so, i went on an adventure last night in the crazy ohio ice storms. and by adventure, i mean i went to go hear a lecture by an old testament professor at mount vernon nazarene university with some friends. but there was fire invovled with the trip... (we saw a transformer on fire on our way home. it was crazy. the colors! blue, then red, then yellow, all in a strobbing fashion. and we could see it from a ways off, too. it was dangerous and beautiful.)
it was actually a really great time. the lecture was given by Dr. Walter Brueggemann, who is a professor of old testament at columbia theological seminary. the title of his lecture was Faithful Imagination as Sustained Subversion. needless to say, going in to the lecture, my friends and i had no idea what to expect on what the actual lecture was going to be on. but while the title of the lecture and a good bit of the lecture were heady, i left very moved and inspired. here are some notes that i was able to get down while trying to keep up with him:
The kingdom of God is a battle of imaginations. We have accepted the imagination of our culture as an inevitable given. The Kingdom of God is a political statement filled with mystery.
The disclosure of revelation is poetic and artistic... Flattening poetry into doctrine robs it of its power.
We have trouble accepting the coming of God's kingdom because we think we can organize it better ourselves.
these two were in response to questions:
Individualism is the great American heresy.
Our society does not need more well educated conformists.
that last one hit me hard. i pray that i will not be another well educated conformist. overall, Dr. Brueggemann did an incredible job. he was mainly discussing how we have bought into the "imagination of our culture," ie. the american dream, and how we need to move away from military consumerism and stop viewing people as commodities. the christian imagination, which is living our lives out of the mindset of bringing the kingdom of God on earth, is subversive to everything our culture is built upon, but real life and real change happen outside of the areas of power.
wanted to get a chance to share that. in other news, it is the last stretch of this quarter, so papers and exams are pretty much dominating my mind. the peace of spring break is on the horizon. may it come soon.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
I'm not going to make any more promises about updates...
ha! i need to get better about updating this thing... sorry to sam, apparently my loyal reader. i will try harder. but no more promises.
well, things are, for the lack of a better word, busy. full load of classes with lots of papers, trying to get enough hours at work to pay bills, and a wedding coming up in four and a half months... (granted, jenn does most of the planning, but still, i help out with stuff and it is crazy that in four and half months i'll be getting married... just crazy.) but with all that aside, things have been going generally well. jenn and i have found a duplex here in ashland that we really like and will be our first place together. it is pretty sweet too. all hard wood floors... i love hard wood floors. who's up for painting parties this summer?
also, i've been exercising on a regular basis and trying to eat better. i'm at 214 pounds, which is pretty encouraging for me since i was at 225 all throughout college. my hope is to be able to get below 200 eventually. we'll see what happens...
seminary continues to be a stretching experience for me, and i continue to love it. it is weird to think about the things that we take for granted in regards to our faith. things that we were taught as children and never question. and then to approach them here at seminary, and walk away with a completely different outlook. the most recent experience for me in this regard is the flood story in genesis. i remember growing up being taught that the flood covered the entire face of the earth, and i don't remember seeing anything else depicted in our sunday school lessons. but to then talk about the flood in class and look at the original text, (aside: seriously, learning hebrew has been amazing. i love it. so cool. and i know how dorky that sounds... i don't care...) and see reasoning to believe that there wasn't a world wide flood, and that that is okay. i think the area that i'm really being stretched in though is my view of God, ie. calvinism and arminianism. i come from more of a reformed (calvin) tradition, but have been feeling stretched as i read things here at seminary and as i read parts of the bible. so, because of this stretching, i'm actually going to be doing a research paper on this subject (the providence debate as it has been known) for my theology class. if you have any thoughts, let me know.
i feel as though my relationship with God right now can be summed up as, "wait on the Lord and remember what He has done." which given my desire to have control in most things that i do, isn't exactly always easy for me. i feel like i've been led to this as i've been reading through the psalms with a small group of friends. this idea of waiting on the Lord has come up quite a bit lately and i feel like it applies to what has been going on in my life as of late. it is weird for me that bowling green still feels like home. when i travel out there to do pre-marriage counseling and wedding planning stuff, it always feels like going home. and then when i am here in ashland or at work at panera down in mansfield, i feel this strain of being surrounded by all these new relationships with people who don't really know me. now these relationships are developing, and it is getting better, but still, i don't have anyone here in ashland who knows me. not like those friends in bg. and i feel like God has been using this to show me that this is going to be a reoccuring theme in my life. whenever i move or transition in my life, it is going to be a process of making new relationships and maintaining old ones, which can be challenging at times when you are a meloncholy introvert. but God has brought amazing people into my life in the past, and i am faithful that He will continue to in the future.
that's all the update for now. sam, i will try harder.
well, things are, for the lack of a better word, busy. full load of classes with lots of papers, trying to get enough hours at work to pay bills, and a wedding coming up in four and a half months... (granted, jenn does most of the planning, but still, i help out with stuff and it is crazy that in four and half months i'll be getting married... just crazy.) but with all that aside, things have been going generally well. jenn and i have found a duplex here in ashland that we really like and will be our first place together. it is pretty sweet too. all hard wood floors... i love hard wood floors. who's up for painting parties this summer?
also, i've been exercising on a regular basis and trying to eat better. i'm at 214 pounds, which is pretty encouraging for me since i was at 225 all throughout college. my hope is to be able to get below 200 eventually. we'll see what happens...
seminary continues to be a stretching experience for me, and i continue to love it. it is weird to think about the things that we take for granted in regards to our faith. things that we were taught as children and never question. and then to approach them here at seminary, and walk away with a completely different outlook. the most recent experience for me in this regard is the flood story in genesis. i remember growing up being taught that the flood covered the entire face of the earth, and i don't remember seeing anything else depicted in our sunday school lessons. but to then talk about the flood in class and look at the original text, (aside: seriously, learning hebrew has been amazing. i love it. so cool. and i know how dorky that sounds... i don't care...) and see reasoning to believe that there wasn't a world wide flood, and that that is okay. i think the area that i'm really being stretched in though is my view of God, ie. calvinism and arminianism. i come from more of a reformed (calvin) tradition, but have been feeling stretched as i read things here at seminary and as i read parts of the bible. so, because of this stretching, i'm actually going to be doing a research paper on this subject (the providence debate as it has been known) for my theology class. if you have any thoughts, let me know.
i feel as though my relationship with God right now can be summed up as, "wait on the Lord and remember what He has done." which given my desire to have control in most things that i do, isn't exactly always easy for me. i feel like i've been led to this as i've been reading through the psalms with a small group of friends. this idea of waiting on the Lord has come up quite a bit lately and i feel like it applies to what has been going on in my life as of late. it is weird for me that bowling green still feels like home. when i travel out there to do pre-marriage counseling and wedding planning stuff, it always feels like going home. and then when i am here in ashland or at work at panera down in mansfield, i feel this strain of being surrounded by all these new relationships with people who don't really know me. now these relationships are developing, and it is getting better, but still, i don't have anyone here in ashland who knows me. not like those friends in bg. and i feel like God has been using this to show me that this is going to be a reoccuring theme in my life. whenever i move or transition in my life, it is going to be a process of making new relationships and maintaining old ones, which can be challenging at times when you are a meloncholy introvert. but God has brought amazing people into my life in the past, and i am faithful that He will continue to in the future.
that's all the update for now. sam, i will try harder.
Friday, November 30, 2007
I Need to Update More Than Once a Month
okay... so, i need to get better about updating my blog... i feel like when there is a lot to update, i don't want to write too much about anything specific. we'll see...
where to begin? things have been going well. i only have two more weeks in this quarter, which seems ridiculous. but things have been going well, my hebrew class especially. hebrew and church history are both very fun, just a lot of work goes into them. but i'm excited to have the quarter break coming up soon.
i'm working at panera in mansfield. been working there for just over two months now. the work is alright. working there is fulfilling it's purpose of paying bills and what not. but there are times when i miss doing campus ministry full-time instead... especially on the nights that i end up washing dishes for six hours... blah.
wedding planning is coming along. the wedding is just under 7 months away, which seems really crazy. i have a feeling that after the new year, time is going to go by very quickly. jenn is actually going to be coming out to ashland after her semester is over so that we can go apartment hunting. hopefully we'll get to live in the same apartment complex that mallory eggebrecht lives in. i'm so glad mal lives in ashland now.
as far as future plans go, seminary has had an interesting affect on my life and my view of my calling. when i originally came to ashland, i planned on going through my program and then head off to start my pastoral career, and if jenn has her way it will be somewhere down south. but as i have been here, i feel like God has been showing me more and more interesting things about myself, my gifts, and my passions. i have always been a natural student. getting good grades in school was never that difficult for me, especially as a tcom student at bgsu, and i generally in the past have been able to pick stuff up pretty well. but my studies here at ashland theological seminary have been very different. for the first time in my life, i'm investing my time and studies into things that i'm actually interested in and things that i care about and have passions for. and as i have been noticing my gifts in study and passions in these areas, coupled with my passion for teaching, which God has placed even heavier on my heart as of late, i have been having different thoughts about where God may be calling me and what my ministry will look like long term. all that to say, i am in the process of talking with some of my professors to gather information on what it would look like for me to go for my phd. and to teach at the college/seminary level. so, if you could keep that in your prayers, that would be great.
i'll get better about updating my blog. i promise.
yomtov!
where to begin? things have been going well. i only have two more weeks in this quarter, which seems ridiculous. but things have been going well, my hebrew class especially. hebrew and church history are both very fun, just a lot of work goes into them. but i'm excited to have the quarter break coming up soon.
i'm working at panera in mansfield. been working there for just over two months now. the work is alright. working there is fulfilling it's purpose of paying bills and what not. but there are times when i miss doing campus ministry full-time instead... especially on the nights that i end up washing dishes for six hours... blah.
wedding planning is coming along. the wedding is just under 7 months away, which seems really crazy. i have a feeling that after the new year, time is going to go by very quickly. jenn is actually going to be coming out to ashland after her semester is over so that we can go apartment hunting. hopefully we'll get to live in the same apartment complex that mallory eggebrecht lives in. i'm so glad mal lives in ashland now.
as far as future plans go, seminary has had an interesting affect on my life and my view of my calling. when i originally came to ashland, i planned on going through my program and then head off to start my pastoral career, and if jenn has her way it will be somewhere down south. but as i have been here, i feel like God has been showing me more and more interesting things about myself, my gifts, and my passions. i have always been a natural student. getting good grades in school was never that difficult for me, especially as a tcom student at bgsu, and i generally in the past have been able to pick stuff up pretty well. but my studies here at ashland theological seminary have been very different. for the first time in my life, i'm investing my time and studies into things that i'm actually interested in and things that i care about and have passions for. and as i have been noticing my gifts in study and passions in these areas, coupled with my passion for teaching, which God has placed even heavier on my heart as of late, i have been having different thoughts about where God may be calling me and what my ministry will look like long term. all that to say, i am in the process of talking with some of my professors to gather information on what it would look like for me to go for my phd. and to teach at the college/seminary level. so, if you could keep that in your prayers, that would be great.
i'll get better about updating my blog. i promise.
yomtov!
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Gregory of Nyssa
i have been sans computer for awhile, and that is why i haven't updated. and it is getting late, so not a long post tonight, but i will give an update to seminary life soon. just know things are going well. studying church history and hebrew is pretty sweet...
anywho, i just got done writing a reflection paper on some selected writings by Gregory of Nyssa for my church history class. he lived from around 335ad to about 395 ad. as i was reading what he wrote back in the day, i can't tell you how many times i wanted to express his thoughts as clearly as he did, and how his words brought a smile to me as well. i thought it was great and i wanted to share it with you all. enjoy:
"... Since the goal of virtuous life was the very thing we have been seeking, and this goal has been found in what we have said, it is time for you, noble friend, to look to that example and, by transferring to your own life what is contemplated [here]... to be known by God and to become His friend [Ex 33:11]. This is true perfection: not to avoid a wicked life because like slaves we servilely fear punishment, nor to do good because we hope for rewards, as if cashing in on the virtuous life by some business-like and contractual arrangement. On the contrary, by promise, we regard fall from God's friendship as the only thing dreadful and we consider becoming God's friend the only thing worthy of honor and desire. This, as I have said, is the perfection of life...."
with love.
anywho, i just got done writing a reflection paper on some selected writings by Gregory of Nyssa for my church history class. he lived from around 335ad to about 395 ad. as i was reading what he wrote back in the day, i can't tell you how many times i wanted to express his thoughts as clearly as he did, and how his words brought a smile to me as well. i thought it was great and i wanted to share it with you all. enjoy:
"... Since the goal of virtuous life was the very thing we have been seeking, and this goal has been found in what we have said, it is time for you, noble friend, to look to that example and, by transferring to your own life what is contemplated [here]... to be known by God and to become His friend [Ex 33:11]. This is true perfection: not to avoid a wicked life because like slaves we servilely fear punishment, nor to do good because we hope for rewards, as if cashing in on the virtuous life by some business-like and contractual arrangement. On the contrary, by promise, we regard fall from God's friendship as the only thing dreadful and we consider becoming God's friend the only thing worthy of honor and desire. This, as I have said, is the perfection of life...."
with love.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Communal Living
over this past summer, between moving from BG to Ashland and finishing out my internship with cru on summer project down in Virginia Beach, i spent a lot of time reading. right before heading down to Virginia Beach, i read "Praise Habit," by david crowder, and "Velvet Elvis," by rob bell, pretty close together. and both men spent some time in each of these books talking about the idea of communal living. not living in a commune, but a way of living life in which things happen within a larger scope of a community of people, not just life on the individual level. crowder(who is a much better author than i ever would have guessed... seriously, pick up "Everybody Wants to go to Heaven, but Nobody Wants to Die") talked about communal laments, and bell about communal experiences, such as the communal experience of God's word.
these readings have stuck with me, and as i have been adjusting to life here in Ashland, i wanted to create a way to keep my life open to my community of brothers and sisters who are no longer part of my day to day interactions. and so there is this blog. my broadcasting of my inner monologue. i like the name because:
a) it is a proper description of what it is i am exactly doing,
and
b) it has that certain level of "cheese" that i enjoy now and then.
and so there it is. feel free to read and comment. or just read. but i want connection within my community.
with love.
these readings have stuck with me, and as i have been adjusting to life here in Ashland, i wanted to create a way to keep my life open to my community of brothers and sisters who are no longer part of my day to day interactions. and so there is this blog. my broadcasting of my inner monologue. i like the name because:
a) it is a proper description of what it is i am exactly doing,
and
b) it has that certain level of "cheese" that i enjoy now and then.
and so there it is. feel free to read and comment. or just read. but i want connection within my community.
with love.
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