I welcome and appreciate comments that question the intent or perspective of my posts. One particular comment, which may seem adversarial but I would suggest is written for constructive or at least clarifying purposes (tone and intent are largely lost in the blogosphere), reads as follows:
"im a little confused on your opinion of journey. i have been there a few times but not much scripture was used so i havent been back. may come again sometime though.
speaking of scripture . i appreciate your writing but would like to see more scripture references.
im also curious to why you chose the name subversive reformation. a lot of post-modern movements (like rob bell, donald miller, shane claiborne kind of thing) make me wonder if we are too cynical and proud of our big words and creative artwork that we miss the point: LOVE."
Please note that I am not degrading this comment but rather continuing with the invitation for discussion. There are many directions in which to go but I want to begin by addressing only one small element of the comment. I may return to the ideas of postmodernism, movements, naming, and cynicism but first want to conisder "scripture references."
We have been conditioned to expect Scripture to be used in a certain way. Don’t get me wrong, I highly value the recitation of Scripture during church gatherings. I sometimes need to go to a Catholic or Episcopal gathering just to hear the public reading of God’s written communication with humanity. It is good for the soul of my recovering popular-evangelical self. However, to quote Scripture doesn’t mean that one has to "quote" (pun intended) Scripture. Modernism has conditioned us to want references, bullet points, quotations, citations, enumerations and many other "ations." Our western, post-enlightenment minds that place an overly-high value on reason and logical processing have difficulty recognizing that Scripture is interlaced within our stories.
Here, I will draw a parallel using a specific reference from Scripture . The book of Esther found in the Hebrew Scriptures (TNK ) never uses the actual word "God" in any of its forms (YHWH, Elohim, etc.) Esther is the only book of the Bible that does not use the word "God." Does that mean that God is not present throughout the story? Should the book of Esther not have been included in the Bible? Should it be discluded from that which is considered in the Judeo-Christian tradtion to be "holy writing" simply because the word "God" isn’t quoted? Equally, should any writing that does not "quote" scripture be tossed out as though it is irrelevant and removed from the narrative of God with his people?
After receiving a number of comments (some online and some in conversation or e-mail) about the "Why MVNU Students Go To Journey" posts, I think there is great value in responding to some of those comments. Here we go…
"Most church services remind me of the ‘self-help’ aisle at Barnes & Noble. i can get more spiritual depth and understanding from turning my compost pile and planting seeds in the ground." – Tom Joad.
I must recognize that Tom Joad is more of a naturalist (labeling/categorizing noted) than many. I would consider this a good thing. Turning the earth does not resonate as a "spiritual" practice for most people. I would consider this unfortunate and sad. Nonetheless, depth of teaching is a real issue for Sunday morning gatherings. When I attend a Sunday morning gathering I frequently find myself writing my own thoughts in my Moleskin simply because whatever is or is not being taught is not at all engaging. I’m reminded of a question asked by my professor Rick Ryding, "Is there teaching if there is no learning?" Too often, Sunday morning lectures are boring, shallow, mundane, uncreative, and guilt laden.
It is also important to note for other commentators that the original post is not saying anything negative about the portion of a week that is called "Sunday morning." Rather, it is critiquing that which is usually deemed (in Christian circles) as necessary during that time slot. I don’t care if followers of Jesus decide to meet on Sunday mornings or Thursday afternoons. In reality, the church is present together more often than not. The importance placed on that which usually happens on Sunday mornings is the problem. There may be very significant and "spiritual" things happening on a Tuesday morning but those things may go unrecognized as worship or as church. It is necessary for us to move our thinking away from a large, corporate, institutionalized gathering in order to recognize things like compost and seeds as things which engage humanity in worship of God.
With which is Jesus more concerned, our gatherings or acts of worship?
Many MVNU students have been attending the Sunday morning gathering of Christians who call themselves "Journey Church." Here is the fifth (5th) of six (6) reasons why MVN(azarene)U students have been so highly attracted to the non-Nazarene gathering place that is Journey.
From post #4 of 6
[There is also ]
5. The idea that everyone is doing it.
I’m not precisely sure what defines a trend except the idea that "everyone is doing it." After a discussion with my friends Nate Okuley and Lee Yowell in Nate’s car on the way to Hunan Garden for some dialogue and General Tso’s Chicken (insert another prepositional phrase here), I am offering a list of cultural and branding trends that exist within MVNU:
North Face : These branded jackets may be seen on many students walking around campus. I do wonder if North Face jackets worn in warmer spring and summer weather are symbols of one’s need for identity to be justified by a trend/brand.
Chipotle : I had never tried the oversized burrito from the McDonald’s Corporation owned mexican grill until I worked at MVNU. I will admit, I likes me some Chipotle even though I loathe McDonald’s and even have a hard time saying the last name of a certain clown named Ronald without having moderate to severe reflux in my esophageal tract. Flour tortilla, rice, cilantro, chicken, onions, peppers, black beans, corn salsa, fresh tomato salsa, and cheese. Trendy and tasty for a mere 950 calories, 28.5 grams of fat, and 43% of my daily intake of iron. I heart you Chipotle (but I hate your mother).
Mac : The musical group/band/singer Feist would be relatively unknown if Mac had not used the now popular "1, 2, 3, 4" on a quite catchy advertisement for the then new ipod nano (Am I supposed to capitalize the word "nano" or the "p" in "ipod?" What is the trend?). I confess that I do own a very nice, new generation, large capacity ipod Classic which I enjoy very much ("Classic" is capitalized just in case I got it wrong the first time. I want to be justified by my trendiness.). I also have MacBook envy. I have battled lust for the new aluminum cased media and online connectivity machine largely do to the slow processing and occasional random shut down of my now archaic HP Pavilion. I am also wanting to use iLife 09 for video and picture editing of my daughter, Kyla. I simply can’t quite justify spending $1299+ on a laptop when we’re trying to save and raise money to adopt internationally . It’s not easy fleeing green. "Tell me that you love me more. Buy me, Mac."
Journey Church : "If everyone’s going there and says it’s sweet then I’m going to go check it out." Is this a good enough reason? No previous connection with the gathered community? No theological research?
This of course leads me to the number one (#1) reason why MVNU students go to Journey…
A conversation had in the lobby of Oakwood Hall at MVNU . Some alterations may or may not exist toward the end of the conversation for the purposes of communicability:
Ryan Walker : Do you like the Decemberists? Travis Keller : I don’t know. Are they post-rock instrumental? Ryan (hereinafter called "Toast") : Have you ever listened to them? Travis : Yes, I think so. But I have listened to many musical things so sometimes I cannot specifically recall who sings what and if it is good. Are they good? Toast : Yeah. They’re good. Travis : How do you know? Toast : It’s an opinion. Travis : So they really might not be good? Toast : To some people. Travis : So it’s just your perception and musical taste or flav’a that defines what is good? Then how can one know if anything is ever really good? What does it mean to be good anyway? For example. I loathe country music. Toast : Yeah. Travis : Country music is not good. Or is it? Who am I to think that I can authoritatively say what is good and what is not good? Maybe country music is good. Maybe all forms of music are good and I’m just too arrogant or self-absorbed to value the person(s) creating a certain type of music. What if all music is good and I simply don’t appreciate it?
What does it mean for something to be good?
What is goodness?
Has anyone attempted to buy a "box" television from a store recently? I hope not. If you have you would have found yourself to be greatly disappointed in the selection of these now archaic entertainment devices. Where have all the televisions gone? They have disappeared – stricken from the market unless one is buying a used product through ebay or craigslist or at a local garage/yard sale.
This holiday season the plasma/LCD flat screen television appears to be one of the most highly marketed products targeted toward the average consumer. And why shouldn’t it be? Americans are wasting hours and hours of their lives everyday consuming images and propaganda without much consideration of the quality of information consumed and the quantity of time spent disassociating from human to human interaction. So if such behavior is going to be the culturally and sociologically imposed norm then why not do it in high style? Shouldn’t we all use our hard earned money to get the highest 1080p clarity on a 3.5" deep 52" HDTV with 3 HDMI inputs, 2 component video inputs, 3 composite inputs, 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, and a partridge in a pear tree? Afterall, it’s not as if there are people in our world who could benefit from our research, technology, and resources in order to provide food, basic medical care, and clean water. Plus, it’s much more comfortable to zone out in front of a screen rather than enter into a meaningful and self-disclosing conversation with another human being. And who wants to spend time interacting with their family anyway?
Where have all the televisions gone? No where. The old, heavy box version has simply been replaced with a cleaner, brighter, sleeker version, increasing and enabling addictions to biased and unintelligent "news" sources, the distorted, sexualized lives of "celebrities," life-destroying gaming systems, and individualization.
My Learning Track for Envision ’08 is “Beyond Consumerism” with Ron Sider. Our second meeting was in lecture format compared to our usual interactive dialogue. Book TV was present filming the lecture to be shown on C-SPAN possibly this coming weekend. I’m not sure how I feel about being on C-SPAN. I used to make fun of my dad for watching it all the time but now I feel myself captivated by watching the “YES” and “NO” votes tally during a congressional vote (post on “voting” coming soon). Ron is not with us today so we are interacting with Bart Campolo and some other practitioners who have come from the Philadelphia / Eastern College area. Sider had to fly out to Chicago in order to meet with Barrack Obama concerning the very things about which we are engaging at the conference: social justice, human rights activisim, non-violence, and the politic of Jesus.
I arrived last night into Philadelphia PA and drove through Trenton and Princeton on my way to Somerset NJ to stay with my Aunt Dayna, her husband Ken, and my cousin Addy. They have been so very welcoming and it is good to reconnect with family. The home here is amazing. It was built in the late 1700s or very early 1800s and though updated extensively possesses a sense of permanancy and tranquility. We fed the geese this morning by the pond out back and then shared a meal of eggs on English muffins. Aunt Dayna helped me with a morning workout on the Nintendo Wii Fit Pad.
I’m leaving now for Princeton to visit the University before checking in for the Envision Conference. As time allows I’ll be adding posts throughout the day updating the experience and sharing dialogue for online interaction for those who couldn’t attend and are interested in the vision and direction of the church. I have a great sense of peace combined with an overwhelmed feeling right now. The interactions coming in the next couple of days will stretch, bend, twist, and shape me as I absorb from and interact with some of the leading authors, academics, and practitioners in missional thought and living. I also have about 6 other ideas for posts right now so there may be some quite random thoughts thrown in here and there.
I had the pleasure of meeting with Dan Merchant briefly this evening at the ACSD conference. Dan is the writer/director/producer of the documentary, “LORD, save us from your followers.” I also attended the viewing of the film. I was entertained, confronted, and reaffirmed all at the same time. I am definitely going to be purchasing the film and hosting a screening as a part of the film forum of Oakwood Hall. I will also be meeting with Dan hoping that he may visit our community at Mount Vernon Nazarene University.
The following trailer is somewhat vague and does not come close to providing a full representation of the movie. Please visit the website to watch more video clips and read more information.
RELOCATED: Please update your blog roll, links, and subscription to reflect the new location: www.subversiveREFORMATION.com
Today I am writing from Cedarville University where the the Association for Christians in Student Development (ACSD) annual conference is being held. Our initial activities were casual and light in nature. My moleskin entry reads:
“Some Initial Observations”
(1) Prior to the opening meeting there was a reception. Well, there were three receptions: a newcomers reception, a “Christians in Secular Institutions” reception, and the standard opening reception for everyone else. My first response is to question the concept of “secular institutions” as separate for the lack of a self-labelins system that denotes itself as a “Christian institution.” What makes something secular? How can an institution be “Christian?”
(2) The reception consisted of people mingling, sipping on lemonade, and eating shrimp. I first noticed the incredible amount of shrimp. It was piled high and wide on several serving trays covered with ice. I could not begin to guess the amount of money spent on the shrimp only. I did not partake of the food primarily because I do not like shrimp unless it is grilled and seasoned properly. Also, the atmosphere was not one of sharing a meal together but rather consuming for the sake of elitist consuming. My introverted self found a chair off to the side. I sat and observed. It was obvious that much of the conversation was very shallow as people “connected” with others whom they see once a year at the same conference. From my assessment of body language, posture, atmosphere, and the seeming lack of authenticity I would guess that about 6% of the interactions extended beyond small talk.
I am looking forward to the training sessions and interactions in the morning. I will be attending a session categorized as Research and Scholarship, Residential Life, and Student Activities tracks. It is entitled “Student Culture: Promoting Faithful, Academic Subcultures’ and is taught by Don Opitz, Associate Professor and Director of Geneva College’s Master of Arts in Higher Education. The other session that is very attractive is entitled “Biblical Multiculturalism: Defining the Tone and Direction of the Conversation in the Academy.”
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"Most church services remind me of the ‘self-help’ aisle at Barnes & Noble. i can get more spiritual depth and understanding from turning my compost pile and planting seeds in the ground." – Tom Joad.
A conversation had in the lobby of Oakwood Hall at 
Has anyone attempted to buy a "box" television from a store recently? I hope not. If you have you would have found yourself to be greatly disappointed in the selection of these now archaic entertainment devices. Where have all the televisions gone? They have disappeared – stricken from the market unless one is buying a used product through ebay or craigslist or at a local garage/yard sale.
