Sometimes Good Guys Carry Axes

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Read all the axe FAQs.

“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)

Hack away.

Filed in Autobiography

Related Tags: Blogging, Anglicanism, Devotionals, Writing, Blogs, Christianity

Run, Don't Walk, and Read These Comics

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A seemingly skilled, young cartoonist has the collective panties of the Dartmouth campus in a wad.

I wish I could do that. (HT: New Criterion)

Here's an amuse-bouche to get you started. Click on the comic to enlarge:


Hack away.

Filed in Recommendations

Related Tags: Comics, Cartoons, Editorials, Dartmouth, Political Correctness, Wedgies

Top Billing

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Some folks (read: jackasses) have tried to retell the miracle of the loaves and the fish. The idea is that Jesus did not really multiply five loaves and two fish into enough grub to feed 5000 men plus women and children. Instead, the "miracle" is that the crowd saw the generosity of the little boy who provided the five loaves and two fish; those in the crowd who had some food were then inspired to share it with their neighbors.

Aaawww, isn't that sweet?

The problem is that there is no evidence for the new interpretation of this episode in the life of our Lord. All four Evangelists record the incident. All of them credit Jesus with miraculously multiplying the victuals.

There's another problem with the reinterpretation. It misses everything else that is said about the multitudes/crowds throughout all four Gospel accounts. The crowd is never noble, never altruistic, never looking out for the interests of another. The crowd is selfish. The crowd is fickle. The crowd is the crowd.

Let's consider what the crowd did for Jesus. They tried to chase him off a cliff when he said that it was he on whom the Spirit abode. They grew offended and walked away when he spoke of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. The crowd's faithfulness culminated in their insanity before Pilate. "Give us Barabbas. Crucify Jesus!"

Jesus gets top billing in the Gospel. Even John the Baptist quickly recedes into the background when the Lamb of God steps forward. The Apostles have their moments but are generally screw-ups before Pentecost.

People only start really getting it together after Jesus ascends and sends the Holy Spirit. The Church is born. Christ's Body begins to do the works that he did and preach the message that he preached in his absence.

The Lord Our Righteousness!

We point to him, even in our do-gooding. He is the one who died, was buried, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, reigns from his Father's side and is returning to judge all men and establish his eternal kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy in the Spirit.

He has made it possible now for us to give of our bread and fish, our money, our time, our energy, ourselves. We may now offer our self to him and be blessed so that we may give ourselves to the world. In his offering our offering is sanctified. In his death all of our sin and death is overcome so that we might become living sacrifices, a people who may be called by the name of the Lord.

"STIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Propers for Sunday Next Before Advent

Hack away.

Filed in General

Related Tags: Christianity, Discipleship, Miracles, Jesus

Thank You, Whoever You Are

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I would like to say "thank you" today to Nobody. I would like to thank Nobody for my job, health, friends and family. I would like to express my gratitude to Nobody for providing me with food, clothing and shelter. I would like to give a big shout out to Nobody for all the other stuff that I enjoy, like buffalo wings, basketball and blues music.

I know that there are many others out there today who will be called upon to offer thanks. What do you do? Is there anyone out there who is responsible for helping you with provisions, abilities, opportunities, et al? How do you refer to him/her/it/them? Just offer up a big, hearty "Thank You" to Nobody, the all-purpose, non-existent he/she/it/they upstairs.

You see, with Nobody, you can avoid the scandal of particularity. Nobody is not some first century, Jewish man with long hair and a beard. Nobody did not die for you. Nobody did not rise from the dead. Nobobdy does not rule from heaven. Nobody is not returning some day to judge both the living an the dead.

Nobody doesn't really expect anything of you. Nobody pretty much leaves you alone to do whatever you like. Nobody doesn't love you. Nobody is a useful stand-in for Somebody.

You can trot Nobody out during those uncomfortable moments at holidays, graduations, weddings, funerals and other traditional occasions when some kind of Other is traditionally useful. Nobody will not show up and make a scene. Nobody does not expect any kind of a commission, offering or sacrifice. Nobody will not send a prophet to interrupt everyone's good time. Nobody likes it behind the scenes, in the dark, where it's nice and quiet.

Nobody is the perfect substitute for Somebody.

All hail Nobody!

Have I made my point? Is that enough sarcasm for you? Here's the non-sarcastic version.

There is no thanking the universe, or fate, or chance, or luck, or whatever. There is no nameless, faceless, amorphous deity or figurehead to whom we may direct our gratitude. Thanksgiving is personal. You don't say "Thank You" into the ether. Someone must receive our thanks if the act is to have any meaning whatsoever.

"I ain't never got nothin' from Nobody." (Johnny Cash)

"You've got to serve Somebody." (Bob Dylan)

There are three divine persons who should be thanked today and always: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is from the one, true God that all good comes. In him we live, move and have our being. It is always good to give him thanks and praise.

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise him all creatures here below.
Praise him above, ye heavenly hosts.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost."

Go eat some turkey.

Propers for Thanksgiving Day

Hack away.

Filed in Rants

Related Tags: Thanksgiving, Trinity, Agnostic, Atheism, Nihilism

Enemies and Friends of the Cross

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St. Paul says a lot of stuff that seems entirely unworkable.

There, I said it. The Bible is a difficult book to understand. It is full of things to trip over. The Book can be a source of tremendous frustration, especially for those who are in earnest about obeying God's commands. At the same time the Bible is the most dangerous and the most blessed book in the world.

We are instructed to have our mind oriented to a place we have never been and cannot see (heaven). We are told to be wary of excessive allegiance to what we can see and what we have experienced (the world). Our present condition is referred to as humiliation. We are exhorted to value a future state of glory; we only experience the faintest glimmer of that glory in the here and now, however holy we may be.

Much of the time we look like a laughingstock in the eyes of those who do not share our belief in Jesus Christ, who came and who is coming again. People let us know that they are happy for us because we are religious. "That's good for you," they say with all the sincerity of a person who is humoring a child or an idiot.

It is tempting to do one of two things. Sometimes we are enticed to join or rejoin those who are walking in the broad way that leads to destruction. It would be so much easier to go with the flow, to pick up our feet and float downstream. Who needs this constant upstream fight anyway?

The other thing we may be tempted to do is to despise those who do not give us the respect we think that we deserve. We look down our noses at the heathen. They're going to laugh at us. We'll show them. We'll laugh right back. Stupid sinners.

Paul is so helpful here. He does not shy away from describing people as they are. He can say the most devastating things about folks. Yet, he does it with a tremor in his voice and a tear in his eye.

Many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.

Those who are outside of Christ are in a bad way, brothers and sisters. We ought not kid ourselves about that fact. They are going to fall hard. We do not want to be in their shoes. We don't want them to stay in those shoes either.

St. Paul recognized the difficulties facing those who would follow the crucified Lord. He called upon them to follow him and others like him. "I know it's hard sometimes. Just keep close to me and we'll walk it out together."

Find some little "s" saints and get to know them. You will always be you. Don't try to be anyone else. Nevertheless, there are surprising benefits to knowing and emulating those who know and emulate the Lord.

Propers for Trinity 23

Hack away.

Filed in General

Related Tags: Christianity, Discipleship, Cross

Remembering Bracy Greer

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It has been five years since Bracy Greer went home to be with the Lord. He was a friend and mentor to more people than I will ever know. I had the honor of attending his church for a brief period between 1994-95.

One thing that I loved so much about Bracy Greer is that he was willing to follow the truth wherever it led him. He was a courageous man and an example in that way. He was unwilling to be bullied into submission by anyone. His fidelity to the truth certainly cost him personally and vocationally. There were quite a number of people who didn't get him, not because he was an eccentric, but because he was a man after God's own heart. What a hero.

Some people would call his willingness to follow the truth regrdless of the cost intellectual honesty. My friend had a wonderful way of describing the attitude for which he strove. He talked about being meek towards God, dependent upon God and humble before God. He was a walking sermon who illustrated those virtues.

Was his willingness to change a sign of instability? I don't think so. It seems to me that it was an element of his worship of the Triune God. Bracy Greer did not assume that he knew everything. Therefore, he was open to learn from a variety of sources.

I had a crisis in my own life in 1999-2000. What I learned from Bracy Greer helped me to navigate through that crisis and follow the Lord out of a very unhealthy situation. His influence has been vindicated a hundred-fold in the intervening 6-7 years.

The people I was around refused to see, hear or speak anything that might bring their ill-formed presuppositions into question. I know that conviction and perseverance are essential when the thing believed and persisted in is true. The situation I was in had turned conviction into arrogance and perseverance into willful ignorance.

People often spare themselves the upheaval and turmoil of change by turning out the light or retreating farther into their ghettos. Bracy Greer was not that kind of a man. He was ever moving forward into the light and wideness of God's mercy. His example saved my life.

Bracy Greer was also a very broad-minded, generous person. He kept his door open for all manner of people who called on the name of Jesus. He knew one man who had immersed himself in the writings of the Ante-Nicene Church Fathers and had come to some unfamiliar conclusions. Bracy Greer continued to pursue that man as a friend.

He was also a friend to a number of fringe folks, some of whom were perilously close to the "c" word (that would be "c" as in cult). People whose main occupation was cutting themselves off from everyone else (the world, the Church, whomever) received hospitality from Bracy Greer. That was frustrating to me at the time. I now see it as an incarnation of 1 Corinthians 13, as well as the explanation of how his door stayed open to me.

I sometimes wonder what Bracy Greer would think about the choices that I have made. I am a very different person than I was five years ago. I entered the Anglican Communion right after his death. I am friendly with Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians. One thing I know is that my friend would have given me a hearing. He would have asked me hard questions. He might have even strongly disagreed with what I have become.

I am confident that Bracy Greer would have neither cut me off nor recoiled from me. He would have continued to be my friend. He would have continued to engage me about the things that matter most. During my first semester in seminary I thought about how much I was going to enjoy talking with him about what I was learning. It never happened and remains one of the greatest disappointments of my life.

That kind of sanctified openness is very convicting to me. I pray that the Lord would grant me the ability to see others as He sees them. Bracy Greer was able to do that.

It's been five years, my friend. I experience a joyful melancholy every time I think of you. I rejoice in your memory and the fact that you now behold the Beloved face to face. I mourn that those who love you here have to wait to be reunited with you in the resurrection.

"Eternal rest grant him, Lord, and may light perpetual shine upon him."

Read my 2005 memorial of Bracy Greer.

NOTE: Do you have digital, scanned or extra copies of pictures of Bracy Greer? Would you be willing to share them with me? If so, please send me an email.

Filed in Friends

Related Tags: Bracy Greer, Mentors, Friendship, Memorials, Discipleship, Faith, Humility

A Mess in the Kitchen

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The Blessed Mess of Reconciliation (Part 1)

Jesus once told a parable about a servant who was in major, insurmountable debt. I don't know how a servant would get in the kind of debt Jesus indicated. No-limit Texas hold 'em is the best I can come up with.

That servant begged his master to give him time to pay off his debt. The master instead forgave the debt. Wiped the slate clean. "You don't owe me a red cent, son, just lay off the cards."

That servant left the master’s presence and found one of his fellow servants. The second servant owed the first a trifling amount. Maybe he borrowed a dollar for a Snickers when they were at the 7-11. The debtor begged for time to pay off his debt. The first servant was abusive and had the second thrown in prison.

The master found out and threw the first servant in prison.

The spirit of our age does not permit such a parable to have its intended effect. We expect the one who has been offended to offer forgiveness regardless of whether or not the offender shows contrition, restitution or even a request for forgiveness. Therefore, reconciliation becomes an impossibility. We learn to tolerate one another but we do not experience communion.

We look over the fence at our neighbor and smile through clenched teeth, remembering the lawn-mines his German Shepherd deposits next to our flower bed. We shake hands with the coworker who dinged our car in the parking lot but didn't fess up. "I totally saw him do it. He looked around to make sure no one was watching," we tell our buddy. We inwardly cringe as we give the half-hearted fellowship hug to the so-and-so who sits in front of us at church. You know, the one whom you dislike for no reason in particular.

The other mistake that we make which makes forgiveness and reconciliation impossible is our own refusal to ever admit that we are wrong. We must always save face. “Mistakes were made” instead of “Have mercy upon us, miserable offenders.”

This stuff adds up, friends. All I can say is, keep short accounts with God, your spouse, family, friends, neighbors, fellow congregants, coworkers, ere'body.

Our inability to reconcile with one another makes futile our efforts to build community. Our Sunday interactions happen while we make sure to maintain enough distance between one another so as to protect ourselves. Vulnerability is not in our functioning vocabulary. I am not talking about showing up to the fellowship hour on Sunday and dumping out our problems next to the donuts.

I have come up with a way to describe what I think we should be striving for in our homes, churches and friendships:

Transparent honesty within a process of sanctified disclosure deepening informed trust based upon knowledge of character.

Let me try and explain that a bit.

It is unreasonable, unrealistic and unhealthy for us to expect anyone to walk into a church and reveal all his thoughts, feelings, failings, beliefs and temptations. We must have a long-term perspective about our relationships. Substantive friendships are the product of time and effort.

We must be honest with one another. No one has to tell everything to everyone on the first date, and probably not ever.

There have to be institutional, local and personal commitments in order for relationships of deepening trust to happen. The Church, the churches and each individual must plan and act, regardless of the setbacks, frustrations and disappointments. As is the case with most things, it is easier said than done.

The friction that occurs when people exist in regular proximity to one another can provide us with opportunities to confess our sins to one another, humble ourselves, offer forgiveness and get to know one another.

Have you ever had a knockdown, drag-out fight with someone and you ended up being close friends with him? There was probably a process of confession, forgiveness and reconciliation that took place between you. From that place of mutual humility the two of you were able to move forward together.

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A Mess in the Kitchen (Part 2)

Quite a while ago I wrote a post about an old friend of mine named Donald. I'd like to tell you an embarrassing story that illustrates the point that I am trying to make.

Donald and his wife used to invite me over to their house all the time to eat and hang out. Being a single guy and a transplant to the area, I don't ever remember turning down an invitation. I had known them for a while when the following event occurred.

At the end of an evening church service Donald invited me to go back to their house for a meal. I had to work early the next day, but was starving, so I accepted. Donald was aware of my situation, so he sent me ahead to start eating while he and his family talked to some folks.

I was ravenously hungry when I arrived at Donald's house. His wife had prepared a typically delicious meal. I walked over to the stove where I discovered a chicken dish that made me want to faint from the heavenly aroma.

I started spooning myself some of the chicken and pasta out of a large pot. I was amazed at how much chicken there was in the dish. (Remember that observation.) My mouth was watering as I danced my way over to the table with my heaping plate. Did I mention that I was hungry?

I scarfed down the delightful creation. I savored every bite. I was still hungry.

The large pot was full, so I thought "Why not go for seconds?" As I started spooning away I noticed that the chicken was not quite as plentiful the deeper one entered into the pot.

When I realized what I had done I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Donald's wife had put all the chicken at the top of the pot. She had planned on mixing it all together when she got home. I had turned the chicken and pasta dish into a pasta dish with enough chicken to leave Tinkerbelle needing to make a Taco Bell run in order to satiate her waifish appetite.

I was transported back to all the times in my childhood when I did something wrong and knew that I was going to get caught. You know the feeling, all hope is abandoned and there is only the waiting for the hammer to fall. I momentarily scrambled to try and figure out how I might remedy the situation. No grocery stores were open. No uncooked chicken was in the fridge. There was no way that I was going to be able to take a chicken from their coop outside, kill it, pluck it, cut it up, cook it and merge it with the existing pasta before they got home. I was left to wait for Donald and family. I was sick to my full stomach.

"Jason, the principal will see you now."

"Jason, your father and I would like to speak with you about what happened this weekend."

"Liscense and registration, please."

The family was understandably disappointed. It was late and they were all hungry, too. After they took a moment to process my confession and apology they started laughing and teasing me. And, you know what, I ate many, many more meals and had many, many more laughs in that home.

They freed me from my bondage. They drew me back before I could try and clothe myself with fig leaves and hide in the bushes. They opened the door and handed me garments of righteousness to clothe my nakedness.

Transparent honesty within a process of sanctified disclosure deepening informed trust based upon knowledge of character.

Propers for Trinity 22

Hack away.

Filed in Friends

Related Tags: Reconciliation, Confession, Forgiveness, Fellowship, Communion, Relationships

Magic Johnson and Unintended Irony

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Magic Johnson announced that he was retiring from professional basketball 15 years ago because he had contracted HIV. Chris Connelly of ESPN recently called the announcement "the Baby Boomer generation's Lou Gehrig moment." I agree, but my reasons diverge greatly.

Magic Johnson contracted HIV because he cheated on his wife. That is called adultery. It is a sin.

Magic Johnson received sympathy. He has been hailed as a humanitarian for "helping to raise public awareness" in the "fight against HIV/AIDS." Magic Johnson is a hero to many.

I cannot think of a moment more befitting the Baby Boomers. Lou Gehrig was forced into early retirement and suffered from a disease that could not have been prevented at the time. Lou Gehrig was a victim. Not so, Magic Johnson. Would you call a man a victim who gets shot in the process of breaking into another man's house and robbing him?

Magic Johnson's announcement and the public's reaction to it perfectly encapsulate the me-first, tradition-abandoning, hedonistic, self-congratulatory, consequence-ignoring ethos of the Baby Boomers. It's not just the emporer who's naked.

Magic Johnson is not a hero. He is a man who is experiencing the temporal wages of his sin. I hope that he asked for the forgiveness of his wife, his family, and God. How many women got HIV/AIDS because they fornicated with Magic Johnson?

Wouldn't it have been nice if, instead of "fighting HIV/AIDS," Magic Johnson would have raised public awareness about how awful promiscuous sex is, whether or not one contracts HIV or an STD because of it? Wouldn't it have been a classy move if he had raised public awareness about the importance of fidelity to the marriage bed? Such actions still would not have made Magic Johnson a hero. Such actions would have simply exhibited a little fruit of repentance. He would have been a little less despicable.

Because of the softness of the time in which we live, I, of course, am expected to say how sorry I am that Magic Johnson got HIV. I must reassure everyone of how Christian I am by saying that God's mercy extends to Magic Johnson. To reach par I must make sure to mention that I am aware of how deserving of God's wrath I am, that I am no better than Magic Johnson.

Everyone already knows these things. It doesn't help for me to repeat them. It simply serves to dull the edge of what I have said by enabling everyone to walk away from this post feeling good about themselves. "Yeah, we're all just sinners, none better, none worse. Pass the Fritos."

It would be awful for us to ever be ashamed of any sin other that pointing out the fact that someone has committed a sin.

I know. I'm such a judgmental bastard. I should celebrate Magic Johnson with the rest of the deaf, dumb and blind monkeys. I should applaud as he helps the one million Americans (Connelly's stat) who currently have (the almost completely preventable) HIV. I am an unfeeling monster. I deserve to be censured.

I am abominably failing to see that HIV/AIDS is a "Civil Rights Issue" and not a public health crisis. To suggest that people with HIV should be confined and/or identified in some manner in order to prevent them from infencting anyone else would be akin to Nazism. It is only the 1st Amendment that keeps me from being properly silenced. Well, until that happens, I suppose that I, along with all the pornographers, shock jocks, gangsta rappers and heretics, will continue to pollute the world with my "free speech."

I probably won't ever be able to live north of the Mason-Dixon Line now. I might never be accepted by the mainstream media. I could be prevented from setting foot on a university campus. Boo-hoo.

Hack away.

Filed in Rants

Related Tags: Magic Johnson, HIV, AIDS, Repentance, Civil Rights

Rhino Hide, Calloused Knees and a Flinty Face

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There is a survey going around the blogosphere right now asking people to name the twenty books that have been most influential on them theologically. I tend to avoid answering these questionaires, or meme's as they are sometimes called. The irony is that I almost always read the ones that appear on blogs that I read regularly. I like the fact that they usually reveal something about the person answering them. I did think about what twenty books would be on my list.

I did not read much theology, per se, during the earliest days of my Christian life. However, I did focus on a few streams of thought that helped me immensely. I read a number of missionary biographies. I read a fair amount of material about persecuted Christians and martyrs. I also read quite a bit about prayer.

I know, the suspense is killing you. What books were so formative in my early Christian life? Let me tell you what concentrating on those themes did for me instead.

I realized that Christianity was far more than just going to Bible studies and prayer meetings, singing praise songs and trying not to lust after the barely-clothed co-eds at the dining hall. I saw that the missionaries and martyrs I was reading about had offered themselves in toto to the Lord and the world. I knew that I would never be worthy to carry their jock straps, but a kid could dream, couldn't he?

Something resonated in me when I read about these Christians from past decades and centuries. What I was reading in the Scriptures certainly confirmed what I was reading in these books. The combination of the two provided an alternate witness regarding the living out of the Christian faith.

I saw an unflagging determination to preach the Gospel no matter what the monetary, physical or relational costs. Men saw their wives and children die. Women watched their husbands carried off to jail or to death. Children watched their parent invest everything into other people, only to be rejected and cast aside. These people were at war and had a Spirit-inspired tatoo on their soul that said "Faithful unto death."

John the Baptist, the Apostle Paul, the Prophets Elijah and Ezekiel. These were men. They were not the melt-in-your-mouth, milk-toasty, self-consumed wusses that dotted the landscape of collegiate Evangelical fellowships (I include myself in that number). I was no better than the people around me. I guess a difference between my compadres and most of the religious folks we knew was that we saw our poverty and wanted to try and attempt something better.

Now, there is something to be said about the seasoning and mellowing that takes place as we grow older. I certainly heard plenty about that when I was attempting to set myself on fire for Jesus (metaphorically speaking, of course). The problem with much of that unwanted counsel was that I didn't want to end up like the people who had their arms around my shoulders and were speaking so condescendingly about my zeal. To be honest, there is still something in me that doesn't want to end up like that.

I guess I will always be a bit of a radical. I love what seminary did for me. I think that it helped inform and direct the passions that the Lord has tried to give me. I don't think I am on a different path that I have been walking since my baptism in the spring of 1991. Those stories of preaching missionaries and praying martyrs continue to be a part of who I am. I still see that Christianity has a militancy about it. There is a war to be waged. It is fought with ideas. It is fought with love. It is fought by our witness to the Gospel in word AND deed.

Propers for Trinity 21

Hack away.

Two books that might be of interest:
Richard Wurmbrand Tortured for Christ
CS Lewis The Screwtape Letters

Filed in Autobiography

Related Tags: Persecution, Martyrdom, Martyrs, Missionaries, Prayer, Church, Theology

Two Bloggers Walk Into a Bar ...

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I'm on I-55 headed north to Memphis. I'm on the cell with a friend from seminary. He is silent at the moment. I've just told him where I'm going.

"So, you think it's weird that I'm going to hang out with someone I met on the internet?"

"Yeah, a little."

"I guess, when stated that way, it does sound a bit odd."

We talked for a little longer and he said, "I have to go in a minute."

"Do you have plans tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm going out with a girl I met on the internet."

Busted.

The Ochlophobist broke the story on Monday. Yes, two bloggers, previously unknown to each other, met on Saturday for an evening of quality fare and conversation in the city of Memphis, fortuitously located in the beautiful, dirty South. The calimari was a bit greasy, but good. The grouper sandwiches hit the spot. The libations at Bosco's complimented the meal nicely. It was just right to satisfy a fearer of crowds and a grinder of axes. Och, I appreciate the hospitality.

You will be happy to hear that the Ochlophobist is as down to earth and as pleasant a conversationalist as he is a stimulating and intelligent commentator on things religious. That is to say, I had a great time talking with him about what matters. I was not surprised that I liked him, as his blog expresses a deep concern for the worship of God, which includes the life of the mind, piety and Christian mission. Our personal histories had many commonalities and diversities.

Bloggers meeting face to face will likely become increasingly more common. I think that is a good thing. It's nice to know the person behind the keyboard wherever possible. For those who worry about electronic interaction superceding immediate communication, I am with you. Go read The Scrivener's "Visions of Electric Babylon." There is no substitute for time with your family, friends and local church.

I'd like to second Doc Och's public plug of Fr. Jonathan Tobias and his blog, Second Terrace. Why aren't more people reading, discussing and linking him?

Hack away.

Filed in Friends

Related Tags: Bloggers, Blogging, Memphis, Technology, Conversation, Postmodernity