Had a chance to post up some wedding pictures last night, so head over to my picture gallery for those. Beth Bennett did a great job and we're expecting to get some more from her when we return to Colorado Springs next month.
This morning, Kristy and I awoke to the sound of her cell phone ringing at about 7am. (Not a very reasonable hour, given the previously late night of dominoes and cards with my parents.) Our grumpiness from being rudely awaken was turned to relief when Kristy was informed that my suitcase was finally located in Chicago! United is going to Fed Ex the luggage to Kristy's parents' place in Denver so it'll be waiting for us when we arrive back on the 17th of January. I'm really hoping that the bottle of St. Lucian rum is still intact. Not only because I was looking forward to some rum 'n Coke, but also because I know Kristy's parents aren't big fans of alcohol and probably don't want their house smelling like rum.
This Sunday, Kristy and I will be giving a report to my parents' church here in Longview (Grace Bible Fellowship) and, on the 8th of January, I'll lead worship at Grace Community Church in Auburn and give a report. Then, on the 14th, my parents will be putting on a wedding reception here in Longview for all my friends and family who couldn't make it down to Denver for the wedding. I'm really looking forward to that. I think my mom mentioned that we had about 90 RSVP's, which is actually more than we had at the wedding. My in-laws will also be flying up from Denver to attend the reception, which will be cool. (Maybe they can bring me my rum.) Finally, on the 15th, Kristy and I will give a report to my home church, Grace & Glory Community Church down in Vancouver.
In between all of that, I'm hoping to get some reading and blogging done, but we'll see. I'm also going to be trying to connect with as many financial partners as I can to set up some face-to-face time with Kristy and I. We're really hoping to come across some new financial support while we're here. Pray that the needed financial resources will come in so that we can get back to Europe!
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29.12.05
23.12.05
Christian Faith or American Christendom?
Interesting article over at The Economist this week. (LINK) The question is, does the article describe the Body of Christ or an American Christendom version of Christianity, as seen in the American phenomenon of the mega-church?
Categories: church, culture
Categories: church, culture
Marital Bliss (or, Back in the Blogosphere After the Marriage Break or, What Have I Done?!)
As you know, the month of December has been quite the connubial experience for me, to say the least. I married my best friend on the 9th and the whole week leading up to it was full of good times and memories with friends and family. The snow made things a little tough to get around, but fortunately was not enough to bring things to a halt completely.
My younger brothers arranged for the bachelor party to happen up in Denver with all of the groomsmen in attendance. At the hotel, they made me wear a long silvery dress/skirt, a black afro wig, and some sort of colourful scarf. The highlight of the evening for everyone was meeting a drunken computer tech entrepreneur in an Irish pub just outside the walls of Coors Field and chatting with him about life, spirituality, philosophy, and Cuban cigars. He even invited us upstairs to his luxury apartment for some billiards and further fellowship.
The wedding itself was brilliant. Kristy and I were both blessed to have so many friends and family working so hard to make it all come together as well as it did. My good friend and pastor, Marc Johnson, did a great job officiating and another good friend and mentor, Jim Adkins, did a fine job sharing a few thoughts from Ephesians. Jim’s daughter also performed the special music beautifully.
One of the only blips on the radar was a flu bug that my mom picked up the night before and had a hard time shaking off. Fortunately, she was able to drag herself to the ceremony with the help of my faithful and dependable father. My sister-in-law, the beautiful and amiable Iris Wellcome, stepped in to fill in for my mom in lighting the family candles with Kristy’s mom.
On the way to the reception in Kristy’s dad’s 1971 Buick GS (not the one in the link picture), we were stopped at a traffic light after getting off the freeway when people behind us from the wedding party began honking and making a bunch of celebratory racket. All of a sudden, we began to hear the low droning of some sort of horn, like the kind made out of ivory that you hear in tribal contexts. Sure enough, we looked over a few lanes and this car full of men were blowing on these large horns out the windows and yelling “Blessings in the name of the Lord!” Kristy asked what they were and they answered back that they were shofars and that they were meant to be blown as a blessing. It was the most random, unexpected, skin-tingling blessing I’ve ever experienced!
The reception was a lot of fun and people seemed to enjoy the chocolate fountain. My two brothers (the best men) took their toasting/speech responsibility and turned it into an embarrassing, albeit creative and unique, account of our hiking trip this last summer in Yosemite. (I ended up in the emergency room due to dehydration.) Their warning to Kristy: Keep this boy hydrated! After this brief conclusion, they handed me a Camel Back that they’d purchased together.
The honeymoon was also brilliant. The most relaxing vacation I’ve ever had. Swimming, snorkelling, skiing, hiking, etc. We even took a day to get away from the resort and tour the island of St. Lucia. The trip back, however, is another story.
It consisted of island hopping on a plane with Liat and, after arriving in Antigua, our flight to Puerto Rico was delayed for about 2½ hours. We finally arrived in San Juan and missed our connecting United flight to Philadelphia by about 15 minutes. The lady behind the desk booked us new flights to Philly, via Charlotte. We arrived in Philadelphia close to midnight, as opposed to the original 6.30pm arrival time. Kristy and I added some things up in the midst of the waiting, the impatience and the anxiety: Six airports in eighteen hours straight of travel. Flights to Europe suddenly didn’t seem so bad. I was happy to have my new wife with me. And James Joyce.
While waiting for our luggage in Philly and looking forward to what few hours of sleep we had ahead of us, Kristy got a phone call from someone named Lorrain in Connecticut to explain to us that she had our luggage in Hartford and that hers had gotten switched with ours. After going back and forth at the US Airways baggage centre and over the phone, it was explained to us that our luggage would get sent to Chicago and on to Denver to meet us there.
After three hours of sleep in the hotel, our flight for Denver, via Chicago, left at 6am from Philadelphia. (In the same clothes we’d worn all day previously. Gotta love that.) Upon arriving in Denver, we anxiously waited for our luggage. Kristy’s suitcase finally came through, but there was no sign of my own. After waiting to see if it would come up from another flight from Denver, we again reported to the baggage claim centre and hoped for the best. We left the airport without my luggage and today, 3 days later, I am without 75% of my summer clothes, both casual and formal, the digital camera with all of our honeymoon pictures, a travel case of CD’s, a bottle of premium St. Lucian rum, and a brand new Samsonite suitcase that Kristy and I received in a 3-piece set from my parents as a wedding gift. As each day passes, hope fades for having these things returned.
So, for the last three days, my moods have randomly toggled from enraged, frustrated, and perplexed over my lost luggage to content, happy, and expectant as I’ve enjoyed the freshness and newness of marriage and companionship. Once in a while, I’ll be reminded of a favourite shirt or CD or a cell phone charger that was in my lost luggage and I’ll again do battle with frustration and anger. All the while, I know deep inside that God wants to speak to me and remind of me of what clothes and CD’s are actually worth in the Kingdom economy that I belong to more than I belong to this world. I know this cognitively, but I’m convinced that it’s only through life experiences such as these that I really come to take the most profound ownership of that truth.
The good news? On December 9th, 2005, I married my best friend. And I now have a companion to do this adventure of life with, arm in arm. Dang it. I just remembered that my Coldplay “X&Y” CD was in my luggage. Pray for me.
Categories: life
My younger brothers arranged for the bachelor party to happen up in Denver with all of the groomsmen in attendance. At the hotel, they made me wear a long silvery dress/skirt, a black afro wig, and some sort of colourful scarf. The highlight of the evening for everyone was meeting a drunken computer tech entrepreneur in an Irish pub just outside the walls of Coors Field and chatting with him about life, spirituality, philosophy, and Cuban cigars. He even invited us upstairs to his luxury apartment for some billiards and further fellowship.
The wedding itself was brilliant. Kristy and I were both blessed to have so many friends and family working so hard to make it all come together as well as it did. My good friend and pastor, Marc Johnson, did a great job officiating and another good friend and mentor, Jim Adkins, did a fine job sharing a few thoughts from Ephesians. Jim’s daughter also performed the special music beautifully.
One of the only blips on the radar was a flu bug that my mom picked up the night before and had a hard time shaking off. Fortunately, she was able to drag herself to the ceremony with the help of my faithful and dependable father. My sister-in-law, the beautiful and amiable Iris Wellcome, stepped in to fill in for my mom in lighting the family candles with Kristy’s mom.
On the way to the reception in Kristy’s dad’s 1971 Buick GS (not the one in the link picture), we were stopped at a traffic light after getting off the freeway when people behind us from the wedding party began honking and making a bunch of celebratory racket. All of a sudden, we began to hear the low droning of some sort of horn, like the kind made out of ivory that you hear in tribal contexts. Sure enough, we looked over a few lanes and this car full of men were blowing on these large horns out the windows and yelling “Blessings in the name of the Lord!” Kristy asked what they were and they answered back that they were shofars and that they were meant to be blown as a blessing. It was the most random, unexpected, skin-tingling blessing I’ve ever experienced!
The reception was a lot of fun and people seemed to enjoy the chocolate fountain. My two brothers (the best men) took their toasting/speech responsibility and turned it into an embarrassing, albeit creative and unique, account of our hiking trip this last summer in Yosemite. (I ended up in the emergency room due to dehydration.) Their warning to Kristy: Keep this boy hydrated! After this brief conclusion, they handed me a Camel Back that they’d purchased together.
The honeymoon was also brilliant. The most relaxing vacation I’ve ever had. Swimming, snorkelling, skiing, hiking, etc. We even took a day to get away from the resort and tour the island of St. Lucia. The trip back, however, is another story.
It consisted of island hopping on a plane with Liat and, after arriving in Antigua, our flight to Puerto Rico was delayed for about 2½ hours. We finally arrived in San Juan and missed our connecting United flight to Philadelphia by about 15 minutes. The lady behind the desk booked us new flights to Philly, via Charlotte. We arrived in Philadelphia close to midnight, as opposed to the original 6.30pm arrival time. Kristy and I added some things up in the midst of the waiting, the impatience and the anxiety: Six airports in eighteen hours straight of travel. Flights to Europe suddenly didn’t seem so bad. I was happy to have my new wife with me. And James Joyce.
While waiting for our luggage in Philly and looking forward to what few hours of sleep we had ahead of us, Kristy got a phone call from someone named Lorrain in Connecticut to explain to us that she had our luggage in Hartford and that hers had gotten switched with ours. After going back and forth at the US Airways baggage centre and over the phone, it was explained to us that our luggage would get sent to Chicago and on to Denver to meet us there.
After three hours of sleep in the hotel, our flight for Denver, via Chicago, left at 6am from Philadelphia. (In the same clothes we’d worn all day previously. Gotta love that.) Upon arriving in Denver, we anxiously waited for our luggage. Kristy’s suitcase finally came through, but there was no sign of my own. After waiting to see if it would come up from another flight from Denver, we again reported to the baggage claim centre and hoped for the best. We left the airport without my luggage and today, 3 days later, I am without 75% of my summer clothes, both casual and formal, the digital camera with all of our honeymoon pictures, a travel case of CD’s, a bottle of premium St. Lucian rum, and a brand new Samsonite suitcase that Kristy and I received in a 3-piece set from my parents as a wedding gift. As each day passes, hope fades for having these things returned.
So, for the last three days, my moods have randomly toggled from enraged, frustrated, and perplexed over my lost luggage to content, happy, and expectant as I’ve enjoyed the freshness and newness of marriage and companionship. Once in a while, I’ll be reminded of a favourite shirt or CD or a cell phone charger that was in my lost luggage and I’ll again do battle with frustration and anger. All the while, I know deep inside that God wants to speak to me and remind of me of what clothes and CD’s are actually worth in the Kingdom economy that I belong to more than I belong to this world. I know this cognitively, but I’m convinced that it’s only through life experiences such as these that I really come to take the most profound ownership of that truth.
The good news? On December 9th, 2005, I married my best friend. And I now have a companion to do this adventure of life with, arm in arm. Dang it. I just remembered that my Coldplay “X&Y” CD was in my luggage. Pray for me.
Categories: life
1.12.05
Relevant Podcast & The Supposed "War on Christmas"
For the last several years, Relevant Magazine has been a regular visit for me and this week they have some really interesting discussion on their podcast. In particular, the Relevant crew brings up the issue of Christians freaking out about retail stores taking Jesus out of Christmas, replacing "Merry Christmas" with "Happy Holidays." This season it seems to be everywhere. Okay, so maybe it's just everywhere over at Fox News.
In the Christian community, quotes like this are commonplace:
“My personal solution to this attack on my inherent constitutional rights, is to boycott all businesses that refuse to acknowledge that Christmas is a ‘national’ holiday. Those unbelievably huge retailers who refuse to reference the Christmas season need to feel the impact of the Christian community. Money talks!” — Rich (Harrisburg, PA)
This kind of attitude and tone is encouraged by our brothers and sisters in Christ who are promoting a "culture war" (e.g., The Dob and Jer Bear.) Very problematic. I'm sorry, but most Americans do not have a faith in the Jesus of the Christian Christmas. Therefore, it seems pretty natural for department stores to say "Happy Holidays" so as to include as many people of different faiths (or of no faith) as they can without alienating their customers. Afterall, the purpose of Target and Wal Mart is NOT to promote Christianity. It's to make money! Yet the first reaction of “American Christendom” is to lash out as though retail stores are going to single-handedly take down the God of creation Himself.
I appreciate Cameron Strang’s sensitivity on the Relevant podcast when he points out that, if he were to have a Jewish friend, he wouldn’t mind saying “Happy Holidays” to include his friend, thus preserving the friendship with potentially redemptive results in the future.
Christians have been called to be agents of change in enemy territory, not to protest the enemy. The problem is that sometimes Christ-followers mistakenly identify the enemy (i.e., retail stores), expecting the darkness to be less dark. Worse yet, American Christians too often use their supposed “constitutional rights” (see above quote) to force their faith on those who don’t have Jesus, but desperately need to see examples of Christ-like character so absent in the defensive culture-war movement.
Granted, there are those who want to wage some kind of all-out war on Christianity and even take Santa out of the picture (which would be fine for the promoters and gatekeepers of American Christendom) as a result of a ridiculous obsession with political correctness. However, these voices have a stronger bark than they do bite. And even if they did begin to move the zeitgeist, God would not go away and the real enemy would still have only defeat to look forward to in the future.
One more quote from the Fox News article that I think is on the more profound side of the issue:
“War on Christmas? Are you kidding me? There are more pressing issues in the world that need to brought up. If someone is in need of a ‘war,’ why not hunger, crime, social injustice, or racism?" — Sophia
Big shout out to Sophia.
(And by the way, Xmas is NOT an attempt to take Christ out of Christmas.)
Categories: culture, God, church
In the Christian community, quotes like this are commonplace:
“My personal solution to this attack on my inherent constitutional rights, is to boycott all businesses that refuse to acknowledge that Christmas is a ‘national’ holiday. Those unbelievably huge retailers who refuse to reference the Christmas season need to feel the impact of the Christian community. Money talks!” — Rich (Harrisburg, PA)
This kind of attitude and tone is encouraged by our brothers and sisters in Christ who are promoting a "culture war" (e.g., The Dob and Jer Bear.) Very problematic. I'm sorry, but most Americans do not have a faith in the Jesus of the Christian Christmas. Therefore, it seems pretty natural for department stores to say "Happy Holidays" so as to include as many people of different faiths (or of no faith) as they can without alienating their customers. Afterall, the purpose of Target and Wal Mart is NOT to promote Christianity. It's to make money! Yet the first reaction of “American Christendom” is to lash out as though retail stores are going to single-handedly take down the God of creation Himself.
I appreciate Cameron Strang’s sensitivity on the Relevant podcast when he points out that, if he were to have a Jewish friend, he wouldn’t mind saying “Happy Holidays” to include his friend, thus preserving the friendship with potentially redemptive results in the future.
Christians have been called to be agents of change in enemy territory, not to protest the enemy. The problem is that sometimes Christ-followers mistakenly identify the enemy (i.e., retail stores), expecting the darkness to be less dark. Worse yet, American Christians too often use their supposed “constitutional rights” (see above quote) to force their faith on those who don’t have Jesus, but desperately need to see examples of Christ-like character so absent in the defensive culture-war movement.
Granted, there are those who want to wage some kind of all-out war on Christianity and even take Santa out of the picture (which would be fine for the promoters and gatekeepers of American Christendom) as a result of a ridiculous obsession with political correctness. However, these voices have a stronger bark than they do bite. And even if they did begin to move the zeitgeist, God would not go away and the real enemy would still have only defeat to look forward to in the future.
One more quote from the Fox News article that I think is on the more profound side of the issue:
“War on Christmas? Are you kidding me? There are more pressing issues in the world that need to brought up. If someone is in need of a ‘war,’ why not hunger, crime, social injustice, or racism?" — Sophia
Big shout out to Sophia.
(And by the way, Xmas is NOT an attempt to take Christ out of Christmas.)
Categories: culture, God, church
That *expletive* Discussion
Phil Kingsley sent me an e-mail about some dialogue resulting from a poem read at a Scum of the Earth gathering in Denver. I began responding to his message with an e-mail, but then decided that it might make a better blog post.
I think this is a great discussion. It seems to me that the brand of Christianity that many take on is not so much biblical faith as it is a "culturally respectable" christianity. In "respectable Christianity," somehow profanity (as defined by culture) finds itself amongst the worst of sins, while things like selfish ambition, pride/arrogance, gossip, and the subtleties of excusable and acceptable racism get swept aside as soft sins, worthy of neglect and even dismissal. Maybe our understanding of things like holiness, purity and sin just need to be re-hashed.
Soooooooo, are swear words sin? Well, unfortunately God hasn't made it real easy for us by designating certain English slang words as such (obviously). So maybe Christians should look to the necessary cultural institutions that both reflect and influence culturally determined values, such as profanity. (The only thing that comes to mind in the U.S. at the moment is the MPAA and the BBC and BBFC in the UK.) I have to be careful back here in the U.S. where words like "hell" and "damn" draw raised brows from Christians, whereas it's not as much the case in Britain. I personally believe that soft, or moderate, profanity such as these can be helpful in expressing opinions and ideas, but can also be quite abused and used unintelligently (as in the case of many Hollywood films these days), often so as to disrespect or de-humanize other people.
I also think there are bigger and broader issues that this particular topic points to that need to be discussed. For example, is a Christ-follower guilty of sin for watching a movie with a heavy dose of profanity? Does it nullify any other redemptive components of the film? How much is too much? Can we really speak for God in determining how much profanity should be allowed in a film before we walk out of the cinema or push "stop" on the DVD remote?
Should Christians really be as offended at something as biblically ambiguous as "cuss words"? Do scripture passages that mention such things as "filthy language" refer primarily to culturally informed profanity more than words of resentment, gossip, contempt, malice, rage, etc.? What about Paul's use of "scubalon" in his letter to the Philippians (a Greek word which directly translates into English as - well, a word I would probably get complaints about if I used here - let's just say it rhymes with "spit")? And by the way, the word I refer to is actually translated "rubbish" in the NIV. How respectable.
There are also broader concepts such as what it means for Christ-followers to be in the world, not of the world, sent to the world. Should we as God's children be shocked and offended when non-followers act as if they're, well . . . not followers of Jesus, lost in the darkness of their sin nature? (Much to the gobsmacking disgust of members of the "culture war" movement?)
Like I said, it's a good item of discussion and one that has far-reaching implications in regards to what it means for followers of The Way to be aliens and strangers, with a divine calling to be catalysts of redemption and change.
I think this is a great discussion. It seems to me that the brand of Christianity that many take on is not so much biblical faith as it is a "culturally respectable" christianity. In "respectable Christianity," somehow profanity (as defined by culture) finds itself amongst the worst of sins, while things like selfish ambition, pride/arrogance, gossip, and the subtleties of excusable and acceptable racism get swept aside as soft sins, worthy of neglect and even dismissal. Maybe our understanding of things like holiness, purity and sin just need to be re-hashed.
Soooooooo, are swear words sin? Well, unfortunately God hasn't made it real easy for us by designating certain English slang words as such (obviously). So maybe Christians should look to the necessary cultural institutions that both reflect and influence culturally determined values, such as profanity. (The only thing that comes to mind in the U.S. at the moment is the MPAA and the BBC and BBFC in the UK.) I have to be careful back here in the U.S. where words like "hell" and "damn" draw raised brows from Christians, whereas it's not as much the case in Britain. I personally believe that soft, or moderate, profanity such as these can be helpful in expressing opinions and ideas, but can also be quite abused and used unintelligently (as in the case of many Hollywood films these days), often so as to disrespect or de-humanize other people.
I also think there are bigger and broader issues that this particular topic points to that need to be discussed. For example, is a Christ-follower guilty of sin for watching a movie with a heavy dose of profanity? Does it nullify any other redemptive components of the film? How much is too much? Can we really speak for God in determining how much profanity should be allowed in a film before we walk out of the cinema or push "stop" on the DVD remote?
Should Christians really be as offended at something as biblically ambiguous as "cuss words"? Do scripture passages that mention such things as "filthy language" refer primarily to culturally informed profanity more than words of resentment, gossip, contempt, malice, rage, etc.? What about Paul's use of "scubalon" in his letter to the Philippians (a Greek word which directly translates into English as - well, a word I would probably get complaints about if I used here - let's just say it rhymes with "spit")? And by the way, the word I refer to is actually translated "rubbish" in the NIV. How respectable.
There are also broader concepts such as what it means for Christ-followers to be in the world, not of the world, sent to the world. Should we as God's children be shocked and offended when non-followers act as if they're, well . . . not followers of Jesus, lost in the darkness of their sin nature? (Much to the gobsmacking disgust of members of the "culture war" movement?)
Like I said, it's a good item of discussion and one that has far-reaching implications in regards to what it means for followers of The Way to be aliens and strangers, with a divine calling to be catalysts of redemption and change.