Around and About
I discovered some interesting posts in my leap-blogging tonight.

Hadn't checked in with Martin Roth recently. Found first a great collection of quotes from Chosun Journal that Martin posted. Here are the first five:

1. In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

2. There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come. - Victor Hugo

3. He who saves one life saves the world entire. - Babylonian Talmud

4. If your opponent is of choleric temper, irritate him. - Sun Tzu

5. We can't all be heroes because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by. - Will Rogers

Martin also had a challenging and disturbing post about alcohol use among teenagers and the newer drinks on the market that are to appeal to them. His conclusion:

It’s dreadful that it is, apparently, not overly difficult for young people to obtain alcohol, though I don’t think that’s new, and, anyway, it’s probably pretty inevitable in a free society.

I think to me the outrage is that we have given our kids so little to believe in, that, when they get to a party, about all they want to do is get blind drink as fast they can.

As an alcohol and drug counselor Martin's information doesn't surprise me. It is a truly difficult and dangerous situation that continues to escalate in many areas. Teen alcohol abuse is real and a significant problem.

Another Way of Describing the Split

Midwest Conservative Journal has been keeping us the posting on the ongoing problems of the Episcopal/Anglican Communion. With the consecration of Gene Robinson as the first openly gay bishop still scheduled for next week, the tension and interest will be high this week. Today, MCJ had a post on the two different Anglican churches. Will this be a description of most mainline churches in the coming years?

I really think the time has come for us to recognize that there are two quite distinct creedal communities within our Episcopal Church. They are no longer compatible. Take just the following:

Of Scripture: one community believes it presents man's best efforts to capture the human experienced of God, the other that it represents God's best effort to capture our attention as his Word enters our experience.

Of Christ: one community stops short with an affirming loving presence of a Christ "enabling" us to be the people we by nature are, the other still includes the "tough" love of Jesus' death and sacrifice that promises re-creation into the 2nd Adam of Christ.

Of the Church and the Holy Spirit: one community views the church in federalist terms, needing from the Spirit merely a leading and recognition of indigenous theologies, local options. The other community still holds to the idea of koinonia, with the Spirit leading the church into oneness of mind ever faithful to one holy catholic and apostolic church.

No matter which side of the issue you are on, it is clear that the issue is divisive. This post gives some perhaps overly simplistic statements about the different views, but it is a very good starting point. (Thanks to Ecumenical Insanity for the link.)

Summer Has Ended

They were the wild card team. They averaged 16,000 in attendance in a small-market.

In mid-season no one would have thought they had a chance.

They called in a new manager out of retirement... and thus began the saga that ended tonight.

In Yankee Stadium and the Boys of Summer ended the season.

Marlins defeat the Yankees and take the 100th World Series, 4 games to 2.

We head into winter with memories of a truly wonderful baseball October.

My Job

"My job isn't to build the church. My job is to follow Jesus." (Andy Stanley)
  -- Thanks to Darryl at The Dying Church

A Thought That Came to Me Unbidden

Isn't it sad, the thought came, that we spend so much time and energy trying to attract people to a new idea, a new worship service, a new lecture, a new attention-grabbing event. Isn't it sad, the thought continued, that we exert so much of who we are trying to convince people that they should try us out, come see who we are, when who we are is often not what is to be seen in these events.

Isn't it more likely, the thought added, that if we were simply going about our business of being the people of God in our daily walks, that the Word made flesh in us might have an impact? Isn't it more like what the Lord Himself did, the thought pushed on, when we heal the sick, release the captives, visit the poor, and point to the Kingdom?

Perhaps thoughts like that are unwelcome because they point to the waste of time and energy we all place into promotion of ourselves in the name of Jesus, when what we should be doing is simply being Jesus in action. That might attract more than we realize. It might even be worth trying.

A Year Has Passed

One year ago today the political climate was altered by a small plane crash in northern Minnesota. Senator Paul Wellstone, a remarkable human being and tireless advocate for all that is right and moral and hopeful in political llife, was gone. Matt Zemek has kept the vision alive over at The Wellstone Cornerstone. He had this to say today:

But you can't take this away from Paul Wellstone: he had a gut-level identification with the beaten-down and broken the likes of which no other United States Senator has ever achieved in recent times.

And when you get down to it, that is really the source and summit of what we, as Americans--all too individualistic and in need of returning to the communal ethos our Founders envisioned for our nation--need to rediscover.

Wellstone was a man of vision and action. His was a vision of a nation and a world where people were respected and upheld in their basic humanity as creations of God. He could be wordy, or over-the-top, but he was always likable and highly respected. He was a man of conviction.

His death reminded me that none of us is perfect- or immortal. We have a responsibility given to us by God to live out our vision and to care for those who are not as fortunate as we are. We have the calling to be witnesses to the possibilities of life lived with meaning and hope for all. As such, his death reminded me that I need to be about that mission in all that I do. Life is too short to get caught up in the trivialities and fears that can paralyze us. Rather we are to move forward with our vision always guiding us.

In relation to the first two sections of this post that means for me:
<>< Follow my Lord and HIS vision.
<>< It's not about me or even us. It's about HIM.
<>< Always walk the walk AND talk the talk.
<>< Move forward with hope, never allowing the fear to keep us from being who we are called to be.
<>< As the church, BE Jesus' Body as He intends us to be.

The Real Challenge

From Anthony de Mello's book, Taking Flight:

"Prisoner at the bar," said the Grand Inquisitor, "you are charged with encouraging people to break the laws, traditions, and customs of our holy religion. How do you plead?"
  "Guilty, Your Honor."
  "And with frequenting the company of heretics, prostitutes, public sinners, the extortionist tax-collectors, the colonial conquerors of our nation—in short, the excommunicated. How do you plead?"
  "Guilty, Your Honor."
  Also with publicly criticizing and denouncing those who have been placed in authority within the Church of God. How do you plead?"
  "Guilty, Your Honor."
  "Finally, you are charged with revising, correcting, calling into question the sacred tenets of our faith. How do you plead?"
  "Guilty, Your Honor."
  "What is your name, prisoner?"
  "Jesus Christ, Your Honor."

Some people are just as alarmed to see their religion practiced as they are to hear it doubted.
    -- p.126- 127 Taking Flight- A Book of Story Meditations by Anthony de Mello, S.J.

One of the things about stories- they don't mince words and the stories de Mello found often hit you up the side of the head. This was one of them along with his italicized postscript.

How sadly true in all ages when the faith, any faith, becomes the status quo. How sadly true when those who are the leaders of the faith participate in the status quo to the extent that creativity and the possibility of the working of the Spirit is stifled. De Mello hints that the actual practice of religion may be more dangerous, alarming, and therefore stifled than doubt or opposing religions.

May we always live on the edge of that dangerous and alarming understanding that leads us to truly live our faith.

Ooops Update
On Wednesday I goofed. Andrew Sullivan is senior editor with the New Republic, not the National Review. All I had in my head was NR and got the wrong one. Guess that's my error for the year. (I'm up to errors for 2189 by now.) (Thanks to Athanasius from Ecumenical Insanity for catching the error. By the way, he has a good post on a controversy in Philadelphia about a "Messianic Jewish" congregation in the Presbyterian Church. I will probably post on that in the next day or two. Again, thanks for catching my error.)

Really? Left Behind?

Thanks to a really in-depth post and link at Electrolite. He points to Slacktivist's numerous post on the publishing empire that is the Left Behind series. (Go to the Electolite link and follow the links there.)

Christians, in the words of the Nicene Creed, “look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” We believe, in the words of the Apostles’ Creed, in “the resurrection of the body.”
L&J are not interested in resurrection. Resurrection is something that happens to dead people, and [LeHaye & Jenkins] don’t want to die. Death scares them. And that, more than anything else, explains what rapture-mania is all about.

Christianity is about death and resurrection, not about the denial of death. Not about “Jesus coming back to get us before we die.”

This escapist fantasy of a gospel isn’t just bad theology. It’s cruel. Consider the poor souls clinging to this hope who get the big bad news from their doctor. Consider those who have lost a husband, wife, mother, father, daughter or son. Consider all those who have died and all those they have left behind.

I agree with both Electrolite and Slacktivist. I have the hunch that every generation has its apocalyptic thinking. The Scofield Bible-inspired dispensationalism of the Left Behind world-view is one that has managed to be an unfortunately continuing thread in fundamentalist Christianity. Somewhere in every generation is a need to see the world as us-vs-them and the only way that "we" will overcome "them" is through a combination of both intelligent understanding of the signs of the times and a divine intervention.

The Y2K scare was a technological apocalypse that conservative Christians also bought into. Those in the know would be ready for the shutdown that was to occur on 1/1/2000. The others, the less informed, would be out in the cold.

I personally don't entirely understand the overwhelming desire to figure out the ways, means, and methods of the Second Coming. I personally don't understand how people who claim to believe in the inerrancy of Scripture could ignore Jesus words that no one knows when it is going to happen and try to figure out when it is going to happen. I personally don't understand a lot about this whole phenomenon. It reminds me of the publishing phenom that was The Late, Great Planet Earth. It made millions in the 70s for a man who said the world would end in 1988. I guess he kept his millions and revised the book.

I have read four of the books and have given up. I have gotten tired of their black and white script and the lack of understanding of the depths of the grace of God. I truly enjoy sci-fi, fantasy, and apocalyptic-type fiction. That's what this is, but it isn't even good at that.

Someone will always buy into these things. Just put the word Christian and it makes no difference whether it is any good.

On Syncretism

Thanks to Alan Brill at The Right Christians for the following quote from The Times of Tibet on the Dalai Lama's world travels. It speaks to his concerns about syncretism:

I am Buddhist. Therefore, Buddhism is the only truth for me, the only religion. To my Christian friend, Christianity is the only truth, the only religion. To my Muslim friend, Mohammedanism is the only truth, the only religion. In the meantime, I respect and admire my Christian friend and my Muslim friend. If by unifying you mean mixing, that is impossible, useless.

These are truly wise words. Too often we are unwilling to admit that we have differences or make statements like the Dalai Lama makes about "only truth and religion." We have come to understand tolerance and acceptance as some kind of bland mish-mash of platitudes about life and God. True dialogue happens when we know what we believe and are willing to stand for it while being open to hearing what others believe and have a strong sense of companionship.

Syncretism is often what we see in these non-denominational, cross-religion worship services. They have their place in the development of dialogue and cross-cultural understanding. But they are not worship as any one of us would call it. Thanks to the Dalai Lama for this wisdom.

The Marlins Lead

The Yankees were tough, they came back, but not far enough. Marlins lead 3 games to 2. To Yankee Stadium for Saturday.

A View from the Outside
Jordon has posted a quote from Andrew Sullivan. It is interesting to note what this mega-blogger/The National Review columnist has to say about the Pope and his choice of who he will sit down and talk to. [Update: oops. Sullivan is senior editor with the New Republic.] Here's what Jordon posted:

In an appeal to the growing fundamentalism of the developing world, this is a shrewd strategy. In the global context, gays are easily expendable. But it is also a strikingly inhumane one. The current pope is obviously a deep and holy man; but that makes his hostility even more painful. He will send emissaries to terrorists, he will meet with a man who tried to assassinate him. But he has not and will not meet with openly gay Catholics. They are, to him, beneath dialogue. His message is unmistakable. Gay people are the last of the untouchables. We can exist in the church only by silence, by bearing false witness to who we are. I was once more hopeful. I saw within the church's doctrines room for a humane view of homosexuality, a genuinely Catholic approach to including all nonprocreative people - the old, the infertile, the gay - in God's church. But I can see now that the dialogue is finally shutting down. Perhaps a new pope will change things. But the odds are that hostility will get even worse.

It is always, always, always easier to sit down with "enemies" or "antagonists" from outside than with brothers and sisters who disagree with you. To sit down with the gay catholics for discussion, they would have to admit that they were within the faith and might, even remotely, have a point. To sit down with those outside the faith would show tolerance, even while not admitting they might have anything important to say.

Was it a Test?

James Lileks had a seemingly throw-away paragraph in today's Bleat.

As you may have read - not in newspapers, heaven forfend - a large portion of the blogworld has been crippled by attacks on the company that hosted a pro-Israel website, and the attacks are coming from servers that host Al Qaeda groups. This makes me uneasy; there’s something else going on here, I think. It’s like hearing reports from Alaska radar stations of peculiar blips on the screen. Someone’s testing something.

I don't know whether I would go that far, but it does make sense. To choose one hosting company for a denial of service attack- and succeed- is ominous. I would agree that there is something more here than meets the intitial awareness. I hope that the powers that be in Homeland Security are doing their thing in this new cyber-terrorism.

Miracles

I have discovered The World According to Chuck. I think he may be in the same league as Real Live Preacher as a storyteller. Here's a quote from Tuesday's post:

We've diluted our mysteries and miracles until they seem common. The birth of a beautiful baby or a walk-off home run are both subtly attributed to the hand of an intervening God, working wonders in a mundane, ordinary world. And maybe so; I have no inside information.

But I suspect that for every Virgin Mary manifestation, for every episode of stigmata or angels in the outfield, there are a dozen ordinary lives that change when there is no earthly reason they should, and I know about one.

A dream. A vision, a hallucination. I have no idea, and in the 25-odd years since I last heard the story the details have dimmed, but Mac saw something in his cell that night, and he said it was Jesus.

It was part one of the story of Mac. Let's see what it's about when the next post comes up.

Now That's Baseball
Bottom of the 11th, Home Run barely clearing the fence, Marlins Win.
Series tied at 2 each. Game lasted 4 hours, 3 minutes.
Even for a Yankee fan, this is what baseball post-season is all about.

Update: Ooops. It was the bottom of the 12th.

Another One of Those Tests

Once a sucker, always a sucker....

Anyway, at the IQ test I find out that my intellectual type is a

Facts Curator.

This means you are highly intelligent and have picked up an impressive and unique collection of facts and figures over the years. You've got a remarkable vocabulary and exceptional math skills — which puts you in the same class as brainiacs like Bill Gates.

That explains why I am so good at Trivial Pursuit. But not why I haven't made the billions that Bill Gates has. Anyway, the test is here. Thanks to Bene for the link.

Building on a Solid Foundation- Luke: 46 - 49

:: On the flood plain in my home town are homes that have stood for over a century and more. They have been wracked with flood waters numerous times. They have been cleaned, refurbished, repainted. And they still stand. There are other places where houses used to be. More poorly built, perhaps. Built on a more fragile bend in the river where water raged more powerfully. Empty lots where homes used to stand. Will my house remain standing? Have I built solidly behind the protective dike of God's love in Jesus?

46 So why do you call me ‘Lord,’ when you won’t obey me? 47 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then obeys me. 48 It is like a person who builds a house on a strong foundation laid upon the underlying rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against the house, it stands firm because it is well built. 49 But anyone who listens and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will crumble into a heap of ruins.

I just noticed that this teaching begins with Jesus' question- Why do you call me ‘Lord,’ when you won’t obey me? I would guess that this is one of the requirements of being a "disciple"- to obey the One we call our Lord.

A Good Question

LT posts the following question:

I'm not sure I understand the reasoning behind the idea that church should be open to everyone. Everyone needs a place to belong. However if you flood that place of belonging with people who really don't want to follow Christ don't you dilute the community to the point where belonging becomes meaningless?

As usual with his posts, LT has raised more questions than I have answers. Which is good!

Perhaps the question is really- "Should there be such a thing as church 'membership?' " Or "How can we find ways and means to lead people to deeper relationships with Jesus in order for them to become committed to obeying? Or "Isn't this what the dichotomy with 'seeker-sensitive' worship tried to solve?" Lots to struggle with here as LT and his house church will continue to struggle with these questions. I look forward to hearing their discussions and directions.

Not in the Rain

Somehow or other I have the built-in understanding that baseball is not to be played in the rain. Unlike tonight's ball game. At least it was in Miami where the temperature was in the "steamy" 70s.

Functional Agnostics
An agnostic is one who is not sure about the existence of God. So goes the definition. I was struck the other day in speaking of some of my own personal experiences that many of us are in reality "functional agnostics" even though we may "say" differently.

Let me explain. I believe that a functional agnostic is unsure about how or why God would work in their life. They have this block about the work of God, not the existence of God. Deism, the form of Christianity that some of our American Founding Fathers practiced, believed fully in the existence of God. He made all that it as an old clockmaker, wound the springs and set it moving. Beyond that the action of God was unnecessary. It was all up to us. That is functional agnosticism because it moves God away from the center and replaces his actions and movements with the possibility of ours.

In other words, God has no active place in our lives. God "did." He doesn't "do." The result is a lack of connection with God. It leads to hopelessness when things don't go the way we think we are able to make them go. Or it leads to more pressure, power, violence to make it happen. If God is not a participant in the daily activities of His creation and cares about the lives that we lead, God is not God any longer. He may have been the Creator, but he is not a Higher Power that can bring about salvation or any other thing of substance.

We humans, I am afraid, fall easily into this functional agnosticism. It is the natural extension of that high mythic moment explained in Genesis with the serpent and the couple in the Garden of Eden. Their sin- what we often call Original Sin- is still our basic sin and the source of our Sinfulness. We seek to replace the Higher Power of God with our own power and wisdom and desires. We seek to be like God. It never works. It is our classic insanity… millennia of humans trying the same things over and over expecting that this time… this time we will get a different result.

Sure God uses us and others. Sure God wants us to use the power and wisdom and desires we have been given to help ourselves. But not without first looking to him for the power to do more than we can, the wisdom to know what it is we can do, and the desire to live a life guided by Him and not us. Thank God for being God- and I'm not. Amen.

A Great Day
I have had the most wonderful weekend. I have spent the past day and a half with my brother at his place. It is the first time I have been back in the old hometown in 19 years and the first time to just sit and be with my brother in as long. It is easy to forget how powerful family can be when you are open to the possibilities of just being yourself. It is sad it has taken me 55 years to truly realize that. I will be posting more about the past few days in the next week. It has been neat.

The Humility Award
Goes to Joshua Claybourn. His was a shameful appeal for votes at the Superblessed.net Christian Blog Awards 2003. There is no doubt in my mind that Joshua's blog deserves the votes in his category. His humble requests to ignore him and his fine post stating he won't participate in such shameless activites was worth the vote.

I am humbled that the Wanderings of this postModern Pilgrim has been nominated in the most introspective blog category. I will make no such promise of not participating. As an introspective blogger, I am aware that this introverted types are in deep need of support and acclimation from outside. All that time in the deep darkness of introspection is a lonely business that can get in the way of normal human relationships. Affirmations and support are so essential to such as do these. Especially in the postModern Pilgrimage where we have lost all moorings and places of stability. So, in order to help rebuild the foundations of this person on a postModern Pilgrimage, you are more then humbly invited to go at your nearest convenience and vote for me. Ganns is such a perceptive web-master.

The World Series
So far the World Series hasn't been all that exciting- almost anti-climactic after the Division and Championship Series. But it is now 1-1. I expect more excitement when they get to the warmth of Miami. I will go with the Yankees in six, but would not be surprised if the energy of the youthful Marlins did to the Yankees what they did to the Cubs. But the pinstripes will probably prevail.

It's All in the Pinstripes
Which reminds me of the segment of the movie Catch Me If You Can where Leonardo De Caprio as Frank Abegnale explains that the "winning" is all in the outer appearances. His example was the Yankees and their pinstripes. The pinstripes dazzle you. You are awed by their polish and class. It is the pinstripes that make the team. There is "class" to the Yankees. Their uniforms and personal appearance in general give you that impression. Of course even pinstripes can't give David Wells that kind of polish. Hmmm. Maybe that's why the Marlins won the first game.

Such is a common mistake, however. The same one glorified in the song from Chicago- Razzle Dazzle. It is the common error of our modern culture and perhaps of all human endeavors. It may even be the fatal flaw or Achilles Heel of we sinners. As long as we believe it is all in the appearances, the dress for success, then we will ultimately believe we don't have to have talent and ability. We can rely on our class or polish. The barbarians can't possibly win- we are their superiors. Just look at us.

The Pharisees were like that. The religious leaders of many generations can be like that. The holier-than-thou types can be like that. The result is disaster. Yes, class and looking good and the book's cover can be an attraction. But if that is all there is- the Yankees would never have won 26 World Series Championships, pinstripes or not. It is what we do with what we have been given, how we live out our trust first in God, and our admission of our own personal shortcomings and sins that will make all the difference.

Not Much New

A day and a half of meetings with intense discussion brings me to the end of the day with not much energy to say a whole lot. Sometimes I think I would rather be out moving around and getting physically tired than to sit in meetings. This was our church planting strategy committee which I always find energizing. The problem becomes it is intense at time. We end up dealing with issues that affect church planting and seek to find ways to address them in positive and healthy ways. We seek to discover and develop methods and models that we can share and learn ourselves. We become aware of the need to use language that doesn't put us into boxes or lock us out of other boxes.

I need to be thinking, praying, pondering, and meditating on this over the next weeks and months. But one thing I know is that above all else I dislike these labels with a passion. If you put me into one of them I will rebel. If you insist that I am in one, I will get upset. I am a firm believer in sticking to as consistent an approach to life as I can. Sometimes that means that I will even take positions that are not politically or theologically correct as far as the language police are concerned. I think we do ourselves and our churches great disservice when we finagle, fiddle, and finesse language until it loses its power to motivate and excite. We also close ourselves to great opportunities for relationship and hope with brothers and sisters.

I know we all do it. I know it is impossible to avoid. Yet, I work for the opportunity to speak and be heard and then to listen and pay attention to brothers and sisters of all stripes and persuasions. That, I am sure, will be a significant contribution of the thinking of the postModern world. If we take nothing else from these cultural changes, I pray that we at least take the opportunity to learn from our diversities.

The Post-Season Continues
It is the top of the ninth on Saturday night. Fla- 3; NYY-2. I will probably turn this off, watch the rest of the game and go to bed.

Perhaps I will find the energy and interest in my mind's working to get back to some real blogging tomorrow or Monday at the latest.

Baseball...

What can I say. A homerun, extra innings, Yankee Stadium. I don't know whether I would call it a curse on the Red Sox or the old Yankee magic. All I know is it is baseball at its best. What a wonderful post-season this has been! Even if my Twins lost, the Cubs are still waiting for the end of the Century, and the Red Sox are looking for a new Babe Ruth, it has been great. Who would have thought that it would be the Florida Marlins.

Only In America

From MSNBC:

ASSOCIATED PRESS PEORIA, Ill., Oct. 15 —
Caterpillar Inc. has sued to block next week’s U.S. release of Disney’s “George of the Jungle 2,” alleging that the direct-to-DVD movie damages the heavy equipment maker’s reputation. The Peoria-based company’s trademark infringement lawsuit contends the movie ties Caterpillar to an “evil attacking army” of industrialists seeking to destroy the jungle, a central theme of the Disney sequel.
Caterpillar contends the scenes will have a negative effect on children and could affect the company’s line of children’s products, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Peoria against the Walt Disney Co. and Buena Vista Entertainment.
“While we have great respect for Caterpillar, we consider this without legal merit and we expect the audience will view these sequences for their comedic value and not take them seriously,” a Disney statement said.

It’s only a movie! Next thing you know gun manufacturers will be suing the movies for showing their products being used in illegal activities.

Trying to Blog

It's amazing how we get used to broadband. I have been trying to get on and stay on the Internet from a dial-up and keep getting knocked off. It is frustrating when I have so much to say of great importance and I can't stay online. (That and my humility will get me somewhere sometime.)

Buying Time

The Anglican Communion special meeting has been held and nothing of any consequence has yet occurred. Midwest Conservative Journal has a review of the statement. Ecumenical Insanity has a post based on a BBC report. Here's the whole statement.

A quotes strikes me from an outsider's point of view:

If his consecration proceeds, we recognise that we have reached a crucial and critical point in the life of the Anglican Communion and we have had to conclude that the future of the Communion itself will be put in jeopardy. In this case, the ministry of this one bishop will not be recognised by most of the Anglican world, and many provinces are likely to consider themselves to be out of Communion with the Episcopal Church (USA). This will tear the fabric of our Communion at its deepest level, and may lead to further division on this and further issues as provinces have to decide in consequence whether they can remain in communion with provinces that choose not to break communion with the Episcopal Church (USA).

It is vague, yet carries an undertone of grave concern. It does not come to the breaking point, but tells all concerned that the breaking point is near.

Another significant quote:

Therefore, as a body we deeply regret the actions of the Diocese of New Westminster and the Episcopal Church (USA) which appear to a number of provinces to have short-circuited that process, and could be perceived to alter unilaterally the teaching of the Anglican Communion on this issue. They do not. Whilst we recognise the juridical autonomy of each province in our Communion, the mutual interdependence of the provinces means that none has authority unilaterally to substitute an alternative teaching as if it were the teaching of the entire Anglican Communion.

On an international scale this may be the paragraph that will speak for most world-wide denominations. What one Diocese, Synod, Province, Conference or Distirct does can have world-wide impact. In connectional/denominational systems we are not a bunch of independent entities. We have roots and branches. As the scope and center of world-wide Christianity moves clearly to the "south" (Southern Hemisphere/Developing World) we will find increased concern over these issues. The Moravian Church faced a similar situation last summer and the world-wide Unity did something quite similar to what came from England today. Bought time. But it may not be enough for any of us. I am told by many on both sides of the issue that it will not go away. We have perhaps moved beyond the point of no decision. We may perhaps be on the edge of some major realignments along theological lines instead of geographic or historic lines.

At least for the next two weeks, the greater Anglican communion has spoken. Will Gene Robinson become a Bishop on November 2? That is the next question. The ball is back in the ECUSA's court.

As always may we pray that the will of God be done for His glory!

What the Blogosphere Needs More Of

Dave Pollard of How to Save the World has posted an update of his list of things that blog readers and blog writers want to see more of in the blogosphere. Here is part of the list:

:: What the readers want to see:
a. original research, surveys etc.
b. original, well-crafted fiction
c. great finds: resources, blogs, essays, artistic works
d. news not found anywhere else
h. personal stories, experiences, lessons learned

:: What the writers want to see:
a. constructive criticism, reaction, feedback
b. 'thank you' comments, and why readers liked their post
c. requests for future posts on specific subjects

I like his thoughts. When I started this blog back in March it was an impulsive move. I knew little about the blogosphere. It looked like something to jump into and give me a chance (and reason) to write about things that interest me and see who responds. I then starting leap-blogging and found an incredible world of pundits and prayers, anger and compassion, and lots and lots and lots of opinions. I decided that I wanted to be part of that world in my little way. (My sitemeter reminds how little. What a humbling tool that is which is supposed to keep my ego growing. Oh, well!)

It has been fun- and remains fun. I have found that I have more to say than I often put down. I think more about writing and what I might write. That gives me new perspectives on life that help me.

I have also come to appreciate the community of bloggers whose blogs I read and who will often comment briefly on mine. There is a cross-feeding going on that many of us may never know about.

I'm having fun... So, as Bene Diction reminds me daily- Blog On!

A Brief Limbaugh Thought or Two

I am probably now about to give something the blogosphere doesn't need- an opinion about Rush Limbaugh's current situation. Not original, not even profound, but, hey, it's my blog...

Addiction is cunning, baffling, and powerful. It can sneak up on you, grab you by the neck and other places and pull you down all the while convincing you that you are great, wonderful, in charge, and above all else, always right. It doesn't matter whether you are a conservative talk-show star, a liberal Hollywood actor, a star athlete, just your average college graduate hooked by the chugging contests at the frat or... anyone! In the addiction field it is often referred to as the "equal opportunity disease."

It is a disease. It is not a moral weakness. It is not a sign of being a wuss or unable to get any will-power. It is real and will kill you! It can be OxyContin or heroin, Valium or the granddaddy of all- alcohol. It changes the way you think, act, react, relate to yourself and your world. It is a disease of body, mind, spirit, soul. It is a big black hole ready to suck you away.

Sometimes those who rail the most about something are themselves the victim of the same thing they rail against. Enter Rush Limbaugh. No, he as not being a hypocrite when he spoke out against addicts. He was trying to hide himself from himself. He truly believed it and the addiction was there at work.

One thing Rush was right about was that personal responsibility is important- essential- in recovery. As long as you "blame" your problems, actions, and reactions on the addiction and say the "devil made me do it" you will not find health. You will stay sick.

So, for the moment, Rush is in treatment. Congratulations! He needs to listen, surrender, open himself up to the possibilities that are now ahead of him. He needs to look inside himself and find where he has given up responsibility to the disease which convinced him otherwise. He needs to make himself open and honest with himself so that he can see how this all affected him and others.

Will becoming clean make Rush into a quiet, bleeding heart liberal? I doubt it. But it may make him more willing to see the part he can play in making the world a place where addictions are less common and become an advocate for treatment of all kinds for as many as possible.

I am reminded of Chuck Colson who changed from a Nixon henchman in Watergate to the founder of Prison Fellowship after he saw the problems with the prison system. He became a force for change and growth. I hope that Rush does the same. Politics aside, no one- no one- deserves the hell of addiction.

The Wrong Post
The Other Guys Didn't Read the Script

No, this is not the one I wanted. I had another one all ready. One that celebrated a win at Wrigley's friendly confines to finally get THERE!

Is there a curse? Is there something about the air and water in the Windy City that just takes all the hope out of life for those destined to live there?

The season ends. There will be another one next year. There has been almost a century of "next years" on the north side of Chicago.

I guess it is important to close the Cubbie's season with a quote from the one and only late Harry:

"I'll tell you what's helped me my entire life. I look at baseball as a game.
It's something where people can go out, enjoy and have fun. Nothing more." -- Harry Caray

And Now for the Good News in All That

David Pinto at Baseball Musings had some good for even a Cubbie fan in a post at the end of the game:

A small market, low attendance team makes the World Series. Bud Selig must be fuming, which makes me very happy.

He's At It Again!

Real Live Preacher is about to meddle again. I can feel it in my bones. Here's the closing paragraph of a post that appears to be at least a two-parter:

And it IS a trap, because I got news for you, preacher. You ain’t Jesus, and you better figure that out right quick.

Jesus Casts Out a Demon- Luke 4: 31 - 37
I was struck by this in my postModern Journaling tonight...

31Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. 32There, too, the people were amazed at the things he said, because he spoke with authority.
    33Once a man possessed by a demon began shouting at Jesus,
35Jesus cut him short. “Be silent!” he told the demon.
    36Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him and flee at his command!”

:: Authority belongs to Jesus. Even the world of the spirits knows this is true. The sign of the power of Jesus amaze people. When was the last time I was amazed?

After I wrote that last line I thought of something that happened earlier this evening when I saw that power over demons and evil and disease at work. I heard the story of an acquaintance who is a recovering alcoholic and addict. I heard the story of this person who could never hold a job, never make it in this world, always be drifting and losing because of their drugs and alcohol. Then I heard what happened recently- with some clean and sober time under their belt- they got a job promotion and high marks from their boss for honesty and morals.

When I heard that I knew that here was the power of God at work. I am saddened to say that it was not through the work of the church that it happened. It was through Twelve-Step groups. No wonder that George Hunter in Radical Outreach spends a whole chapter on the Twelve-Step movement as the paradigm for healing and outreach in our postModern World. There is where the power of God is being seen among the poor or captives or oppressed.

Thank God for His work no matter where He may be working.

All About Fear

From The Life of Pi:

I must say a word about fear. It is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life…. It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unerring ease. It begins in your mind, always. One moment you are feeling calm, self-possessed, happy. Then fear, disguised in the garb of mild-mannered doubt, slips into your mind like a spy…. Reason comes to do battle for you. You are reassured. Reason is fully equipped with the latest weapons of technology. But, to your amazement, despite superior tactics and a number of undeniable victories, reason is laid low. You feel yourself weakening, wavering. Your anxiety becomes dread. The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. p. 161

Over twenty years ago now I had an 18-month experience of this overwhelming power of fear. The details are now not important. For a year and a half I lived in a constant state of dread. There was nothing that reason could do. Nothing that logic could overcome. It haunted my waking hours almost continually. It kept me tossing and turning as my mind wouldn't stop thinking about when I went to bed. It was a dark night of the soul.

When I read this incredible description in what is an incredible work of literature, I knew its power and truth. It is the power of fiction to express truth in ways far more profound than in a true story. Put this chapter back into the book with Pi floating in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger as his only companion and you know fear and that fear connects with your own.

The matter is difficult to put into words. For fear, real fear, such as shakes you to your foundation such as you feel when you are brought face to face with your mortal end, nestles in your memory like a gangrene: it seeks to rot everything, even the words with which to speak of it. So you must fight hard to express it. You must fight hard to shine the light of words upon it. Because if you don't, if your fear becomes a wordless darkness that you avoid, perhaps even manage to forget, you open yourself to further attacks of fear because you never truly fought the opponent who defeated you. The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. p. 162

I don't know where Pi is going to end up with all this. In my life several things happened. First, mine was a time-limited fear. At the end of that 18-months was what I was fearing- and it never happened. Reality trumped it. Second, I wrote about it- often in my journals of the day. Third, I spoke of it to my wife (after 14 months of keeping it to myself because I knew that if I said it aloud it would sound silly.) Fourth, I kept taking it to God.

Further in the book:

Despair was a heavy blackness that let no light in or out. It was a hell beyond expression… The blackness would stir and eventually go away, and God would remain, a shining point of light in my heart. I would go on loving. The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. p. 209

I still struggle to remember the lessons from then. And daily I seek to keep God as that shining point of light in my heart that Pi speaks so wonderfully of.

Back On-line
Well, I got back and my mind has not yet gotten back into Blogging-mode. I was sitting here at the keyboard and my mind didn't want to say anything. I could talk about sports- the Red Sox just evened the series at 2-2. The Cubs are one win away from giving them a once every-other lifetime possibility. The Badgers ended the Buckeyes 19-game college football win streak and the Packers almost ended the Chiefs unbeaten record.

I did see some wonderful fall colors in Beautiful Door County Wisconsin. We had good meetings and the administrative side of my mind didn't implode. I even got the chance to travel within two miles of the Center of the Universe- Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

I forgot my digital camera. Oh well.

So, back to blogging and leap-blogging.

Amateur Clergy!
Andrew Careaga had a great post on Saturday about amateurs-vs-professionals in journalism and ministry.

The best ministers I know are bi-vocational "amateurs" who have learned their craft through personal study and practice

Got a Crush?
Darren at Living Room bared his soul about blogger crushes. I admit that I have one- James Lileks. He's my hero with his great ability to take simple words and fill them with power. Last week, for example, he spoke of the "hole in the sky" in lower Manhattan. I also have a crush on Real Live Preacher. To have their abilities with words is great. Now, if someone will remind me which of the commandments is about covetousness...

Bene Diction Blogs Again
Welcome back to your own home blog, Bene.

Thinking of New Things
Thinking about starting a PhotoBlog. Not sure what to use, so I'm surfing around looking for ideas. If anyone has any input, let me know.

Now This Feels Better
Isn't it amazing that now, a few minutes later and a few words, some of which are simply stolen linked from other blogs and I'm back in practice.

A Brief Blogging Hiatus
Life- or at least all day meetings- is about to trump blogging. So, I will let my blogging mind take a break and replace it with my administrative one for the next 48 hours. I won't even have my trusty laptop with me. But have no fear, I do have a keyboard for my PDA in case I get the urge.

Be back here on Sunday night or Monday morning.

In the meantime
I leave you with a link to a post on a blog I discovered today. The World According to Chuck had a post last week called Loaves and Fishes. A brief snippet:

But we were talking about addiction. It can be anything, of course: drugs and alcohol, sex, chocolate, "Will and Grace," anything. And we talked about reasons why: grief, pain, loneliness, etc.

"And sometimes," she said, "it's simply a hunger for God."

Maybe you know this. It was news to me.

I know about this hunger. We all do, probably. I suspect we're hardwired to search for God, for spiritual sustenance, a genetic compulsion to phone home. [..snip..]

I've gone to lots of churches. No one ever asks me if I'm hungry. No one ever asks me if I'm seeking, if I'm looking for something. Maybe it's because my wife is a Real Live Preacher. Maybe they assume.

   >Go Read the Post< and see you the other end of the weekend.

Yesterday's Final Jeopardy Question

Yesterday I posted the Final Jeopardy clue:

On the American Film Institute's 2003 list of favorite heroes and villains, this character was on both lists.

The correct question:

Who is The Terminator!

(I would guess that this answer remains the same this week as well!)

Sign of the Times
The following was in USA Today earlier in the week:

Civil marriage on rise across USA
By Cathy Lynn Grossman and In-Sung Yoo, USA TODAY
Fewer American couples who marry today see the need for religion's approval. The rate of civil marriage is on the rise coast to coast, a USA TODAY analysis of marriage license statistics suggests.

The trend is that more than 40% of all marriages are civil marriages. In some states that goes has high as 60+%. Utah is the lowest in the nation with the strong Mormon presence there.

I admit that I was surprised by the figures, even in the Bible Belt. It is one more sign of what many commentators, bloggers, and others have been saying about our postModern 21st Century life. The role of religious institutions and the religious foundations for institutions like marriage is diminishing. While many of us still get the people who want a church wedding even though they have little or no personal connection to the church, that is declining. We don't know the numbers who don't come to us. It looks like it is around 40% of all marriages!

This gives credence to the assertions of many postModern observers that we are in the second generation of non-churched people. The first generation would still go back to church for a wedding to please the family. The second generation is beyond that. They know that no one really cares. Sure, some will wish they had done a church service, but most won't care as long as the reception/dance is a good time for all.

It may actually be a good movement. Perhaps someday clergy will cease to be agents of the state in performing what is a legal action surrounded by a religious ritual. Perhaps someday all people will need to get their legal status done by a secular authority and then go to church for the blessing and covenant that we in the church hold up as important.

In the meantime, though, we in the church need to wake up to the change in society that gives us hints about the future. We need to be working – and working diligently – on developing outreach and evangelism and ministry and openness in our communities. We need to get out of our religious ghettoes to discover the world that Jesus came to save and love.

I have the hunch that God's Spirit may already be at work "out there" so let's follow.

Thanks, James. A Great Trip
Lileks' Bleat has been in New York City this week. His trip from Midtown to the World Trade Center and back is worth the price of admission. Thanks for a great read!

BibleJournal Going Again
My other blog- the postModern Journal Bible journal is finally back and going. Will be looking at the Gospel of Luke over the next 8 weeks. It's good to get back to the journaling from scripture. Let's see if I can stay on target through the ups and downs when life trumps blogging.

The Birth of Jesus Foretold - Verses 26 - 38

28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”
38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. May everything you have said come true.”

:: What a wonderfully true and powerful insight. To be the Lord's servant is to accept whatever he wants.
:: Will it take a visit from Gabriel for me to be willing to say that?

A Final Jeopardy Answer
Today's Final Jeopardy clue:

On the American Film Institute's 2003 list of favorite heroes and villains, this character was on both lists.

For those who have not seen today's Jeopardy yet, I will post the correct "question" tomorrow.

Is Liberty Needed to Spread the Gospel?
In today's Religion Today's Summaries was an article about best-selling author, political columnist and lawyer from Missouri, David Limbaugh. He has a new book about discrimination against Christians in the US to follow-up on his previous one on the Clinton Administration. In general, I would disagree with the theme of discrimination. I think that the culture as a whole is generally less tolerant of Christian faith, especially when lived out in political and other arena. I think that this holds true for both liberal and conservative Christians who will increasingly find that the culture is at best apathetic about what we believe. We no longer hold the "most-favored-religion" status.

But I'm not disturbed about that part of the article. What got me was the following quote..

Limbaugh says if Christians do not preserve their political liberties, they will not be able to obey the Great Commission and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Well, then, why are the most obedient and successful evangelists working in China and India? How in the world did Christians ever manage to obey the Great Commission in the Roman Empire? Let us not forget the Eastern Europeans after WW II, or the Soviet Union. Our ability to obey our Lord, preach and live the Gospel and spread the Good News is never dependent on the religious liberties of whatever nation-state we happen to live in.

Yes, I guess this is a rant since this has been one of my pet peeves about us American Christians ever since I met people from East Germany and South Africa (blacks) over 30 years ago. Everyone I have ever met has pointed out that Americans get their freedom as American citizens all mixed up with their freedom in Christ and Jesus is usually the one who suffers. Now I agree, as an American, that our democratic government should not make discriminatory laws against any religion. I also agree that I am immensely grateful to God for the good fortune (grace?) of having been born in the United States where I do have freedom. And, I pray that I will never have to find out if my faith is strong only because I am allowed to worship as I please or if it would stand under real persecution.

No, discrimination in the United States will not keep us from worshiping. It may put limits on us that we disagree with or don't like. It may be less tolerant of us and ignore more and more of what we have to say. But none of that can ever keep us from truly obeying our Lord.

    To subscribe to these news summaries go >here<.

Baseball and the End Times
In the latest Sojourner's mailing was a wonderful article by Jim Wallis...

There are certain Christians (of the religious right variety) who sincerely believe the apocalypse (the coming of Christ and the unfolding of the end times) will be prompted by events in the Middle East. In order to create the right conditions for the Second Coming, these believers take a one-sided political stance (pro-whatever Israel does and ignoring all the consequences for everybody else - even ignoring the existence of Palestinian Christians, for example). This is not only bad biblical theology (as revealed in the recent Sojourners article, "Short Fuse to Apocalypse?"), it perhaps more importantly misses other events that might truly prompt the eschaton. Of course, I am referring to a possible match-up between the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox in baseball's World Series. A World Series with truly eschatological implications is now possible after the surprise play-off victories of two of the most long-standing underdogs in baseball - or maybe in all of sports..
    >Read the whole article<

Like Jim, I went to seminary in Chicago and have a special place in my heart for the Cubbies. And as Jim points out we must not forget the BoSox who last won a World Series ten years after the Cubs, which was still 85 years ago! But the best of seven in a League Series is not yet a sign of the End. We continue to wait patiently, with our lamps lit and extra oil put aside. It could still turn into another "wait-until-next-year" year.

    To subscribe to Sojo Mail go >here<.

Jarvis on Lileks
Jeff Jarvis does a wonderful job of explaining James Lileks. Well, maybe not an explanation- but a neat profile of our Minnesota mega-columnist. Both are daily reads!

HIV/AIDS Becoming a Young Person's Disease, U.N. Report Warns
This in from the Associated Press via ABC News

LONDON Oct. 8 — Young people are increasingly responsible for the spread of HIV/AIDS around the world because of poverty and a severe lack of information and prevention services, the United Nations said Wednesday.

Every 14 seconds a person between 15 and 24 is infected with the virus. They now account for half all new cases of the disease, the U.N. Population Fund said in its annual State of the World's Population report.

"We will have a global catastrophe if we ignore young people and ignore their needs," said Thoraya Obaid, the agency's executive director, told a news conference in London.

The "Making 1 Billion Count" report cautions that there is now the biggest generation of adolescents in history 1.2 billion of the world's 6.3 billion population are between 10 and 19 and many are facing deadly diseases, unwanted pregnancy and poverty.

HIV/AIDS has emerged as one of the greatest threats. Aside from the high infection rate, the epidemic also has orphaned 13 million children under age 15, the report said. >More<

A reason for prayer, resources, education, mission, and more prayer.

UPI Analysis: A rift worse than schism?
I wrote the next post on The New Denominations on Sunday evening after a discussion in our Purpose-Driven Life group that morning. This morning there was an analysis essay on UPI. Part of what it said in the lead:

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The crisis in the Anglican Communion seems to foreshadow a rift worse than a schism for world Christianity. It does not only divide denomination from denomination. Worse, its fault lines cut straight through many branches of the body of Christ.

Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury, is reported to have been shaken by his encounters with Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Secretariat for the Promotion of Christian Unity, last weekend in Rome.

   > Here for whole article <

I guess I was closer to on-target than I even realized.

The New Denominations
In reflecting on the meltdown that seems to be approaching in the Anglican/Episcopal communion, it would appear to me that this is the first "test case" of a major denomination facing the new realities of the 21st Century. We may be about to witness the birth of a new denomination out of their struggles. In so doing they may become part of the first moves to the realignment of denominations as we know them.

In most of the European world, denominations were essentially national churches. In Germany there was the "evangelische kirche" (Lutherans, to us Americans). Scotland was Presbyterian, England was Anglican, etc. Yes, there were other groups such as Mennonites, Moravians, Methodists that sprang up in some places, but in general the State Churches were it.

As they moved to the New World and then into the developing world, they took their national churches with them and then split and founded new ones, etc. In America, then, denominationalism rose to its heights in a free religious atmosphere. While there were splits along theological lines, most of the denominational loyalty remained based on the old system of once a ------- (fill in the blank) always a ------. Admittedly this is a much oversimplified description of the denominationalism we have in America, but it will suffice for the discussion.

Now, in this early 21st Century, things like theology, style of worship, style of leadership, style of mission are beginning to take hold as having more pull (and potentially push) than the old semi-national loyalties. The Anglican communion, which an Episcopal clergy friend of mine insisted was a national church, even in the United States, is showing the signs of the strains that diverse- wildly diverse- theologies can have on an association based on no longer essential boundaries.

You see, in many ways, our denominationalism is just that – boundaries. They define me against you. They define turf in a Christian world. This turf belongs to Denomination A, that to Denomination B. In a Christendom world, that was essential to tell us from each other and to set forth who we are in relation to other Christians!

We have moved into a word where those boundaries are going to become more irrelevant. Another friend of mine who is heavily into the emerging church once confided that the real religious story of this century is going to be the major realignment of denominations and such loyalties.

It may not come to full visibility immediately in the Anglican/Episcopal controversy, but it will be the start. People already are moving from church to church, denomination to denomination based on how they react to theological issues. We are only at the start.

This will be seen by some as a disaster for denominations. It will be that only if the ethno-national-historical roots of the denominations are important. What we will see will be a growth of cross-denominational activity as Christians. Some of these will align with the National/World Council of Churches and others with Evangelical organizations.

So watch the news from England in the coming weeks. Watch as the small (as a percentage of world Anglicans) American church, which is not in accord with world Anglican opinion, seeks to defend itself. Watch to see if they can find a common ground to keep the old alignment together. Read between the lines on both sides, though, and you will see the signs of the realignment I am speaking about. Listen as the ideas that Philip Jenkins has outlined in The Next Christianity about the shift of world Christianity to the Southern Hemisphere begins to show its strength.

Above all, remember that no matter what we may think about ourselves and our churches, they are human institutions seeking to embody God's work in Jesus' Body. They can fail, fall apart and even be replaced. God's work and will is still being done and will continue to be done in spite of us, yet through us. For that I am humbled and bow in thankful prayer to my Lord and Savior who will guide us through this transition.

Now THAT was a Football Game
The unbeaten Indianapolis Colts were down by 21 with less than 4 minutes to play. Against the Tampa Bay Bucaneers in Tampa Bay.

No team in NFL history had ever come back from that kind of deficit with that little time to win.

Onside kick. Luck going in their favor. Only one timeout left. No way.

They came back to tie it at the end of regulation.

With 3:52 left in overtime... a missed field goal by the Colts.... but

There's a penalty flag. Unsportsmanslike conduct on defense. A seemingly bad call. But the Colts kept the ball.

And another field goal attempt, bad snap, bad kick, slight deflection, bounces off the pole...

and it's good.

Colts 38 Bucs 35. An amazing game!

The Missional Church
Len at Next Reformation has posted a summary from the book The Missional Church on the evolution of the clergy. I highly recommend going and reading it if you have any thoughts that the way we do "professional ministry" is the way it's always been. One quick quote:

"[The concept of] leadership functioning as specialized professionals .. effectively eclipses the gifts for leadership in the non-ordained contingent of God's sent people, those known as .. the laity. Ministry remains identified with the static roles of clergy as priest, pedagogue, or professional, all dispensers of spiritual resources. Even where the priesthood of all believers stands as a theological conviction of the community, it is rarely practiced ..

This is the book that started me on the journey into a whole different way of seeing and doing church. It is an incredible challenge to the way we have done church. It calls us into living and being the church in mission. What a concept!

A California Post
I have said nothing about the circus that is the California recall since I live in Minnesota, home of former governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura. In other words, I didn't think I had any room to talk. But since the election is almost upon us, I thought I would brave a simple thought or two.

**Hypocrisy is only on the other side. In the post-Clinton world, no one has the corner on hypocrisy when it comes to sexual harassment and shenanigans. We can shake our heads in sadness that this kind of thing is still around, but in the end, I can't say Arnold should be disqualified when I didn't take the same attitude toward Clinton. I know that sounds (and probably is) simplistic. But it is a basic of my spiritual approach to life that all of us are sinners. None of us can claim the perfection that we seem to demand of others who we oppose. Are some of these sins more likely to disqualify one from holding public office? Of course, but to disqualify Arnold and allow Clinton (or vice versa) just doesn't cut it.

** I'm not sure that recall like this is a good idea. We could open a Pandora's Box of election craziness if this becomes a pattern. We will have elections between elections between elections which will really stymie and derail government even more.

** Having said all that, I quit! Let the Californians battle it out for now.

Cubs Win! Red Sox Win!
Well, if it can't be my Twins, let's see if we can get these two old-timers into a classic World Series.

Sunday Sadness
Came across an opinion article from Abilene Reporter by writer, computer consultant and Episcopal priest Tom Ehrich. While there's nothing new to many of us who have been reading around the blogosphere, it is interesting since it came out from Religion News Service. A couple quotes:

The more I live inside the Gospels in my writing, the less I want to focus my faith on the institutional church. I have this sense that Jesus tried to give us something, but his gift was stolen long ago by the proud and power-hungry. He tried to set in motion a community unlike any other, but the early practitioners couldn’t bear it, so they gave us something less.

I see clergy trying their hardest — giving up their lives, financial security, peace of mind — trying to breathe life into inherited structures. I see laity trying hard, devoting weary evenings and hopeful Sundays to chores, while putting real needs on hold.

But I can’t shake the sadness. I can’t shake the every-Sunday quandary about church attendance. Nor should I. For I believe the way forward lies in the sadness, in not just going along, in wanting more, even if I don’t know what I want.

Go read the whole article.

Neverwhere

I'll admit it- I'm hooked by Neil Gaiman. Earlier this year I read his wonderful fantasy, American Gods. I was intrigued so I got his first solo book out of the library, Neverwhere. There's more to the world than meets the eye.

In American Gods, Gaiman weaves a tale of Old World mythic gods and legends. He explores what happened to them when they were brought by the immigrants to the New World, then got stranded here without their roots.

In Neverwhere, he tells us of the world of London Underground. It is the place of lost souls who have fallen through the cracks, lost angels, lost demons, all running around the sewers and subways of modern-day London as they have for years.

Richard Mayhew is the modern character who, as the result of an act of kindness, finds himself on an adventure in the Underground. He has to help Door find out why her family was killed. He has to cross unknown bridges and battle unknown beasts and demonic characters. He has to find a way back home to the London Above.

It is a wonderful romp of a story. Being an earlier novel, it is not as strong as American Gods (which attracted me as a mid-westerner to places I am quite familiar with in this world, including the House on the Rock in Wisconsin). But it is fun and challenging and a great read.

What I think I like most about both books is the awareness in them that there is a world around us that is far beyond our human way of seeing. There are legends and myths that have lives of their own. They populate the unseen regions of the world. They are as real as anything physical because they exist in the psyche of the culture and the ethos of the people. Am I reading too much into Gaiman's wondrous writing?

If I am, it is because I know that there is power in myth. It defines who we are. It forms our understanding of the world. It can become the foundation of our values. If we ignore them, it is to our peril (American Gods) or our loss (Neverwhere.) The "modern" world forgot about myth, or tried to "de-mythologize" our world. It had to fit reason and logic or it wasn't real. It had to be physically provable, visible, and endlessly repeatable or it was just a "theory."

Neil Gaiman makes us stop and take a postModern look at that. By digging into the myths and lost demons, angels, and souls of our "modern" world, we are urged to see that there is more to our life than meets the eye. The "spiritual" world is real. We ignore it at our own peril and our loss.

In my Christian understanding of our mythos God is at work in all of this calling us beyond the reason and logic into a relationship that is beyond our human understanding. There are worlds and spiritual realities that are out there as well. We do well to know that or we can be caught by our innocence. Trusting in God, may we not either overplay the presence of the spiritual world, nor underestimate its power. After all, God is the creator of all.

A Look at the Megachurches
Davie D. is guest-blogging for Joshua Claybourn. He has found a Forbes magazine series on Christian capitalism. He reminds us that the mega-church is a very new phenomenon. Back in 1970 there were only 10 mega-churches in the United States (being defined as non-Catholic churches with 2000+ members). In 1990 there were 250, and today there are 740! Davie notes that most of the growth of the mega-churches is due to transfer growth. He then adds:

Now transfer growth would be ok if all movement within the body of Christ could be traced to people searching out solid, Biblical teaching, but one look at Forbes's list of biggest churches in the country demonstrates that we can't afford to make that assumption. The two biggest churches in the U.S., according to Forbes, are being pastored by two of the biggest proponents of the Prosperity Gospel — Joel "Discover the Champion in You" Osteen and Creflo Dollar.

There are a number of good comments listed as well.

What the mega-church has done is show the rest of us that people will come to church in big numbers. Some of them have shown us how evangelism can work. Others have caused us to look at how we think church is done and then find ways to be more faithful. Some of them have done an amazing job of moving and growing and developing new chuches and planting new communities.

On the other side are the mini-kingdoms that some have become. Others become unhealthy, cult-like groups. Others are simply large, anonymous places to avoid commitment.

In other words, they have had some good and bad effects- just like the rest of the church. After all, we are all human.

Beginning 40 Days of Purpose
We began our 40 Days of Purpose at church this morning. We have more people reading and doing this than anything we have done in our four years at the church. We are excited about the possibilities that this reading has for us. We are not the only ones, of course. Two others in the blogosphere that I know of are looking at purpose in their church- Gary at Country-Keepers posted today, and the Crazy Gator over at Gator Bites has been posting the daily points and verses.


I Already Knew That!

My inner child is sixteen years old!

Life's not fair! It's never been fair, but while
adults might just accept that, I know
something's gotta change. And it's gonna
change, just as soon as I become an adult and
get some power of my own.


How Old is Your Inner Child?
brought to you by Quizilla

And So It Goes
Thanks for the season! See you next spring.


Now That's More Like It
Five in a row in Week 5 has Green Bay back near the top of the NFC North standings. Brett Favre led the Packers on five consecutive touchdown drives and Green Bay ruined Mike Holmgren's homecoming in a 35-13 victory [over the Seattle Seahawks]. Favre had a couple of touchdown passes and Ahman Green had a pair of his own on the ground as part of a 118-yard performance. More>

A Thought for Sunday

Mike at Waving or Drowning posted the following:

Jesus came to raise the dead.
The only qualification for the gift of the Gospel is to be dead.
You don't have to be smart.
You don't have to be good.
You don't have to be wise.
You don't have to be wonderful.
You don't have to be anything...
You just have to be dead
Robert Farrar Capon

Ponder that as you take the bread and cup on this World Communion Sunday. May grace be with you! Amen.

Mike posted a link to a site called Ikon where he got the Capon quote. Here's the link. Go there!

One Game Behind
Okay- things are looking a little tight for the Twins. They must (and will!) win on Sunday going back to Yankee Stadium for a fifth and final game.

The Cubs
One more win needed to move to the NLCS. Let's go Cubs!

The Sox
Can the curse be broken? Another game at Fenway on Sunday. Must win.

The Marlins
Florida has the rest of the weekend off. Waiting for the Cubs?

The Blues - Awesome
What a week of music on PBS. The British blues on Friday and the wondrous piano blues on Saturday were a wonderful wat to end the week. Almost makes me want to practice my old guitar. Maybe one of these days.

I Thought We Were Past This

No, that isn't referring to Donovan McNabb's comment re: Rush Limbaugh. Was doing my daily check-in at Blogs4God on Oct. 1 and saw a link to a news article at the Prayer Book Society page. Even though I am not an Episcopalian/Anglican, I have been following their recent melt-down over the election of Eugene Robinson as a Bishop. Every mainline church is going to have to face this issue several times in several different ways and I am just trying to keep up on what is happening in this first major case-study.

Well, the article at the Prayer Book Society page went into some Anglican Canon Law discussion. But what struck me was that it soon went into the direction of reviewing the issue of the ordination of women along with the current gay-related issues. Here from the Rev'd. Peter Toon:

What does unite these two rites is that each is a setting aside, or a breaking, or a disregarding, of the Order that God in his wisdom has placed within the natural creation and in the kingdom of God, as we know them. Obviously "gay" sex is unnatural -- contrary to the Order within creation...

However, women's ordination (which elevates the women to pastoral oversight) though not immoral is also unnatural, contrary to God's order for the relation of the two sexes and for the ordering of His Church. Male and female are certainly equal in dignity, worth and ability; but, they are also distinct in order, even as the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity are equal in their Personhood and their Divinity/Godhead but in an ordered relation one to another - the Father together with His Son and with His Spirit. The Father is first in order, the Son second and the Holy Ghost, third: in the human race the male is first in order and the woman second in order (see Genesis 1: 27 & St Paul's teaching on headship). To break this order is to interfere with what God has blessed.

So the relation between women's ordination and the blessing of "gay" couples is that they are both examples of disorder and a breaking of the command to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength.

In my denomination, I was in seminary with the woman who became our first woman pastor. She was ordained a few months after I was 29 years ago. My wife is also an ordained pastor, now in her 15th year in ministru.

There has never been a question in my mind about the place of women in the church or their right to be ordained. When God calls someone, they are called. In one way or another, the Episcopal Church also has a 29-year tradition of ordaining women. (Carter Heyward having been ordained in 1974 as well, but the ECUSA didn't okay women's ordination until 1976). Yet it appears that the issue is still real.

A number of years ago I taught a course in Liberation Theology at a local seminary. As we studied the writings of the then popular Latin American theologians (this was before the fall of Soviet Communism) their socialist leanings challenged us but the group could see how their theology could be supported by Scripture. We then moved to African Liberation Theology. Things got a little difficult with understanding the role of "ancestors" in their developing understanding, but, there too, we could see our way through it. Asian Liberation Theology took us a step further into seeing Christian theology in a non-Christian, multi-religious culture. Challenging, but eye-opening.

Then, before switching to the last two Liberation Theologies I commented that we were about to get into really difficult territory. When we deal with Feminist and then Gay Liberation Theology we have to deal with views that contradict what we have been taught and even contradict the directives of scripture. These two theologies challenge the very nature of our understanding of scripture, its use and standing in the church, and how we use, misuse, or ignore scripture to fit our own understandings.

Even though it was 16 years ago that I said that, it has proven to be one of the few statements of the day that have held true. I thought that we had moved beyond the questions of women in ordained ministry, but it appears that, at least in some quarters of the ECUSA it is still there and ready to be challenged. I hope that it doesn't happen that way. When we get into these hot-beds of theological dispute we can easily lose our bearings and sense of direction. I believe that we learned a great deal about working with highly divisive issues and the problems of a 100% literal interpretation of scripture when women were ordained. Some of these may give us some much needed tools for the discussion that we are all going to face sooner or later over the gay-related issues.

So I watch the Episcopal/Anglican communion and their current controversy. May they- and we- have wisdom from on high about how this can be used for the work of the Gospel without opening all the old wounds as well.

The Twelve-Steps Return
On a mailing list/discussion group I am part of the question was raised about why the church has been unable to develop opportunities for deep spiritual conversation. The writer then pointed to AA's success at doing just that. I wrote back using some quotes from Dallas Willard's book, Renovation of the Heart.

You are not alone in seeing this about AA. George Hunter in his most recent book Radical Outreach has a whole chapter on recovery ministry and how the power and spirituality of AA, NA, etc. is missing in the church and we need to connect with it.

Another passage is in Dallas Willard's book. What he sees happening in the 12-step groups is the ancient practice of spiritual formation which he doesn't see happening in the church. He says that the church has largely lost its grip on spiritual formation as a standard path of Christian life. Here is a quote from page 85 which he has italicized in the original:

Any successful plan for spiritual formation, whether for the individual or group, will in fact be significantly similar to the Alcoholics Anonymous program.

He then adds in normal type:

There can be no doubt that the AA program originated and gained its power from Christian sources, to meet needs that Christian institutions at the time should have been meeting but were not.

There may be many reasons why the church lost its ability to do spiritual formation. The "academic" model of Christian education which saw formation as information and knowledge instead of what Willard calls the renovation of the heart. (Something that movements like Cursillo or Walk to Emmaus have sought to remedy!) Another would be "institutionalizing" of the faith. Later in the book Willard points to radical discipleship movements that sought to develop discipleship and not just Christians. He speaks of "the early Christians, the early monastics, the early Franciscans or Dominicans, the early Quakers, and early Methodists" as examples. I would add the early Moravians as well since that is where Wesley got his idea for the small groups. Willard then goes on:

Note how in all these cases the word 'early' has to be used. This is because the "vessel" that emerges in the course of a particular outbreak of radical discipleship gradually overwhelms the heavenly "treasure" that it initially served to convey. That is a primary satanic strategy in defeating the cause of Christ on Earth. Then we have another tradition on exhibit in the museum of Christian history... Usually this means an institution of some sort, perhaps a local church or a denomination, whose perpetuation and survival becomes the main concern of people associated with it. Discipleship to Christ is either dropped altogether from the basic objectives or is redefined as devotion to the institution. (p. 243)(Italics in original) -- Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard. 2002, NavPress.

Yes, I realize these are pretty strong words. I think they are given to be a real challenge to the church to return to its primary purpose.

As to AA's success in its relatively short (almost 70 year) life...
There are the traditions of AA that help. These would include:

::.. There is but one primary purpose, to carry the message to the alcoholic who still suffers.
     [What is the one primary purpose of the church that we should not waver from?]
::.. AA groups ought not to own property (or take outside money) lest problems of money, prestige and power divert them from their primary goal.
     [What was that about money and buildings, again?]
::.. AA should always remain non-professional
     [I thought we clergy were supposed to be professionals.]
::.. AA takes no stand on outside issues.
     [In contrast to some of us in the church who think we should have opinions on any and all issues.]

I suppose a whole book could be written about the 12-steps/traditions and how they could revolutionize the church. They have done something that nothing else ever did to the extent that AA does- they have brought healing and health to alcoholics! Perhaps they can bring about the healing of that which continues to ail the institutional church.

Tied at One Each
Another very good ball game. Yankees power broke through just long enough to get the win.

Now to the Metrodome for games 3 & 4.

The Blues continues
Well, I think tonight's film in the PBS series is my favorite so far. Perhaps because it was all about the Chicago Blues sound and Chess Records and a more northern sound that I was more used to. It was titled Godfathers and Sons and united rapper Chuck D. with Chess Records son Marshall Chess. Their goal is to explore the roots of contemporary hip-hop and to produce a recording with veteran Chicago blues musicians. PBS let some raw language stay in. It was as much an exploration of change, growth, movement, fathers, and sons as it was of the music. It has been an interesting series. Two more to go. Friday director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas explores the Blues takeover of British rock in the Sixties and Saturday is a Clint Eastwood directed film on piano blues. Eastwood is of course a huge jazz and blues supporter and composer.

Ducks in Halifax
Go to Bene Diction and read a wonderful story of healing at work.

When Worlds Meet
Real Live Preacher has some issues he is working to sort out. Basically the world of the blogosphere and the world of everyday life are getting closer together. It is putting him into a tough personal position. I pray that he resolves it so that we continue to receive his wisdom and his congregation can celebrate their ability to share their preacher with the rest of us.

An Interesting Question
LT is at it with a quick question that begs for an answer....

Why do we have so many postmodern/emerging church websites/conferences/books and precious few emerging churches?

The Voice of the postModern World
LT also had a few pointed comments at his parent's generation:

It is more about an entire generation of people coming to realize that our parents generation is almost completely messed up and we don't want to be like them. We aren't sure of the truth because we saw through the facade of the older generation. Where do we start when we have a world where the thin candy coating has worn off and we are left trying to reconstruct a society that has been exploited. We have been exploited through abuse, neglect, divorce, pollution, government debt, and whatever else we can think of. Some of this frustration does spill over in to church which is one of the last bastions of this modern culture.

That is the cry of the postModern world and generations. I cannot help but think back 30+ years when my generation was saying the same thing about the group that is NOW called the Greatest Generation. But I believe that what LT is saying is right on. What happened was that my generation said that we didn't want to be like our parents, then turned around and messed up anyway in our own way. What we got was no less harmful and dysfunctional than our parents.

Yes, I know that my generation was the first to begin to abandon the church, although the seeker-church, boomer-traditional contemporary worship brought some back. I know that many of my generation then passed their indifference to their children. I know that many got caught up in the enhanced Me-generation that we built to such a fine art. But I know that there are people of my generation who are on target with what LT is saying. They (we, I hope) are not willing to say the old words- We've never done it that way before. We are not willing to live with making our contemporary worship the new traditional. We are still committed to social justice and mission and sharing the Good News. We don't go to church to "feel good." We have learned that there have been lots of things we have taken, smoked, drank, read, watched, etc. that we thought made us "feel good" but didn't. Feeling Good is not what church (being a Jesus Follower) is all about.

So, LT, thanks for the challenges in your blog! I hope that we can work together across the generations to find ways to have emerging churches, whatever they look like, become more common and more available so that God's ways may be known and followed.

Gee, Other People Do This, Too
From Lileks Bleat

So I whistle the piece and conduct it, to the consternation of Jasper and Gnat. They’re both standing in the kitchen, looking at me with blank looks.

Whadju doin, daddee?

Conducting! And I’m conducting the realistic way, slightly anticipating the action instead of reacting to it!

Just wait, James, the day will come when you are riding with an older Gnat and suddenly
she will start conducting a song,
the two of you will look at each other and then
give each other a High Five… Priceless.

Another Great Book To Read
The Life of Pi. It is awesome. Watch for some blogging on this book that promises in the introduction "a story that will make you believe in God."

October Next-Wave
The new issue of Next-Wave.org is online. This one's on social justice. Jason links to an interpretation of The Sermon on the Mount called The Jesus Manifesto that is available for downloading.

A Doctrinal Top-Ten List
Richard at Connexions discovered Mike Todd and his "Top 10 Doctrines." As you would expect, it brought some comments. Read them, too.

Josh Takes a Study Break
Joshua Claybourn is taking a week to study. (I wonder if that would have helped me back in college?) He has some guest writers stepping in, but we will also wait for his return.

In 78 Days (or so)
Lord of the Rings trailer is here. Wow!

Rush to Judgement

In response to Limbaugh's comments, (Donovan) McNabb is quoted as telling the Philadelphia Daily News , "It's sad that you've got to go to skin color. I thought we were through with that whole deal." (link to Crosswalk.com article)(Thanks to Pen for the link.)

It was interesting to be watching the Blues tonight on PBS (more next) and one segment about racism in the 50s. We still have a long way to go.

Now Rush has resigned from ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown. He joins Jimmy the Greek and Al Campanis in the list of sports-related people who have misunderstood the true face of racism, even as they deny its existance in what they say. Those of us who are white often do not understand what we are saying. We don't see the racism because it is so ingrained in the culture. We don't always see how what we are saying can be taken wrong.

I don't think this is another incident of "political correctness." Racism remains the deep, undercurrent of American culture. We have come a long way, no doubt about it. But we cannot ignore its presence, but call it what it is.

The Blues (again)
Another excellent film on the PBS series tonight. A fictional journey (journeys are such wonderful images!) of an uncle taking his young nephew around the South. He introduces him to the Blues and the inner conflict that The Blues and Gospel are the musical representations of. They're closer than "kissin' cousins". They are the two faces of the same urge as Bobby Rush said in last night's show. (See yesterday's post.) The Blues mythology of a Robert Johnson, and others, who made pacts with the Devil in order to increase their skill points to the deeply spiritual nature of The Blues. Music in general touches the soul. When it is a soul of pain and suffering like that of the African-American experience, it produces the power of Gospel and Blues. A couple of quotes:

:: Everyone has The Blues. How it comes out is dependent on how you grew up.
:: The Blues is truth. If it ain't the truth, it ain't the Blues.

We whites can have some of the same things in our soul. I think of the cousins- Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmy Swaggart. Again, two sides of the same passion- and at times getting them mixed up. Perhaps proves the truth that all have the Blues. What is awesome to me is the ability of these musicians who can translate that into music.

Me? I write.