In a class this semester, we were asked to write a short blurb about our theological convictions.  The catch was that it had to be an “Elevator Talk.”  Think of it this way.  Imagine you get into an elevator and punch the button for your floor.  It’s a pretty big building and it’ll take a couple of minutes to get there.  There’s someone else in the elevator – a stranger perhaps – and they ask you about your faith.  What do you say before the elevator stops?

Here’s what I wrote:

I believe in the God of the “Omnis”: omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, all that stuff. I believe that God created the world out of love, and that God’s love continues to inspire creation and creativity in the world today. I believe that God calls out to all of creation and that as members of creation we may or may not choose to respond.

While ancient texts speak of this God as one who told people that they would get wealth and power if they were faithful, I think God later changed the deal. Why? In my mind, it’s because people changed and God was paying attention. So God sent Jesus, someone I think of as both completely divine and completely human. Jesus taught in ways that most people weren’t used to, using engaging stories and speaking in a way that people could really understand. He told stories and gave examples. He used plain language and he met people where they were. And his message was clear: love each other.

While a lot of people appreciated this, the people in power got uptight. They saw this kind of teaching as a threat. So they arrested him, they tortured him, and they executed him. And yes, I think he rose from the dead in a supernatural way. I suppose it was that whole completely divine thing…

Since that time, humanity has spent a great deal of time trying to come to terms with Jesus’ teachings and the way he related to people. In an effort to tell the stories and share the experiences, I think it turned in some ways to that old game of “telephone” I played in Jr. High. It’s that game where one person whispers a secret into another person’s ear, and that person passes it on to the next, and it goes on that way along a bunch of people. Then at the end, you usually learn that the last person got a different message than the one that was intended. It’s because language can be vague and we have a tendency to try to optimize. So am I saying that the message has gotten corrupted? In some ways, yes. I think it has. Do I think we’ve lost it completely? Nope. Not even close.

So the journey I’m on is about finding that message for myself. It’s about discovery and the ongoing sense of wonder. It’s about sharing my ideas and what I’ve found and about listening when other share their own experiences, and about growing through that process.

Here’s the video of the Nickle Creek song.  It’s groovy.

If it’s not embedded on this page, click here instead.

Here’s what I wonder – and many others have too.  Why do we call him doubting?  Weren’t all the other disciples equally questionable?  How many of them ran to the tomb to greet the risen Christ?  I’m not saying that Thomas didn’t have a crisis of faith in the moment that the teacher he’d been following for the past three years was arrested and murdered.  He clearly did.  Didn’t the rest of them have that same crisis of faith?

What we forget is that Thomas is the only disciple to assign divinity to Christ.  When he finally saw Jesus for himself, he said:  “My lord and my God!”  Nobody else calls Jesus God.  Nobody.

So did he doubt?  Sure.  And did he come to understand more clearly?  Totally…

I’ve had some ongoing dialogue with an atheist (I’ve also heard the phrase non-theist) friend of mine.  Yesterday he posted on my Facebook page a Daily Beast article quoting Orange County Pastor Wiley Drake who appears to be calling for the deaths of Congress members – and perhaps others – who support health care reform in the United States.

My own views on reform are clear in a post here, and so I wish to be clear that my point with this point is not to reiterate what I’ve already shared.  Instead, I wish to dialogue on dialogue!  I want to highlight this ongoing conversation, because I understand the perception of Christians today and I think the perception must change.

So the link to the article was posted with the comment from my friend: so, um, yeah…

My thoughts:  Wow. Sounds like a real wacko!! [Edit: 'Wacko is, as you know, a technical term.]  This is one of the many who give the Christianity that I affirm a bad name…

At this point, my friend pushed back: But that passage is in the bible, he is simply stating the intent of gods plan as detailed in that book. Are you implying that there are somethings about gods words that can be incorrect? The passage is pretty clear, I don’t think there is alot to interpet there. Is he wacko or is he following true to the un-erroring word of god better than your cult?

That’s when I suddenly had a lot to say.  So I share the following text hoping to further this conversation.  I invite conversation here, knowing that there are many different perspectives.  I differ from Drake in many ways, and one of those is the claim that I am right and everyone else is wrong.  So here are my thoughts, and I look forward to yours:

So, I don’t have much with me right now in terms of study resources. I’m shooting from the hip here. So let’s see what we come up with.

Many of the Psalms were written by King David, but I don’t know whether Psalm 149 (the Psalm Drake quotes) is a Davidic Psalm. It kinda sounds like it, so I’ll roll with that assumption.

So with that in mind the entire sentence in that part of the Psalm (verses 6-9) is, “Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron, to execute on them the judgment decreed. This is glory for all his faithful ones.” And to be honest, I’m not sure what it has to do with the healthcare bill. To me it looks like he took something out of context. Again, that’s what many people do that give the Christianity I prefer (or choose) a bad name…. See More

So I argue that the the passage isn’t clear. With that said, let’s continue with the assumption that this is a Psalm written by David. The same David who sent a guy to the front lines of a battle to die ’cause he wanted the guy’s wife. Not always a stand-up character, and something that indicates that he was clearly influenced by the world around him. And what was appropriate in his world? Violence and war, especially for a king.

Even if I took that text to mean what Drake says it means (which I don’t), I would choose instead to look at some of Jesus’ sayings and would put more weight there. Jesus (whether or not you believe in his divinity) had some profound ideas about serving the people around you regardless of their social station. He encouraged hanging out with the social undesirables, the sick, the poor, women and children (who were second-class during that time period), the disabled. And in my mind, passing healthcare reform fits right into that message.

With that in mind, do I claim that the bible is the complete inerrant word of God? Nope. There are contradictions in the bible itself, so how could that be? I do say that there are profound ideas, and I do believe that that the bible was inspired by God; and it was written by the hands of men who were influenced and pressured by the social norms. Then it was translated by people who had their own interpretations!

And finally… Cult? Come on… The faith I affirm is an idea, and it’s an idea that works for me. It’s an idea I share sometimes, but – as I hope you know by now – it’s not one that I say is the end-all-be-all Truth-with-a-capital-T. Is it true for me? Yup. Does that mean it has to be true for everybody? I don’t think so.

And those ideas may get me labeled a heretic. And have, honestly. And to that I say, bring it on!

When I was in my early 20s, I went to a church in Northridge that had – for the first time I’d ever seen – a projector showing song lyrics during the worship service.  I had been involved in tech for quite a while and had been involved in my local church for even longer.  Never had it occurred to me that they could go together.  It was an epiphany moment.

An un-named number of years later, churches everywhere are dealing with how to integrate technology into worship.  Projectors and computers are making their way into worship spaces.  Cameras record images and sometimes even offer image magnification on those same projectors.  Announcements scroll before the worship, and maybe there’s even a quick video clip before the sermon.  And yet the question is – is this enough?  Even if the worship gathering is a well-crafted blend of flashy tech and spiritual worship, is it enough?

I say nay-nay.

In a conversation with George Strawn – CIO of the National Science Foundation and dedicated trustee here at CST – we talked about practical uses for technology in a church setting.  And what we talked about went far beyond projection in worship.  Here are a few more opportunities for faith communities to take advantage of technology:

1. Website.  Ok, maybe this sounds overly-simple.  Or does it?  How often do you research online?  It’s disturbing how many churches do not have a website.  And how hard is it really?  Your domain name is around $10-15 per year and hosting is somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 a year.  The challenge comes in web design.  My suggestion is that churches don’t get that one member of the congregation who thinks that maybe they can do it ’cause they built a page for their cousin’s friend’s sister’s father-in-law’s business.  If there’s not a professional web designer in the congregation – and face it, not a lot of churches have those – consider a CMS (that’s a Content Management System).  This means that non-technical folks can update your web page without breaking it!  Know going in that it isn’t easy to set up.  Be willing to have someone skilled do it for you – even if you have to pay for it.  It’s worth it!!
2. Blog.  Every leader in every faith community should blog.  It’s cheap (and by cheap, I mean free), it’s easy, and it’s a way for people who are looking for a church (or other faith family) to connect with the leadership and community.  And don’t forget to link to it from your website!
3. Podcast.  Ok, podcasts are technically a little more advanced.  With that said, there are ways for the technically-challenged to get this done too.  The keys are that you’ll need a way to record your service, to digitize it, and to make it available to the online community.  And, it’s important in this to remember copyright!

I get that these are only 3 things.  Can 3 things really make a difference?  I’m not sure they will in-and-of themselves.  What they can do is to help a church shift its paradigm.  Ultimately, the use of technology for a faith community is not to replace traditional ways of reaching the community, but to add to the conversation – to add to what is already happening.

Think about it this way.  When McDonald’s started selling coffee, did they stop making their Big Mac?  Nope.  They did a new thing.  They did it in addition to what they were already doing.  And they did it well – it was good coffee.

This dovetails nicely into the book I’ve been reading.  Jeff Jarvis offers in What Would Google Do? five things that any organization can learn from Google (yes, he says any organization… so couldn’t that mean the church??):

1. Create.  I think the 3 tips above give a good start for this one, and the resulting paradigm shift – if it’s allowed to happen – will bring about more creativity.  Embrace it!
2. Listen.  Most people will tell you what they think of your sermon, even if it’s falling asleep in the middle of it.  The same is true online.  The blog sites out there offer the opportunity for people to comment.  Read these and pay attention! Take them to heart and be willing to respond. 
3. Link.  Just like I suggested linking your blog to your website, link other important sites:  your denomination’s website, your neighboring churches, your community or city website, the local food-bank or shelter, and especially those organizations that have a relationship with your church.  When you provide a link to another site, ask them to link to you!
4. Join.  This is where Social Networking comes in.  If you don’t already know about Facebook and Twitter, find out.  Now.  Don’t wait.  Sign up and do everything you can to connect with others.  And see my previous blog on this.
5. Innovate.  This is where you’re open to the paradigm change.  When we try new things, we often become open to even more new things.  We become creative.  Nurture this!

Theology is not something to be relegated to the academic institutions of yesterday.  Theology is practical – and more – is is alive.  If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking – and look in new places using new tools!  I promise.  It’s there.

So I’ve been a geek for a long time.  I don’t need to water it down.  If it walks like a duck & quacks like a duck, it’s a duck!  I walk like a geek and talk like a geek, so I must be a geek!!  I’ve been a freelance IT consultant for a number of years and used to work for a major Fortune 100 company until the corporate offices moved (and I didn’t).  Water’s wet, the sky is blue, I’m a geek.  You get it.

And if you know me, you know I’m a person of faith.  I’ve been part of The United Methodist Church (UMC) for a long time and have been working toward my Master of Divinity degree at Claremont School of Theology (CST).  I love to preach, I enjoy youth ministry and camping ministry, and I hope to become ordained in the UMC.

Who would’ve thought that these two seemingly different things could come together!  And yet they have.  This semester – and for the first time ever, as near as I can tell – a seminary is working to seek out tangible ways to communicate the gospel message on a massive scale and to teach those methods to new students.  Imagine ministry via Facebook.  Seen it?  How about via Twitter?  Seen that too?  YouTube?  Check.  Blogs?  Thousands.

How about all of the above and teaching and empowering new seminarians to use these tools?  That’s the part I think is new.  And if it’s not totally brand new, it’s at least new-ER.  It’s on the cutting ege.  It’s something the church doesn’t do enough of by far.  Social media has transformed the way humans relate to each other, and the church as a whole hasn’t kept up.  Will that change?  We’ll see how this class goes.

In the mean time, I’m excited!  Since a blog is required for the course – and since the instructors decided it was cool for me to use my own – I’ll be posting here some of my thoughts.  Part of the course will be a three-day conference held out here in Claremont.  For info on the conference, click here.

May we all be geeks, may we all be blessed, and may we all put weird (I mean that in the nicest possible way) stuff together like this!

Yesterday I was on the way home from picking up Cameron from school.  As has become common practice for us, we began talking about the things he did in school that day.  Who did you play with on the playground?  Did you read a story at circle time?  What story?  Did you take your nap?  Did you get in trouble?

Then came an innocent sounding question:  What did you have for lunch?

This is actually a common question even if I was the one who packed his lunch.  As it turns out, I didn’t pack it that day.  While his very strong preference for lunch over the past two years has been PB&J, I knew that Beth had picked up some Lunchables and wondered how the whole cracker-goodness-meal worked out.

So…  What did you have for lunch?

“I cut the cheese, Daddy.  And I put it on the crapper.”

He corrected his mis-speak right away, but how do you let that just go away?  You don’t.  You post it on the web for all to see.  Enjoy!

I recently finished a paper on the biblical story of Sodom & Gomorrah.  I wanted to post it here because it’s been used recently and often as a way to marginalize the gay population, and I think it’s a bastardization of the text (at best!) and a completely inappropriate use of God’s word.  I offer it here as part of an ongoing dialogue.  May we all – regardless of our differences – receive God’s blessings.

This file is in an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.  If you need the free reader, click here.  To download the paper, click here.

One of the classes I’m taking this session is called “Spirituality and Mental Health.”  It’s an on-line class, so everything is done through response to online questions in a community forum.  The first question from this class was really interesting, and I thought I’d post the question and my thoughts here.  So here we go.

The question was:  “What is spirituality?  How is spirituality different from religion?  Can a religious practice be without spirituality?  Can spirituality be practiced without a religious vehicle?”

And I responded:

In the book “The Heart of Christianity,” Marcus Borg (2003) quotes a woman sitting next to him on an airplane saying, “I’m much more interested in Buddhism and Sufism than I am in Christianity.” When asked why, she replies, “Because they’re about a way of life, and Christianity is all about believing. I don’t think beliefs matter nearly as much as having a spiritual path and following a way.”

Right here, this woman has defined a fairly common answer to the difference between “spirituality” and “religion.”

In that great theological film Dogma (1999), the self-proclaimed forgotten disciple Rufus explains that “humanity took a good idea and, like always, built a belief structure on it.” When Rufus is questioned on the value of beliefs, he replies, “I think it’s better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier. Life should be malleable and progressive; working from idea to idea permits that. Beliefs anchor you to certain points and limit growth; new ideas can’t generate. Life becomes stagnant.”

Michael Yaconelli writes in “Messy Spirituality” (2002) that “Spirituality is not a formula; it is not a test. It is a relationship. Spirituality is not about competency; it is about intimacy. Spirituality is not about perfection; it is about connection.”

While I am firmly entrenched in the idea of Christianity, my observation is that most faiths are rooted in spirituality or a desire to be in relationship with something greater (a deity perhaps?) than oneself. We might look at contemporary religion and say that spirituality has been perverted or that there’s a pluralism that isn’t true to the core idea of spirituality. This has certainly been said recently and often about the Christian and Muslim faiths. However this argument is anything but new. It was in the early 1500s that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door and began telling people that the Catholic church had it wrong, was too caught up in corruption, had walked away from real spirituality, and that true faith called Christians to a personal relationship with their Creator.

In my opinion, both spirituality and religion exist and can be exclusive of one another. However, I find it difficult to see how it’s possible to be complete in faith without both.

I’ve been working hard at this school stuff.  This is hard!  It’s been well worth it, though.  I’ve already posted my admission to CST.  While I wait for the start in September, I’ve been continuing work on my Bachelor’s degree.  I just got my grades from last session and found out that I got two “A’s” and I started the next session last week.  I’ll be taking “Intro to Counseling” and “Spirituality & Mental Health,” both of which I am confident will offer great tools for ministry.  These are the last two classes I’ll take until beginning at CST.  I’m so excited!!

I got the call yesterday…  I’ve been accepted to Claremont School of Theology!  I’m so excited and so humbled to be on this next part of a wonderful and fulfilling journey.  I’ll start this Fall in the M. Div. program.  Mostly, I’m having trouble not jumping up & down every 5 minues…