Nashville with Matt for CSC

Last week I took at trip to Nashville for the Christian Scholars Conference.  I wasn’t planning on going since I have so many other travels this summer.  However, when Provost Tippens called with an opportunity to respond to a paper by David Miller, I knew it was an opportunity I shouldn’t pass up.

David Miller is on the faculty at Princeton University where he directs the Faith & Work Initiative.  David’s paper was a summary of his book God at Work along with an announcement of a new phase in his research where he is further refining “The Integration Box” model with an instrument development study.  I will be paying attention to his work over the next few months and would be interested in joining in the conversation.  If you are interested in the topics of faith/spirituality and work/life balance from an academic perspective, you should check out his blog…http://faithandworkblog.com/.  It’s not updated often enough, but it’s a good start.

The conference was engaging and enjoyable.  I always enjoy my visits to Lipscomb University.  It’s a beautiful campus in a lush, green, pastoral quarter of Nashville.  There are many things about Nashville that are appealing.  One of the highlights of the trip was seeing so many old friends.  I had lunch with Ted Thomas (formerly minister of the Silver Spring CoC in Silver Spring, MD) and Gayle Crowe (former minister of the Chatham CoC in Chatham, NJ…and father of one of my best friends DMC). 

 

These two guys are so special to me because it was in conversation with them many years ago that convinced me it was time for a career change.  I’m so grateful for their influence in my life.  Without them I would be Lord knows where… but almost certainly not here.

But the big highlight, was that Son #1 was able to come along for the trip.  We had a blast.  We spent the first night on the plane at DFW… and didn’t arrive in Nashville until nearly 1am.  But the second night we did a double-feature… Iron Man 2, followed by Prince of Persia.  What fun.  I preferred IM2, but he liked PoP better.  Both were fun. (Ironically, last time I attended CSC I took in a Double Feature at the same theater!)

We also made a stop by the Parthenon…

And then had the most amazing burgers at Five Guys…

Day 3 we had to fly back to LA.  But before leaving, we made a few stops.  Like at Krispy Kreme for some hot, fresh donuts.

 

On Legends Corner in downtown Nashville… 

I think Matt only recognized Johnny Cash from the guitar face.

Then we stopped by the Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole’ Opry…

And finally, we wondered by GameStops, Targets, Best Buys, and Walmarts looking for a PSP Bundle Pack.  With the bundle you save about $30, but Matt really wanted to buy a PSP for the plane ride home.  So, we finally picked up a new PSP and the Prince of Persia game and headed to the airport.  It was a terrific trip for both of us.  I really enjoyed having Matt with me.  I look forward to having him with me again.

Literally? Give to the poor? Really?

My good friend Rich Beck had this on his blog last week. Funny stuff...

WWJD? Really? HDYK?

Recently, I posted a long comment on a friend's blog about something I've been thinking a lot about lately. The basic issue is this...being at a "Christian University" (whatever that is), and having served full-time as a "professional minister" (whatever that is), I've run across a fair share of people who are skeptical of "organized" religion (whatever that is).

A common line-of-argument is,

The church is hypocritical because it does X (whatever that is). If Jesus were here, he would absolutely positively not do X. In fact, he would do Y.

Now, I think I know where these people are coming from. I appreciate that they disagree with something that the church is doing and are willing to root that debate in their understanding of the nature of Christ. In fact, many times I agree with them on the issue.

However, I find the argument to be rather superficial. Their logic seems to be that they have some special knowledge of Jesus that has escaped all the "irrational, organized religion folks" and is only apparent to them...in their private, mystical setting.

I just don't get it.

Why do people feel that they a clearer understanding of Jesus simply because they haven't bothered with the challenges of gaining agreement with others in an organized fashion? Two quick examples here...

• one friend recently posted their perspective on the Lambeth Conference of the Episcopal/Anglican Church. At issue here was that the Anglican Church asked the first openly gay bishop to stay home from the conference to reduce some of the hostility that was already present over the issue. My friend argued that what "Jesus would do" is to accept and embrace the bishop, not shun him.
• Another friend recently forwarded an email from a very conservative political organization that argued that Sen. Obama was unfit for the Presidency because he took too liberal a view of scripture. The material on the related web-site had one quote that especially troubled me. "I can assure you, Sen. Obama. Christ would never turn the other cheek to terrorists and enemies of America".

I will leave it to your discretion to agree or disagree with either position here, but that is not really the point.

The point is that both of these lines of argument--though taken from opposite sides of the political/social spectrum--are rhetorically the same.

They both argue that the "real Jesus" would behave differently than other believers think he would. This is a very weak argument that merely plays to the audience's emotional desire to "be like Jesus" with any evidence or rhetoric that supports the intellectual journey to arrive at the preferred destination.

So the next time you feel passionately about a subject, try to avoid the "WWJD" (What Would Jesus Do) type of argument...after all, "HDYK" (How Do You Know)?

PNFR XI

2007-Q3-PNFR11

The last few days I've been at PNFR on Lake Tenkiller in Eastern OK while Michelle and the kids were  with the Crisps in Abilene.  PNFR is an annual Prayer and Fasting Retreat that several of us have been taking for the past decade.  It's always a wonderful time of sharing, worship, and reflection.  This year was no different.  Here are some photos.  The big highlight of the year was PAV nearly cracking his head wide open as he tried to navigate his way into a float over a slippery dock.  Fortunately, he didn't actually get hurt too bad.  But it was sure funny! 

The key insight for me this year was how much I have to be grateful for in my life.

Evolutionary Chemistry

Props to CH for alerting me to this.