axe FAQs

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"Jason, you are obviously a mensa-level genius with Alexandrian learning, the social skills of royalty, devilish charm, sparkling wit, the looks of a Greek god and indefatigable humility.

1. "Would you mind telling us a bit more about yourself?"

2. "Why did you pick the name 'axegrinder?'"

3. "What is 'axegrinder?'"

4. "Stigma or Stigmata?"

5. "What books do you recommend?"

6. "What do you mean by ... ?"

Anglican?
Social Trinitarian?
Theo-Comic?
Seminary Grad?
Aspiring Raconteur?
Mere Christianity?

NOTE: I will finish answering question #6 in the future.

7. "Would you describe the typical content on axegrinder?"

8. "Do you have anything else that you would like to say?"

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1. Who is axegrinder?

Something dawned on me recently. When I look at other people's blogs, webpages, books, articles, whatever, one of the first things I do is look at what they say about themselves. I doubt I'm the only person who's curious to know whom I'm reading. In the interest of interesting (not full) disclosure, here's a few tidbits about me.

Where have I lived?

In order:

Metairie, LA (outside New Orleans)
Fort Worth, TX
Glen Rock, NJ (outside NYC)
Dayton, OH
Franklin Lakes, NJ (outside NYC)
Dunwoody, GA (suburb of ATL)
Atlanta, GA - I know everyone within 50 miles of ATL says they're from ATL. My mailing address growing up was Atlanta. I lived in an unincorporated suburb known as Sandy Springs.
Richmond, VA
Longview, TX (approx. 2 hrs east of Dallas on I-20)
ATL, GA
St. Francisville, LA (40 minutes north of Baton Rouge on Hwy 61)
Jackson, MS

Who has schooled me? (besides a large # of people on the basketball court)

Riverwood High School
Class of '91
(Go Raiders!)

University of Richmond
Graduated July '94
BA Speech Communications and Minor in English
(Go Spiders!)

Wesley Biblical Seminary
Graduated May '05
MDiv Honors Program - concentration in Systematic Theology
(Go Metho-Naza-Wesley-Vangelicals!)

What church am I affiliated with at present?

I attend St. Stephen's Reformed Episcopal Church in Flowood, MS.
St. Stephen's was the only Episcopal Church in the Jackson, MS area that is not a part of ECUSA (the guys who ordain homosexuals) when I entered the Anglican Communion.
(Go Continuing Anglican Movement!)

What do I like?

In ascending order, I like nicknames, blues music, buffalo wings, basketball and the coolest friends a person could have.


No, those are not my friends. Well, I suppose that they are in a way.

What are my theological commitments?

I am a social trinitarian.
I am sacramentally and liturgically minded.
I am ecumenical in a 1 Church, 2 Testaments, 3 Creeds, 5 centuries, 7 Councils kind of way.
I might be Anglo-catholic.
I do not know if I'm an Evangelical. I can't get two people to give me the same definition.
I am socially conservative.
John Wesley is my homey.


I am not Reformed.
I am not Pentecostal/Charismatic (though I was).
I am not Baptist.
But I like all you guys.

You can find out more about my religious pilgrimage in the "autobiographical" section of the blog.

Hack away.

**

2. Why did you pick the name axegrinder?"

I know you're dying to axe how I came up with the name for my blog.

(Get it?)

There are a few reasons, maybe good, maybe not. I hope they satiate your curiosity and pique your interest in becoming a loyal reader of my luminous postings.

First, I was a fan of a rock band called the "Hoodoo Gurus" when I was in high school. They had a song called "Axegrinder." I culled my senior yearbook quote from this song:

"On the brink of who-knows-what!"

While I don't recommend that you become a devotee of the "Gurus," they did help pinpoint a suspicion I was having that my life was about to change in remarkable ways after I completed my sentence at Riverwood High School in North Atlanta (Sandy Springs to be exact). My suspicion turned out to be correct. I was baptized just before graduation and the Lord initiated a transformation process in my life that continues to elicit my gratitude and confound my expectations.

The Hoodoo Gurus used the term "axe," which usually refers to a guitar when used in musical contexts. "Grinding an axe" is playing a guitar. I use "axe" to metaphorically and forthrightly indicate an instrument for chopping wood, rather than an instrument for entertaining masses of screaming teenagers and 20-somethings. While "axegrinder" the blog may indeed lead to screaming masses, I doubt that it will be for the same reason (see "Third" below).

Here are the lyrics to "Axegrinder." See if you can spot your current blogging host in the words.

My edge is keen and I've honed my skill.
I've got nerves of steel and an iron will.
My skin is bronze, my trim is chrome,
Climb aboard - I'll drive you home.
I'm a silver - tongued baby with a heart of gold,
When I was made they broke the mould.
My blood runs hot, like molten lead,
Climb aboard - I'm gonna knock you dead.

I don't mince words, I spit 'em out.
I won't leave room for any doubt.
Get to the point, stop splitting hairs
That ain't getting either of us anywhere.
Sometimes it's better to be blunt
But is this some kind of publicity stunt?
So far you've whet my appetite,
Do you wanna grind with me tonight?

Axegrinder - I'm not famous for my tact.
Axegrinder - I've gotta sharpen up my act.
Axegrinder - Try and see things through my eyes.
Everything and everyone gets cut back down to size.

On the brink of who knows what?
We've gotta strike while the iron's hot.
l can hold your hand, try to guide you through
But I can't make your moves for you.

Swing my blade - that's how it's done.
Don't stop me now, I've only just begun.
I was told when I was young
I wouldn't work in an iron lung.
Now I've learned a trick of two.
I'm working up a sweat for you.

Not only did the Gurus point me forward to great expectations but they also identified an intolerace inherent in my personality toward malarky of all kinds. I would realize that I place a premium on straight-shooting. I will try to graciously and truly speak to you in my posts.

Second, the axe is a symbol of the Lord's ministry on the earth. He cuts us all down to size. He lays the axe to the root of sin in all our lives. He is the most skillful and effective axe-wielder. As with many aspects of His ministry, He allows some of us to carry out His good work. Let me know if I am being presumptuous in thinking that I may be useful to you in hacking away.

Third, sometimes the cross that we bear leads us to an axe that we must grind. Some of my posts will be in response to things that bother me. Some won't. Hopefully all of them will be "sharp." If my axe is ever dull, let me know. Make a comment or send me an email. I will most likely respond.

Finally, I toyed with a number of different names for my blog. I thought about using my name (too hard to spell). I thought about "Turba Gallorum" (too hard too remember, but will be a feature on axegrinder). Each of my ideas fell short. Axegrinder is not perfect but it is easy to remember/spell and it does capture some of what I'm about. Not the most scientific approach, but then again, I'm not a scientist.

Hack away.

**

3. What is "axegrinder?"

It's a nightmare if you're wrong.

It's a cool breeze if you're weary.

It's initials carved in a tree if you're curious.

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It's a bedtime story if you're frightened.

It's a 12 gauge shotgun if you hear a burglar.

It's a glass of ice tea (unsweetened) if you've been in the sun too long.

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It's weird if you're status quo.

It's groovy if you're hip.

It's common if you're pretentious.
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It's a disco ball in a mortuary.

It's tabasco in black coffee.

It's a weedeater in a wedding procession.

*

It's a spoiler to a bad plot.

It's a sarcastic remark responding to tyranny.

It's the unexpected answer to the right question.

*

What more are you looking for, people?

It's your friend.

**

4. Stigma or Stigmata?

They simply show up. There’s nothing I can do about it. They do not bleed. They do bring with them visions, however, satirical visions of the absurdity of life in a fallen world where sacks of bile, urine, feces, water and salt take themselves very seriously. A world-on-tilt where these same piles of animated molecules will fight, curse, kill, excommunicate, anathematize, debate, separate and castigate over opinions about a God that none of us really know all that well.

These are the marks of a Christian smart aleck.

Do you think God was smirking when he decided to put the world on an axis that was not straight up and down? Is it possible that he was telling us that our perspectives as finite creatures would always be a bit skewed?

In such a world I live. I can’t help but chuckle as I watch all of us scantily-clad skeletons try to raise ourselves above one another, tear one another down, get one another into bed and maneuver one another onto painted X’s under pianos held aloft by elaborate rig and pulley systems, waiting for the opportunity to crash down on an antagonist’s unworthy, unlucky, deserving head.

My stigmata are not the traditional kind. They do not resemble those of the King who still bears the scars of his passion. I wish I were worthy of such marks, such mystical transports, such illumined identification. No, my marks are not those of royalty, but rather those of the court jester. But, in this kingdom, it is not the emperor who has no clothes, it is his subjects. He’s not playing a cruel joke on us; we are simply too stupid to notice.

When I look around and see the charades that we act out in the presence of the King, I lose it sometimes. I can’t help but guffaw. My sides start hurting. I start to feel like I’m above it all. I’m not standing off to the side because I’m any different. I’m only a wallflower who hasn’t been asked to dance. I start to get comfortable noticing how silly everyone else looks. Then I feel a draft in the room and realize I’m as bare-bottomed as the rest of the ball. I turn red for a minute. Then I start laughing again. I guess it’s the stigmata.

So you and I will continue to vacillate between an exceeding and eternal weight of glory and the vacuous, pomp-and-circumstance of our own devices. We’ll put on the robes of righteousness and the rings of inheritance. Then we’ll play strip poker, frittering away what matters for what doesn’t, flashing each other with our bankruptcy. The emperor will look on with pity and do things to try and get our attention. We will learn the hard way to spend more time on pilgrimage toward the city with eternal foundations and less time trying to guard our glass houses by throwing rocks at the neighbor’s.

In the midst of this redemption I will have a good laugh. Yes, I will be laughing at you, not with you. Don’t worry, I’ll look down frequently and have a good laugh at myself. I expect that you will to.

**

5. What books do you recommend?

A common question among people who read, study, think, etc. is "Do you know of any good books about [insert topic here]?" I do know of some good books on a limited range of topics.

I will update this list as I have the time and inclination.

Social Trinitarianism:
Thomas Torrance - especially Trinitarian Faith
This work must be read widely.
Colin Gunton - The One, the Three and the Many and Actuality and Atonement
John Zizioulas - Being as Communion

Systematic Theology (general):
Thomas Oden's Trilogy - The Living God, The Word of Life and Life in the Spirit
Great for developing theological method.

Alexander Schmemann For the Life of the World
James B. Torrance Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace
Lesslie Newbigin especially The Gospel in a Pluralist Society

Flannery O'Connor Mystery and Manners

[This list will be periodically updated.]

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7. Would you describe the typical content on axegrinder?

In the most general sense I attempt to promote “mere Christianity.” I try to remain in the neighborhood of the Vincentian Canon: that which has been believed at all times in all places by everyone. I do not claim to always be successful but I endeavor to adhere to the “faith once delivered to the saints.” I am certainly open to correction.

I know, I know. I have plenty of history, baggage, blind spots, prejudices, pecadillos, ignorance, and stubbornness that influence and hinder me in my pilgrimage and writing. Hey, I'm doin' my best, fella.

That's why I am very clear about all that stuff and how I identify myself in various places on the blog. Yes, I used to be Pentecostal. Yes, I graduated from an Evangelical, Wesleyan seminary. Yes, I am in the Anglican Continuum. Yes, I'm a doofus, a snob, a clown and a downer. Guilty as charged. Keep reading anyway.

I sometimes write polemically. In other words, I will engage in a bit of controversy now and again. I try to focus on theological issues that are (or should be) of broad interest to Christians of different stripes.

The relationship between Christianity and culture is one common theme on axegrinder. I must admit a predilection for ranting about the degeneration of critical thinking, morality and good sense both within and without the Church. I am no friend of the sensitivity patrol, the thought police or the political correctness mafia, whether the manifestation be Christian or otherwise.

For the last year I have been posting on Sunday or Monday on the Propers for Sunday out of the American Anglican 1928 Book of Common Prayer. It is my hope that these posts are both creative and edifying. They are both sermons and not sermons. They usually have a devotional flavor, as long as you're not thinking "Guideposts" or "Our Daily Bread" when I say "devotional." Think Oswald Chambers with 1/100th the profundity and a heapin' helpin' of smart-aleck-i-ness.

For the 2005-06 Church Year I commented on the Propers found here. They include the Collect, Epistle and Gospel readings that are part of the Liturgy of the Word that precedes the Liturgy of the Eucharist on Sundays.

For the 2006-07 Church Year I will focus on the first set of Propers from Morning Prayer on Sunday. If you are unfamiliar with the Book of Common Prayer Lectionary, that means that I will be working with a Psalm, an Old Testament passage and a New Testament Passage. I will still include the Sunday Collect. There are always links at the bottom of the post for the Readings that I am using. The Book of Common Prayer Lectionary is here.

Ugh, I am boring myself with this post. However, I felt it necessary to explain my intentions for this blog so that those who take a few moments to read it’s contents might be able to take advantage of the resources to which my writing is intended to point. I appreciate your patronage.

Statistics -
2-3 posts/week
300-900 words/post (1-3 double-spaced, 8 1/2 x 11, typed pages)

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8. Do you have anything else that you would like to say?

Uh, yeah. That's why I have a blog.

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Hack away.