• Archive of "MAGL" Category

    (More) Things I Never Thought

    January 27, 2011 // No Comments »

    Way back in May of 2006 I wrote a blog post titled, “Things I Never Thought.” It was basically my own reflection on how the trajectory of my life had taken shape in ways that I didn’t expect or plan for. I had a number of friends mention that they appreciated the post when it was randomly retweeted from the archives so I thought I would do another post along the same lines, almost five years later now.

    In May of 2006 I was in the Spring quarter of grad school. I was taking Pentateuch w/ Dr. John Goldingay, Theology of Christian Community w/ Dr. Ray Anderson and doing a Directed Study in Narrative Theology w/ Dr. Ryan Bolger. I had just one more quarter to go and then I was going to graduate. As I thought about my future, I imagined heading in one of two directions. Either I would move back to Canton and re-establish myself in the community I had left behind and missed like crazy, or, if God didn’t direct that way, I would look for a pastoral position in either the Pacific NW or in the Northeastern part of the US – some place that was further along in terms of being a Post-Christian context.

    I never thought I would wind up working for Fuller’s MAGL program. I didn’t even know we had an MAGL program, but the opportunity presented itself and it radically altered my life. This will come into sharper focus below, but suffice it to say here, the model of theological education espoused by the MAGL and the relationships I made internally have had a tremendous impact on the contours of my life through to today.

    I worked with the MAGL program for most of 2007 and then various circumstances combined to lead me back to Canton. As I tried to discern a future related to engaging the missional church conversation in the Midwest, I connected with Dave Fitch for the first time and visited Life on the Vine. I was giving serious consideration to simply moving to Chicago just to be a part of LOV as the first church I had been exposed to that I felt like was actually expressing missional theology in its communal life, rhythms, and practices.

    I never thought I would get a call from a young church in Memphis, TN asking me to consider taking a position down there.  And I certainly never thought that despite my best efforts to dismiss it, that God would actually lead me to embrace the opportunity.

    I had a good experience at Living Hope.  I loved the staff, enjoyed connecting and working with young adults, and made some life-long friends.  I moved into mid-town, close to the part of the city where it seemed like some people from the church would think about relocating to, and anticipated a long future of investing the future of the newer church community that was seeking to embrace a missional identity and a heart for the city of Memphis.

    I never thought that I would reconnect (let alone marry!) with Amy Garrington, who had been a student in one of the MAGL cohorts that I was responsible for.  (See, told you that MAGL job was a big deal!)  But, as she was contemplating leaving Pasadena for a position at International Teams near Chicago, that’s exactly what happened.  We’ve been married for about a year and a half, have a baby on the way this June, and love where we live.  Amy and I both have some family that lives in the Chicagoland area, but…

    I never thought my brother would leave NYC and join us here in Chicago!

    There’s probably a bunch more “I never thought’s” that I could list out, but these are probably among the most significant of the last five years.  They serve as both a humble reminder and constant encouragement that when you’re more focused on listening and responding to what God is saying and doing than on ensuring the fulfillment of your own ideas and plans, life-changing surprises await you.

    I simply can’t wait for the next series of, things I never thought!

    Posted in Amy, decisions, Fuller Seminary, God, living hope, LOV, MAGL, marriage, midtown, missional, missional theology, post-christendom

    Malone Thanksgiving 2007

    November 24, 2007 // 5 Comments »

    If you don’t count the sporadic delicious links that get automatically thrown up from time to time, it’s been a week and a half since I posted anything and it’s certainly not for lack of desire or content – just way busy.

    I am putting in 25ish hours at Starbucks every week and another 30-40 at the Salvation Army as I oversee a few of their holiday programs.

    My good friend Ryan moved in with me just a few weeks ago and I love having him around.

    I have been making good progress on my house (destroyed by renters). Some major painting is getting done, a bought some flooring, and I’ll be getting some carpet here in the next few weeks as well.

    Ryan and I had some other friends over the other night to sort of (re)christen the house as it gets back into shape.

    Last Saturday was the annual Malone Thanksgiving. We weren’t sure that we were going to be able to, but we gathered, perhaps for the last time, at the Hurst’s. It wasn’t quite the same without folks like Sean and Julie, Josh and Rachel, Levi, Joel and Sarah, Branden, Tammy, Suzi, Abby, and others who are usually there, but nevertheless, we enjoyed an amazing game of football, a sweet meal, and, as always, the time of thanksgiving for all that God has been up to in our lives.

    My brother made it home from NYC for the weekend, so I enjoyed some great time with him, my mom, and my 2 grandma’s. Mom hosted a kick-butt meal, and the following day we went to see American Gangster. Just a bit ago, my brother took my mom, grandma, his friend Michelle, and me out to eat at Papa Joe’s for the single greatest meal in recent memory. I had the Pumpkin Sage Gnocchi and it was out of this world.

    I think that’s about it. I do however, want to offer a shout-out to my many friends back in Pasadena – from my house church community (Thias, Damaris, Mick, Tre, Kyle, Andrea, Jorge…) to my MAGL com padres (Chris, Dave, Mark, Deb, Brenda, Barbara, Mike, Ron, Joan, James, Wilmer, and others) to plenty of others – Wess and Emily, Matt K., Sam, Ryan, Autumn, Laura, and on and on. For all those of you that will see this – I love and miss you guys. All the best ;)

    Posted in friends, Fuller Seminary, MAGL, malone

    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

    Author’s Perspective

    June 4, 2007 // 8 Comments »

    Ok, so I said that this post was a prelude to something else I wanted to write. Here it is, well, in a round-about way.

    One of the core assignments in just about every Fuller course, for sure in MAGL courses, is book reviews. Students are asked to dive into pertinent subject matter through the writing of others – such is the nature of a word-centered educational experience. When we ask students to do book reviews, one of the questions we ask them is to try and discern the author’s perspective, that is, where is the author coming from?, what cultural or contextual vantage point are they writing from and to?, what experiences or circumstances have shaped or are shaping the author’s writing? These are great questions, they give the reader the freedom to think through what’s behind the words in front of them.

    But here’s the rub. How much can you really know about an author from the dust cover or what you scrounge up online? No matter how much you read, it’s always information from a distance and therefore lacks a vital relational dimension. I suppose all I am saying is that while books are great, there really is no adequate substitute for learning in and through relationships and having ideas and theories modeled in lives lived in the world. It’s that whole “follow me as I follow Christ” thing that I am after.

    Here’s the real connection…

    I have had a number of people tell me that sooner or later I need to pursue a PhD. These have been people who weren’t just being nice, they were actually being intentional about speaking into my life based on their observations and inclinations. I have told everyone that I have 3 criteria for doing a PhD.

    1) It needs to not put me any more in debt.
    2) It needs to have a practical foundation and aim.
    3) It needs to be offered in such a way that I am meant to be more like Christ for having done it.

    A friend who has done a PhD laughed when I told him my criteria – commenting that I’d be hard pressed to find a PhD that met any, let alone all three of those criteria.

    Nevertheless, I remain committed to these criteria if I am to pursue a doctoral degree. I have these criteria because I have serious reservations concerning the dominant form of theological education. Mainly my problem is that it ultimately has nothing to do with character, giftedness, or calling – three of the things which seem to dominate Scripture’s understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus or godly leader.

    So, I am at something of a loss. I love school and I have a high value for education, but I am seeking something that just doesn’t seem to be out there. The trickiest part of it is that without a PhD, I probably won’t have the sorts of opportunities that I’d like to have. The best idea I have had to date is to research what sorts of doctoral degrees are offered in the realm of spiritual formation or the formation of Christian community. I am assuming out of hand that degrees in this vein would intrinsically feature at least the 2nd and 3rd of my criteria. As for the first – I am always accepting donations ;)

    Posted in community, Fuller Seminary, Jesus, leadership, MAGL, preaching/teaching, spiritual formation, theology