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March 23, 2007
Evangelical Christians and the revolution...
What Lessons Can Progressives Learn from Evangelicals Great article.
HT: Zach Lind
It has a heavy focus on people like Rob Bell, Shane Claiborne, Jim Wallis and Gregory Boyd.
revolution, Christian evangelicals
Posted by rhett at 09:55 AM | Comments (0)
Kierkegaard in Shane Claiborne's book
One of the most influential writers/thinkers/philosophers in my life has been the work of Soren Kierkegaard. Ever since I read his work Fear and Trembling in 1999 it has radically affected many of my views.
If you don't know much about Kierkegaard (he led an amazing and fascinating life), read more here about the Christian existentialist and theologian/philosopher/etc/etc.
One of the reasons that I bring up Kierkegaard is because I came across a phenomenal quote from him in the book by Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical. Shane quotes Kierkegaard here saying:
The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church's prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament. (pp. 71-71)
OUCH!!!
Shane Claiborne, Soren Kierkegaard
Posted by rhett at 09:09 AM | Comments (0)
March 22, 2007
Dr. Mouw discusses homosexuality on NPR
What Do We Really Think About Homosexuality?
Dr. Mouw is always well spoken and I'm glad to say that I'm a Fuller Alum and a current student.
homosexuality, Dr. Richard Mouw
Posted by rhett at 11:13 AM | Comments (2)
March 19, 2007
Showing college students how Christians live...
If you are wondering where my series on Vocation and Identity went, well, I will be picking that up again real shortly. As I'm looking back over the last few months it's quite obvious that my blogging has taken a hit when it comes to the number of posts. I can blame it on busyness, but we are all very busy. But I think that what is really happening is that I've been processing a lot, transitioning into new things in my life and I'm also really wrestling with a lot of things which don't leave much time for blogging. Nor do I feel like I'm in a place to put these things down into words. I have needed the space to just be....to contemplate and question, etc.
But one of the things that I have been thinking through a lot is what our college ministry is going to look like next year. It has become obvious to me and to others over the course of this year that the old model we have been operating under just doesn't seem to be working anymore. What is that old model? I don't want to get into super details, but I will say this. For a long time we have been relying on students coming to our group out of history, reputation, size, etc., etc., yet at the same time I think we have failed to reach out or take a missional perspective to campus ministry. I know missional is a buzzword, but I am using it in the sense of seeing the campus as a mission field and our students as missionaries, rather than putting on a good program and expecting that to draw a crowd....which it has done for a long time and we have been successful at it. We have expected people to come up to our program and they always have, but what about our perspective on outreach, etc.
So I have been wondering a lot recently about where we put our focus and emphasis this next year. We have been asking students to come to church on Sunday, to come to college group on Wednesday, to be a part of a small group, serve in the community and the church, etc, etc. It seems like we have been filling up their lives and schedules with a lot of busyness...with a lot of info. But I'm wondering instead what it is we really have been giving them.
Have we been giving them, or helping them find lives that they are passionate about? Or are we just asking them to give their time, sit in a pew so we can give them the right information, they can regurgitate it and then they are one of us?
Shane Claiborne in his challenging book The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical says this: "I was just another believer. I believed all the right stuff--that Jesus is the Son of God, died and rose again. I had become a 'believer,' but I had no idea what it means to be a follower. People had taught me what Christians believe, but no one had told me how Christians live."
I've been wondering if I, if we, if the Church has been telling and showing people how Christians live? Have I been showing that to my college students? Does our ministry reflect a ministry that shows Christians not only what they believe, but how they should live?
This is what I'm pondering right now...and where do we go from here?
There are many reasons why I'm pondering these things, but Shane's book has been a recent catalyst that has left my head spinning and I'm afraid I'll never be the same. It's radically shifting some of my views.
Posted by rhett at 11:33 PM | Comments (3)
March 09, 2007
Last night with Rob Bell....
Last night, Rob Bell came to UCLA on his fifth stop on the Sex God Tour which is visiting six college campuses. Overall, let me just say that it was a great, great night.
Let me begin with Rob Bell first. I have had the opportunity to work with and bring in some speakers, writers, pastors, musicians, etc. during my time as the college pastor of The Quest, and Rob has been one of the easiest, most laid back and fun to work with. Our college ministry were the campus hosts for this event as we helped partner with Zondervan, Nooma and Flannel last night. So it was a great opportunity to meet and hang out with Rob. Rob showed up at about 5:30 and spent the next couple of hours eating dinner with my student leaders who were helping with the event. He also spent a good portion of that time just going outside and sitting with everyone in line and talking with them. I have never seen any speaker do this before....actually go outside and hang out in line with everyone. I'm sure the 4 guys at the front who flew in from Texas that morning just for the event were excited about that.
As time began to get closer to the doors opening at 7pm there was alread a line of a couple of hundred people waiting, and by the time we began at 8pm the house was about full of 500 plus college students, young adults, seminary students, middle aged parents, pastors, etc., etc. It was a pretty mixed crowd and CNN was there to interview and ask questions of those arriving and to film part of the event.
Being at a Rob Bell event is quite different than other events. There is an excitement and anticipation in the air that is hard to find other places. It was a kick back environment at the UCLA theater and as the music was playing Rob quickly rushed onto stage to cheers, camera flashes and clapping. He quickly took his seat in a relaxed posture on the stool and basically began by asking the question, "So what do you want to talk about tonight?" With the crowd responding "Sex."
The audience was caught off guard as Rob stated that he didn't really want to talk about his book, but would rather just do a Q and A about the book, sex or any other topic under the sun. And so it began, and after an hour and ten minutes of some of the most engaging conversation and Q and A that I have been a part of the night was over. At 9:10pm NOOMA came out and showed us the yet to be released video "You" and then Rob stuck around till about 11pm to sign books, take photos, answer questions, until the theater finally kicked us all out.
Questions ranged from the topic of homosexuality, to questions about the relationship between God and sex, to questions on different parts of the Old and New Testament text, etc. The students were prepared with great questions and Rob was superb in his handling of them.
Let me say a few things about why I think this event worked so well:
1) Rob is authentic and funny and it is obvious and real to the audience. This type of event doesn't work with the other 95% of the people who would try something like this. There is something intangible there that the audience eats up.
2) Rob is super relaxed and warm to talk to and on many occassions last night students gave feedback about how much they loved the form of the night, i.e. Rob on a stool answering questions.
3) Rob has the amazing ability to take people's questions, mutterings, scattered thoughts, etc., and to reframe them in a much larger context that gets at the heart of the matter. Most times the initial question by the student was reframed by Rob in a much more powerful way.
4) Rob is vulnerable. How many pastors get up there and talk about their struggles with depression and that they see a therapist every week. I can't name any. That resonated with many students as a lot of college kids struggle with their own depression and stress in life.
5) Rob is not above it. Meaning, he's not the speaker who comes in, does his spiel and then bolts. He took time for everyone and it was clear that by the end of the night he was someone speaking as part of the group, rather than someone speaking up and over and against the group without the context of the community in mind. This event was communal and it was shared.
Obviously it seems like I'm gushing over Rob and the event. Well, the event went way better than I could have imagined and my time with Rob was great. He was thoughtful and warm and as I walked him and his crew out to the car he said goodbye, and in so doing, he quoted back to me some details of an earlier conversation that night between he, myself and my wife that showed me that he was a good listener....really listening and caring.
As for the questions and answers. There were some answers that I wish I had more time to sit down with Rob and discuss. And others I felt like he hit out of the park and I was just one of 500 in unison saying "hmmmm" and "ahhhh" as the answers left his mouth. Rob would often come at a question from every possible angle and then drop it in your lap without giving the black and white answer that we often want spoonfed to us. Rather, it forced all of us to wrestle with the questions ourselves, rather than just regurgitating what some pastor or leader says without giving it much thought. Rob required that we do the hard work, and this in time when many churches and laity don't want to do the work, and when many pastors possibly prefer that they don't do the hardwork, but rather just listen to what they (the pastor) has to say without much thought.
It was a different night, and whatever you make of Bell he is a great communicator and a revolutionary force in Christianity that many are attracted to.
Posted by rhett at 01:53 PM | Comments (4)
March 06, 2007
What's Happening?
Well, not that you come to my blog anxiously awaiting my posts, but if you do, sorry I haven't been posting. Life has been crazy and blogging seems to be the last thing on my mind.
On Sunday I finished the LA Marathon which was great. That was my second marathon in four and half months, so I'm ready for a rest. I ran the Chicago in October in 4:13 and I ran Sunday's race in 4:06:15, so I feel pretty good about that.
In the next couple of weeks things will be literally falling off my plate and I hope to have more time to invest in blogging. The quarter is over this week and I only have one quarter left. My practicum ends in 6 weeks. So that will be nice.
And this Thursday is my primary focus right now. We are helping host Rob Bell on the Sex God Tour at UCLA.
It starts at 8pm. Doors open at 7pm. We are expecting a crowd since this is only one of two campuses in California that he will be speaking at. The theater has a capacity of about 560, so once we fill that the doors will close. So I suggest that you get out there early to line up for the event if you are planning on coming. If you have questions, let me know.
Posted by rhett at 03:43 PM | Comments (1)
