Mandatory Chapel

I have made several transitions in my life in the past year: new job, new branch of my own faith, new home, new engagement. I am sometimes a fish out of water, sometimes running with the herd, and sometimes attempting to re-direct the herd. A fish out of water: I am currently teaching in a Christian environment that holds predominantly different assumptions about many things than my own inclinations. Running with the herd: I am teaching in an environment where the staff seeks to create responsible, intelligent, and capable Christian leaders in the world. Re-direct the herd: I sometimes believe that this creation of leaders doesn't mean making evangelatrons that think the world is a horrible, evil place. (hence the fish out of water)

Recently, I have been musing over the notion of mandatory chapel. My students, and I by proxy, are required to attend chapel once a week. Most of the time it is a traditional youth group style worship structure of lots of upbeat songs, a couple slower songs, and speaker. Works for the most part, and I am under the impression that the diversity of speakers in growing each year. Unfortunately, I wonder if it is really a good idea to require students to attend chapel, if the speakers are going to be as critical, nonsensical, and frustrating as the one we had recently.

This particular speaker made fun of himself, his girlfriend, women, different ethnicities and artistic ministries at churches. At one point, one of my students muttered, "is this a comedy routine, or a chapel speaker?" I wanted to second his question. How can we expect our students to want to represent that...that...that... (dare I say imbecile?) I mean, we are asking our students to stand up, to claim not just a Savior, but a faith, a way of life, a... (dare I say religion?)

I know, I know, all of the Rob Bell groupies are jumping up and down screaming at me....We preach Jesus not a religion!!!! I have to disagree. I don't think religion is a bad word; nor do I believe that life is just about me and Jesus. Essentially, if you boil the world down, all I really need is Jesus, but that is not what a life under the leadership of Jesus leads me to. Life with Jesus is essentially communal, and, sorry Rob Bell, that means human bureaucracy and the embracing of obnoxious people who are still a part of my community. Not to say that the gentleman at Chapel represents what I believe are the essential tenets of Christian faith and community, but he is a self-proclaimed member and I have to take him seriously. I have to understand him, I have to accept him, and I have to turn to my student, swallowing my pride, and say, "He's trying to teach you something, God can use him, look for God in what he is doing."

That's what it means to be in a community, as fractured and frustrating as it is. I have to look for God in what the others are doing, and pray that world sees God as well.

As much as I'd like to exist with just Jesus, seeing as he's perfect and won't let me down, Jesus calls me to community, religion, and the human trappings of people. And, sometimes its rather ugly: the other day at Chapel being one of them. Sometimes it can be beautiful: The elevated host, in the hands of a human, shows that God chose us. Humans are the vessel of his word, his body on earth, and the community of his Spirit.

So, obnoxious chapel guy, I may not understand you, you may offend me and anger me, but I pray that God uses you as a vessel. I know he can use the broken.

Thanks be to God.

I voted....

And so should you!

Just thought I'd share.

What!? I'm What?!

Okay, I've been MIA for quite sometime in the blogging world. Sorry folks...I just don't sit around and write on my computer anymore. It's frustrating, I should be thinking and interacting with the world....and sharing it with all of you, but, alas, other things have happened.

First and foremost, I'm engaged! Yes, that's right, I'm engaged! Whoo Hoo!

I've been blogging on that page :). Futuresnows.blogspot.com. So, check that out for information.

I promise more introspection to come!

Books I Read 2007

• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
• Why be Catholic by Richard Rohr
• The Book of Revelation
• The Brothers Karamazov by Fydor Dostoevsky
• Christian Symbols. Ancient & Modern: A Handbook for Students by Heather Child and Dorothy Colles
• Primitive Christian Symbols by Jean Daniélou
• Signs & Symbols in Christian Art by George Ferguson
• The Invisible God: The Earliest Christians on Art by Paul Corby Finney
• Christian Iconography: A Study of Its Origins by André Grabar
• Symbols and Emblems of Early and Mediæval Christian Art by Louisa Twining
• Kingdom Ethics by Glenn Stassen
• The Beauty of the Cross by R. Viladseau
• Readings for Lent by Pope John Paul II
• Matthew and Empire: Initial Explorations by Warren Carter
• The Gospel of Matthew
• The Theology of the Gospel of Matthew by Ulrich Luz
• In the Shadow of the Temple by Oskar Skarsaune
• Readings in Christian Ethics by Clark/Rakstraw
• On Being Human: Essays in Theological Anthropology by Ray Anderson
• Just Peacemaking by Glen Stassen
• Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ronald Sider
• The Openness of God by Pinnock
• Matthew vol. 1-2 WBC by Donald Hagner
• Matthew vol. 1-3 ICC by Davies and Allison
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
• Introduction to Ecclesiology by Veli-Matti Karkkainen
• Theology for the Community of God by Stanley Grenz
• Eschatology by Hans Schwartz
• After our Likeness: The Church as the Image of God, by Mirslav Volf
  
• Essentials in Christian Theology, W.C. Placher ed.
• The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway
• The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
• "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
• "The Lady or the Tiger?" by Frank Stockton
• "The Musgrave Ritual" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber
• "A Mother in Mannville" by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
• "My Delicate Heart Condition" by Toni Cade Bambarra
• "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe
• "The Necklace" by Guy de Monpaussant
• "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
• "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst
  
• A Separate Peace by John Knowles
• My Life with the Saints by James Martin
• Shakespeare Alive!
  
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• The Castle in the Forest
• Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
• Oliver Twist! by Charles Dickents
  

Where I have been....

Okay, so I've been missing in action for a long time. Granted, I have uploaded here and there, but I have been so busy and, frankly, tired to do much. Here's some of the highlights of the last few months.

First, I graduated! I finished my M. Div. and started teaching English at a local Christian High School. I love life post-school, but I am tired and stressed in a whole new way! Things are going well, though, and I'm loving the adventure.

Two of my friends got married this summer. I headed back to work and celebrated their love and friendship. It was a fun ceremony and I am so happy for them!

Evie came to visit! Whoo Hoo! I haven't seen here for so long. We picked her up in Santa Barbara and headed for wine country with the newly returned Rachel and Zak. I love friends! It was great to reunite the Armington A girls for some fun!


Finally, Dave and Rachel had birthdays recently! We went to Wine Country for Dave's birthday, plus a little yummy at Ca'Dario. For Rachel's birthday we drank some Cajun Martinis at the Palace!

Oh, and it was Thanksgiving! Dave and I stayed in at my house and we made all the fixings. Here I am putting the chickens in the oven, stuffed with the family stuffing. Dave made his family's lemon pie and it was amazing!

I promise I'll try to write more later!

Divorce? When did the culture change?

After my long hiatus, I find that I have a lot to say...

Teaching is an adventure. I have been so far removed from my high school self, that it is hard to remember what I thought, believed, and assumed in my 14 year old mind. But, one thing I noticed as I taught Frank Stockton's "The Lady or the Tiger?" was how dominant the normalcy of divorce has become in our society.

For those of you who have never read "The Lady or the Tiger?", the premise of the story revolves around the impossible choice of a semi-barbaric princess in a far away kingdom. She must choose between sending her lover to his death, which would be anguish for her but a relief because he would be dead, and sending her lover into a marriage with her rival, which would be continual anguish because she would never see him again and he would be married to her nemesis.

Stockton asks his readers, and I ask my students, what they think the princess chose; the story does not reveal the answer. I also ask my students what they would choose. Invariably, 80-90% of the students choose the Lady. Now, this is not because of the unselfish compassion that the choice would suggest; instead, they support their reasoning with three options. 1. The lady and the lover could get a divorce. 2. The princess and the lover could have an affair or 3. The princess could have the lady killed.

What baffles me is that divorce, even when the story is set in a more antiquated time, is the first option that comes to most students minds. Perhaps it is our desire to find an easy and "happy" ending, or perhaps it is our constant consumerism that causes to think everything is impermanent and bound to be upgraded, or perhaps it is the simple fact that 50-60% of marriages end in divorce, but how did we get to the point where divorce is assumed? Feasible? Reasonable? Expected?

Mind it, I teach in a Christian High School, within a culture that, at least in theology, discourages and disagrees with divorce.

How did we get here?

I am usually pretty optimistic

I am usually a pretty optimistic person. People irritate me, but I attempt to be civil and refrain from writing them off, but this weekend has shown me what selfish, horrible, inconsiderate jerks some people can be.

I feel the need to vent; I feel the need to tell someone somewhere that I have lost something of intrinsic and emotional value; I feel the need to mourn the loss of my past, my writing and a piece of me.

This weekend I found out that a guy, to whom I loaned my T.S. Eliot Collected Works, re-loaned said book to a friend of his who promptly lost it. Neither of them think this is a big deal; in fact, they have both yet to contact me and apologize. The fact of the matter is that I have used that book since college; I have dated all of my responses to my favorite poems and author for the past 8 years in that book; I have cataloged all of reactions, thoughts, feelings and interaction with T.S. Eliot in that book.

These two gentlemen are inconsiderate jerks. 1. For not valuing what I clearly said was important to me enough to return it and 2. For being too cowardly to take responsibility for their actions and tell me themselves.

Inconsiderate Jerks.

Why I love Dr. Karkkainen

Theologians pay lip service to Ecumenism. There are so many people in the Christian faith who profess to have "ecumenical" desires and interest, who, in the same breath, stereotype, misunderstand and claim expertise about traditions that are not their own. They think that Luther broke from the Catholic Church to get married, or that Catholics worship the church and the saints more than Christ. We assume that we know about each other, without extending any grace to each other. This is sad, and not beneficial.

This is why I love Dr. Karkkainen's class so much. Dr. K. actual believes in ecumenical relationships and unity and practices it. He said in class today, "we cannot describe a church using theology or images from its early expressions, expressions that are not a part of that church's self-description today." This is absolutely correct. He also said that we should go to the theologians, and the books to understand what the church believes. All Churches have problems with misuse of their doctrine or beliefs and we all participate in trying to translate "doctrine" into practice at all levels of the church.

If only we all have the humility and grace that Dr. K exhibits when we deal with each other.