theEclecticSoul

New Blog

2007-03-27T12:27:00.000-04:00

Beginning today I began a new Typepad blog. For the foreseeable future you can find me blogging here.
Peace,
E

I Love Me My iMac

2007-03-26T23:03:00.000-04:00

I just took my new iMac out of the box tonight and set it up. I must admit that I want to hug this machine. Not only is it beautiful but it is amazingly functional in it's use of space. I'm speechless and want to cry [OK maybe not cry, but it's beautiful]. I feel as though I've come home again. Thank you to my fellow Mac lovers and supporters who have shown me the light, especially Father Alan. I will never go back I say....NEVER!!!

MadTV - iRack

2007-03-25T00:09:00.001-04:00

This is funny!

I Did It....FINALLY!

2007-03-09T15:34:00.000-05:00

Back in "the day" [college that is] I was a rabid Mac user. In seminary, I got lured to the dark side of the PC world, a world I have pretty much resented these many years. Having invested quite a bit in some programs I have longed to return home but every time heard the "cha-ching" of dollar signs.

My D--- computer [I'm trying to protect the guilty] finally crapped out for the last time. I have been researching Macs again over these last several months a finally said, "enough is enough!"

It arrives on the 14th, a beautiful iMac. I can't wait to get it out of the box.

Pray for me Father Alan, I may call you for advice.

Peace,

Just In Case You Ever Wondered...

2007-03-07T11:21:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I work more than just an hour on Sunday.

Some Important Reading for Those Who Lead God's People

2007-02-16T22:08:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Andrew Jones I came across a webstite called "Lettersfromleavers." These are letters from people who have just about given up on the church although many express a sincere love for God.

Now, before we bicker about our ecclesiology and what these people's theology is about. Just read them and be disturbed and hopeful at the same time.

What do you think?

Peace,

E

Thaw out the Pagitt's Campaign

2007-02-13T11:21:00.000-05:00

Doug Pagitt's furnace died over the last week and I'm beginning the "Thaw out the Pagitt's" Boby Prayer book campaign. To help thaw a brother out purchase a copy of Body Prayer...a great book for a great cause.

Peace,

E

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

2007-02-02T23:42:00.000-05:00

Look to the Weather Channel icon at the right....yeah it's that cold! And, tomorrow we're supposed to have a HIGH of -2.

Scott McKnight on the Emerging Church

2007-01-20T23:42:00.000-05:00

Here you'll find a great article by Scot McKnight on the five streams of the emerging church. For all of you out there who ever wondered...this is worth the read.

Peace,

E

24...The Journey Begins.

2007-01-20T22:22:00.000-05:00

I'm sort of a latecomer to this 24 craze. I've caught a few episodes here and there and I must admit they were pretty captivating. Doug Pagitt was here this past week [sacrificing part one of the 4 hour premiere...thanks Doug] and we talked a bit about the phenomena. I went to the video store to rent season one only to find out they were missing the first disk..what the !?!?!? So when I happened upon season one at Walmart for the low low price of $16.00 you can only imagine my delight. So the journey begins. Jack Bauer.....here I come.

Peace,

Reflections of a Pagittarian

2007-01-18T20:09:00.000-05:00

As promised here are some additional reflections on my time with Doug Pagitt…

I’ve been thinking for some time now about what happens when a specific religious expression, namely my own, Christianity, gets encapsulated in the interpretative lens of one primary cultural expression. For me the cultural level embodies, technological, industrial, sociological and scientific[al] (hey I had a run going with the ---al words) discoveries and advances, just to name a few. To be sure, at least in my observation, our cultural context has had a significant influence on the expressions of the Church throughout the centuries, and that I think, is to be expected. But what happens when we start interpreting the Scriptures, doctrines and traditions of our within the context of those primary influences alone and without critical evaluation?

You see I really don’t think that we, particularly in the western world, understand the degree to which the way we do theology and even read and understand the Scriptures has been influenced by the larger cultural developmental processes.

From the introduction of Greek philosophical dualism, to, as Pagitt would put it, the influence of Newtonian physics with regard to the ways in which we understand the nature of faith and the nature of God, how we have understood, appropriated and shared our faith has been hijacked at times by these ideals.

For me, the problem isn’t that this happens, in fact it’s natural. What is problematic is when the influences seep in and we are oblivious to them; we become comfortable and complacent with the way our faith has, as we have come to believe, has always been expressed.

As men and women, created in the image of God, when we attempt to speak of God we are properly “doing” theology; attempting to, as feeble as our attempt may be, to speak an accurate and meaningful word[s] as best we can about the being that we believe to have relationship with.

For me the question becomes, why is it that we become so afraid to re-imagine [to be sure a loaded and dangerous word to some] our theological constructs. That’s not to suggest that we toss out hundreds if not thousands of years of church history. Rather, we, like those who came before, wrestle with the textus receptus, with the understandings of women and men who went before us, with the traditions of the catholic Church, in order to speak of God [do theology] into our own cultural context.

To me this gets at this whole idea of “what” we believe versus “why” we believe. You and I can and probably do believe a great many things for which we really don’t have a good answer to the question of why we believe them. To suggest that we are simply the recipients of the hard and arduous task of our ancestors seems to allow us off the hook too easily.

Now, before anyone crucifies me, I am not suggesting that everything is up for grabs. During our time together, we spoke at great length about a “core” or central set of truth during our time together. For me, that truth is not as much propositional [the way we are most prone to understand it and defend it] as much as it is relational. What I mean is this: I don’t believe in God because I hold to a set of propositional truth statements about who God is and who Jesus is in relation to God [although they may be true enough]. I believe in God because I have a vital, ongoing and passionate relationship with him through Christ that I experience in some real way every day. The “truths” may be true well enough, but in the end, if our relationship with God is just that a relationship one – one that can be experienced and shared – then conceding belief to a mental assent to a set of propositional truths will never fill the bill.
I think I can safely say that nowhere within at least the Gospels, do I see Jesus imploring others to believe in him or his ministry through the appropriation of a certain set of propositional truths about him.

For me, the central core – the hinge pin of our faith – is the love of God expressed in the life and ministry, death and resurrection of God’s son Jesus the Christ. This in and of itself is relational in nature in that God’s action in Jesus reconciles the world to himself so that you and I might have, what, relationship with God.

Well, that’s enough for know. These are just some random thoughts starting to congeal in by brain. Stay tuned for more…

Peace,

E

The Day Doug Pagitt Came To Town

2007-01-17T20:27:00.000-05:00

Monday and Tuesday the pastors in our District of the UMC had the opportunity to sit at the feet of Doug Pagitt to "git us some learnin' 'bout Emergent and the emerging church." It was a truly great experience. If any of you have the chance to book Doug to do a retreat then you best do it.

Most of the pastors in my area knew little or nothing about Emergent or the emerging church [yep it's true] so they got indoctrinated proper.

One thing that I really appreciated about Doug, besides his keen and quick mind, was his ability to roll with the culture of a given group, giving time to chase rabbits that people feel they needed to chase. I think that all of us gathered appreciated that.

We began and ended each session with a Body Prayer [if you haven't yet bought the book then get out and by it] which was really and great way to remind us that prayer is so much more than a mere mental exercise. We covered everything from Newtonian physics and its influence on the evangelistic models of most of the later part of the last century [I know, it just blows your mind doesnt it?] to examining and talking about what it looks like to truly be a incarnational and relational model of the kingdom of God as we live together in our various faith communities.

I'm still reflecting on a lot of what we covered so stay tuned for more posts.

Oh, yeah, since I haven't posted since Christmas...happy new year to y'all.

Peace,

Merry Christmas

2006-12-24T16:13:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to wish all my faithful readers [however many or few] a very Merry Christmas.

Peace,

Budding Catholics

2006-12-16T21:52:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, in addition to the Disney Channel and Nick Jr. a new favorite channel has emerged in our home among our youngest members. So, what channel is it you ask? E W T N. Yes, that's right the Catholic Channel.

On more than one occasion over the last several weeks as my wife and I have "surfed" both of my boys [4 and 2] have begged us to stop and watch EWTN. They just don't like it, they are mezmerized by it; eyes bulging and all, desperately trying to take it all in.

This morning was no exception. Calvin was watching Mother Angelica, an older nun [who I can't remember if is now deceased or not, it seems to me I read something somewhere that said she had suffered a stroke] who was simply reciting the rosary; a beautiful Catholic prayer.

As she recited it, she would come to those places where she would say "amen." And, in reply, without missing a beat Calvin would say "amen." When Lisa went down to our TV room to see what the kids were doing, Calvin begged her to sit with him. And, continuing to watch Mother Angelica recite the rosary, he would say "amen" at the appropriate time [mind you he's only 2 1/2]. When Lisa, my wife failed to say "amen" with him, he looked at her grabbed her arm and said, "Amen, Mommy...Amen." Lisa would agree in prayer, saying "amen" and then all was right with the world. This went on for several minutes and then finally Calvin succumbed to the pull of his toys.

I don't know, maybe this Methodist pastor is raising a couple of Catholic priests. It was hilarious to watch Brennan and Calvin so caught up in Mother Angelica and other EWTN offerings. But as they say, perhaps "a child shall lead them."

Grace & Peace,

E

Lutheran Advent Calendar

2006-12-15T00:43:00.000-05:00

Fellow blogger Steve McCoy posted this today. It was so funny I had to make it my own. So I raise my glass to all my Lutheran sisters and brothers!

Anderson Cooper 360

2006-12-15T00:24:00.000-05:00

Just finished watching AC 360 on CNN featuring the question: What Is A Christian. In a word, at least according to the potrait painted the answer is clear: DIVERSE.

It's always amazing to see what news shows and the like choose to highlight and not highlight in a segement or special report regarding the Christian faith. All in all I must say that at this point [at 12:10 a.m. immediately following the show] I felt that although many vital expressions of our faith were left out, especially those more post-modern in nature such as the emerging or emergent church which were almost absent save for a brief segment featuring Imago Dei in Portland and a soundbite from Erwin McManus, it was fairly even handed it its potrayal.

It seemed to me that it portrayed a faith that is diverse as it is deep. From the fundamental right [in which they seemed lump together anyone who would label themselves evangelicals] to the religious left to the name-it-and-claim-it movement each segment was interesting and provocative.

One of the most interesting segments was the part dealing with the birth of Christian Zionism; a passionate support of Israel as a state and a people by a portion of the Christian church. There seemed to be no distinction made between Israel as God's chosen people through whom God desires to bless the world [via the convenant with Abraham] and the nation or national identity of what is the culture of modern Israel.

Another interesting segement dealt with the passionate preaching of the first featured pastor [who I will admit, I'm so tired his name escapes me] who when asked by the reporter if he really thought that the state of "war" between Christ and the culture was truly as embittered as it is, proceeded to quote Jesus' rebuke to the Scribes and Pharisees in telling them that despite how good they looked on the outside inside they were full of dead mens bones. It seems to me that Jesus was talking to the religious elite of his day - the church if you will allow me that comparison - and not the world at large that is authentically steeped in brokeness. It's always amazing how often Jesus gets quoted out of context. The word there clearly isn't for the world - the "evil" culture. Rather its offered toward a religious system that had largely yielded to the disease of spiritual amnesia.

Well. that's all I got for now...I'm tired.

Peace,

E

Just in you case you ever wondered...

2006-12-13T09:30:00.000-05:00

You scored as Chalcedon compliant. You are Chalcedon compliant. Congratulations, you're not a heretic. You believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man and like us in every respect, apart from sin. Officially approved in 451.

Chalcedon compliant

83%

Nestorianism

33%

Adoptionist

33%

Pelagianism

33%

Monophysitism

33%

Apollanarian

17%

Monarchianism

Arianism

Docetism

Donatism

Albigensianism

Modalism

Gnosticism

Socinianism

Are you a heretic?
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2006-12-10T10:19:00.002-05:00

I'm a Christ Follower (Mac vs. PC Parody) Part 04

...Part 4...and my favorite!

2006-12-10T10:19:00.001-05:00

I'm a Christ Follower (Mac vs. PC Parody) Part 03

...Part 3

2006-12-10T10:19:00.000-05:00

I'm a Christ Follower (Mac vs. PC Parody) Part 02

Part 2

2006-12-10T10:18:00.000-05:00

I'm a Christ Follower (Mac vs. PC Parody) Part 01

Check out this funny series of Apple parody videos regarding life and faith. They're hysterical!

I've Been "Southparked"

2006-12-08T15:00:00.000-05:00

2006-11-07T10:55:00.000-05:00

'Nough said!

E

Spidey & His Sidekick Elmo Battle the Forces of Evil

2006-11-01T09:43:00.000-05:00

Changing of the Guard

2006-10-30T14:16:00.000-05:00

I just spent the last several minutes watching an address by J. Elsworth Kalas, the new interim president of my alma mater, Asbury Theological Seminary [find it here].

The change in leadership that has taken place at the seminary over the last few days has been embroiled in some controversy as the direct reasons for a presidential shift haven't really been forthcoming. They [the Board and the powers that be] have ruled out the "biggies:" sexual immorality, fiscal irresponsibility and the like. Nevertheless, the Board of Trustees of the seminary, and their new interim president, Dr. Kalas, have felt as though silence is the best way ahead at least for now.

If we were honest, most of us are not fond of silence. We feel as though we ought to have a right to know about the inner workings of a group of people who hold power; whether it be at the levels of local, state or national government, the church, and certainly institutions that have come to mean so much to us, so much that we have supported them with our hard earned dollars.

As I watched the address and really listened to the words what I found was a sincere, prayerful and heartfelt address by a gentleman I believe that God has his hand upon. I felt as though I could trust in his leadership and trust that as he felt fit, we as alumni would have the information that we need when we need it. And, at the end, Dr. Kalas did what few public figures really do well: he empathized with a community that had be kept in the dark.

To be sure, in the church [and in its parachurch organizations] we like to claim that we live by Matthew 18. However, I think that when a public figure, like a seminary president, works the matter out with the person or the party involved, instead of having an issue[s]dragged before the "church" our imaginations are in danger of getting the best of us because we haven't been involved in a dialogue that we really have no business in in the first place.

Everybody likes scandal...we all stop to watch the train wreck. But perhaps instead of taking the posture of a gawker, might I suggest that we assume the posture of a pray-er; trust, believe, and continue to support until the information we are given leads us in other directions.

Praying & Trusting,

E

NO on 2

2006-10-27T15:23:00.000-04:00

Editors Note: This is written in my capacity as a private citizen, not as the pastor of the Mitchell United Methodist Church.

Thanks for the tagline Jay

Inside the Mind of Ben Stein

2006-10-24T11:17:00.000-04:00

I had one of those chain emails sent to me today...honestly I really don't like them and rarely read them. But, this one came from a good friend so I did.

Needless to say, I was afraid that this was more urban legend than truth so I went to a website to check it out. Turns out it was mostly true. Only the end of the message had been altared.

So it seems that during the last Christmas season Ben Stein did a commentary for CBS and this is waht he had to say....this mind you is a transcript of the original not the ammended false email I got.

I thought it was pretty interesting, with Christmas just a few months away.

Enjoy,

E

CHARLES OSGOOD, host: We all have our own thoughts about the holidays. Here's Ben Stein with his.

BEN STEIN: Here at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart. I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are.

(Footage of People magazine; Us magazine)

STEIN: I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I'm buying my dog biscuits. I still don't know. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores who they are. They don't know who Nick and Jessica are, either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they've broken up? Why are they so darned important?

(Footage of People magazine)

STEIN: I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I don't care at all about Tom Cruise's baby.

(Vintage footage of congressional hearing)

STEIN: Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I'm a subversive? Maybe. But I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young? Hm, not so bad.

Next confession: I am a Jew and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish, and it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautifully lit-up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees.

(Footage of Christmas trees)

STEIN: I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are — Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they're slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. I shows that we're all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year.

It doesn't bother me one bit that there's a manger scene on display at a key intersection at my beach house in Malibu.

(Footage of manger scene; menorah)

STEIN: If people want a creche, fine. The menorah a few hundred yards away is fine, too. I do not like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat. Or maybe I can put it another way. Where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and aren't allowed to worship God as we understand him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we used to know went to.

My Take on the Kingdom

2006-10-07T22:32:00.000-04:00

You scored as The Kingdom is mystical communion. The Kingdom is mostly mystical communion. You place a strong emphasis on continuity with those who have gone before you in the faith, and you might see the Kingdom of God as primarily a matter of spirituality.

The Kingdom is mystical communion

67%

Kingdom as a Christianised Society

67%

The Kingdom as Earthly Utopia

67%

The Kingdom as a counter-system

33%

The Kingdom as a political state

33%

The Kingdom is a Future Hope

25%

Inner spiritual experience

The Kingdom as Institutional Church

What is the Kingdom of God?
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Jesus Camp

2006-09-27T16:15:00.000-04:00

Just saw a trailer for the upcoming movie "Jesus Camp." To be completely honest, some of what I saw was a bit disturbing. Not sure what to make of it yet. Granted agree that more often than not the media doesn't paint Christians in a very positive light. But some of what I have seen and read likens this to the equivalent of the birth of the Crusades 2.0.

What do you think? Click on the link and see for yourselves.

God & Gender

2006-09-25T14:47:00.000-04:00

Since my days in seminary I have become much more comfortable about gender issues inherent in our Christian history. For example, I applaud and use my self a gender inclusive translation [TNIV] of the Scriptures for my personal study and corporate worship.

I too do believe that language has indeed shifted from a "mankind" usage that we typical used to define all of the human race, to more of a "humankind" understanding. Yet there are those times when we talk about God; when we force ourselves to do those verbal gymnastics in the name of political correctness or our insatiable desire not to offend someone, when I find myself rolling my eyes.

Now, in order to avoid a lengthy exchange back and forth between commentors and this author, I will and do affirm that God, whom Jesus addressed as "Abba" transcends gender although we have typically used male pronouns when we speak of God. I also affirm that the only "male" person of the Trinity is Jesus.

Yet in all our contortions not to offend someone with some sort of masculine hierarchy might I suggest that we might be reacting to something that isn't really a problem for most people?

I have heard it said that using male God language is not only offensive to some but could also be hurtful [to which I heartily agree]. But could we have thrown the baby out with the bath water? Might there be a good reason to address the Abba of Jesus in masculine terms still in our postmodern culture?

Here's an experience I had on Sunday afternoon....

I'm the Spiritual Director for our Emmaus community here in the UP. Sunday was the closing worship for the women's walk and as the community Spiritual Director, I am responsible for officiating the communion liturgy. What this affords me, among many other things, is the opportunity to listen to the testimonies of what God has done in the lives of these, in this particular case, women.

One woman got up and gave a rather long story of her journey from Judaism to Christianity that was really beautiful. As she concluded she said this:

"And I am so happy that from this point forward I will always have a man in my life. A man who will love me for who I am. A man who won't judge me by how much I eat or how much weight I gain of loose. A man who will always be faithful. A man who will respect me and honor me. A man whom I can trust with my whole life and hold nothing back.

You can hear the echoes of old wounds in her words can't you. She has most obviously been betrayed, wounded, possibly even abused by the opposite sex. But this is why I think it is so important that she has come to this understanding of God. To realize that although God transcends gender, within the Scriptures God is most often referred to in the masculine; as a lover who has been betrayed by the object of his affection yet still as one who passionately pursues; as a husband who waits patiently for his prostitute wife to return; as a groom who anxiously awaits his consummation with his bride.

I couldn't help but believe that perhaps for the first time in a while this women found wholeness, healing, and restoration in the arms of a man who will never leave or forsake her.

Is God a man, no. Is God a women, no. But God is the one who meets all of us in and through the work of God's son so that we might experience, wholeness, restoration, and redemption and offer that same grace to others.

It was a beautiful sight!

Grace & Peace,

E

A Cultural Icon Moves Into Marquette

2006-09-23T21:37:00.000-04:00

Yes, that's right friends, even here in the Great White North, we too can sit wrapped inside the warmth of a Caramel Macchiato while we listen to sleigh bells ring.

This week with much fanfare [and this authors eager anticipation] Starbucks opened its first commerical store in the city of Marquette [and there was much rejoicing, yay!].

Seriously, I stopped by today simply to get a grande houseblend and it was like Grand Central Station. For a moment I thought I was back in the Ann Arbor area.

Our local TV station even covered the opening!

Thanks be to God for Starbucks coffee!

Can I get an amen?

Peace & Whole Beans,

Eric

Change

2006-09-19T15:46:00.000-04:00

Been thinkin' about change and the church for the last several years; thinking about how we can become so stuck in what we feel is "sacred" and how the term "sacred" that I just used really might have absolutely nothing to do with Christianity, doctrine, or the Scriptures.

We become so accustomed of "doing" church in the same way and are often so hesitant of exploring new methods of communicating this ancient and sacred message.

I will blog more about this in the days ahead but when I saw this TGI Friday's commercial the other day it occurred to me that this is often very similar to how local churches [or even denominational structures for that matter] view the necessity for change.

What do you think?

Peace,

E

Spongbob and the Antichrist

2006-09-19T10:43:00.000-04:00

At our home most everyone is welcome. Stop on by and we'll put on some coffee and sit and chat. But there is one person who isn't welcome: Spongebob. According to my wife, Spongebob is the Antichrist.

My wife has an aversion to the spongelike underwater cartoon character and insists that he is "stupid" and his cartoon is "gross." Now I seriously doubt as to whether or not she has seen an entire episode but nonetheless we couldn't ever be accused of being part of the Spongebob Fan club [in all fairness I have a severe dislike of Barney and to this day Barney has not spent too much time in our home].

Well to get on with the story...on Monday the 11th of September I celebrated the birth of my 37th year on this planet. My four year old Brennan was dead set on daddy having both a birthday party and a cake. When his mom told him that we probably wouldn't have a birthday party [except just for the four of us] she did say that they together were going to make a cake. To which Brennan replied, "let's make daddy a Spongebob cake."

Now you need to understand, my son has never seen an episode of Spongebob Squarepants. Someone once gave him a sippy cup for a birthday with Spongebob on it but that's really the only exposure he has had. In fact if you ask [or even if you don't] he will tell you that his "mommy doesn't let me watch Spongebob." A few months back he fell and we sprained his elbow and when we went to get the x-ray the tech gave him a Spongebob sticker for being such a good patient. He then went into his "I can't watch Spongebob" routine. The x-ray tech looked at us in horror.

Anyway....when I came home from work on my birthday Lisa was putting the finishing touches on her very first [mine too] Spongebob cake. She downloaded a picture form the internet and put it together in a half an hour.

Thanks hon for the cake...and thanks too to you Brennan for loving your daddy so much!

Peace,

Eric

My Son...Goat Proctologist

2006-09-19T10:36:00.000-04:00

We took the kids to the Toledo Zoo [yes Toledo Ohio] this past August and Lisa caught my youngest son getting the low down on the southern end of a north bound goat. They say a pictures worth a thousand words and this one might fill the bill.

Thought I would just offer you all a good laugh for the day.

And...yes, we caught him before he began to yield to his 2 year old curiosity.

Have a good one.

E

Hot Dogs & Immigration

2006-09-12T13:43:00.000-04:00

At the start let me offer this disclaimer: I in no way have thought the implications out thoroughly of the post below. These are simply random thoughts that struck this afternoon during lunch. They do not reflect the opinions or views of any in the hot dog industry. Your replies, challenges, etc are welcomed.

I was eating a nitratesicle [aka a hot dog] for lunch today, something I don't do very often, but there in the house because the kids enjoy them. And let me just get this out of the way; if you are going to eat a hotdog it may as well be one in the real casing. May I recommend Kogel or something similar.

But anyway I digress...

I was enjoying my lunch when I thought about the mighty wiener. Is a hot dog a truly American invention? Did it originate in the US of A? To be sure it is certainly a cousin of the sausage of world wide renown. But is the hotdog an authentically "American" food? Which caused me to think about what foods I would actually classify as uniquely American. My list was shorter than I had originally suspected. Hamburgers, French fries perhaps? Milkshakes? Certainly apple pie would count wouldn't it? Or is it simply a weird cousin of the strudel family?

Then as I was munching on my tube steak I began to think about the hub bub over the current issue of immigration, heightened of course in our post 9/11 America. I honestly don't know exactly stand on the issue, I am in favor of offering some sort of amnesty and I don't believe that you should be allowed to sneak in and freeload if you will. But I have become increasingly uncomfortable with the vehement ramblings of some of our news commentators who I'm sorry to say have a distinct right-ward lean. They spew and spin conspiracy theories and inflame the masses with their opinions. And, frankly, it just makes me a bit uneasy.

As I began to think about the issue of immigration I went back in my 37 year old mind to my elementary school history classes and that famous history put to song "School House Rock." And that's when it happened. It seems to me that this country was itself founded by immigrants. Immigrants who were fleeing political and religious persecution. Immigrants who in turn took land away from those who lived here long before our feet ever touched our sacred shores. And, what have we done with this continent's original inhabitants? Well we give them little swatches of land we call reservations.

We live in the midst of diversity and yet we are seemingly taught to believe that if you are naturalized then you are a "real" American.

I too live in an area that is extremely ethnically diverse [well Anglo-ethnically diverse but diverse nonetheless]. We have proud "Cousin Jacks and Ginnys" who hold to their ethnic traditions such as pasty making [of you haven't had a pasty then let me tell you my friend you have never lived!]. We have "Finlanders" who fill their plates with a dastardly dish called lutefisk [sorry my friends but I can't stomach it]. We have Italians that continue to bless us with pasta and sauces that tantalize the palate.

It just seemed ironic to me, that a country founded on...well immigration really suddenly wants to close its borders tight and allow in only the best of the best. Now I realize that our nation’s security is at real risk and I am not naive enough to believe that everybody who wants it comes in a spirit of altruism. It just seems to me that as we dialogue about the timely issue of immigration it would serve us best if we reread our history perhaps with fresh eyes asking the question: what does it mean to be an American citizen? Because the bottom line is this: everyone who takes breath in the wonderful country of ours can trace his or her lineage to a boat or a plane and perhaps even Ellis Island.

So, have another hotdog my friend and enjoy the ride.

Grace & Peace,

E

Doug Pagitt Is Coming!!!

2006-09-11T11:00:00.000-04:00

That's right folks. I am the chair of our annual District Winter Pastor's Retreat and this year I thought it would be great to have Doug come and present for us. Well with some creative calendaring we have been able to make it happen.

It'll be a great time of listening, learning and living together in community for 2 days. He'll be speaking on some emerging/emergent church issues and hopefully sharing some of his theology of preaching from his book Preaching Reimagined [if you are a communicator of the Scriptures and don't yet have this book for God sakes stop reading this blog and go to Amazon or your local book store and pick it up right now......NOW go ahead I'll wait.....I'm serious! And, while your there pick up Body Prayer and Church Reimagined....come on do it, you won't be disappointed!]

It should be a great time.

E

The First Day of my 37th Year

2006-09-11T10:45:00.000-04:00

"You load Sixteen Tons and what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt..."

That's right folks! Today I continue my inch towards 40 by turning 37. Oh what I though I would accomplish by this time and although I have accomplished much I still yearn for more. Maybe I'm in a mid-life crisis, I'm not sure.

Thanks to all who have sent cards and expressions of "happy birthdayness." It has been appreciated [and you know who you are]. Today is yet another gift from God and I will spend it living the kingdom in the way of Jesus.

Sorry for the lack of deep and penetrating thought regarding the pulsating forward momentum of time. Just wanted to jot a few notes. As always I promise [cross my heart] to become a better and more consistent blogger but most of you have read enough of my random thoughts to know that that probably isn't exactly true. But hey I try.

Grace and Peace everyone!

E

Blue Like Donald Miller

2006-09-02T20:15:00.000-04:00

I've had sitting on my shelf for the last several months Don Millers, Blue Like Jazz. It had come recommended by a trusted friend so I picked it up and put it on my every growing "need to read" shelf in my office [that weekly grows more dense].

I'm really enjoying his approach to faith and how he relates it to the page. It has been extremely refreshing. I've found myself laughing out loud in the middle of the coffee shop. If you want a look at what raw authentic spirituality of the Christian persuasion might look like in the 21st century I would highly recommend it.

I'll post a quote or two in the next several days. In the mean time, go out and by this book.

Peace,

E

Interesting Article

2006-08-23T10:43:00.000-04:00

The LA Times has an interesting article in a recent edition It's seems humorous to me that a paper in a traditionally more progressive part of the nation paints so honest a portrait. I think the thing that bothers me the most is that in some of its points it hits on target. I am one who pastors in one of those "mainline" denominations that the article speaks about. I think the article necessitates the question: have we attempted to be so accomodating that we have lost what it means to be the church in the world in the way of Jesus.

You can laugh it off if you want but I am saddened by what we communicate to the world and how the world views the church of Jesus Christ. When we surrender what makes us unique then what differentiates us from any other social, fraternal or civic movement?

With a heavy heart,

E

OK One More...

2006-08-19T18:15:00.000-04:00

Back By Popular Demand

2006-08-19T18:14:00.000-04:00


In the Spring of 2003, Vintage21 had a four week series on Jesus Christ, taking a deep look at what He said and did. It was difficult at times to get past our preconceived notions that had been developed by staunch, starched Sunday School classes of old. This is a satirical look at what some people think Jesus is like. Thank goodness He's not.

The Long & Short of It

2006-08-18T21:28:00.000-04:00

Yes, yes, children. I know that it's been a month to the day since my last post; and I was doing so well.

The Long of It: Traveling 3 out of the last 5 weeks [week one = vacation; week two = camp with 220 Jr. & Sr. Highers; week three = a conference]. Had some amazing times with family, friends and colleagues.

The Short of It: We're FINALLY home!!! Man it feels good to sink into your own bed.

Peace,

E.

OK. One More

2006-07-18T16:42:00.000-04:00


In the Spring of 2003, Vintage21 had a four week series on Jesus Christ, taking a deep look at what He said and did. It was difficult at times to get past our preconceived notions that had been developed by staunch, starched Sunday School classes of old. This is a satirical look at what some people think Jesus is like. Thank goodness He's not.

OK, You Have to Admit This is Funny!

2006-07-18T16:35:00.000-04:00


My friend sent me this video he found online that a church used for a sermon series on Sunday morning. They used it to point out the many misconceptions people have about Jesus and Christianity. Funny how many people view Jesus is just this way. There are three others which I will post later.

A Rant!

2006-07-18T16:17:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it's just hard to be like Jesus....

I was in our local Alltel store this afternoon on my lunch hour trying to figure out why my cell phone wasn't holding a charge. As is almost always the case, I enter the store just as about everyone else in Marquette does, so needless to say I had to wait a bit.

Sitting next to me was a young women who was there sometime before me who had an autistic, I am assuming, sister. She was so graceful and gentle with this special soul; I was immediately drawn to watching her laugh, kiss and stroke this special young lady who could only utter unintelligible groans.

As I say there more and more people came in; some left when they saw how many people were in the store. But what amazes me is those people who come in and demonstrate by their actions that there time is more precious than yours or mine so they cannot wait. It really, well lets keep it clean by saying, it really makes me mad.

This older women in her 50's or so came in,and she flitted back and forth around the store as if she were looking for her own personal salesperson and as she did, the next salesperson asked who was next, when she cut right in front of this lady and her sister and proceeded to command this salesperson's attention.

The women and her sister made it to the counter where she managed to keep it together. I went up to her and told her that she was being far more gracious than I'm afraid I would have been by then. She smiled and nodded in agreement and said that she had been waiting for 45+ mins [that was 25 mins longer than I].

Needless to say she was taken care of fairly quickly after "little miss I'm too important to wait" got her turn.

Man! Sometimes it's just hard to be like Jesus isn't it!?

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.

Amen.

E

A Rookie Mistake Leads to a Sad Day...

2006-07-18T10:51:00.000-04:00

Well, for most of my almost 37 years I have had the face of a prepubescent teenage boy. I have been cursed with a mere smattering of facial hair. But, about a month ago I sought to rise against my disability and try to grow a full beard [actually it look pretty good - seriously, even my mom thought so].

I really didn't like the beard [very itchy] so I thought that I would experiment with a variety of shapes and sizes of goatees. Well, chin hair really since I can't really grow any connectors [hairs that connect the mustache to the chin whiskers].

I had this beautiful chin goatee [actually I called it a displaced mustache, because that's what it looked like]. This morning I had it in my mind to do some grooming [mind you this had been almost two full months of glorious growth] and here's what happened...

Trim, trim, trim...

*&$@* it!!!!

Trim, trim, trim...

*%#$*!!!!!

Trim, trim, trim...

$*#^ that looks stupid...

[Swallow hard]

Shave it off and start over.

Again I my face bears the resemblance of a plum cherub.

Oh well, I guess I'll start again tomorrow.

Well that's about it. When I came out of the bathroom my wife said, "what happened?" Well I told her and then she had the audacity to tell me she liked me better with it!

O, parting is such sweet sorrow.

Pray for me!

Peace out,

E

!!!Hooray!!! for Us Upper Peninsula United Methodists

2006-07-14T21:57:00.000-04:00

Check this out!

Again! No picture of me! Blast it!

Need-A-Post

2006-07-14T13:55:00.000-04:00

Just some ramblings of events happening of late:

The first part of this week Lisa, the kids and I went to Duluth [yeah Minnesota, the homeland of the great Doug Paggit. We felt his presence that is for sure]. Some may be asking, "Why Duluth!?" Well two of our closest friends from seminary were in the Twin Cities for a wedding and since they figured they would be close to us geographically [closer than Sarasota Florida anyways] they would give us a jingle and see if we could come out an play. It was a less than 72 hour get away but man it was refreshing; good to see old friends too. We haven't seen each other since we graduated [almost 6 years ago] and neither had me the other's kids. We had a blast. We stayed at The Edge water park and resort. We swam so much I think our fish have gills.

It was just a nice reminder that friendships, if they are cultivated, can stand the test of time and distance. It was just so great to get away.

The later part of this week I have been haunted by a "heaviness." I'm not sure if it is because my brother would have been 33 on the 10th of July or what. But I just haven't been able to shake it. It's makin' me quite the bear to be around...pray for my family [grin, grin, wink, wink].

Well that's all for today kids, not witty humor, no deep thoughts. Just celebrating the magnificence of the ordinary.

Peace,

E

Bye Bye Nookie

2006-07-04T12:42:00.000-04:00

About a week ago, my lovely wife and I decided it was time to let our youngest experience the world without the security of his "nookie;" that pacifier pastime that brought him so much silicon pleasure.

We had a little "ceremony" where we tied two of the said "nookies" to some helium ballons and released them to the heavens. It took him a day or two but he got it. He know will go out to our back deck, look up in the sky and point and say, "it's a bird, it's a plane, it's a nookie balloon. OK so he doesn't really say all that. But he does look up and say, "nookie, bye bye."

Yup little man, nookie bye bye. And your daddy thinks your the bravest little boy in the whole world.

Sometimes Life Sucks

2006-07-04T12:25:00.000-04:00

Sometimes life just sucks! Yes, yes, I know that as followers of Jesus we live in both the already and not yet of the kingdom. But every once in a while things come along to remind us that this world is a dangerous place.

Yesterday I attended the funeral of a 47 year old woman; a friend, mother, pastor's wife and daughter of God that was killed in freak car accident when the car that she was riding in hydrplaned and slammed into a tree. Her husband walked away with bumps and bruises but she was killed, probably instantly.

I have to say that it was the most sorrowful and beautiful and the most heavy and encouraging funeral I have ever attened. My friend, the widower, even officiated his wife's service and pronouced the commital prayer. How he could have accomplished this God only knows.

It's hard to hear a grown man sob; sob from the depths of his sould, sob in such a way that you too can feel the weight of the emotion.

The service spoke of a woman devoted to prayer and the outward and tangible expression of her love for Christ, her devotion to her husband and family and her passionate and persistent commitment to prayer.

This event leaves me with the question: Why!? Specifically, Why God!? Why would you steal away your daughter from the people that love her so?

To be sure she is in a better place, no longer separated by the veil of the flesh. We too will heal, that much is for sure. I just hurt right now, for my friend and his family, for his tribe of Jesus followers.

I again, find myself possesing all the theological answers in the world. But what I need, what he needs now the most is simply Jesus.

Peace,

E

2006-07-04T11:34:00.000-04:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

The Pain of Love

2006-06-29T23:08:00.000-04:00

I have a friend going through deep pain, the kind of pain that no one would willingly wish on anyone, the kind of pain that will take a long time to find any kind of relief and healing.

My friend tells me that his anger burns hot for God; that he feels cheated, betrayed, and forsaken. Yet with utter amazement I watch as he demonstrates a divine inward bent to love; to love the one who asails him, to love the one who has become the object and source of his pain, to love the one that once loved and [I believe deep down in the dark recesses] still loves him.

I sit and listen as he weeps, as he questions the love and goodness of God. I don't try to fix it because I can't. Like the prophets of old, I simply sit shiva with him, hoping in some way to embody the love of Christ simply through my presence. I watch with utter amazement as time amd time again he chooses the path of love - not out of desperation mind you - but from an unseen source, out of some sort of divine spark that unwittingly stills burms bright within him.

And, if nothing else, he is teaching me - through his gracious invitation to journey with him through pain - to be a better child of the Abba of Jesus, to be a better friend, to be a better father and husband, to be a better pastor...to be a better man.

Pray for my friend...and pray for the object of his affection.

Renewal or Revolution Part Duex

2006-06-26T16:46:00.000-04:00

I have thought a bit more on this whole idea between "renewal" and "revolution." It seems to me that if one looks or works for or towards renewal, one is forced to revitalize that which already exists [as I said before: current structures/norms/practices/language/etc...]. The problem becomes then, is what happens if that which one is trying to revitalize is in fact at its very core dysfunctional, unhealthy, or even inadvertently destructive? To make it worse, what if the ones calling for renewal understand the core structures/practices/norms too narrowly? What if one parties "good ol' days" are a far cry different from another's [which they normally are]?

Do we limit ourselves if all we attempt to do is revitalize what we already have? We serve a God of infinite creativity who has spoken to the people of God's choosing in a variety of different ways during a variety of different times and circumstances. While the medium has been fluid and flexible, God's cadence of love -God's passionate and persistent pursuit - has been bedrock and consistent through and through. What if what we really want to renew is simply our interpretation of the message of the Abba of Jesus through a certain [read fluid and flexible] medium that can and will [I would argue MUST] change change or adapt over time?

In the ministry of Jesus I see a better option, one that is far more attractive, reinterpretation. As I understand it, at the heart of Jesus' message is the core of what it means to be truly human [in his context, truly Israel]. Think about it; what do we find Jesus doing over and over again?

---You have heard it said....but I say to you...
---Blessed are the poor, the meek, the suffering ones....NOT the religious elite or the heirs of the "system".
---This is my body - the true act of the Passover - given for you...

It seems to me that Jesus isn't simply satisfied to renew the religious machine of the day. The mission and ministry of Jesus is a revolutionary one that seeks to reinterpret what God really meant for what it means to be truly human.

This has been God's plan all along, to chose a unique and called out people and bless them so that they might be a blessing to the entire world, so that, as the apostle Paul put it, "God might make God's appeal through us" God's ikons.

Come Away With Me....

2006-06-26T16:39:00.000-04:00

Sorry I've been out of the loop for the past week or so. Every year I am given a week of prayer and planning where I retreat to a remote location [my wife's Aunt's cabin] and vision, goal set, and plan for the coming year for the little tribe of Jesus followers I lead. I take a bunch-o-books, my dog [named Harley, of course] my laptop and "grubby" clothes as I will not see much of anyone during the week.

This year was another great expereince at the lake. I accomplished what I had aimed to, and had some time to relax as well and enjoy the solitude[no phone, TV, or internet "oh my!?!"]. Took along two great friends with me, Merton and Nouwen. I couldn't think of any two better retreat partners.

I will post some of my thoughts/writings from the week in a few days.

For now, it's good to be into the rhythm of the ordinary.

E

Renewal or Revolution

2006-06-15T14:21:00.000-04:00

Been thinking a great deal lately between the idea that we must somehow renew the church vs. the whole idea of a much needed revolution [ala Barna]. Haven't really read all of Barna's book of the same title so I don't know if what I will say is in there. Anyway....

I am becoming less and less infatuated with this clarion call of "renewal" in the church. My own denomination has a number of renewal movements that a number of people I know, love and respect belong to and are passionate about this whole idea of renewing a mainline giant. I find this whole idea of "renewal" troublesome and unattractive for two reasons:

1. Because I'm not sure what we must renew or how far back we must go for renewal.
2. I understand the message of Jesus to be revolutionary not simply a renewal for instance of the Jewish religious system.

Renewal calls for the change of a system/institution that already exists; it affirms the system or the institution at its most basic level. All that is needed it is suggested, is a return to those basic norms/patterns/structures/habits, ad nauseum [when you read the term "basic" read "fundamental" not to be confused with fundamentalism].

Revolution on the other hand announces that the current structure is no longer life giving; it doesn't criticize as much as it confronts. It doesn't stop to debate the fact that the norms and practices of a system/institution were good or bad necessarily. Rather it calls us out beyond the system/institution to the truths that the system/institution was supposed to be pointing to all along. This is what I see happening the life and ministry of Jesus.

Now let me say as a footnote; I am not suggesting we throw out tradition, heritage, or 2000 years of church history. I do believe in a central core. Jesus certainly didn't cast aside Israel's covenantal relationship with his Abba. But I would suggest that Jesus did far much more than renew it. The message of the kingdom was not a call to return to the Torah or to the sacrificial system. Rather it was an announcement of the Jubilee that had never ever been celebrated among the people of God's choosing.

I don't claim to have this all figured out. I will write more on this soon. I would love to here what y'all think.

Grace & Peace,

E

Oh How I Love Hogs...

2006-06-12T16:33:00.000-04:00

I have had a passion for Harley Davidson Motorcycles for as long as I can remember. I grew up riding dirt bikes and have always wanted a street bike of my own....a Harley that is.

Today God mocked my pain as I drove into the credit union to do some banking and there on the lawn was a beautiful Harley Davidson Fatboy [the actual model name]. After wipping the drool of the dash I decided to get out and check out the price....just for grinnys. $12,500. I'm about $11,499. shy so maybe next time. For now I will nurse my pain and think of the open road.

Oh, and by the way, donations are welcome!

The Boys Of Summer

2006-06-12T16:05:00.000-04:00

My four-year-old Brennan started T-Ball practice for the first time this morning. So dad took some time off of work to cheer him on. It goes without saying that I am glad that I wasn't the one who had to wrangle 20-30 four and five year olds around a T-Ball diamond.

At one point the "coaches" were teaching them about the bases: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and when they asked what the last base was called someone shouted out, "fourth!" To which he replied, "no, that one is home." As the morning progessed, one of the exercises that they had them do was run the bases to get a sense of the rythym of the infield. You can imagine that there were many a confused kid when the coach yelled, "Run home! Run Home!"

Not sure if my oldest will be a lover and thinker, verses a postmodern day sports gladiator, but it was sure fun watching him discover a whole new world.

I Wear Two Rings

2006-06-10T17:06:00.000-04:00

I'm often asked this question: Why do you wear two rings on your left hand?

It's a fair question because I DO wear two rings on my left hand; one on my left ring finger [my wedding ring] and one on my left middle finger.

Both are extremely significant.

My wedding ring serves as a symbol of the greatest gift that the Abba of Jesus has ever given me [of course other than a relationship with God through Christ]: namely my wife. It is gold ring inscribed with the words of the Song of Solomon 6:3 in Hebrew, "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine." It is a reminder to me of my lovers devotion to me and mine to hers, as well as a sign to all that I am spoken for.

The ring on my middle finger too bears an inscription in Hebrew; this one from the book of Ruth chapter 1 verse 16, "Where you go I will go." It signifies my call and commitment to God; to be reminded that God is the one whom I must follow passionately and persistently.

As I was out taking pictures the other day I snapped this picture simply placing my rings on a picnic table and after snapping it realizing the way I had set the rings up.

If everything that I am, including my life as a husband, is not leaning on my identity as a child of God, and taking its shape -not being defined - through my relationship as a child of the Abba of Jesus, then it will not stand.

Some Good Thoughts from Brian McLaren

2006-06-08T11:02:00.000-04:00

Surfing the blogosphere today and came upon some good thoughts from brother Brian. Whether you agree with him or not, it's worth the read.

Grace & Peace,

E

Parody or Sad Truth!?

2006-05-26T13:47:00.000-04:00

Sad but true!

Palmer Visit

2006-04-27T16:03:00.000-04:00

Today I went to a little town just south of mine named “Palmer” to visit an 90-year-old member of our congregation who had fallen.

As I pulled into the town, which by the way doesn’t even have a “blinker” light, I noticed the sign – Palmer. Why hadn't I thought of it before? Immediately I began to think of Mark and Amy and the ordeal that they have wrestled with over the last year or so and the void that has been left By Mark’s passing that only the grace and peace of God can ever fill.

Palmer, Palmer Michigan that is, is a tiny little town that is dwarfed by an enormous open pit iron mine. Manmade mountains of “pilings” [the left over debris that is unusable after the ore has been extracted] loom over this tiny burg.

As I thought of the town that I hardly know, I thought of the man I hardly knew; the man who’s friends simply called Palmer. I thought the situation of the town to be a possible metaphor for how I viewed Mark’s life; but really, who am I to attempt to speak metaphorically about a man whom I never knew? Anyway…

The mine has raped the land. The natural and rugged beauty of the area is scared by the large open wound that the mind has left. Yet, I realize, that in my socio-economically challenged area, the mine provides jobs for hundreds if not thousands of men and women; its proceeds put food on thousands of tables and holds in the balance the economic stability of our area.

The cancer had raped Mark’s body. The natural and formidable health of a thirty-something had been severely taxed by the cancer that consumed his body. Yet, I realize, at least I would suspect, that perhaps Mark would not have left the indelible mark he did on some many people; he possible would not have had the depth of spiritual passion and fervor had he not struggled with his own personal demon.

As followers of Jesus, ours is a faith that believes that life comes through death; that somehow wholeness comes through brokenness, that healing comes through suffering. Perhaps, and I say this cautiously, this might be an appropriate metaphor indeed.

Mark knows wholeness and freedom know that many of us merely can hope for. He has been healed; healed indeed; perhaps just not in the way that many of us would have liked to seen.

In that same town is a small Methodist Church that closed sometime in the early 1990’s. I don’t know why I particularly took a picture of it, but I did; I was drawn to it.

I thought about the hymns that once ricocheted off the inner walls of the building; of home many weddings its sanctuary has seen; of how many messages were offered with passion and with zeal – how many offered without; of how many people’s last memory of their loved one was at a funeral service held within its doors.

Though the Palmer Methodist Church remains silent now, save for the occasional breaking of a window by the stone of reckless vandals, its legacy will go on. For the church of Jesus can never truly die. It can become dormant, lose its sense of direction and purpose, but never die.

Though Mark Palmer remains silent now, save for the daily reminders of his absence; his legacy will go on. For the follower of Jesus can never truly die.

Waiting the Resurrection!

Eric

I'm Famous.....

2006-04-26T23:06:00.000-04:00

Well, almost.

The environmental clean up effort that our congregation was a part of [see post below] received attention on the denominational level....and....I was actually quoted!?!?!? Can you believe it! I was actually much more eloquent than the quote makes me sound. It's interesting to read what they chose to put in the piece out of all the things that I said!

You can read it here.

And, yes, of course I'll sign your copies!

Easy Rider...

2006-04-24T15:23:00.000-04:00

Brennan got his first two-wheeler for his birthday from the "grands". Look at him go! You can see the look of freedom on his face.

He absolutely loved it! It was fun to watch him spread his wings on his new wheels.

[Note the fire engine red Chuck Taylor's. What can I say, the boy has his daddy's taste!]

A Little Bit O' Eco Love...

2006-04-22T20:57:00.000-04:00

Our church participated this morning in a little bit of eco love by serving as a drop point for the collection of unused electronic equipment so that it could be disposed of responsibly through what was called "Operation Clean Sweep." Last year they collected household hazardous waste; this year they conducted an "E-sweep" where they collected old computers, printers, etc.

It was the brain child of an interfaith environmental organization called the Earth Keepers that was the brain child of some Northern Michigan University Students.

Felt good not only to demonstrate to our community, but perhaps more importantly to enable them to be responsible consumers of creation.

Check out some of these pics from all the stuff...these were taken after we had only been collecting for an hour and a half!

Birthday Boy...

2006-04-22T20:47:00.000-04:00

Can't believe it but my oldest is "4" already. Man, he's getting old...I'm getting old...mom's getting....OUCH

Well anyway, B's [Brennan's] birthday is really tomorrow but we had the whole invite what seemed like 10,000 kids over and stuff them with hotdogs and sugar, let them run off some of the sugar intoxication and send them on their way.

Needless to say, you can probably guess from the pic that we went with a "fireperson" [need to be inclusive ;)] theme.

On a serious note, the day was really fun. I am really enjoying watching Brennan come into his own.

Happy birthday Brennan...your Daddy and Mommy sure are proud of you!

New Camera...

2006-04-21T11:56:00.000-04:00

My wife and I are quite the shutterbugs, but the problem has been that we only had one camera between the two of us.

We had some cool events this Lenten and Easter season where I found myself saying, "man, I wish I had my OWN camera!?"

Well, I decided to get some bling of my own. Not too much mind you [I'm not as cool or sophisticated as my bro Alan and his Canon S2IS]. Lisa and I have found Canon cameras to be superior to other digitals so a plunked down [actually not too much] on a Canon A430. It's one of their low-end digitals, but I got to tell y'all it takes great pics; you can even do movies with sound and has a super macro function to get REAAALLLLLY close.

Look for some of my work on future posts...

So does she!!!

2006-04-15T21:43:00.000-04:00

I am blessed indeed!

These guys make me smile...

2006-04-15T21:41:00.000-04:00

Just reflecting on some of the many blessings of my life this Easter season....

These guys make me smile!

Old Friends...

2006-04-15T21:27:00.000-04:00

Stumbled across and old friend almost by accident the other day. It was a friend who was also my roomate when I first moved out from my parents house. Scott is such an authentic guy we had some great times together in college.

He's lived in LA for the last 10 years or so and has had some success as a writer [possible a director too]. His most recent venture has been NBC's E-Ring. He's also been a part of the Mosaic community headed by Erwin McManus. In fact that's how I heard of him...he was given props in a sermon...imagine that.

Sometimes its just good to reconnect. Hopefully we'll be able to keep this going.

Happy Easter to all!

Peace,

E

Faith & Film

2006-04-12T17:51:00.000-04:00

Two nights ago I had the opportunity to have some much needed "daddy time" with my oldest son Brennan. I took him to see his first movie on the big screen. I know most of you are saying, "what took you so long." Well we had a blast. We went and saw Ice Age: The Meltdown.

We were waiting for the movie to start, or as B called them, "the commercials" when he leaned over to me and said, "Daddy, you're the best daddy in the whole world." My award is coming in the mail I'm told....anyway.

As soon as the movie actually started, his eyes became as big as saucers. Now, he's watched movies before at home but never had seen them on the big screen. In fact, he watched the first Ice Age movie on video. It was awesome to watch his reactions and laugh at his belly laughs.

It made me thing of the sheer awesomeness of wonder. To watch him totally and completely lose himself in the awe of his surroundings was incredible. It reminded me that we so quickly lose our innocence and become so cynical and bored. But my son, at least for the first time, was simply lost in the "bigness" of his experience.

It was almost sad in a way to realize that never again will he have that "first;" never again will he be swept away by this event as he first was.

As we approach Easter it strikes a somber cord in me. For me the resurrection is not a new story. It is one that has played out in front of me for most of my life and with some understanding of what it's all about for the last 22 years. Although it still amazes me, there are those times where I truly must will it to. Yet, I long for that virgin experience of that first encounter with the cross and empty tomb - to be bowled over as was my son, to have my eyes reduced to saucers, to feel my pulse quicken as I say to myself "could this really be happening?"

But now, for me even some 22 years later, and even now some 2000 years later, I still hear the voice of the Abba of Jesus saying to me, "Yes, my child; it has happened and is happening in you...it's true."

Thanks be to God.

Grace and Peace,

E

"Blog-mining"

2006-03-14T10:42:00.000-05:00

Sick today, so I've spent some time catching up on the blogworld and stumbled across this post from Dan Kimball [this is the comment page you'll need to scroll up to get to the article] about the theology of pews and what this type of seating communicates to a community.

Really good read...enjoy.

Grace & Peace,

E

House Churches

2006-03-03T09:44:00.000-05:00

This weeks edition of Time magazine has a short but rather good and interesting article on the rising popularity of house churches. If any of you have read Barna's "Revolution" book, you'll remember how he has predicted the rise of non-traditional intimate gatherings of Jesus followers over and against the typical denominational churches and megachurches.

It's well worth the read, and as a pastor, I can't help but wonder about the implications that this has for the future church. It seems to me that what people are hungering for is a primitive, barbaric, indigenous expression of the church, not the homogenized versions that have historically, at least in the western world, peppered the cultural landscape.

What do you think? Passing fad or wave of the future?

The Silence Has Been Broken....

2006-02-23T09:33:00.000-05:00

OK! OK! It's been a long time since I published anything. Been really busy. Some of the things that have been rolling around in my head that I need to post on are some of the following:

Church: Organism or Organization...or Both.

I am taking my current tribe through a process of change in order to recapture the essence of what Jesus is calling us to do as his body. I have been a firm believer that the church is not an organization but an organism. But I have recently come to change my understanding. You see I believe that the church is both.

My primary metaphor is still that the Body of Christ, what we call the church, is primarily a living breathing, evolving organism. Yet, even living organisms have structure...that it to say that they are organized. So, for me the organization of the body is the skeleton that enables the organism to be healthy and able to move on mission as God has called it.

So why the thoughts on this not-too-terribly-exciting subject. Well, we are in the process of reorganizing our administrative life in order to empower people to do ministry instead of simply talking about it. It became apparent to me that to pit one against the other [organization vs. organism] is not necessary.

Like our human bodies, we possess a skeletal, cardiovascular, and nervous system [just to name a few....and hey I am not a biologist so cut me some slack] that serve as organizing frameworks that enable our bodies to live and move and have their being.

Anyway....I have a ton of stuff to do so I have to jet for now, what are you thoughts?

Grace & Peace,

E

2006-01-31T10:40:00.000-05:00

Over on Leadership Journal's blog, Out Of Ur, there has been some gracious and some less gracious ongoing conversation regarding the issue of one's sexual identity and one's faith, particularly centering on the issues of homosexuality.

Brian McClaren and Mark Driscoll [think Mars Hill, Seattle] have been sounding off back and forth [well, Brian really has simply been attempting to promote helpful dialog, while I feel that Mark has been rather caustic!].

Regardless of where one stands on the issue, as followers of Jesus, we must get past the mudslinging and sensationalism, the fear and the retreat into fundamentalism if we are going to have a voice going forward.

It's not about developing a "sloppy agape" theology where we don't talk about sin and brokenness at the risk of offending someone, but it is truly about realizing the extent of human brokenness, both hetero and homo. It's about rediscovering why it is that the world needs Jesus and the Kingdom that he has come to inaugurate.

....The Dad Report

2006-01-20T21:50:00.000-05:00

My father came through his heart cath with flying colors. He had a significant blockage at 99%. The surgeon was able to use a stint to open it. He is home and resting comfortably.

Thanks my friends for your prayers and words of support and encouragement.

Grace & Peace,

Eric

Check It Out

2006-01-19T15:34:00.000-05:00

Fellow Methodist pastor and blogger Jay Vorhees has an interesting post with a link to an ABC News Nightline feature on the emerging church...worth a look.

Grace and Peace,

Eric

My Dad

2006-01-16T08:44:00.000-05:00

Please dear friends, be in prayer for my father this week. He will be having a heart cath on Thursday to determine if he has some sort of blockage that is inhibiting the ejection rate of his heart's output.

As you can imagine, this has been a rough time for my folks. Since October 31st, he has been diagnosed with kidney cancer and had one kidney successfully removed and is currently cancer free, and now is facing some heart concerns.

My prayer is that God would strengthen and encourage both my mother and father during this time. They certainly need it.

Thanks my friends.

Grace & Peace,

E

The Preeminent Love Of God

2006-01-08T20:57:00.000-05:00

Was reading some Kierkegaard this morning [Oooo so now you're impressed] and I thought I'd share some words from the great philosopher/theologian that struck me.

Here goes:

"You have loved us first, O God, alas! We speak of it in terms of history as if you have only loved us but a single time, rather than that without ceasing. You have loved us first, many times and every day and our whole life through. When we wake up in the morning and turn out soul toward you – you are the first – you have loved us first; If I rise at dawn and at the same second turn my soul toward you in prayer, you are there ahead of me, you have loved me first. When I withdraw from the distractions of the day and turn my soul toward you, you are the first and this forever. And yet, we always speak ungratefully as if you have loved us first only once.”

Something to think about! The Epistle of 1st John [4.7ff] tells us that we love God because God first loved us. I think that we tend to miss the fact that this “first love” isn’t simply a chronological moment in time as if God simply beat us to the punch; it is the ongoing predisposition of God’s heart towards the creatures God lovingly fashioned in God’s image. It is a love that knows neither beginning nor end.

My prayer today is that we might rest in the One who’s love is constant and persistent; the One in whom we live and move and have our being; the One who love is boundless, limitless and truly original.

Grace and Peace,

Eric

C'mon Pat!?!?! Really! This Man Doesn't Speak For All Of Us!

2006-01-06T15:18:00.000-05:00

Pat Robertson is at it again. Speaking before he really thinks. Or, perhaps....God forbid, speaking after he has thought. It's scary to me to think that people without Christ think that this is what all Christians are like.

God have mercy, Christ have mercy

Jesus On Trial...Italian Style

2006-01-06T12:58:00.000-05:00

Check this out....Did Jesus Exist? Italian Court to Decide

Funny...God Forgive Us Mr. Lewis

2006-01-06T11:20:00.000-05:00

The Dance Of Prayer

2006-01-06T10:26:00.000-05:00

I’ve been moving my way through Richard Foster’s Devotional Classics, a good book to drink deep from our rich Christian heritage. Thus, you may see some comments from time to time with my reflections on a given reading.

Yesterday day I read a portion from George Buttrick on prayer. It was rather simple but powerful stuff.

One line leapt off the page as I read it. Buttrick defines prayer this way: “Prayer is friendship with God.”

“Friendship; ” I wonder how often we as God’s children truly view prayer as an expression of friendship – that deep, rich, textured relationship where two parties simply enjoy each other’s presence and the offerings that each brings to the conversation.

When was the last time I really felt as though, when I met God in prayer, God was glad that I showed up? Now I know intellectually that this is the case; that God delights in the worship of God’s children. But when was the last time that my heart quickened at the thought that God might be just as pleased when I enter in to the conversation that God has begun?

When I think of my best friendships, I am forced to wonder, “Does my relationship with God, particularly my life of prayer, reflect that which is most noble, good, and true about my earthly relationships?” Or do I enter into these divine moments with a sense of duty or obligation: someone is sick, or suffering, or there is some crisis in my life or the life of someone I love.

You see, I believe that if we take something for granted long enough, we can fool ourselves into believing that there is an intimacy there that really is contrived.

I view prayer as more of a sacred dance, where we as daughters and sons of God are lead by God in some mysterious dance wherein we lose ourselves in the sacredness of the moment.

Now, before I get emails saying, “What!?!?! Eric is saying that we someone lose our identities and melt into the cosmic oneness of the universe!?” Hear me out.

It is in this cosmic dance, that our hearts are invited to beat in concert with God’s. We follow the leading of Yahweh’s direction; our concerns become God’s and God’s become ours. We begin to ache for the poor and disenfranchised; we look upon our enemies not with hate but with pity at the brokenness of their lives that cause them to lash out; we are grateful for the daily sustenance that God so graciously provides God’s children; we are burdened for those that live without the knowledge of God’s love.

As in a dance, we yield to the one who leads; we enter not merely with our own agenda but with a sense of openness to move with the flow of the music of God’s Spirit, not fighting the momentum, but going with it, trusting implicitly the One who is leading.

Prayer: a dance of friendship with God. What an amazing privilege indeed!

Preaching....

2006-01-02T10:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday some I had dinner with some friends from a previous church that I pastored in as a staff position. They have in the last year received a new senior pastor that is quite different from their previous. Without bogging you down in the details, they seem to like him as a person but are having a hard time adjusting to his preaching style as it is "different" than their last pastor's.

When I pressed them to give me some details, they simply said, "well he is more of a story teller."

I have been internally ruminating over this whole even that we call preaching. As a communicator of the Gospel I believe that at our core we should be good story tellers. I am weary of those practitioners of the pulpit who attempt to twist the Scriptures to fit their three points and a poem instead of simply allowing the Scriptures to speak for themselves. I fear that too often we unnecessarily muddy the waters with our own presuppositions. But, that is not to say that the Scriptures shouldn't be expounded upon publicly and privately.

I have of late been greatly influenced by Doug Pagitt's book, Preaching Re-Imagined. In it he essentially calls for a dialogical approach that I believe he calls progressional preaching. It involves the community in the sermon process both as it is formed before its presentation and even while it is being presented [yes I know a scary proposal for some of us indeed; the thought of having those in our congregations offer their views during the coveted message time].

It seems to me that what we need is a preaching revolution. To once again reexamine why we preach and what it is that we are called to do and not to do in the event. To be sure we are called to pray, study, educate, exhort, and challenge. Yet at the same time, I am weary of this applicational style of preaching where the presenter tells the presentees how these "three or four" steps can revolutionize their lives. Perhaps we would do our people better if we simply presented the word allowing the eternal Logos to speak through it and help the people we are called to come along side of to wrestle with the implications of the text; how they might take the truths that they have heard and examine how it is that they are allowing them to exegete their lives instead of coming to the text to hear the results of some exegetical autopsy.

I don't pretend to have all the answers. I will be posting more of my musings as time goes on. But, I would be interested in hearing what some of you think....

Peace,

Eric

Lost

2006-01-01T16:20:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking a great deal lately about the Christian concept of what we as followers of Jesus mean when we call someone "lost." Now I realize that most of it is simply language, particularly it's what I would call Christianeze. Yet I believe that how we speak about someone or something significantly informs the ways in which we think about things, whether we do so pragmatically or intuitively.

In my current context as a pastor/Abbott/leader of a 150 year old church it has been interesting to have discussions around evangelism and how we do it. While the median age of the people in my local tribe seems to be about 60 or so and the average 60 year old has been a part of the "church" most of their lives, it seems that when it comes to talking about how we might share our faith with those we come in contact with, I get several or all of the following:
1. Blank stares
2. The "we need a program approach"
3. The "what do you think pastor" approach
4. The "isn't that the job of the evangelism and outreach committee?" approach.

As I see it, we have lost that which was once a primal urge in the infant church and redefined who and why we exist as a congregation. If we were honest, I believe that many churches, and perhaps even my own, would answer that we are here for those who already belong and those who are on our membership rolls and have stopped coming. In fact, we often seem to be more concerned with those that are inactive in some way shape or form than we are with those who are "lost."

Yet, if we consistently use the term "lost," my question is: why are we not busying ourselves with the action of finding?

Maybe it's because some of us have been "found" so long that we have forgotten what it means to be "lost."

Now, let me be clear, I don't think the term "lost" is a helpful one. I think it is has a tendency to wax of narrow-mindedness, arrogance, and prejudice to the ones who really don't feel lost.

As a pastor and a communicator I believe that language is vital in creating or sustaining a culture or a cultural shift. I have been thinking for the last several months about how we might better define and describe those who don't currently hold to the same belief systems or values that we do.

Could we call them:
- Disconnected
- Broken
- Normal
- Loved.

You see, I believe that the term "lost" as it was originally used, especially within the parables of Jesus really meant something. That "lost" thing or person was something that you cared about. It was worth tearing your house apart, running towards an unworthy son and throwing a lavish party because of his return, it was worth selling all you had to buy a field.

But I'm concerned that the church has possibly lost that primal urge to throw caution and comfort to the wind in order to reclaim that which has been missing from our community life: the last, the least, the poor, the disenfranchised, the bruised and battered, the confused, the searching....the lost.

Post Christmas Media Musings

2005-12-26T12:36:00.000-05:00

With all the controversy in the media and Christian blogosphere about the number of church closures on Christmas Day, I thought I'd throw my two sense in on the day after.

I pastor, what statistically speaking, is a larger tribe of Jesus followers [about 342 members]. On any given Sunday we have about half of that in worship. With all the conspiracy theories about the demise of church tradition and the like because some "evangelical" churches were closing on Christmas I thought I'd offer the following observations:

We had only 48 people at church on Christmas morning, meaning that we were missing at least 100 people.

So what does that mean? Well it means that our attendance was down. It means that the future of the local church isn't at risk by the shutting down of some of the evangelical "giants." Perhaps it means that they were in fact being more authentic than we who believed we must stay open at any cost.

You see, I don't pastor a "seeker sensitive" church, well, at least not as it has been traditionally understood. I pastor a church that is almost 150 years old. A church of people who have had life long relationships with this church and presumably Christ. Yet, on THE most important day of the Christian year, we could only draw 48.

Perhaps it's not the closing of churches that we must be concerned about. Maybe we should be concerned with the fact that on the day that we celebrate the birth of Jesus, this event could only draw 50! Maybe it's not an ecclesiological problem maybe its a problem with the way in which we do spiritual formation. Maybe, just maybe some people are just plain bored with the story and even though they celebrate it year after year they have really no idea what they are celebrating, or even why. Perhaps we must reexamine the way in which we paint the Christian faith and more importantly Jesus.

Now, before you misquote me, let me be clear. I believed and still do that we should have had church on Christmas day, even if it was on a Sunday. I have cringed at the leaders of the church who have used the notion that because it is a "family" day we shouldn't gather but allow people to be home with their families. I have said in contention, "but the church redefines who we call family! What about those who don't have families."

And, I am NOT all about the numbers. Let me be clear; it is worth having church even if just two are present because Christ is indeed there in our midst. So for that reason I am not disappointed that we only have 48.

What makes me feel uneasy is that over the last few weeks we voiced our uneasiness about canceling services and threw mud at those churches who thought that we should when what happened in my context I believe should be even more shocking; that even on the celebration of his birth, Jesus wasn't worth a draw of more than 50.

Peace,

E

Cancel Church Services On Christmas Sunday - Two Views

2005-12-09T14:59:00.000-05:00

There are rabid discussions going on in the blogosphere re: the trend of some churches [even some mega-churches] canceling services on Christmas Day because it falls on a Sunday. Below are two perspectives, both from biblical scholars and men I respect. Which one fits your perspective?

Dr. Ben Witherington - Professor of New Testament, Asbury Theological Seminary

Churches Closed on Christmas? Well I suppose it had to happen. The mega-church in Lexington (Southland Christian) consulted with other mega-churches like Willow Creek and decided that they would close on Dec. 25th, even though its a Sunday and even though its Christmas Day! The rationale given in our local newspaper The Lexington-Herald Leader was--- people are so busy and Christmas is supposed to be a family day, so this decision was made as a family friendly gesture. But wait a minute--- whose birthday is it anyway? And which family is supposed to be serving which--- the family of faith or the physical family? Talking about putting the EM-Phasis on the wrong syl-LABLE.

Our culture does not need any encouragement to be more self-centered and narcissistic or to stay at home on Sunday. It is already that way. Christmas above all else should be a day when we come together as the body of Christ to worship and adore the Lord Jesus. Christmas should be the day above all days where we don't stay home and open all those things we bought for ourselves INSTEAD of going to church. Christmas should be the day when we forget about ourselves for a few hours and go and honor the birthday of the great King, our Savior.

What we are dealing with here are churches whose priorities are so askew that they somehow think it is more important for the church to serve the wants of the physical family than the other way around. This is a far cry from the pattern of the original disciples of Jesus who were seen leaving homes, relatives, jobs to come and follow Jesus. What kind of message does it send to our culture when churches close on one of its highest holy days? That it is o.k. to stay home and do one's own thing even on Jesus' birthday?

It is past time that these sorts of churches be called to account. It is time for them to realize that they have simply capitulated to the larger culture's agenda on issue after issue, in this case in supporting the worship of the idol called family in place of the worship of Jesus. The church does not exist to serve the world, but rather to save the world. The church does not exist to serve the physical family but rather to redeem it and make clear that if it is a Christian family it has a larger and more primary obligation to the family of faith and to its Lord. Christmas is one of two days in the year when we should especially make that clear to our culture and our country.

Shame on you mega-churches--- repent and believe the Gospel, starting with the birth stories of Jesus.

And below from Dr. Scot McKnight

When Christmas falls on Sunday
There has been a flurry of blogging about (mostly) mega-churches that have opted not to have a Sunday service in light of their attention to Christmas Eve services. Most of the blogging has been negative, some of it sharply so. I’m thinking here of Ben Witherington’s blog – and Ben is a friend and a fellow NT professor. He has been forthrightly against the mega-church decisions, and he has drawn a number of comments along the same line. Steve McCoy’s blog also has had a similar set of comments. I set up a poll on my blog to see what is going on – and it suggests that more than mega-churches are doing this. (I remember as a little guy that my Baptist church, which didn’t give into much, did not have a Christmas service one Sunday morning, but I could be wrong. Memories are hardly infallible.)
(read more…)
Let me take the view that we should be a little more charitable in the discussion (and drop some of the caustic, belletristic, and condemnatory language). And let me make a mild case in defense of the mega-churches and smaller than mega-churches doing what they are doing: considering the Christmas Eve service to be their worship service for the week.

As Protestants, we begin with the Bible.

First, let’s ask this question: Does the NT teach a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day worship service. I think the answer to that one is pretty easy. Besides being a topic no one in the early Church apparently considered, we have to put its lack of interest in this topic in the context of OT legislations about feasts. Here’s a fact consider: evidently, God thought a bundle of days were so important for the Jewish calendar that he gave laws both on the necessity of their annual celebration and he told them just how to celebrate that day. And Israel did just that.

Here’s something else to think about: evidently the same God didn’t think the same of Christmas, for there are no legislations about keeping but one “holiday”: the Lord’s supper.

No one, to my knowledge, can argue or is arguing that the mega-churches are violating a biblical Christmas sacrilege. No one should can stake a biblical claim for Christmas being the most significant day of the year – I’m not sure what one can say about such a topic from the Bible.

Second, let’s ask a question at the heart of the discussion: Does the NT teach a Sunday morning worship service? Well, the evidence isn’t what some are making it out to be. We need to be fair here: there is a distinction between what is taught and what is mentioned or hinted at as something practiced. And there is no clear text legislating that Christians are to meet for worship on a Sunday morning.

And it ought to be observed that there is, whether some will admit it or not, no clear connection between Christian worship on a Sunday and the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of “rest” while the Sunday was a time of “worship.” (See here A.G. Shead, New Dict. of Bibl. Theol, 749-50.) Not one shred of evidence here. In fact, the Apostle Paul says in Col 2:16 that one’s judgment about Sabbaths ought to be kept to oneself – or at least it ought not to be used as an instrument of judgment. (I have a hard time, and you probably do too, thinking Paul is letting ordinary Christians render judgment about when they were to “attend worship.”)

There are, however, clear indications that Christians met on Sundays, the first day of the week: Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16:2. I’m not sure what Rev 1:10 means, and no one ought to be dogmatic about it, but I tend to think it is close to meaning “the Lord’s day (when on the first day of the week we gathered for the Lord’s supper).”

And there is the warning in Heb 10:25 that Christians ought to meet regularly with other Christians, though the author does not say this was to be on Sunday – we can assume it was, but it is an assumption.

This leaves us with this: no strong correlation between Sabbath and Sunday; no commandment to worship together on Sunday; the evident practice, however, of meeting on Sundays for worship and fellowship. The precedent, as Joe Thorn rightly says on Steve McCoy’s blog, is there; there is, however, no commandment. And Col makes me wonder if it is appropriate to correlate Sunday worship with Sabbath practice.

Third, let me assume that many who are blogging and commenting about this issue are low-church Protestants where local churches make such decisions – that is, the local church pastor and board of elders/deacons/whatever, as leaders of a congregation, make the decision about whether or not there will be a worship service on Sunday morning. If we believe in such a theory of church government, then we get decisions like this and we have to trust those elders and pastors and churches to make good decisions. I like Craig Lee’s comment over at Steve McCoy’s site in this regard. We might at this point just trust our brothers and sisters to do what is good.

Fourth, let me poke some in the eye here: what I’m reading is that there is too much identification of “worship” with Sunday morning and too much identification of “being the church” with “attending a Sunday morning service.” I find this pretty surprising in that so many are making the case, pretty solidly I think, that “church” is not something done on Sunday mornings but something we “are” and “are all through the week” – climaxing at the Lord’s table and in Sunday worship.

Fifth, let us consider that many of the messianic Jewish Christians of the first century would have naturally transferred their views of what to do on a Sabbath from the Sabbath to the Lord Jesus Christ, though they did not leave a trace in the NT that they saw the Sunday as the replacement of that Sabbath. I consider it highly likely that messianic Jews would have celebrated Sabbath (starting Friday night, we might add) and perhaps also Sunday morning. Hard to know in light of the paucity of evidence.

Sixth, by the time of Ireneaus Ignatius some Christians (we shouldn’t pretend to think he speaks for all) gave up Sabbaths for the Lord’s Day (Magn. 9:1). Justin Martyr is clear: it was a Sunday (Apol. 1.67). Constantine pulled the curtain on any other view. Emperors can do things like that.

Seventh, let’s get to some pragmatics: a significant issue for mega-churches is that there is not sufficient space for a Sunday morning service. Now this might say to some that they ought to distribute the goods and not be so big, but to the saints who like mega-churches there is a space issue. Many mega-churches have multiple services because they can’t handle having everyone gather at once. This, after all, is a cause of rejoicing for all of us: to have too many Christians to house all at once is a good thing because it bespeaks multitudes of believers. I like that. You might contend that churches shouldn’t get bigger than they can handle; well, then, make that argument. Willow Creek one year had about 60,000 attend Christmas services – I think their auditorium holds about 7500. They can’t handle all 60,000 on a Sunday morning. Let’s make sure that the beef with mega-churches is not envy. And in the process let’s not disrespect those pastors of smaller churches as if this Sunday cancellation is only a mega-church issue.

Eighth, I think it is unfairly insulting to our brothers and sisters to say that mega-churches, tout simple, are consumeristic and selfish and focused on getting rather than getting. I doubt many who say such things know much about what actually goes on in mega-churches.

Ninth, another issue involved for many churches: the performance nature of the Christmas Eve service is so intense that there is nothing left for another service. Again, you might fight hard against the “performance” level and concentration (cantata, musical, theatricals, whatever), but argue that that and not that churches have lost their soul if they cancel Christmas Sunday services.

So, my suggestion is this: let’s be a little more charitable in light of what the NT does and does not say. Let’s permit our brothers and sisters, once every seven years, to make decisions that we might not approve of but know that they answer to God, that we answer to God, that it is about worship of God and incarnating the gospel in our world for the good of others and the world.

Two fine articles by two fine men. To see a secular perspective see CNN link.

Peace,

+ Eric

Meeting A Cultural Icon

2005-11-26T23:47:00.000-05:00

It was indeed a momentous day in the Kieb family! For the first time ever we took the kids to the "cultural icon" that is Chuck E Cheese. Talk about overstimulation!!! The KIDS seemed to really enjoy it.

It was great to see the kids eyes light up, and like my father before me, I handed out my first but certainly not last set of tokens.

The highlight of the evening most certainly came when Brennan - my oldest - and I had a conversation regarding "robo-Chuck E" [aka the Great Mouse].

He - the mouse in question - was perched on a giant stage, which of course, Brennan was trying to scale to getting a better look at said mouse, which of course as the responsible parental unit I told him he could NOT do and the following conversation ensued:

Me: Brennan, get off of the stage you're NOT allowed up there!
Brennan: But he [Chuck E - the mouse] didn't say NO.
Me: Brennan the mouse isn't real so he can't say NO.
Brennan: But he can talk!
Me: Brennan he's not real..he looks like he can talk but he's really just a machine.
Brennan: NO...he's a mouse!
Me: He's a robo-mouse
Brennan: A non-verbal "whatever" as he let once again to fall under the spell of the aforementioned mouse.

My son is a groupie...arrrrghh!

ThanksGIVING

2005-11-23T22:01:00.000-05:00

Dad had his surgery today and it went great. It went much quicker than was expected and by 6:00 p.m. he was in his room and doing fine. The surgeon is confident that the tumor was encapsulated and that he will need no further treatment. PRAISE GOD! As I entered the room I was struck by a mane who was genuinely happy to be alive.

Thank you....all of you for your prayers and expressions of concern.

We've been at the hospital since early this morning so we are all exhausted but thankful!

Peace,

+ E

Dad's Surgery

2005-11-22T15:08:00.000-05:00

Just got a call from my parents....Dad's surgery to remove his kidney will be tomorrow November 23rd at 12:30 in the afternoon.

Peace,
+ E

And A Child Shall Lead Them

2005-11-22T13:25:00.000-05:00

Since we have been staying at my in-laws this past week, Brennan my oldest has been sharing a room with his mom and dad [Calvin is sleeping with his Grammy and Papa in the other room].

Brennan as been waking up about once a night, usually around 4:30 - 5:00 in order to join us in the queen size bed. The other night the room was pretty dark and I was awoken to the sound of my son asking if he could come in bed with us. I said that the could and the following exchange took place:

Brennan: Daddy it's too dark I can't see you.
Daddy: Brennan I'll hold out my hand you just reach out and find it and I'll lead you to the bed.
Brennan: OK. [and he began reaching for my hand.]

Within a moment or two we connected and he made it to the bed.

Now, the next night the same thing happened around the same time although this is all that Brennan said:

"Daddy, can you reach out your hand so I can find it and I can get to the bed where you are?"

I heard the voice of God from the mouth of a child that night. How many times does God stick out his hand ready to lead us to where God is so that we might find God while groping in the dark?

My son may only be 31/2 but he often is a better theologian that his father.

Glory be to the one who reaches out through our darkness in order to lead us home.

Amen.

+E

Results....

2005-11-22T13:17:00.000-05:00

Well the additional CT scan on my dad did'nt seem [at this writing] to yield anything of significance, which is GOOD news.

But....he received the results of his cardiac eval and it was less than what was hoped for...in fact it was a shock to say the least. The cardiac tests revealed that my fathers heart only works between 30 and 35 percent [the average healthy heart works at about 65 percent]. His caridilogist instructed him that once my dad comes through this surgery he will probably need to anticipate having a automatic defibulator inserted in his chest due to the fact that he is a candidate for what the Dr. called "sudden death."

So as you can imagine the things at the Kieb house are a bit intense right now.

Dad seems prepared as he can be for the surgery tomorrow. I don't have a time for it yet, he will know some time today.

Please keep praying for him. I will keep you updated.

Thanks my friends!

+E

Additional Tests...

2005-11-14T22:41:00.000-05:00

Got word from my dad today that they something...a "nodule"...show up behind his sternum on the chest x-ray that he had. Therefore the doctor feels the need to do an additional CT scan to get a better look at it. They are not sure if it is anything or not. Hopefully my dad will have it tomorrow. Please continue to pray for him.

Thanks again.

Update On Dad

2005-11-11T10:22:00.000-05:00

Well there is good news regarding my dad. The surgeon who examined my dad's films is confident that my dad has renal cell carcinoma which is the most treatable form of cancer. He even said, "if your going to get cancer then this is the one to get." It basically means that the tumor is encapsulated. They will go in and remove my dad's left kidney and he should at that point be cancer free...no chemo and no radiation is needed.

Needless to say we feel a significant amount of relief. Although we do realize that we really won't know which it really it until they get in there. But for now we are cautiously optomistic.

Please my friends....keep us in prayer.

Peace,

Eric

Great New Book!

2005-11-07T15:48:00.000-05:00

Just got a preview copy today of Doug Pagitt's latest book Body Prayer. I am really looking forward to getting into it and will bring you all along on the journey as I progress. I have read Re-Imagining Spiritual Formation [Church Re-Imagined] and Preaching Re-Imagined and I HIGHLY recommend those two - so I am sure that I will not be disappointed with his latest offering.

Have even been experimenting with body prayer in our gatherings. Two Sundays ago I had the community do the "pastoral" prayer time with their hands behind their backs as a way to remind them that there are those for whom this posture in prayer is a reality every day. And, it's not just the case in 3rd world countries where one is often persecuted for their faith. There are those within our tribes that pray from a posture of bondage every day - hidden habits and broken places that often hamper their lives. It was a powerful moment, and the first time my little tribe has ever done anything that!

Peace,

~E

IMG_1678_370

2005-11-04T18:49:00.000-05:00

IMG_1678_370
Originally uploaded by edkieb.

Look at the fire in his eyes!

My Week...

2005-11-04T18:31:00.000-05:00

This pic of my youngest captures how I feel this week!

The Surgeon's Report

2005-11-04T18:02:00.000-05:00

My dad met today with the Dr. who will be performing the surgery to remove his left kidney. The surgery at this point will take place November 23rd.

At first blush it seems as though the doc's evaluation of the situation is hopeful. He seems to think that it is a stage I tumor and that it can be all removed with the kidney. Of course there are unknowns until they actually get inside and survey the situation.

My dad said that the doc seemed positive and hopeful and was even talking about significant survival rates barring any surprises. My dad is not out of the woods yet so please continue to pray. For the time being though he has been given some hope.

Thanks my friends.

~E

So What's With The Name Change!?

2005-11-04T01:33:00.000-05:00

I was entering my last severarl blog entries and realized how trite the title "reflections" was for this blog.

To be more accurate, my blog, or what I hope my blog with become, is a celebration of the diverse ways that God and culture interact; how we are - "saint" & "sinner" alike - informed, transformed, and conformed, by and to so much more than we can ever imagine.

Whatever traditions we have grown accustomed to. Whatever intellectual underpinnings we have secured for ourselves. Whatever spiritual experiences we have had. Life really is a collection of experiences that shape who we are and influence what we will become. We are by nature eclectic; the sum of our accumlated influences.

SPAAAAAAAAAMMMMMM! DAMMMMMMNNN!

2005-11-04T00:36:00.000-05:00

Spam is finding us everywhere. Thus I have had to utilize Bloggers comment verification tool. Upon making your comment you will have to enter in a provided code. Sorry for the extra work.

Eric

Bono Speaks Up

2005-11-03T17:10:00.000-05:00

There is a great interview in this months Rolling Stone magazine [yes I am a subscriber] regarding Bono and his take on music, life, faith, Christianity, and social justice issues. It's definitely worth the read.