:: M squared T ::

:: Friday, December 31, 2004 ::

Like Champaign County

The South-East Asian Earthquake and Tsunami's death toll has risen to 125 000. That's like taking my entire county and wiping it off the map. There's a little over 100 000 in Champaign-Urbana-Savoy, and about 25 000 in the surrounding few miles, our 30x36 mile rectangle of very flat ground.

This helps bring this all home for me. It gives me a handle on the magnitude of what has happened. The number of people homeless is approximately the size of the Chicago metro area - City (2.7 M.) and Illinois suburbs (4.3 M.).

Imagine finding homes for all of metro Chicago - on 3rd world income.

Wow.


:: Matt 12/31/2004 02:18:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Long Day

First, the good stuff: Illinois Basketball is still undefeated.

Work Stuff:

It's kinda complicated making a transition from an NT4 domain to an Active Directory Windows Server 2003 domain when you're at a large institution like the University of Illinois. We've been running our own departmental domain for a long time; for a number of reasons it has become important to attach ourselves to the greater University domain.

Then, you move into the switchover phase. You've tested everything, and you think it works. But there's always a lot you don't know. So when you switch to "live production" you get interesting problems. Like, for instance, that passwords that should be synchronized aren't always. Actually, it seems most of the time they aren't. Or your computer cloning software gives strange error messages leaving computers in unbootable states. Or when people need something to be fixed "right now!" and you have to tell them that they need to take a number.

All in all, it's been a long day. But we're making really good progress with the transition.

What will Monday bring?


:: Matt 12/30/2004 10:20:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Yeah, I like that!

Jonny Baker comments on the new Banksy book.

And related to that, this makes me laugh. Out loud.


:: Matt 12/29/2004 06:53:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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To assist with the effort

http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/


:: Matt 12/29/2004 06:11:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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International Prayer Request

It almost goes without saying, but perhaps it needs to be said anyway:

Please pray for the situation in Tsunami-stricken SE Asia.

I'm not sure what to pray for; here's where I'll start; God will lead us beyond this humble beginning:

- That aid and comfort will come quickly to those in need;
- That the sorrowing, the mourners, will be comforted;
- That in lieu of fingerpointing and blaming constructive steps will be taken to design infrastructure means of attenuating future devastation in such cases as Tsunamis
- That God's people will be the city on the hill: good deeds shining so brightly that glory to God is natural - amidst natural disaster
- That those who ask deep questions will find deep answers

Pax omnibus in nomine Domini Nostri Jesu Christi


:: Matt 12/28/2004 10:04:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (3) ::
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Blogger Idol "Travel" Top 5

Ah, the time of the week when I post my Blogger Idol Top 5...

Some diverse posts:

1. The Religious Duty of Travelling
2. Linus and Peanuts
3. Whoa...
4. Been there, done that...
5. I hate commuting too...


:: Matt 12/27/2004 11:16:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Christus Natus Est

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And in fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in his hand
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to demand.

King of Kings yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth he stood,
Lord of Lords in human vesture,
In the Body and the Blood
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for hevenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of Light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.

At his feet the six-winged seraph;
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the Presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry,
"Alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, Lord Most High!"


:: Matt 12/25/2004 09:25:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Keep Watch

Keep Watch!

Our salvation draws nigh.

This is the night our Lord is born.

From Irenaeus:

Being thirty years old when He came to be baptized, and then possessing the full age of a Master, He came to Jerusalem, so that He might be properly acknowledged by all as a Master. For He did not seem one thing while He was another, as those affirm who describe Him as being man only in appearance; but what He was, that He also appeared to be. Being a Master, therefore, He also possessed the age of a Master, not despising or evading any condition of humanity, nor setting aside in Himself that law which He had appointed for the human race, but sanctifying every age, by that period corresponding to it which belonged to Himself.

For He came to save all through means of Himself — all, I say, who through Him are born again to God — infants, and children, and boys, and youths, and old men. He therefore passed through every age, becoming an infant for infants, thus sanctifying infants; a child for children, thus sanctifying those who are of this age, being at the same time made to them an example of piety, righteousness, and submission; a youth for youths, becoming an example to youths, and thus sanctifying them for the Lord. So likewise He was an old man for old men, that He might be a perfect Master for all, not merely as respects the setting forth of the truth, but also as regards age, sanctifying at the same time the aged also, and becoming an example to them likewise. Then, at last, He came on to death itself, that He might be “the first-born from the dead, that in all things He might have the pre-eminence,” the Prince of life, existing before all, and going before all.

(From Adversus Haereses, II.xxii.4)


:: Matt 12/24/2004 05:50:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Still #1

The Illini beat Mizzou (barely)... we're still #1!!!


:: Matt 12/22/2004 10:09:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Airlifted to Hong Kong... or not?


A real adventure awaited me while on a trip to Latvia (Former Soviet Union) during the summer of 2002. I was with the Xtreme Team, a short-term mission trip set up like MTV's "Road Rules."

There were rarely two nights in a row where we slept in the same place. During our second week, we biked over gravel roads (loose sand, really) for three days to get to a church camp on the Russian border.

The camp opened with a night of singing and a bonfire. A couple of other missionaries joined us, and we quickly discovered that they didn't know how to roast sausage over the bonfire. Being a helpful sort, I assisted one Irish missionary in making his sausage, which we then shared. He spent the rest of the night with an incredibly powerful stomach bug - which erupted on 45 minute intervals.

I didn't think any more of this until 4 days later, when we had moved on to Tallinn, Estonia. All of a sudden, while walking around downtown (old town) Tallinn, miles from where we were staying, this stomach bug hit me. Hard.

Less than 24 hours after arriving in Tallinn, we were on the hydrofoil to Helsinki, Finland. While this wasn't nearly as disastrous an experience as it could have been, I was uncomfortable for the whole 45 minutes on A BOAT while nauseated.

I spent the entire next day recovering. After that, I was fine. I really enjoyed the rest of the trip - seeing Lithuania and Sweden as well as Latvia, Estonia and Finland. It is a trip that I will not soon forget.

When I got home, I met with some people from my church. One of the first things they asked was, "How was Hong Kong"?

Thinking that there was some confusion, I said, "I was on a mission trip to Latvia. Was someone from this church in Hong Kong?"

The response was even more confusing than the first question: "But weren't you sick and airlifted to Hong Kong?"

Evidently, the church's "Prayer Chain" ministry, where people call down a "chain" of people relaying prayer requests had had a minor breakdown. Somehow Tallinn, Helsinki, hydrofoil and stomach flu had become so jumbled in the literal game of "telephone" that the story became Hong Kong and airlifted.

No, I was not airlifted from Latvia to Hong Kong.


:: Matt 12/22/2004 09:34:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (1) ::
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Blogger Idol Top 5 Week 2

Ok, here's my top 5...

1. Darren, your humour is very similar to mine: First Dates
2. Well-written, powerful story: Pearls and Dreams
3. Interesting, different perspective: Biscotti Brain
4. Classy guy - like something I'd do...: In that Number
5. Similar experience: Oblation


:: Matt 12/22/2004 09:23:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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I Just Don't Understand

Why do some of the world's most creative, intelligent people spend all their time writing computer viruses, adware and hacking? I'm not sure I understand the mentality.

Most of the last week has been consumed fixing problems caused by the above activities; it is distressing to me that so many (it seems) very gifted and creative people choose to use these gifts in ways that harm others. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Well, on the other hand, it does. It makes a lot of sense. Contrary to popular opinion and current American educational philosophy, to know the good is NOT to do it. In most instances that I have seen, despite Rousseau's protests to the contrary, "The Good" is not so compelling in any given situation as to induce favorable behavior in people and lauding of "the good" as virtuous. Teaching people rules does not mean that the rules will be followed or enforced. Nor are rules really the point, after all.

In most cases, we are satisfied with keeping behavior within certain boundaries. We do not expect everyone to be happy with how things are; but as long as they do not violate the behavioral standards, we permit attitudes, worldviews and thought patterns to crash about unchallenged in social interactions.

What we find, however, is that those attitudes, worldviews and thought patterns do not remain internal. They find expression in behaviors - some minor, some major. Thus, it should not come as a surprise to us that people do whatever they can get away with. We are looking for something deeper: the transformation of the heart.

But how does this come about? Certainly, it does not come about by coercion. That is one of the least effective means. Nor does it really come about by transferring information, or education. In that case the attitudes remain largely the same, but are expressed within the informational/educational paradigm available. We can try reasoning with people: but people can rationalize just about anything.

We can lead by example. Yet even this cannot convince someone to care. This is the most likely scenario to build transforming relationships, but it is, by nature and necessity, non-coercive. We cannot force ourselves on anyone. We cannot enforce transformation. So what can we do?

We begin with a loving invitation for them to experience life beyond themselves. This requires us to actually love them ourselves - not for our own sake - so that they might be better people and thus make our lives better by being less annoying: no. Neither do we love them for their sake: in that case, they become our project, and we their patrons. While that works to a point, even such attitudes build resentment. A patron/client relationship can never develop the closeness that will tranform the heart.

We have to take them beyond themselves, beyond ourselves, beyond their community: we have to invite them to a kind of life that is lived on an entirely different plane. We invite them to experience the love of their Creator - who is tickled with delight over their very existence. This love will so transform those who choose to let him love them that the attitudes and behaviors will become naturally good. Moreover, they will begin to experience life on their Creator's terms - thus becoming resonant with who they were made to be.

So let's quit fooling ourselves. Teaching people that they should act nicely toward others does not mean that they will be good. Only a love that goes far beyond us and far beyond them will be able to make up the difference.


:: Matt 12/17/2004 03:57:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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My Blogger Idol Top 5

From last week...

1. Buzzcrash
2. Cliff Between The Lines
3. Tom Mohan
4. Pearls and Dreams
5. Katie

Yeah, that's them... sorry they're so late!


:: Matt 12/16/2004 05:14:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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This Is Profound



Ave Maria!

:: Matt 12/15/2004 08:15:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Blogger Idol: First Dates

So the Blogger Idol topic this week is, "First Dates."

I know I didn't post my top five from last week; I'm sorry... it's been a crazy week. I'll try to get that done soon!

First dates for me are always a time of finding out whether I actually want to date the person. In most cases, the first date does not lead to a second. Something isn't quite right. Usually, the first date is very informal; both parties are struggling to determine if this is really a date or if we just like hanging out. Maybe that's why second dates don't happen all that often!

So far, most of my first dates have been fix-ups. I've required a lot of help getting them to happen. So if one happens, I ought to stand up, like an Oscar speach, and thank my best friend, my Mom, Jesus and anyone else involved. They usually do play an integral role.

Right now, I'm looking for another first date... any takers? I'm a single male, mid-20s, Master's degree (pastoral career), outgoing, love the outdoors, love academics, and enjoy starting new stuff. Availability? Now...


:: Matt 12/15/2004 07:51:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (1) ::
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The Emergent Conversation

Andrew Jones has a good blog article out on the current emergent church discussion and its critique by more mainstream church leaders. It's a great summary: check it out!


:: Matt 12/13/2004 03:36:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Presence of God

Steve has been asking people about their experience with the presence of God.

I left this in his comments:

"How have you experienced the presence of God" was a question I used to ask incoming members of our Christian fraternity in college. At that time, I approached the question from a distinctively Baptist/Pentecostal background. This meant powerful revelations during prayer, speaking in tongues, exorcism, miracles.

As I've continued my journey, this has become more nuanced. An example: A year ago on Good Friday, I was serving in an American Episcopal Church [Anglican Communion]. All incense had ceased for the entirety of Lent. The smell, by Good Friday, had largely vacated. Most of the decoration had been removed as well. As the service began, we came in silently, dressed all in black. The priest, deacon and I all lay prostrate on the floor near the altar, in front of the cross. As we lay on the brick, I realized that I could still smell the residual incense if my face was up against the brick floor. I got the sense that God was saying, "I'm still here. I'm returning. I will rise again."

And, just like that, we stood up, and the priest said, "Blessed be our God."

And we answered, "Forever and ever, Amen."

Somehow both of these contexts describe my experience of the presence of God: sometimes overtly powerful, other times more subtly so. Somehow the later experiences are harder to describe: to tell it does not do it justice.


:: Matt 12/13/2004 01:01:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (1) ::
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The Call of God in "SpiderMan 2"

I just finished watching "SpiderMan 2." The movie is entirely about call.

A few jottings:

"With great power comes great responsibility." This is, of course, the theme of the SpiderMan universe. It speaks of talents put to use; it speaks even more of fulfilling the call of God on one's life - even if one did not ask for it.

The movie deals with living others' dreams: is Parker really supposed to live out his uncle's command?

The movie discusses the sacrifices necessary to fulfill the call; then it says that everything will work out anyway. I'm not sure if that's accurate. But, then again, that might be my fear of success talking.

Most importantly to me, it discusses the question of boundaries. How responsible is Peter Parker? Is he supposed to help everyone? Where are the limits of what he is to do? How does he balance the competing priorities in his life?

I suppose this movie leaves me with more questions than answers. But I see it as a useful tool for thinking about such matters.

Peace in Christ.


:: Matt 12/12/2004 09:58:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Veni Emmanuel

Veni, veni Emmanuel!
Captivum solve Israel!
Qui gemit in exsilio,
Privatus Dei Filio.
Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel.

Veni, o Sapientia,
Quae hic disponis omnia,
Veni, viam prudentiae
Ut doceas et gloriae.
Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel.

Veni, veni Adonai!
Qui populo in Sinai
Legem dedisti vertice,
In Majestate gloriae.
Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel.

Veni, o Jesse virgula,
Ex hostis tuos ungula,
De specu tuos tartari
Educ et antro barathri.
Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel.

Veni, Clavis Davidica,
Regna reclude caelica,
Fac iter tutum superum,
Et claude vias inferum.
Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel.

Veni, veni o Oriens!
Solare nos adveniens,
Noctis depelle nebulas,
Dirasque noctis tenebras.
Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel.

Veni, veni, Rex gentium,
veni, Redemptor omnium,
Ut salvas tuos famulos
Peccati sibi conscios.
Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel.

Lyrics via this site


:: Matt 12/12/2004 01:42:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Parents on Strike

I'm not sure if we were ever threatened with this... but it's creative!


:: Matt 12/09/2004 02:34:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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More Squirrels

In the vein of yesterday's audio clip, here's a bit of Ray Stevens:

Oh the miracles God has wrought in this old world
But the one I'll remember 'til my dyin' day
Is how he put that Church back on the narrow way
With a half crazed Mississippi squirrel

Chorus
The day the squirrel went berserk
In the First Self-Righteous Church
In the sleepy little town of Pascagoula
It was a fight for survival that broke out in revival
They was jumpin' pews and shoutin' Hallelujah!

:: Matt 12/09/2004 01:43:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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The Squirrel Cop

The story of a rookie Chicago cop on his first day on the job. Very funny. It's a RealAudio (grr) clip: scan to 19 min. 50 sec. for the start of the story. It involves trying to apprehend a squirrel for breaking and entering.


:: Matt 12/08/2004 02:09:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Meteor Insurance, Anyone?

You just never know when you might need it!


:: Matt 12/08/2004 01:16:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Blogger Idol Series 2, Week 1: All I Want For Christmas...

Well, Darren's re-started the Blogger Idol, so I thought I might join in this time.

This first week, the theme is "All I want for Christmas."

I think that I would like to see a distinction made between Advent and Christmas. Instead of this ever-increasing sound and noise and "holiday spirit" (whatever the heck that is), let's spend the four weeks before Christmas preparing ourselves for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Then, starting 25 December, let's take 12 days and feast and focus upon the Word become Flesh and how amazing that actually is. And besides, 12 days of feasting will be less than we normally do in Advent!

In this way, we do what Bob Webber talks about all the time: we set time free to worship. We re-claim the seasons, the days, the feasts and the fasts for God. We give up being driven by shopping and the push to come up with something I need/want for Christmas.

I always have trouble coming up with Christmas lists. Don't call me a grinch!




:: Matt 12/07/2004 02:59:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (4) ::
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I wish this were me...

Check out this link. Then, think for a minute. Apply it to me and my desire to lead in the church. Draw conclusions.

Am I yelling loud enough yet?!?


:: Matt 12/07/2004 02:49:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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A Must-Read for Church Leaders

This article is from a Minneapolis alternative newspaper describing the author's foray into a Mpls. megachurch. She compares her experience to that of Alice in Wonderland - very real, yet simultaneously nonsense.

It is really interesting to me how contemporary megachurch assumptions of what non-believers need don't line up with this author's viewpoint. I suppose this doesn't surprise me; I've been saying this myself in one form or another for a while.

She wasn't scared off by a firebrand preacher - no! Not that! I think she took issue with something dramatically different: its busyness. She didn't like it when she discovered that it looked like a shopping mall inside.

I see this article as yet another voice we're ignoring. We've gotta listen.

Link via http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/ through this post on http://www.healyourchurchwebsite.com/


:: Matt 12/07/2004 01:44:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Of Apples and Bananas: Or, A Window Into My Soul

This Sunday's readings and sermon really caused some things to come into sharp focus for me.

First, there was the sermon, focsuing on Matthew 3:1 - 12, where the question arose, "what kind of fruit are you producing?" The notion is that we are all trees, and we all produce fruit. We produce all different kinds of fruit. Whatever the case, we produce fruit consistent with the kind and quality of tree we are.

This got me to thinking, "what kind of fruit am I producing? What does my life look like on a daily basis? What do I do?" And I realized that there's a lot of bad fruit growing on me right now. Fruit based on fear. Fruit based on need for control. Fruit based on boundaries all out-of-bounds. Fruit coming from fear of rejection. Fruit of self-image issues, fruit of little faith in God.

So Sunday I resolved to make a change. Resolved to allow the pruning of the branches that do that. Resolved to make an effort to feed the branches that produce good fruit. Fruit like generosity. Fruit like mentoring. Fruit like development of Christian community. Fruit like living missionally in the world. Fruit like prayer. Fruit like encouragement. Fruit like humor. Most of all, fruit like hope. Like faith. Like love. Hmmm... that sounds familiar. Faith, hope and love: those seem to be the antithesis of fear, anxiety, bad self-image and bad boundaries.

Second, there was the text from Isaiah 11:1 - 10. This passage embodies the Advent message of hope. That tree that was chopped down - look, something's coming up out of it. And that new branch, that new tree, coming up from the roots of the old one - it will set about the process of making everything right. Those who have been victimized will be restored. Those who have done evil will be destroyed. And after that, creation will be brought to a new level of wonder, where no one lives to the disadvantage of the other.

And all of this has allowed a level of peace to come to me that I have not experienced in months. This reminder that all is well, all will be well could not be more timely. In him we have put our hope. And so in him I stand.


:: Matt 12/07/2004 11:45:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Compare and Contrast

Compare and contrast these two websites:

Honor The Chief

and

Illinois Chef


:: Matt 12/06/2004 03:45:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Non Sequitur

So I got a Christmas stocking at work... all the staff got one.

It's cool.

But there's a Hanukkah banner in it.

Santa Claus gives out Hanukkah gifts?

:)


:: Matt 12/06/2004 11:38:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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This Nickelback Song is Just Too Funny

There's a mix of two nickelback songs out on the 'net that is referenced here. Basically they play two songs at once and it doesn't sound bad... that's how alike they are!


:: Matt 12/05/2004 08:11:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Advice Sought

I'm looking to buy a laptop so I can use it when I preach to do video clips/photos/powerpoint. I'm looking at Toshiba. Anyone heard pro or con?


:: Matt 12/04/2004 11:50:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Illinois Vs. Arkansas

Illini Win!!!

This was a real hack game - but Illinois manages to keep the lead the entire second half. Maybe we'll be #1 on Monday...

I hope!


:: Matt 12/04/2004 11:49:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Chill Out, Folks

This is nuts...


:: Matt 12/02/2004 03:50:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Render Unto Caesar

Yesterday's Daily Office passage was Luke 20:19 - 26, the "Render unto Caesar" passage.

Here it is, from the NRSV:

19When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people.
20 So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said, so as to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor. 21So they asked him, ‘Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. 22Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’ 23But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, 24‘Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?’ They said, ‘The emperor’s.’ 25He said to them, ‘Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ 26And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said; and being amazed by his answer, they became silent.

All the sermons with the conclusion, "this means you should pay your taxes and your tithe" notwithstanding, I remembered a different angle on this passage presented once by a source I do not remember, reinforced by a careful study of the original [Greek] text.

Jesus asks them, "whose image is on the denarius, and whose inscription?" And they tell him, "Caesar's." In other words, "whose coin is this?"

Jesus' reply, "render unto..." confounds his hearers, but does not really answer the question of taxation in a way that they appreciate. Coins with Caesar's image on them were, in a sense, owned by Caesar.

The implied parallel is significant: the term "eikon," "image, icon" is the same word used in the creation of human beings in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint. Humans were made "in the image of God." Thus, God's image is on all of us.

By extension, we are all, like it or not, owned by God. Jesus then says, "give to God what is God's." Give Caesar what is rightfully his, but give yourselves (completely) to God.

And they were amazed at his teaching.


:: Matt 12/02/2004 01:28:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (1) ::
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Victory Lap

The University of Illinois Men's Basketball team beat #1 Wake Forest last night - leading by 32 points for a few minutes. The final score turned out to be 91 - 73. Here is the story from AP (off Wake's website, no less!)

The Illini looked good - shot percentages were high, and they played to the level of their opponents (and better). And with only 6 turnovers, it was a really clean game.

Go Illini!!!


:: Matt 12/02/2004 09:52:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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The Real Life on the Web

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately - from my normal reads, those who have some association/affiliation with Jesus Christ - to just clicking the "next blog" button [channel surfing] on the top of my good ol' blogspot blog - and I've started to notice some blog personality.

There seems to be a freedom and openness to speak very frankly and in terms that would not often be superimposed. "I love Jesus" in one sentence is sometimes followed by a four-letter invective. Usually something like "man, that was shit." (Ha ha, now I did it, too!)

Now, honestly, this is often overdone or used for shock value that becomes melodramatic. Thus, it is downright unecessary. On the other hand, I think this bodes well for us to be able to live real life together - life that is not hypersensitive, worried about protecting backsides and keeping well clear of others' toes. For me, this brings freshness to the stale, cautious conversations I can often have where I spend more time fearing the reaction/outcome than actually communicating. Blogs seem to give many of us the room to loosen up and breathe.

Blog communication reminds me of Jesus at Matt the Traitorous Tax Collector's house: God in the midst of off-color jokes, heavy drinking and pure-and-simple irreligiosity. God being told off-color jokes. Maybe God being told jokes that satirized his laws. God being offered more wine than he could handle.

And yet, I don't think he sat in a corner, with his arms crossed, shaking his head. "Oh, these poor lost souls..." There were plenty of others doing that. Nor did he sit there telling religious one-liners like, "so what do YOU think of the Kingdom of Heaven?" I don't think he sat there, wringing his hands, uncomfortable.

So what did he do? How did he handle the guy who got drunk and very philosophical - and didn't make any sense? How did he respond to the women who offered him more of themselves than he knew was good for them? How did he relate to his host, who was just trying on this new life thing for the first time? How did he respond to the "who are you and what do you do" questions? And, importantly in the minds of many, how much did he drink?

Bloggers resist classification. Of course. But it seems like a lot of these Jesus-connected bloggers are trying to figure out how this scene plays out - on the web and in more physical existence. Most of us, I think, have come from an "uptight Jesus" perspective that we are trying to shed. I'm definately in that category.

When I blog, I want it to be real. Real words, real feelings: none of this genetically-modified "nice" that doesn't actually say anything. Don't get me wrong: I'm not here for the shock value of it all. "Love your neighbor as yourself" is still an anchor. But I think genuine and wholesome makes room for the full suite of emotions.

Most of all, I suppose, I want to laugh heartily at things that are genuinely funny.


:: Matt 12/01/2004 02:05:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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This Always Happens

When I've just made a great post with some cool reflections...

...blogger eats it.

Curses.


:: Matt 12/01/2004 02:01:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Yesterday Was Nuts

It all started off when one of our retired teachers called: her husband had changed something on their computer that meant she couldn't check her e-mail. So over 2 1/2 hours of phone calls, we finally decided that they were going to have to reinstall the mail reader program. Of course, they couldn't be online and on the phone at the same time. This, of course, complicated everything because we would have to hang up and wait for them to log on and test the new changes, fail and get back to me.

That was round 1.

Round 2 began when I called my grandpa, who has been asking me for weeks to work on his computer. He got slammed by several e-mail virii and at the same time got hit with what now appears to be a hardware failure (drive controller). But I didn't know about the second problem when I started. I told him that I had to do laundry last night no matter what - I was out of clothes. So my roommate and I went over to do laundry and fix grandpa's computer.

Sort of. First mistake was overloading the washer. It walked across the room. He was displeased. Second mistake was trying to install WinXP on his computer; his CD-ROM drive and his Hard Drive weren't communicating properly and I ended up with a non-working computer.

But then we had washed three loads and dried one and it was almost 11:00 PM. So I took my roommate home (who didn't want to finish the laundry project), and I went to look for a laundromat.

Begin round 3.

The lady at the laundromat whined at me for coming in so late. I said that I had to dry these, not wash them. I said I'd be done before she had to leave. She meant to leave early, even though the place was supposed to be open longer than that. So she spent the next 20 minutes whining at me. She tried to bum cab fare off of me and I told her I'd take her home. I did and got back after midnight.

I was so jittery, I don't know when I got to sleep. I rolled into work late today, and I'm kinda out of step with the day's work.

Some days are just like that, I guess.


:: Matt 11/30/2004 10:37:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Advent Reflection

Alan Creech linked this today - thought it was good:

We light a candle today, a small dim light against a world that often seems forbidding and dark. But we light it because we are a people of hope, a people whose faith is marked by an expectation that we should always be ready for the coming of the Master. The joy and anticipation of this season is captured beautifully in the antiphons of hope from the monastic liturgies:

See! The ruler of the earth shall come, the Lord who will take from us the heavy burden of our exile
The Lord will come soon, will not delay.
The Lord will make the darkest places bright.

We must capture that urgency today in the small flame of our candle. We light the candle because we know that the coming of Christ is tied to our building of the kingdom. Lighting the flame, feeding the hungry, comforting the sick, reconciling the divided, praying for the repentant, greeting the lonely and forgotten – doing all these works hastens His coming.

:: Matt 11/28/2004 11:45:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Defining "Geek"

This is worth reading.

A sample...

Intermediate Geek

• Enjoy telling people about how you searched the Web for 3 hours last night to find the best deal on kangaroo burgers
• Have friends who constantly ask you questions relating to anything electronic and believe whatever answers you give them
• Have written your own computer programs
• Write some of your correspondence in Notepad or VI
• Know how to code HTML in a text editor
• Never turn off your computer

Found while channel surfing... more on that later.

:: Matt 11/28/2004 09:48:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Whew...

I got that off my chest (see below), and now I'm all smiles!

It's a good day, it really is! In fact, I'm going outside for awhile...


:: Matt 11/28/2004 04:14:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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I HATE RealNetworks!

RealNetworks, I hate you! Let me count the ways:

1. You made me enter everything short of my mother's maiden name to be able to use your product. Your privacy policy said you won't distrubute it. Riiight. If you didn't use it, why do you collect it?

2. Even though you SUCK, you're the industry standard for streaming audio.

3. You put all sorts of crap in the Windows Registry that I have to go in and clean out by hand.

4. You piggyback other programs with the realplayer that I don't want, didn't ask for and will delete promptly.

5. I had to check four boxes to keep from getting your STUPID advertizing.

6. And then you have stupid ads in the realplayer itself. I DONT WANT THEM!

7. You automatically update yourself to new versions that require more entries of personally identifiable information without asking.

RealNetworks, kindly get a life!


:: Matt 11/28/2004 04:05:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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(Church) New Year's Eve

Tonight is the last night in the church year; tomorrow begins Advent.

Advent is a reflective, penitential season, but it is different in tone from Lent: our reflection is to bring us into a heightened awareness of our surroundings. We are preparing for the return of Christ.

Are we ready? Do we want God's rule to come and set right all injustice? Are we ready to greet and celebrate his arrival, or do we wish he just wouldn't bother?


:: Matt 11/27/2004 10:44:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Spam Blogs

Has anyone else noticed the increasing number of spam blogs out there - especially on blogspot?

I'm not talking about "comment spam" although I'm starting to see that more and more (damn them spammers!), I'm talking about whole blogs which are nothing but spam.

I just wish these folks would use their God-given ingenuity, creativity and engineering sense to better ends.


:: Matt 11/27/2004 01:43:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I just watched "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" with Jim Carrey, Kirsten Dunst, Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood and Mark Ruffalo.

This is a movie that really keeps you thinking. There's so much in it about relationships: why we end up hating the people we initially liked/loved/enjoyed. It reminds brooding types (like myself, at times) to remember the good times so as not to become jaded about the bad.

I recommend this movie highly - one that will speak to everyone, because we've all had relationships that are beautiful and then start to hurt.


:: Matt 11/27/2004 12:09:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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More Template Changes

I just changed my comments over to blogger so that I can get the e-mail about them when they come.

Enjoy!


:: Matt 11/26/2004 01:21:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (3) ::
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Cluetrain on Community

One definition of community is a group of people who care about each other more than they have to.

Hmmm...


:: Matt 11/25/2004 07:53:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Self-Definition

He tells us to take note, so I have:

You will never know who you are if all you talk about is what you aren't. Church planters take note. Musicians and artists take note. Community development workers take note. Christ-follower... TAKE NOTE!

Most of the time, the churches in our community define themselves by what they're not. And doing so seems to contribute to the constant sheep-shifting between congregations. Maybe if we defined ourselves positively this sheep-shifting could be limited.

Link via Jason Evans.


:: Matt 11/25/2004 07:24:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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The ClueTrain Manifesto

I avoided reading this book for a long time because it seemed so focused on business and marketing - two things I really can't bring myself to pay much attention to.

But I started in on it tonight: and I am having trouble putting it down.

As the authors say, it's probably the first book to be the sequel to a website.

The thing of it is, it makes my argument about why the church's got to change, get a new view on life, take a different approach.

So it's going on the "eccentricities" column to the left.


:: Matt 11/24/2004 09:58:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Tim LaHaye Declares Armageddon Against Tyndale

Ok, not really. But he's really honked off.

This may be old news to many of you, since it came out on Saturday last, but I couldn't read the full article until today: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/living/religion/10220385.htm

[Thanks to Rich Clark at http://www.deadyetliving.com/ for the link.]

I don't know what's making him more angry: the fact that Tyndale is offering a different perspective, or the fact that they're calling both book series "fictional."

LaHaye's Left Behind series either borders on heresy or dives headlong into it.

Heresy, you say?

Yes.

How?

Here's how: LaHaye's books are predicated on the notion that every promise made to Israel in the Old Testament must be fulfilled literally. Therefore, any promise regarding land, Jerusalem, Nations Streaming to Jerusalem, victory over enemies, the Temple, David's Kingly Line, etc. all have yet to be completely fulfilled. According to LaHaye (and his dispensationalist cohort), all these promises have to be fulfilled completly to the literal, physical descendents of Abraham/Isaac/Jacob, the Jews. Unless these promises are fulfilled, the end of the world cannot come. Now, why is that so important?

The church and the scriptures have long taught that Jesus Christ must return (in the same way that he left - See The Acts of the Apostles, chapter 1) to complete his work of setting everything right that humanity has somehow messed up, destroyed, derailed or damaged. He will bring all creation back under the reign of God, and, in so doing, bring about the completion of what (St.) Paul calls "the new creation." This new creation was begun in Jesus Christ, and will be brought to fuflillment on the day he returns. At that time, what has been stated about Christ from the earliest days of the church will become literally clear: Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all the promises of God. All the promises, prophecies and perspectives of God in scripture find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

It is at this point that LaHaye and the dispensationalist cohort break ranks with historical Christianity. If all the promises to Israel have to be fulfilled literally to Jews, then Jesus Christ is not the fulfillment of all the promises of God as the letters of (St.) Paul and the church throughout history have attested. Moreover, they believe that the only way anything is going to be "set right" is either (a) by the complete destruction of the current creation (the "it's all gonna burn" theory), or by (b) Jesus Christ literally coming back with an army and smacking people around or otherwise physically overwhelming everyone.

LaHaye et al. see the second coming as important for yet another reason: there's nothing good left here. It's our job to rescue everyone from this burning building and then run for cover before it really gets bad. God wants to get rid of this crappy creation of his and start over. This is the "turn or burn, flee or fry" mentality. And this is precisely the perspective of the New Testament Pharisees which Jesus challenged so often in the gospel accounts. There is a radical discontinuity between the old way of doing things and the new, divided by the actions and event of God's savior/deliverer/messiah coming to straighten things out.

Instead, Jesus and historical Christianity offer a different angle. In Jesus' scenario, the new creation enters and invades the old on the sly. Like a virus, it begins to infect the old and transform it into something different - yet with continuity to the old. Thus, we see a baby in a manger, a cross and a crown of thorns instead of a conquering warrior. The empty tomb, then, gives us a glimpse into what the new creation is like: continuous with the old, yet different. Jesus' body was still his body - it was not in the tomb and it even still bore the scars - yet, it was somehow different enough to be hard to recognize and, better yet, had the ability to pass through locked doors.

In Jesus' scenario, he must return to bring justice to those who are victims of injustice. He waits, showing forbearance and grace to the unjust, hoping they will cease their injustice and turn to him. But he will not wait forever. To do so would deny justice to their victims. He desires to redeem and transform his creation which he originally called "good." Were he to destroy the creation, he would deny the value of embodied existence - which at one point he found so important, so compelling that he became human himself to bring about our new creation.

This has become a much more long-winded explanation than I intended it to be. To explain it fully would take at least a book or two. But I hope that this explains why I'm so cranky when it comes to the Left Behind series. I welcome questions, discussion and critique.


:: Matt 11/24/2004 06:55:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Cheese Sauces and Microwaves Don't Get Along

While attempting to make myself a one-portion sized helping of Fettucine Alfredo, I decided to violate a rule I knew full well:

Never put a cheese sauce in a microwave.

Why is this?

For one, it is the violation of the 12th commandment: "Thou shalt not put cheese sauce in thy microwave."

Secondly, it burns the cheese sauce on one part while leaving the rest RAW.

Humph.



:: Matt 11/24/2004 06:49:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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I Almost Hate To Link This...

'cause I don't want them to get any more hits than absolutely necessary.

But it's really funny. I mean, funny and sad.

Nevertheless, now for your humor and entertainment, M Squared T now presents:

Jack Chick's "Angels" Tract

...about how rock music is of the Devil.

Link via http://www.liquidthinking.org/

Oh, yeah, and remember to rock on!


:: Matt 11/23/2004 10:51:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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This Is My Life

Check out this online Newsweek article:

Nov. 18 - Next week, millions of college students and young professionals will head home for the Thanksgiving holidays. We’ll sit with our families in warm, candle-lit dining rooms eating stuffed turkey, reminiscing over old photographs, preparing holiday shopping lists and … Please. Let’s be frank. We are going home to fix our parents' computers.

Link via Mike Bishop.


:: Matt 11/23/2004 10:39:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Modified Template

I've been fussing with formatting over the last couple of days and have made a few changes.

First, you'll notice that my recent posts are listed on the left below the "shortcuts" (yes, my shortcuts since I use this as my home page). They're listed by title.

Second, you'll notice a few changes to the links on the left column. Check them out!

Third, you probably won't notice that the permalinks are now more readable - having their own page and the name of the title of the article.

I suspect a complete overhaul and redesign are on their way. I don't know when they'll show up, however.


:: Matt 11/23/2004 04:45:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Work Irregularities

I'm wearing a suit to work today. This is highly unusual.

This school is very informal; the teachers wear jeans, and rarely (if ever) wear ties. The students, of course, wear whatever their chosen style or persona desires.

But I'm wearing a suit. I am out of place. It's funny to see people's reactions to this.

(I'm going to a wedding. Geez!)


:: Matt 11/23/2004 11:34:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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This is a Test


View into the Garden of the Gods

This is a picture I took last May in the Garden of the Gods in Shawnee Nat'l Forest. What do you think?


:: Matt 11/22/2004 10:12:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Reflection on Incarnation

Archbishop Rowan Williams reflects on Christ's coming to earth in his Christmas Message:

Human beings are wrapped up in themselves. Because of that great primitive betrayal that we call the Fall of humanity, we are all afraid of God and the world and our real selves in some degree. We can't cope with the light. As John's gospel says, those who don't want to respond to God fear and run away from the light. But God acts to heal us, to bring us out of our isolation - which is as bizarre and self-destructive as that young man beating his head against the wall. And he does this in a way that is just like the therapist in the video. He does what we do; he is born, he grows up, he lives for many years a life that is ordinary and prosaic like ours - he works, he eats, he sleeps. Here is ultimate love, complete holiness, made real in a back street in a small town. And when he begins to do new and shocking things, to proclaim the Kingdom, to heal, to forgive, to die and rise again - well, we shouldn't panic and run away because we have learned that we can trust him. We know he speaks our language, he has responded to our actions and our words, he has echoed to us what we are like.

Link Via Steve Via Father Jake


:: Matt 11/22/2004 01:20:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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This Is Weird

George W. Bush pulling a Secret Service agent through a bunch of Chilean guards on international television. http://www.dailyrecycler.com/blog/2004/11/taking-charge.html


:: Matt 11/21/2004 11:49:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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School Grousings

Working in an academic world of a local public high school, I often wonder if we really know what we are doing. Some days, in fact, it seems that we have created a monster: a creature made in the image of the ideals of an intellectual élite throughout the centuries - a creature that is, at best, a caricature of fully human life; at worst, well, something infernal.

I'm not sure how to express how I feel on this subject. A dervish of thoughts and ideas swirls around me and make little sense (as yet) in writing. Maybe there's more than one post here.


:: Matt 11/21/2004 11:21:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Jobs and Sermons

I'm trying to develop a few topics for sermons that I can start using during my "pastoral job search" process.

So I've come up with a few passages so far:

• Hebrews 12:1 - 2: the "cloud of witnesses" passage
• Matthew 4, 2nd half: the "repent for the kingdom is near" passage
• Any of the "take up your cross and follow" passages

Ideas?

:: Matt 11/19/2004 02:35:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Hokey Pokey = Hocus Pocus

I'm really in to history, so you'd think I'd have seen this one before:

The Hokey Pokey was originally a Puritan parody of the Catholic Mass. See http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/OLD-ENGLISH/2001-03/0985552472 for details.

Which brings me back to one I do remember: Hocus Pocus. Hocus Pocus is an imitation of unintelligible Mass-Latin for the phrase in communion where, after much hand-waving, the Priest elevates the bread and says, "Hoc est corpus meum." (This is my body.) It's easy to see how Hocest Corpus became Hocus Pocus.

Link via Steve.


:: Matt 11/18/2004 02:31:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Suicide Bombing = Human Sacrifice?

At least that's what this author says. I'm not sure I agree with him completely, but it is a very fascinating perspective - especially for the History Nut in me.

Link via Bene Diction.


:: Matt 11/18/2004 01:25:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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A Class Act Trying To Deal With Copyright Infringement

Gary Larson (The Far Side) doesn't want his cartoons illegally copied and distributed on the Internet. In fact, he's got lawyers tracking the 'net for his 'toons.

A web site I visited posted a copy of the note they received when they posted a "Far Side" panel. http://blog.revmike.us/archives/000646.html

Larson's request for sites to remove his material is very respectful; in the case I read, this engendered respect in return. The site removed the cartoon.

As someone for whom copyright law put food on the table for many years, I understand the frustration of artists, authors, musicians and scholars whose work is abused. Whether its name be plagiarism, bootlegging, misquoting or misinterpretation, inappropriate use of copyrighted materials does more than just take money away from the artist, producer, et al. The creator of the work often feels personally injured by inappropriate use. It's not about the money, at least for me. It's a matter of respect.


:: Matt 11/18/2004 11:45:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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A Newly-Discovered "Go(o)d Blog"

Check it out: http://odyssey.blogs.com/odyssey/

I like the "preaching naked" article a lot. :)

Thanks to Kevin (http://kevinrains.com/) for the link!


:: Matt 11/18/2004 10:30:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Funny Article About Windows XP

http://www.jsonline.com/lifestyle/advice/jan02/10333.asp


:: Matt 11/17/2004 10:29:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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So I went and got myself a massage...

Yesterday I got myself a massage. It was a good massage, about 15 minutes, and not badly priced at that.

Problem is, though, that today I'm totally stiff in my neck and shoulders. Like I can't turn my head.

What the heck?!?


:: Matt 11/17/2004 11:48:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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All-Campus Worship II

Dr. Wright's Talk from All-Campus Worship is now available in MP3 format at http://cfchome.org/mp3s/20041112.mp3

Thanks to our friends at CFC for putting it up!


:: Matt 11/16/2004 04:42:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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This is a HOAX

Someone sent me an IM today in the form of a chain letter saying that AOL was going to start charging inactive AIM users for AIM service.

It's a chain letter that's been circulating since 1998. See http://hoaxinfo.com/imcharges.htm


:: Matt 11/15/2004 01:28:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Despite popular opinions to the contrary, the Christian Church is still one of the most oppressed groups worldwide. This oppression takes different forms in different places, but the outcome is often the same: hazing, imprisonment, harrassment, even death.

Many governments around the world see Christians as a threat to their way of life. Most of the Christians involved are not missionaries, nor are many of them "Western." Most are local Christians living in their own culture. Nonetheless, these people are seen as a threat to power, a threat to socio-religio-political homogeneity, a threat to a chosen lifestyle.

Thus they are beaten, arrested, put on trial for trumped-up charges, exiled and killed.

Let us join together in prayer for the persecuted Church.

http://www.idop.org/




:: Matt 11/15/2004 12:03:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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All-Campus Worship

Dr. Christopher Wright (of John Stott Ministries) was the main speaker at All-Campus Worship this semester. His sermon was on "A Call to Radical Christian Distinctiveness."

Truth be told, I was a bit wary of what he might say to us. But my fears were quickly allayed when he began to speak first from Leviticus and then from Matthew 5:13, ff.: "you are the salt of the earth... you are the light of the world..."

Instead of doing what I see as more typical, that is, encouraging a Christian "goal-line stand," Dr. Wright said, "of course the world's going to be dark and rotten! That's its natural tendency. But it's not really the world's fault that it gets that way: any house will, during the course of the day, get dark. But that's not the house's fault. It's the job of the light to illumine it. Any piece of meat, left to itself outside in the sun, will go rotten. That's not the meat's fault. It's the job of the salt to preserve it."

Instead of belligerant conservative evangelicalism - "you've got to fight to keep this society from going down hill - call your senators," - Dr. Wright proposed that actually following Jesus would salt and light the world in a much more radical way.



:: Matt 11/15/2004 11:30:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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So What?

I have a blog. Duh. You're reading it.

I don't post all that often.

Well, now...

Basically there's four reasons for this:

1. I don't really have that much time to do it - blogging takes time. Some of these people must be on for hours and hours a day JUST BLOGGING. It's kinda screwed up, actually. I mean, get a life!
2. The stuff I think is good I want to protect (copyright, etc.). Blogging just doesn't seem to allow for that kind of protection. I want to get it "out there," but I don't want it being snagged by every unscrupulous freak out there.
3. When I post, I really have no clue how much it's being read: I don't have a hit counter or anysuch gadget. So it just goes out there. Just typing it is therapeutic, but, geez, I only need so much therapy.
4. After reading a lot of blogs out there, heck, after surfing the 'net almost every day since '94, I've discovered that there's a lot of real drivel out there. That which is not drivel is often a mass rally for something that is "preachin' to the choir." I don't want to add to the level of drivel in the world; I don't tend to post random personal stuff. Actually, when I want people to see stuff I usually e-mail them 'cause they get it faster and see it (rather than post it, which means only a few people will check it out, and at a much later date).

Ergo,

So what?

Maybe I'll start posting more - and it's gonna be random...

:: Matt 11/12/2004 03:10:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Election's Over

At least it didn't take weeks to sort out this time.

I think that will help us move on.

In any case, the president's got a full plate.


:: Matt 11/03/2004 03:20:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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A bit apocalyptic?

The Red Sox sweep the World Series on a night when the moon turns red - a lunar eclipse. Pretty amazing win after 86 years.

Congrats, guys!


:: Matt 10/27/2004 11:49:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Cool Web Site -

Check it out!

http://www.rejesus.co.uk/


:: Matt 10/26/2004 01:10:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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In Christ Alone
By Stuart Townend

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand


:: Matt 10/25/2004 11:36:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Gold Medal!!!

USA Women's Wheelchair basketball has won a gold medal!!!

Congratulations!


:: Matt 9/27/2004 02:40:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Paralympics

The USA Women's Wheelchair Basketball team's up 34 - 16 against Australia at the half.

Go Jen!


:: Matt 9/27/2004 01:40:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Found While On The Way Elsewhere

I was looking up a phrase in Augustine's Confessions this evening and I ran across this great line:

Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.

I just love that quote. Especially coming from Augustine.

Augustine, Confessions 8.7.17.


:: Matt 9/17/2004 10:06:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Meditation on the Imitation

As long as suffering is something that vexes you and which you seek to avoid, then things will go ill with you, for the very affliction you are trying to escape will follow you wherever you go.

::Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ II.xii.11 (trans. Tylenda)

One of the ancient church Fathers once said that the source of our sin was our fear of our own mortality. Knowing that we are mortal, we avoid death and its accompanying suffering: we do whatever it takes to avoid it. In the end, however, this becomes self-destructive and causes its own suffering. We attempt to avoid death by making ourselves invulnerable - and it ends up killing us.

American society today is marked by a desire to forego suffering and a desire to eliminate suffering altogether. This is, in one sense, a noble goal. Yet, rarely do we take into account the Way of the Cross as we attempt to do this.

The Incarnation - the Word becoming Flesh - God becoming Human - Jesus Christ living in the world - God did this with the intention of bringing about re-creation: a new creation free from self-destruction and free from death and suffering. "The last enemy to be overcome is death." Nevertheless, God did not do this merely by promulgating just laws, innoculating against the spread of disease, etc.

Instead, he entered into suffering and death itself: and in doing so he destroyed death. The Way of the Cross embraces both suffering and death as a means to their ultimate, complete destruction. In his rising, he made all creation new: "lest a grain of wheat fall to the ground and die, it remains a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."

The way of the cross embraces death as the only means to life - life in a new creation. It is in the cross that we look for the destruction of death and the alleviation of suffering in the world. We build hospitals and shelters. We fight for social justice. We stand in solidarity with the poor. We refuse coercion and to be coercive. We stand up for the rights of those who have no voice. We do all this as believers in Jesus Christ because we know that there is more to destroying death and suffering than all these things. We do these things as sign and symbol of the new creation and the reign of God that is coming. We do these things, and by doing so we participate in some small way in the new creation - the Kingdom of God.

This keeps us in perspective: it denies us justification for making our one issue within the greater issue the issue. Nor is it just about us, or just about "them" - whoever "they" may be. It involves God, and is part of what is going on in creation as a whole - throughout time and place.

Which brings us back to Thomas' statement. Disciples of Jesus Christ are in the business of dying - daily: dying in order that we may live. By avoiding the suffering that accompanies that, we avoid Eternal Life, putting off the inevitable, wishing that the cross were not quite so much, well, the cross. By embracing the cross we find ourselves in better position to give life, health, and relief to those who need it.

:: Matt 9/16/2004 07:21:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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A Lesson in Typesetting, or More On the Forged Documents

See http://homepage.mac.com/cfj/newcomer/index.htm

This guy seems to know type.


:: Matt 9/16/2004 04:35:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Throwing the Election?

According to many, CBS is in trouble. Accusations are flying all over the internet: someone forged documents that are libelous to George W. Bush.

Here's one of the summary blog articles: Power Line: The Sixty-First Minute
There are a couple of Minneapolis lawyers keeping an eye on the situation: follow the story on LGF.

This is serious.

Our American news media give us the impression that they are "objective journalists," doing nothing more than finding the facts and reporting them. If one looks through the history of American Journalism, it is quite clear that this has absolutely never been the case.

This case is, at best, a case of serious irresponsibility on the part of the network. At worst, it is intentionally lying about someone. It's not clear yet which one it is. It's hard to trust "news" sources when they do this.


:: Matt 9/12/2004 02:50:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Words I've been thinking about for the last few days:

See especially "everything inside screams for second life"

Meant To Live
by Switchfoot

Fumbling his confidence
And wondering why the world has passed him by
Hoping that he’s bent for more than arguments
And failed attempts to fly, fly

We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside
Somewhere we live inside
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside

Dreaming about Providence
And whether mice or men have second tries
Maybe we’ve been livin with our eyes half open
Maybe we’re bent and broken, broken

We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside
Somewhere we live inside
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside

We want more than this world’s got to offer
We want more than this world’s got to offer
We want more than the wars of our fathers
And everything inside screams for second life yeah

We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
We were meant to live
We were meant to live

:: Matt 9/09/2004 03:13:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Things overheard while working in a high school:

Teachier in the hallway: "Are you flirting or fighting?"


:: Matt 9/08/2004 11:55:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Emerging Reading List
Book 1: The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for New Generations
Post 2: Gatherings

In the second section of his book, Kimball focuses on "vintage worship gatherings." Once again, Kimball does well for his audience by letting them in on the thought and practice of the emerging church.

During seminary I wrote a paper on the use of visible symbol in worship (one of Kimball's main ideas). Dr. Bob Webber (i.e., Dr. Robert E. Webber, author of Ancient-Future Faith, The Younger Evangelicals, etc.) recommended to me that I investigate it from a historical perspective. It seems that in the reformation we all began to perceive that any visible symbol - artistry, architecture, movement, etc. - was idolatrous. We ended up substituting an artistic visual symbol for the visual symbol of the blank wall.

This, of course, has never been all that appealing to me. I love to create space - usually just my room, or a living room - space for worship that invokes the beautiful, historical depth of the faith.

When we began our morning prayer gatherings in January, we started with the Book of Common Prayer. We engaged our living room as our worship space and it sanctified that space for the rest of the time when we were not worshipping.

Just a thought...


:: Matt 8/28/2004 12:47:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Grrr... Dialup...

No more broadband until I get a job...


:: Matt 8/18/2004 08:26:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Emerging Reading List
Book 1: The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for New Generations
Post 1: Listening Skills

I've been reading a lot of people (books, blogs, etc.) on the subject of the emerging church, so what Dan Kimball says does repeat a lot of what I've heard already. Dan joins the ever-growing chorus of voices that say, "Hey folks! People's assumptions are changing! You can't just do it the same way anymore!"

One of the most valuable aspects of the whole Emerging Church discussion is that it has forced us [i.e., Christians] to listen to everyone else again. It's not enough, any more, to get our understanding of our culture in digest. We cannot, for instance, depend primarily on books people have published on "how to do ministry" because people just think differently than they did even a few years ago. Moreover, our culture has become so diverse that it's hard to predict what someone is actually going to believe about something in particular - beyond the pluralism that is basic to the scene.

Instead, we must listen to people. We must seek out people who are unaffiliated with church and find out what they really think. And to do so, we actually have to get to know them - so many of us are so sick of surveys and people prying into our "personally identifiable information" that we won't share what we really feel and who we really are unless we can establish trust.

Thus, what was once "good practice" in ministry - listening to others, learning about them personally, and relating the good news of Jesus Christ to them personally - has become ministry's sine qua non: the thing without which it doesn't work, neither does it exist.


:: Matt 8/15/2004 08:03:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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New Reading List

I just picked up three books through Amazon that I hope to interact with here on this website. They are:

The Emerging Church by Dan Kimball
Emerging Worship: Creating Worship Gatherings for Emerging Generations by Dan Kimball
The Story We Find Ourselves In by Brian D. McLaren

I hope to engage you in the continuing Emergent conversation.


:: Matt 8/10/2004 04:03:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Congrats Greg!

Maddux wins his 300th against the Giants!


:: Matt 8/07/2004 08:37:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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I shouldn't be surprised, now should I?

Looking for Noon Prayer on a search engine under the term "Sext" brought up some other options, minus the "t".

Nevertheless, it's a bit annoying.

:: Matt 6/14/2004 10:40:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Want Ad: Liturgical Resources

Seeking: a prayer book or online resource that provides a historically substantive liturgy for noon prayer including some version of the Invitatory (preferably), the triple readings (OT, Epistle, Gospel) + Psalm, the Lord's Prayer (Paternoster) and some sort of room for some Prayers of the People or other collects, etc.

:: Matt 6/14/2004 10:35:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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My sister is now a cum laude graduate of high school!

Thanks be to God!

:: Matt 6/02/2004 09:47:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Pentecost Sunday

God has done much in this Easter Season. This past month has tested the foundation of love laid down during this school year.

Nonetheless, The Spirit has been moving, and will continue to move.

"Go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit."

:: Matt 5/30/2004 11:42:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Perversion of Justice

Today's Chicago Tribune has an article about a 21-yr. old man who lost his mother in a drunk-driving accident with St. Louis Rams' Leonard Little. Little got a slap-on-the-wrist sentence and now has been caught driving while intoxicated a second time.

His flagrant disregard for the life of the woman he killed and her family are evident from the article.

"How long, O Lord, how long?"

:: Matt 4/28/2004 12:52:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Homeless Like Me

After the chimney was taken down completely, I was covered in fine gray dust. The GUYS and I went to McDonalds on Kirby & Neil for a quick lunch. Mind you, I walked in and immediately went to the bathroom. I washed my hands and wiped my face.

Then I sat through lunch being stared at or "visibly ignored." I got some very bad looks from some parents sitting near us with their kids. I even overheard some folks commenting about how I was a homeless guy these two college guys were taking to lunch. Now, I admit, my hands were shaking from using the #10 sledgehammer all morning, I didn't shave this morning, and I was covered in dust. I was wearing dirty, ripped up clothes.

I stuck out.

What floored me was the utter disrespect that I and the two guys with me were paid. Mocking jokes were made with little effort to cover the disdain. I realized that the other two looked like highschool dropout farm-laborer types. Irony is that both guys with me are in the top 1% at U of I and I'm applying to the Ivy Leagues.

We are slaves to our perceptions. But I must not judge: there, but for the grace of God, go I.

:: Matt 4/24/2004 04:58:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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...with my bare hands!!!

I tore down a chimney this morning with my bare hands. Ok, so it was just the part above the top of the roof. The chimney came up through the middle of the house at the ridge, equidistant from both gables. I got up there to knock it down with a sledgehammer, and with two pushes rocked it off in one piece. Downside is that I cracked a truss beam when it fell. But 2 1/2 feet of chimney, all in one fell swoop!

:: Matt 4/24/2004 04:48:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Yale University Prof. Dr. Miroslav Volf Interviewed by PBS

Dr. Miroslav Volf was interviewed by PBS regarding issues of faith and culture - faith in everyday life. The interview can be found here. The video can be found here.

Quoting from the Online Transcript:

If I say, "I forgive you," I have implicitly said you have done something wrong to me. If I say, "I forgive you," I have blamed you for infringing [in] some way upon my space, [for having] done something that wasn't right. You have committed [an] injustice. So every forgiveness has as ... part a[n] affirmation of the claims of justice and statement that somebody has transgressed against me. But what forgiveness is, at its heart, is both saying that justice has been violated and not letting that violation count against the offender. I release the offender from what justice would demand to be done for that person. That's what forgiveness is. I think Christian tradition has a very acute and important sense of that and can make an important contribution to proper understanding of, and practice of, forgiveness.

Volf speaks of the nature of forgiveness in no uncertain terms: Forgiving someone declares that a wrong has been done. Nonetheless, forgiveness frees the wronged and the wrongdoer of the burden of the wrong, allowing them to live together in reconciliation.

:: Matt 4/22/2004 04:15:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Intratext Library

I just added an "Eccentricities" link to Intratext.com. Intratext has a lot of sources online in a searchable format. Check it out!

:: Matt 4/20/2004 04:44:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Accordion

A friend of mine loaned me his accordion tonight. I played an accordion for the first time! It's rather easy to pick up... everything just follows basic music theory.

I think someone took a picture of me on their camera phone as I sat on our front porch playing. Hmm... Matt the accordion player?

:: Matt 4/17/2004 11:41:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Weather

It's a beautiful day. And across the street from the church, our neighbors have erected a large, inflatable pink gorilla. It's 2 1/2 stories tall.

Party on...

:: Matt 4/16/2004 05:05:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Cabinetry as a Spiritual Discipline

Working with 90-year-old cabinetry is a spiritual discipline. It is a lot of quiet time alone, scrubbing off layers of paint and varnish that have been on there for who knows how long. People come through the room and talk with me: it gives me the opportunity to love them as I work - listening to their day's events.

There's no cutting corners on this project: I'm doing it because I love it. I want to do a good job. Nonetheless, I must beware of perfectionism. It's all 90 years old. It's had seven coats of paint on it. It ain't going to be perfect.

But it is beautiful!

:: Matt 4/13/2004 10:18:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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A Curriculum for Christlikeness

The right sidebar now contains a growing list of written resources for what Dallas Willard calls "A Curriculum for Christlikeness." A believer engaging in this curriculum intends to shape his or her life after Jesus Christ - to look like Jesus. An outline of the Curriculum may be found in two places in Willard's work:

1. The Divine Conspiracy, chapter 9.
2. "Looking Like Jesus," Christianity Today 34 (August 10, 1990), 29 - 31.

I have adapted this model for use in leading others and myself in discipleship. The resources listed to the right are intended for all who desire to grow in this kind of Christlikeness.


:: Matt 4/12/2004 10:39:00 PM :: permalink :: ::
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Deësidia

Lord Jesus Christ
Only Son of God
Have Mercy on Me
A Sinner

Lord, I give my heart to you.
I seek your kingdom and your righteousness first.

Let me seek nothing but you
You for yourself, not for your gifts

Let me live in the new creation
Put to death my old self
Enliven my heart to eternal life.

:: Matt 4/12/2004 10:30:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Christ the Lord is Risen Today

Alleluia!

Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens; thou earth, reply, Alleluia!

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids his rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened Paradise, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King! Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Dying once, he all doth save, Alleluia!
Where's thy victory, O grave, Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies. Alleluia!

(Charles Wesley)

:: Matt 4/11/2004 08:34:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Easter Sunday

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!

The Lord is Risen indeed, Alleluia!

:: Matt 4/11/2004 09:56:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Holy Saturday

This day is Jesus' day of rest - the seventh day of the week of the Passion.
On this day, he rests, dead, in the tomb.
On this day, no one may serve him - it is against the law; his body may not be prepared.
On this day, Jesus rested from all his work.

Silence

All is quiet
All creation waits
All the birds hold their breath
Let nothing disturb our Lord

Noise

All is loud
All "get back to normal"
All the people pass by, heedless of the power of what is going on nearby
The world continues on as it did before

Night falls
We must rest
Tomorrow we will go to the tomb
Will they let us see him?

:: Matt 4/10/2004 06:35:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Good Friday

O sacred Head, now wounded,
With grief and shame weighed down;
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns, Thine only crown
O sacred Head, what glory,
What bliss till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call Thee mine

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered
Was all for sinners' gain:
Mine, mine was the transgression,
But Thine the deadly pain
Lo, here I fall, my Saviour!
'Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor,
Vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

What language shall I borrow
To thank Thee, dearest Friend:
For this Thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever;
And should I fainting be,
Lord let me never, never
Out live my love to Thee


:: Matt 4/09/2004 11:40:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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House

We have just taken on a major service ministry project: Restoration Urban Ministries has given us a house to prepare for a family that needs it. It needs a new roof, new drywall everywhere, probably new wiring, and some new sink/bathroom fixtures.

If you are interested in donating money, time or materials, please e-mail me!

:: Matt 4/08/2004 07:38:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Application

I am moving toward applying to graduate schools. Please pray that they let me in!

:: Matt 4/07/2004 11:38:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Blog Posting

Over at Living Room, Darren asked a question regarding how to start an emerging church thing in a small rural community. I noticed some connections to what we do in our house, so I posted this comment:

I've been starting an emerging community within a house of graduate students at the Unviersity of Illinois - and I think there may be some analagous issues to being the emerging church there as there is to being in a rural community.

When it comes to "knowing everyone and everyone's business," living in a house together is a good place to do that. One of our fundamental issues in this is to help people see themselves and one another through the eyes of Christ. They *think* they know one another. And, given that our house is theoretically Christian, they *think* they love each other and God. And in many respects they do.

We began to overcome this shallowness and disconnection in relationships by creating community within the greater community. Two of us, being "natives" to the house culture, began living a community lifestyle focused on service to Jesus Christ. As the weeks and months have worn on, others, inspired by our lives, have begun to either join us or begin to apply our principles and lifestyle in their churches, etc.

Note, however, that when we said we created community within the greater community that we did not say that we created *a* community within the greater community. We live out community in the presence of the greater community as members of the greater community - we model it.

Through this, our historical divisions and pettiness has begun to fade - our politics, our territorialism, our "not my job" mentality is beginning to give way to a new sense of being-in-community: the community of love in Jesus Christ.

:: Matt 4/05/2004 08:43:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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All Done

After almost 2 1/2 hours of "what about this, Matt?" and "what about that, Matt?" I'm done with my Statement of Faith and Ministry Application Papers. The academic part of becoming a professional church leader is coming to a close.

Nevertheless, I am faced with the haunting issue that, apart from some kind well-wishes, I have nowhere to go after this year that really wants me. I am a part of the Emerging Church - which doesn't even make sense to most of my network of friends and relations.

So I guess I'm advertizing - I'm finishing Seminary in June, and I have a year (or so, if God calls) to work with before I move on to PhD work. I'd like to work with the Emerging Church somewhere - Australia, Europe, USA are preferable.

Where is God calling me?

:: Matt 4/05/2004 08:31:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Statement of Faith & Ministry Application Papers

I will be presenting my Statement of Faith and Ministry Application Papers for peer review today, and listening to feedback from 1:00 - 3:40. I pray that I may do so in love, knowing that I have been put here for the sake of the Gospel.

:: Matt 4/05/2004 09:30:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Monday in Holy Week

Almighty God, whose dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other that the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(BCP 220)

:: Matt 4/05/2004 09:20:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Anniversary

Thirty-six years ago today, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was gunned down at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, TN, as he stepped out on the balcony.

That day, the world lost a leader who looked like Jesus.

Many today are still affected by racial injustice. I pray that we may continue to live out the King's dream - that of Jesus Christ - that we may all eat together at the table of brotherhood.

:: Matt 4/04/2004 04:41:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Palm Sunday

All glory, laud and honor to thee, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.

Thou art the King of Israel, thou David's royal Son,
who in the Lord's name comest, the King and blessed One.

All glory, laud and honor to thee, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.

The company of angels are praising thee on high,
and we with all creation in chorus make reply:

All glory, laud and honor to thee, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.

The people of the Hebrews with palms before thee went;
our praise and prayer and anthems before thee we present:

All glory, laud and honor to thee, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.

To thee, before thy passion, they sang their hymns of praise;
to thee, now high exalted, our melody we raise:

All glory, laud and honor to thee, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.

Thou didst accept their praises - accept our prayers we bring,
who in all good delightest, thou good and gracious King!

All glory, laud and honor to thee, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.

:: Matt 4/04/2004 10:19:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Restoration Team

The Restoration Team went out today, as usual, for the morning. This morning, we worked on some of the property in central Champaign, helping to top off a large dumpster and organize what was left. We still have several weeks of work ahead of us, but we made significant progress in "sprucing" the place up.

We are facing some organizational issues between our group and our ministry partners - making sure there is enough (meaningful) work for our group to do. It is, indeed, an exercise in self-denial.

:: Matt 4/03/2004 11:53:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Uh oh

After spending all afternoon working on projects related to finding employment in churches after this school year, I am starting to get the urge to break things.

I hate bubble forms.

:: Matt 4/02/2004 05:19:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Assignments Done

All my assignments for my last seminary class are done. Now I have to present them to my classmates and make revisions based upon their critique. My Master's degree is almost here!

:: Matt 4/02/2004 09:12:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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The Mission

With Jeremy Irons, Robert DeNiro & Liam Neeson.

I watched it tonight with a group of friends from church. The movie takes me through the full spectrum of emotions.

For me, the contrast between the simple Jesuit way of life and the Cardinal's is the most striking. The Cardinal is clearly a member of the aristocratic, European community; the Jesuits are members of the Guarani.

"How long will you judge unjustly, and show favor to the wicked?
Save the weak and the orphan; defend the humble and needy;
Rescue the weak and the poor; deliver them from the power of the wicked." Psalm 82:2 - 4, BCP.

:: Matt 3/31/2004 11:32:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Flashbacks

Last night I had flashbacks to the time when I was at the hospital as a chaplain. Some of the most traumatic head-injury cases came up, along with a case I never dealt with, but which I heard while I was there.

I don't know what brought it on... maybe it was the rain - thank God it wasn't coming in last night. Maybe it was the stress I'm feeling over putting this assignment together for class - I feel that there may be a potential for me to be patronized and dismissed.

Whatever the case, last night was rough. I'm feeling stressed today. I pray for victory.

:: Matt 3/31/2004 10:54:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Minor Victory

My 10 - 15 page Statement of Faith is done. Tomorrow I get to start on my Ministry Application Paper.

:: Matt 3/30/2004 10:42:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Spell-Check Humor

"Theotokos" (i.e., God-Bearer, a traditional title for Mary). Spelling suggestion, "Textbooks"

:: Matt 3/30/2004 11:45:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Sign Me Up! Oh, wait... no... shoot... oh, well...

I'm taking my final class for seminary. This class involves writing a 10 - 15 page Statement of Faith and a 10 - 15 page Ministry Application Paper. Due to the fact that I'm commuting, I get to go first. Unfortunately that means that I have to get it all done by Thursday or Friday at the latest. At least, though, I will get it over with and pretty much be done with my Master's!

:: Matt 3/30/2004 11:00:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Returned from Florida

We got back to Champaign-Urbana at 2:00 AM on Sunday, 28 March 2004. The week was incredible!

St. Augustine is a beautiful small town located on the east coast of Florida, about an hour's drive south of Jacksonville.

We worked for three days with the St. John's County Housing Partnership, and for two days with Habitat for Humanity. The main emphasis of the trip, however, was applying the life of the trip to our everyday lives. I believe that many of the participants were able to do so. I know that God worked among us doing miracles the whole time!

:: Matt 3/29/2004 07:51:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Going to Florida

So, I'm back from my 1/2 month blogging hiatus to say that I'm going to Florida for Spring Break to work with Habitat for Humanity and the St John's [County] Housing Partnership. I'm leading 9 others as we discover what it means to live a life of Christlikeness through service.

I'll be blogging from Florida as much as I can - we'll have to see how much internet I've got.

Oh, and it's my birthday today!

:: Matt 3/19/2004 04:00:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Purpose-Driven Life

Today the three of us finished our reading of the Purpose-Driven Life. We liked it overall. We all agreed that some of the spiritual growth and missiology stuff was a little misguided but we did gain a lot from going through it together.

Tonight we're going to go to Murphy's to celebrate with a few beers.

:: Matt 3/03/2004 05:00:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Music Fasting

One of my Lenten disciplines this year is a fast from "background music". This evening, it's getting difficult.

I realized how much time I spend listening to music, just to fill the silence of my time. And I also realized how much music I think about on a daily basis that is stuff that's ok, and all, but I don't want it in the forefront of my mind.

So I've resolved not to turn on music or "talk radio" for the "background" noise element. So now, when I'm cleaning my room (which is a time I usually crank the music), there isn't any. So it's hard to want to clean my room.

Disciplines are supposed to make you realize things. I guess I'm dependent on the radio?

:: Matt 2/28/2004 08:23:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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Welcome To Lent

Yesterday we held an Ash Wednesday service. One of the impressions that I got while listening to the scriptures read was that Lent isn't so depressing after all. Yes, we remember our mortality and transience - but we remember those things in light of God's everlasting faithfulness and immortality. True, we use the time to ask for forgiveness, but that is in light of God's gracious, compassionate love - he does not treat us as our sins deserve.

Given our nature as both righteous and sinners, "simul justus et peccator" (Martin Luther), it makes sense that we should have a time of the year devoted to reconciliation of ourselves to God, our neighbors and ourselves. Lent could, in fact, be the time when we focus on some corporate spiritual housecleaning - dedicating ourselves to resolving our differences with one another as an expression of Christ's love, shown on the cross.

Yes, Lent is a time for soul-searching. But soul-searching need not be depressing. The kind of soul-searching that reflects our Christian life always leads us back to the place that God is sufficient - sufficient to care for us, and willing to take on the burden of our sins. The Lenten burden is light, the Lenten yoke is easy - just like the rest of the year.

This Lent, we in this place are creating space in our lives for God to move by praying the Psalms from the Daily Office, according to the Book of Common Prayer. See the Lectionary Page for the readings. You are more than welcome to join us.

:: Matt 2/26/2004 11:44:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
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