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Really looking forward to downloading some of this year's talks from the Greenbelt Festival.
I noticed that Shane Claiborne was also there this year. I'm currently reading through his book Irresistable Revolution at the moment (in between house hunting and all the other craziness). It's the kind of book that dares you to step out of your comfort zone and live like Jesus in ways that are foreign to the status quo of modern day Christianity. I can't read this book and just say that I liked it or that it was great book without also saying something about how my life needs to change to some degree - lest I be guilty of profound hypocrisy.
If I've captured your curiosity about the book, I dare you to read it.
30.8.06
Wellcome Immigrants in Dublin
The days continue to be full! Yesterday, we went into the city to get our immigration cards. We were warned that it usually takes 3+ hours of waiting in the immigration office, so we took the train in, reading material in hand. Five minutes after we took our numbers, they were called. Thirty minutes later, we walked out with our immigration cards – officially legal residents of the Republic of Ireland!
It gave us extra time to get out and see some of the city. The night before, we had seen the film Michael Collins with Jon and Stacey (highly recommended for anyone wanting to understand Irish history and culture) and the film starts with the Easter Rising incident at the General Post Office on O’Connell Street. With the film still fresh in our minds, we walked down O’Connell to the GPO, imagining what it was like 90 years ago.
After stopping by for lunch at the Bad Ass Café in the Temple Bar district (always a novelty, but certainly not the best food in Dublin), we headed over to Dublin Castle for a look around. The courtyard of the castle offered a special treat from Duthain Dealbh. They were sand sculptures created around a theme of the five senses. (Click on the picture below to see a bigger version. I'll try to post more pics on Flickr later on.)
Today, we look at a house for a second time to decide if it's the one for us. The more we think about this place, the more excited we get. And this particular estate agent has been great to work with. Stay tuned . . .
It gave us extra time to get out and see some of the city. The night before, we had seen the film Michael Collins with Jon and Stacey (highly recommended for anyone wanting to understand Irish history and culture) and the film starts with the Easter Rising incident at the General Post Office on O’Connell Street. With the film still fresh in our minds, we walked down O’Connell to the GPO, imagining what it was like 90 years ago.
After stopping by for lunch at the Bad Ass Café in the Temple Bar district (always a novelty, but certainly not the best food in Dublin), we headed over to Dublin Castle for a look around. The courtyard of the castle offered a special treat from Duthain Dealbh. They were sand sculptures created around a theme of the five senses. (Click on the picture below to see a bigger version. I'll try to post more pics on Flickr later on.)
Today, we look at a house for a second time to decide if it's the one for us. The more we think about this place, the more excited we get. And this particular estate agent has been great to work with. Stay tuned . . .
28.8.06
Weekend Break
On Saturday, we took a break from the house hunting and drove out to the ruins of an ancient Irish monastery called Clonmacnoise. You can view some pictures of our time here.
Sunday morning, we joined the Covell family (whom we're staying with) at their small church start-up called Ballycullen Community Church. In every church we've visited so far, we've been really blessed by the conversation with Irish Christ-followers who are keen to answer questions about their country and eager to help us get settled into life in Dublin. One book in particular that has come up several times in those conversations (Sunday included) has been The Pope's Children.
Sunday evening, we visited Core, a Church of Ireland congregation in the heart of Dublin. Historically a Protestant church with Anglo-Irish roots, the service we attended on Sunday evening was very creative, sincere, and worshipful. It's another resource that we hope to go back to at some point to get a feel for what God is doing in the country. It'll also be good to discover a Catholic congregation that is alive, vibrant, and active in the community. The perspective will likely be different and will give us a more holistic picture of the spiritual environment in contemporary Irish society.
Today we looked at another house that we really liked. And we may just be able to do work around the furniture issues, since it comes fully furnished. If it still doesn't work out, we've got several other places that we'll take a look at throughout the rest of the week.
Sunday morning, we joined the Covell family (whom we're staying with) at their small church start-up called Ballycullen Community Church. In every church we've visited so far, we've been really blessed by the conversation with Irish Christ-followers who are keen to answer questions about their country and eager to help us get settled into life in Dublin. One book in particular that has come up several times in those conversations (Sunday included) has been The Pope's Children.
Sunday evening, we visited Core, a Church of Ireland congregation in the heart of Dublin. Historically a Protestant church with Anglo-Irish roots, the service we attended on Sunday evening was very creative, sincere, and worshipful. It's another resource that we hope to go back to at some point to get a feel for what God is doing in the country. It'll also be good to discover a Catholic congregation that is alive, vibrant, and active in the community. The perspective will likely be different and will give us a more holistic picture of the spiritual environment in contemporary Irish society.
Today we looked at another house that we really liked. And we may just be able to do work around the furniture issues, since it comes fully furnished. If it still doesn't work out, we've got several other places that we'll take a look at throughout the rest of the week.
24.8.06
Just when you thought Starbucks was overpriced . . .
Kristy and I dropped by the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in our sporty Seat 1.2 rental car today to purchase a mobile phone. On the way out we stopped by the world's most ubiquitous coffee shop. When the barista told me that my total for the tall drip coffee was €2.30, my jaw dropped wide open and I considered reminding her that I'd only asked for ONE. At the current exchange rate, that means I'm paying $2.94 here for something that costs a buck fifty in the States. Yer killing me.
Time to open some more Bewleys.
Time to open some more Bewleys.
23.8.06
Car, Good to Go (house, not so much)
Today, we started out the day at Hertz to hire (“rent” in American English) a car, so it’s been good to feel a little extra freedom to get out on our own. Jon and Stacey Covell have been extremely hospitable and gracious in letting us stay with them while we look for a place of our own. (More on that below.) It’s been fun hanging out with them as well.
We also put a down payment on a car today. It’s a 2004 Opel Astra. Pretty much the same car I had in England, only 2 years newer, black, and a Saloon model (vs. a hatchback). Brought back good memories when I gave it a test drive. We also tried a 2002 Volkswagen Bora (which is a Jetta in the States), but it had some minor body damage and a few other small things on the negative end.
Finding a place to live is proving to be much more difficult. Aside from how expensive rent can be here, very few places are unfurnished and workable with the furniture we have on the way from Colorado. We’re also needing to limit ourselves to places that are within 10-15 minutes walk from the Luas or Dart tram lines into the city centre. So it feels like we’ve got a lot stacked against us, but there have been a few places that have come really close to meeting all the above criteria. And they say that landlords in Dublin will be coming home from their holidays in the next few days and posting their rental properties, so that’s something to be optimistic about.
Getting into a home is particularly significant because it's only when we have a utility bill that proves our address that we can also get such things as a bank account and mobile phones. Of course, it's also nice to have a place to live. =)
I'm also really eager to get into a place where we can start meeting our neighbours and discovering ways we can serve the community around us. One of the houses we looked at today had a single mother still living in it and Kristy and I both had the thought later that she looked like someone who could use some genuine friendship and attention.
21.8.06
First Sunday in Dublin
Had a great day yesterday, meeting lots of people and getting familiar with the areas of Dublin we’re looking in for a home. We started out the morning attending the Trinity Church service in the centre of Dublin. It was a lively modern/contemporary service of about 150+ people and the Trinity Church network is doing some great things in the Dublin area. (Click here to check them out on their website.)
After the service, I had a chance to meet Fergus Ryan (whom I blogged about a few weeks back. He had written a brilliant article on how European Catholicism hijacked Irish Christianity in a struggle for power.) I really hope to be able to connect with Fergus again to learn from him about Irish culture and what God is doing in the Irish church. He’s well-connected and a profound thinker regarding issues facing the Body of Christ. He seemed keen on getting together for lunch or coffee once we’ve had a chance to settle in.
We dropped by the Irish National Gallery for lunch (brilliant food, though a little on the spendy side) and on the way in, I spoke with an artist who was selling his paintings across the street from the gallery. He had some beautiful work leaning up against a park fence and I asked him if he’d had opportunity to show his work in any galleries in Dublin. He told me that it was just too expensive to show his stuff in a gallery and that he seemed to have great success just showing his work on the streets. I shared with him part of my dream of opening up an art house to showcase local artists and linking it to cyberspace and he seemed quite interested. People had experienced trouble finding him since he isn’t really based anywhere and doesn’t have a web site.
After lunch, we drove south out of the town centre and looked at various estate areas along the Luas tram line. In the evening, we dropped by Alan and Sheryl McElwee’s home who work with Christian Associates International and have developed the Serve the City project in Dublin. It was such a blessing to hear stories of what God is doing through their efforts and we’re really looking forward to collaborating with them in the future.
Today, it’s off to have a look at a 2002 Volkswagen Passat and then to view a rental home this evening.
Categories: life, Ireland
After the service, I had a chance to meet Fergus Ryan (whom I blogged about a few weeks back. He had written a brilliant article on how European Catholicism hijacked Irish Christianity in a struggle for power.) I really hope to be able to connect with Fergus again to learn from him about Irish culture and what God is doing in the Irish church. He’s well-connected and a profound thinker regarding issues facing the Body of Christ. He seemed keen on getting together for lunch or coffee once we’ve had a chance to settle in.
We dropped by the Irish National Gallery for lunch (brilliant food, though a little on the spendy side) and on the way in, I spoke with an artist who was selling his paintings across the street from the gallery. He had some beautiful work leaning up against a park fence and I asked him if he’d had opportunity to show his work in any galleries in Dublin. He told me that it was just too expensive to show his stuff in a gallery and that he seemed to have great success just showing his work on the streets. I shared with him part of my dream of opening up an art house to showcase local artists and linking it to cyberspace and he seemed quite interested. People had experienced trouble finding him since he isn’t really based anywhere and doesn’t have a web site.
After lunch, we drove south out of the town centre and looked at various estate areas along the Luas tram line. In the evening, we dropped by Alan and Sheryl McElwee’s home who work with Christian Associates International and have developed the Serve the City project in Dublin. It was such a blessing to hear stories of what God is doing through their efforts and we’re really looking forward to collaborating with them in the future.
Today, it’s off to have a look at a 2002 Volkswagen Passat and then to view a rental home this evening.
Categories: life, Ireland
19.8.06
Back from Hungary
Yesterday we arrived back from the GEM Annual Conference, very ready to get settled in to life in Ireland. (Click here for pics of our time in Hungary and Austria.)
At the conference, it became quite clear that while the leadership and members of the organization have been straining to get onto the same page regarding it's mission and focus, they have clearly not been on the same page regarding it's ecclesiological foundation. In some ways it feels like the same ol' traditional mistake of parachurch organizations - "it's all about evangelism and the local church is merely one way of many ways to do it." This is a problem when many of us in the organization are saying, "It's all about the forming of disciples and the church is the mission." In this way, I think GEM is a microcosm of the issues facing the North American church. Much more on this later. But for now, it's time to find a home in Dublin.
Phil Kingsley (our friend and supervisor here) really wants us to find a place that is close to a train line for easy access into Dublin town centre, but also close enough to the M50 (orbital motorway around Dublin) to have easy access to other colleagues. So we're thinking that Rathfarnham or Dundrum are going to have to be it. We've found several places online in Rathfarnham that are within our budget and have 3 bedrooms.
On the car side of things, I'm just waiting to get some proof of insurance from the UK company that I was using when I lived there. We'll probably try to get a 2 or 3 year old Opel Astra (pretty much the same car I had in England) or a Volkswagen Passat or Jetta. If it takes too long to actually get the proof of insurance from England, we may need to look into renting a car for a few days.
Once we get all of that in order, we're really looking forward to learning Irish culture and even doing some traveling around the island.
At the conference, it became quite clear that while the leadership and members of the organization have been straining to get onto the same page regarding it's mission and focus, they have clearly not been on the same page regarding it's ecclesiological foundation. In some ways it feels like the same ol' traditional mistake of parachurch organizations - "it's all about evangelism and the local church is merely one way of many ways to do it." This is a problem when many of us in the organization are saying, "It's all about the forming of disciples and the church is the mission." In this way, I think GEM is a microcosm of the issues facing the North American church. Much more on this later. But for now, it's time to find a home in Dublin.
Phil Kingsley (our friend and supervisor here) really wants us to find a place that is close to a train line for easy access into Dublin town centre, but also close enough to the M50 (orbital motorway around Dublin) to have easy access to other colleagues. So we're thinking that Rathfarnham or Dundrum are going to have to be it. We've found several places online in Rathfarnham that are within our budget and have 3 bedrooms.
On the car side of things, I'm just waiting to get some proof of insurance from the UK company that I was using when I lived there. We'll probably try to get a 2 or 3 year old Opel Astra (pretty much the same car I had in England) or a Volkswagen Passat or Jetta. If it takes too long to actually get the proof of insurance from England, we may need to look into renting a car for a few days.
Once we get all of that in order, we're really looking forward to learning Irish culture and even doing some traveling around the island.
16.8.06
Report from Hungary
We're having a great time here in Hungary, catching up with some of our colleagues and relaxing a bit before we go back to being homeless in Ireland. =) We realized today that by now, we've actually been in Hungary longer than we've been in Ireland. So while it's been good, we're also looking forward to getting back to Dublin to settle in.
Took a trip into Vienna today, just over an hour from where we are here in Sopron. Here a couple of pics. Plenty more to come. (No, my chin isn't actually in my coffee drink in the first pic.)
Took a trip into Vienna today, just over an hour from where we are here in Sopron. Here a couple of pics. Plenty more to come. (No, my chin isn't actually in my coffee drink in the first pic.)
10.8.06
Safe Arrival in Ireland
Kristy and I landed safely in Dublin yesterday morning. We were able to get some sleep off and on throughout the flight, usually resulting in a sore neck or back. Yesterday was spent working as hard as we could not to nod off so that we could get a good night's sleep and get onto Dublin time. We’re staying at the Taylors’ home in Leixlip and Stacey Covell, who lives right around the corner, has been helping us out with our meals and providing lifts here and there. Today, we’re scheduled to check out 3 or 4 houses and apartments to rent.
We had a great team of about 14 people helping us out with the moving last Friday. Probably too many people for the job. (Click here for pictures.) I went out at about 9am to get coffee and bottled water for our crew of volunteers and when I got back, a painting crew was taping up our front door and garage to paint! I couldn’t believe the timing. When I objected, they just told that they would get it done in 20 minutes, in time for us to start loading up the moving truck, which was supposed to pull up at around 10.30.
When I went inside, Kristy was livid. After calming her down and reassuring her that it would be just fine, we both stopped in our tracks. Was that a semi-truck outside our door?! Sure enough, the painters started pulling down their paperwork from our front door and motioning to us about the moving truck.
When I went outside to meet the truck driver, I said, “You’re early. Really early. We don’t even have our moving crew here yet.” In my mind, I was thinking, “God, do you have any other surprises waiting for us today?!” The driver assured us that we wouldn’t be charged the $75/hour until after the scheduled time (11am-1pm). Fortunately, this meant that as soon as people started showing up, we could start packing things into the truck.
After getting the truck about a quarter full, someone stuck their head in the back of the truck where I was arranging and packing with Aaron and said, “Umm, Brandon? The automatic sprinkler system just went on. And it’s getting the furniture on the driveway all wet.” Kristy promptly pulled a crew together to wipe down the furniture and cover the sprinkler heads. I'm pretty sure that was the last little surprise for the day.
It took us about 2 hours and 15 minutes to pack up the container and, thankfully, because the driver had it there a little early, we didn’t get charged for the extra time. As we finished, I felt pretty good about how well things were packed. Between Joe King (from the GEM office), my father-in-law, and the truck driver, it seemed like there was plenty of good advice being thrown around about packing to keep things from shifting too much on the open seas.
We'd appreciate your prayers for both finding a place to live here in Dublin, as well as finding people to rent our town home back in Colorado Springs. We're off to Hungary early Saturday morning to the GEM Annual Conference. Pictures to follow!
Categories: life
We had a great team of about 14 people helping us out with the moving last Friday. Probably too many people for the job. (Click here for pictures.) I went out at about 9am to get coffee and bottled water for our crew of volunteers and when I got back, a painting crew was taping up our front door and garage to paint! I couldn’t believe the timing. When I objected, they just told that they would get it done in 20 minutes, in time for us to start loading up the moving truck, which was supposed to pull up at around 10.30.
When I went inside, Kristy was livid. After calming her down and reassuring her that it would be just fine, we both stopped in our tracks. Was that a semi-truck outside our door?! Sure enough, the painters started pulling down their paperwork from our front door and motioning to us about the moving truck.
When I went outside to meet the truck driver, I said, “You’re early. Really early. We don’t even have our moving crew here yet.” In my mind, I was thinking, “God, do you have any other surprises waiting for us today?!” The driver assured us that we wouldn’t be charged the $75/hour until after the scheduled time (11am-1pm). Fortunately, this meant that as soon as people started showing up, we could start packing things into the truck.
After getting the truck about a quarter full, someone stuck their head in the back of the truck where I was arranging and packing with Aaron and said, “Umm, Brandon? The automatic sprinkler system just went on. And it’s getting the furniture on the driveway all wet.” Kristy promptly pulled a crew together to wipe down the furniture and cover the sprinkler heads. I'm pretty sure that was the last little surprise for the day.
It took us about 2 hours and 15 minutes to pack up the container and, thankfully, because the driver had it there a little early, we didn’t get charged for the extra time. As we finished, I felt pretty good about how well things were packed. Between Joe King (from the GEM office), my father-in-law, and the truck driver, it seemed like there was plenty of good advice being thrown around about packing to keep things from shifting too much on the open seas.
We'd appreciate your prayers for both finding a place to live here in Dublin, as well as finding people to rent our town home back in Colorado Springs. We're off to Hungary early Saturday morning to the GEM Annual Conference. Pictures to follow!
Categories: life
7.8.06
Off to Ireland
The last several days have been full of moving and spending quality time with Kristy's family. On Friday, we got all of our personal belongings shipped off to Dublin (aside from what we've managed to stuff into a few suitcases).
Lots of stories to tell, but unfortunately not a lot of time at the moment. Click here for a few pics of moving day and a going away party the night before with our neighbours and other friends. Tomorrow, we're off from DIA around noon, stopping off in Chicago to hang out with Kristy's best friends, Kristen and Carrie. ETA in Dublin, 08.40 on Wednesday morning.
(Also, quick shout out to my little bro who turns 28 today! Happy Birthday Ty!)
Lots of stories to tell, but unfortunately not a lot of time at the moment. Click here for a few pics of moving day and a going away party the night before with our neighbours and other friends. Tomorrow, we're off from DIA around noon, stopping off in Chicago to hang out with Kristy's best friends, Kristen and Carrie. ETA in Dublin, 08.40 on Wednesday morning.
(Also, quick shout out to my little bro who turns 28 today! Happy Birthday Ty!)
31.7.06
Contextless Links
- One more reason to love Ireland.
- Finally. Cyber treatment for "Bono Fatigue".
- Attention, all Radiohead fans...
- The music of Levi Ware. Levi is a good friend of my younger brother Jason and is planning on stopping by the Dublin area sometime in mid-September. From what I've heard so far, Levi is a talented musician and a gifted songwriter.
- Pictures from our hike to the top of Mt. Herman this last weekend.
26.7.06
GEM Blogging
Recently, I found out about a blog started by GEM missionary Ruth Robinson. Ruth puts together the Ambassador's Briefings that I post links to once in a while here at Restless. She's a great writer and thinker and I've appreciated the research on current events that she puts into the Briefings. Click here to read some of the conversation that we've been having about social justice and the church.
Over the next few weeks, I'm guessing that the blogging is going to slow down considerably. (It's already been a week since my last post.) The packing and other preparations to leave for Ireland are going to be taking over more and more. Once we get settled into Dublin, there'll be plenty to write about. Expect to see lots of pictures going up at both the Flickr site and the main image gallery over the next several weeks.
Over the next few weeks, I'm guessing that the blogging is going to slow down considerably. (It's already been a week since my last post.) The packing and other preparations to leave for Ireland are going to be taking over more and more. Once we get settled into Dublin, there'll be plenty to write about. Expect to see lots of pictures going up at both the Flickr site and the main image gallery over the next several weeks.
21.7.06
GOD Under a Microscope
This last Wednesday, I had the chance to lead the community group that Kristy and I have been involved in through Pierced Chapel. Over the last several months, we’ve been going through an “attributes of God/knowing God” kind of a theme. So on Wednesday, I started out asking people to finish this sentence: “You would get to know me well if . . .” It always fascinates me how people finish that sentence and it’s usually quite revealing. One young woman said, “if you could listen in on a conversation with my best friend.” Other people talked about doing things together that also allow for conversation, like working on a car or going on a road trip.
Of course, I couldn’t help but notice immediately the spiritual parallels. Through the pages of scripture, we get to know God by listening in on conversations that he’s had with people throughout the ages. And as we live in community with others, in a sense we’re able to listen in on current conversations that God is having with them as he works in their lives. Also, as we do life with him and grow spiritually, learning to trust him, we know him better.
The sheet of paper that that I handed out to people had a list of “attributes of God” that I took from table of contents in a typical devotional/theological book on the subject. After looking over the list, we all concluded a rather obvious idea: we don’t know God by segmenting and labelling him into lists of characteristics. “Knowing God” is relational, not academic.
Words like “omnipotent” and “omniscient” in particular have never really seemed appropriate to me. The ideas behind them (omnipotent = all-powerful, omniscient = all-knowing) are true and actually quite mind-boggling, but where the heck did we get the terms themselves from? The answer is found in the very word “omniscience.”
That’s right. Thanks to the scientific method (a result of the Age of Reason, or The Enlightenment), we’ve effectively put God under a microscope, slapped some big Latin-based labels on him and dissected him out into manageable categories with every “-ology” you can think of. Okay, so we haven’t literally put him under a microscope, but sometimes it sure feels like we’ve tried or even that we’ve fooled ourselves into thinking we could.
This isn’t to say that our attempts at systematic theology and dogma have been completely worthless. In fact, I told the small group Wednesday night that the book from which I got that list of attributes (Knowledge of the Holy, by A.W. Tozer) had proven to be a huge blessing in my own spiritual life.
However, it is to say that the unspoken Enlightenment-style confidence (arrogance even?) behind human reason often causes us to abuse God’s revelation of himself. If you’ve ever heard or read a raging debate about whether or not Jesus was mutable or immutable (able to sin or unable to sin) or, better yet, whether Jesus’ death was for all people or “limited” to the elect, you’ve seen a great example of this abuse. I wasted an entire Bible college class hour listening to the issues in the “immutability” debate and just shook my head as I walked out of class, thinking to myself, “Why are we so afraid of mystery and paradox?” Answer: Because we’ve taken on the philosophy that science can solve every mystery and reconcile every paradox. So we force our theology to do just that.
So after we had a brief discussion about some of these things, we took a good chunk of time just cozying up to Psalm 33 and talking about what we could learn about who God is from that text. Rather than squeezing the “application” in for a few minutes at the end, I challenged the group to always include a “therefore” as they shared their observation. “God is just and He’s passionately committed to justice (v. 5). THEREFORE, I will commit myself to doing what I can to help the poor, the fatherless, and the oppressed.”
It was a great evening. The highlight was the prayer time where we adored him for the things that we had observed about him and asked for help, not just with “applying” those things to our own lives, but with actually embodying them so as to be an agent of change in the world.
Categories: God, devotional
Of course, I couldn’t help but notice immediately the spiritual parallels. Through the pages of scripture, we get to know God by listening in on conversations that he’s had with people throughout the ages. And as we live in community with others, in a sense we’re able to listen in on current conversations that God is having with them as he works in their lives. Also, as we do life with him and grow spiritually, learning to trust him, we know him better.
The sheet of paper that that I handed out to people had a list of “attributes of God” that I took from table of contents in a typical devotional/theological book on the subject. After looking over the list, we all concluded a rather obvious idea: we don’t know God by segmenting and labelling him into lists of characteristics. “Knowing God” is relational, not academic.
Words like “omnipotent” and “omniscient” in particular have never really seemed appropriate to me. The ideas behind them (omnipotent = all-powerful, omniscient = all-knowing) are true and actually quite mind-boggling, but where the heck did we get the terms themselves from? The answer is found in the very word “omniscience.”
That’s right. Thanks to the scientific method (a result of the Age of Reason, or The Enlightenment), we’ve effectively put God under a microscope, slapped some big Latin-based labels on him and dissected him out into manageable categories with every “-ology” you can think of. Okay, so we haven’t literally put him under a microscope, but sometimes it sure feels like we’ve tried or even that we’ve fooled ourselves into thinking we could.
This isn’t to say that our attempts at systematic theology and dogma have been completely worthless. In fact, I told the small group Wednesday night that the book from which I got that list of attributes (Knowledge of the Holy, by A.W. Tozer) had proven to be a huge blessing in my own spiritual life.
However, it is to say that the unspoken Enlightenment-style confidence (arrogance even?) behind human reason often causes us to abuse God’s revelation of himself. If you’ve ever heard or read a raging debate about whether or not Jesus was mutable or immutable (able to sin or unable to sin) or, better yet, whether Jesus’ death was for all people or “limited” to the elect, you’ve seen a great example of this abuse. I wasted an entire Bible college class hour listening to the issues in the “immutability” debate and just shook my head as I walked out of class, thinking to myself, “Why are we so afraid of mystery and paradox?” Answer: Because we’ve taken on the philosophy that science can solve every mystery and reconcile every paradox. So we force our theology to do just that.
So after we had a brief discussion about some of these things, we took a good chunk of time just cozying up to Psalm 33 and talking about what we could learn about who God is from that text. Rather than squeezing the “application” in for a few minutes at the end, I challenged the group to always include a “therefore” as they shared their observation. “God is just and He’s passionately committed to justice (v. 5). THEREFORE, I will commit myself to doing what I can to help the poor, the fatherless, and the oppressed.”
It was a great evening. The highlight was the prayer time where we adored him for the things that we had observed about him and asked for help, not just with “applying” those things to our own lives, but with actually embodying them so as to be an agent of change in the world.
Categories: God, devotional
20.7.06
The Latest on the Preparations to Leave (or, NO! ... Sleep! ... till DUBLIN!)
I posted a little update on our preparations to leave for Dublin over at BrandonAndKristy.net. The last couple of days have been encouraging as we've begun packing and throwing things out. I had a really encouraging Skype conversation with Phil the other day as well. He's excited for us to get over to Ireland and he shared several inside stories about what God has been up to in the Dublin area lately. (Click here for one example.)
We're looking forward to hanging out with Kristy' sister and brother-in-law this weekend. Aaron is on the road right now, en route to the Colorado Springs area with a truck load of their earthly posessions. On Saturday, we'll meet them at their new home in Monument and help them unload. While we're at it, there's a good chance that we'll be stealing a ton of boxes and packing material for our own move. Family's gotta stick together. =)
We're looking forward to hanging out with Kristy' sister and brother-in-law this weekend. Aaron is on the road right now, en route to the Colorado Springs area with a truck load of their earthly posessions. On Saturday, we'll meet them at their new home in Monument and help them unload. While we're at it, there's a good chance that we'll be stealing a ton of boxes and packing material for our own move. Family's gotta stick together. =)
18.7.06
Brandon in La-La Land
Over the weekend, Kristy invited some friends up to stay with us in the Springs. Kristy and Kayleith go way back and have known each other since middle school. These days, Kayleith and her husband, Tim, and their daughter, Ella, live about three hours south of Colorado Springs.
As we were chatting about stuff we could do together, we decided to head over to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. After all, the zoo is much more fun when you have a two-year-old “ooo-ing and awe-ing” at all the cool animals. By the time we arrived at the zoo, it was getting pretty hot, maybe upwards to 95 degrees and as we wandered through, we all agreed that the heat was just sapping our energy and making us pretty lethargic. Of course, it’s the kind of “complaint” that everyone laughs off and thinks facetiously to themselves, “Oh, aren’t we suffering.”
And then there’s me. In my state of luxurious lethargy, I ended up in la-la land and thoroughly embarrassed myself.
After walking through one of the enclosed buildings with giant sized African bugs, brightly colored exotic birds, and a gracefully slow-moving sloth with massive claws, I wandered outside behind our little expeditionary group, my mind somewhere else completely. This is exceedingly important to note. My mind was somewhere else. I don’t remember completely, but it might’ve gone something like this: “Wow. Isn’t God creative to make all these bizarre looking bugs? Hmmm . . . Tim’s got the map. I wonder where he’s gonna take us next. Man, is it hot out here. . . . I wonder how that new “Pirates” movie is. . . . I wonder how much zoo keepers get paid. . . . My wife is awesome. I like to gently rub her back without even really thinking about it.”
And that’s when a familiar voice shook me from my state of half-conscious, sloth-inspired slumber. Only, it wasn’t the voice of my wife. It was Kayleith, attempting to communicate to me that whatever stunt I was trying to pull was more awkward than comedic, at which point, I jumped about three feet in the air and landed about five feet from my original position as I realized . . . I had been rubbing the wrong wife’s back.
My newly energized brain scrambled to think of a way to justify my actions or play along that I had just been pulling a little joke. But why? Why would I intentionally do such an awkward thing? It would never fly. So instead of saying anything, I just stood there stupefied, my aforementioned scrambled brain paralyzing my mouth.
Embarrassing? I’m not sure the word is strong enough. Fortunately, Kristy’s friends (whom I was hanging out with for the very first time!) are gracious, forgiving, and best of all, good-humored. After the dust settled and the laughter subsided (maybe 20 minutes later), Kayleith confirmed that after seeing how far I'd jumped and how beat red in the face I was, she knew that it had all just been a big mistake.
I guess it could’ve been worse. But I’ll leave it to your imagination as to how.
As we were chatting about stuff we could do together, we decided to head over to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. After all, the zoo is much more fun when you have a two-year-old “ooo-ing and awe-ing” at all the cool animals. By the time we arrived at the zoo, it was getting pretty hot, maybe upwards to 95 degrees and as we wandered through, we all agreed that the heat was just sapping our energy and making us pretty lethargic. Of course, it’s the kind of “complaint” that everyone laughs off and thinks facetiously to themselves, “Oh, aren’t we suffering.”
And then there’s me. In my state of luxurious lethargy, I ended up in la-la land and thoroughly embarrassed myself.
After walking through one of the enclosed buildings with giant sized African bugs, brightly colored exotic birds, and a gracefully slow-moving sloth with massive claws, I wandered outside behind our little expeditionary group, my mind somewhere else completely. This is exceedingly important to note. My mind was somewhere else. I don’t remember completely, but it might’ve gone something like this: “Wow. Isn’t God creative to make all these bizarre looking bugs? Hmmm . . . Tim’s got the map. I wonder where he’s gonna take us next. Man, is it hot out here. . . . I wonder how that new “Pirates” movie is. . . . I wonder how much zoo keepers get paid. . . . My wife is awesome. I like to gently rub her back without even really thinking about it.”
And that’s when a familiar voice shook me from my state of half-conscious, sloth-inspired slumber. Only, it wasn’t the voice of my wife. It was Kayleith, attempting to communicate to me that whatever stunt I was trying to pull was more awkward than comedic, at which point, I jumped about three feet in the air and landed about five feet from my original position as I realized . . . I had been rubbing the wrong wife’s back.
My newly energized brain scrambled to think of a way to justify my actions or play along that I had just been pulling a little joke. But why? Why would I intentionally do such an awkward thing? It would never fly. So instead of saying anything, I just stood there stupefied, my aforementioned scrambled brain paralyzing my mouth.
Embarrassing? I’m not sure the word is strong enough. Fortunately, Kristy’s friends (whom I was hanging out with for the very first time!) are gracious, forgiving, and best of all, good-humored. After the dust settled and the laughter subsided (maybe 20 minutes later), Kayleith confirmed that after seeing how far I'd jumped and how beat red in the face I was, she knew that it had all just been a big mistake.
I guess it could’ve been worse. But I’ll leave it to your imagination as to how.
15.7.06
Next in the Reading Queue & Thoughts on Cultural Engagement
After reading Rhett's post on one of his contemporary theological heroes, I've decided that this is the next book I'll try to read in the "ecclesiology" category. Really good stuff. In my estimation, these are the kinds of things in the emerging church dialogue that are most helpful and substantial.
At the moment, I'm wading through a book that I picked up in England before I left called The Middle Mind: Why Consumer Culture is Turning us into the Living Dead. (You'll notice on the Amazon site that the American version of the book has a different subtitle: Why Americans Don't Think for Themselves. Not sure it would've grabbed my attention as easily as the British title.) The premise of the book is fascinating and the kind of thinking that I find myself wrestling with, but never able to clearly articulate well. There are a few problems with the book however.
First of all, the author, an academic from Illinois State University, seems to assume that the reader is as brilliantly well-informed and intellectually robust as he is. If you struggle at all with any sort of inferiority complex on any level, this book is not for you. You will feel quite patronized, as I have. The name dropping and side comments about the way literary and philosophical movements have changed in academic circles over the last hundred years or so leave the reader thinking, "Okay, if I had any idea of who these people are or what the 'social criticism of Cultural Studies' consists of, I may have some inkling as to what this guy is talking about.” It’s reminiscent of trying to follow the humor of Dennis Miller. (Of course, if you don’t know what I’m talking about with this allusion to Dennis Miller, you’re experiencing firsthand what you might encounter in this book. Check out the “comedic style” section of this Wikipedia entry to see what I’m referring to. That’s it! This book needs hyperlinks!)
Secondly (and maybe a result of my first critique), it’s difficult to know exactly what foundational presuppositions the author is coming from. He criticizes a lot of things about American culture, but rarely offers a glimpse as to why. To my knowledge, White is not a Christ-follower, so he doesn’t come from a perspective of having divine revelation as his starting point, but it’s difficult to know what his standard is, other than his passionately felt opinion.
Having said that, there are a few jewels in the book that have kept me reading on. In the introduction, White reveals his thesis, if only in part. “I am interested in the imagination as a social force that allows for both critique and reinvention. This is something that happens not only in art (although it happens most powerfully in art), but in every area of the culture – even in technology and science.” As the book progresses, White makes his opinion clear that people in Western society have lost the ability to “read,” not as in words, but as in cultural elements all around us and what they are communicating. To demonstrate, he completely disassembles the film “Saving Private Ryan,” commenting brilliantly on the subtle messages given by Spieldberg, whom (you might have guessed) he really doesn’t like.
I really believe that this is a powerful challenge to our culture and especially to those who refer to themselves as Christ-followers. All too often, the message that we get from Evangelical Christian leaders is that film, music, television, etc. is really nothing more than a matter of entertainment and that we really need to fear the power and suggestion of the “pagan worldview” that constantly assaults us as believers through the medium of entertainment.
However, I think there is an alternative to this perspective. Film, music and other contemporary media are forms of artistic expression. Granted, the films and music that get the most prime time attention are usually the most shallow and hedonistic and lacking artistic integrity. And it seems rare that film makers and song writers see their trade as anything more than an opportunity to make a quick fortune on the shallow tastes and preferences of the American masses.
But get beyond these examples of contemporary culture that are driven by consumer capitalism, and you’ll see that there are many brilliant artists who see these mediums as opportunity to create, communicate, and experience life with authenticity and integrity, completely aside from revenue or box office numbers.
Bands like Radiohead, Wilco, Over the Rhine, and Built to Spill are much more concerned with making good art than they are with fame and fortune. Film makers like Wes Anderson, Terry Gilliam, Spike Jonze, and Charlie Kaufman are (usually) not so interested in making the latest box office hit as they are in making good art that challenges the mind or tells a good story.
Rather than see these mediums as merely entertainment to be avoided and to protect our children from, we as believers need to see these mediums as artistic expressions to be read and evaluated – sometimes even to be blessed by when there are elements of truth and beauty in them. Having this perspective can help us escape the entrapment of “entertainment choices” (no, that's not the only way to think of film and music) and open up a whole new world of intelligent engagement with the world around us. We can then help our children make choices in film and music based not on whether there was a Bible lesson explicitly given or even based on how good or amused it makes them feel, but on the truth and virtue of the message (even in uncomfortable films such as Magnolia or 21 Grams, admittedly not for children) or the challenge to the intellect and imagination.
Much more to be said, and I don’t even believe I’ve said what I’ve said clearly, but life outside the blogosphere calls.
At the moment, I'm wading through a book that I picked up in England before I left called The Middle Mind: Why Consumer Culture is Turning us into the Living Dead. (You'll notice on the Amazon site that the American version of the book has a different subtitle: Why Americans Don't Think for Themselves. Not sure it would've grabbed my attention as easily as the British title.) The premise of the book is fascinating and the kind of thinking that I find myself wrestling with, but never able to clearly articulate well. There are a few problems with the book however.
First of all, the author, an academic from Illinois State University, seems to assume that the reader is as brilliantly well-informed and intellectually robust as he is. If you struggle at all with any sort of inferiority complex on any level, this book is not for you. You will feel quite patronized, as I have. The name dropping and side comments about the way literary and philosophical movements have changed in academic circles over the last hundred years or so leave the reader thinking, "Okay, if I had any idea of who these people are or what the 'social criticism of Cultural Studies' consists of, I may have some inkling as to what this guy is talking about.” It’s reminiscent of trying to follow the humor of Dennis Miller. (Of course, if you don’t know what I’m talking about with this allusion to Dennis Miller, you’re experiencing firsthand what you might encounter in this book. Check out the “comedic style” section of this Wikipedia entry to see what I’m referring to. That’s it! This book needs hyperlinks!)
Secondly (and maybe a result of my first critique), it’s difficult to know exactly what foundational presuppositions the author is coming from. He criticizes a lot of things about American culture, but rarely offers a glimpse as to why. To my knowledge, White is not a Christ-follower, so he doesn’t come from a perspective of having divine revelation as his starting point, but it’s difficult to know what his standard is, other than his passionately felt opinion.
Having said that, there are a few jewels in the book that have kept me reading on. In the introduction, White reveals his thesis, if only in part. “I am interested in the imagination as a social force that allows for both critique and reinvention. This is something that happens not only in art (although it happens most powerfully in art), but in every area of the culture – even in technology and science.” As the book progresses, White makes his opinion clear that people in Western society have lost the ability to “read,” not as in words, but as in cultural elements all around us and what they are communicating. To demonstrate, he completely disassembles the film “Saving Private Ryan,” commenting brilliantly on the subtle messages given by Spieldberg, whom (you might have guessed) he really doesn’t like.
I really believe that this is a powerful challenge to our culture and especially to those who refer to themselves as Christ-followers. All too often, the message that we get from Evangelical Christian leaders is that film, music, television, etc. is really nothing more than a matter of entertainment and that we really need to fear the power and suggestion of the “pagan worldview” that constantly assaults us as believers through the medium of entertainment.
However, I think there is an alternative to this perspective. Film, music and other contemporary media are forms of artistic expression. Granted, the films and music that get the most prime time attention are usually the most shallow and hedonistic and lacking artistic integrity. And it seems rare that film makers and song writers see their trade as anything more than an opportunity to make a quick fortune on the shallow tastes and preferences of the American masses.
But get beyond these examples of contemporary culture that are driven by consumer capitalism, and you’ll see that there are many brilliant artists who see these mediums as opportunity to create, communicate, and experience life with authenticity and integrity, completely aside from revenue or box office numbers.
Bands like Radiohead, Wilco, Over the Rhine, and Built to Spill are much more concerned with making good art than they are with fame and fortune. Film makers like Wes Anderson, Terry Gilliam, Spike Jonze, and Charlie Kaufman are (usually) not so interested in making the latest box office hit as they are in making good art that challenges the mind or tells a good story.
Rather than see these mediums as merely entertainment to be avoided and to protect our children from, we as believers need to see these mediums as artistic expressions to be read and evaluated – sometimes even to be blessed by when there are elements of truth and beauty in them. Having this perspective can help us escape the entrapment of “entertainment choices” (no, that's not the only way to think of film and music) and open up a whole new world of intelligent engagement with the world around us. We can then help our children make choices in film and music based not on whether there was a Bible lesson explicitly given or even based on how good or amused it makes them feel, but on the truth and virtue of the message (even in uncomfortable films such as Magnolia or 21 Grams, admittedly not for children) or the challenge to the intellect and imagination.
Much more to be said, and I don’t even believe I’ve said what I’ve said clearly, but life outside the blogosphere calls.
A Great Example of Cultural Re-Entry
One of our good friends and colleagues has a great blog entry regarding her re-entry into American life. I felt much the same way when I arrived in Colorado back in October, but Dawn puts it so much more eloquently.
Rod and Dawn and their two kids are back in the States for a few months to re-evaluate GEM Youth Ministries and have a mini-sabbatical away from the ministry, which is often a great way to hear God’s voice and envision the best way to move forward. We’re hoping to connect with them and catch up a bit while they’re here in The Springs. Rumor has it that we may be able to borrow their house in Dublin for a while when we first arrive in August.
Rod and Dawn and their two kids are back in the States for a few months to re-evaluate GEM Youth Ministries and have a mini-sabbatical away from the ministry, which is often a great way to hear God’s voice and envision the best way to move forward. We’re hoping to connect with them and catch up a bit while they’re here in The Springs. Rumor has it that we may be able to borrow their house in Dublin for a while when we first arrive in August.
12.7.06
Denver Road Trip Adventure
Had an interesting day. Drove up to Denver to pick up my computer from the shop. The last several days have been frustrating as I’ve used my wife’s computer to, among other things, do the e-mailing thing online, a process which is maddeningly slower than receiving them into my e-mail client on my computer. Along the way, there’ve been a number of other inconveniences that have given me cause to whine and complain. And it’s given Kristy plenty of reason to conclude that I’m a little technology-spoiled brat.
On the way home from Denver, just as we came over Monument Hill to head into The Springs, the Crown Vic (which my father-in-law has graciously lent to us all these months) suddenly decided to refuse acceleration and then, after coasting a mile, to quit altogether. After getting towed to a nearby garage, the mechanic informed us that the fuel pump would need to be replaced for a pretty little price.
Funny enough, Kristy called her dad to let her know what was going on with his car and when she mentioned the problem with the fuel pump, he said, “Oh sure. That thing’s been going bad for about four years now.” I suddenly didn’t feel so bad about breaking his car. (I’m mean c’mon, that fuel pump has probably just been hanging by a thread since we started using it last autumn, right?)
Our little adventure raised an interesting question: Are you required to have missing teeth to work with cars? It seemed uncanny how the tow truck driver and the mechanic seemed to fit the qualification.
Aside from the road trip mishaps, it’s nice to have my baby (read, “laptop”) back and running like new. Needless to say my wife is quite happy as well. Now if I can just get my MP3 player working again . . .
On the way home from Denver, just as we came over Monument Hill to head into The Springs, the Crown Vic (which my father-in-law has graciously lent to us all these months) suddenly decided to refuse acceleration and then, after coasting a mile, to quit altogether. After getting towed to a nearby garage, the mechanic informed us that the fuel pump would need to be replaced for a pretty little price.
Funny enough, Kristy called her dad to let her know what was going on with his car and when she mentioned the problem with the fuel pump, he said, “Oh sure. That thing’s been going bad for about four years now.” I suddenly didn’t feel so bad about breaking his car. (I’m mean c’mon, that fuel pump has probably just been hanging by a thread since we started using it last autumn, right?)
Our little adventure raised an interesting question: Are you required to have missing teeth to work with cars? It seemed uncanny how the tow truck driver and the mechanic seemed to fit the qualification.
Aside from the road trip mishaps, it’s nice to have my baby (read, “laptop”) back and running like new. Needless to say my wife is quite happy as well. Now if I can just get my MP3 player working again . . .
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