Is Rob Bell the kind of Christian I want to be?

Long time no see.

It's funny to think that this is just another blog post about Rob Bell's new book, "Love Wins." I feel like this might be among the most blogged about subjects in recent history. Of course, I'm not so interested in the book itself, as I haven't read it, nor am I interested in the discussion (debate) surrounding Heaven and Hell. Rather, I am interested in the fact that so many people identify with Rob Bell or other Christian leaders or just other people in general. I really just want to focus for a few minutes on how we a Christians often identify (and subsequently seem to follow religiously) with what kind of Christian a person seems to be.

For example, we look at Rob Bell. If I identify, or want to, with a Christian who is hip, creative, thoughtful, and somewhat simple in what he believes. This is not to say that Rob Bell, Mars Hill, or Nooma are simplistic, they are all in fact quite deep theologically and faithfully wondering about where faith and life intersect to create lives of faith. The simple belief I'm referring to is that Love Wins. I really do hope that it is that simple. But I digress a bit.

In a conversation this week with a number of my compatriots here at the seminary, we talked about identifying with a Christian leader like Rob Bell as a kind of rallying point for faith formation. I might follow Rob Bell because he's a great speaker, a deep thinker, a careful author, but not necessarily because I agree with him theologically or in his Biblical interpretation. It's an interesting dualism between what he/I believe and how he delivers it to me. One of the members of this conversation this week is a Christian leader that I identify with, both because he seems to be hip (enough), is a sports fan, is a deep theological thinker, and is nerdy enough to use Anakin Skywalker in a lecture on sin, death, and fear that leads to sinning. Yup.

What kinds of other people do commoners such as myself identify with? Our own pastors, youth directors, bosses, co-workers, musicians, actors or actresses, politicians?

I want to briefly tell you about a few Christians that I identify with. I see these people, or even just think about these people, and say, "I want to be that kind of Christian. I want to be that kind of leader." I want, but I can't always have. It's somewhat of an ontological conundrum (an issue with my very being and existence). I see youth leaders like DG and I want to be as open and loving and structured and creative as he. That's not necessarily in my skill set. I see adults in the church like KP, who call me back in my time of grief and of deep need. I want to be like that for someone someday. I remember my Papa, my grandfather, who had such a fierce prayer life, God couldn't help but hear JF pray. His heart was so big, even in his relatively small frame, it seemed to engulf the whole neighborhood, if not more. I want to love and live faithfully like that.

These are some of the people I identify with. I am a youth director. I care deeply for my friends and family. I try to love as hard as I can, to love the loveless and the unlovable.

I'm not them. I celebrate them, but we are not the same. Praise God for that.

I kinda dig Rob Bell. I can identify with him. Is he the kind of Christian I want to be? No, not really. I want to be the kind of Christian that Peter was. I've made plenty of mistakes, but Jesus still takes me back, gives me work to do, and continues to be committed to me even to the point of death and beyond.

What kind of Christian do you want to be? Too bad, you have to be the kind of Christian you are. Be the kind of Christian, the kind of human being, that God created you to be, allows you to be, and celebrate you being.

Peace until next time.

K.

please pray with me

(Warning: the following might make the tender-hearted among us queasy or uneasy. Try not to be, unless that is your current situation too. If that's the case, use these words, personalize them, and make them your own.)

God of dark skies and rainy days,
Murphy's Law is in effect. The sheer amount of work, the burden of leadership, and the undercutting of those from whom I seek support is getting to be too much.
Your servant Matthew tells us to not worry about tomorrow, that today's trouble is enough. Nay, I say today's trouble is too much, because yesterday's troubles won't leave me alone. How can I ignore tomorrow's problems, when they become today's and stare at me from my calendar?
Remember the words of your servant Job, hear them from my mouth and from my heart:
"Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul."
Deadlines have come and gone, and still there is work to do. Responsibilities are being heaped upon my head as I sit on my ash-heap.
Gracious God, send someone to my side, hearken to my sigh of helplessness. Not only send them with your spirit, but set your spirit on me that I might receive them in humility and thanks, not with anger and pride.
I ask for the strength to get this **** done. I pray that I may find joy in your presence, and that your presence is not far off.
But until I have wiped everything from my plate, like Job, "Will you not look away from me for a while, let me alone until I swallow my spittle?"
Thanks for me waking up today. I've got to get back to work.
Amen.

nothing deep, just delicious

toasted wheat bread
Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
fried egg
handful of baby spinach
burger patty seasoned with Uncle Gerry's steak seasoning
honey mustard
toasted wheat bread

my new favorite brunch sandwich for after those early classes.

yum.

My first Greek lesson

This semester I'm taking a Pauline literature course on the letters to the Corinthians and Philippians. As of this point, I've only had class once, so I don't have a whole lot to report on just yet. However, there was one quite fascinating discussion that we had last week. This has some Greek wording with it, so be warned!

There are two Greek words for love used in Paul's letters: eros and pothos. The main distinction we talked about in class was based on the subject of the love. For eros, that is the love for the beloved when the beloved is present with the lover. For pothos, it is the love for the beloved when the beloved is absent. One other Greek word that is important in this distinction is lupe, or sorrow, grief, pain.

Next, we had a bit of math thrown our way. Here is the equation my professor wrote on the board:

Pothos = eros + lupe

To translate:

Love of one who is absent is the love felt when they are present mixed with the grief and sorrow of them being absent. Another way to describe this is bittersweet love. (Or as my professor prefers to call it, sweet-bitter love.)

Many of the New Testament epistles focus on the theme of longing, which can be seen as this pothos love that Paul has for the churches and people to whom he is writing. (For example, Romans, Corinthians, Philippians, and Galations all exibit this theme of pothos longing.)

I find this rather fascinating and meaningful. As Paul longs for the church (or rather the Church), I long for my family, friends, and community at home. It is this love I've known in their presence mixed with the sorrow of not being in the presence currently. Bittersweet is a pretty accurate description of how I feel about being here at seminary most days. I love my time here, but I also am longing (pothos) for those I love back home and those spread across this country and throughout the world.

I find Greek translations and meanings like this extremely helpful for reading Scripture, as well as adding new ways for myself to express how I feel. The English word love simply does not have all the meaning and connotations that I might require it to. Eros and lupe create pothos. Perhaps my next project will be to examine where the idea of hope or promise comes into pothos. That'd be nice.

Peace and blessings. I pothos you.

Interesting New Book Meets Summer Vacation Bible School

This week I've been co-leading my church's Vacation Bible School for 3 year olds through 6th graders, here in the suburbs of the Cities. It's been a fun and exhausting time, full of songs and skits and games and laughter. And now, as I'm just about through the week, I've had some time to sit, be silent, and rest.

In other news, as I was resting I was also checking up on a new project that one of my professors has been working on. His new book is called "The Children of Divorce: The Loss of Family as the Loss of Being". My professor looks at how divorce not only changes a young person's experience of family, their living situations, and their emotional state of being, but changes their essence, their entire being, who they are.

He looks at how young people seek to redefine themselves in the wake of their parents' divorce and the loss of their previous family experience and understanding. He then moves on to see how Christianity and the church can help give language and meaning to the new redefinition of who these young people become. Seeing divorce as causing an ontological shift (that is, changing the core of their human existence) leads him to question how new meaning is created within their existence.

From the perspective of a youth leader working with young people who have had major situational and ontological shifts and changes in their lives, it is helpful to me to see how these young people are able to use Christ and the church to redefine themselves and create real meaning in their lives. Of course, part of that also leads me to examine my own missional ecclesiology (nerd speak for the role and mission of the church). How can I, as a youth worker or as a lay leader or a congregation member, help young people experiencing divorce in their families create new meaning in their lives and cope with the loss of who they had previously been?

As of this moment, having not actually read my professor's newest book, but kind of understanding where he might go with it, I see the answer abiding in the grace of Christ. Luther's Theology of the Cross can help lead us to enter into the pain and fear of someone affected by divorce while they redefine and search for meaning in who they might be becoming. As people of God who are called by love into love of our neighbors, we both support and challenge as need be the new meaning and experiences of our brother and sisters in Christ.

Thinking theologically about real life issues like divorce is great, but acting practically within that theological framework is truly a struggle and a difficulty, for all parties involved. But isn't that exactly what we are called to do, as members of the body of Christ, to act theologically and continue the mission of God and Christ in the world?

I think so.

Phew!

Wow, what a rollercoaster.

I've finished half of my credit requirements for my MA degree. I'm taking kids to camp next week (well, tomorrow). The mission trip is shaping up, and VBS is right around the corner. But first, I get to spend a couple weeks at home for vacation.

A couple things I've learned so far in MN:
Deep fried Snickers bars are delicious.
Winter is cold, but there are ways to get through it.
Longer O's mean you're a north Minnesotan.
Iweigens (?) are people from Iowa.
I am still a deep theological thinker.
Ultimate frisbee transcends state boundaries.
Food in communities matters even more here than back home, if that's even possible.
The Twins have their own theme song, and have for years.
Target Field is nice, but I still prefer Safeco and its retractable roof.
It seems that all youth are either scouts or camp councellors...or both.
Preparing for trips is really not my strength in ministry.
"Interesting" is the Minnesota Nice way of saying, "That's not interesting."
Networking and who you know really matter.
Minnesota youth are not necessarily the most adventurous eaters.

That's just a snapshot, I suppose. There's a lot more classroom knowledge that I've gained too, but I just can't spell it all correctly.

Random, I know. But hey, I'm kind of on summer break.

Triune God and Death

This term I took a class on Ministry with Young Adults. My professor is a deep theological thinker and therefore loves to delve into complex and often troubling theological questions. In our discussion last week on how the Church needs to be a community, Dr. R lectured on how God is a community. God is a community within the Trinity, the unity of the Father God, the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

Dr. R spoke on how the Trinity is held together not by obligation nor even by choice, but by LOVE. The basis of the unity of the Trinity is love. The ultimate expression of the love in which the Trinity is based is seen on the cross where the crucified Christ died. Therefore, the cross exists at the very heart of God's community with God's self.

God has overcome Death by bringing Death into the community of the Trinity through the cross of Christ.

However, the perfect community that was the Trinity was lost, destroyed on the cross. The Son, of the unity of the Trinity, DIED. In Christ's death the unity of the Trinity ended.

But now, we must remember that the LOVE of God cannot and will not be defeated. Not even Death of the Christ can stand against the love of God. The love of God defeats Death in the Resurrection. That is why Easter is so important that we celebrate the risen Christ every Sunday in particular, though the power and truth of Easter is with us every hour of every day. Sundays are meant to be little Easters, little celebrations of the Resurrection. Alleluia!

As much as it hurts to admit, from Death springs forth Life. Through the Love of God, the basis of the Trinity, the Trinity is brought back, Resurrected with Christ. But now the Trinity, which is always and forever based in Love, surrounds and in intertwined with Death.

Out of Death, through Love, the Trinity is regained.It is made perfect in Death through Love.

So now where do we see God as concretely as possible? We can see God in beautiful things of life, like the smile of an infant, the laughter of old friends, a warm embrace of a loved one, a sunrise on a cloudless morning, in the refreshing rain and the warming sun.

But we can also see God in Death. Throughout nature, we see new Life spring up out of Death. It is in Death we see God, because Death is at the heart of the Trinity because of the Crucifixion and is brought to perfection through Love in the Resurrection.

So what then is the role of the church? To build itself around Death, as the Trinity surrounds Death with Life in Love. God is found concretely in Death. So the church must find itself concretely in Death.

Death renders us, as fragile human beings, alone. Often we can feel completely alone at the Death of a loved one, regardless of the expectation or lack thereof of Death. By speaking about Death, pain, and suffering, we engage in what Dr. R calls the "horrible sacrament of shared life."

As we near the Crucifixion and the Resurrection (Alleluia!), we celebrate that the Trinity is grounded in Love, was broken on the cross, and was redeemed through Love in the Resurrection. In our world we see Death and brokenness more often that we like to admit. But, in the midst of the darkness of Death, God is there. God has experienced Death, has brought Death into God's self, and has made Death a part of God because of God's LOVE.

The Love of the Resurrection defeats the Death of the cross. Every time.

Alleluia!