Monday, March 3, 2008
Prayer Blog - 3/3/2008, #2
Prayer Blog - 3/3/2008
View from 315A
Tennessee defeated Kentucky 63-60 yesterday at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee is now 26-3 and 12-2 in conference play.
MPW and I sold our tickets to deflect the cost of our season tickets. My only regret is that we missed out on the Ernie Grunfeld figurines distributed to fans in honor of his #22 being retired.
The win means that Bruce Pearl now does not have a losing record against any SEC team. He is 3-3 against Kentucky. It also means that, with the exception of Texas, Tennessee has beaten every team it has played this season.
I honestly thought we were a lock to win the game on Friday when it was announced that Kentucky freshman Patrick Patterson would miss the remainder of the season with a stress fracture in his left ankle. Patterson was a blue chip recruit out of Huntington, West Virginia, who chose Kentucky over Duke and Florida. He leads all SEC freshman scorers with 16.4 points a game, and had a huge impact in Kentucky’s January 22nd win over Tennessee with 20 points and 8 rebounds.
He will be out approximately eight weeks and is wearing a cast on his foot, the school said. Kentucky did not announce how he sustained the injury. We had fun speculating as we watched the game.
As an aside, who names their child Pat Patterson? Perhaps, I have images of the openly homosexual wrestler Pat Patterson in my mind, but still...
It initially looked like Tennessee would win in a blowout, racking up a fifteen-point first half advantage. At 20-5, the game seemed over early, but Kentucky proved resilient. They hit numerous shot with little to no time on the shot clock.
Tyler Smith led the Vols with 15 points including the play of the game, dunking a beautiful pass from J.P. Prince.
It was a strange feeling to watch with the assumption that Tennessee should beat Kentucky in basketball...
With one more win, Tennessee will capture the SEC East Division and a share of the conference title. The Vols are trying to earn their first outright SEC regular season championship in 41 years.
Despite the win, the game marked the last game Tennessee was ranked #1. UT dropped to #4 in the polls by virtue of their loss rto Vanderbilt on Tuesday. Tennessee has maintained their #1 rank in the RPI.
Bible Trivia - 3/3/2008
Question: Who was taken up to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire?.
Answer: Elijah. (II Kings 2:11)
Word of the Day - 3/3/2008
Alopecia
Alopecia is the loss of hair, baldness.
One of the most notorious cases of alopecia is that of Elisha the prophet. While en route to Bethel, some youths taunted his baldness. He turned, pronounced a curse upon them, and soon two female bears mauled forty-two of the youths. (II Kings 2:23-24).
Needless to day, this passage has drawn lost of criticism for both Elisha and God. Most view this as a cautionary tale to not harm God’s anointed. (Psalm 105:15)
Noted apologist Norman L. Geisler (b. 1932) defends by attacking the youths - "As best we can tell, this was a violent mob of dangerous teenagers, comparable to a modern street gang."
What do you think?
In Eckleburg's Eyes - 3/3/2008
I had another wonderful, busy weekend.
The weekend started with an enjoyable leap day. (Is that what February 29 is called?) Caitlin Riddell turned 20, yet it was only her 5th actual birthday. That is so weird.
Unfortunately, my morning Bible Study was postponed due to scheduling conflicts and the ill health of BE. Please keep him in your prayers.
The cancellation allowed me to spend the afternoon with KJW and KLTW. I got to play with KJW while her mother showered. This entailed tracing her hand on the modern-day Etch-A-Sketch, applying the Von Erich Iron Claw to her forehead, watching her "cook" on her stove, etc. We also threw balls at each other. My arsenal was comprised of balls designed to be soaked in water. As such, less the water, they are very light. In contrast, she threw golf balls at my head! I repeat - the child threw golf balls at my head. On the plus side, I take great pride that my coaching has proven useful - she hit me more often than not.
One of KJW’s new favorite expressions is “Woo Woo.” Since long before she was born, her mother has said this whenever anyone shows skin of any kind. KJW has adopted this policy and even attempted to pull up my shorts just so she could say “Woo Woo.” This sheds a whole lot of light on the whole nature vs. nature debate. Her using the expression is very much nurture, but the great pleasure she derives from this is all nature. She is definitely her mama’s girl.
I must also note that one of KJW’s favorite toys is the “Parents Rev and Roll Bus.” The toy school bus holds four students. Ever politically correct, the bus comes complete with a Caucasian boy and girl and an African-American boy and girl. Not to be outdone by the makers of the children’s toys, KLTW noticed one day that the two African-Americans occupied the back seats. Having grown up with a racist stepfather, she immediately upgraded the black girl’s seat to the front. I have dubbed this toy “Rosa.” Excessive or good parenting? I vote amusing either way.
We ate lunch at the Horn of Plenty Market. It is located in a wooden building located on Middlebrook Pike. Its sign says it was established in 1985 but the look of the place would lead you to believe it has been around at least one hundred years longer. We have wanted to try the place for a long time as restaurants where the roof could potentially cave in at any moment are either going to be a total hit or absolutely atrocious. We were lucky, as it was the former.
On this day, there were two options - barbeque chicken and catfish. I ate the chicken and KLTW ate the fish. We were both pleased. For $6.50 you get an entree, two sides, and a cheese biscuit. Any place that serves cheese biscuits is alright in my book.
Needless to say, I highly recommend this establishment. It is located at 9132 Middlebrook Pike and open Monday-Thursday from 11-6:30 pm, Friday 11-2, and Saturday 8:30 am - 2. Tell them I sent you. Note to reader: They will have absolutely no idea who I am if you do.
After lunch, KLTW and baby went to Bulls Gap to pick up her mother. I really wanted to make the trip as I have not seen KLTW’s mama since December, but we calculated that I could not be back in town in time for my evening plans in Oak Ridge.
Friday night was an evening of high culture as only Oak Ridge, Tennessee, can supply. SMA, MWD, her boyfriend B, and I ate at Big Ed’s Pizza and then viewed the play Moonlight and Magnolias at the Oak Ridge Playhouse.
I had never truly met MDW’s boyfriend. I liked him from the moment that he referred to SMA's beer mug as a "goblet."
We then drove the two blocks to the theater. For the record, had we known it was only two block away, we would not have driven.
The play we watched, Moonlight and Magnolias is playwright Ron Hutchinson’s satirical look at the making of the movie Gone with the Wind. The premise is that legendary producer David O. Selznick has shut down production on the epic as he is discontent with both its writing and direction. He hires Victor Fleming, then working on the Wizard of Oz, to direct and Ben Hecht, to write the script though he has never read the book. The scenario derived up from these facts is that Selznick locks his new director and script writer in his office for five days, nourishing them with only bananas and peanuts, while he acts out the script. The title comes from the working title of Gone With the Wind.
The play honestly fell flat. The original script entails a three-hour play and the version we saw was two hours. I doubt that would have made a difference. James Richardson plays Selznick very similar to the “Seinfeld” character George Costanza. He carries the play well. Unfortunately, many of the zingers are given to Hecht (Spencer Gross), who simply comes off flat and out of place in Hollywood.
The play also beats the viewer over the head with Hecht’s and Selznick’s Jewishness. While it is interesting to note that the movie was done during the Holocaust, this fact is overdone.
Still, I enjoyed the play. I even almost watched the film. Then I remembered that is 222 minutes long, the longest running of all movies to win the Best Picture Academy Award.
On Saturday night, I considered going to see the Blue Man Group at Thompson-Boling Arena. I considered it until I discovered that the cheap seats were over $160. It is for the best. A Tennessee fan should not see a Blue Man Group the weekend of the Kentucky basketball game.
Instead, I spent the evening at SMA’s parents’ new home on the lake in Louisville. Can you say “mansion?” This is the first time I have been to the house furnished and I must say that it is impressive. There is seemingly a flat screen televison in every room.
SMA’s favorite room is the working theater. I preferred the game room, complete with poker table, pool table, etc. We spent minutes playing on this game system that is at the bar. It has hundreds of games and we vied in trivia for quite awhile. We learned that, unbeknownst to even him, SMA is a food expert.
That night, his father cooked steaks and we ate while watching a boxing match. I cannot tell you the last time I felt so masculine.
I had not watched a boxing match in aeons and I was very impressed by Showtime’s presentation of the Israel Vasquez-Rafael Marquez bout for the WBC Superbantam championship. It was a star-studded event with Jack Nicholson and Sylvester Stallone at ringside to watch the two fight for the third time. By the time I figured out which guy named -Ael -Quez I was for, the match was almost over! Vasquez won a split decision 111-114, 114-111, 113-112.
On Sunday morning, WAM, PAT, KJW, MPW, RAW, and I congregated at RAW’s house for Sunday School. We did this primarily because the Kentucky-Tennessee basketball game was at noon and RAW has a big screen television. We played Bible Trivia and I taught off of the questions. It went very well.
From what could be categorized as the Cruel and Unusual Punishment department, we (and by we, I mean RAW) amused ourselves by sticking KJW in a couch. While she does not look very amused in this picture, after we got her out, her first word was “Again"!
Afterwards, we (sans PAT) watched the Tennessee-Kentucky game while eating food from Pizza Hut. I am not sure whose attention span was shorter in relation to the game, WAM or KJW.
It was strange watching a home game on television. MPW sold our seats to help cover the costs of season tickets. We were both pleased with the deal we got. Now, had we lost the game, I would have blamed it on our absence. My thoughts on the game are (ironically) posted under a "View from 315A.”
I spent the afternoon with RAW and KJW. We took advantage of a beautiful day by getting smoothies and playing outside with KJW. One of her new routines is yelling “Ha Ya” while throwing a chop at the sound of the word “karate.” Evidently, she picked this up from SpongeBob Square Pants. This may be very well the show’s greatest contribution to society.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Prayer Blog - 3/1/2008, #3
Prayer Blog - 3/1/2008, #2
Prayer Blog - 3/1/2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
Bible Trivia - 2/29/2008
Question: What weapon did David use to kill Goliath?”
Answer: A sword. (I Samuel 17:48-51)
Comments: While David’s initial assault came with a slingshot, the death blow was taken with Goliath’s own sword.
Word of the Day - 2/29/2008
Provenance
Provenance is the place or source of origin.
In the Gospel of John, one of the points of debate from onlookers as to whether or not Jesus was the Christ was his provenance. They asserted that the Messiah was to hail from Bethlehem, while they believed Jesus was born in Nazareth. (John 7:42) They were unaware of accounts of his birth in Bethlehem.
In Eckleburg's Eyes - 2/29/2008
Yesterday morning marked a legitimate milestone in my life. It was the first time that I lectured a college class. CBP generously allowed me to teach her New Testament class at Carson-Newman College. I taught the book of Acts to classes at the Henderson Humanities building at 8:00 am and 10:30 am. I had to leave Knoxville in the 5 o’clock hour to arrive for a pre-class meeting. Evidently, there is a five o’clock hour on the am side of time as well. Who knew?
CBP had warned me of the apathy of her students going into the lecture. I had My Carson-Newman bubble burst a bit. I went to seminary with several Carson-Newman graduates and they were all elite students. In contrast, one of the students I had yesterday actually asked CBP if the class was going to perform scenes on the day marked “Acts.” I am sure she was greatly disappointed. That’s okay. I have disappointed women before.
The classroom was straight out of the 1970s. I am pretty sure I had seen the exact same television they had mounted on their wall to set the 1968 scene at the outset of American Gangster over the weekend. I honestly did not know that those sets could be mounted. Needless to say there was no dry erase board, PowerPoint option, etc. I was not too displeased as this meant as I did not have to prepare those supplements.
I hope my performance was satisfactory. CBP said my notes mirrored hers fairly well. I only had one student fall asleep during my lecture. He was struggling with strep throat and it was an 8 am class. I was assured it was not me. Even amidst the glazed stares of indifferent students, teaching felt very natural. I am very grateful for the opportunity.
The night was spent at MoFos as JTH was scheduled for a solo shift. It did not work out that way as PAT, JBT, MPW, RAW, and I all showed up to visit him. We talked for hours while JTH’s beloved Lost in Translation played in the background for the umpteenth time. There were often more people behind the counter than in the store. Sadly, customer service was still atrocious.
Afterwards, JTH, PAT and I were joined by Couple X at the Applebees in Bearden for half-priced appetizers. Yes, again.
The day was long, with an early start and late finish, but it was fun. My flu-like symptoms mitigate daily. I personally blame Tennessee post player Ryan Childress for city’s epidemic as he was the first person I heard of having it.
Associated Baptist Press - 2/28/2008
February 28, 2008 (8-23)
IN THIS ISSUE:
Obama speech to denomination spurs IRS investigation of UCC
Let’s get organized: How should churches structure leader groups?
Abstinence compromise means AIDS relief bill back on track
Opinion: The deeper wellsprings of centrist evangelicalism
Obama speech to denomination spurs IRS investigation of UCC
By Robert Marus
WASHINGTON (ABP) -- A speech that Barack Obama made last year to his fellow Congregationalists has spurred an Internal Revenue Service investigation that threatens the tax-exempt status of an entire denomination.
Leaders of the Illinois senator’s United Church of Christ are fighting back, saying the IRS charges are baseless and “disturbing.”
In a letter dated Feb. 20 and received by church officials Feb. 25, IRS official Marsha Ramirez said “a reasonable belief exists” that the denomination violated federal law. Churches and other non-profit groups organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code are barred from endorsing or opposing candidates and political parties.
The UCC is generally considered the nation’s most liberal large Protestant body. Obama has been an active member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago for more than two decades. Trinity is the UCC’s largest congregation.
In the IRS letter, Ramirez said the agency’s concerns “are based on articles posted on several websites” that described Obama’s June 23 appearance at the UCC’s biennial General Synod meeting in Hartford, Conn. The senator -- by then an announced Democratic candidate for president -- spoke to about 10,000 church members, according to the denomination and news accounts.
But UCC officials said they took pains to ensure that the speech was not perceived as a campaign event or an endorsement of the candidate.
Obama was invited “as one of 60 diverse speakers representing the arts, media, academia, science, technology, business and government. Each was asked to reflect on the intersection of their faith and their respective vocations or fields of expertise,” a UCC news release said. It also said church officials invited Obama as a church member rather than in his capacity as a candidate and said they asked him to speak a year before he declared his intention to run for higher office.
“The United Church of Christ took great care to ensure that Sen. Obama’s appearance before the … General Synod met appropriate legal and moral standards,” UCC General Minister John Thomas said in the news release. “We are confident that the IRS investigation will confirm that no laws were violated.”
Prior to the speech, a church official told the crowd that the appearance was not intended to be a campaign event and that campaign-related material and other forms of electioneering would not be allowed inside the event venue.
The IRS letter claimed that “40 Obama volunteers staffed campaign tables outside” the Hartford Civic Center, where the event was held. But church officials said they barred any campaigning inside the venue.
Thomas said that, while he believes the investigation will ultimately acquit the denomination, he nonetheless is concerned about its effect.
“The very fact of” the investigation’s existence “is disturbing," Thomas said. “When the invitation to an elected public official to speak to the national meeting of his own church family is called into question, it has a chilling effect on every religious community that seeks to encourage politicians and church members to thoughtfully relate their personal faith to their public responsibilities.”
IRS officials do not discuss such investigations with the press because tax information is private. But several ministries and local congregations have been warned and investigated in recent years for electioneering.
The agency is currently investigating Southern Baptist pastor Wiley Drake for using church letterhead and a church-sponsored radio show to endorse Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
Last year, the IRS ended an investigation without any sanctions against All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Pasadena, Calif. It had been under investigation for a guest sermon its former rector had given just before the 2004 presidential election. In it, he strongly criticized the war in Iraq but said he believed that both President Bush and his Democratic opponent, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, were good Christians.
IRS officials contended that the sermon amounted to an endorsement of Kerry over Bush. The church contested the charge. In a September letter to the congregation announcing that it was ending its investigation without penalty, IRS officials said they continued to believe the church had illegally intervened in the election.
All Saints’ legal defense ended up costing more than $200,000, according to church leaders. Anticipating a similar financial burden for the UCC, Thomas sent an appeal Feb. 27 to church members asking them to donate to a special legal-defense fund.
“In order to adequately defend ourselves, as well as protect the broader principle of the freedom of religious communities to entertain questions of faith and public life, we will need to secure expert legal counsel, and the cost of this defense, we are told, could approach or exceed six figures," Thomas wrote. “This is troubling news.”
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IRS letter to UCC officials
UCC news story responding to letter
Huckabee endorsement brings IRS investigation of Wiley Drake (2/14)
California church leaders question IRS investigation into war sermon (9/28/2007)
Let’s get organized: How should churches structure leader groups?
By Jennifer Harris
FRESNO, Calif. (ABP) -- Deserved or not, committees -- especially in Baptist life -- often conjure negative connotations.
The term is borrowed from government and corporate culture, says Don Simmons, owner of Creative Potential Consulting and Training, a management and training consulting company based in Fresno, Calif. And committees have a reputation for long, boring meetings that accomplish nothing and rarely “take a person’s giftedness and passion into account.”
A better option for churches wanting to organize their leadership structure is to form “ministry teams,” he said. While committees focus on tasks and agendas, ministry teams emphasize personal development and relationships: “Teams require a very human element -- trust -- that may not always be operable in committees.”
The team concept allows everyone to bring their ideas to the table, agreed Jim Dees, director of equipping ministries at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, Calif. Instead of the top-down leadership of committees, teams give the freedom to brainstorm ideas, he said.
The personal element generally means teams have a longer life, too, as people often choose to serve longer when they have developed relationships.
“At First Baptist Church [in Jefferson City, Mo.], committees are nominated by the enlistment committee and then voted on by the church to serve mostly three-year terms,” said Jeanie McGowan, associate pastor of equipping at the church. “Teams are led by volunteer leaders, and they can enlist anyone they choose, and folks can serve for as long as they choose, making one-year commitments as they go along. You may serve on more than one ministry team, but we try not to have anyone serving on more than one committee at a time.”
At Calvary Presbyterian, mission teams are lay-driven. While a minister or member of the equipping team may come up with an idea, it is soon passed on to a member of the congregation.
Dees said the change to a team-based structure changed the church’s ministry.
“It changed our church culture. Teams have greatly impacted the mobilization of people,” he said. “We’ve seen an increased number of church members involved in ministry in the community.”
But team-building requires commitment to a clearly defined mission, Simmons added.
“While some committees may function as teams, in order to build and sustain teams, leadership must be intentional and driven by a definitive purpose,” he said. “Teams do not happen accidentally -- they are built with time, trust and tenacity.”
It took Calvary nearly two years to get the systems in place to start their equipping ministry, Dees said, and mission teams continue to evolve as new people get involved.
What’s more, committees cannot -- and should not -- be changed into teams overnight. Simmons recommends changing one team at a time.
“Start with the most obvious areas where teams may already exist, and then work to make them models for the rest of the church,” he said.
Youth or student ministries may be a good place to start. Churches also may have worship or mission teams already functioning that can act as models for other changes. Simmons emphasized that “a committee becomes a team through their behaviors, not just their language.”
The next step in building a team is practicing essential relationship functions. “Good teams eat together, drink together, play together and pray together -- usually in that order,” Simmons said.
One of the most joyful teams Simmons served on was designed to provide services for a large hospice facility.
“With deep respect for the patients, our team knew that it was important to sing, dance, laugh and joke with one another and with the hospice staff in the face of great pain,” Simmons said. “Our fun was contagious, and we were often asked to train other teams of volunteers about the need to ‘lighten up’ with one another, to encourage long-term service and to prevent burnout.”
The team’s laid-back nature wasn’t accidental, however. “The fun we had was evidence of our care for one another and was borne out of time with each other outside of our service time,” Simmons said. “We shared meals often and committed enough time to knowing each other to be authentic with our joy.”
Another step Simmons recommends is forming a team covenant. Covenants are designed by team members to give relational boundaries and guidelines on how the team will function.
“Some believe that developing a covenant is useless time consumption, and if the covenant is not authentic and practical for the ministry team, then it may become just that,” Simmons said. “If the covenant is developed and written by the team, for the team and used intentionally, then the covenant can be the guide-star for the team’s work.”
Simmons said there are six guidelines for developing a covenant that supports the work of a ministry team:
-- Write the covenant as a team. Use time in the first two team meetings to develop the covenant.
-- Keep the covenant focused on behaviors that are authentic and practical. Be sure to include areas such as attendance, punctuality, fun, contributions, conversations, confidentiality and documentation.
-- Review the covenant at each team meeting. Allow for revision if a covenant area is being ignored or bypassed regularly.
-- Discuss behaviors as a violation of the covenant, not as sin or personal disappointment.
-- Review and “re-covenant” each time a new member joins the team to ensure ownership is understood and valued by the entire team.
-- Write the covenant in everyday, authentic language. Even the Bible was written in the language of the ordinary person.
“A team covenant can make the difference between a cordial work group and a highly functioning team, if the process of developing the covenant is authentic and realistic,” Simmons said. “The time invested in covenant creation will greatly benefit the team in fluidity and performance.”
Ultimately, Simmons said, teams benefit the church because “people matter. The fun that we have with one another exhibits to people that we are not only willing to share the work and tasks but willing to share our very lives.”
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Abstinence compromise means AIDS relief bill back on track
By Robert Marus
WASHINGTON (ABP) -- A bill that would more than triple the amount of money the United States spends combating the AIDS pandemic got a boost Feb. 27 with a compromise over abstinence-focused prevention efforts and abortion.
House leaders and White House officials agreed on language that will send the five-year renewal of the President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, to that chamber’s floor for a vote.
Pro-choice lawmakers agreed to remove provisions from earlier drafts of the bill that would have allowed it to fund the anti-AIDS efforts of family-planning groups that also provide abortions. White House officials agreed to loosen the program’s requirement that a large portion of the funds be spent on abstinence-focused efforts at stopping the disease’s spread.
“While not perfect, this bill continues the principles of the bipartisan PEPFAR program passed five years ago,” said Tony Perkins, of the conservative Family Research Council, in a press release applauding the compromise. His group had objected to earlier versions of the bill.
“Twenty million innocent men, women and children, we must remember, have perished from HIV/AIDS -- 20 million,” said Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), the acting chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, just before the panel voted to approve the bill. “Forty million around the globe are HIV-positive. Each and every day, another 6,000 people become infected with HIV. We have a moral imperative to act, and act decisively.”
The bill allocates $50 billion over the next five years to anti-AIDS programs around the world, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa where the disease is rampant.
The original PEPFAR bill, passed in 2003, authorized $15 billion over five years. It is widely regarded as President Bush’s most broadly popular and successful foreign-policy initiative.
The renewal bill was named for the late Tom Lantos and Henry Hyde. Both men -- Lantos a Democrat and Hyde a Republican -- were former chairmen of the committee, and both died in the past year. Lantos and Hyde shepherded the original PEPFAR bill through Congress.
The bill is the “Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act,” H.R. 5501.
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Opinion: The deeper wellsprings of centrist evangelicalism
By David Gushee
(ABP) -- Discussion of the concept of an emerging evangelical center (or some other label for an alternative to the Christian Right) has taken off in recent months -- indeed, in recent weeks. Hardly a day goes by without some news article or opinion piece addressing the concept and its implications. Inevitably, these discussions of an emerging evangelical center are also evoking attacks, denunciations and misunderstandings. I guess that’s how you know you’re getting somewhere, when the attacks come.
In this column, I want to explore the deeper wellsprings of the concept to which several of us are now attaching the imperfect label “centrist evangelicalism.” These wellsprings are far more important than the label and certainly more important than the ideological categories of left, center and right. Not everyone would identify the wellsprings in the same way, but here are my top three:
-- A consistent pro-life ethic. Beginning in the 1980s, Catholic and some evangelical thinkers began writing and talking about a consistent pro-life ethic. The idea is that because every human being is made in the image of God and sacred in God’s sight, every human life is immeasurably valuable to God and must be treated as immeasurably valuable by the rest of us. This requires every possible effort to protect humans from premature death, to respect human dignity wherever it is threatened, and to so act as to advance human flourishing wherever possible. The responsibility for these efforts rests with all humans and extends to governmental actions and public policies.
What makes an ethic “consistently pro-life” is its commitment to view and to treat every human life this way -- “from womb to tomb,” as was often said. This requires concern and action in relation to every threat to human survival, every challenge to human dignity and every undermining of human dignity. It certainly requires efforts to reverse the social institutionalization of abortion. But it also requires efforts to reverse the social institutionalization of mass death in war, environmental degradation, AIDS and hunger. Passionate commitment to a wide range of “pro-life” concerns is precisely one characteristic of the evangelical center. It also brings centrist evangelicalism into close proximity with the best expressions of Catholic social teaching and opens the possibility of a powerfully centrist Catholic-evangelical alliance in American public life.
-- A kingdom ethic. In 2003, Glen Stassen and I published Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context with Intervarsity Press. Our goal in writing the book was to base an entire approach to Christian ethics on a primary commitment to Jesus Christ. As we sought to write an academic ethics text “as if Jesus mattered” (our original title), we discovered the centrality of Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom, or reign, of God. Tracing Jesus’ kingdom teaching and ministry back to their Old Testament sources, we concluded that when Jesus celebrated the dawning of the kingdom in his own ministry, he meant specific things, such as: the coming of peace, justice, deliverance, healing and renewed community, all accompanied by joy and the vivid experience of God’s presence.
In unpacking Jesus’ life and teachings with reference to these seven categories, we ended up with a Jesus who offered a comprehensive pro-life, pro-justice, pro-poor, pro-community, pro-healing vision that amounts to the renewal of the entire human experience on this suffering planet. That indeed would be the reign of God, the healing of the world. We argued that Christians should be defined as Christ-followers who enjoy the amazing privilege of participating in the advance of God’s reign until Jesus returns. Christians do not work the kingdom into existence, and its fulfillment awaits Christ’s return. But nothing that we do that wins victories for God’s reign now is ever wasted, and every such victory is a sign of God’s grace and the reality of God’s reign.
It is not hard to see that passionate evangelical commitment to directly addressing a number of arenas of human suffering flows from such a kingdom ethic. I describe it as characteristic of the emerging evangelical center.
-- A Barmen ethic. A mark of centrist evangelicalism as I define it is a resolute commitment to the political independence of the church as it seeks to follow Jesus Christ her Lord. One source of this commitment is deep immersion in study of the Nazi era, agonized encounter with the Holocaust, and close attention to figures like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Niemoller and Karl Barth.
When the Confessing Church gathered in Barmen, Germany, in 1934 and issued its Barmen Declaration under the leadership of Karl Barth, participating members of the Protestant community in Germany said a collective “No” to the corruption of the church by Nazism and the Nazi regime. Their declaration was not perfect. But it was a stark statement of Christian resistance to a disastrous alien politic that was threatening the church’s soul and would soon very nearly destroy the Jews as a people.
It has seemed, to some of us at least, that one of the great dangers in recent evangelical Christian politics has been the cozy relationship between official church leaders and political parties and their leaders. The “church” has gained access at the expense of integrity and has gained worldly influence at the expense of missional clarity. Barmen stands for a Christ-following, biblically serious, theologically grounded church that knows how to resist the seductions of the powers and principalities of the world.
So, for those who are looking for a clearer definition of so-called “centrist evangelicalism,” here it is: Rooted in the Bible, centered in Jesus Christ, clear about the church’s unique mission, and pursuing God’s reign, centrist evangelicals are attempting to advance a consistent pro-life ethic into every reachable zone of human suffering.
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-- David Gushee is distinguished university professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University. www.davidpgushee.com
Thursday, February 28, 2008
In Memory of Margaret S. Tully
Margaret S. Tully (April 29, 1914 - February 26, 2008)
My great aunt Margaret "Peg" Tully died on February 26. She was the last connection my mother had to her father. My cousin Nancy is taking the death especially hard as her mother died on her birthday. Please keep their family in your prayers.
Her online guestbook is located here.
Here is my Aunt Peg's obituary as it appeared in her local paper, The Palladium Times (Oswego, NY):
Margaret S. Tully, 93, a former resident of 4 Burkle St., Oswego, passed away Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008, at St. Luke’s Health Services.
Born in Philadelphia, Pa., she was a daughter of the late William and Cecilia F. Nodell.
She received her master’s degree from SUNY Oswego.
Mrs. Tully was a physical education teacher in Oswego, Mexico and Fulton.
She was a member of the Oswego Players, a founding member of Girl Scouts of America and a leader of the Retired Teacher’s Association.
Surviving are two daughters, Jean (Churchill) Ward of Penfield and Nancy Coleman of Jersey City, NJ; three grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and five nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her husband, William, in 1986.
Funeral services will be held 3 p.m. Friday at the Church of the Resurrection, Oswego.
Spring Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery.
Calling hours will be held 12 – 3 p.m. Friday at the Nelson Funeral Home, 11 W. Albany St., Oswego.
Online condolences may be made at www.nelson-funeralhome.com.
Bible Trivia - 2/28/2008
Question: What was the first name of Judas Iscariot’s father
Answer: Simon. (John 6:11).
Comments: Simon is one of the most common names in the New Testament. There are nine Simons total in the New Testament. The name was extremely popular in Jewish circles due to the prominence of Simon Maccabaeus (d. 135 BCE).
A similar phenomena occurred in Tennessee as many babies were named Peyton after Peyton Manning played football at the university.
Word of the Day - 2/28/2008
Variegate
To make variegate is to make varied in appearance, as by adding different colors.
After being in the presence of the LORD while collecting the second set of Ten Commandments, Moses’ face became variegated, unbeknownst to him. (Exodus 34:29)
In Eckleburg's Eyes - 2/28/2008
I awoke yesterday to the sight of snow outside my house! Admittedly, the roads were completely clear, but it was still nice to see powder on the ground. While I clearly noticed the snow as I stopped to get a picture, I still proceeded to Shoney’s in shorts....
While at Shoney’s I saw TJW. He is a local actor and professor who has been in virtually every production I have ever been to. Knowing I was going to a play later that night, I asked him if he would be in it. He responded no, but that his wife would. So, I guess by the theology of two becoming one, TJW has still been in every local production I have seen.
I went to see “A Woman Called Truth” with my parents at the Cokesbury Center. It is a one act play by Sandra Fenichel Asher chronicling the life of Sojourner Truth (1797-1883). The play essentially depicts how the woman came to her name. She was born with the name Isabella and constantly changing her surname to reflect her various masters. When she was freed she gave herself the name “Soujourner” and the last name “Truth” to reflect her last master. Though abolition plays a prominent role in the play, the issues the play raises are quite relevant today.
The play was presented by “The WordPlayers”, a company of Christian Theatre Artists, with a cast of six. In fact, in successive scenes, Nathan Brown plays Truth’s brother Peter, her love interest Bob, and her child son, Pete. That my friends is called range.
Artece Lenneil Slay is delightful playing the title role. In one scene, Sojourner prays for a new master. I thought about how often we ask for less than God can provide. She does not think to pray for freedom, but rather a new master.
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, (Ephesians 3:20, NASB)
The play runs at various venues through March 31, and I highly recommend it.
Afterwards, my parents and I at the Chop House. This restaurant is filed under restaurants I do not eat at on my own budget... It was good to reacquaint with our waiter and old church friend, GF.
Never one to make a trip to Farragut without seeing KJW, I stopped by and watched her while her father made pasta. She sat in my lap and watched an episode of “Family Guy,” which is clearly age appropriate. She likes anything animated. Why?
I also got great news - after months of searching for jobs, DBN is returning to Knoxville. He will remain in Lexington through March and then return home. Welcome home, Mongo!
Finally, yesterday, marked the birthday of our old friend JS. Happy birthday.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
View from 315A
Last night, Tennessee lost to Vanderbilt, 72-69. It was the fourth consecutive time a #1 team entered Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gym only to lose. Vanderbilt is ranked fourteenth nationally. It was the first time both Tennessee played Vanderbilt in Nashville with both ranked since 1968. Vandy won then too.
The game could have gone bad early as UT was down 14 in the first half but battled back to make a game out of it. I thought UT played fairly well after such an emotional game on Saturday night.
Vanderbilt’s Shon Foster, an Usher clone, was phenomenal, scoring 32 points to lead Vanderbilt.
Tennessee’s next game is Sunday against Kentucky, who amazingly after losing to Gardner-Webb and San Diego early, controls its own destiny in the SEC East.
When the polls come out Monday, barring a miracle, UT will no longer be #1. It was nice while it lasted...
Bible Trivia - 2/27/2008
Question: What two women in the Bible had the name of Deborah?
Answer: A judge and Rebekah’s nurse. (Judges 4:4; Genesis 35:8).
Comments: The Bible's lesser known Deborah is given a seemingly random death announcement in Genesis 35:8. Scholars have presumed that she was carrying to Jacob the message that his beloved mother and her employer, Rebekah had died. Jacob, a mama’s boy, never saw his mother again after he defrauded his brother, Esau, out of his blessing.
When Jacob left her, Rebekah anticipated his being gone only a “few days” (Genesis 27:44) Thus, their story is very “Gilligan’s Island.”
Word of the Day - 2/27/2008
Brogue
A brogue originally meant an Irish accent in the pronunciation of English, but has come to mean any strong regional accent.
In the Book of Judges (12:4-6), 42,000 Ephraimites were massacred when their brogue betrayed their origins. After the Ephraimites were routed by the Gileadite army they tried to retreat by fording the Jordan River at a checkpoint that was held by their enemy. The Gileadites, aware of their plan, asked each soldier who tried to cross if he was an Ephraimite. If the soldier said "no," he was then summoned to say the word “shibboleth” (which means "stream" in Hebrew). Gileadites pronounced the word "shibboleth," but Ephraimites said "sibboleth." Anyone who used a sibilant was executed on the spot.
Shibboleth has come to mean “a catchword or slogan used by members of a group but regarded by others as empty of real meaning b : a commonly held belief .” When English speakers first borrowed "shibboleth," they used it to mean "test phrase," but it has acquired other meanings since that time.
In Eckleburg's Eyes - 2/27/2008
On Tuesday night, we reconvened at RAW’s house, as is often the case when the Vols’ basketball team is on a road trip. Before the game, KLTW, KJW, and RAW ate Cruncheros. (I had already eaten.) One of KJW’s special talents is somehow managing to fill her stomach while also covering a surface area on the table, floor, and herself that I would have otherwise thought mathematically impossible given the relatively small amount food she is given.
MPW joined us and we all watched the game together. (Well, KLTW was studying and KJW was being KJW, but they were in the room anyway.) In our first game ever being ranked #1 in the nation, we lost. It was disappointing to say the least. My thoughts on the game are posted under a “View from 315A.”
Alvarez also adds, “My wife gives me that little wink every now and then." So, his wife is superficial too. Maybe the wink is her way of indicating that she regrets her decision to marry this man and he is too wrapped up in himself to know it. Wink, wink.
The authoritative Wrestling Observer newsletter has reported that this person is the wrestling journalist of the same name. He would make a great wrestling villain, or at least as a Ben Stiller Globo Gym associate in Dodgeball. He should learn from the wrestling world though - don’t use your real name!
So is this the worst ad ever for a self help product? (Maybe that’s his angle - to next appear in a personality improvement commercial.) In short, I would rather watch an ad for feminine hygiene products than this douchebag! (Pun intended.)
Why did I waste so much time ranting on a Bowflex commercial? I believe this is called transference - taking out my basketball frustrations on the obnoxious Bowflex man.
In any event, it was still fun just being together, even when we lose. No day is a bad day with KJW!
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