March 15, 2010 in
film, peace, relationship, Theology with
A dialogue from the 1995 film Braveheart:
Princess Isabelle: The king desires peace.
William Wallace: Longshanks desires peace?
Princess Isabelle: He declares it to me, I swear it. He proposes that you withdraw your attack. In return he grants you title, estates, and this chest of gold which I am to pay to you personally.
William Wallace: A lordship and titles. Gold. That I should become Judas?
Princess Isabelle: Peace is made in such ways.
William Wallace: Slaves are made in such ways. The last time Longshanks spoke of peace I was a boy. And many Scottish nobles, who would not be slaves, were lured by him under a flag of truce to a barn, where he had them hanged. I was very young, but I remember Longshank’s notion of peace.
In what ways is peace made?
November 25, 2009 in
advent, compassion, culture, Ecclesia, family, giving, jesus, justice, love, relationship, Theology, worship with
Our celebration of Christmas has become the commercial exploitation of Jesus. God showed up on earth to bring that which is wrong back to rights and we attempt to honor that God by misusing our resources and giving ourselves to the commercial entities that prey on the human bend to “need more.”
“I have to have it. It’s bigger. Its’ better. I have to have it. Or… I have to give it. Because then I can mend a broken relationship or show love by filling someone’s longing or addiction to have more stuff. It… completes…. me.”
Is there a better way? Is there a better way to worship the coming of the King?
How are you celebrating Christmas?
Black Friday shopping?
Spending time at a nursing home offering time and attention?
Going to see A Christmas Carol in 3-D?
Sending life-giving resources to children who do not have food?
Carving the holiday ham?
Watching Christmas Vacation repeatedly?
Black Friday shopping?
Buying stuff?
Using vacation time to read to your child?
Attending a religious gathering?
Is there a better way?
June 2, 2009 in
arrogance, community, consumption, empire, giving, global, government, humanity, justice, love, relationship, service, thought with
In a communicative speech given only minutes ago this first day of June, two-thousand nine anno domini, the United States empire’s president Barack Obama stated the government’s defense for the bankruptcy filing by the automobile manufacturer, General Motors. Evident by the majority shares purchase, Obama, his automotive task force, and the Department of the Treasury support the bankruptcy and the suppossed coming rise of a "new, leaner and stronger GM." Obama remarked toward the end of his address that the ultimate end is for American business to compete globally.
So…
If U.S. businesses are intended to "compete globally" then is the U.S. government ultimately seeking to send people who function within the economic system of another nation into the same type of jobless recession that the U.S. is currently experiencing? Is the drive to compete in business fueled by the longing for self-absorbtion, self-fulfillment, and self-gratification while promoting oppression of others? There are those who think that the people of the U.S. "deserve to be on top." Does such a philosophy reveal an ever-present racism?
What ever happened to loyalty? To friendship? To mutual respect and sharing? Why do our lives center around having more and being the best? What ever happened to Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream? Did that only apply to Americans?
And while I’m at it, why are we so dependent on automobiles?
Competition is violent. Just ask the gladiators in the Colosseum. Ask the guards on the offensive line. Ask the economically oppressed nations.
Much violence is based on the illusion that life is a property to be defended and not to be shared.
Henri Nouwen
April 29, 2009 in
blog, Church, community, conforming, consumption, Ecclesia, Emergent, family, global, journey, labels, language, missional, perspective, presence, relationship, religion, sociology with
Thanks to "makeesha" and Julie Clawson for their thoughtful comments and contributions to some ongoing dialogue on my previous post concerning Emergent Village , their^ recent gathering, and the ideas of home and church. makeesha pointed out one thing that i was attempting to suggest or about which i was honestly inquiring. The blogosphere and twittersphere are quite confusing when dealing with anything other than the regularities of life. Many things are hard to communicate when the conversational dynamics of tone, vocal inflection, facial expression and body language are absent. Yet, inconsistently, I continue to blog. Ha! In the same way I wonder about the clarity of communication during a gathering of those with limited to no historical and proximal connectivity (maybe that is an incorrect assumption). How does Emergent Village benefit one’s local context? How does EV benefit a community’s love toward neighbor? What is the value to Emergent Village’s global presence? Are these some of the questions discussed at the gathering in D.C.? What are some perspectives about the value of the family and the family being the agent of change with the church in order for the church to be the agent of change within society?
Julie, I am glad that you were not permitted and/or discouraged from Tweeting during the gathering. A friend recently tweeted that even though there were a good number of people attending a Bible study gathering that none of them really seemed present – to which I replied, "It’s good to see that you are fully present since you are tweeting." I also recently wrote a short book review on Reggie McNeal’s Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders where I focused on the the idea of centering our time and energy so as not to have the distractions of internet, mobile phones, and television consume us.
^ I realized after writing this post that I used the possessive language of "their" when referring to Emergent Village. I hope this is not offensive as I know that any of us who have every associated ourselves with or been labeled as "emeregent" (whether for good or bad) do not wish to be an exclusive group that claims ownership of some institutionalized system.
March 20, 2009 in
adoption, college, community, culture, Ecclesia, Emergent, friends, humanity, jesus, journey, justice, love, mvnu, people, relationship, religion, sociology, worship with
Many MVNU students have been attending the Sunday morning gathering of Christians who call themselves "Journey Church." Here is the sixth (6th) of six (6) reasons why MVN(azarene)U students have been so highly attracted to the non-Nazarene gathering place that is Journey.
That’s right. This is it. It’s been over a week. The moment you all… or at least some of you… have been waiting for (or not): The #1 reason why MVNU students go to the gathering place that calls itself Journey. But first… here is a quick rundown of numbers 1-5.
1. The perception that going to a Sunday morning gathering is still necessary.
2. The 20 minute drive from MVNU in Mount Vernon, OH to Howard, OH.
3. The music.
4. The teacher who is present in the lives of students.
5. The idea that everyone is doing it.
And finally presenting number…
6. The sexual lure.
Yes, the sexual lure.
Enter the Journey gathering and the lights go down. In the dimly lit room an ever-so-happy dating couple nuzzle and begin to sway together to Salvation is Here . OK… not really… but really. I have seen this beautiful picture of hormonal overload and still remain quite humored and/or disgusted with a more-than-slight inclination toward the latter.
Before I totally lose you (too late) I’ll get into the real idea:
Fascination. Romanticism. Intimacy. Connectedness.
God created humans (and most other mammals) as sexual creatures. Unfortunately, the church has done a rather insufficient to poor job at framing our sexuality in a healthy and fomative manner. The popular media has unveiled many "church leaders" from eccumenically diverse backgrounds who have illustrated the tragic nature of distorted sexuality. Few Christian parents have properly imaged a devoted and giving marriage relationship (the previous two sentences must be developed more in separate, dedicated posts). The church has inadequately taught the full beauty of sexuality and has ungraciously reacted against what it calls sinful sexual behavior. There has emerged a fascination with sexuality from students who have been impacted by the church’s improper communication about sexuality. Experimentation and cultural adaption consequently ensue. Timmy B and I are both quite comfortable journeying with students and others through the fascination and questions about sexuality.
There is a certain romanticism that accompanies the Journey gathering. One parallel that I may draw is with the idea of adoption. International adoption may sound more heroic when compared with domestic adoption. There is a type of romanticism that comes with rescuing a child from another country compared to a child who is abused by his/her parents who are your neighbors. Though I don’t buy into that idea of romanticsm (all forms of justice are equally justice) there is a certain romanticism with the Journey gathering. It is not Nazarene. It is not a huge organization. It most reflects the grassroots movements of church that may be trendy but are not associated with a larger institution. The current generation of 20-somethings are attraced to anti-institutional movements. We are romanticized by them.
A sexual relationship with one’s spouse is the most intimate and connected that two people may become so long as that practice of sex is within the context of a whole and loving marriage. Humans long for that intimacy and connection. The journey gathering is packaged with an intimate feel and the relationships external from the gathering itself are quite intimate. At the core of western human existence is the desire to fight against the individualism that defines our culture and seek to be connected with each other. Journey is just one more place to seek such connection within an intimate feel that fosters romanticism for minds fascinated with sex.
If you are finding yourself at all confused you may include your thoughts in a comment. I also may include a post that would further explain this idea. It would be an excert from a teaching and a piece of writing that I did about the Holy Kiss used in the liturgy.
Posts in response to comments during this series are ahead.
January 15, 2009 in
community, culture, Education, image, internet, language, relationship, time with
I updated my previous installation of WordPress 2.5 to 2.7 using Fantastico within my AN Hosting account. Due to heavy reading expectations in my M.A.R. Missional Leadership program, I have had a difficult time keeping my blog posts recent and current. Hopefully, the new look and feel of my upgraded dashboard will encourage me to continue posting regularly. I really am enjoying the flow and usability along with the fresh and appearance.
I also hope to continue to refine the look of subversiveREFORMATION.com as I continue to learn CSS and HTML along with web hosting and image creating/editing. I don’t find the process of blogging and learning web-languages an irresponsible use of time. Our culture is one that has become dependent upon or at least adjusted to online forms of connectivity and communication with images, video, and instant response systems at the core of interaction.
An interesting question arises with web-language and communication technologies: What is the appropriate Christian response to decreasing human-to-human interactions ?
December 21, 2008 in
consumption, death, deconstruction, dialogue, entertainment, family, giving, health, image, relationship, sociology, television, video with
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.
Tis the the season.
.
September 23, 2008 in
Education, election, love, peace, relationship, thought with
I found the amount of comments on my previous "Bantering and Battering" post much more intriguing than the content of the posts. I am not demeaning the value of anyone’s thoughts and contribution to the dialogue (they were quite insightful) but rather am expressing my observation that there are many and various opinions and stances that have generated much attention and use of time. Such popularity indicates that a post with political, governmental, and empire-ical themes unveils the value of Christian (or unChristian) involvement and engagment in the public square. Thank you for your thoughts and comments. I hope the virtual discussion will continue.
One question that I posed in the original post was, "Does my vote even really matter?" A comment indicated that the issues and implications contained within the decision of whether or not to vote "carry with them
enormous weight and responsibility." Am I held responsible for the decisions of another person if I voted for that person? Since I (regretably) voted for George W. Bush am I guilty of killing thousands of people in a vengeance-initiated war? Am I responsible for irresponsibly spending billions of dollars that could have otherwise been used to feed and clothe people and provide education and clean water for our national enemies and/or neighbors? Did my vote provoke terrorism? If my vote really mattered then am I really an enactor of love representing the kingdom of God?
August 25, 2008 in
community, dependency, relationship, sociology, solitude with
Is it more difficult in the current popular American culture to make space for community or solitude?
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June 17, 2008 in
Conference, Envision, jesus, Princeton, relationship, thought with
Are those who decide not to accept the forgiveness and reconciliation to God offered through Jesus actually too broken to do so? Are those who refuse Jesus either incapable of valuing love, community, and relationship or in a state of dependency on something other than Jesus?
For those reading who are not followers of Jesus please do not be offended. I do not intend to label or categorize but value your comments as well.
