Life Update…

 Life has been drastically different over the last seven weeks or so, mostly because this the view I see when I’m at home. Of course, Beth sees this more than me while on maternity leave. Ella Gray is a sweetie. Her sisters love her and think she’s fun. They are however, a little annoyed when she cries since they immediately equate that with “whining.” After a few weeks, Annagale asked a particularly pertinent question for her. In a moment of sound logic, she asked why we encourage her new baby sister to burp and then tell her that when she does it, it’s rude. I don’t think she found my answer to be satisfactory.

Being thrust back into baby world has also made us aware of something interesting about TV watching. The shows that we get the chance to watch can now be divided in to two categories: baby-friendly and baby-unfriendly. The determining factor between these two categories is whether or not we can follow the plot without listening to the dialogue. Ella Gray has her “fussy time” from 7-9 p.m. each evening. So, what shows are shallow enough that we can watch them in the middle of fussy time? NCIS and Grey’s Anatomy. But shows like The Mentalist and The Good Wife require us to actually pay attention to the dialogue…and they are arguably better shows anyway.

After a rough week or so at work, I took off to the Catalyst Conference this past weekend. In the past, it’s been nice to go…but this year I really needed to go. Turns out it was a great weekend and as always I learned so much from speakers who had already been in the seasons of life I now frequent. Some of my favorites: Andy Stanley, Rob Bell, Malcolm Gladwell, Shane Hipps, and Francis Chan. I also made some great contacts and reconnected with some friends. I also got to meet the Anglican bishop of Rwanda, John Rucyahana – what a gracious and kind person.

I’ve been reading a good amount over the past few months, though that came to a screeching halt when Ella Gray was born. I read several books on violence in the Old Testament – two of my favorites were: Gundry’s Counterpoints book Show Them No Mercy  and Susan Nidditch’s War in the Hebrew Bible. The rest has been a hodge-podge of topics: Vincent Brummer’s Model of Love, Richard Rohr’s From Wild Man to Wise Man, Pam Leo’s Connection Parenting, Richard Swenson’s Margin, and Patrick Lencioni’s The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family.

Claire Grace and Annagale have been enjoying a strange selection of music lately. They are really into Sam Cooke’s Greatest Hits and Shania’s Twain’s song “Up.” But the most interesting CD playing at our house right now is an Opera sampler. The girls enjoy it, particularly some of the up-tempo pieces like “La donna è mobile” – Puccini, Verdi, Bizet and the rest – they totally dig it.

Things to hate…

Happy Labor Day to all!

A follow up to this post:

1) Slamming cabinets and doors. I am amazed at people’s  propensity to slam cabinets and doors. What’s the point? Is the door or cabinet more closed when it slams? I guess we’ve gotten used to closing doors and cabinets quietly with sleeping/napping children around. I usually notice it most around single adults or older adults who haven’t had children in the house for a long time who are particularly unaware of the noise a slamming kitchen cabinet makes. But, holy cow, it’s loud…

2) Quoting Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov. I’ve seen this book quoted over and over recently in theology books – you know the passages about the character of God and theodicy. I agree with quotes completely. But man, I’m tired of reading them. Stop it. Just stop it already!!

3) The phrase: “With all due respect…” Americans love this phrase. Originally intended to show respect for superiors or soften a point of disagreement, this phrase has become a free pass to verbally slam anyone about anything. People use it like a magic formula to pardon bad behavior or overly-critical remarks. It’s now akin to “Excuse my French…” Tasteless, insurgent, over-bloated, opinionated rhetoric is not tamed with this phrase. The phrase itself is fine.  But the reason for which it is sloppily highjacked – to say something you might not otherwise get away with – makes people look like scholars of their own opinion.

4) Overly expensive books. Why are academic/theology books so expensive? Let me clue you in: I refuse to buy them. A used copy will surface eventually. Or better yet, use the library. Of course, the drawback to waiting is that you’ll feel less informed than the next guy.  I’ve been dying to read Schleiermacher and Whitehead: Open Systems in Dialogue since it came out. It’s something I’m incredibly interested in. Do I plan to buy that book anytime soon? Heck, no. Sometimes it’s cheaper to be a part if the illiterati.

 5) Tinted car windows. In the South, everybody likes to stop and let others into traffic. It’s a Southern thing. The problem is, with tinted windows, you can’t see someone waving you into their lane. If I can’t see you, I’m not budging.

Things to love…

1) The candor of children. I love the honesty of young children. They say what everybody else is thinking with an innocence that only marks a child. What’s more, they assume that we won’t be embarrassed by the obvious: a bad haircut, a runaway mole, an infrequent Freudian slip. These are the things that make life fun. Kids are adventurous enough to point them out. So kids, say whatever’s on your mind – we’re all listening with rapt attention.

2) Crazy people. I love talking to crazy people. They usually have an extraordinary sense of humor. Highly entertaining, though you may find that they aren’t as “off” as you think they may be. One errant mental turn…one lone synapse misfire (!) and you or I might be lumped in the same category.

3) Footnotes. Footnotes are a blessing and curse at the same time. I no longer read the back of a book when I pick it up. I flip to the bibliography. What footnotes reside there many times will tell me what the author is going to stay. I occasionally get surprised, but not too often. It’s a curse because I usually walk away from any book with at least a few more books to read. It’s a dastardly ploy that sends my inner-nerd reeling from the possibilities of so many books.

4) Gift cards for fathers. This helps with #3.

5) Complex music. Whether it’s baroque period classical music, “hard bop” jazz, neo-prog, or thrash metal, the more notes the better. Let the polyphonic excess begin!  Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a good power chord either…

6) A peaceful home. Someone told me the other day, “You have a very serene home. Very peaceful.”  That was nice to hear. There’s nothing like coming home after a day full of other people’s emergencies to a peaceful home, a beautiful wife, a loving God, and sweet children. A peaceful home may be the thing we work toward most in life. But I think it may be one of life’s greatest payoffs.

Reading and Listening…

Time for a book and music update. I haven’t found a ton of interesting music in the last few months or so. But here’s a few:

The Bird and the Bee, Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future.

Audioslave, Revelations.

Lo-pro, Self-titled.

I’ve mostly been reading for my Sunday school class, specifically in the area of science and faith. This has been a huge challenge for me intellectually and spiritually. I grew up in a conservative home that forcefully stood up for the belief in a literal Genesis and saw science and faith as contradictory. Now, I know there’s a lot more to the Genesis account than the literalness one finds in a car manual. I also know that the measurable half-lives of uranium, potassium, and stronium put the date of the earth at 4.5 billion years. I believe science and faith can be affirming of each other - though I’m not sure of all the details. I’ll let you know how all of that turns out after I’m done. Anyway, along with frequent cyber-visits to the Faraday Institute, here’s my list I’ve been reading – it’s an enormous hodge-podge of various positions. I don’t plan to immediately adopt one over the others after I finish them all (I’m about halfway through), but I do have a responsiblity to relay each position accurately to the congregation I serve. Ordered by topic:

Intelligent Design:

Gonzalez and Richards, The Privileged Planet

Owen Gingerich, God’s Universe

Michael Behe, Darwin’s Black Box

Michael Behe, The Edge of Evolution

Fazale Rana, The Cell’s Design

Dembski and Ruse, eds., Debating Design: From Darwin to DNA

Creationism:

Grady McMurtry, Creation: Our Worldview

John Whitcomb, The World that Perished

Theistic Evolution:

Francis Collins, The Language of God

John Polkinghorne, Quantum Physics and Theology

John Polkinghorne, Exploring Reality: The Intertwining of Science and Religion

David Snoke, The Biblical Case for an Old Earth

Secular Evolution:

Johnjoe McFadden, Quantum Evolution

Brent Dalrymple, The Age of the Earth

Other:

John Haught, God and the New Atheism

Brian Appleyard, Understanding the Present: an Alternative History of Science

Anthony Flew, There Is a God

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the relationship between faith and science as I prepare to teach my class. Are science and faith enemies or friends?

Reading and Listening…

Updating you on books I have read and music I’ve been listening to in the last few months.

Jersak and Hardin, Stricken by God: Nonviolent Indentification and the Victory of Christ. If you are struggling with the penal-substitution model of the atonement, this has a lot of articles from other perspectives. A few throw-away pieces, but good overall.

Daniel Levitin, This Is Your Brain on Music. About the neuroscience of music and why we enjoy music as much as we do.

Robert Farrar Capon, Between Noon and Three. I wrote about that book here.

Lawrence Cohen, Playful Parenting. Good book for any parent to read. Children learn through play much easier than instruction. The question is: will parents get down on the floor and join in?

Barry Webb, Five Festal Garments

I’m still only halfway through Robert Alter’s The Five Books of Moses.

Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Margaret Feinberg, The Organic God

 

I’ve been listening to other stuff as well but these are the albums that really stick out…

Brian Wilson, That Lucky Old Sun. If you haven’t heard this or Smile, you’re missing out.

Ben Folds, Way to Normal. What would happen if Ben put out a “clean” album I could feel comfortable recommending? I think the earth might explode. Though “Cologne” and “Kylie from Connecticut” are gems. “Effington” may be one of the best musical pieces he’s ever written.

Johnny Cash, At Folsom Prison, Greatest Hits. My girls are in love with Johnny Cash. Favorite Songs? Folsom Prison Blues, Jackson, Ring of Fire, Walk the Line, Orange Blossom Special, and Hey Porter. They know all the words and there’s nothing quite like hearing a four and three year old sing “I don’t care if I do-da-do-da-do-da-do-da-do-da-do-da-do.”

Panic at the Disco, Pretty.Odd. Incredible Album. Here’s the single.

Alex Gopher, Self-Titled. This French house DJ is incredible. Kinda of an 80s New Wave vibe cradled in dance music. Listen here and here.

Copeland’s new disc, You are my Sunshine, is a fun listen and I also finally got the chance to listen to Bernard’s debut album, A View Beyond the Cave - great piano oriented rock.

All Grace Is “Greasy Grace”

I just finished a really unsettling book: “Between Noon and Three” by Episcopal Priest Robert Farrar Capon. The book explored the notion of God’s grace using two “parables”: an affair between a professor and an older student and a murder by the mob. Yeah, I know – crazy. But it works. Capon is a wonderful writer with a great sense of humor. His book reminded me of something I realized several years back.

After I went to a weekend spiritual retreat called Tres Dias (similar to Walk to Emmaus or Cursillo), I was talking to Beth on the way home. “Grace is so dangerous,” I said. “What do you mean?” she asked. “Well, grace is given freely without strings attached. Ever. I’ve never been able to preach that simply for the reason that people may take advantage of the grace of God. The minister in me screams not to tell the congregation, simply because all leverage for moral conformity will be lost. They are free to abuse grace based on God’s design alone.” Beth said, “I don’t know what I think about that.”  “I don’t know either. But if I’m gonna teach the reality of God’s grace, I’m gonna have to come to terms with the fact that in God’s understanding, all grace is greasy grace, no matter what stipulations others may attach to it.” My supportive and loving wife told me to be careful as to the practical outworkings of such a notion, and that was the end of that.

But the truth is grace is dangerous. And there is only one type of grace: greasy. Now, you may have never heard of “greasy grace” but it’s a staple sermon illustration in the South. Greasy grace is the term to describe those people that take the grace of God and then live like the devil. People who cry out to God in distress but ignore him in times of comfort. In other words, greasy grace occurs when someone abuses the liberty that God gives us as Christians. I’m sure you can think of a hundred examples of what that may look like.

But here’s the reality of the free grace of God. For grace to truly be grace, permissive license and abuse must be an option. Otherwise it’s merely a suspension of moral law. The consequences are lifted, but only for a time – then the other shoe drops and we pay for our misdeeds. And that’s when some helpful person inevitably says, “Be sure your sins will find you out!” But let’s face it: it’s not grace until someone really gets away with it. Moralists hate that idea – it robs them of all control. Honestly though, people get away with things all the time. And the other shoe rarely drops. Instant Karma doesn’t getcha. We get away with all manner of sin, evil, and inconsiderate behavior.

I think we often mix up grace and moral law. Though we’d like for one to point to the other, they don’t. Apples and oranges, people. See, moral law points to grace, but it can never save us. Yet, we think yelling, ranting, and preaching moral instruction will save us. Educate, educate, educate! But in the end, moral law merely points out why we need Jesus…but it doesn’t bring us to him. Grace does. Grace, not moral law, saves us.

Capon uses this illustration in his book. Grace is like the fire department. Now the building inspector (moral law) may cite you twenty times for breaking the fire code. But when your house goes up in flames, the fire department still responds every time, whether you’ve been warned or not. A fireman never walks up to a burning house and begins to read the violations to the owner. Reminding, educating, cajoling, shaming, and guilting doesn’t stop the flames. Nope, the fireman runs past the owner and puts out the fire. Rescue (not education) is his business.

The bystanders watching the burning house could easily see the rescue as permission for the owner’s unwillingness to “follow the rules.” And the homeowner could certainly take the rescue as permission to violate the fire code again. The only person who doesn’t see it that way is the fireman that put out the flames. And that’s how God is. People may take permission but the rescuer never gives it. That doesn’t stop them from abusing grace…but neither does it stop God from giving it. The risk is inherent to the gift. Though law and grace can work together, grace is always the bigger of the two. Not because we’re worth the effort but because of the matchless generosity of the Father.

Time Can Change a Man…

I was up early this morning and was looking out the bay window of our kitchen. This was the view: sunrise over the lake. I went outside barefoot in the 40° weather and took this picture. I used to look at the sunrise and sunset all the time…

I’ve been think about something lately. Unfortunately, time determines my disposition much more than I would like for it to. When I was home for two years finishing my doctoral dissertation, I had plenty of time. Lots of time to reflect. Lots of time to take an extra ten minutes to accommodate my kids’ whims and join in on the folly. Lots of time to read. Lots of time to look at all the cotton fields around our neighborhood grow to harvest.

Now, I don’t feel I have that same amount of time. Things that my children did previously irritate me now because they make us late. I just don’t feel like I have as much time to watch the seasons change. I still read heavily by most people’s standards, but not nearly at the rate I would like to. I find myself “pushing back” against the things that take my time, whether it be a longer-than-normal red light or a child who believes being “high maintenance” is a worthy goal. I’m the same guy, believe the same things, love my children the same way. But now there’s a difference: time. In this way I’m still adjusting speeds of life. And at the moment, I see the biggest enemy in my life as the tyranny of the urgent. One of the things that angers me the most is realizing I had free time and that I squandered it on things that have no real value or permanence.

There’s a pretty good book out there – Stephen Bertman’s Hyperculture: The Cost of Human Speed. This should be required reading for all those who believe life should be driven in the “fast lane.” The problem is that we’re not created to live at our present cultural speed. Bertman dissects this very problem and the relational, physical, and emotional problems it creates.

I don’t need to fight a whiny kid or a task list or a reminder chime on an Outlook calendar. I just need to fight the feeling that I have to rush everywhere I go. My relationships suffer for it. And though I have heard the phrase I used for my title used in a different way, it’s in this present sense that I struggle with it. Time can change and man or woman when they respond to the threat of time loss at the expense of healthy life choices.

Why Oprah Just Might Be the Antichrist…

For all you wonderful people who think Barack Obama might be the Antichrist…

I taught a small group on end times beliefs about four years ago. During our examination of Revelation, we inevitably stumbled upon the passages believed to describe the Antichrist. Immediately questions arose: who is he? When will he come? Will he start the tribulation? Will Christians be raptured before then? Boy, could I feel a headache coming on! I’ve said in this post how much I hate popular forms of eschatology for this exact reason. So, this time around, I decided to have a little fun:

“Oh, the Antichrist is already here.”

“What!! Who is it?”

“It’s Oprah Winfrey.” 

“WHAT!!”

Then I took them to the only  place in the Bible where the term “antichrist” is mentioned: the epistles of John, specifically 1 John 2:18-19. What I love about these two verses is the fact that John says there were many antichrists who had come – most of them were part of the church at that time before they left it. So, if John is using the term correctly, we must assume that “antichrist” does not mean “Antichrist” in the popular sense of one rival messiah sent to deceive the world. So what does it mean?

Well, “Christ” means “Messiah” – that’s obvious enough. It’s the “anti-” part that we get wrong. We assume that “anti-” means “in opposition to” or “antagonistic” – like anti-abortion. But it doesn’t. In means “in place of,” “instead of,”or “substitutionary.” So, “antichrist” means “in place of Christ.” 1 John 2:22 goes even further by saying that anyone who denies not only the Son, but also the Father, is acting as an antichrist.

So, why Oprah? Well, it actually doesn’t have anything to do with Eckhart Tolle. It has to do with Oprah’s power and cultural influence. Like most media figures, Oprah often establishes her influence outside of Christianity and many people look to her for answers about life’s deeper issues. She’s one of the most popular and well-recognized individuals in our nation and often serves as a cultural substitute where spiritual issues are concerned.

In that sense anything can be antichrist – government officials, sports figures, musicians, teachers, world leaders, philosophers, and even preachers. Any person that others may substitute for Christ is, in some sense, antichrist. That list includes Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan. And it could include John McCain just as much as Barack Obama. That doesn’t necessarily mean they are wrong or unworthy of admiration. But I think it’s safe to say that they aren’t God. And to subsitute them for God inapproriate.

In most cases, the problem is not with the “Oprahs” of the world but with those who substitute their wisdom for a deep relationship with God. Notice that John didn’t write to the “antichrists” of his time, but rather to the people who gave them undue authority and influence. And that’s the key. Anyone can warn about the “Antichrist” of the Left Behind Series, but what are we doing about those who give to others the influence that only Christ should have? People succumb to “antichristism” when Jesus is their savior in doctrine but in matters of life, Oprah (or anyone else) is their lord. The only time people look for substitutes is when what they have isn’t satisfying their deeper needs. Don’t blame Oprah, people. We Christians alone share the burden for “wandering” spiritual seekers. It just so happens that Oprah has a some spiritual advice for people now. But, for her followers, her cultural influence eclipsed the practical aspects of Christianity long ago. Eckhart Tolle just made Christians stand up and take notice.

Reading and Listening…

Quick update on what I’ve been reading and listening to over the past two months…

I’ve been into choral music for a while, specifically Morten Lauridsen and Arvo Part:

Morten Lauridsen, Lux Aeterna

Arvo Part, Miserere

I’ve also come across some older rock bands that have reformed and put out some really good albums.

Europe, Secret Society. This album is surprisingly good – great melodies, solid musicianship, good production. Great straight-ahead rock album. Don’t laugh – go listen.

Extreme, Saudades de Rock. This doesn’t have quite the production of their earlier big studio albums. But it’s still really great to listen to. In the past, I would’ve described Extreme as a rock band with blues influence. This album seems to be the other way around: a rock-tinged blues album. Of course, the thing that stands out the most is Nuno Bettencourt’s impeccable (and possibly unpickable) guitar solos.

I’ve been reading some theology, but also working in some practical pastor and team bulding books.

Walter Brueggemann, The Covenanted Self

Terence Fretheim, 1 and 2 Kings (Westminster Bible companion Series)

C. Baxter Kruger, God Is for Us, The Great Dance, and Jesus and the Undoing of Adam

Oliver, Hasz, and Richburg, Promoting Change through Brief Therapy in Christian Counseling

Aubrey Malphurs, Leading Leaders

Bonem and Patterson, Leading form Second Chair

I really enjoyed the brief therapy book – since all pastoral counseling becomes brief counseling. You’re doing good if you get anyone to listen to you for six weeks. The second chair book is excellent for anyone in a associate or supporting ministerial role. Every “second chair” leader should read this book. Though all the Baxter Kruger books were good reads, Jesus and the Undoing of Adam was superb. Great theology covering everything from the inner workings of the Trinity to the incarnation and death of Jesus. It’s only seventy pages, but not a word is wasted.

Reading List

I haven’t said what I’ve been reading over the last month or two, so I thought I would update that for you. Like you care, right?

Obviously, I read The Shack  by William P. Young since I blogged about that here.

Robert Alter, The David Story: A Translation of 1 and 2 Samuel (good translation – interesting commentary)

Ellen F. Davis, Wondrous Depth: Preaching the Old Testament (eh, not as good as her other stuff)

Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, Faithfulness in Action: Loyalty in Biblical Perspective. (Excellent treatment of God’s covenant loyalty – a loyalty unmatched by human standards. Wonderful book!)

Robert Fyall, Now My Eyes Have Seen You: Images of Creation and Evil in the Book of Job (Comprehensive, though I don’t agree with some of his approaches to Job)

Robert Hamerton-Kelly, God the Father: Theology and Patriarchy in the Teaching of Jesus (Deals with gender in the Old and New Testaments – a solid read.)

Terence Fretheim, First and Second Kings: Westminster Bible Companion (great accessible treatment of a difficult OT book)

Probably the best book is the one I’m in the middle of right now – Wendy Mogel, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children. What an excellent parenting book. I find myself agreeing with every sentence. Mogel is a clinical psychologist who uses tried and true Jewish teachings from the Bible and Rabbinical tradition to shape a God-centered approach to parenting. Read this book, people!