tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34655352024-03-13T09:26:35.332-07:00spirit farmer. . . integration of a faith journey and real life.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.comBlogger863125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-72868397839731884672008-03-13T14:52:00.000-07:002008-03-13T14:53:28.678-07:00Just in case you missed the news . . .. . . I am now blogging at <a href="http://www.spiritfarmer.com">www.spiritfarmer.com</a>. Update your RSS Reader accordingly. Thank you for visiting.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-69615609631945988572008-01-01T10:00:00.000-08:002008-01-05T07:56:08.929-08:00Happy New Year, Happy New Blog<p>Well, it's been a really long time in coming, but I finally got a minimal amount of tinkering done, and I'm ready to welcome 2008 with a new blog presence. After nearly six years of publishing this blog on <a href="http://www.blogger.com/" mce_href="http://www.blogger.com/">Blogger</a>, I'm making the switch over to <a href="http://www.wordpress.org/" mce_href="http://www.wordpress.org/">WordPress</a>. I've got no big gripes with Blogger - I was a little worried back when they were bought out by <a href="http://www.google.com/" mce_href="http://www.google.com/">Google</a>, but they've not been too terribly evil. I just think that some of the features over on WordPress will make managing the blog a little bit easier.</p> <p>And for the first time ever, I'm going to be blogging under the name of my very own URL. When I started this thing, spiritfarmer.com was owned by someone else. But a little over a year ago, I found that it was unregistered, so I purchased it. So now you can visit me at <a href="http://www.spiritfarmer.com/" mce_href="http://www.spiritfarmer.com/">www.spiritfarmer.com</a>. I've still got some tinkering to do and some things to learn on WordPress, but it's good enough to go live with.</p> <p>So if you read this via a feedreader, reset your feed to <a href="http://spiritfarmer.wordpress.com/feed/" mce_href="http://spiritfarmer.wordpress.com/feed/"><span>this</span></a>. One thing I discovered in <a href="http://www.reader.google.com/" mce_href="http://www.reader.google.com/">Google Reader</a>, though, is that the blog title doesn't show up, so you'll have to set that yourself for the time being. I'll see if I can figure that out (or one of you blogging geniuses can throw me a bone, and teach me).</p> <p>Thanks for following me . . . I'll check in on the Blogger account occasionally, just to make sure folks aren't getting lost. Let me know if you have any issues with accessibility: spiritfarmer [at] gmail [dot] com.</p>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-40515672670762026732007-12-31T12:34:00.000-08:002007-12-31T12:38:35.611-08:00Praying for a younger friendI've spent the past 48 hours praying a lot and sleeping poorly, over one of my Seattle inter::mission team members. She called on Saturday with the news her teenage brother had died in an auto accident. Horrible. It makes Resurrection hope seem both tantalizing and desperately far away at the same time.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-57074476699512690162007-12-19T06:20:00.000-08:002007-12-19T08:11:00.443-08:00Merry Christmas (I think)Can't say where this came from, but I've been walking through this whole Christmas season with a bit of an edge. People have heard me say cranky little quips, and even the occasional mini-rant. In part, it's the consumerism of the season that a lot of people are cautious of. There are <a href="http://www.adventconspiracy.org/">good efforts</a> out there already to combat that mentality, and to <a href="http://ecclesiacollective.org/makesomethingday/">make something better</a>. For the most part, though, I've had a more theological sort of thing going. <br /><br />I'm more concerned about the gross imbalance that exists between the time, money, effort, and overall attention that <span style="font-style: italic;">Christians </span>and <span style="font-style: italic;">churches </span>give to Christmas vs. Resurrection Sunday. Hear me now - I'm a grateful believer in celebrating the Incarnation, and the amazing story that it is. I do think it's good and right for us to make a big deal of that. <br /><br />But let me ask this question - <span style="font-style: italic;">How many Christians do you know that redecorate their whole house to celebrate the Resurrection?</span> Not talking about Easter bunnies here, either. I'm talking about clearing the coffee table so we can set up a little ceramic scene of a big rock mountain with a cave cut out of it, and a stone that's been rolled away from the entrance. You've got your ceramic angels hanging out at the tomb, ceramic Mary looking confused while talking to that strange ceramic gardener dude, ceramic Peter and ceramic John sucking air from having just finished their foot race. Everyone except for the angels, and the aforementioned gardener have that expression of <span style="font-style: italic;">"Wha??"</span> on their faces. O.k., so I got a little out of control there . . . all that might be a little creepy.<br /><br />How many Christians do you know that use even 20% of the money they'd spend at Christmas to give it away to Christian missionaries or causes?<br /><br />Almost all churches make a big deal about their Good Friday/Easter Sunday services. Celebrative gatherings, sunrise services, special musical presentations. Many new church plants hold their public "launches" on Easter (a thing I've got a whole different set of misgivings about). I don't want to be completely unfair here - there is special emphasis on the Resurrection. I'm just wondering if it's equivalent to Christmas.<br /><br />All of this, when in two of our four gospels, the narrative of the birth of Jesus isn't even mentioned! Do I need to bother asking the counter-question of how many gospels have the Passion narrative?<br /><br />With all that said, let me rescue myself from this scrooge-y corner I'm in. I DO LIKE CHRISTMAS. Michelle and I will be traveling great distances to be with family and friends for celebrations. I LIKE GIVING GIFTS TO PEOPLE, and think that Christmas represents a beautiful time for us to honor those that God has placed in our lives. I DO LIKE SOME CHRISTMAS MUSIC - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Songs-Christmas-Sufjan-Stevens/dp/B000HLDF0O/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1198079489&sr=8-1"><span style="font-weight: bold;">this</span></a> is good stuff (but <a href="http://www.trans-siberian.com/index-main.php">this</a> and <a href="http://shop.mannheimsteamroller.com/">this </a>make me want to hurt people). I LIKE CHRISTMAS COOKIES. Oh, and I LIKE SEEING LITTLE CHILDREN GET GIDDY ON CHRISTMAS MORNING. I've got no beefs with Santa - he's always been better to me than I've been to him. In the interest of full disclosure, let me also say that I LIKE RECEIVING GIFTS - especially those that show that someone really thought about me and wanted to express their love.<br /><br />My main thing here is to put things in perspective. Thank you God for the Incarnation. Indeed. But thank you, thank you, thank you Jesus for inaugurating an everlasting Kingdom by your words, your deeds, your sacrifice, and your Resurrection!<br /><br />With all that said, let me wish all of my readers out there (I could name the four of you, but I wouldn't want to embarrass you) a great Christmas. I do hope this holiday season is a wonderful celebration. Just remember, when you open your Bible to <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%202;&version=31;">Luke 2</a>, feel free to follow it up with some time in <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2024&version=31">Luke 24</a>.<br /><br />PeaceStevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-30753873984741592762007-12-12T07:55:00.000-08:002007-12-12T07:59:33.920-08:00Jesus ManifestoJust thought I'd drop some linkage love here . . .<br /><br />I've been enjoying <a href="http://www.jesusmanifesto.com/">Jesus Manifesto</a>, the blog of Mark Van Steenwyk, for a while now. He recently invited others to contribute, and they just re-launched the site - looking good.<br /><br />A little Jesus anarchy anyone?Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-43197155490968751372007-12-12T06:25:00.001-08:002007-12-12T07:52:35.651-08:00U.S. MediaJust in case you were wondering, I'd recommend NOT trusting everything you see and hear in mainstream American media. I've come across two different stories this week that illustrate that the news-as-business machine gets very sloppy, very lazy, very biased, even as it sells it as "investigative," "straight talk," and "everything you need to know."<br /><br />One of the stories has to do with the referendum in Venezuela recently. The media told the story as a corrupt, power hungry president, trying to become a "dictator for life," but getting defeated in the election. I smelled something a little fishy, given that if Hugo Chavez was truly a dictator, he'd have won the election easily. Anyway, this morning, I came across <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.therealnews.com/web/index.php?thisdataswitch=0&thisid=658&thisview=item">this video</a> analysis of the news coverage, so I thought I'd share.<br /><br />This is just one example about a story most Americans don't really care about. But it makes you wonder what else we "learn" from our media sources.<br /><br />This is why I get most of my news via Google Reader, and read stories from the BBC and Al Jazeera as much as stories from the New York Times.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-38630428358459908682007-12-10T20:46:00.000-08:002007-12-10T22:54:18.635-08:00Time for a breather . . . o.k., good, now back to work!As of about ten minutes ago, when I sent off the last of four assignments/projects due by midnight tonight, I'm done with this semester. I'm numb. I'm literally leaned back in my chair with my eyes closed right now, just willing myself to type these words. This has been an intense past few months. Definitely the most challenging academic semester I've ever faced.<br /><br />But now I can breathe . . . at least for a couple of days. Then I'm going to dive into a class I need to take "on the side" in order to qualify for the program I've spent the past year and a half in. I shan't complain, though, especially given that one of the assigned books for the class is N.T. Wright's excellent masterwork, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Victory-Christian-Origins-Question/dp/0800626826/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197355845&sr=8-1">Jesus and the Victory of God</a>. Hopefully I can knock that class out in about a month or so, because by then I'll be headlong into the next semester. Joy!!<br /><br />For now, it is time for me to re-acquaint myself with my pillow and my wife. Nighty-night.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-25665901510199753802007-12-10T16:25:00.000-08:002007-12-10T16:38:38.119-08:00Merry Christmas, from a blogger you weren't really expecting<blockquote>Merry Christmas to everyone!<br /><br />My sincere congratulations to everyone for the Glorious and Auspicious Birthday of Divine Prophet - confirmed and authenticated by Gabriel, the angel of Divine revelation - the Obedient of Almighty God,<br /><br />Jesus Christ, the Messiah (peace be upon Him)</blockquote><br /><br /><br />This is your <a href="http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/en/merry-christmas-to-everyone/">warm Christmas greeting</a>, straight from the <a href="http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/">blog</a> of . . . Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/11/world/asia/11blog.html?ex=1355029200&en=96123383d8b14144&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss">via</a>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-46844409070904990712007-12-08T05:54:00.000-08:002007-12-08T06:03:48.930-08:00The most intriguing story I didn't have time to read this weekNo time to read "other" stuff this week. Truth is, I don't have time to be blogging now. But when I do have more time, I'm going to chase this story:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22086806/">For Earth's Sake, Don't Divorce . . . Study: Single Households Consume Lots More Per Capita Than Married Ones</a><br /><br />A quick scan of "Christian" headlines I track reveals not a blip on the radar . . . perhaps we're too busy fighting homosexual marriage and denying global warming to actually care about heterosexual divorce and the environment. Perhaps I'll get to this story next week.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-32742128666835364412007-12-02T23:19:00.000-08:002007-12-02T23:36:43.301-08:00Quiet days on the blog . . . so what's new?Hey there. Just thought I'd say that.<br /><br />My posting 'round these parts has been sparse of late, which is due mainly to school stuff. I've read well over 1500 pages of books and articles in the past two weeks, in addition to my normal work responsibilities. At about this time next week (that's 11:30pm on Sunday, for those of you who are keeping track), I hope to be polishing up my written work for the semester, and then I hope to sleep and breathe a little more than I have been. With the launch of inter::mission and some additional coursework I'm required to do, this semester has been extremely challenging. It appears that I'll emerge intact, but definitely tired.<br /><br />Oh, speaking of inter::mission, we did our final teach-in of the Fall quarter this past Thursday. I interviewed our newest staff member, Johnson, who literally just came back from the jungles of Peru, where he spent the past three years. He's a good guy, with some great stories and perspectives, so that was fun.<br /><br />On Friday, Michelle and I also celebrated 11 years of marriage. We were going to go try an Italian restaurant we hadn't been to before to celebrate, but our house got something close to 5 inches of snow yesterday, so we had to stay closer to home. Thankfully, the point is my beautiful wife and our life together. Good times.<br /><br />We also got a visit from my bud, <a href="http://peteysfaith.blogspot.com/">Petey</a>, who was here with his wife and daughter from Corvallis, Oregon. Walked through <a href="http://www.pikeplacemarket.com/frameset.asp?flash=true">Pike Place Market</a> and <a href="http://www.leftbankbooks.com/store/?&cookieSet=1">Left Bank Books</a>. Picked up some posters by <a href="http://www.nikkimcclure.com/">Nikki McClure</a> - terrific, hopeful, thought provoking artist.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nikkimcclure.com/portfolio/images/bloodycherries_lg.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.nikkimcclure.com/portfolio/images/bloodycherries_lg.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />So you see, I've been a busy boy! Apparently, no time for blogging, because I'm doing too much living. I'm guessing it's better that way.<br /><br />Peace.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-15024949737701536252007-11-30T00:48:00.000-08:002007-11-30T01:28:45.884-08:00The New ConspiratorsI had the delight of meeting Tom and <a href="http://godspace.wordpress.com/">Christine Sine</a> at their <a href="http://mustardseedhouse.wordpress.com/">Seattle home</a> on Monday. They're both terrific people, and a real delight to be around - gracious and hospitable. We were mainly just meeting for the first time, but we spent some time talking about Tom's new book, due out in early spring, called The New Conspirators.<br /><br />Related to the book release, <a href="http://www.msainfo.org/">Mustard Seed Associates</a> is putting on a really great looking conference by the same name. It'll be Feb. 28-Mar. 1, 2008. They've assembled a really terrific lineup of speakers, from diverse backgrounds and experiences. <br /><br /><a href=" http://thenewconspirators.wordpress.com/"><br /><img src=" http://thenewconspirators.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/msa-08-blog-150x218.jpg"><br /></a><br /><br />Check it out . . . and stay tuned here. We may try to throw together a little shindig at The Purple Door after the conference.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-42787903033909239022007-11-21T06:25:00.000-08:002007-11-21T07:28:09.449-08:00Funny little thingsI just noticed that in the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a> e-mail environment, the spell-checker flags "Facebook" as a misspelled word.<br /><br />And since I'm talking about it, is it just me, or is Facebook super slow today??Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-49889249618898727102007-11-09T06:30:00.000-08:002007-11-09T08:40:41.402-08:00Intense WeekWow, this has been a heavy set of days for me. Having come off of two conferences last weekend (one of which involved around 12 hours of driving round trip to attend), I've had a heavy school project working - hard work on structuring my dissertation and outlines. Much frustration here. I know the work will pay off, but oi! It's funny, because words and writing and ideas have always been pretty easy for me, but there have been multiple moments this week where I've felt the same as I did in my college chemistry classes - completely stuck. I'm making small breakthroughs, so no worries. I'm just whining.<br /><br />In better news, we had another teach-in with <a href="http://www.intermissionseattle.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">inter::mission</span></a> last night. Good times. I made enchiladas, guacamole, and some cinnamon tortilla chips. Tasty, if I must say so myself. Mike Gunn, pastor of <a href="http://www.harambeechurch2.org/">Harambee Church</a> in Renton, WA joined us for a discussion of gospel and culture. I really enjoyed that a lot. Mike is skillful at reading culture, as evidenced by his movie reviews over on <a href="http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/">Hollywood Jesus</a>. His approach to culture is in the tradition of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesslie_Newbigin">Lesslie Newbigin</a>. He also made reference to Kevin Vanhoozer's book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Theology-Cultural-Interpret-Exegesis/dp/0801031672/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-9684639-5966849?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194625642&sr=8-1">Everyday Theology</a> . . . though that mention made me sad, as that book has been sitting unread on my desk for the past two or three months . . . even now, it's only about thirteenpointfive inches away from my left elbow, mocking me, taunting me, daring me to lay aside the piles of school books I'm already delinquent on . . . but I digress. Mike hammered the Christian ghetto culture more than the culture of the bigbaduglyworld, which is a no brainer for some of us, but a stunningly new approach for many. All in all, it was another stellar evening at The Purple Door, and another signal that we're continuing to move in a quality direction.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-51630606235638746972007-11-05T06:31:00.000-08:002007-11-05T06:52:45.034-08:00Mornings Like TheseOn days like today, I haul my tired butt out of bed, and at some point look at myself in the mirror and say, "Dude, you're looking old." Typically, I'm more oriented toward "feeling as old as I think," which is to say, fairly young.<br /><br />Happily I can say on this Monday morning that I'm tired from having had a weekend of seeing good friends. I spent Thursday evening and Friday morning/early afternoon at the Off The Map Live event. Got to at least touch base with a number of friends and acquaintances that I only see at events like that. It would have been really good to be there longer and relax a little with some friends. But I had to jump in my car with a couple of my younger friends (a.k.a. my staff team) and drive many hours through the dark of night to get to eastern Oregon. We were attending the Northwest Collegiate Ministries fall conference. I'm grateful to have some fun, good hearted, and adventurous people - the road trip was good. Being at the conference was good, too - I respect and enjoy my counterparts in ministry, and I don't get to catch up with them often enough.<br /><br />At the conference, we had <a href="http://www.laurenwinner.net/index.html">Lauren Winner</a> come and talk through her book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Real-Sex-Naked-Truth-Chastity/dp/1587431971/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-9684639-5966849?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194274135&sr=8-1">Real Sex</a>. I've not read the book, but I definitely appreciated her perspectives. She debunks many myths we hear in the church about sex, and does so in an intelligent way.<br /><br />Yesterday afternoon it was back in the car for the road trip home. It's good to be back.<br /><br />So, while I didn't have my favorite person in the world with me, I had a tiring weekend of rich relationships, all of which I'm thankful for. I would have name dropped specifically who I'm talking about, but I'm too lazy to link them all here. A younger version of me would have done a better job at this.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-44953947061014023902007-11-02T06:29:00.000-07:002007-11-02T08:02:54.224-07:00Eliacin nails it . . .In all the buzz and hubbub of the emerging church (a mostly Western/Northern world thing), the voices of the Church Emerging in the global South have not been heard. This is the focus of my school research, so I was delighted to read this:<br /><br /><blockquote>The rumble of the drums and the joyful voices of our brothers and sisters from the Emerging World are getting louder and louder each minute. With all due respect, dear brothers and sisters from the west and north, you’ve been speaking for quite awhile. Now it is your time to show some humility and listen. <a href="http://eliacin.wordpress.com/2007/10/19/the-monastic-orders-of-the-white-men/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">[read more]</span></a><br /></blockquote><br />Good words. May they - and the ears to hear - increase.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-39275970219310453452007-11-01T06:36:00.000-07:002007-11-01T08:39:49.904-07:00Off The Map time . . .It's becoming a sort of default calendar item for me, but it's the first weekend of November, which must mean I'll be at the <a href="http://www.offthemap.com/">Off The Map</a> event, this year codenamed <a href="http://offthemap.com/live/">Hear, Listen, Connect</a>. I've been so cranking busy over the past few months that I've not had the time to be as involved in some of the behind the scenes stuff as in previous years, but I still love going to these things - mainly for the people I get to see. I won't be able to stay for the whole conference, but I'm sure it'll be fun. I'll definitely miss seeing some friends that aren't making the trip this year, though.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-22421096802569664792007-10-26T10:08:00.000-07:002007-10-26T16:07:54.963-07:00inter::mission rolls onIn the middle of a busy week, where much of my time has been spent thinking about the fires in SoCal, our work with <a href="http://www.intermissionseattle.org">inter::mission</a> here in Seattle moves on. We had another one of our teach-ins last night. One of our staffers, Lindsay, threw down on some Poppy Seed Chicken for dinner - outstanding! Our student from Turkey made some yummy Turkish coffee, too. Then my good friend, Ed Park, pastor of <a href="http://www.sanctuaryseattle.org/">Sanctuary Church</a>, led us in a conversation about spiritual formation and mission. He really nailed it. He tied the dynamics of formation into the theology of mission in a way that was holistic and real. Quite honestly, it was very helpful to me personally, on the same level as Dallas Willard in some ways. Ed has been doing missional, relational, and incarnational church planting in the city for a while now, and it's evident. If I could just get him blogging . . .<br /><br />The community of students living at <a href="http://www.uwpurpledoor.com">The Purple Door</a> is really becoming a great group. We've been blessed with a remarkably diverse group. One student from Turkey, one from (East) Germany, one from China. One of our students has lived in multiple countries, growing up in a family engaged in medical missions. I can't tell you how good it makes me feel to be doing dishes in the kitchen after dinner's over, and hearing the laughter of students enjoying relationship late into the evening . . . despite having heavy school workloads. I know staying up late and being social are sort of par for the course for college students, but they're doing this stuff within the context of spiritual depth and connectedness. The school year is young, but I'm really pleased with how good it's gotten already. More good times to come.<br /><br /><br />Our next teach-in will be November 8. Mike Gunn, pastor of <a href="http://www.harambeechurch2.org/">Harambee Church</a> in Renton, WA will be leading us in a conversation about mission and culture. I'm really looking forward to that.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-30374583020409403582007-10-25T06:39:00.000-07:002007-10-25T10:11:05.146-07:00SoCal fire, pt. 4I wasn't able to pay close attention to news updates yesterday as I had the previous couple of days. The fires continue, but the weather has begun a more helpful turn, so hopefully that will give the firefighters an edge. Nothing new to report on our immediate family and friends. Everyone is safe and sound, and as far as we know, they're all back home . . . which is more than can be said for a lot of others, in particular, those who have lost their homes.<br /><br />O.k., time for a rant or two.<br /><br /><rant>RANT ONE:<br />In the national as well as local (San Diego) news coverage of this event, over and over, I have heard little off-hand comparisons of this situation with the hurricane Katrina disaster. Perhaps its the scale of evacuations, perhaps its the fact that many evacueess are at a major stadium. Whatever the case, with my one lone voice in the blogosphere, all I can say is this: PLEASE STOP. These situations are most definitely not the same. There are a ton of reasons why.<br /><br />First, the evacuation is different because a huge number of people have had family and friends <span style="font-style: italic;">within the same region</span> to stay with. There was a ton of traffic, but not for hundreds of miles in every direction, like with Katrina. Second, given that San Diego went through this just four years ago, people are extremely well rehearsed for this, and the relief work was done in an impressively organized way . . . which, by the way, is markedly different than the last go round. City/county officials know how to run the show without merely hoping that FEMA can handle everything. Third (this is the one that may open a can of worms), the economic realities of most of the people affected by these two scenarios couldn't be more different. Many of the areas devastated by Katrina were the poorest areas of the city . . . which was already a very poor city, mind you. In San Diego, the damage done by the fires has primarily been done in upper middle class to wealthy areas. I don't say this in any way to take compassion away from the people who have lost homes to fire - it's an intensely difficult thing for them, and I hurt for them. Having lived through a little piece of this myself, I know it's going to be hard, but the difference in economic starting places is different. Trust me, I'm also well aware that some poorer folks have lost their homes - no insensitivity to them intended. My point is not class warfare here, but to say that San Diego wildfires and Hurricane Katrina are just not the same.<br /><br />For the record, my San Diego and fire disaster credentials are already on record, and I've been to New Orleans twice since Katrina, so I'm not completely ignorant (perhaps unintelligent, but not ignorant).<br /></rant><br /><br /><rant>RANT TWO:<br /><a href="http://ecclesiacollective.org/">Jason</a> and Brooke, and their housemates in San Diego are part of a really great effort to aid the migrant workers who have been displaced by the fires. Dangit, I love those people. Michelle mentioned to me just a minute ago that 1/3 of California's avocado trees were lost in the fires - think for a minute about the people that work those groves, and pick those delicious guacamole gems. That makes me actually very disturbed at reading <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/kgtv/20071025/lo_kgtv/14420671">this story</a> this morning. Talk about adding insult to injury.<br /></rant><br /><br />Sorry to be cranky this morning. I just want to think and pray with a clear head about these things, and help others who don't know the situation to do the same.<br /><br />UPDATE, 10:10am - Now I'm really pissed. Read <a href="http://ecclesiacollective.org/uncategorized/sd-fires-harassment">Jason's latest update</a> on his family's efforts to support the migrant worker volunteers. Speechless.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-85135620379211809232007-10-24T08:48:00.000-07:002007-10-24T08:57:11.468-07:00SoCal fire, pt. 3I actually don't have any news to report regarding my immediate family or friends right now - fires are still raging, but things seem to be settling a bit. The weather is improving - less wind, more humidity.<br /><br />The main thing I wanted to note here is on a little different level. Despite my consistent venting and whining about my denomination, it is times like these that make me more satisfied. I was watching the San Diego news online this morning, and they were talking about the Qualcomm Stadium evacuation center, where thousands are being housed. They specifically noted the fact that my denom was there with its mobile kitchens, feeding lots and lots of people. I know from seeing them in action firsthand in New Orleans that they wear some butt-ugly yellow t-shirts, but when I see those things on TV, I'm glad that I get to be a part of that. Good work folks - keep rocking.<br /><br />Other churches and <a href="http://a51t15.blogspot.com/">friends </a>are, of course, also doing good work. But if I'm gonna whine about the denom, I need to also give equal time to the good stuff.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-66917229877009565222007-10-23T07:38:00.000-07:002007-10-23T17:43:22.197-07:00SoCal fire, pt. 2Being so far away from family and friends in the fire affected areas in San Diego is hard - not as hard as being there, mind you, but hard. This situation is astonishing. The fire moved so fast. Michelle's folks are doing o.k. - they decided to wait it out in their house, and seem to be in a sliver of land that the fire burned around . . . probably due to the fact that it all burned just a few years ago, and there wasn't as much fuel.<br /><br />We've been watching a <a href="http://www.kgtv.com/">San Diego TV station</a> that's been streaming their coverage online. That helps.<br /><br />Keep praying.<br /><br />UPDATE 8:50am: A large mountain about half a mile to the north of Michelle's folks may be catching fire. This mountain didn't burn in 2003, so lots of old brush there. They're watching it closely, and may evacuate.<br /><br />UPDATE 5:15pm: Michelle's parents got a reverse 911 call at around 2pm telling them to evacuate. As of around 3:45pm, they hadn't left yet. My sister, brother-in-law, and their kids had to evacuate yesterday, but were allowed to go back home this afternoon.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-18519896508162168602007-10-22T12:25:00.000-07:002007-10-22T12:36:35.662-07:00SoCal on fire . . . again<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20071022/2007_10_22t114549_450x277_us_california_wildfire.jpg?x=380&y=234&sig=bowKPiRq4iSnmY3gHjwb2w--"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20071022/2007_10_22t114549_450x277_us_california_wildfire.jpg?x=380&y=234&sig=bowKPiRq4iSnmY3gHjwb2w--" alt="" border="0" /></a>Four years ago (almost to the day, actually), Southern California was on fire. Michelle and I came very close to losing our home - we had charred land to within 20 feet of our front porch. Unfortunately, Michelle's folks had a different outcome. Their home of 30 years was burned. They spent the next two years rebuilding. And now, the fire's back. They haven't evacuated just yet, but the fire is getting closer. Heavy winds are expected to drive this fire for at least the next two days. By the time this is over, many people will have lost their homes. Pray for the safety of people who are leaving, and for the safety of the firefighters and police.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-28802694439656413242007-10-21T19:25:00.000-07:002007-10-21T19:29:57.906-07:00Prayer for Dan KimballOthers around the blogosphere have mentioned this already, but here I add my prayers for peace to Dan Kimball and his family. Dan is one of my classmates, and well known all around the emerging church. Dan's father had a fall last week and hit his head. He died today. Married over 50 years. Devastating to all. Pray for Dan and his family.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-47900196037589071142007-10-12T06:45:00.000-07:002007-10-12T08:39:09.991-07:00inter::mission update<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_trMA5UWuDF0/Rw-UcHLYAtI/AAAAAAAAABM/9J8x6QrnnMY/s1600-h/intermission_dropshadow.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_trMA5UWuDF0/Rw-UcHLYAtI/AAAAAAAAABM/9J8x6QrnnMY/s320/intermission_dropshadow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120474512027550418" border="0" /></a><br />Those of you who know me, or have been tracking with this blog over the past couple of years know that much of my work has involved building a thing we're calling inter::mission. It's a dream that began before I was hired into my position, so I don't take credit for it, except that I've had the fun of giving vision and some structure to it. I won't go through everything that's involved (you can learn more about it on the <a href="http://www.intermissionseattle.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">inter::mission</span></span></a> website if you want). Basically, it's a live-in experience for students (and a few non-students) which attempts to re-orient life around our identity in the Kingdom of God, and our joining with God in mission.<br /><br />About two years ago I began work on this thing, and have been working to build it ever since. It's morphed a few times from its original form, but we officially kicked the thing off a little more than two weeks ago. One of the things it involves is a weekly "family meal" on Thursday nights. We eat together, hang out together, and talk about life together. On alternating weeks, following the family meal, we have teach-ins around Kingdom and mission. My goal is to primarily utilize guest speakers for these teach-ins. In Seattle, we have access to so many innovative, catalytic, super smart people who are actually practitioners, so we're able to make this happen.<br /><br />Last night, we were honored with a visit from <a href="http://submerge.typepad.com/submergence/">Karen Ward</a>, Abbess of <a href="http://www.apostleschurch.org/">Church of the Apostles</a>, as our first outside speaker/conversation leader. She talked a bit through the history and ethos of COTA, and about urban monasticism in their context. It was a really good time for the students. Definitely stimulating and challenging. She talked about the way they approach their neighborhood, Fremont, with the mentality that their whole zip code "belongs" to the church/parish, and how it's the role of the members of the church to serve and minister to the church, regardless of belief, lifestyle, affiliation, or status. Good stuff. Karen is such a humble, kind, and warm person, but with focus, creativity, and the best kind of leadership skill.<br /><br />The past couple of years, and especially the past few months have been such a busy, maddening sprint to get this dream fleshed out and ready to go. And trust me, we're far from embodying a ton of what we have in mind. We're a small, quiet bunch right now, and continuing to add students to the mix little by little. But last night, as I sat and listened to Karen, and looked around the room, I got the sense that yes, this thing is really happening. It was one of those beautiful moments that wasn't self-satisfaction, but thankfulness for God's blessing and gifts. I'm really glad I got to be a part of this, and watch it develop. I'm even more glad that I get to continue helping nurture it and be a part of it. <br /><br />Our vision for inter::mission is to help liberate young adults to experientially own their missional vocation. This is where we begin.<br /><br />I've blogged recently about how easy it is to get caught up in the negative side of critique - especially those who are in any way affiliated with the emerging church vibe. There's a role for it, but talk is cheap if we're not actually paying attention to building a better way forward. For as long as God gives it to me, inter::mission is my humble contribution.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-6277241252430139732007-10-10T09:25:00.000-07:002007-10-10T09:53:23.521-07:00Liberalism Gone Crazy in a Major DenominationOver the past ten to fifteen years, my denomination has engaged in a discussion of how to read the Bible. This has produced a "victory" for those who favor a view of inerrancy. The Bible is literally God's word, and is completely without error. Meanwhile, those who take even a slightly moderated view of this position are described as liberals and borderline wack-jobs.<br /><br />Among many issues that these liberals get taken to task on is a sense in which they approach scripture with an agenda in their back pockets, and read those agendas into the texts in order to get them to say whatever they want them to say.<br /><br />Given the "victory" of the biblical "conservatives" over their left-leaning conversation partners, imagine my surprise at reading a report regarding a poll recently taken by one of the denomination's agencies. An outside polling group was contracted to take a survey of our views regarding the use of alcohol. I won't waste time listing all the questions and responses here, but when asked to respond to the statement, "Scripture indicates that people should never drink," a full 41% of pastors agreed. Come again? 41%. Ummmm, where exactly did they get that?? I must have a bunch of copies of the Lutheran Bible or something, because none of the ones I've read say that.<br /><br />My point here is that in the middle of our fight to save the Bible, we've gotten so conservative that we've turned liberal. People have approached scripture with an agenda in their back pockets, and chosen to believe that the texts say what they want them to say.<br /><br />Look, we all do this to some degree. For example, some use "grace" texts in order to go on with selfish, greedy ways without remorse because the sin's already covered. But 41%? Of <span style="font-style:italic;">pastors</span>? I just wonder what kind of uproar there would be if 41% of pastors in my denom were found to have a biblical position opposed to the war in Iraq. Or if 41% believed that scripture teaches that women should be ordained.<br /><br />So perhaps my denomination is more liberal than I thought. No wonder I was beginning to feel a little more comfortable around here.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465535.post-71473994754832959012007-10-05T14:18:00.000-07:002007-10-05T16:21:22.315-07:00Campus Ministry in Middle America<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.venganza.org/images/noodledoodlewall.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.venganza.org/images/noodledoodlewall.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Is Missouri considered part of the Bible belt? Not sure. It's Midwest-y, and I thought pretty conservative. Anyway, if I were to ask anyone familiar with college campus religious life what the top campus religious organizations at a college in Missouri, what responses would I get? <a href="http://www.campuscrusade.com/">Campus Crusade for Christ</a>? <a href="http://www.intervarsity.org/">InterVarsity Christian Fellowship</a>? Well, apparently, at Missouri State University in, well, Missouri, the 2nd largest campus religious organization is . . . wait for it . . . <a href="http://www.venganza.org/">The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster</a>. Indeed. If you haven't heard of them, or their noodly appendaged object of worship, they've been around for a couple years now. But apparently, they've gotten some traction in the heartland. Interesting stuff. You can check out their Facebook Group <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204717621">here</a></span>.<br /><br />HT: <a href="http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/">onegoodmove</a>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993894418540446683noreply@blogger.com0