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October 24, 2006
Chicago Marathon and Short Sabbatical....
Thank you to everyone who sent me emails, left voice messages, saying that you were praying for me over the weekend as I ran my first ever marathon. All in all I think it went pretty well. I accomplished one of my goals (finishing the race) and missed the other one (wanting to finish in under four hours). I ended up running the 26.2 miles in 4:13:07. And in the end, I'm pretty happy with that.
I was not prepared for the tactical nature of the race at all. With an estimated 40,000 runners (though I think there were only 34,000 this year) it was pretty difficult to maneuver. Since I was a rookie I found myself in the very back of the pack before the race started. It took approximately 16 minutes for me to cross the starting line once the race started (each runner's timing chip starts once they cross the line), meaning the winner had over three miles under way by then. I spent the first mile moving pretty slowly since I was told most runners start off too fast. I was eventually able to get some good pacing under way, when finally after about 10 miles I had to pull over to use the restroom when I could bear it no more. Some of my friends who were tracking me online were wondering what had happened since I lost over 3 minutes on that pit-stop.
Eventually I got into a good rhythm and I really, really enjoyed the race even though the temperature was in the 30's. I was pretty happy with my pacing as the race progressed and some of the negative splits I ran towards the end. With about 5 miles to go I realized I would not break four hours unless I ran 6 minute splits all the way out. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to do that I think I was finally able to really enjoy the end of the race and all that the city of Chicago and its people had to offer.
Coming back into the city with hundreds of thousands of spectators cheering you on is quite inspiring and the last one to two miles that I ran were a lot of fun, especially since my wife, brother and friends were there to cheer me on. Even though I enjoyed the race the thought, "What am I doing?" crossed my mind and I vowed to never run a marathon again. That crossed my mind at about mile 22 and 23. But as the finish line neared I was excited about running another marathon again in the future.
After a couple of weeks of rest I think I will begin training for the LA Marathon. In the meantime I will also be posting pretty sporadically for about 10 days as I'm preparing for some exciting new things in our ministry, at school and in the blog world.
If you are interested, here are my final race results and my splits below.
Thanks friends for all of your support....
5K: 33:07 (10:39.553 pace)
10K: 29:43 (9:33.892 pace)
15K: 29:26 (9:28.420 pace)
20K: 32:53 (10:35.047 pace)
Half: 2:11:40
25K: 29:17 (9:25.523 pace)
30K: 28:55 (9:18.442 pace)
35K: 27:53 (8:58.486 pace)
40K: 28:49 (9:16.511 pace)
Finish: 4:13:07
Posted by rhett at 11:07 PM | Comments (3)
October 20, 2006
Chicago Marathon This Weekend...
This weekend is the Chicago Marathon. I have never run a marathon before, so this will be my first. At this point I'm so anxious that I can't wait to run. I was quite hesitant to sign up for this race and wasn't feeling too good about it when I first started. But 19 weeks later I can honestly say it is one of the best things I have ever, ever done. I have learned so much about God during this time. I have learned so much about myself during this time. And depending on how this weekend turns out, I plan to run the LA Marathon on March 4.
Here's some little facts for you:
Number of weeks I trained: 19
The training intensity I chose: Moderate
Number of total miles I ran: 330.45
Average per week: 17.39
Number of days I ran each week: 3
Times I ran 20: 2 times
Number of weeks I took off because of injuries: 2
Weight that I loss: 17lbs. 175 to 158
Number of runners on Sunday: Over 40,000
Okay.....that's enough for now!
So if you are bored on Sunday, go to Chicago Marathon and pull up my name or my bib number, 22129, and check out how I am doing.
I had two goals when I started this training: 1) Finish the race. 2) Run a sub-four hour race.
Keep me in your prayers and I will post more next week.
Read about the Chicago Marathon
Posted by rhett at 12:46 AM | Comments (1)
October 19, 2006
Eugene Peterson is absolutely brilliant on the intersection of running and spiritual reading...
I absolutely love Eugene Peterson. Few theologians have the insight or writing ability of him. Right now I am reading through his book, "Eat This Book." And there is a beautiful passage in there about running. As you all know I am on a running kick myself. I am running the Chicago Marathon this weekend, which is the culmination of 19 weeks of training for me. I couldn't get enough material on reading. I read magazines, books, rented DVD movies about famous runners. If it had to do with running, I was reading and studying it. Read below as Peterson takes the activity of running and ties it so eloquently into our spiritual lives.
Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading pp. 70-71
The participatory quality of spiritual reading struck me forcibly when i was thirty-five years old. I had taken up running again. I had run in college and seminary and enjoyed it immensely, but when I left school, I left running. It never occurred to me that running was something an adult might do just for the fun of it. Besides, I was a pastor now and I wasn't sure how my parishoners would take to seeing their pastor running thinly clad along the back roads of our community. But I was noticing other people, doctors and lawyers and executives whom I knew, running in unexpected places without apparent loss of dignity, men and women my age and older, and realized that I could probably get by with it too. I went out and bought running shoes--Adidas, they were--and discovered the revolution in footwear that had taken place since my student days. I began having fun, enjoying again the smooth rhythms of long-distance running, the quietness, the solitude, the heightened senses, the muscular freedom, the texture of the ground under my feet, the robust embracing immediacy of the weather--wind, sun, rain, snow...whatever. Soon I was competing in 10K races every month or so, and then a marathon once a year. Running developed from a physical act to a ritual that gathered meditation, reflection, and prayer into the running. By this time I was subscribing to three running magazines and regularly getting books from the library on runners and running. I never tired of reading about running--diet, stretching, training methods, care of injuries, resting heart rate, endorphins, carbohydrate loading, electrolyte replacements--if it was about running I read it. How much is there to write about running? There aren't an infinite number of ways you can go about it--mostly it is just putting one foot before the other. None of the writing, with few exceptions, was written very well. But it didn't matter that I had read nearly the same thing twenty times before; it didn't matter if the prose was patched together with cliches; I was a runner and I read it all.
And then I pulled a muscle and couldn't run for a couple of months as i waited for my thigh to heal. It took me about two weeks to notice that since my injury I hadn't picked up a running book or opened a running magazine. I didn't decide not to read them; they were still all over the house, but I wasn't reading them. I wasn't reading because I wasn't running. The moment I began running again I started reading again.
That is when I caught the significance of the modifier "spiritual" in "spiritual reading." It mean participatory reading. It meant that I read every word on the page as an extension or deepening or correction or affirmation of something that I was a part of. I was reading about running not primarily to find out something, not to learn something, but for companionship and validation and confirmation of the experience of running. Yes, I did learn a few things along the way, but mostly it was to extend and deepen and populate the world of running that I loved so much. But if I wasn't running, there was nothing to deepen.
The parallel with reading Scripture seems to me almost exact; if I am not participating in the reality--the God reality, the creation/salvation/holiness reality--revealed in the Bible, not involved in the obedience Calvin wrote of, I am probably not going to be much interested in reading about it--at least not for long.
Obedience is the thing, living in active response to the living god. The most important question we ask of this text is not, "What does this mean?" but "What can I obey?" A simple act of obedience will open up our lives to this text far more quickly than any number of Bible studies and dictionaries and concordances.
Not that the study is not important. A Jewish rabbi I once studied with would often say, "For us Jews studying the Bible is more important that obeying it, because if you don't understand it rightly you will obey it wrongly and your obedience will be disobedience."
This is also true.
Posted by rhett at 12:27 AM | Comments (0)
October 18, 2006
Tony Jones' lunch with John Piper...
This post is a little old for probably most of you (October 5th). But I was reading it tonight and found it interesting. Tony discusses some of he and Piper's thoughts on the atonement.
Posted by rhett at 12:05 AM | Comments (0)
October 17, 2006
Fall Retreat Weekend & Finding Out What Really Excites Me
I haven't been blogging because I'm still recovering from our college Fall Retreat weekend in Big Bear, CA. It was a great weekend and we took up about 77 students which is pretty great two weeks into the UCLA school year. Retreats are sometimes a major pain planning, but there is nothing I love more than spending some good relational time with students during the weekend. This year I brought in a guest speaker, Drew Sams. Drew is the high school pastor at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village, CA. Drew did a phenomenal job this weekend.
I have known Drew since 2001 when he was a senior at USC and I was the new college intern. Drew later sat on the hiring committee that hired me to become the college director. He then was employed by Bel Air in several other positions before leaving for his current job at Calvary. Oh, and he's my brother-in-law since June. One of the reasons I brought him to speak is his ability to really speak the gospel in the life and language of the college culture. And that was true this weekend.
The focus of the weekend was the idea of belonging. Drew focused on "Belonging: To God, To Others/Community and To God's Mission." His three part series really impacted the lives of my students and I'm excited to see how it translates into our college ministry.
One of the things I really realized this weekend was a sharpening of what I believe my gifts are and what I really enjoy in ministry. I think what I really enjoy in ministry is the encouraging of students and the empowering of them to serve in ministry and in their community. What do I mean? Nothing excites me more than coming alongside a student, encouraging them, helping them discern their gifts, and then helping empower them to serve in an area of ministry that they are particularly gifted in. I love that. As a pastor one needs to be able to do a lot of things such as preaching, teaching, administrating, finances, organizational issues, leadership, etc., etc. I can do those things, but I don't do all of them well, and I don't particularly love all of them. But what I really love is the encouraging and empowering of students. That is a much, much bigger thrill than preaching, administrating, etc, etc.
I hope that one day many of my students will be able to look back on their college years in our ministry and to be able to say that we impacted them because they were encouraged and given the opportunity to serve.
Posted by rhett at 11:35 PM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2006
Do your books tell people who you are? If so, what do they say?
I love books like probably the rest of you. In fact, I dream of the day when I can line our house with floor to ceiling bookshelves and books are everywhere. But, that dream comes to a shattering halt when I realize that I share the house I live in with someone else. My wife. And her ideas of decor don't exactly include floor to ceiling bookshelves in everyroom. Thank God. But it's still nice to think about.
I've decided to keep about 3/4 of my books in my office at church, and I keep the rest at home. I have a pretty strict system of organization. At the office, the books are broken up into categories (i.e., literature, philosophy, Greek, Hebrew, Systematics, etc, etc.) and then placed in alphabetical order in those categories. That way it's not only easy for me to find, but for all the pastors who come by and want to borrow my books. You see, I had the good fortune of inheriting my dad's library (pastor). So there are a lot of books. At home, I only keep one shelf of my favorite authors in alphabetical order, and then there are some scattered books in the closets, on tables, etc. My reasoning: keep my favorite authors safe and sound at home with me, and the other, I keep at the office.
Why am I sharing the inner world of my bookkeeping? I was reading the post by Al Mohler By Their Books We Shall Know Them.
HT: Brent Thomas
Interesting post. I was especially intrigued by this statement:
Parini observes that libraries are mirrors into our minds and souls. The books we collect, display, and read tell the story about us.
This may be especially true of Christian ministers. Books are a staple of our lives and ministries. When the Apostle Paul instructed Timothy to bring the books and the parchments, he was writing with the kind of urgency any preacher understands.
To a great extent, our personal libraries betray our true identities and interests. A minister's library, taken as a whole, will likely reveal a portrait of theological conviction and vision. Whose works have front place on the shelves, Martyn Lloyd-Jones or John Shelby Spong? Charles Spurgeon or Harry Emerson Fosdick? Karl Barth or Carl Henry? John MacArthur or Joel Osteen?
How serious a Bible scholar is this preacher? The books will likely tell. Are the books all old or all new? If so, the reader is probably too contemporary or too antiquarian in focus. Are the books read? If so, the marginalia of an eager and intelligent mind adds value to the book. It becomes more a part of us.
I agree that our books say something about us. That makes a lot of sense to me and I find myself looking at other's bookshelves as well. But I also think that we sometimes are too judgmental about other's spiritual and religious convictions, based simply on what we see in their library. There are many authors I am not fond of, but because someone has those authors on their shelves does that tell me all that I need to know about them? Whether they are a serious Bible scholar or not? Mohler says, "Whose works have front place on the shelves, Martyn Lloyd-Jones or John Shelby Spong? Charles Spurgeon or Harry Emerson Fosdick? Karl Barth or Carl Henry? John MacArthur or Joel Osteen?" I may be assuming too much, but I would think that Mohler would hope that your decision on these choices would line up with his views. And if they do, then that would probably make you a serious Biblical scholar and preacher. And if they don't, well, then I suppose you are not? Is that too much for me to assume?
I will give Mohler credit in that he seems to imply that we should interact with all different views and authors of theology, but only certain types should have front places on our shelves. Many Christians just simply choose not to read anything by those they disagree with and then what we are left with is a bunch of arguments by people who haven't even read the books in the first place, but have simply only browsed someone else's comment on them. In this post by Al Mohler he gives some more specific statements about his views on theology and reading. He says:
I have hundreds of books in Roman Catholic theology--and these make me all the more committed to the Reformation. I can't teach theological method to Ph.D. students without being conversant and knowledgeable in this area. Yet, I wouldn't put these books in my church library. Time and place, people.
Similarly, I wrote my dissertation on the evangelical response to Karl Barth. Barth was sub-orthodox in his general system and in the outworking of his theology, and it is important for evangelicals to know why. So I require my doctoral students to read Barth, but I wouldn't hand Barth to a layman looking for a book on doctrine.
On the one hand I am glad to see that Mohler reads the material of those that he disagrees with, but what would he think about seeing Karl Barth and Henri Nouwen so prominent on my shelves? From authors such as them would he have a full picture of who I am as a pastor and preacher, and how serious I take my studies? Or could he simply say, Rhett is a guy who has some different theological views than me, but I have no doubt he takes his study of theology and his preaching seriously?
I expect that as Christians and bloggers and pastors we have the opportunity to recommend many books to many people. I on the one hand wouldn't hesitate to hand someone a book by Barth, though I would take into consideration different things before handing that book over since Barth is sometimes not the most accessible for someone new to theology.
And maybe I'm glad to know that the most prominent authors on my bookshelves aren't the same as say Al Mohler. I am always intrigued by people's books, and I often look at their books the same way I look at their music. The more variety of books they have, the more eclectic the collection....that says something to me. It tells me that they have an appreciation for many different authors though they might not agree with everyone. It tells me that they interact with a variety of them as well, though they may not hold the same conclusions. It tells me that they aren't afraid to step out of their comfort zone and read someone they may disagree with.
Purgatorio lists the 50 books you should leave on your shelf and I agree with some of his list and other parts I do not. Hopefully he's read all of them since he is making the recommendation that they stay on the shelf.
So I won't list all of my books for you of course. But let me leave you with a few of the authors that hold prominent positions on my bookshelf at home. What do these books say about me? Just because I read them and they hold a prominent position, can they accurately sum up a person? And have you noticed how our choices change with time, different authors coming in and out of our lives, while some always remain prominent. Well, go ahead and analyze me......
Posted by rhett at 08:31 AM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2006
Thoughts on Paul's view of women and ministry...
More on the issue of women and ministry from Scot McKnight. Women and Ministry: Paul
women and ministry, theology, Scot McKnight
Posted by rhett at 10:21 PM | Comments (0)
October 09, 2006
The Lack of Relational Investment in Online Community (and I'm not talking about dating, though I found the cartoon funny)
I woke up this morning thinking about the connection between technology and relationships. Weird I know. I must have had some unconsious musings in my dreams. Last week I posted Coffee Shop Wi-Fi: Community Building or Isolation Making? as a reflection on some of the things that Brent Thomas got me thinking about in his post, Welcome to the Global Ghost Town.
This is not a totally thought through idea, but something I am in the process of thinking about. And that is that online communities lack a certain kind of relational investment that is important for relationships to thrive. For example, how much is really involved in sending emails and comments back and forth with someone you have never met, but with whom you read their blog or interact in a chat room? You are communicating via technology, but what have you really invested? It seems to produce more of a consumer relational mentality, so that when a disagreement happens, or we don't like what others say, there really is no committment to hang in there and work things through. Why? Because there is no initial relational investment.
And let me say that I speak as someone who loves technology and online communities, etc. But at the same time I want to be able to critique where I think it falls short.
Before I ramble more, this is what led me down this line of thinking. I am currently taking an MFT class called Divorce and Reconstituted Families. And in the process of this class we have been talking about the "divorce culture" and how much easier it is for people to often get divorced when they have not relationally invested themselves in the lives of other couples who they can "share life with" (i.e., be in a small group with, be honest with, etc.). And if another couple has not invested in them as well, then it is easier to act individually, rather than seek out the wise counsel of others.
Divorce is a whole different topic, but it led me to think more about technology and the lack of relational investment that is required by it. So I can continue to blog, join groups such as My Space & Facebook, email other bloggers, share ideas, etc., but at the end of the day, I have not really put myself in a position to invest relationally in the lives of others, nor have I allowed others to invest in my life. At the end of the day if we have no relational investment in those that we share online community with, then what is it that will keep us together, working through issues and discussing important things? At the end of the day (and not to make light of divorce) we will just end up divorcing ourselves from bloggers we disagree with or dislike, because that's easier to do without the relational investment. And at the same time that keeps us from really doing the hardwork in relationships that is necessary if there is to be growth...even if it is online.
So how do we invest ourselves in the lives of others when all we know of each other is online? And is that even possible?
I struggle with this. More and more of our college ministry is interacting online. More and more of our college ministry does everything via email. More and more of our college ministry text messages now rather than place phone calls. So how do we keep a relational ministry growing and thriving and connecting when sometimes such impersonal means are used for various things?
college ministry, The Quest, technology, online community
Posted by rhett at 11:23 PM | Comments (2)
October 08, 2006
How to dress for church?
Hilarious! This is one of the funniest posts I have read in a long time, Sometimes I dress like a pagan. And as you read it, remember it is S-A-T-I-R-E. Funny satire. HT: Andrew Jones
Dress is one of those issues that seems to be a hot topic in Christian circles. I don't have any good answers on this issue. When I lived in Arizona I used to wear khakis, button up shirts and ties to church. Then my college roommate from Santa Cruz, CA showed up to church wearing Reef sandals. I couldn't believe it. How could someone wear sandals to church? Surely God wouldn't approve. Well, that's about all I wear now. If I were to get up and preach on a Wednesday night in college group in anything but Reef sandals, jeans/shorts and a t-shirt, it may come across as a little odd.
I try to dress appropriate for the occassion. So sometimes I wear a suit depending on where I am speaking, and sometimes I'm pretty casual. I don't think either style of dress says something about my Christian walk or the seriousness with which I take the act of preaching as some may lead you to believe. Sometimes in CA I find the dress even a little too casual for myself (think beachware in church; dressing casual is different from showing skin), but I don't find it as leading to the end of the world. Sometimes people come to church who come from different communities and it will take time for the community to figure out what is the appropriate dress in worship, bible study, fellowship, etc.
But thank God for California and the ability for one to wear jeans and flip-flops to church.
college ministry, dress, fasion
Posted by rhett at 07:25 PM | Comments (1)
College Ministry Outreach: Global Missions
One of the more remarkable parts of ministry is the opportunity given to lead college students on mission trips both here and abroad. I have led many trips in the last five years and it continues to be one of the most transformative events in not only my life, but in the lives of the students I have the privilege of serving with. The college students that I have had the opportunity to lead and to serve with on various trips have always been impacted in many ways, and they return from those trips and continue to be agents of change in their communities. Not because anything I have done, or because of the trip itself. But rather, because I believe God does some amazing things in our lives when we choose to submit ourselves to His call of service: serving one another, serving others, and serving Him. This submission doesn't have to come on a mission trip, and I hope that is not the only avenue that some see as the opportunity for such a relationship, but a mission trip seems to most often have all the elements that make for the right mix. Being out of one's comfort zone. Service. Intensity. Teamwork. Etc, etc.
Throughout the year we try to provide the students of The Quest with many opportunities for service and outreach, both in the Los Angeles community and around the world. One of the really exciting opportunities we have this year is a Spring Break trip to the city of Manaus, Brazil, which is part of Northern Brazil and the capital of the Amazonas State. 
I will be taking 15-20 college students with me for a little over one week, as we live for five days on a boat on the Amazon River, rafting down the river as we reach villages with the gospel and medical supplies, and as we continue to develop and form new relationships with our partner ministries and churches in that region.
This region has a thriving church that we are beginning to form partnerships with as our church has made several trips over to them in the last year. The church we will be working with, Manaus Presbyterian Church has an attendance of about 5,000 people weekly, with church services Thursday through Monday nights.
college ministry, The Quest, missions, Brazil
Posted by rhett at 05:04 PM | Comments (0)
October 05, 2006
Two good blogging series to be reading...
Scot McKnight at Jesus Creed has a lot of good topics going over at his blog. Two of the more interesting series are 1) Women and Ministry and 2) Do Calvinists Understand Arminianism? Check out these posts and follow the comment threads for some interesting reading.
Scot McKnight, Calvinism, women in ministry, theology
Posted by rhett at 12:21 AM | Comments (0)
College Ministry: Such a Blessing...
Tonight was our offical kickoff of the new school year. Seem late for a kickoff? Well, it seems that way but UCLA just returned to school last Thursday, so tonight was the first time that we had all of our schools and universities in session. I love Wednesday night. I spend most of the day a little stressed out worrying about the night. Is everything in order? Did I get everything done that needed to be done? Is my sermon really ready? But once we begin and the worship band opens the night there is no other place I would rather be. Nothing is more exciting than working with college students. I love watching them mingle, welcome new people, share their lives with each other. I love standing in the balcony or off to the side and watch them worship.
College is definitely a very unique time of life and I am excited for the year that lays ahead of all of us. Tonight was more of a welcome back night so I didn't give my typical, semi-lengthy message (35-40 mins). Tonight I spoke for about 15 minutes, only sharing one verse with them. John 10:10. "10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." That they may have life, and have it to the full. Or abundantly. What does it mean to live life in abundance? In excess? That is the question I posed to my students. I wanted to really challenge them this year with the choice they really have before them in the beginning of this school year. The choice of life, or abundant life. The choice of life at a mediocre level, or abundantly. The choice seems easy, but it doesn't always translate that way.
As I talked with the students tonight I challenged them to hold this verse as the focal point of the year. That they would ask themselves what does it mean for them to live life abundantly? Are the choices they make in life, or will make this year, lead to life abundantly, or mediocrity?
As I was thinking about this passage a quote from C. S. Lewis arose to my mind, so I want to leave you with this powerful quote.
"If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
CS Lewis, The Weight of Glory
Are you too easily pleased? Are your desires too weak? I think these are good questions to ask ourselves when we think about what it means to live life abundantly.
Posted by rhett at 12:00 AM | Comments (1)
October 03, 2006
Coffee Shop Wi-Fi: Community Building or Isolation Making?
Brent Thomas has a really good post on the Global Ghost Town. Brent writes,
One of the slogans that seems to be a current favorite is that we (with the help of much technology) are creating a "global vilage." The idea is that as technology, particularly communications technology increases, the boundaries that once separated us gradually disappear until we're one big happy family.
But is that truly the result of the "communications revolution" as we know it? I was listening to NPR on Saturday afternoon (sorry, can't remember the program, might have been The World?) and they interviewed a man who owns two coffee shops in Boston. The man was lamenting the fact that because his shops were "wi-fi" hot spots that many people were using them as rent free offices, sitting for hours immersed in their work, often purchasing nothing. He went on to note the change on a larger scale: people used to come to coffee shops to socialize, maybe reading a book, but often stopping for conversation.
This is a great piece and something I struggle with. I love going out with friends to coffee shops. In fact, it is one of my favorite things to do. I tended to set-up shop in coffee shops and study and read long before there was wi-fi, so wi-fi hasn't brought about that habit. The one thing I do make sure is that I am buying coffee or something as long as I am there. And if I'm there quite a while then I will go back up and buy more.
As I was sitting here thinking about this issue I realize that I am quite the addict. I have the Starbucks T-Mobile wi-fi account so I'm good to go in any Starbucks. But there have been many occassions where I don't even go into Starbucks to get any coffee or study, rather I will just pull up along the curb and make sure that I am close enough to receive a signal. Why go in and get coffee when I can be even more isolated and study and do email alone in my car. Man, I'm a loser. It was a really great thing when it was really late at night and I didn't have wi-fi in my apartment back in the day. I sometimes would get in my car and drive to the nearest Starbucks and pull up in the parking lot and get wireless late into the night.
One of my favorite places to meet college students in Westwood is the local Starbucks. But it is insane. When school is in session it is impossible to get a table at all, and it is a huge Starbucks. I will see the same people in there all day and night. It gets so bad that I try and avoid that Starbucks during midterms and finals. Starbucks thought it was a bad enough problem that they removed all the outlets in the store. I suppose they were hoping that once the battery was dead, well, then the students would have to leave. That doesn't seem to slow things down and in fact I think it has caused more of a backlash in some ways.
And though we often move into very private and individual lives hiding behind our computers, I still see the community presence that coffee shops create on college campuses. Though people are studying, they are no longer holed up, hiding quietly in the library studying. Rather, they have found ways to bring their homework into the community setting. What's better than sitting behind a computer, studying? Sitting behind a computer, sitting next to friends who are sitting behind computers studying. So I have mixed emotions regarding this issue. I think that technology has moved us into some very isolated areas of our life. I mean, I'm sitting here at 11:37pm blogging alone on my couch when I should be in bed with my wife.
I think that what we are seeing in coffee shops is often a gathering of people who feel isolated at work or home and are hoping to find community with others, even if it means that they share the same space and not conversation.
Posted by rhett at 11:24 PM | Comments (1)
October 02, 2006
Scot McKnight on the hermeneutics of women and ministry...
Scot McKnight has another great post in his series on Women and Ministry. In his latest post Woman and Ministry: Hermeneutics, Scot says,
Would anyone disagree that slavery is overturned, not by looking at passages that seem to affirm it (say Philemon), but by looking at passages that provide a more central, theological core that transcends even what was permissible in the Bible? Say, Galatians 3:28. What brought Gal 3:28 to the fore was not simple exegesis, but the hard-core reality of the despicable nature of slavery and the ends to which some were taking it. There is ongoing development within the pages of the Bible; does that not keep on going in the Church? What is sometimes only in introductory form becomes more central over time.
Today let's keep the discussion to this hermeneutical point: that, at times, we learn some practices rooted in some texts are overturned by the deeper implications of other texts.
women in ministry, theology, Scot McKnight
Posted by rhett at 11:34 PM | Comments (0)
College Ministry: Living Counterculturally, by Taking on Flesh
Let me state my thesis: "Central doctrines of Christianity prompted and sustained attractive, liberating, and effective social relations and organizations."
I believe that it was the religion's particular doctrines that permitted Christianity to be among the most sweeping and successful revitalization movements in history. And it was the way these doctrines took on actual flesh, the way they directed organizational actions and individual behavior, that led to the rise of Christianity.
The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries by Rodney Stark pp. 211
This quote really stuck out to me as I have been reading through Stark's book. And what really stuck out to me was the phrase, And it was the way these doctrines took on actual flesh, the way they directed organizational actions and individual behavior, that led to the rise of Christianity. This idea of taking on actual flesh is crucial, and the apostle John expresses it in a very beautiful passage in John 1:14, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."
God took on flesh in the form of Jesus Christ. And we as Christians live out the doctrines of our Christian faith in the flesh. This is the distinguishing factor between a theology that is simply intellectual and processed in the head and intellect, and one that is actually lived out and practiced. This is something that is very important to me right now because I have noticed a tendency in our college ministry at times to separate our doctrines from our actions. We know what we believe, but we sometimes fail to practice it. This is not limited to college ministry, but is prevalent in the Church as well.
One of the things that I am trying really hard to impress on my college students this year is the importance of their beliefs, their theology, their doctrines, of taking on actual flesh. That they practice what they believe, and not simply leave it to an intellectual pursuit which can be very easy to do in college. College is a lot about life in the classroom, and if we are not careful, our Christian faith in college can be left in the classroom, but not lived out in the dorms, apartments, social circles, work, etc.
My college students very much want to be people who live counterculturally. And I am proud of the way that they often live counterculturally on their campuses. But to live this way requires that we simply just don't talk our faith. That we simply don't argue apologetics. That we simply don't point fingers at who is right or wrong. That we simply don't judge others. That we simply don't rebel against theological conservatism or liberalism. All in the hopes of being counterculture. Rather, it is about them, and it is about us actually practicing what we preach to use an old cliche. This practicing of the faith is what Stark believes was one of the most attractive elements to Christianity.
As Christianity found itself in the midst of Rome and a lot of the pagan culture, it was the way that those who called themselves Christians lived, that actually set them apart. It was the way they practiced their beliefs and doctrines that was attractive to Rome and to those in need.
There are many ways to practically live out a countercultural life as a college student during your college years. But the most vital aspect is that your doctrines and beliefs about God and Christianity are lived out in the flesh. That you as a person in the flesh live out those doctrines for those and to those around you.
college ministry, The Quest, Rodney Stark
Posted by rhett at 10:31 PM | Comments (1)
