Looking for Questions

Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl was an excellent book, thanks to N.D. Wilson’s ability to describe everyday life events with an eye for the divine. Once I finished reading it, I was inclined to again take a careful look at the ordinary in search of the extra-ordinary.

Wilson’s writing style is captivating and he takes you on a journey that is full of imaginative imagery and captivating metaphor.  In fact, there were times that I was so absorbed by his descriptive and creative language that I forgot to try and figure out where he was trying to go. This characteristic, which I consider a quality, may be to others a flaw. Be aware that you have to have some tolerance for randomness.

However, I don’t think he was trying to be random. If you read carefully, you’ll follow the lines and recognize how he gets from one thing to another to reach his destination.

Much of the book is an invitation to snap out of our small-minded view of the world and to see it as a playground built by God for his glory and enjoyment, a place that is brimming with all of God’s characteristics:

You are on your porch. Look at the blue sky.

God, am I going to get this sale today? The commission would pay for a boat.

Look at this squirrel, He says. Do you understand it? Do you know what it means? What does it tell you about me? Watch its tail snap. You’re the only one watching. You and I are alone in the audience sharing this scene. What does it remind you of?

I need this sale.

There’s an ant on your shoe. It’s a good ant. Last spring it turned the tide in the great Sidewalk Crack War of D Street. One of its grandfathers traveled half a mile with Louis and Clark. Did you know that today it dies? That you are its death?

I wish I had a new car. Hyundais are lame.

Wilson’s message in the book is an important one: God is trying to get through to us while we are busy chasing red herrings.

The only thing I did not appreciate about this book was how he handled the problem of evil. I was grateful for the way he helped us understand that we don’t know all there is to know about the cosmos. We don’t have God’s perspective and our view of things is fatally limited. However, when presenting this point he tended to belittle the pain of coming face to face with horrific personal tragedy.

I’ll discuss that part of the book’s message in my next post, because it’s a question that deserves some space to be talked through.

Overall, I recommend Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl, and think you will enjoy the ride, unless roller coasters make you puke. Even then, it may provide a healthy dose of enjoyment that will make it worth the dizzy feeling that may follow.

books, christianity, creation, Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl, religion, theodicy, theology

“I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”
~ From Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech

Today we celebrate the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr., one of my favorite figures from our country’s history.  His legacy resounds with me for two reasons.

He addressed the glaring issue of racism, knowing that it would invite fierce opposition. We don’t like to acknowledge how deeply racism has scarred American history, but there have been many injustices small and great, based solely on the color of skin. King stepped in and began to dig up what had become very hardened ground in the hearts of American citizens, and he did so with a courage that few possessed.

Second, he motivated us to envision and strive for a different kind of America. King’s challenge remains strong today: release your lazy intellectual stereotypes. Start looking at people as individuals, instead of categorizing them based on superficial standards.

Racism is much easier than love. If I can group a person into a class and label that entire class, I no longer have to decide how to love them. It’s automatic. We say, “Oh, she’s one of those people,” and move on. No thought or effort required.

I appreciate the way King’s message pushed all of us, regardless of skin color, to take the hard path of love, to rise out of our stereotypes, and to begin to see each other as people bathed in the image of God.

Take 18 minutes this week to watch King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and consider again how we can make that dream our own.

christianity, culture, Martin Luther King Jr, MLK, peace, racism, reconciliation, religion

the ruins of a children's hospital in Haiti

It was sad to read about the earthquake devastation in Haiti, especially in light of their extreme poverty.

Every time one of these massive natural disasters occur, I ask the same question about creation: Is it chaos? Or is it beauty? Are those two descriptors sufficient?

It probably is an oversimplification to think of God’s world in only those terms, but Creation is, at the very least, an expression of both.

As for chaos, just take a look at the aftermath of the earthquake…  Or the last couple of Tsunamis in southeast Asia…  Or the last big hurricane to hit the USA… Or the famine in one of many areas in Africa. Does that look like order and design to you? If so, you have found a way to see natural disasters with a set of lenses that I do not have.

Some preachers (of what?) try to attribute order and purpose to these catastrophes using big words they don’t understand, like “judgement” and “sin.”  For example, Pat Robertson’s response to the earthquake in Haiti was to say that this was a result of a pact that Haiti made with the Devil.

Really, Pat? Are you that desperate to explain this?  Are you that afraid of not having an answer when natural disasters occur?

It makes us uncomfortable to look these disasters in the face because chaos scares us. We insist on some explanation, any explanation, to take away the uncertainty.  The sad truth is that many will accept Robertson’s explanation, simply because they cannot come up with anything better.

So where does beauty come in?

Of course we can look at a sunset on the beach, a night sky full of stars, or the work of a thousand ants on a pile of dirt and see God’s beauty.  But how can we possibly see that when we look at disaster?

I think the answer to the question of beauty lies in God’s work of redemption, starting with the cross of Christ. Jesus stepped into chaos and took the worst of it upon himself.

Romans 8 says that “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Paul goes on to say that creation has been “groaning” for redemption.

If we are Christ-ones, and his work is one of restoration and redemption, then perhaps beauty can only be seen in the chaos whenever we respond and enter into the pain of others and offer the active love of Christ.

Ever been on a mission trip and gave your relatively small effort for a week to repair a hole in a roof? Ever been approached by a homeless guy who didn’t ask for money this time, but instead wanted to know why life was so hard? Ever been to a funeral and had that awkward moment when you didn’t know what to say, standing beside a grieving friend?

Beauty is Christ alive in our simple, two-bit offerings at those moments and hundreds others just like them.

How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
~ Isaiah 52:7

——-

(World Vision, The Red Cross, and many other organizations will be counting on our support to bring order, restoration, and even beauty to Haiti in the weeks and months ahead.  Donate at their web sites if you can.)

haiti, religion, theodicy

I love the New Year holiday. I love the time of renewal and a sense of new beginnings.

But before jumping ahead to next year’s goals and dreams, I wanna look back on the top five events of 2009 and what I’ve learned from each one. I know this is a bit cliché, but it has been a year worth reflection.

Numero Uno – The Birth of Jude and Parental Whiplash

Typically, a top five list should count down to number one, to build suspense. However, most of you already know what the big one is, so I’ll start with the one event that has changed us more than anything we can think of: The birth of our son Jude on July 8.

It’s funny to think back on our conversations as we predicted what life would be like with a new baby.  Our only visions were of bliss. Sure we heard it was hard work and that it would change our life forever, but for some reason we didn’t prepare ourselves for how difficult it would be. I’ve decided to name this naiveté: Parental Whiplash.

We were not ready. Yes, we read about and studied a variety of parenting methods.  We learned about more natural and instinctive ways of caring for a baby. And we continued to eat organic foods (cause that’s how we roll). As good as all that preparation was, it couldn’t prepare us for the 8 weeks of colic that followed.  We loved Jude with all our hearts, but at the end of it we had truly reached the end of ourselves.

Through those weeks, I re-discovered that the storehouse of my human resources is a wasteland compared to the magnitude of strength and wisdom of God that he offers so freely to those who ask.  I’ll always enjoy learning, but in all circumstances God is ready and able to go way beyond what I have learned.

Deuce – Discovering St. Bartholomew’s Church

We started attending St. Bartholomew’s Church in January of 2009, mostly as a curiousity.  Krista had encouraged it for some time, and we were in a place of wandering and wondering if we would ever find a church home that seemed like a fit.  We had no idea that the Anglican Experiment would end up as the exact thing we were looking for.

For reasons I’ve already stated and for some that I’m still sorting through, we love our church home.  It certainly caught us off guard, and was the best surprise of the year.

I suppose the biggest thing I’ve learned out of this is that no matter how well I think I’ve been able to keep God out of a box, he continues to show me where I have put divine expectations and boundaries up where none should be. He is the God of Being-Too-Big-for-Boxes (is there a Hebrew word for that?).

Number Next – Old Friends and New Ones

I realize that this could apply every year, but when you introduce a first child into the mix, it can mean newfound weirdness with your friends.  I can’t completely explain it, but I’ve heard this from a few different people. However, I’m grateful for old friends and new ones who have not missed a beat and have continued to reach out to us, even in strange times such as these.

The lesson for me? True friendship is worth the hard work that it sometimes takes.
(Disclaimer: this does not mean that I’m seeking more “Friend Recommendations” on Facebook. Stand down, ye extroverts.)

Fourth - Our New House

Our new house takes the fourth slot in the top 5.  We love the house and the neighborhood, and we look forward to seeing Jude grow up here.

As anyone who has bought a new house learns, we discovered that having a lot of money in savings was a really good idea, since the second you get the keys, the wall of the house turn into money magnets.

Ultimo  - U2 in Concert

I love the fact that I’ll get to tell my son that I saw U2 in concert twice (at least). The concert in Atlanta back in October was a great show, and though I had a great time with Brian, I do wish that Krista could have come.  She’s still yet to see them live. I hope another tour comes this way for her sake!

What did I learn at the U2 show? These guys are not even close to being too old, which became obvious about halfway through their main set when they rocked “Elevation” like a bunch of 20 year olds.

–

Happy New Year to all… Tomorrow comes with new beginnings, if you so choose to have such hope.

2009, Barmers, christianity, religion

Today, Jude picked up a wooden ring, then tossed it back on the table.

We cheered.

Funny how those little moments are what become stamped in our memory. For Jude, those moments add up and ultimately shape his early life. Every responsive smile, touch, and embrace make a difference in who he is becoming. I watch Krista and how she cares for Jude, and I realize that her interaction with him matters. We are shaping him.

After reading Mary’s song in Luke 1 yesterday, I began thinking about Mary and Joseph’s role in Jesus’ life.  Isn’t it right to assume that the way she raised him through infancy and childhood had an impact on how his personality developed?  It seems strange to talk about Jesus, God in the flesh, “developing” a personality, but if he was truly human, then he experienced all the change and growth that every person experiences in their early years.

Mary and Joseph were chosen for a reason. God knew the kind of woman she was and the kind of man Joseph was. Their parenting would help establish the kind of man Jesus would be.

Part of the miracle of the Advent of Christ is that God put himself in a position of dependence on his creation. Baby Jesus was completely dependent on Mary to feed him, change his disgusting diapers, and to protect him from disease and danger. As much as it would make us feel better to believe it, Jesus did not come out of the womb as a 12-year old, ready to teach in the temple. He came, in a position of need and frailty, then died in a position of weakness and pain.

And Mary was in on the whole thing, more than anyone else. There would be no doubting her son. As she was there at the beginning, she was there in the end, loving him in ways that would strengthen him to accomplish his mission.

I think I understand Luke 1:42 a little bit better today…

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

christianity, christmas, jesus, religion, theology, virgin mary

A lot has been happening in the past 60 days, so this is a good time for a what’s-been-going-on-with-us.

People/Things I’ve Celebrated

Krista’s 31st birthday was Sunday. I’m blessed to be a husband and friend of the most interesting, kind, loving, passionate, intelligent, original-of-the-species woman I’ve ever met.  She exudes excellence, beauty, and grace in ways I didn’t know about before I met her.  I love her and am thankful for her life.

We also celebrated Jude’s baptism on All Saint’s Day.  This one event has stirred up a lot of theological conversation with family and friends, which has been helpful as we continue to learn how to articulate what our transition to the Anglican/Episcopal church is all about. My next post is a follow-up to that topic.

What I’ve Been Reflecting On

I am amazed at those who have found the ability to maintain a healthy reading and writing regimen after having children.  I’ve discovered that my ability to adjust under such circumstances is severely impaired.  However, Krista and I have decided to designate one night per week as reading and discussion night. So after our miniature superhero son goes to sleep, we act like thinking adults–and we have conversation about what we are reading!  I realize now that I took such opportunities for granted before Jude came along.  Now that we have less time for it, I am now more motivated to make sure we carve out the time. I suppose I needed to be more desperate before I would act on the desire.

I always read too many books at once, but I can’t help it. I see it like a good meal.  You can’t limit yourself to green beans at dinner. You must add steak, potatoes and good wine to make a complete meal. Here’s what’s on my latest menu:

I’m almost finished with Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl, by N.D. Wilson, and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Definitely worth a separate blog post soon to discuss it. His writing style is not conventional, but is very compelling. Even in disagreeing with him on rare occasion, I continued to enjoy dancing my way through the book.

I mentioned that Krista and I have started a reading and discussion night, and our first book will be The Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis.  I’ve never read it but I know it’s a must-read for those who enjoy Lewis’ writings.

I also started a book called Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail, by Robert Webber, which discusses his personal journey from a strong Baptist upbringing to the Anglican Church and why many evangelicals are becoming attracted to the liturgical church. After only reading the introduction, I’ve already written a few blog posts inside my head.

I’ll probably be officially reading The Brothers Karamazov for the rest of my life, but I can’t take it off the list.  Whenever I do read it, I can’t put it down. It’s the picking it up that is the problem.

Movies We’ve Seen

None.  However, we are dying to see Where the Wild Things Are, the new Sherlock Holmes movie coming out, and Avatar. Also, I would like to catch Inglourious Basterds whenever it hits DVD, but I’m guessing that won’t be a date night movie.

Fun We’ve Had

One word for you: SMILES. Our son Jude’s smile is simply infectious and has the magical ability to lift our spirits when we are exhausted from the daily grind. He’s a passionate, fired-up, energetic 5-month old who is already showing us a go-getter personality, full of vibrant life. He absolutely deserves to be a redhead (that’s a compliment in my world).

Also, if you visit Nashville in the Spring, Summer, or Fall, you must visit Radnor Lake. Beautiful scenery and some great walking trails, all smack in the middle of Nashville. I’ve posted some pictures to Flickr of our recent Saturday there.

Hunts in Which I Currently Have No Dog

New evidence about the global warming issue.
Irrational concerns about the end of the world happening in 2012.
The repaving project on County Road 37.

books, family, life, religion, theology

I’m not a superstitious person. In fact, I enjoy taking long walks under ladders, hanging out with black cats, and am fascinated by the many ways a mirror can suddenly divide itself into a thousand different mini-portrait reflections.

However, I want to be sensitive to the millions or hundreds or perhaps tens of people who are paralyzed by paraskevidekatriaphobia. As I am sure you are already aware, paraskevidekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th. Yes, there is a name for it.

Before you go spending hours on Wikipedia, I can go ahead and tell you that no one really knows where this day first acquired such a stigma. The bottom line is that people don’t like the number 6 or the number 13, so put them together on a calendar and it’s just too creepy.

I’m guessing that as a whole, humanity just can’t help being a little bit superstitious. It makes me wonder whether it really is possible to make any sense of the world using only natural, scientific, or mathematical explanations.

What does the world look like if our existence is only made up of chance and mathematics? Think of it. Fear becomes only a physiological defense mechanism, brought on by a survival instinct that has developed through evolution. Love becomes equally bland: our survival instincts have developed automatic chemical reactions whenever a potential mate (read: attractive to our unique DNA stamp) comes near us. Call it boring, but don’t call it destiny.

Yawn.

But just because I think it’s boring doesn’t mean it’s false. Perhaps our proclivity for the spiritual is just a desperate grasping in the face of a meaningless existence. Now we are on to something…

Solomon, forgetting proper etiquette in writing a book of the Bible, opens Ecclesiastes with this gloomy outlook:

“Meaningless! Meaningless!”

says the Teacher.

“Utterly meaningless!

Everything is meaningless.”

“Ahem, excuse me, Solomon. We’re gonna need you to rework this first part of your book. I know you are in touch with the so-called struggles of life, but in the real world we have to sell books in the Christian bookstore. If we want something dismal, we’ll call the prophet Jeremiah.”

I like Solomon, mostly because he taught us that the meaninglessness of life is a great position from which to begin understanding life. We are created beings, so by default we seek to understand our origins, and we are born into a world shuffling its way through chaos. We look at all that chaos and say, “Meaningless!” Then we try and fill the vacuum with anything from ghost stories and Fridays the 13ths to golden Buddhas and prayers to dead saints.

Solomon’s ultimate response to meaninglessness was to “fear God and keep his commandments.” He discovered that those commandments were custom fit for how his Creator crafted his body, mind, and soul. So he tossed his lucky rabbit’s foot and began to face the chaos with more than just the luck of the draw.

By the way, wanna know the next time we have three Friday the 13ths in one year? 2012. Fortunately, we won’t need to stock up any canned food for that one, since it’s the end of the world (CREDIT: Ancient Mayan civilizations who loved to play practical jokes on future generations).

christianity, ecclesiastes, friday the 13th, philosophy, religion, solomon, theology

We had Jude baptized this past Sunday, on All Saints Day.  It was a moment rich with emotion and meaning for us and we were thankful to have all the grandparents there to share this with us.

Here are some pictures from the big day! (mouseover the slideshow to pause, navigate, or go full screen)

christianity, family, infant baptism, religion

I was born a Southern Baptist, went to a Southern Baptist church growing up, graduated from a Southern Baptist seminary and served for almost ten years in youth ministry in Southern Baptist churches. So our recent decision to join with the Anglican/Episcopal church was a surprise to my good friends and family who are still SB faithful. I’ve already written on why we made the decision, and after being at St. Bartholomew’s Church for about 10 months I am happy to report that we’ve grown to love the church even more.

When it comes to comparing denominations, I believe that our sameness is more important than our differences.  However, to ignore the differences is like trying to ignore the huge pink elephant in the room.

One of the most obvious Anglican pink elephants is infant baptism.   Now that we are proud owners of a brand new human being named Jude, we had to decide if we were going to go along with the Anglican way of baptizing children at very young ages.  And by “very young”, I mean young enough to still be pooping pants and being very happy about it.

My first introduction to infant baptism was at Christ Community Church in Franklin, TN, where I worshipped for about 3 years.  CCC is a Presbyterian church that believes infant baptism is a sign of God’s ongoing covenant with us, just like circumcision was a sign of God’s covenant in the Old Testament.  After hearing Pastor Scotty Smith talk about the issue a couple of times, I realized that my Southern Baptist theology would either have to give way to this “new” way of seeing things, or take a last stand, complete with impressive, five-syllable theology words I had stolen from seminary.

Then I did some reading, and discovered that all the Protestant reformers (including Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli) believed that infants of Christian parents should be baptized.  Not only that, but our very own Billy Graham also made a clear statement of support of infant baptism in an interview with the Lutheran Standard in 1961:

“I have some difficulty in accepting the indiscriminate baptism of infants without a careful regard as to whether the parents have any intention of fulfilling the promise they make. But I do believe that something happens at the baptism of an infant, particularly if the parents are Christians and teach their children Christian Truths from childhood. We cannot fully understand the miracles of God, but I believe that a miracle can happen in these children so that they are regenerated, that is, made Christian, through infant baptism. If you want to call that baptismal regeneration, that’s all right with me” (Graham, interview with Wilfred Bockelman, associate editor of the Lutheran Standard, American Lutheran Church, Lutheran Standard, October 10, 1961)

This was a surprising statement from a preacher who was Southern Baptist, but it started my theological wheels turning in a different direction with regard to baptism.

I don’t wish to take the required space here to lay out a full theological defense of infant baptism (especially when others have already done a fine job of that, like here.)  But I do want to share some insight regarding why we are are having Jude baptized this Sunday. There are two main reasons that we want him baptized.

First, Jude’s baptism is based fully on the strength of the faith of his parents. We are bringing him with the commitment to raise him as a Christ-follower. Jude will grow up a Christian, just like I did, though I was baptized at around age 7 (an event I can only vaguely remember). As he gets older, we will provide him the space and encouragement to increasingly own that for himself, a process that is helped along by parents who are living out God’s grace and redemption before his eyes.

Second, we believe it is a sign of inclusion into the community of Christ-followers.  Jude will be included into the Body of Christ even now, and the church accepts him as one of our own.

One of the questions that I’ve been asked is whether or not we’ll encourage Jude to be baptized again when he’s older, so that he understands what he is doing.  To answer that, I think it’s important to consider the sign of circumcision in the Old Testament (Paul parallels circumcision and baptism in Colossians 2). God didn’t ask for a second circumcision once the boy reached a certain age (thankfully!).  However, that doesn’t mean that they did not need to take ownership of their covenant with God as they grew older. The same goes for every Christian.  We are baptized once, and then take increasing ownership of our faith.

So this All Saints Day Sunday will be our reminder that the entire Barmer household is held in God under a covenant of grace. I look forward to the day when Jude looks up at me and asks, “Dad, am I a Christian, too?”

I know what my answer will be.

anglicanism, infant baptism, religion, theology