The other church, called City Church, was much more what I was used to, mostly white, suburban Christians with contemporary music and a taste for the extreme (The pastor had a motorcycle drive up front to illustrate his point). But while both services were very different, I know God was still pleased. And while both congregations were very different, I know they both loved Jesus very much. If there's one thing my cross-cultural training has taught me, it's to appreciate differences. We live in a very diverse world, but God is One. He is why I can be the only white face in the crowd and be surrounded by brothers and sisters.
I was a minority before I even walked through the door, but a nice, middle-aged, black man named Danny was quite friendly so that broke the ice. When they asked visitors to stand, it was just me and the only other white guy in the room. We were welcomed with the warm smiles I have come to expect. Their gospel music, instant harmonies, dancing, preaching, and "Hallelujahs" all brought back joyful memories of my days at Arandis Christian Center in Namibia. And that's actually why I went. The church I was going to visit meets at 11:30, but they share a building with the GFMBC and when I heard they were an African-American church that meets at 9:30, that's all the convincing it took for me to go early and get my black gospel fix.
"Tiny Tim is the epitome of Christmas goodness!"
~ Preston during Scattergories when Tiny Tim was suggested as a 'notorious person'
It's not often that books make me cry, but I closed this one with tears running down my cheeks. Not because he dies - I knew he died - but because I long to live my life with such passion and purpose. People don't get biographies written about them just because of how they died, but because of how they lived. Jim Elliot wasn't just martyred trying to take the gospel to a violent jungle tribe who had never heard it. He lived with a passion to share the gospel with everyone he possibly could, especially those who had never heard it. That passion, that purpose, met it's fulfillment when he willingly gave up his life pursuing the mission of his Creator. His martyrdom was the natural overflow of the life he lived. In youth group last spring, I told the teenagers perhaps the reason we're not persecuted for being Christians in America is that we're not being very good Christians. Perhaps if we took our mission a little more seriously, like Jim Elliot did, then maybe our opposition would take us a little more seriously. As it is, our comfortable, self-centered culture has lulled us into a tolerant silence so we can no longer tell the difference between Christ and the world. I wish we would stop living such a me-centered non-Christianity. I wish we would read more biographies of people who radically dedicated their lives to the mission of sharing the gospel. And naturally, we starting with me. I highly recommend this book. Prepare to be challenged and inspired. Pick it up. Seriously.
That's basically just a long title for Intro to Reformed Theology. In class today we just went over the course requirements and definted theology and different ways to go about studying it. This seems like it will be one of those foundational, but not so meaty courses. I have to choose one of the five Solas or one of the five points of Calvinism to write a paper on. Of all my courses this is the least intimidating, which is good considering it's most people's first seminary course ever.
This morning Jeremiah and I went out to the most intense disc golf course I have ever played on. Deep ravines, little creeks, bridges, trees, power lines, this course had it all. It's called championship level for a reason. I actually didn't do too bad, 2 or 3 over par on most holes with the occasional bogey. Considering the course I wasn't too disappointed. A good balance between insanely hard and intensly fun!This afternoon I had an interview at a church looking for a worship pastor. It's a 3-year old church plant from a church in London. Both of the current pastors are from the UK and were really cool, down-to-earth guys. I like the vision and ministry philosophy of being authentic and relational and missional. I'll probably visit there this Sunday to experience more what it's really like. They share a building with a Missionary Fellowship African-American church who hold their services first. I'm thinking about going a little early to check that one out too. :)
I spent this morning at New Student Orientation meeting all the other seminary newbies, professors, staff members, and other random people who's names I've already forgotten. Amidst all the info they dumped on us, I was most keenly atuned to the libarian who reminded us that these aren't undergraduate courses. I shouldn't be doing the minimum about of research that my paper requires. I'm excited...and terrified by this prospect. That's part of why I came back to school, to be challenged to think deeply about questions and issues. But I rest in the confidence that whatever they'll ask us to do, they'll also prepare us to do.
The last item of the day was an English Bible exam. It doesn't count for anything more than to give them an idea of where we're starting from. We'll take it again before graduation to see how far we've come. I think the idea is basically to humble the prideful and teach you how much you don't really know. I'm hoping I at least broke 50%.
My courses start on Wednesday morning with Introduction to Pastoral & Theological Studies. My professor for this course is a young guy from Scotland who has only been here in the States only 7 months. Moreso than the theology, I think I'm looking forward to his accent. :) Thursday evening I have my Archaeology of the Bible class with a professor who wrote one of the textbooks. Then next Tuesday rounds out my schedule with Gospels in the morning and Systematic Theology 1 (which includes Scripture, Theology Proper, and Anthropology) in the evening.
The new pad is a townhouse with 2 other guys only about 2 miles from campus. I have the one bedroom and bathroom on the first floor while they each have a bedroom and share a bathroom upstairs. The kitchen/dining/living room area is nice and open, though pretty bare at the moment. We still need to raid craig's list for some furniture. I finally met my other roommate, Nate, who's from the Raleigh area, but has been in the entertainment industry in LA for the past 9 years. I'm sure the three of us will get along fine and have many late night theological discussions.
I realized there was one tip that I forgot that I remind myself of all the time so I need to add it in...
- 6. The cheapest one is the one you already have - Whether it's a car, a guitar, or just a pillow, we always want something better than what we have. Advertisers are great at convincing us that what we have isn't good enough for some reason or another. If what you have meets your needs then don't make a need out of a want.
On Sunday, the pastor defined contentment as knowing the difference between wants and needs. Paul writes, "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." I wonder if part of that secret of contentment involves an understanding of our heavenly citizenship and the temporal nature of our belongings. Never hear about that in a marketing campaign.
In this time of financial ambiguity everyone's offering their top 10 ways to save money and whatnot, so I thought I'd chime in with my own helpful tips for those avid shoppers out there. Here's my top 5 practical suggestions on how to spend less money when you go shopping:
- Don't go shopping - Not so obvious for some.
- Make a list, and if it's not on the list, don't buy it - Determine ahead of time what you really need and stick to it. Don't let slick advertising or point-of-purchase marketing convince you into buying something you don't need. Carry your list in your hand as a reminder, if it goes in the cart, it better already be on the list.
- Don't bring extra money "just in case" - These days it's a tough suggestion to shop with cash, but it really will force you to think about how much you're spending. Determine how much you're willing to spend ahead of time, then only bring that much. That'll keep you from extra frivilous purchases that you don't really need.
- Get in and out; don't browse - For all those window shoppers out there, it's way too easy to convince yourself you need something when the sale tag is staring you in the face. Sales are made for suckers. Reality check: you don't need it, you just want it. Refer to #2.
- Seriously, reread #1 - Find a hobby that doesn't require you to go out and spend money. If you're lamenting that you don't have enough money to go shopping, it's probably because you've spent it all shopping. Then when you really do need something, you don't have money because you've spent it all on stuff you didn't need but couldn't resist.
The downside of giving away almost everything you own is that when you move into a new place you have to buy it all back. As discouraging as it is watching money fly out of my accounts, God's provision comes as a welcome blessing. Yesterday morning I thought (again) that I need to be more trusting of God by taking my little requests to Him, so I tossed out one of those unexpectant prayers asking for furniture for our new place, especially a bed, since I've been sleeping on the floor the past two nights. Well driving home from Walmart yesterday, what to my wondering eyes should appear but a queen sized mattress and boxspring on the curb waiting for the dump truck. The owners were more than generous allowing me to take it home and even invited me back for their yard sale in a few weeks. Sure it's old and torn in a few places, but it's a mattress, it doesn't smell like cat pee, and it's my answer to prayer!
Getting adjusted to Charlotte feels a little like adjusting to life in Namibia...but only a little. Probably only in the sense of getting adjusted to any new place. There's different grocery stores here and it’s hard to find different stores because they’re tucked back in shopping plazas and there’s greenery everywhere so you can’t always see the signs. I almost missed Wal-mart because there were too many trees…a Wal-mart! But I’m starting to learn the streets thanks to Google Maps and free Wi-Fi at Panera. How did we ever get by before the internet? I certainly don’t remember.
I arrived at my apartment on Monday, but haven’t really started moving in yet because my roommates haven’t arrived. I visited campus for the first time today (after driving right by it because I didn’t see the sign). I got the tour and met a whole bunch of people, some students taking summer Greek, some of my professors. One perk of being here a week before classes is I beat everyone to the textbooks in the library. I found more than half of what’s on my reading list for the semester. I would get a head start on them if I weren’t already so engrossed in Shadow of the Almighty that I picked up in at a used bookstore in Milwaukee. It’s the biography of Jim Elliot, a missionary to the tribes of Ecuador who was martyred for his faith when he was 28 years old. He’s long been an inspiration of mine and I highly recommend the book so far.
So after my first full day in Charlotte, I’ll hold off on my judgment for now. It’s certainly not love at first sight, but I think I could get used to it.
I arrived at my apartment on Monday, but haven’t really started moving in yet because my roommates haven’t arrived. I visited campus for the first time today (after driving right by it because I didn’t see the sign). I got the tour and met a whole bunch of people, some students taking summer Greek, some of my professors. One perk of being here a week before classes is I beat everyone to the textbooks in the library. I found more than half of what’s on my reading list for the semester. I would get a head start on them if I weren’t already so engrossed in Shadow of the Almighty that I picked up in at a used bookstore in Milwaukee. It’s the biography of Jim Elliot, a missionary to the tribes of Ecuador who was martyred for his faith when he was 28 years old. He’s long been an inspiration of mine and I highly recommend the book so far.
So after my first full day in Charlotte, I’ll hold off on my judgment for now. It’s certainly not love at first sight, but I think I could get used to it.
"Father, make of me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me."
~ Jim Elliot from Shadow of the Almighty
2,400 miles, 40 hours in the car, 14 states, 12 days, 2 broken lug bolts, and 1 tow truck later, I finally made it to my parents house in North Carolina.
Buddy and I with a nuke at the Air Force Museum in Dayton.
Fortunately, I pulled over before the wheel fell off. Unfortunately, two of the lug nuts spun off so I had to get the Explorer towed to the nearest shop. Fortunately, the shop was within 4 miles of where I stopped so I didn't have to pay any extra mileage fees. Unfortunately, it's still $70 I wasn't expecting to have to spend. Fortunately, the waiting room has wireless so I'm not too terribly bored. Unfortunately, the only seats are in the sun. So here I sit sweating profusely, waiting to hear how much more I'll have to drop before the end of this little adventure. It's times like this where I'm glad I believe in the sovereignty of God, because otherwise I'd be really frustrated and angry and impatient.
"Domesticated males aren't much use for adventure."
~ Jim Elliot from Shadow of the Almighty
Yesterday I went with Joe's youth group on their annual Cedar Point trip. We woke up at 4am and loosed 40some teenagers on the best rollercoaster park in the country. For me the trip included rides on some old favorites like the Power Tower which shoots you down from a 240-ft tower at 50 mph, and the Millenium Force coaster which opens with a 310-ft, 80 degree drop at 80 mph. Plus I got to check out a few new rides like the Maverick coaster which drops at 95 degrees (which, for those of you mathematically challenged ones, is steeper than straight down; it actually goes back under itself) and the Dragster (see photo) which shoots you out from 0-120 mph in 4 seconds, straight up 420-ft in the air, then crests the top and drops you straight down. Check out some of the other pics at the Photography links above, including ones taken while on the rides! Only the extra brave (or maybe extra foolish) get shots like these. :)
Cedar Point Ferris Wheel at night
Parmesan Cheese Fail:
At lunch the cheese was coming out of the shaker very slowly, so Joe unscrewed the cap to sprinkle his. Apparently he didn't screw it on quite tight enough when I went to use it.
Sensitive Moment Fail:
At church last night we were all walking up front to take communion and there was nice, soft music playing in the background. It was quite hot in the sanctuary so there were fans all up and down the side aisles. After taking my bread and juice I made my way down the side aisle and knocked into a fan. I went to grab it so it wouldn't fall over, but the cover was broken so my fingers went into the fan blades making an obnoxiously loud sound. Just picture it; it was hysterical.
"I sneak my candy in like a good Christian."
~Ashley in reference to going to the theatre
"The shark's not trying to eat the human. It's just trying to investigate, but it investigates with it's teeth. It'll most likely spit you out, but then you're riddled with holes so it's too late." ~from Shark Week on Animal Planet
Travel Update:
I had a great time with family up in Michigan. I spent my birthday with them, playing in the pool, doing some go-carting, mini golf, and bumper boats. My visit also coincided with opening night of a musical my cousin was in, so it was fun to be there for that. Then after much too short a visit, I made my way down to Indiana to visit with my college friends, Joe & Ashley and Laura & Dave. Now while the other guys are out mountain biking, I'm enjoying a nice quiet morning catching up on laundry, Patriots news, and blogging.
So I must say I'm a big fan of bringing in more guys for training camp, even if they are jettison from the Al Davis disaster called the Oakland Raiders. The way I see it, the more competition in camp the better, especially if they're name has "Pro Bowler" attached to it. They all have to push each other to become better players, and the team will be better for it, no matter who makes the roster come September. Would we really be that comfortable placing the fate of our team in the hands of Andrew Walter if the unspeakable were to happen...again? Perhaps not yet, but who would you prefer, O'Connell? Gutierrez? Like I said, competition makes for a better team in the end.
Said by a dentist ~ "Teeth are like women, you never know why they do what they do."
As I tell people I'm going to Reformed Theological Seminary, I'm intrigued by their comments on their experience with the Reformed tradition. It leads me to believe there's a lot more to this "Reformed" thing than I originally thought. I have always been of the mindset that by title, a theological position and a denominational tradition can be very different things. For example, the Baptist tradition could easily be stereotyped as quite strict and fundamentalist. However I know quite a few people who would consider themselves to be Baptist theologically, though not necessarily "baptist" in the traditional practice. I assume this may be the case within the Reformed tradition as well. The real question, regardless of the denomination, is how much of our practice is shaped by our tradition vs how much is shaped by our theology.
The quickest way to double your money is fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.
It's late and I need my sleep before a long day of driving ahead of me tomorrow, but I was just thinking how cool heaven's going to be where all the cool people I'm friends with will finally all be in the same place. Granted that will be an infintesimally small perk compared to the infinite greatness of being in the presence of the awesome Trinity! But haven't you ever thought how much it sucks that your really cool friends are so spread out that you can't hang out with them nearly as much as you'd like? And how cool it would be if you could all be together in the same place? Not to mention all the really cool people that you'll never get to know because they live in different places! As I spend time with the cool people I know spread out across the country, I look forward to the day when I'll get to hang out with them all together in the same place with Jesus. Reason #1854962 that heaven won't be boring!
