The Burning Nun

It has taken us five years, but Holly and I have finally found something to do in Huntsville! We were told about this place called the "Burning Nun" a couple of months ago but have not been able to go, until last night. The Burning Nun is actually the upstairs floor of an old mill right next to the downtown rescue mission. It consists of a really cool bookstore, with loft space for reading, game tables, and everything else that you could possibly imagine finding in an underground bookstore. Surrounding the bookstore, and the pathway to get to the bookstore, are artist spaces that are separated by chain link fence. There are two art galleries that are operating next to the library as well. The main library portion of the Burning Nun reminded me a great deal of a merger between the downstairs "underground" and upstairs poetry room of City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco. (Man I would love to go back there.)

Underneath the Burning Nun is this place called "Flying Monkey Arts." This is actually where we spent most of our time last night. This area includes a wooden stage with a really cool red mosaic curtain behind it. Surrounding the stage were couches and such filled with people we could actually relate to (except for the guy who channeled Indian spirits, not to sure about him). The night was a wonderful evening of spoken word poetry, short stories, and music. We went expecting an evening of spoken word poetry - a poetry slam for all of you literary with it people out there, but the mosaic of styles was quite refreshing.

There was something refreshingly real about being there. We heard many different subjects talked about last night (after all, the reading was published for "mature audiences only." You do the math) but there was an underlying theme of the supernatural that tied everything together. Whether it was the one who was aware of God in the midst of their mother dying, or the one aware of God in relation to injustice in the world - no one could get away from it. It was refreshing to see God in the midst of everyday life and situations. It was refreshing to see people who "don't get God" actually "get God" in a way that many in the Church do not. I am not saying that people there were "saved" but they had a perspective on God that was hard to get away from. The Church has done itself a great disservice by tossing such creative individuals out on the street. There is a lot to be learned from each other...so as for the house I live in, we will serve the Lord, and be back at the Burning Nun for the film festival next week!

Grace or death?

I had a very unusual conversation over the Christmas holiday. While everyone else was talking about peace on earth and the birth of the Messiah, I found myself sitting in the midst of a debate over capital punishment. That's right...the death penalty. (Great Christmas conversation, right?) Well, there were three views presented on the subject: unashamedly for it, regrettably for it, and opposed to it. I remained silent in the conversation, something I am trying more and more to do so that I can get into less and less trouble. As I remained silent, listening to those around me, my Christian faith was affirmed in a real way. Here's what I mean.

One of the people involved in the discussion works on a regular basis with those who are sick, hurting and dying. The one that was involved with seeing people die on a regular basis was the one that was most adamantly for the death penalty. The person's position was first offered as follows: why should someone who has committed such a hideous crime walk away and why should I pay $30,000 a year to keep someone on death row while the people who built this country can'’t get enough money from social security to live on? Point well taken. (Perhaps cutting the tax cuts for the rich would be a good place to start). My point is this; the one that understood the horrors of what humans can do to each other is the one that desires the greatest amount of retribution. On the flip side, this person is the one at the table, in that moment, who would be in the best position to understand the grace of God. How can we let someone live that has brutally murdered someone? Well...God apparently gave up God's own life so that this could happen. Could we offer up ourselves in order to spare the life of someone who has done such a horrible deed as brutally killing someone? I think somewhere in this question, not necessarily in the answer but in the question, is the kingdom of God. I have not come to a clear answer on the capital punishment issue, nor do I think that I will ever. As of right now, I have to say that I cannot accept the death of anyone whose life could be spared. As I have already stated, I don't think that the answer is the issue. I think the answer comes each time I look into the eyes of a hardened criminal or someone who commits injustice. What is the difference between us? Why am I not the one behind bars? Did God'’s love and grace reach more to me than him or her? Or does God'’s love and grace reach more to them? The Kingdom of God rests in such questions and teaches us the radical nature of God'’s love, grace, mercy and forgiveness. I will be happy to rest in the questions right now because I don'’t think that I, nor anyone else for that matter, would be able to stand the correct answer.

Adoption Blog is live!

As you may know by now, my wife and I are in process of adopting a baby girl from Guatemala. Holly and I have set up a blog specifically for the adoption journey at http://peaceforyourjourney.blogspot.com. We have taken comfort in reading the many other adoption blogs and hope that ours will likewise bring comfort and hope for those who are beginning the journey as well. We are so freakin' excited! We should have a new baby girl by next Christmas! We have had an incredible Christmas season reflecting upon what it means to be children of God, adopted into the family of God through the gift of Christ. So many people see adoption as being less than "having your own." This grieves me. Holly and I have decided to "have our own" child through adoption. So please, understand that we are all adopted into the family of God. Adoption is a plan for having children, not necessarily a "fall back" plan for having a family. None of us are "plan b" children! We are excited about this journey and hope that you will be able to share this with us!

Sorry for not including an active link but I have not been able to figure out how to do this on a mac platform.

God is Dead?

I have finally decided on what our first series of topics will be in our youth group. We are beginning with a series entitled: "God is dead." Now there are some that may think this a little bit of an odd way to begin the new year, but let me explain. BTW, if you are a PNEUMA youth member and reading this, please forget about it before the first of the series.

The idea for this series came from a seminar I attended with Tony Campolo at NYWC. The seminar was dealing with apologetics in youth ministry. His critique of the challenges from sociology is where this idea comes from. Here's the premise. The earliest humans found their need for community through tribal groups. Each of these tribal groups would have something that would make them distinct, something that would make them stand out from the crowd. As the tribes begin to interact with each other, the tribes found ways to symbolize the values and the nature of the tribe. Most often, animals were chosen to represent the tribe. On occasion, tribes would come together to form larger tribes. When this would happen the symbols, or totems, of the tribes would be combined to form a larger symbol (usually a totem pole) that would represent the values of the larger tribe, while still paying respect to the various smaller tribes that made up the larger. It was not long before these symbols of community became more than symbols, they became representative of a god in the tribe. What happens here is that the people make a god that looks exactly like them; it looks like their heritage, like their culture, etc. Sociologists would say that religion is nothing more than worship of the idealized self.

What does this have to do with anything? Well, look at the picture of Jesus at the top of the page. The ever-present white Jesus. If you are white and reading this, you probably take some comfort in seeing this picture. Why? Because Jesus looks like you. Take a look at this picture. Is this a picture of Jesus? Maybe. The point is that Jesus was not white or black. Jesus was from the middle east. All of our images of God fall short. If we look at them, I think that we will see more of the artist life in the picture than anything else. We are constantly making God into something that looks like us, something we are familiar with, something tame and civilized. It has been said that God created humans in God's image, and now humans have decided to return the favor.

The point of what I have said is this: perhaps we need to let god die. No, God as a deity will never die. However, our perceptions of God that become so real to us, that are more representative of our own lives needs to die. I want to reclaim the radical, otherness of the God of scripture. I don't want to believe that God looks like a white middle class american constantly reaching for the next rung on the ladder to success. I want to understand God for who God is, as the one that confronts and deconstructs myself into an image of otherness, an image of Christ. God forgive us for making you in our image. Today I declare the god that is one with ourselves and culture as dead. I also declare that the true God of otherness is alive and well and at work in the world around us.

The Church?

This is a question for all the youth pastors and senior pastors out there. I have been a youth minister for 5 years now, and throughout those 5 years I have tried to pound into our students heads: "you are not the Church of tomorrow. You are the Church of today." I thought that this was the consensus across the board except for a few fundamentalist types. However, this weekend, my philosophy was countered by someone that I thought was on board with this idea. What do you ladies and gentlemen out there teach?

Here's my philosophy. The youth are the Church, period. The Church consists of the body of Christ, no matter what the age,and functions as God's prophetic agents of change and reconciliation on earth. I have to think that if we tell the youth that they are the Church of tomorrow, that we will relieve them of any and all pressure to be a prophetic voice in the midst of popular culture. After all, isn't being a prophetic witness the job of the Church? I guess part of my wanting to call students "the Church of today" comes from watching adults ie "the Church of today" not speak prophetically to postmodern culture. I don't think that we can afford to label youth "the Church of tomorrow" because I don't necessarily see "the Church of today" getting the job done.

I'm hooked

I just wanted to keep everyone updated with my current list of vices. This week my main vice is Table Tennis. Yeah, sure, go ahead and play it. You won't get hooked, I promise. Consider yourself warned.

Happy Holidays!

Ok Pete, here's my rant. It's official, I am sick of it. Why are evangelical Christians making a fool of themselves by getting on CNN and FOX news to debate the phrase "Happy Holidays" versus "Merry Christmas?" People say that they are offended by those that are attempting to remove Christ out of Christmas. Well, I am offended by such evangelicals fighting for a word and not fighting for a life that follows Christ. There is something wrong when someone makes such a loud noise over a phrase while proclaiming that we should be killing dictators, or preaching a gospel of hate towards homosexuals. DO NOT, and I mean DO NOT preach to merchants about the use of Happy Holidays if you are not prepared to do two things. The first is to approach the store managers in love. What if we showered store owners with so much love that they said Merry Christmas out of respect for those that have shown so much love to them? I know, I know, what was I thinking. I guess I should get back to the debate at hand instead of bringing Biblical principles into the discussion since most debators are not willing to do so. Secondly, realize that Christmas is a day that points to 364 other days of the year. The announcement of Christmas is the announcement of a Messiah that has come in the midst of oppression to set his people free. Not to flaunt wealth by visiting every department store known to man. If Christmas is the high point of our year, then something is wrong. Each day is more important than the last when it comes to announcing the birth of Christ. Enough said on that.

Final two things. People are offended by the phrase "Happy Holidays." Here is what I am offended by: go to a target shopping center and look at the flags on the lightposts. (I do not know if all Target shopping centers have these, but the two in Huntsville and Birmingham have these. By the way, I had planned to take a picture of the sign to place on this entry so as to night bore everyone, but wouldn't you know it, my camera is dead.) What I am referring to are signs on the light posts that boast the phrase "Peace on Earth." Innocent enough...right? No! The phrase is paired up with the image of a dove holding a twig in its mouth. The dove carries itself through the air on a wing that is an American flag. This offends me. Peace on earth, as we have seen through the Iraqi blunderings of our country, does not come on an American flag wing. Peace on earth comes through Christ. This is something that we should be concerned about because Christians have bought into this lie without any question. GOD IS NOT AN AMERICAN!

Now, this brings me to the last point of this rant. I think that an appropriate phrase that all Christians should unite around during Christmas is found in scripture: "And on earth Peace to all on whom God's favor rests." Not Peace on earth through democracy, but Peace on earth through the gift of Jesus Christ, God incarnate. The sacredness of the phrase "merry Christmas" was lost the second the fundamentalists got on tv arguing for it. That's ok, no one can take away the sacredness of the angels' announcement of "Peace on earth."

May you and I take hold of this announcement and understand that Christ's life is a life that was lived to announce Shalom, Peace. In the same way, I pray that all Christians would begin to follow Christ and use their lives to announce; "and on earth Peace to all on whom God's favor rests."

Deconstructing the Rapture

If you cannot read this, it is because my hands were shaking while writing this entry. No I am not on crack, but I do write this fear and trembling. The topic is deconstruction. I have had an ongoing debate with some friends at seminary, as well as with Derrida through reading his material, about the deconstruction of fundatmental, evangelical beliefs that we have held as firm truth for so long. Here's the question, to what extent am I allowed to deconstruct? What's up for grabs is, well, the rapture. (Ok,ok, it's not the end of the world...umm...ok actually I guess it is, or maybe its not. I don't know.) Anywho, here's the deal, I come from a faith tradition that has an uneasy marriage with dispensational theology. Though many Pentecostals reject dispensationalism because of its seeming hostility toward the Pentecostal tradition, Pentecostals have accepted without question, dispensationalist eschatology.

About two years ago, I began to question the traditional (though as I have come to understand really isn't "traditional") view of the end times. I have seen all the rapture movies. I never did understand why God cared enough to fold up everyone's clothes when God raptured them. The streets are wiped bare by the rapture except for the dotting of people's clothes, folded up neatly on the side of the street. Their glasses are always folded laying on the top of the shirt. Anyway, here are the questions that I have come to ask in my deconstruction of the rapture theology.

First of all, if the truth of dispensationalist theology is the truth of scripture, then why did we only discover it two hundred years ago? That's right, the early church didn't have the timelines. Secondly, why would God take God's Spirit away from the world, as well as God's presence in the Church, and then see how many people can remain pure against the pressures of "the beast" and all that the tribulation has to offer? Thirdly, why are so many church of God pastors jumping on the bandwagon of rapture theology, when the professors at the seminary, who are supposed to represent the theological integrity of the tradition, do not agree with such theology? I can possibly agree with the millenium reign of Christ, because as one of the theology professors states, it is a sabbatical, a time of grace for all of creation.

How about the anti-christ. My vote is Carman, or maybe Jerry Fallwell (thanks to Relevant Magazine for this suggestion. The irony in this suggestion is priceless.) If you look historically, you can see that Dometian set up a market place system in which one would have to sacrifice to Dometian (who thought that he was God) before one was allowed to participate in the market economy. Dometian was such a horrible ruler that the Jewish people referred to him as "the Beast." It is believed that one was given a mark after worshipping the beast, allowing one to then buy and sell in the market place. Are we to believe that there are two "Beasts?" I guess if it is true that John was writing literature against the Roman empire, then such a scenario is possible.

In the book "The Rapture Exposed," the writer shows the true nature of apocalypitic literature. She states that the literature was written as a means of showing that which could be in order to change the present course of action. Kind of like the ghost of Christmas future in a Christmas Carol. The vision is given in order to change behavior in the present.

Anyway, I have so many more thoughts on this that will have to wait for another time. I don't have everything figured out, but I do know that Christ is coming back to earth to reign, but I don't think that Christ is coming back to destroy the world. I am beginning to believe more and more each day that God is at work in the world now restoring, or recreating the world. Anywho, I am waiting for the day in which we go up to the city of New Jerusalem. (Oh yeah, Revelation states that the city comes down. Go figure.)

World AIDS Day

Just a reminder for all Christians out there who take seriously this Kingdom of God stuff. World AIDS Day is December 1. Please take some time to pray for those who are suffering and check out your local AIDS coalition to see how you can get involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The wait is over for RENT!!!

5 hundred 25 thousand 600 minutes, how do you measure, measure a year....I will quit singing now. That's right, the wait is over. RENT was released today and, as promised, I was at the theater. Let me begin by saying that the film is incredible. Go see this movie. Now, having said that, if you are a RENT purist, you may be a little disappointed in the film. There is something about RENT live on stage that is profoundly moving. I don't think that anyone could ever capture the live performance on film with the same intensity and emotion. However, if you haven't yet, or are not going to fork out the $80 to see the show live, then the film is a must see. Here are the major differences between the film and the stage production. First off, some of the smaller musical numbers are converted to dialogue only in the film. This is not necessarily a bad thing, though it makes for some awkward moments for those of us who are way too familiar with the stage version. Secondly, not all of the scenes from the musical are in the film. The most obvious example of a scene left out, was the final night of passion between Collins and Angel. I was actually happy that this scene was left out. One aspect of the film that was of great help was the director's use of flashback scenes to provide greater character development. The director though, in attempting to fill in the gaps with these scenes, used some rather unorthodox composition techniques leaving the watcher with a bit of an uneasy feeling. A primary example was the scene in which Roger moves to Santa Fe and Mark is left in New York. The transitions, shot compositions, and edit points were very unsettling to watch. The music in the film made up for the odd shooting sequences though. If the camera work in the film gets on your nerves, just close your eyes and listen to the music. The music is what makes this film.

This was my synopsis post of RENT. I will hopefully have a chance to post my theological response to RENT tomorrow. I am thinking about going to see it again before I do that post. We'll just have to wait and see.

National Youth Worker's Convention

This weekend I was at the NYWC in Nashville TN. I will not be able to tell you all that happened on the trip simply because there was simply too much going on. (Check out pomopete's blog for more perspective of what went on.)

The first day I attended Tony Campolo's seminar on Apologetics for Youth Ministers. Let me just say that Tony's the man. I went to this seminar because I thought if anyone could redeem the hyper-modernist world of apologetics, it would be Tony. I was right. He did a great job of looking at challenges from each of the sciences: social science, psychology, etc. He did not attempt to give a step by step method of defending the faith, but allowed for an understanding of sharing realities or stories other than foundationalist argumentation. Thanks Tony.

I also attended Tony's seminar on Christians in Politics. Again, the seminar was great, however, Tony was not as "liberal" (I hate that term) as I thought he would be. Still, he gave a great critique of the uneasy marriage of the modern day church and conservative republican ideology. (Sorry to bust anyone's bubble out there, but Bush is not the savior of the world) I guess I'll shut up before I start preaching. Let me just say that the seminar was great.

Tony Jones facilitated a late night theology discussion. I was only able to join in on the last portion of the discussion, which primarily centered around women in ministry. The highlight of the night was this guy who was sitting in the row next to me. I guess I should say that he started out sitting next to me, before the discussion was over he was not only standing but was pacing the aisle. He could not understand how someone could read the Bible and agree to women in ministry. I am sorry, but I got too much pleasure out of watching this guy squirm. Let me be the first to say, rather pointedly, that if you are advocating not allowing women in ministry, you are living in a destructive narrative that is contrary to the Kingdom of God. Please stop the oppression. And yes, I give you permission to take offense at this.

I bought the cds for a couple of other seminars that are really good. As I listen to them and process them, I will blog about them. I know that this is a short update, but well, that's it for now. The rest of the conference was great. David Crowder is the man. Chris Tomlin, all the speakers and bands were great. If you are a youth worker and have never been...go.

Irony

Just as a point of irony...I just finished the post on the Alaskan Trip update and ran the spell check provided by blogger.com. The blog spell check did not recognize the word blog. Sorry, but I find this funny.

Back from Alaska

This past weekend I went with a group of 13 from PNEUMA to Ketchikan Alaska. The trip was absolutely incredible. The area around Ketchikan is beautiful. Unfortunately, we didn't get snowed in or anything. It actually snows very little there. They have the exact same weather as Seattle so there is more rain than snow. The area is surrounded by mountains which are covered with snow on the top, but at the level of the city, there is no snow.

While I was there I was speaking at the Southeast Alaskan Winterfest. The people that were there and that were in charge of the event were incredible. I kind of feel sorry that they got stuck with me as the speaker, but still, we all seemed to have a good time. The youth that I took were incredible. If you are a youth pastor and are reading this blog, I had to say that I have the best youth in the world in PNEUMA. There cannot be any that are greater. The blew me away with their willingness to serve this weekend. Here's a listing of what we did. The first service I talked about the new creation: re:visioning creation. The youth drama group performed after the evening service at a "fun time." They did one spoken piece and one percussion drama piece. The second morning I team taught a Bible study with our children's pastor Annette on Truth. That afternoon was fun time in the gym and that night I taught on re:visioning sex. We had a great night that night. After the service we went cosmic bowling. Everyone knows that my life-long dream was to go bowling in Alaska. I can die happy now. The third day I spoke in the Winterfest service on the feast of Sukkot and the use of water in the festival (COG seminary students should recognize this). The drama team did a dance piece in the morning service as well. Immediately following I spoke in the main church service on the Elijah narrative. Good times.

Anywho, all this to say that I really enjoyed the trip. The pictures from the trip should be on the PNEUMA web site later today. www.pneumayouth.com We are all ready to go back. We have a possibility of going back in February. We'll see what happens.

Rediscovery time.

Ever have those moments when you rediscovered a song, group, or film that you once loved but for some reason lost touch with? This seems to be happening to me a lot lately. So, here's a list of the songs and groups that I have come to re-love. Come now, let's take a trip down memory lane.

1. Temple of the Dog. Remember the song Hunger Strike? Good stuff. If you don't remember Temple of the Dog, it was the band that was formed from members of Pearl Jam and Sound Garden.

2. The Spin Doctors. You cannot deny that you love the song Two Princes. The video was pretty rad. That's right, I said "rad."

3. Blues Traveler. I was on the way home from class the other night and I found a live recording of Blues Traveler tucked away in the old cd case. Hook, The Mountains Win Again, and Go. Gotta love them.

4. The Beatles. Yes, I want to live in a Yellow Submarine. Someone please Help me. Enough of the puns for now.

5. Stay. Remember the Lisa Loeb tune? This is quite possibly the greatest song ever written. That is, in the category of songs not written by U2.

6. The Mommas and the Papas. I once played Creeque Alley in a coffee house with a friend. I was playing the rhythm on a metal trash can as he played the guitar and Holly sang harmony. Good times.

7. Rent. The movie coming out has allowed me the chance to revisit the soundtrack for the stage musical. This is good stuff. Can't wait for the movie.

Update...finally.

Ok, I have so much to say right now. This is the first of several blog entries. I am only posting one today. The rest will come tomorrow. Alot has happened over the past weekend: papers, finals, weekend trip to Alaska, but most importantly I got the new U2 Vertigo 05 Live From Chicago DVD. I had no idea that it was out yet. I went in Best Buy to get the soundtrack to the RENT film, and came out with the U2 DVD. I realize that reading this blog is important. But right now you should quit reading the blog and go out and buy this DVD. Especially if you are poor like me and cannot afford the tickets to the real show. Go ahead...get moving...you are wasting precious time that could be spent with U2.

We're not gonna pay.....RENT!

NOVEMBER 23!!! That’s right, the non-musical lovers in the world will be introduced to the world of RENT. First off, I know that this is a controversial movie. I know that this film and musical does not project Christian values. I understand that most of the people in the film/story are gay. No I am not gay, but I love this musical. If you are even slightly offended at any of the above, then don’t go see this movie. However, if you are willing to thing theologically about complex issues of what it means to actually live, love and be in community then go see this movie. There is much that can be learned from the community that is formed in this film. If you choose to see this film, then be prepared to be in utter shock regarding the beauty that can be present in the midst of life, even when the life, and lives, are not representing christian lifestyles. This is a great paradox; beauty in the midst of sin. Still, this paradox exists and I think that the Spirit of God may be found in our ability to discover the beauty in the middle of such paradoxical stories.

The music is absolutely incredible. I am happy to say that the movie is being released with a rating of PG-13. When I heard that the movie was coming out, I knew for sure that it would carry an R rating because of the nature of the content. Thankfully, they have found a way to reduce the rating to PG13 so that I don’t have to keep my eyes closed through certain portions of the film. Anywho, if you need me on November 23, 2005 you will now know were to find me.

Bible talks or revolution?

I was leaving class at the seminary today when I remembered something that Rob Bell said at Youth Specialties this last year. He was addressing those of us who have become stagnant in ministry opting out for the "easy" ministry without the responsibility. He asked if we found that "we signed up for a revolution only to find ourselves giving nice little Bible talks." I repent. It is so much easier to give the Bible talks, but it doesn't work in the Kingdom. Here it is, I'm coming out of the complacency closet. The revolution is back on.

In her shoes

Ok, Holly and I went and saw this movie last night, In Her Shoes. The movie, despite the overtly "chick-flick" qualities, was remarkably well done. The movie featured a poem written by Elizabeth Bishop called "One Art." This poem is all about the art of loosing. No one ever talks about this aspect of life. I think that there is something to be said of those who have mastered the art of loosing, those who have mastered the art of suffering and waiting.

Have you ever loved someone or something so much that it literally felt as if your life would end if it were not there? I don't think that we can really understand the issue of sin and suffering in the world until we understand love that is this deep. There is a fine line that you walk when you love someone or something so deeply. If you take one step to the wrong side of this line, you risk loosing everything. On the other hand, you can take one step to the opposite side and gain everything. Love cannot exist without the one who loves placing herself on the line for the sake of the other. The ability to loose everything is what gives credibility to the ability to gain everything. Why then can I reconcile the suffering and sin in the world with a righteous, holy, perfect God?

God is love.

Theological worldview

Following after my friend Pomopete, I decided to see what I believe according to the survey found at www.quizfarm.com. Well, here's what it says that I believe:

Emergent/Postmodern 82%

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 75%

Charismatic/Pentecostal 57%

Neo orthodox 54%

Classical Liberal 50%

Reformed Evangelical 39%

Modern Liberal 32%

Roman Catholic 29%

Fundamentalist 14%



This is a proud day for me, fundamentalist is the dead last category in my profile. Hallelujah. Oh wait, I guess I can't get too excited, I still have a 14% chance of becoming a fundamentalist! I am proud to say that the first three are emergent, weslyan and pentecostal. I guess I know who I am now, or do I. The one thing that my youth ministry experience has taught is that labels suck. I am in agreement I guess with the survey, but here's my own analysis of the survey:

Christian 100%

That's pretty much it.