I had seen this photo series by Chris Jordan a while back. It's an excellent visual depiction of unsustainable consumption habits in America today. Only recently did I stumble upon Beck's new video below. I like the taunting lyrics Beck uses in the song.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Nosotros somos estudiando espanol
My wife and I are learning Spanish. We've just started so I hope my title is grammatically correct.
Although it's already half-way to next Christmas, we still had a few hundred dollars of Christmas money lying around that we just couldn't figure out how to spend. We're trying to reduce the clutter in our lives as well as in our quickly-becoming-overcrowded one bedroom apartment, so we didn't want to buy any meaningless crap. And we also didn't want to just put the money toward our general living expenses. After all, we work to pay the bills. We wanted to enjoy our Christmas money and use it for something we wouldn't ordinarily buy or do.
We decided to buy Rosetta Stone. It's a great product, though a hefty investment. We didn't buy it just on a whim, so since I've been a real slacker in the blog department, I decided to share why we finally made the choice to purchase this product. I've created a top 10 because everyone knows that anything that's important requires a top 10 list ;) Some if not most of the items on the list were actually forethoughts that Emiley and I had before purchasing the product. Others were discoveries after getting into the program. I think it will be pretty clear which is which.
1) Spanish is just a fun language to learn. Both Emiley and I took some Spanish in high school and college - though she advanced much farther that I. We came to truly enjoyed the language and the various Latino cultures.
2) As a result, we both have a desire to travel throughout Central and South America. I'd love to see Machu Picchu, The Andes Mts., and cities like Santiago, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, and Havana (though that might be a bit tricky to get to). Plus, when I was in high school we hosted an exchange student from Bogota - it would be cool to go see him on his home turf.
3) Emiley's works in social work and I'm preparing for ministry. Even a basic grasp of Spanish let along fluency is a huge asset.
4) The social landscape in the United States is changing. Latinos are quickly becoming the largest minority group and will achieve that status in the next few years if trends continue. The Southwest in general and LA in particular have always been centers for Hispanic culture. In fact, LA is the 2nd largest Mexican city outside of Mexico City. It's the second largest El Salvadorian city outside of San Salvador. And the list goes on. The Spanish language and Hispanic culture have been, are, and will always be major influences in the United States. It's about time Emiley and I catch up to that reality.
5) Kingdom Citizenship - I believe that as Christians our primary allegiance is to God's Kingdom over against any nation, people group, or culture. And God's Kingdom is a Kingdom that knows no human distinction. Therefore, my loyalties and values are shaped (hopefully) by the values of God's Kingdom rather than human values. As such, I've come to believe that followers of Christ are to show hospitality, mercy, and respect to the foreigner, alien, and sojourner. Now where did I get a crazy idea like that?
With this orientation, I have a view on immigration that some may call amnesty, soft, a disregard for law and order, even (gasp!) Liberal! Whatever. I'm not trying to pick a fight or provoke people, I'm just stating that, as a Christian, I support policy that is on the side of showing hospitality and justice and respect to immigrants. BUT - I've come to the conclusion that holding a particular ideology or agreeing with a particular policy is pretty superficial if it demands nothing of myself. So perhaps if I learn Spanish I will be able to hold my views with more integrity. And perhaps if I learn Spanish I can actually be an agent through which hospitality is shown directly to the alien among us. Perhaps learning Spanish will open up doors through which I can show love toward my Latino brothers, sisters, neighbors, and fellow citizens. Perhaps learning Spanish will open up Christian mission and service opportunities I otherwise wouldn't be able to participate in.
6) Hey now.... wait a minute!! Why is it always the privileged white guy who is in mission toward and shows charity to the poor Hispanic immigrant? Why should I be so arrogant to assume that I actually have something worthwhile to offer them? Well... I shouldn't.
An Anabaptist professor of mine at Fuller Seminary whom I've grown to deeply respect is of Hispanic heritage. Though his family is from a small town in Texas, he's spent much time ministering in Central America, and is well connected to various Latino churches. He argues that God may be is using Latino immigration into the United States as a way to reinvigorate the American church.
It's a provocative statement, but I see a lot of truth in it. The church is dying in the West. In the United States, it's being chocked to death by consumerism, national idolatry, unhealthy sexual behavior, and socio-economic disparities. Despite being economically marginalized, the church in the Global South - Latin America, Africa, and Asia - is experiencing rapid growth and is transforming communities and whole countries. So whatever they got down there, we could use some of that up here.
Learning Spanish is not just so I can be altruistic out of my abundance. Rather, learning Spanish may enable me to receive a gift I might not other wise have access to. I would truly welcome this. Perhaps it would even open doors for me to attend Semilla or CASAS as part of my degree at Fuller (though I may be getting ahead of myself. There's no way I'll be fluent enough by the time I've completed my program. But it's a cool idea).
7) Rosetta Stone's method for learning a language is very interesting. It's based entirely on listening and image association - like how we all learned our first language. You don't learn translation, you don't memorize grammar rules. In other words, it's not logical, left-brain learning. It's intuitive and incorporates your senses. It gets you out of your rational thinking. For a seminarian like me, this is a good thing. It puts me in touch with another side of myself and another side of how people think that is neglected in the typical western learning environment.
8) Related to number 7, this can lead to greater health. I don't know why, but 3 things that always suck me in on the TV are fishing shows, fundamentalist preachers, and new age gurus. A few weeks ago I got sucked into watching this new age guru who was talking about ways to stay young. One of the things he said was to always keep learning, and to learn things you never have before. This stimulates the brain and keeps you sharp. He was also arguing that this can prevent certain diseases and help you live longer. Well, I don't care so much about all that, and I definitely don't buy into the tendency and vanity of US culture to resist and deny aging. But I can appreciate the fact that keeping your mind stimulating has positive effects for ones life. Like any muscle, if you don't use it, it will experience atrophy. It makes sense that the brain is the same way. So, I consider learning Spanish a form of exercise.
9) Related to #8 is the issue of TV. In January or February (or whenever the date is) the analogue TV signal will be no more and everything is going digital. Emiley and I are not ones to waste money on cable, and we're also resistant to even spend the $30-$40 to get the special digital converter for the antenna. Plus, I feel a little rebellious to not conform to this forced technology change. Is that the anarchist or the Amish in me? Anyway... come the new year we won't get any channels which means we'll have more free time. Thus, we're trying to find creative, constructive ways to fill that void. Learning a language seems like a worthy void-filler.
We'll see if we actually follow through with not getting the digital converter. We may flake out. Plus, since half the stations we get are Spanish-language stations, watching tele novela, fotbol, and Que Dice la Gente provides more opportunities to practice and utilize the language. So we'll see.
10) Rosetta Stone is a product created by Mennonite entrepreneurs in Harrsionburg, VA. Harrisonburg also happens to be the town where Emiley and I went to college at Eastern Mennonite University.
Being that we flow in Mennonite circles, and being that the Mennonite realm can be pretty small at times, there was an unexpected added bonus to using Rosetta Stone. Since the program uses image association to teach the language, they use tons of pictures with every conceivable gesture and action in order to teach the language. So far, we've come across several people we know in the pictures. It makes me laugh every time.
Although it's already half-way to next Christmas, we still had a few hundred dollars of Christmas money lying around that we just couldn't figure out how to spend. We're trying to reduce the clutter in our lives as well as in our quickly-becoming-overcrowded one bedroom apartment, so we didn't want to buy any meaningless crap. And we also didn't want to just put the money toward our general living expenses. After all, we work to pay the bills. We wanted to enjoy our Christmas money and use it for something we wouldn't ordinarily buy or do.
We decided to buy Rosetta Stone. It's a great product, though a hefty investment. We didn't buy it just on a whim, so since I've been a real slacker in the blog department, I decided to share why we finally made the choice to purchase this product. I've created a top 10 because everyone knows that anything that's important requires a top 10 list ;) Some if not most of the items on the list were actually forethoughts that Emiley and I had before purchasing the product. Others were discoveries after getting into the program. I think it will be pretty clear which is which.
1) Spanish is just a fun language to learn. Both Emiley and I took some Spanish in high school and college - though she advanced much farther that I. We came to truly enjoyed the language and the various Latino cultures.
2) As a result, we both have a desire to travel throughout Central and South America. I'd love to see Machu Picchu, The Andes Mts., and cities like Santiago, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, and Havana (though that might be a bit tricky to get to). Plus, when I was in high school we hosted an exchange student from Bogota - it would be cool to go see him on his home turf.
3) Emiley's works in social work and I'm preparing for ministry. Even a basic grasp of Spanish let along fluency is a huge asset.
4) The social landscape in the United States is changing. Latinos are quickly becoming the largest minority group and will achieve that status in the next few years if trends continue. The Southwest in general and LA in particular have always been centers for Hispanic culture. In fact, LA is the 2nd largest Mexican city outside of Mexico City. It's the second largest El Salvadorian city outside of San Salvador. And the list goes on. The Spanish language and Hispanic culture have been, are, and will always be major influences in the United States. It's about time Emiley and I catch up to that reality.
5) Kingdom Citizenship - I believe that as Christians our primary allegiance is to God's Kingdom over against any nation, people group, or culture. And God's Kingdom is a Kingdom that knows no human distinction. Therefore, my loyalties and values are shaped (hopefully) by the values of God's Kingdom rather than human values. As such, I've come to believe that followers of Christ are to show hospitality, mercy, and respect to the foreigner, alien, and sojourner. Now where did I get a crazy idea like that?
With this orientation, I have a view on immigration that some may call amnesty, soft, a disregard for law and order, even (gasp!) Liberal! Whatever. I'm not trying to pick a fight or provoke people, I'm just stating that, as a Christian, I support policy that is on the side of showing hospitality and justice and respect to immigrants. BUT - I've come to the conclusion that holding a particular ideology or agreeing with a particular policy is pretty superficial if it demands nothing of myself. So perhaps if I learn Spanish I will be able to hold my views with more integrity. And perhaps if I learn Spanish I can actually be an agent through which hospitality is shown directly to the alien among us. Perhaps learning Spanish will open up doors through which I can show love toward my Latino brothers, sisters, neighbors, and fellow citizens. Perhaps learning Spanish will open up Christian mission and service opportunities I otherwise wouldn't be able to participate in.
6) Hey now.... wait a minute!! Why is it always the privileged white guy who is in mission toward and shows charity to the poor Hispanic immigrant? Why should I be so arrogant to assume that I actually have something worthwhile to offer them? Well... I shouldn't.
An Anabaptist professor of mine at Fuller Seminary whom I've grown to deeply respect is of Hispanic heritage. Though his family is from a small town in Texas, he's spent much time ministering in Central America, and is well connected to various Latino churches. He argues that God may be is using Latino immigration into the United States as a way to reinvigorate the American church.
It's a provocative statement, but I see a lot of truth in it. The church is dying in the West. In the United States, it's being chocked to death by consumerism, national idolatry, unhealthy sexual behavior, and socio-economic disparities. Despite being economically marginalized, the church in the Global South - Latin America, Africa, and Asia - is experiencing rapid growth and is transforming communities and whole countries. So whatever they got down there, we could use some of that up here.
Learning Spanish is not just so I can be altruistic out of my abundance. Rather, learning Spanish may enable me to receive a gift I might not other wise have access to. I would truly welcome this. Perhaps it would even open doors for me to attend Semilla or CASAS as part of my degree at Fuller (though I may be getting ahead of myself. There's no way I'll be fluent enough by the time I've completed my program. But it's a cool idea).
7) Rosetta Stone's method for learning a language is very interesting. It's based entirely on listening and image association - like how we all learned our first language. You don't learn translation, you don't memorize grammar rules. In other words, it's not logical, left-brain learning. It's intuitive and incorporates your senses. It gets you out of your rational thinking. For a seminarian like me, this is a good thing. It puts me in touch with another side of myself and another side of how people think that is neglected in the typical western learning environment.
8) Related to number 7, this can lead to greater health. I don't know why, but 3 things that always suck me in on the TV are fishing shows, fundamentalist preachers, and new age gurus. A few weeks ago I got sucked into watching this new age guru who was talking about ways to stay young. One of the things he said was to always keep learning, and to learn things you never have before. This stimulates the brain and keeps you sharp. He was also arguing that this can prevent certain diseases and help you live longer. Well, I don't care so much about all that, and I definitely don't buy into the tendency and vanity of US culture to resist and deny aging. But I can appreciate the fact that keeping your mind stimulating has positive effects for ones life. Like any muscle, if you don't use it, it will experience atrophy. It makes sense that the brain is the same way. So, I consider learning Spanish a form of exercise.
9) Related to #8 is the issue of TV. In January or February (or whenever the date is) the analogue TV signal will be no more and everything is going digital. Emiley and I are not ones to waste money on cable, and we're also resistant to even spend the $30-$40 to get the special digital converter for the antenna. Plus, I feel a little rebellious to not conform to this forced technology change. Is that the anarchist or the Amish in me? Anyway... come the new year we won't get any channels which means we'll have more free time. Thus, we're trying to find creative, constructive ways to fill that void. Learning a language seems like a worthy void-filler.
We'll see if we actually follow through with not getting the digital converter. We may flake out. Plus, since half the stations we get are Spanish-language stations, watching tele novela, fotbol, and Que Dice la Gente provides more opportunities to practice and utilize the language. So we'll see.
10) Rosetta Stone is a product created by Mennonite entrepreneurs in Harrsionburg, VA. Harrisonburg also happens to be the town where Emiley and I went to college at Eastern Mennonite University.
Being that we flow in Mennonite circles, and being that the Mennonite realm can be pretty small at times, there was an unexpected added bonus to using Rosetta Stone. Since the program uses image association to teach the language, they use tons of pictures with every conceivable gesture and action in order to teach the language. So far, we've come across several people we know in the pictures. It makes me laugh every time.
NPR.org - Tim Russert, NBC Stalwart, Dies of Heart Attack : NPR
Tim Russert, NBC Stalwart, Dies of Heart Attack : NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91488979&sc=emaf
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91488979&sc=emaf
I havent blogged in 3 months, but this news was a big surprise. I was also a bit saddened by it as I always respected and appreciated Russerts presence in the US political scene.
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Thursday, March 13, 2008
Instutions Can do Kingdom Work Too
For those of us who tend to be skeptical of institutions - especially church institutions - I think it's a good practice to acknowledge when they actually do serve the Kingdom of God and call people to radical discipleship. Below is a letter from the Mennonite Church USA calling congregations to re-think how they will use the upcoming tax rebates. Will we simply consume more luxury goods or will we put the money toward kingdom purposes? MCUSA isn't the first or the only voice to call for this type of action, but as far as I'm aware they are the only denomination officially encouraging its membership to take counter-cultural actions. Are there other denominations doing that as well?
Tax rebates offer witness opportunity
This spring, many
The rebate is an opportunity to put our money to work for the kingdom, like the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus with her expensive perfume, rather than keeping it for herself or the young boy who put his lunch in Jesus’ hands and fed the five thousand.
Congregations may want to work together and pool their rebates. A congregation of 30 households could receive as much as $25,000.
Projects for redirection of tax rebates:
· Motorbikes for Mennonite pastors in
· Young people who attend a Mennonite college or university are more likely to stay in the church. Many congregations have student aid or scholarship funds that assist students attending a Mennonite college or university. The schools match some of these funds. $500 is the typical scholarship/aid per student. Check with your congregation for details.
· Instituto Bíbilico Anabautista (IBA) offers leadership courses for Spanish-speaking Mennonite leaders. $250 covers the cost of one course.
· Mennonite Voluntary Service is the longest running voluntary service program in the Mennonite church. MVS is a life-changing experience for many participants. A $200 gift helps keep this program active for participants of all ages.
· Anti-racism is one of the four denominational priorities for
· Check with your congregation regarding urgent needs within the congregation or your local community.
All tax rebate gifts can be made and sent to
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Tertullian and Non-Conformity
I recently sat in on a presentation about the N. African Patristic Theologian Tertullian by a friend named Tom Longenecker. Perhaps like me you are a bit unfamiliar with Tertullian. Well, his bio includes such distinctions as 1) being one of the first theologians to develop the concept of Trinity, 2) being deem by some to be a heretic because of his connection with the Donatists, and 3) is often cited as a church father who advocated pacifism and non-participation in the military in the early church (which is somewhat debatable).
Tom's presentation focused on #3. I don't have the time, energy, or ability to unpack Tom's research on Tertullian, but here's the jist of what he said - Tertullian is not necessarily pacifist as we would understand it today, and it's not even clear if Tertullian believed participation in war was immoral for a Christian. What is clear is that he was very concerned with the notion that Christians cannot serve two masters. In his context of Pax Romana, Tertullian saw how the Roman Empire was in competition with God because it demanded allegiance, devotion and subservience. Christians, he asserted, cannot serve two masters and the empire was (is) in competition with God. Thus, to support and participate in the empire is to commit idolatry.
So while it's hard to say if Tertullian was a "pacifist," it is safe to say that he is anti-empire. Christianity, for Tertullian, is a counter-cultural movement and it is our loyalty to Christ as Lord that determines if/how we participate with the nation-state.
I like this concept. It recognizes pacifism as an ideology like any other that can be co-opted, manipulated, and elevated as a false god just like militarism, socialism, the free market, etc. Being anti-empire is less of an ideology and more of a posture. It is broader than pacifism which is primarily concerned with the immorality of war. Being anti-empire involves all the ways in which the nation-state demands our loyalty and worship over-against god. It has implications for economics, class, race relations, gender, and more.
Essentially, violence and war is the way the empire protects and maintains the political, social, and religious status-quo. Tertullian is calling us to go deeper than just rejecting the protection of empire (all the while perhaps enjoying the benefits of being citizens of the empire). He's calling us to reject the very foundations and expectations of empire. He's calling us to be non-conformed. Why? Because we worship the living God, creator of the universe, prince of peace, the everlasting father. And he calls as to another way of living and another way of perceiving reality.
Tom's presentation focused on #3. I don't have the time, energy, or ability to unpack Tom's research on Tertullian, but here's the jist of what he said - Tertullian is not necessarily pacifist as we would understand it today, and it's not even clear if Tertullian believed participation in war was immoral for a Christian. What is clear is that he was very concerned with the notion that Christians cannot serve two masters. In his context of Pax Romana, Tertullian saw how the Roman Empire was in competition with God because it demanded allegiance, devotion and subservience. Christians, he asserted, cannot serve two masters and the empire was (is) in competition with God. Thus, to support and participate in the empire is to commit idolatry.
So while it's hard to say if Tertullian was a "pacifist," it is safe to say that he is anti-empire. Christianity, for Tertullian, is a counter-cultural movement and it is our loyalty to Christ as Lord that determines if/how we participate with the nation-state.
I like this concept. It recognizes pacifism as an ideology like any other that can be co-opted, manipulated, and elevated as a false god just like militarism, socialism, the free market, etc. Being anti-empire is less of an ideology and more of a posture. It is broader than pacifism which is primarily concerned with the immorality of war. Being anti-empire involves all the ways in which the nation-state demands our loyalty and worship over-against god. It has implications for economics, class, race relations, gender, and more.
Essentially, violence and war is the way the empire protects and maintains the political, social, and religious status-quo. Tertullian is calling us to go deeper than just rejecting the protection of empire (all the while perhaps enjoying the benefits of being citizens of the empire). He's calling us to reject the very foundations and expectations of empire. He's calling us to be non-conformed. Why? Because we worship the living God, creator of the universe, prince of peace, the everlasting father. And he calls as to another way of living and another way of perceiving reality.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Death of a Broadcaster
It's a sad day in Steeler Nation. Myron Cope, a beloved Pittsburgh Sports Broadcaster has died. More than any other person, Myron embodied the heart, soul, and ethos of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He invented the Terrible Towel, was a trend setter, a composer, and received many honors for his skills as a sports writer and broadcaster. Go here to read his full obituary.
Myron was definitely unique and eccentric. The outsider may call him a bumbling fool, but to Steeler Nation he is a poet. Others may find him unorthodox, but in Pittsburgh he was our Pope. To get a little better idea of what I'm talking about, visit my favorite page of Myron Cope sound bites and then visit pittsburgese.com if you need any help with translation.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Bearing with the Weak: A Virtual Metaphor
It's almost been a month since my last posting. This does not come as a surprise to me (see my very first post on this blog). Yet again it seems as if I've created and am now neglecting another blog. I hadn't even thought about this, but then I got a gmail chat from friend Ben. It went something like this....
As a result, blogging is on my mind again, and I'm aware that I need to write something, anything, just to keep this blog going. Not because it's a profound blog, but because it's not a good practice to leave things unfinished and abandoned.
It was a simple gesture by Ben, but it got me thinking of how bloging delinquency can serve as a metaphor for our faith journeys. It's easy to grow lax and complicit - It's easy to get distracted and lose sight of what we set out to do. Sometimes we need our brother or sister to give us a gentle nudge or a swift kick in the pants. And sometimes we need the strong (i.e. Ben and his bloging briliance) to bear with the weak (we all know who that is).
11:30 AM Ben: you need some new blog material
don't let this one die!
11:33 AM me: haha - yeah, my bad
I've been busy
this is what always happens
As a result, blogging is on my mind again, and I'm aware that I need to write something, anything, just to keep this blog going. Not because it's a profound blog, but because it's not a good practice to leave things unfinished and abandoned.
It was a simple gesture by Ben, but it got me thinking of how bloging delinquency can serve as a metaphor for our faith journeys. It's easy to grow lax and complicit - It's easy to get distracted and lose sight of what we set out to do. Sometimes we need our brother or sister to give us a gentle nudge or a swift kick in the pants. And sometimes we need the strong (i.e. Ben and his bloging briliance) to bear with the weak (we all know who that is).
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