectivity. That has kept me from joining for a long time, though I have joined before in the past, but just found it too much work along with this blog.
But outside of me, I had concerns about my college students and so we have tried really hard to create a great website at The Quest, and my student designer has a great eye for design and aesthetics. But no matter how hard we tried, students just weren't going to our site to post comments or visit the forums, and we were doing a lot of work for naught it seemed at times.
So for the last few months I have cruised around the different communities online, I have been having endless conversations with many people, trying to figure out what people are looking for. And I can't specifically state what that intangible is outside of the big word "community." But whatever it is, My Space has it. Many sites have better design, but when it comes down to the basics, the ease and functionality of My Space, especially joining it is hard to beat. And with the attention My Space gets, the community is already there and it is huge. So it's no wonder that all of my students are already on My Space.
So what are my options:
1. I can continue to resist.
2. I can continue to plug our website and hope that there is a big turnaround.
3. I can join with them in their community.
I have chosen #3. There is no reason for me sit and expect tons of students to leave their online communities to visit our website and be a part of it. Maybe they would do both, but I'm not sure at this point. I tihnk there are some other online communities and some ones that are being designed that will attract students, but for now, My Space rules this domain.
As a Christian I often don't like some of the content I come across and I am somewhat shocked at what people will say assuming they are speaking in anonymity. But I figured it was time that I went onto their turf instead of expecting them to come onto mine. So I not only updated my personal page, but I also created a group for our college ministry. I am hoping that instead of keeping my head buried in the sand that I can be more a part of their community online and that we can have a transformative effect online.
As Christians we often worry about appearance and what groups we belong to, and how people will perceive us. But My Space seems like a good place to go into and help be a transforming agent and a light for Christ, rather than conforming to the world. And it seems highly unlikely that non-Christians will want to come onto our territories, so maybe it's time that we get out the Christian bubble we sometimes hole ourselves up in and go out into the world.
This is probably a 180 degree turn regarding My Space from my previous posts, but I have been convicted as of late, and I have been asking how we might utilize the good things with My Space as a Christian community.
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couple of interesting reads...
HT: Steve McCoy who had a couple of good links to articles and blogs.
Mark Driscoll posts the blog, Is Jack Bauer a Type of Christ.
The Chicago Sun Times wrote a great article on Rob Bell and some comparisons to Billy Graham.
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June 02, 2006
Emergent and its critics...
Tony Jones, the national coordinator for Emergent responds to some of its critics.
Is Emergent the new Christian left?
Tony Jones takes on Chuck Colson and "true truth"
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Integrating...
I feel like I just haven't had the energy to say anything lately. That's pretty obvious by the sporadic postings I have made. I wish I had something more to say, but maybe I am to learn something in this somewhat time of silence. As a college pastor I make my living by words. My identity in a sense is determined by my ability to be able to speak words when I preach each week; when I pray with others; when I offer counsel and advice. Words. Words. Words. Sometimes I wonder if I even know what I am saying sometimes. When I finished my Master of Divinity program I was equipped to be able to speak and preach and talk and pray. But now that I am half way through the Master of Science in Marital and Family Therapy program I am being equipped in a different way. To listen. Though a therapist speaks, the primary job is to listen and to discern what is being said. So though I might have considred myself to be a good listener before, I have never had to listen like this.
This is part of the reason I have been so exhausted and have had little to say. Because for so long all I have done is speak. That is what I am trained to do. That is what is expected of me. And though some of the best listeners I know are pastors, I wonder how much we really listen that carefully and feel no impulse to not speak at all. Pastors have answers to every situation and that is what people expect. But to sit in a room across from a person, and to just listen, and sometimes sit in complete silence with another human being is a complete gift. There is temptation to speak because silence is unbearable for a lot of us. But to resist the temptation and to just listen and be has been truly freeing for me.
It is in this stage of my life that I am beginning to understand the integrative nature of my training in theology and psychology. For me, for my life, the two are completely compatible and necessary. This is true for me. The two disciplines have helped me balance my life. M. Div. work and theology was very intellectually stimulating for me and I often used it to anazlyze and objectify things, such as my relationship with God. Through words and theories and doctrine I was able to speak on things with many words without having to necessarily enter into a relationship with any of it. Words are safe at times. MFT work and psychology is very relational for me and theories and words mean little if one can not be in relationship with someone and enter into the pain and joy of another person. Silence is crucial. This is my experience and not all share it...but that's why it is my journey. Theology and psychology provide a necessary tension that keeps me from drifting too far in one direction.
Theology is my anchor that provides the Truth for my life and psychology has given me tools and skills that I never learned in theological education. It has given me tools to be in places and discern how to apply and use Truth in other's lives. Many circles of Christianity and evangelicalism are skeptical of psychology, or it least some types of psychology. But I cannot say enough about how transforming this experience has been for me and will continue to be.
Integration is the buzzword in our program and that is what we all strive for. It is a new word for me in the context of theology and psychology. But it is the fruition of what I knew Henri Nouwen was doing when I first began to read him in the late 90's. Nouwen had his Ph.D. in both theology and psychology and he used it to minister to the world in some amazing ways. He used it to bring both the head (intellectualism) and heart (emotions) together in a way that is very profound, and that has been very lifegiving to me and many others. I am not the type of guy who can or wants to do two Ph.D.'s....make it one for that fact. But I am hoping that with a master's in theology and in therapy, that they will prepare me to one day do the work that brings both the head and heart together in a powerful way, whether that is through preaching or counseling or both.
The Greatest Commandment
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'[b] 31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[c]There is no commandment greater than these."
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