Just a note that I will be doing the majority of my blogging at my new blog that I set up a while ago, http://kludt.wordpress.com. I have been “double-posting” for a while now, but decided to make the switch.
So, check the address above for any new posts. At some point if I have time, I might use this blog for different kinds of postings, but we’ll see!
Last night, Krissy and I were hanging out with some of our good friends in East Hollywood. I was carrying a big crock pot full of chili back to our car on Hollywood Boulevard, when I heard a whizzing noise and felt a sharp stinging sensation on my left shoulder blade, and then heard something smack against a building we were walking by. I looked over my shoulder to see a big white or tan SUV drive by with an open window.
So…Krissy heard the noise too, and saw me react to being hit by something, and being kind of worried, we just kept on walking rather than stopping to see what hit me. But, now I have a nasty welt on my back. We determined that it was something about the size of a marble or ball bearing, and probably came from something like a sling shot or some low powered pellet gun. It was definitely harder and faster than anyone could have thrown, and my recollection seems to clearly suggest that it came from the SUV that drove past, and I can’t image that it was somehow unintentional.
Kind of an odd way to end a night…I was the victim of a drive by on Hollywood Boulevard.
Two recent issues of Fuller’s student newspaper, The Semi, focused on politics. I threw together some bits and pieces of a few different blog posts that I’ve written in the last few months, and the result (seen below) is in this week’s Semi. I’d love to hear any feedback/thoughts/critiques/comments/etc as I struggle to more fully work out a coherent position on these issues.
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Each major election season, the media and political campaigns seem to focus on a target demographic. In 1994, it was said that ‘angry white men’ decided the election, while in 2000 it was the ‘soccer moms’ (who by 2002 and 2004 had morphed into ‘security moms’) who would play a pivotal electoral role. Each of these groups had their time in the political spotlight, but has largely been forgotten in favor of the latest target demographic: evangelicals. Over the course of the past few elections, increased attention has been paid to the evangelical vote, and although the next election is nearly a year away, it is clear that 2008 will not be an exception: evangelicals comprise one of the hottest voting blocks out there.
Campaign managers are doing everything they can to connect their candidates to evangelical voters, whether through participation in special forums on faith and values or by doing their best to “preach” their platform to the nation’s religious audience. As members in this evangelical target group, this has given us a very unique and public voice in the media frenzy that is the American election season. Although some fear the recent splintering of the evangelical vote, this has only increased the media attention given to American evangelicals as well as the amount of time candidates spend talking about faith.
For many, hearing this blend of theology and politics resounding throughout campaign stops across America validates their identity both as Christians and Americans. There is undoubtedly something appealing about listening to the voices of those in power echoing our sacred texts and promising to support many of the positions we hold most dear. With an increasing focus in practical theology on what it looks like to usher the Kingdom of God into our current reality, this syncretic combination of state and religion can serve as a strong temptation to distract the church from its purpose of being a light to a dark world.
Unfortunately, I believe that we have too quickly and too cheaply sold our allegiances, not necessarily to any particular party (especially with the recent and growing political divide in American evangelicalism), but to the political process as a whole. Campaigns and candidates are desperate to ride the wave of any demographic that they believe can push them to victory, and we have too often willingly been caught up in the frenzy. Every wave will eventually crash on the shore, and a new wave will follow it. Just as evangelicals replaced the attention paid to ‘security moms,’ some new group will eagerly take our place as the target of political campaigns.
My concern is that too often we willingly lend ourselves to the furthering of the democratic process at the expense of the Kingdom of God. By largely accepting the role of a temporary target demographic, we have played into the hands of the political game, rather than interacting with politicians and the government in ways that establish the church as a voice and example of a Kingdom-oriented way of life. This is not to say that Christians should not be involved in politics, but too often it seems that Christians have placed their hope in the governments of this world instead of Jesus Christ and the church. Our mission as the church is not primarily about petitioning the government for votes, endorsing candidates, or serving as a “high priest in Caesar’s court” (a phrase used by pastor/theologian Greg Boyd in his challenging 9.30.07 blog post at http://gregboyd.blogspot.com). Rather, our mission involves the embodiment of the Kingdom of God and radical discipleship that reflects the other-worldly nature of our loyalties. What would it look like if we looked past the prestige of worldly power and instead focused our efforts and hopes on the Kingdom of God?
Ever since I left for college, my mom has been diligently supporting the U.S. Postal Service by sending things to me in the mail. For the last 6 years, the packages that she has sent have gone above and beyond what I even thought was possible (or legal!). Whether it was a holiday themed box of random ‘goodies’ and ‘trinkets’, or just a random postcard to let me know that she is thinking about me and misses me, I don’t think a month has gone by without receiving something from her.
Throughout college, my roommates would howl when I received a oddly shaped box full of Valentine’s Day decorations (like blow up hearts with those window suction cup things), conversation hearts, and random other candy. Any holiday in which there were themed “Peeps”, I received them and forced my roommates to share them with me (I don’t love Peeps ((But I love getting them, mom!))).
When we moved to California, nothing changed in my mom’s mailing habits. Krissy and I have received numerous kitchen items (everything from a spring-form pan to a cheese grater), a huge skimboard with a big watermelon on it, blown out eggs to decorate for Easter, and even a Christmas tree which she sent after we told her we didn’t have a tree to put up in our apartment.
The other day, I received another odd shaped package from her (they are odd shaped because she usually makes her own boxes from pieces of cardboard so that there room for everything that she sends). I opened it up and found a little note inside wishing us well and saying that she misses us, along with a pair of blue scrubs (which I’ve wanted for some time…at least the pants!), a recipe for cooking turkey, and wrapped in plastic bags and plastic wrap….a humongous “short cake” (as in strawberry shortcake).
So, Mom, although you probably will never read this…your packages are amazing - they make us smile, laugh, and miss you as well. They also taste really, really, good with ice cream and strawberries.
(me offering a weird smile with my scrubs on, holding the cake)
I posted a few weeks ago (here) about a blog entry by Greg Boyd (here). My friend Maria posted a response and then continued the conversation on her blog (here).
After thinking for a week or so about Maria’s post, I finally got around to posting a reply on her blog. Here are some thoughts that I included in my comment on Maria’s blog.
The church exists in order to point to the glory of God and work of Christ by living out the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately, the American church does not exist in an ideal situation because for centuries, we have failed to live out and embody this mission as radically as the scriptures demonstrate and teach. Because of this, we have a muddled situation where the role of the church and the role of government aren’t clear, creating a situation where the church is reliant on the government to fulfill tasks that the church should have done, and the church has been relegated to a secondary role in society.
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It seems that when the church throughout the scriptures and history actually takes its primary calling seriously, the world changes. We arguably have secondary “clean up” goals due to our failure to follow our primary mission, but I don’t think we should set any of those secondary goals as the standard or as an acceptable part of our primary mission.
I am still trying to figure out my position on this issue. It’s such a huge issue that I find it difficult to offer a holistic paradigm that can really respond to or satisfy all the questions and demands that arise from being a Christian in a secular democracy. If you don’t want to read through all the prior discussion, here are some questions that summarize some of the dialogue…
In light of that, I’d love to hear any responses, push-backs, criticisms, etc. that you might have. Let me know what you think!
Over the past few days, Krissy and I have both gotten several calls from family and friends who have heard about the fires in SoCal. We are safe, but we love hearing from all of you, so keep the calls and e-mails coming ;).
Events like this always seem to cause friends and family to try and get in touch with each other. Yesterday, in addition to calls from people we know, we also got two calls from people trying to get a hold of friends or family that we don’t know. Both were apparently calling the wrong number. Anyways, both callers left messages that Krissy and I later listened to. One of them was incredibly sweet, yet absolutely hilarious.
You may have to listen to it a few times to understand it - Krissy didn’t know that it was English the first time she heard it.So, here is Aunt Jean:
[audio http://www.geocities.com/kludt/alistair.mp3]
If you can’t get the audio application to play, try accessing the file at this URL.
(For some reason I don’t appear to be able to post the audio URL without it turning into an audio player, which doesn’t work…check out the link from http://kludt.wordpress.com if you want to hear it!)
Obviously, most people have heard about the fires that are ravaging much of Southern California…check out this google map to see the locations of the fires.
The closest fires to Pasadena are about 30-40 miles away, but I am amazed at how the fires are affecting the sky/air. News reports are warning people not to spend time outside because of the air quality throughout the area, and cars have a thin layer of ashy dust on them.
The craziest thing is that all day the sunlight has been an eerie orange, and I had to keep reminding myself that it was the middle of the day, and not ‘twilight.’ As the day has progressed, the sky has gotten hazier and cloudier…I just recently took the below picture (through a screen, so it’s not great quality) that shows a small strip of blue sky above the mountains north of Pasadena contrasting the smokey haze that’s descended on us.
Check out the LA Times’ Reader submitted photos for some amazing shots from the different fires.
So…we’re fine, and I doubt any fires will make their way towards Pasadena. But there are an estimated 500,000 people who have been evacuated from their homes…with countless homes and neighborhoods destroyed. I think the last I heard is that there have been 6 deaths related to the fire. Keep these people in your thoughts and prayers..many of these people will have many weeks and months until their lives return to anything that could be considered normal.
(I wrote this article for The Semi, Fuller’s weekly student newspaper. Any thoughts, comments, or critiques are welcomed!)
With so many denominations and traditions represented at Fuller, the issue of baptism can causes many questions and disagreements. It is nearly impossible to make an absolute statement about a particular method of baptism without contradicting the theological of ecclesiological perspective that someone right next to you in class may hold. For me (and I am probably not alone on this), questions of methods and reasons of baptism are not just theological, but personal.
As far as I could tell growing up, pedobaptism (theological lingo for “infant baptism”) was a dirty word. Baptizing babies meant that, unless you repented and were baptized again after praying the sinner’s prayer, you probably believed in salvation by “works” (another dirty word). Growing up in this environment was sometimes awkward, as I was baptized as an infant in the Catholic Church, and my parents did not see a pressing reason for me to get re-baptized as I grew up. However, being raised in a conservative environment with Baptist roots provided plenty of opportunities and pressure to get re-baptized. During high school and college, upon the urging of friends and mentors, I was nearly dunked several times, but never actually went through with it.
Every time I had a chance to move forward with re-baptism, I always decided against it because I questioned my own motives for wanting to do it. Being re-baptized would mean that I could avoid the awkward conversations I had with people who strongly disagreed with infant baptism as well as the questions about how I could be thinking about full time ministry without “really being baptized.” Realizing that it was these reasons, more than any Biblical and spiritual motivations, leading me to want to get baptized again, I never felt right about actually going through with the process.
Over the last year at Fuller, my personal questions about baptism have been challenged. Historical theology classes gave me a new appreciation for the mysterious nature of the sacraments and the role they play in the church. Reading John Howard Yoder’s Body Politics in a ministry class caused me to reflect on the radical symbolism that baptism can hold for the people of God, serving to bring about an entirely new people whose primary identification lies with Christ. More than anything else, my interactions and conversations with others in the Fuller community with differing perspectives on baptism, while not providing a clear answer to my own personal questions, have deepened my understanding of this sacramental ordinance.
This deeper appreciation for the mystery and beauty of baptism has made me less concerned about being re-baptized or trying to apologize for my infant baptism. Although I probably still would encourage and support believer’s baptism, my own personal experience has forced me to realize that the issue is not always as simple as whatever theology or methodology I personally hold as a norm. The church is more diverse than the particular background that any of us come from. Just as with any of the sacraments, baptism represents us coming forward as broken people with imperfect beliefs, methods, and practices to receive reminders of God’s grace. Whatever our experience with baptism is, the issue of baptism should not divide us from moving forward together as brothers and sisters in Christ.
I’ve started working on a new blog that will be solely dedicated to recording quotes and ideas that I stumble across in whatever I’m reading, hearing, seeing, etc. I’ve been trying to figure out a way that I can keep track of what I’m reading better and more specifically, so I’m trying to tag each entry with any possible category it could fit itself into for later reference.
Anyways, it’s a work in progress with only a few entries so far, but hopefully it will continue to grow…
Check it out at http://challengingideas.wordpress.com
This past weekend we were up in Big Bear, California with my mom, who is visiting from Wisconsin. (random side note - but it actually was snowing as we drove up the mountain…amazing) Browsing through the Big Bear events calendar we saw that the “Friends of the Big Bear Library” were having an annual book sale, with $2 bags of books on Saturday, the last day of the sale.
Krissy and I are both pretty big book freaks, so we went a little crazy and ended up stuffing two paper bags full of all kinds of great books…everything from Dostoevsky to a copy of the Qu’ran. Check out the books below to see a sampling of what we got…all for $4. Can’t beat it!
