Faith-Based Blog a blog about faith from a believer with bandwidth

Of “Reading and Writing” Interest …Posted by Greg on February 2nd, 2010

Well, it looks like today will be a slow trickle of updates as time permits. Two tidbits:

1. “Introverts in the Church: Finding our Place in an Extroverted Culture” – this looks every bit like a book for me. Christianity Today has a writeup of it.

2. Following up on the “Handwritten Word” project mentioned earlier, I settled on a book to write out: Galatians. I honestly couldn’t tell you now what set the final spark for that decision other than just flipping through a handful of books that were tempting for me (Luke, Deuteronomy, Psalms).

I’m sure that the brevity of the book was a factor, but the more I’ve looked into the history that went into the book, the more certain I am that it’s the right one to go into. Greg Boyd is about to wrap up his years-long series on Luke and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed those messages ever since being turned onto Boyd. It strikes me that there exists a way of looking at Galatians as being a very connected launching-off place from Luke. Here’s the opening of Eugene Peterson’s description of the book in his Message interpretation:

When men and women get their hands on religion, one of the first things they often do is turn it into an instrument for controlling others, either putting or keeping them “in their place.” The history of such religious manipulation and coercion is long and tedious. It is little wonder that people who have only known religion on such terms experience release or escape from it as freedom. The problem is that the freedom turns out to be short-lived.

Paul of Tarsus was doing his diligent best to add yet another chapter to this dreary history when he was converted by Jesus to something radically and entirely different – a free life in God. Through Jesus, Paul learned that God was not an impersonal force to be used to make people behave in certain prescribed ways, but a personal Savior who set us free to live a free life. God did not coerce us from without, but set us free from within.

It was a glorious experience, and Paul set off telling others, introducing and inviting everyone he met into this free life. In his early travels he founded a series of churches in the Roman province of Galatia. A few years later Paul learned that religious leaders of the old school had come into those churches, called his views and authority into question, and were reintroducing the old ways, herding all these freedom-loving Christians back into the corral of religious rules and regulations.

Paul was, of course, furious ….

On the one hand, this is a continuation of the struggle Jesus was in with the Pharisees and others of his time. But at the same time, this strikes me as a good amplification of the challenges we have in defining a community in God’s terms instead of ours.

The struggle now is to make the time for writing out a snippet at a time from the book. I got a nice jumpstart Saturday while at church, but am still working on finding time in the weekdays. I’m leaning toward picking up N.T. Wright’s commentary on Galatians and will probably drop a note or two to reflect on some of the material. And if you’re more visually inclined, I’ll snap a photo or two in instances where my handwriting doesn’t detract from the beauty of the message.

Free VelvetPosted by Greg on February 2nd, 2010

Sadly, no video from this weekend. But one item to mention: if you own a Kindle, Rob Bell’s “Velvet Elvis” is available for free.

Deeper thoughts later. Been busy with a new guitar last night, so between that and the day job bleeding me dry, time is short these days.

The Handwritten WordPosted by Greg on January 29th, 2010

This seems like an idea I could get down with (belatedly).

A year and a half ago my wife and I started writing out the Bible by hand. We started with Genesis and one chapter at a time worked our way through book after book until my daughter was born early last year. Shortly after her birth, we paused the project to adjust to the changed family dynamics, with the intention of resuming the handwritten word January 1.

We are restarting in a few days with Psalm 1 on January 1. We think it’ll be a great way to kick off the new year and we’d love for you to write with us!

Just from ooohing and aaahing over the photos of what some have done, I think I’m sold. In the past, I’ve made it a practice to break in my annual sermon-tracking, note-taking notebook by scribbing in the entire chapter of Isaiah 55. I changed that up this year – I think it was Habakkuk 3, but I’m writing while away from said notebook.

On the whole, there is definitely something special about taking the time to handwrite a particular section of scripture. Yes, it aids the memorization process, but the fact that you have to slow things down to process word-by-word what’s going on is an experience that isn’t often found anywhere else in the daily routine. So onward with taking the smaller-scale idea to a new level. Who knows, if my penmanship miraculously improves to the point where a couple of pages of my efforts warrant a pretty picture, I’ll post one.

The Weekly List, 1/26/10Posted by Greg on January 26th, 2010

» Reading (online): sports stuff
» Reading (offline): “Tinsel” by Hank Stuever
» Fixin’ to Read (offline): “Silent Savior” by AJ Gregory
» Listening: about to dive into some Greg Boyd & Rob Bell sermons
» Singing Along To: “Here I Am To Worship” by Lincoln Brewster
» Anticipating: Michael & Carrie Hodge at Koinonia (Saturday night)

A lot going on, so I’ll keep it brief to hit the highlights …

1. Yes, that last bullet item is correct: Michael & Carrie Hodge will be blessing the Koinonia gang with some praise & worship after Saturday night’s service. If you’re free that night, it’s worth swinging by the 4th floor.

2. I finally got a new guitar. The world will never be the same.

A bit of backstory on #2: I started playing at age 16. Wanted to be the next Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Yngwie Malmsteen all rolled into one. That didn’t happen. I put the guitar down for good sometime over a decade ago. I was getting frustrated with a practice routine that was growing stale and thought anything I would ever want to say musically had already been said by either Joe Satriani, Vinnie Moore, or Tony MacAlpine. Public schools have been lacking in their teaching of the neoclassical metal movement in the 80s, so feel free to look up a few of those names on YouTube if you feel compelled to.

Fast forwarding a bit, I’ve found a bit more inspiration to play (or, to be more precise, to re-learn enough to hopefully “play”) in recent years for a variety of reasons and from watching & listening to a variety of new players since putting the guitar down. I tried to pick things up again four years ago, but needed to get a new guitar. Frugality won out and I got a cheapy guitar that did everything to dampen any enthusiasm possible to practice. Oddly enough, I was insistent on getting a fairly decent practice amplifier (Marshall). About a year ago, I thought to look for a better guitar to practice with, but ended up talking myself out of a few different options. This year, the pocketbook was promising enough to dive a bit deeper in and look for a better guitar (and spend a few extra bucks along the way). Now, all I have to do is wait for the thing to arrive at my doorstep. In the meantime, it’s a good enough day just to feel the anticipation.

Beyond that … work beckons. Ugh.

Sunday Video: Lincoln BrewsterPosted by Greg on January 24th, 2010

Overheard at Koinonia: “If I don’t have video up of Lincoln Brewster’s visit to Lakewood, there’s something seriously wrong with me.”

I’m not sure that this is completely dispositive of there being something wrong with me, but here we are …

Love the camera-on-guitar during the solo. This was just one of those fun services with a lot to love from a musical standpoint. Obviously, Linc is a big plus for me. But there’s some nice Hodge guitar work in this service as well. And Travis Cottrell had a great special. So be sure to replay it in two weeks when the full service is re-posted on the Lakewood site.

Cartographers for Christ?Posted by Greg on January 21st, 2010

» NY Times: A Big Map That Shrank the World (Edward Rothstein)

Back around the beginning of the month, I referenced a book by Toby Lester on some of the early map-makers of modern time. This article gives a brief glimpse into one point that interested me about the book. Namely: why were they interested in creating the maps? Here’s an outtake from the article:

The map’s text is necessary to understand the intricacies of its negotiations and presentations, because it is only partly an act of homage. It was also part of a diplomatic attempt by Ricci to affirm the greatness of his own religion and culture.

He was, after all, a Jesuit priest whose intention was to convert the Chinese to Roman Catholicism. And that was something, he thought, that might be helped by demonstrating the superior understanding of the world that he believed grew out of Christian faith.

Ricci translated Euclid into Chinese, demonstrated Western clocks to the Chinese and created a method for representing Chinese using the Western alphabet. As Jonathan Spence points out in his classic book, “The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci” (Penguin, 1984), he even gave the Chinese lessons in special techniques of memorization.

This map is an extension of his Jesuitical project, so while paying homage to the Chinese, Ricci was also well aware that the map was partly a demonstration, an argument. It is not decorated with an ornate compass rose or mythological sea creatures, nor does it display terrifying terra incognita. It is devoutly rational, even scientific: it contains descriptions of the world’s peoples that may seem wildly fanciful, but are based on the authoritative sources of Ricci’s time.

It also incorporates an explanation of parallels and meridians, a proof that the sun is larger than the moon, a table showing the distances of planets from the earth, an explanation of the varying lengths of days and nights, and polar projections of the earth that are unusually consistent with its main map. Ricci declares that it offers testimony “to the supreme goodness, greatness and unity of Him who controls heaven and earth.”

The map, then, portrays the crossroads of two great civilizations. Even as Ricci shifted the geographic center of Western global maps, filling in detailed outlines of China and other regions from Chinese cartographers and annotating the whole in Chinese, he also added a frame that was both rationalist and religious, celebrated Western science and faith and created a culturally hybrid vision of the earthly cosmos.

The result may even be a portrait of the earth as a Jesuit would like the Chinese to think a Jesuit would see it. The offering is meant to be both humble and full of pride, deferential and assertive, combining sincere homage and earnest self-affirmation.

The Weekly List, 1/19/09Posted by Greg on January 19th, 2010

» Reading (online): Interview with NT Wright about his upcoming book.
» Reading (offline): “Messy Faith” by AJ Gregory; “Tinsel” by Hank Stuever
» Fixin’ to Read (offline): “Silent Savior” by AJ Gregory
» Listening: reviews and demos online of the guitar I’m planning on getting.
» Singing Along To: “Nemesis” by David Gray
» Working: Too much, just wayyyy too much.

I’ll be brief since I’m dealing with a mile-high inbox on the agenda. I am, at present, very much bouncing off the walls lately. The weekly routine is finally coming together, and you can see part of the outcome of that by the fact that I made time for the online Sunday services for clipping the special performance by Aimee Beard and Mayra Parrales.

The other benefit of this is that I feel a lot more confident about carving out some time to stretch the fingers around a new guitar and dare myself to re-learn a little bit. The first instruction book arrived in the mail yesterday. I’m locked in on the guitar I want, and there’s not going to be any talking myself out of it. There is, however, the old habit of forcing myself to wait on it a bit. Partly just to stick to the budget outline, partly to keep myself from doing hundreds of other things on impulse. But I’m already making way for the new wire & wood to grace the homestead around the turn of the month.

I’m close to finishing the first of AJ Gregory’s two books and I’ll transition to reading her second afterward. A bit behind the pace. I don’t think I can honestly blame the book I put on the nightstand yesterday, either … “Tinsel” by Hank Stuever. That one is a bit of pop culture survey on how Christmas is dealt with in the suburbia of Frisco, TX. AJ’s a very encouraging read, though. “Messy Faith” has a nice little Joel reference, as well as a rant on word-of-faith churches. I say “rant” … but the tale ends positively. So an excerpt or two may be in order.

AJ claims to be a fan of Anne Lamott. I’ve tried reading Lamott, thinking I’d like her for similar reasons that I felt I’d enjoy reading AJ. But my points of contention with Lamott are more distracting than with AJ for some reason. AJ seems much more at home in the evangelical community, as do I. Not that it sounds like either of us is a perfectly natural fit. But we both seem to have made our peace with that. So I’m already looking forward to her second book this week.

Listening to Joel’s sermon over the weekend, I thought it fit into that category of sermons that people who don’t think much of Joel aren’t likely to refer to very much. The knock, as I’ve read and heard it, being that all we seem to be told at Lakewood is to hope and believe for nothing but good things and God will surely give those good things to us. The sermons that get neglected in this critique, point out that things happen in God’s time and according to His plan. Not ours. We can hope and pray all we want. But, unsurprisingly to those of us who listen to Joel week in and week out … we’re reminded that His ways are higher than ours.

Time permitting, I may start posting a snippet from the sermon as well. As part of our Koinonia gatherings, we’ll be basing the small group discussion on Joel’s sermons in a few weeks. We tried this before, getting very late updates on the sermon message so that group discussion questions could be assembled within a day. This time around, we’re going full-tilt improv. Zero advance notice. It’s up to me to post the scripture reference from the sermon. Easy enough. But it may be desirable to see if I can record a snippet to show immediately after the message. My task is simple enough. We’ll see how it pans out for those that need to do the set-up message for the entire group, as well as the facilitators for the smaller groups. Can’t wait to see how this goes.

We’re almost to the point of having our post-holiday return to normalcy for the early part of Koinonia stuff. Namely, the worship segment at 5:30. I think I started playing music while I was the only person in the room. Another walked in a few minutes later asking if the loud volume meant I was running worship stuff (which it was), and few other arrived for a couple or three songs worth of worship. In uncertain times like this, I stick with the familiar material of Chris Tomlin fairly tightly. Although, I did feel that there was a nice Jonathan Salas tune that was woven in nicely – “Sing Over Me.” We’ll see how well the new stuff goes over when I’ve got more people to deal with. I’ll eventually get back around to posting the playlist when we get around to taking in about 25-30 minutes worth of tunage. In the meantime, I’m convinced I could play some Chipmunks tunes and the smaller gathering would forgive me.

That’s about it on the catch-up beat. A little bit of light reading is up ahead, as is massive amounts of planning for a guitar practice regimen. With a little luck, I’ll try and entertain with the results of the former and not so much with the latter.

Sunday Video: “I Will Not Be Moved”Posted by Greg on January 17th, 2010

Some nice harmonizing over the weekend at Lakewood …

Ch-ch-ch-changes!Posted by Greg on January 15th, 2010

You may (or may not) be noticing something different about the way things look here. I’ve pulled a switcheroo on the code that runs this fair blog, and that means a new look to the digs among many, many things. I’ll get around to updating the sidebar for ye olde blogroll, and other assorted goodies that I’m used to looking at over there during the weekend.

If there’s anything even stranger than that going on, feel free to drop a vine my way and let me know about it.

Excerpt: “Flickering Pixels”Posted by Greg on January 14th, 2010

Just finished up Shane Hipp’s “Flickering Pixels” yesterday. I don’t think I can say enough good things about it, really.

A good portion of the first 2/3 of the book is devoted to giving a simplified overview of the famous Marshall McLuhan observation that “the medium is the message.” I have to confess to not reading McLuhan’s “Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man” from whence the quote comes. Sad, because I somehow got a marketing degree and love the subject immensely. Hipps offers something more than the nickel version of this, elaborating on how the written word did more than merely displace the oral traditions of communication, but also how it affects our thinking, logic … and more importantly, how we highlight different aspects of the gospel as a result of that change.

Somewhere around the last third of the book, Hipps shifts to some incredibly strong examples that really distill his message to a couple of very powerful points. I’ve heard Hipps give sermons before and sometimes felt that his niche was a bit too faddish (the “iPod pastor,” if you will). Either I didn’t listen to him with enough of an open mind or I just flat-out missed a heck of a message if he made these same points.

The biggest conclusion that Hipps offers, I think, is demonstrating how God used Jesus as a “medium” for his message, and how that, in turn, means we are to carry on as the body of Christ.

The book itself may seem to have a somewhat limited appeal. Hipps initially wrote a book with much of the same content, but aimed at church leadership. This book is written with a bit more mass appeal, although I’m not sure if the subject matter is terribly approachable for most of the types I know. My best suggestion would be to read it anyway. It’s that good and it’s probably one of the few books I think I’ll be recommending to just about anyone – up there with Manning’s “Ragamuffin Gospel” and Miller’s “Blue Like Jazz.”

I’ve included below, a full transcript of Chapter 16. There were a few other points in the book where Hipps makes a point that ought to totally blow a reader out of the water, but I’ll merely hope that in reading through this chapter, you see a bit of what I saw in reading it. Rest assured, there’s even more to offer in a fuller reading of the book.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Weekly List, 1/12/09Posted by Greg on January 12th, 2010

Another list (that I allegedly hate):

» Reading (online): Mars Hill sermon guides for their Sermon on the Mount series
» Reading (offline): “Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith” by Shane Hipps
» Fixin’ to Read (offline): “Messy Faith” by AJ Gregory
» Listening: Catching up on sermons by Greg Boyd and Rob Bell
» Singing Along To: … a little bit of everything
» Working: See below.

First things first (in this case, I suppose … second). Last week was a curious tale of a lost weekend. Saturday started off fairly well, but two things happened to throw a monkey wrench into that day. First, I had a massive case of cell phone fail. It seems that G1s get a bit clunky after a year or so of actively confusing the memory indexing. So my phone was stuck in boot mode for most of the time I was supposed to be enjoying the service. So, naturally, what follows made perfectly clear sense: the Loft was graced with the presence of a particularly chatty individual. Maybe it’s because I’m just an introvert, but I really do not see how it is humanly possible to talk for two hours straight. Just my opinion, but I think that at some point, it helps to breathe. OK, enough with the ranting.

Due to the phone thing, there’s no alarm to wake me up on Sunday. So biology takes over and wakes me up in the early afternoon. So no Sunday services online, no heading to the office to catch up on work. I opt to sulk my worries in a bit of catch-up reading, an ounce or two of work from home, and a relaxing dinner. At this point, I’m finding it much easier to be grateful than I was 24 hours ago.

Now, to add to all of this, the rather simple list from last week – which looked so easy to accomplish – mocks me. There’s no mobile site for the blog because by the time I looked at the new code for updating the machine that runs this show, I have to say I wasn’t impressed with it. So I’m taking the technologically heretical notion of switching software for the blog. This should mean absolutely nothing to a normal person, but it’s enough for me to break out in hives. Short version of this very boring, techie story is that there’s no point in going through the hassle of doing a mobile site design for the blog if I switch to the new code since that one comes with a ready-made plug-in for mobile layout. So I’m giving the decision another day or two. For now, though, nothing changes.

In more upbeat news, I’ve balanced my proverbial checkbook and have nothing but good things to sing about the personal finances this year. What better way to reward that situation than to go shopping for a guitar. I did this last year with some bonus money egging me on. But last year’s endeavor was to shop for a starter guitar that would just make practicing a bit easier than my clunky, cheap pawn shop guitar that I really dislike. Bottom line: I can shop around for a better guitar than I could last year and given the options available … I don’t think there’s an excuse to talk myself out of one this time around.

Last year, I was pretty finicky about what I wanted: a Kramer Striker 110. It’s the mass-produced version of the Eddie Van Halen guitar from the mid-80s. They sell for a reasonable price on eBay, but you have to look long and hard to find one that’s been maintained well for 25+ years. Add on the fact that I’m very well skilled at talking myself out of buying things, and you’d find me guitar-less one year later.

This time around, I’m eyeing a Charvel San Dimas model if I can get one for the right price. If not, then there’s a few Ibanez and Jackson models that intrigue me. Yes, I’m heavily influenced by the musical culture of the 80s. Such is my cross to bear.

So that’s the stuff I’m really excited about this week. With any luck, before the year is out, I’ll be adding my “joyful noise” to the blog if I can regain any of my chops. If not … well, the neighbors will have to tell you all about it ;-)

Elsewhere, reading through Shane Hipp’s “Flickering Pixels” is a real treat. I’d recommend it even for someone not interested in how technology and different mediums pertain to faith since much of the book is about how those things impact the broader culture around us as well. Expect an outtake or two, as well as some more extended observations about this book. It’s really good stuff. I dived into it at the same time I cracked open my first AJ Gregory book and it now occupies a more focused place on my reading list for the week.

I’m hoping to pick up AJ Gregory again tomorrow and maybe have her two books finished by the end of the week. They’re both very accessibly written, quick reads, and incredibly encouraging books. “Messy Faith” might mean more to the female set than the male set, but I don’t necessarily consider it to be exclusive to demography. She’s definitely coming from a place that a lot of other writers aren’t and that makes it a refreshing read.

Alrighty now … back to work. More this week, hopefully.

The Weekly List: 1/4/09Posted by Greg on January 4th, 2010

I hate lists. To-Do lists, Top 10 lists, Best Guitarist lists. You name it. And yet … on the agenda for this week:
» Reading (online): 6 ways technology has changed religion
» Reading (offline): “The Seekers” by Daniel Boorstin
» Fixin’ to Read (offline): “Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith” by Shane Hipps
» Listening: Jesse Rice interviewed by Steve Brown
» Singing Along To: Jonathan Salas
» Working: Developing a mobile version of this blog.

Ironic that after I’ve spelled out a fairly ambitious reading list for the first quarter of the year, I’m adding to it with the Shane Hipps book already. Actually, I’m ordering it along with the two books by AJ Gregory mentioned previously.

I’ve heard Shane Hipps preaching before via an appearance or two at Rob Bell’s Mars Hill Church. It took me a while to click with what he was saying. But I seem to enjoy it more as I read what he has to say. One of the goals of kick-starting the blogging habit here is to enhance it as a community for whoever the heck stops by for a read. While I hope to always be at some point on the path where I have no idea what I’m doing in that regard, I’m obviously hopeful that Shane has a few words of wisdom to impart along the way.

Among the topics I’m really looking forward to diving deeper into this year is how different churches are using their websites. So, in addition to seeing how much I can improve this little blog, I’m likely to dig around and seek out some best practices around the world and see if this little pixel factory can assist a church or two out there looking to reach out a bit more. I’ve been in the web business for slightly over a decade and there are periods where changes look appealing and unappealing to me. The current move to more mobile web use and using richer media and content along the way … all very appealing to me.

In other matters of “starting the new year off right,” I’ve gone through the usual ritual of filling in a new notebook to track sermons with, note whatever scripture is screaming most loudly to me, or drop whatever thoughts are in need of writing down. I’ve written before on my challenges & struggles of maintaining this habit and it’s probably a huge enough surprise to me that it persists as a habit no matter how poorly executed.

This year’s game plan is to simplify my commitment list to tracking the four churches I listen to the most: Lakewood, Woodland Hills (Greg Boyd), Mars Hill (Rob Bell), and Northland (Joel Hunter). As much as I love the others, I’m going to have to be a bit more honest in how I get around to listening to them. These four will probably happen on a quasi-religious weekly basis. The others … might or might not be playing on a regular basis. I do tend to catch up, but it sometimes means listening to 4-5 sermons in a row on a quiet evening at home (which is not half-bad, I maintain). I think I spent more time feeling miserable that I was falling behind in my routine of listening to about 7 services over the course of a busier-than-average week in the past year.

Anyways … it’s Monday. Off to work I go. Look for the mobile version of this site on your iPhone or other smartphone sometime later this week.

New Year, New Reading ListPosted by Greg on January 2nd, 2010

In the true tradition of how things have been going lately: Happy Belated New Year!

As far as “resolutions” go, I’m not a big fan of them. But with the chance to start a clean slate, I’m putting last year’s reading glut behind me and looking eagerly toward finding a steady stream of reading material to keep some of my brain cells functioning in the new year.

I’ve already put to rest one highly recommended book: “The Fourth Part of the World,” by Toby Lester. Nothing overly spiritual about it, though. It’s about the history of world exploration that led up to the making of the 1507 Waldseemuller map, which is the first to explicitly name America. A copy of the map itself was procured by the Library of Congress for an enormous sum and the history that builds up to it’s creation is fascinating (at least to me).

To the extent that there is a connection to anything Christian, I suppose I could elaborate on the tangent of what set off a lot of the exploration. Among the motives of the explorers was the opportunity to spread the Good News. In several cases, this was accomplished by taking slaves, imprisoning native populations, and exploiting the resources of their land.

Considerate, no?

The book itself doesn’t dwell on the topic all that much. But it struck me as yet another amazing indicator of how God uses even the faultiest of ministries. Of the areas explored in this manner, there are still numerous traces of Christian communities that remain. It’s perhaps not dissimilar to how strong Christian communities exist in African-American communities here in America, as the faith was initially spread during slavery. In both cases, there’s a welcome absence of people who would openly suggest spreading the Gospel in either manner. But there’s a curious ray of hope that’s worth noting here: that even in the harshest circumstances where God’s word is being advocated by the most impure of means … that the Good News of God’s word actually shines through even that. We may not have such visibly dire circumstances clouding God’s word today, but I don’t doubt that we’ll look back on some of the ways that aren’t obvious to us today. Fortunately, it’s not enough to keep God from being seen and heard.

As for some other reading material on the short-term agenda, I’m sticking fairly close to the topic of Lester’s book, by reading Daniel Boorstin’s “The Seekers.” In true trilogy form, I’m once more reading the last book of the trilogy first. In this case, it’s because I’m tempted to commit to the other books in this series, but a bit wary that I’ll really like Boorstin’s style. We’ll see how it goes. Trilogies have not exactly been a strong suit of mine, but I’m sure that I’ll enjoy getting through at least one Boorstin book in my lifetime.

I’m still nickel & diming my way through William Stringfellow’s “An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land.” It’s a short enough book and I’m over halfway through it. But it’s also a very peculiar book in a lot of ways. I can definitely see this as a book that I might put to rest soon and enjoy it more the second time I flip through it. There’s a wealth of insight in the book, but given the context of time that it was written … it’s a bit of work to get through.

Upcoming after all of this, I’m very eager to dive into two books by A.J. Gregory – “Messy Faith” and “Silent Savior.” I think I had seen “Messy Faith” on the shelves before and I’m not sure what had really kept me browsing past it. Fortunately, the current push to regroup my reading addiction has led me to look at it anew and I have to say that based on the previews of both books, I am really looking forward to them.

Beyond that, I’m hoping for a little bit of luck to finally get around to reading Frank Viola’s books and maybe – maybe – regain the urge to pick up Rob Bell’s “Jesus Wants to Save Christians.” The only thing certain is that I’ve got new material from Eugene Peterson to look forward to in February.
That strikes me as ambitious enough for the short term.

Monday Video: Have Yourself a Merry Little (Belated) ChristmasPosted by Greg on December 28th, 2009

Randy Allison, doing an instrumental special from this past weekend …

Excerpt #1: “An Ethic For Christians & Other Aliens in a Strange Land”Posted by Greg on December 27th, 2009

Back to the bookworm habit, here’s what I’m in the middle of now: William Stringfellow’s “An Ethic for Christians & Other Aliens in a Strange Land.” This one landed on my radar as a recommendation from Greg Boyd for a book that discussed the book of Revelations as a parable of the church’s existence in the Roman Empire. I was given the added note that Stringfellow went a step further in comparing the US to Babylon in this book. So to say that it provokes is to put it mildly.
I’m really liking the book, but it takes some getting used to for two reasons. The first, you’ll see in the excerpt below, is his descriptive style of writing. The second has to do with the fact that the book was written in 1973. This is important for a couple of reasons.
The first is that it offers an interesting glimpse into what I suppose would have been the Religious Left of the era. Stringfellow was a friend of Daniel Berrigan for those of you who are know the reference. This was a time when the Religious Left possessed a very vocal critique of the federal government’s actions as they pertained to the Vietnam War and other facets of the Nixon administration’s exercise of power.
The second is that the book predates much of the more culturally conservative Christian understanding of Revelations, going so far as to describe the book as woefully understudied at the time. This would be the same year that Hal Lindsay’s “The Late, Great Planet Earth” was published on the mass market and even more years before the “Left Behind” franchise of books, movies, sermon series, etc….
All this to say that Stringfellow is writing from a very different time and place than we’re accustomed to today. For a starter, this ought to be enough to raise a few hackles:
(pages 50-53)

I am not implying that there is a neat parallelism in the manner in which Babylon on the one hand and Jerusalem on the other relate to the nations and institutions of tot the practical situation of any particular principality The interplay of Babylon and Jerusalem is dynamic and ironic and poignant, and it is specific as to each and every nation and power. Any description is inevitably too simplified, and analytical statement is insufficient. But, at least for now, it is enlightening to notice the paradoxical and the dialectical aspect of this interplay. The elementary truth of Babylon’s apocalyptic situation is Babylon’s radical confusion concerning her own identity and, in turn, her relationship to Jerusalem. The awful ambiguity of Babylon’s fallenness is expressed consummately in Babylon’s delusion that she is, or is becoming, Jerusalem. This is the same moral confusion which all principalities suffer in one way or another; this is the vocational crisis, really, which every nation in history endured. This is the vanity of every principality – and notably for a nation – that the principality is sovereign in history; which is to say, that it presumes it is the power in relation to which the moral significance of everything and everyone’s else is determined. Babylon’s profligacy has only most superficially to do with materialism, lust, or the decline of moral values, and Babylon’s fall is not particularly a punishment for her greed or vice or aggrandizement, despite what some preachers allege. Babylon’s futility is her idolatry – her boast of justifying significance or moral ultimacy in her destiny, her reputation, her capabilities, her authority, her glory as a nation. Tee moral pretenses of Imperial Rome, the millennial clams of Nazism, the arrogance of Marxist dogma, the anxious insistence that America be “number one” among nations are all versions of Babylon’s idolatry. All share in this grandiose view of the nation by which the principality assumes the place of God in the world. In the doom of Babylon by the judgment of God this view is confounded and exposed, exhausted and extinguished. A magnificent celebration in heaven extols the triumph of God’s sovereignty over principalities as well as human beings (Rev. 18:20; 19:1-2).

As every nation incarnated Babylon and imitates her idolatry, so each nation strives, vainly, to be or become Jerusalem. But, refuting and undoing that aim of nations, the reality of Jerusalem is not embodied in any nation or other power. Jerusalem is the holy nation; Jerusalem is the holy nation; Jerusalem is a separate nation. In the biblical image of Jerusalem and in the historic manifestations of Jerusalem as the priest of nation, Jerusalem lives within and outside the nations, alongside and over against the nations, coincident with but set apart from the nations. The emphatic tone in the Revelation passages in which the call “Come out [of Babylon], my people” is recited again and again points to this peculiar posture of simultaneous involvement and disassociation (Rev. 18:4-5). It is pertinent to remember the prominence of this matter elsewhere in the New Testament. It was an issue, remember, which caused grave misunderstandings between Jesus and his disciples throughout his ministry. That is evidenced in their persistent bemusement at his parables, by their misapprehension of the Palm Sunday events, by their conduct at his arrest, by their mourning after the Crucifixion, by their surprise and consternation at East. Only when Pentecost happens – where Israel is restored as a visible, viable, historic community and institution, as the holy nation – do the disciples and the others called into this new estate of humanity as society begin to comprehend the whereabouts of Jerusalem and Jerusalem’s vocation among the nations (Acts 2:5-11, 36-47).

Babylon is concretely exemplified in the nations and the various other principalities – as in the Roman Empire, as in the USA – but Jerusalem is the parable for the Church of Jesus Christ, for the new or renewed Israel, for the priestly nation living both within and apart from the nations and powers of this world. Jerusalem is visibly exemplified as an embassy among the principalities – sometimes secretly, sometimes openly – or as a pioneer community – sometimes latently, sometimes notoriously – or as a prophetic society – sometimes discreetly, sometimes audaciously. And the life of Jerusalem, institutionalized in Christ’s Church (which is never to be uncritically equated with ecclesiastical structures professing the name of the Church) is marvelously dynamic. Constantly changing in her appearances and forms, she is incessantly being rendered new, spontaneous, transcendent, paradoxical, improvised, radical, ecumenical, free.

In beholding some specific society or nation in history – like America – we must recognize the symbolic juxtaposition of the two biblical societies, Babylon and Jerusalem. Their contiguity signifies the convergence of confrontation or, indeed, collision of the apocalyptic and the eschatological events through which the past is consummated and the future is apprehended within the immediate scope and experience of that particular nation. It is in relation to these impending apocalyptic omens and imminent eschatological signs, in a time and in a place, that the body of the Church – and the person who is a Christian – decides and acts.

Stryper, In ReviewPosted by Greg on December 24th, 2009

I’ve seen the band several times in the past, including each of their Houston visits since they’ve reunited this decade. That said, Monday night’s Stryper concert was by far the best I’ve seen the band on stage. Michael Sweet’s voice may not be as able to hit the same high notes as in the past, but he still demonstrated the staying power of his vocal chords. And the rest of the band showed that they weren’t simply content to go through the motions.

As far as returning 80s metal bands go, the show was as loud and the guitars as crunchy as you’d imagine. Even better, the mix of new songs off of the latest release mixed in very well with the classic material and there didn’t seem to be much of a lull for any of them.

Three things that made this show particularly nice, though:

1. Returning in the height of Christmas season after losing four Texas dates in November.
The show was initially scheduled for November 5th and got cancelled very close to showtime due to a flu bug going around the tour bus. Two of the shows were rescheduled, and two were cancelled. I’m not sure what the pressure is in the band’s situation to make up shows out of financial consideration, but it certainly seemed a stretch to expect shows to be scheduled for the 21st (Houston) and 22nd (Dallas).

Lead singer Michael Sweet addressed the issue early in the set, suggesting that because Texas was the very first state that Stryper really “toured,” they felt a bit of responsibility to make up some of the lost dates. Whether you chalk that up to typical band bantering to appeal to the locals or not, it at least adds something to what made the show a pleasure to see.
The original plan for the tour had been to have Michael’s son’s band (Flight Patterns) open for Stryper. This time around, that wasn’t the case. I’m not sure if Michael’s family made this final leg of the tour with him. But given the recent passing of Michael’s wife before the tour, the thought did occur to me that the band might be making a bit of a personal sacrifice in stretching it out this close to the holidays. However much of a sacrifice went into it, it certainly was appreciated.

2. Seeing the band in a nice venue.
This was my first time to see a show in the House of Blues. No disappointment in the show itself. The grunge music playing before Stryper’s set might be the only real question mark, but that’s fairly minor.

3. Jonathan Salas.
Typically, even if the opening act is good, I’ll start to speculate on how much time is left before they wrap up. This is especially true when the band is completely unknown going in. I hadn’t even made time to preview a few tunes by Salas prior to the show this time. But they could have let him play for a good while longer and I wouldn’t have had a complaint. The kid is good and I hope there’s a lot more opportunities to catch him around Houston. I’ve since ordered a couple of his CDs, but I’m not sure that the band he played with Monday night is on either. Of particular importance, whoever the drummer he had with him was phenomenal. And I say that as one who’s rarely won over by a drummer.

From the Houston show:

The Seven Days of Stryper: Day ZeroPosted by Greg on December 21st, 2009

Tonight: House of Blues …

The Seven Days of Stryper: Day SixPosted by Greg on December 19th, 2009

Sixty hours before doors open …
It’s not entirely Stryper unless you relive the power ballad era that they existed in.

The Seven Days of Stryper: Day FivePosted by Greg on December 18th, 2009

“Play skillfully with a loud noise … that’s what these guys do.”

The little baby boy that gets mentioned and shown in this one opens the show Monday night with his band:

The Seven Days of Stryper: Day FourPosted by Greg on December 17th, 2009

Old school Stryper:

Monday cannot get here fast enough.