Archive - May, 2009

King James: LeBron and the 1611 Version Redefined.

May 28, 2009 in arrogance, Church, community, Ecclesia, entertainment, kingdom, leadership, people, sports, worship with 4 Comments

The only time I watch the NBA on television is during the playoffs. I’ve never been to a game nor do I ever care to go to one. I actually get a bit perturbed at Cleveland Cavaliers fans. Only about 2% of those "fans" that I’ve met here in north-central Ohio were "fans" prior to the LeBron James show. LeBron hit the scene and it was instant Cavs mania.

LeBron James is not the best the player in NBA. "Then who is?," you might be asking. And I might respond, "There is no such thing." There is no single player who is "the best." What does it mean to be "the best?" Is it whoever scores the most points? Is it the flashiest player? The one who appears most athletic? What about the silent leader on the bench who holds the team together? Is it the most arrogant player who commands attention from the camera? Is it someone who encites emotion by throwing powder up into the air?

Here is a blog post that I entered in June of 2007 that will further explain why there is not a best player:

"The team prevailed over the individual. The San Antonio Spurs won the NBA Finals over LeBron James. LeBron has been compared to Michael Jordan but at least Jordan demonstrated that his championships were not his. The Bulls did not win only if their best player scored 25 of the final 30 points. They were a solid team . The community always prevails over the individual. The church will always prevail over the god of self. Defense helps, too."

"King James" is no "king" at all except to those who elect to pay homage to a person who seems to know how to throw a sphere through a circular ring mounted 10 feet in the air. Misdirected worship toward another "King James" is also evident in church history. The version of the Bible authorized by King James in 1611 has been an idol for many conservative church congregants. Continued research and education within the church community has produced other translations which are more accurate for promoting a truer and more genuine understanding of the message contained within the original Hebrew and Greek texts (I recommentd the NRSV for the TNK^ and the NASB for Matthew-Revelation).

Community is the way in which humanity was created to live and breathe. Just ask the animals…

(TO BE CONTINUED).

^ "TNK" is Hebrew for what "protestant Christians" unfortunately call the "Old Testament." The letters "TNK" in Hebrew with vowels inserted is pronounced "tanakh" (teh-nock). The initials stand for the sections of the Hebrew Bible (referred to as the tanakh). T: Torah (Teachings); N: Nevi’im (Prophets); K: Ketuvim (Writings) — TaNaKh.

Tattoos are More Imporant.

May 18, 2009 in Church, community, compassion, conforming, consumption, Emergent, friends, image, issues, journey, justice, prayer, worship with 9 Comments

One of my more recent posts entitled, "Teaching Little Kyla… Languages (and about Tattoos) " received over 150 hits in the first hour of its publication. 25 comments have been posted in addition to a barrage of comments in response to my posted Facebook link. Adam Walker-Cleaveland published a similar post on pomomusings.com (a blog worth a daily read).

Are tattoos really that big of a deal? Maybe I’m just surrounded by enough people who don’t think its an issue for discussion or who maintain a place of conforming with society and recognizing trends as legitimizing for any behavior. Maybe the historical and religious context of the levitical writing needs studied and taught.

Are people (including myself) so self-absorbed that we prefer to talk about inking ourselves rather than loving our enemies, living missionally, ministering with the marginalized, practicing discipline, and thwarting our individualism for the sake of community and friendship loyalty? Why is there so little interest in the violence of apathy and the elusiveness of sabbath? Why are we not as concerned with the movement of the Church? Are we distracted? Are we addicted consumers of brain-dead "conversation?" Why is a tattoo so much more of a fascinating topic?

Adoption Update

May 12, 2009 in adoption, Church, Ecclesia, giving, justice, life, mvnu, prayer, sarah, worship with 3 Comments

Please click the adoption page link here: .:: ADOPTION or above to read our latest update. We appreciate your prayers as we continue to consider our direction. If interesting in supporting our adoption please clink the link to the left to be directed to our secure PayPal donation page.

Peace,
Travis & Sarah

Rainning Bikes of Art.

May 8, 2009 in Uncategorized with 4 Comments

My friend Rainn Wilson (ok, he’s not really my friend but I like him bunches) posted a video on his blog and asked the question, "Do you think athletics can be artistic? Where else have you been surprised to find artistry?"

Teaching Little Kyla… Languages (and about Tattoos).

May 3, 2009 in art, compassion, conforming, design, Ecclesia, language, symbol, teaching, writing with 30 Comments

“Teaching Little Kyla…”
A series on Travis and Sarah’s journey of parental flubs, flaws, failures and accidental^ fortune.

I have been considering getting a tattoo for way too long now. I need to just do it. The one thing keeping me from it is that I don’t want to be in the “everybody’s doing it / it makes you a trendy ‘with it’ emergent” category. If I do proceed to have a colored liquid substance commonly called ink injected/burnt into my epidermis I would choose to have some combination of either Hebrew or Greek lettering imprinted. I know Greek better so I am more likely to go with that. My current choices are as follows:

1.) The 5th chapter of The Gospel of Matthew in Greek text line after line across my shoulders and back.
2.) Same as above but down my side along the rib cage area.
3.) Alpha on one forearm. Omega on the other.
4.) ek statis  in Greek (somewhere).
5.) splaxnizomai in Greek (somewhere).
6.) ekklesia in Greek (somewhere).
7.) “I heart Mom” on my shoulder inside a heart (ok, not really… just to clear that up).

Kyla has been learning the English alphabet. She is really starting to get it down and is not yet 2 years old. “J-K-L-M-N-O” is giving her some trouble but she nails the “P.” I’ve started to teach her Hebrew and Greek. She does well with “Aleph-Bet-Gimel-Dalet” and “Alpha-Beta-Gamma-Delta.” I was thinking about making up some flashcards for her but then realized I could simply use my tattoos.

Should I get a tattoo?
What should it read?
If you had a child age 13-19 who wanted a tattoo would you allow it?
Should I be teaching my daughter the biblical languages?

^ There is someone(s) greater than me/us (a divine being and a community of people) that intercede with grace and giving.