“I’ve been in twenty different countries this year, and everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve heard leaders lamenting the fact that the church in the United States doesn’t seem to listen to their sisters and brothers in the rest of the world.”
- Brian McLaren
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Your Input Needed… Please Comment.
My number (1) strength as identified by the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment is “Input.” Essentially, I am inquisitive and collect as much information as possible primarily in words or books. Though I am quite aware of the cultural shift from word to image and value input from video, image, and social media resources, I am highly skeptical of propaganda.
Recent propaganda from Verizon Wireless is promoting the “smartphones” that run on the Google Android operating system. Motorola makes the Droid and HTC makes the Droid Eris. Both function somewhat similarly to the Apple iPhone. I would like to use an iPhone (since I have a MacBook Pro and like the simplicity and syncability) but it is only carried by AT&T whose coverage area in the United States is awful. I have also checked out various types of Blackberry phones such as the Storm, Storm2, and Tour. There is also an Apple iTouch that I have that must be factored into the equation. It came with the MacBook Pro and I have yet to open it trying to decide whether or not to use it. It would work great seeing as I live on a college campus with Wi-Fi everywhere but would be a secondary device.
I would like to think that I do not need an iPhone, Blackberry, or Droid, however…
(a) The demands of my new position at MVNU are beginning to necessitate higher mobile technology access.
(b) Social media and their equivalent mobile applications have become standard for communication and marketing.
(c) My current LG Chocolate phone is no longer charging properly.
What should Travis Keller do? What is the most socially and theologically responsible decision and why? What should I purchase or not purchase?
Is Independence Day Marxism?
Adapted from a post on July 3, 2008:
I’ll be honest. I’m not a fan of Independence Day. I’m trying to sort through whether that opinion is fueled by the despicable taste in in my mouth when I see red, white, and blue waving as a symbol of national allegiance and empire worship or simply by my struggle to intellectually and philosophically value independence. Freedom is good and necessary but cannot exist through the supposed provision of an earthly empire. Freedom is in the person of Jesus Christ and is quite different from that with which it is quite often confused, “rights.”
My reading on July 3rd proved to be rather timely for the upcoming day celebrated by most citizens of the United States. From Free of Charge by Miroslav Volf:
“Here is roughly how sin works in relation to God the giver. All things are from God and through God, and yet we want to be independent of God, standing on our own two feet, claiming God’s gifts as our own achievement. The young Karl Marx, barely twenty-six years old, put this sentiment as boldly as possible. In a text that remained unpublished during his lifetime, ‘Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts,’ he gave an expression to the heart of his rebellion against God:
‘A being only counts itself as independent when it stands on its own feet and it stands on its own feet as long as it owes its existence to itself. A man who lives by grace of another considers himself a dependent being. But I live completely by grace of another when I owe him not only the maintenance of my life but when he has also created my life, when he is the source of my life. And my life has necessarily such a ground outside itself if it is not my own creation.’
Marx held firmly to human independence. It almost seemed to him a value that lies at the bottom of all values. Because the reality of God as creator is incompatible with human independence, he denied the existence of God.
Most of us, especially the believers among us, won’t deny God’s existence in order to secure our independence. Instead, we think that we can have it both ways. We believe that we can stand on our own two feet, independent of God, and still affirm that God is the creator of everything. But that doesn’t make sense. We can be both dependent on God and free; dependence on God is the source of our being, and therefore, our freedom. But we can’t be created by God and independent; God sustains creatures in being and in freedom. When we assert our independence, when we ascribe to ourselves what comes from God, we wrong God – at least as much as I would wrong an author whose ideas I would peddle as my own. That’s our main sin against God the giver. If, like Raleigh Hays, we see ourselves as more or less honest, hardworking citizens, we may believe that we deserve what we have, and even a bit more because an evil world is cheating us of our proper reward. We might not feel particularly grateful for what we have because we think that, rather than receiving it, we earned it. And we want to dispose of our hard-earned goods the way we please; they become not so much gifts given to us to enjoy and pass on, but rather our exclusive possessions.
Assertion of independence, pride of achievement, sense of entitlement, and absolute right to dispose with our goods – these are the ways in which we live in contradiction to who we actually are in relation to God. And in these ways, we, decent citizens, live as inveterate sinners. To live in sync with who we truly are means to recognize that we are dependent on God for our very breath and are graced with many good things; it means to be grateful to the giver and attentive to the purpose for which the gifts are given.” //
// Miroslav Volf. Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace. pp. 35-6.
How does Emergent Village benefit…?
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.
#6 of 6: Why MVNU Students Go To Journey.
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.
#5 of 6: Why MVNU Students Go To Journey.
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 
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 Corporatio n 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 tr act. 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 popu lar "1, 2, 3, 4" on a quite catchy advertisement for the th en 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 proc essing 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…
TO BE CONTINUED.
^ This post is dedicated to Lee Yowell.
The Bracelet of a Barbarian.
This post is brought to you in part by your local chain Christian bookseller and the letters "D," "J," and "W" (but not in that order).
On pomomusings.com , Adam Walker Cleaveland did it. He brought it up . The WWJD bracelet. Adam confesses of his subcutural tendencies stating that he wore (4) WWJD? bracelets at one time. He asked for comments about one’s previous use of the not-so-glamorous Christina fashion (that’s funny) trend. I responded as follows:
———- Begin Response.
umm.
wow.
i had one.
it was blue.
navy.
i wore my one.org bracelet more.
and i had a shirt.
a cut off that i wore under my jersey for every high school soccer game.
what would jesus do?
compete in quasi-barbaric yet entertaining competition.
inflict intentional pain on others.
boast of a supposed athletic talent.
attack the integrity of a black and white striped human.
yeah.
that’s what jesus would do.
—————— End Response.
Of course Erwin McManus would argue for The Barbarian Way . Was Jesus a Barbarian?
I wonder if Jesus ever bought from a Parable Christian Store a bracelet that read, "WWCD?" (What would Caesar do?). Too frequently we ask that question.
Where have all the televisions gone?
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.
.
Valid?
Space.
Is it more difficult in the current popular American culture to make space for community or solitude?
