Intentional Walk: September 2008

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Happy 10th!

On 10/10, Lisa and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary. As big a math nerd as I am, I promise that I didn't plan that. It just worked out that way. So in 10 days (!) we will share a nice evening together, followed by a weekend at the coast, followed next month by a week-long cruise.

Today, I celebrated a different 10th anniversary. The 2008/2009 school year marks the tenth birthday of Sunnyside High School. Today there was a special lunch to honor those of us who were here when the doors opened. There were some fun things planned, but nothing more important than the time devoted to sitting with fellow teachers and reminiscing about the past decade. We shared pictures, stories, favorite (and least favorite) students, and generally had a wonderful time for 35 minutes until the bell rang.

Sunnyside is still a special place. Like every school, we have our problems. But there has always been a high level of respect shown here for teachers and for what we do. It was very nice to have some time today to reflect on that.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Prescriptive or Descriptive?

During class last week, we were talking about church leadership. We spent some time looking (of course) at I Timothy 3. At the end of our discussion, our teacher casually mentioned that he didn't feel that church leadership, even church eldership, was limited to men.

This led to a few raised eyebrows (a very few...the class is, after all, split almost 50/50 down gender lines) and a brief conversation between Jim and I about the nature of these New Testament texts that have caused so much disagreement over the years. Jim used these terms which I'd never heard before, but helped me distill my own feelings. He said that some looked at these passages prescriptively and some saw them descriptively. In other words, some feel that they are a prescription for how the church is supposed to be and some feel that they are a description of how things were.

It makes a big difference, doesn't it? From one viewpoint, there are ways to do things and ways not to do things. From another viewpoint, there are events which we can use to help us decide how to do things today. I'm interested in input, but first I have to say one more thing which is far more important than either viewpoint. I am so grateful that people can talk about their own perspectives but still appreciate and esteem the perspective of others. In my lifetime, the church has come very far in its ability to coexist with different interpretations. It's wonderful to be able to have these conversations and come away from them without rights and wrongs.

So? Prescriptive? Or descriptive?

Monday, September 22, 2008

Sunday

Maybe it wasn't the greatest Sunday ever. But it had to be close.

Note: All times are approximate.

7:30 - 1:00 --- Got up. Got ready for church. Went to church. Worshiped. Good stuff. Had spicy, crispy, teryaki chicken at Teryaki Don on the way home. Also good stuff.

1:00 - 4:00 --- Family napped. I watched the Angels win their 96th game of the season on the way (I hope) to home field advantage throughout the postseason.

4:00 - 6:30 --- Family Fun Fest at nearby Trinity Presbyterian Church. Ran into many friends while James went around like this pretty much all evening:

6:30 - 9:00 --- Watched (and fastforwarded a bit through) the final game in Yankee Stadium. I am on record as an avowed Yankee Hater, but it should be known that I have a great deal of respect for the franchise. You don't win 26 World Championships by just sitting around being mediocre. They honor the past and play for the present (but all too often sacrifice the future). Last night was a perfect capsule of the team, from honoring veterans like Reggie, Bernie Williams, and Don Larsen before the game...to talking with Whitey Ford and Yogi in the booth...to the ultra classy Derek Jeter leading his teammates in a salute to their fans and then in a final tour around the park. I hate that they are tearing down this landmark of American History, but at least they showed it the proper respect. Note in the picture below that Jeter and Rivera are nearly eclipsed by Giambi's giganto mustache:

9:00 - 11:30 --- Watched what was possibly the worst Emmy Award Show ever. Whoever thought that following up last year's horrid Ryan Seacrest debaucle with 4 MORE reality hosts should be (as Steve Martin used to say) taken out and maimed. As usual, the only highlights were the self-scripted stuff by people like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Ricky Gervais and Steve Carell (who made me laugh so hard I cried) and, as always, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Good news: 30 Rock, the best show on television, wins! Bad news: Everything else.

11:30 - 12:00 --- In bed far too late for a school night. Before we turned in, I took off my baseball cap and found the very best case of "hat hair" I've ever encountered. It was perfectly flat and parted. I liked it so much I combed it while Lisa tried to brush her teeth, "tried" because she was laughing so hard. We took pictures. It took a long time because every time Lisa looked at the view she started laughing, then I started laughing, and you can't be laughing in a picture like this. Finally, we preserved the moment, for your enjoyment:

Friday, September 19, 2008

Heaven on Earth

I'm not here to start an argument.

I'm really not.

The truth is, all of the following stuff falls under the category of "it really doesn't matter all that much." Then why bother? Because I can think of far worse ways to spend my time than reflecting on the eternity we look forward to spending with our Father in Heaven.

Just where that Heaven might be is a question I've been pondering. The theory has been around for a long time, but has grown in popularity of late, that the paradise we are promised will actually be a remade earth. God will recreate, remake, restore this world to its original intent and He will live here with His people. The "new earth" of which the Bible speaks will be this earth, made new.

I remember a dear old gentleman at church who was presented with this theory. It's the only time I've ever seen him angry. "It says 'a new heaven and a new earth!" he kept saying, and eventually shouting. He walked to his car that day muttering it over and over. But does "new" mean "different?" Might not "new" mean "changed?" Is the idea resisted because it is foreign...because we have such distaste for this earth...or because we just think it's wrong?

Paul told the church at Thessalonica that we will be caught up together to meet our Lord in the air. (By the way, did you know that the Greek word used for "caught up" translates to the Latin "raptus" from which we get the term "rapture?" It has nothing to do with extreme joy, but rather with being caught up to meet our Lord. If you knew it, you're smarter than me. I didn't find out until last night's class.) But once we are "caught up," do we stay up? What if, like meeting a Head of State, we go up to meet and accompany back down? This would actually fit the language and context Paul was using.

And how about the image Luke gives us of two men together in a field on that day: one is taken and one is left behind. Whoever said that we wanted to be the one taken? Might we not rather be the one left? Is being taken preferable? When God last rained judgment down on the world, weren't Noah and his family happy to be the only ones left??

Okay, okay, I don't even agree with everything I just wrote. But I've enjoyed playing around with it in my mind. Because as I do, I am setting my sights on things above (heh, so to speak) and I'm thinking about those promised days to come. Days when we live with our Creator in perfect shalom. Days when we live and move and breathe in the company of our Lord, our Savior, our Friend.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Hyperbole

The gregarious and spherical former manager of the Dodgers, Tommy Lasorda, was asked recently for his feelings on a potential Angels/Dodgers World Series.

Lasorda responded, "It would be the greatest thing that has ever happened."

I've spent my morning trying to think about all the things that have ever happened and decide if, in fact, any were ever greater than this. I've come up with a few so far.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Full Time Preacher

The College Church is in the process of hiring a full-time minister. That position has been unfilled for about 11 years. As one of the people who has been preaching during that time, I have conflicting emotions.

I'm excited. I have felt for some time that something is missing when there isn't a single person doing that job. Whomever we hire will have the freedom to preach on whatever he chooses and he can decide whether to preach stand-alone sermons or a continuing series. My friend Jim has spent 2008 preaching on Genesis 1-11. Amazing! What better way to have discussions about the Creation Mandate, about God's love and plan for mankind, about sin and grace?

I'm anxious. I know I shouldn't be...God has the situation well in hand...but we've been doing things a certain way for a long time. The new minister will have to win over a congregation that is used to a variety of voices.

I'm even a tad envious. I've reached the point where I truly enjoy preaching and, even though I'll still have the occasional opportunity, I'll miss it. Fortunately, there are always classes to teach and my seminary work will keep my plenty busy.

Yesterday we had our first candidate preach for us and teach our class afterward. I was so grateful that he began by asking us to talk about what was preached and not just who did the preaching. He knew the Word and definitely had something to say. I don't know if he is the man that God has selected for us, but I certainly enjoyed meeting him and hearing from him. We are likely to have someone else visiting us soon and I look forward to hearing what he has to say as well. It wouldn't be a bad thing to have more than one excellent person from whom to choose.

Please continue to pray.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Angels Clinched Division!

I don't make many predictions, and even fewer that come true. Imagine my surprise when the Angels actually fulfilled my blog prophesy yesterday! Now they need to get ready for the post-season.

It was a nice celebration as the family went out and enjoyed some great sushi yesterday. Of course, the main reason we celebrated was because yesterday was the penultimate 10th before our wedding anniversary. This year, I've tried to do something on the 10th of each month to show Lisa how special she is to me. Next month will be the ultimate 10th: On 10/10 we will celebrate our 10th year of wedded bliss. At least, it has been blissful for me...Lisa might feel differently.

After dinner I drove James to AWANA and noticed something interesting. We passed Jim G.'s church and there were cars already arriving some 50 minutes before Wednesday night Bible study. I dropped my boy off at Jim W.'s church across the street which was positively bustling with activity as children all over north Fresno were arriving for the first night of AWANA. I drove towards home and only went one block before passing The Well, a local church popular with college students, many of whom were walking in from the parking lot, Bibles in hand, ready to dive into the Word together. Only one block more and I passed another large church where my niece and nephew attended AWANA back in the day (and the fact that they are actually old enough to have a "day" to go back to brings tears to my eyes).

Some might decry this journey as a testament to church disunity. I see it very differently. All of these churches are large and thriving. The Body of Christ is simply too large to be housed in a single building. We need all of these places just to have room to gather, fellowship, and grow together in our walks with God. What a wonderful feeling it was to see all of these churches, active and excited, in such a small geographical area. How powerful it could be if all those Christians would get fired up in their local churches, and then go and spread the Word as the church universal!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Angels Clinch Division!

Maybe. Hopefully today. If they beat the Yankees and the Rangers lose later in the day, the '08 Angels will be one of the quickest teams to clinch a post-season berth in the history of baseball. What they do once they get there is another story. The middle infield needs to get healthy and we need to get some momentum going, difficult when you've known for over a month that you were headed for October baseball.

Either way, this is probably the best Angels team I've ever seen.

My first paper is due tomorrow so...short post today. A thought before I get to work: who needs your prayer today? Who needs to know you are praying for them?

Friday, September 05, 2008

What Is Important?

Last night we had our first discussion period in my seminary class. The book we were discussing, "The Reign of God," was in two parts. The first part focused on the active, reigning God and our part in coming alongside Him in his reigning activities. The second part concentrated on the kingdom which is to come. The author spent a lot of time defending his view of "heaven on earth" and almost no time discussing why knowing about the future kingdom is helpful for us in the kingdom of today.

I liked the first part. The vast majority of our discussion was about the second part.

After only two weeks I'm probably oversimplifying this, but it seems to me that seminary students come in two basic types: those who want to know more about God and help others know more, and those who like to argue. I've had my fill of arguing about the Word, so I find myself guiding the discussion towards helping us all build our relationships with God. Even so, there was a 10-minute free-for-all last night regarding dispensationalism.

Our teacher describes God's Kingdom as "already and not yet." I really like that. But I tend to focus more on the "already," figuring that the "not yet" will take care of itself. That's probably naive. Certainly how we see the future affects how we act today. But the last, the lost, and the least often struggle to get through today, this hour, this minute. So I steer away from theology for the sake of theology, I avoid big words in favor of a clear gospel, and I don't honestly give a rat's patootie if I spend eternity with my Lord in the sky or on earth.

(And yet, with all that, it's still fun to know about subjective genitives.)

I feel like I need a seminary mission statement, something I can keep coming back to if I get off track, something my friends can remind me of if I start to stray. I don't have it all worked out yet, but it includes the idea of learning about God so I can share Him more clearly with others.

Meanwhile, my friend Jim has this to say.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

About That 17-Game Lead

"Hey, Steve," you might say. "How come you haven't been writing about the Angels much lately? Aren't you happy about that huge lead?"

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

It's a well-known maxim in baseball: if you start talking about it, bad things will happen.

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