• Archive of "love" Category

    Social Networking and Our Desire to Be Known

    May 8, 2008 // 8 Comments »

    In conjunction with my previous 2 posts, I was reminded of this post which I titled, but never wrote. It is something I have been thinking about for a while and maybe now see a bit better, or feel a bit stronger, what I meant when I thought it up.

    There is something in each of us, in my opinion – part of what it means to be made in the image of God, that wants to be known. This is almost certainly bound up with (if not the same as) the desire to be loved. This is perhaps the great common denominator of humanity – the search and desire to have others truly know us.

    Social networking, in fact, all forms of communication, are tools which, to greater or lesser extents, assist this process. We talk, chat, text, share, link, and otherwise connect to know and be known. We long for connection – for those times when, in pregnant expectation, we reach out in communication to another and find common ground, affirmation, validation, appreciation, value, and mutuality. It is a powerful and empowering thing to feel and now that you are not alone.

    But for all the tools at our disposal, I don’t think many are experiencing what they long for – what they were created for. Many more, I am afraid, end up convincing themselves that their superficial avenues of connectedness are in fact, the best anyone can hope for in this day and age. Or perhaps worse yet, people are so scared of actually being known that this is where they end up living – in a shallow state of community and connectedness that allows they to remain finally hidden.

    There is no substitute for authentic, face-to-face, life-on-life, warts-and-all, community and connectedness. And it’s a huge risk to go there. It takes patience, sacrifice, discipline, courage and vulnerability – all of which are rare virtues in a culture stripped of its need of those traits (one can get by today without them with relative ease).

    I am increasingly convinced that one of the greatest opportunities presented to the church in Western culture today is that of cultivating communities and disciples whose character reflects these virtues. How often do we talk about creating a patient community or vulnerable disciples? If these sort of virtues really are the sort that make it possible for us to know others and be known by others – and if doing so is analogous to knowing and being known by God, then surely these ought to be among our chief concerns.

    Posted in church, community, love, social networking

    Derek Webb – Ten Thousand Angels

    January 12, 2008 // 2 Comments »

    I have long been admirer of Derek Webb and his music. I had some stuff to say here, and even made a presentation to go with one of his songs.

    One of his most recent songs, with Caedmon’s Call, was featured the other night on Grey’s Anatomy (not originally their song). I didn’t see the show, but was able to check out the song and I have probably listened to it 30 times since then. I think it’s amazing and thought I’d share it with you.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download

    Here are the lyrics.

    how long you have traveled in darkness weeping
    no rest in language, no words to speak
    but there in the wreckage beneath bricks and bindings
    love has come, love has come for you

    against the night sky of your waiting
    your face is like starlight when he walks in
    everything worth keeping comes through dying
    love has come, love has come for you

    so lift up your heart now, to this unfolding
    all that has been broken will be restored
    here runs deep waters for all who are thirsty
    love has come, love has come for you

    ten thousand angels will light your pathway
    until the day breaks fully in the East
    they will surround you and make your way straight
    love has come, love has come for you
    love has come, love has come for you

    Posted in love, media, music, politics

    For the New Year

    January 4, 2008 // 4 Comments »


    (more here)
    This year I had the good fortune to be able to host an annual New Year’s Eve Party for a bunch of my Malone friends and plenty of others.  The party was doubly significant in that it also marked the completion of a bunch of restoration that I’ve been doing on my home.  For the last four months I have been trying to put the pieces of my house back together due to some unfortunate tenants. 

    Between the beginning of September and the end of December, and with the help of plenty of family and friends, we filled 2 dumpsters full of trash and broken items, patched 3 huge holes in my walls, ripped up and replaced 3 rooms of carpet with new carpet and a hard wood floor, replaced 2 screen doors, fixed the dishwasher, stove, and garbage disposal, replaced a broken window, fixed the garage door, cleaned the carpets (twice!), patched a hole in the dining room floor, stopped leaks, hung drywall, slapped on 6 gallons of paint, moved in a bunch of new furniture, and scrubbed and cleaned till our fingers were numb.  It wasn’t easy or cheap, but it’s done and it feels good!

    As 2008 jumps to a start, unlike the last 3 Januaries, I really have no idea what this year holds.  In 2005 and 2006 I was in school full-time at Fuller, in 2007 I was working for Fuller full-time.  Plenty of surprises in those years to be sure, but at least I knew where I was.  2008, not so much. 

    As near as I can tell, the beginning of 2008 is marked by beseeching God for 3 major things – a church community who shares a common Kingdom/Missional vision, a challenging and life-giving career in which I have the opportunity to really make a difference in the lives of others, and a lady who’d be excited to share in those sorts of things.  I suppose any one of those three things could be the catalyst for change and direction, but at this point I really have no clue which one.  So, here’s to 2008 and God continuing to do God’s thing!!

    Posted in church, community, decisions, family, friends, Fuller Seminary, God, kingdom, love, malone, missional

    Bonhoeffer: Life Together

    August 19, 2007 // 2 Comments »

    A new friend shared this quote with me the other day from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s work, Life Together.

    He who loves his dream of community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial.

    As I was thinking about this, I lamented my tendency to critique church communities based on their failure to embody God’s dream for his people and I quickly began to swing the pendulum the other way, believing that I ought to resign myself to the reality which is the church and push off God’s vision for community to that which will be realized in the fullness of the Kingdom.

    Enter Mark…

    Mark is one of the directors of the MAGL, a good friend, and someone whose life and ministry I’d be thrilled to approximate. As I unpacked the quote and my response Mark was quick to point out that the key to the whole thing is love. It’s not that we should abandon God’s dream and vision for his people, just that we need to love what is more then what should/will be.

    Imagine if God loved us only insofar as we reflected his dream for us? I, for one, am thrilled that God’s love in the here and now gives me strength and hope to step into his vision for me, rather than being contingent on my doing it.

    Posted in church, community, God, love, MAGL, quotes

    Doug Pagitt is a Good Guy

    May 19, 2007 // No Comments »

    Doug PagittI just finished listening to an interview by Ingrid Schlueter of Crosstalk with Doug Pagitt.  You can find it here if you’re interested in listening.

    I thought about going into detail about all the misconceptions, misunderstandings, straw men, exaggerations, false dichotomies, etc., that marked Ingrid’s assumptions and discussion with another pastor following the interview, but I just don’t want to waste my time.

    Instead I just want to say sorry to Doug and others like him.  You are doing a ton of good for the body of Christ. Jesus is glorified in your life and ministry.  So much of what you stand for highlights the humility, compassion, and love that ought to mark us as followers of Christ.  Try not to let the negative sentiments of a few get you down or distract you from the course God is plotting for you.  There are plenty of us who are thrilled to be associated with what you’re trying to do.  Thanks.

    Posted in emergent, Jesus, love

    Sweet Jesus Love

    January 16, 2007 // 2 Comments »

    When I was in college I had a professor who used to talk about “sweet Jesus love.” He never exactly described it, but we all knew what it was and what it wasn’t. Someone would tell a story about someone doing something unexpectedly sacrificial for someone else and he would say, “Yeah, that’s sweet Jesus love.” We would talk about being with certain people or in certain places and just feeling totally welcome, accepted, and valued. “That’s sweet Jesus love,” he would say. This professor himself treated people with and was known for “sweet Jesus love.”

    I have told others that when I made the decision to attend Seminary I thought for sure I would find myself in a place which and surrounded by people who oozed sweet Jesus love. That’s not what I found. It’s not so much that I haven’t encountered people who love Jesus or who exhibit Christlike character, I have. But there is something so very innocent and warm about sweet Jesus love and Seminary hasn been anything but innocent and warm. I don’t think this is so much a reflection of Fuller but on the nature of theological education as we know it.

    I just came back for a run and I was listening to different sorts of music. All of a sudden I fel this huge desire to listen to some worship music. Listeining to worship music isn’t all the en vogue at Seminary. So, I stopped for a moment and changed what I was listening to. It was like a breath of fresh air, like a rush of innocence and warmth. I am not in Seminary any more.  I am so very glad that I was and I will never be the same – in a very good way. But I am also excited to recover some of the sweet love which has been lacking in my life, hopefully on both the receiving and giving ends.

    jesus hugYes, cheesy, but meaningful nonetheless.

    Posted in Fuller Seminary, Jesus, love

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