Chronicles of Narnia

Pam and I finally saw "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" last Saturday. I was very impressed. I actually felt that the religious symbolism came through better in the movie than it did in the book (though, as Anthony Lane described it in a review in The New Yorker, the religious symbolism is as obvious as a rhino in a phonebooth). They kept the violence a little off-camera, too, which was nice.

We've been under the weather, and are well behind in our holiday movie watching. I'm battling a cold right now, though I'm at work as I write this. Don't know how long I'll last. I couldn't get to sleep last night, thanks to this malady, so I went out on the couch in the living room and turned on the TV (until 3 am!). Ended up watching much of the Jessica Lange-Jeff Bridges version of "King Kong." I saw it in the theatre when it came out, which seems like it was while I was still in college. I didn't remember how much they played up Jessica Lange's sexuality (showing her in skimpy outfits as much as possible), and making it seem like Kong was leering at her with lust in his eyes. Watching it last night, it seemed very silly. Pam and I still need to watch the new version.

And we need to see "Munich," "Memoirs of a Geisha" (great book, but it woudn't appeal to everyone), and "Syriana." "Rent" is already gone, and "Aeon Flux" is probably soon to depart. We'll probably have to catch them (along with the Edward R Murrow flick) on NetFlix. Think we'll skip "Brokeback Mountain." Yeah, definitely skip that one.

Christmas Eve 2005 on the Rich Side of Town

Last night we attended (with some of Pam's family) the Christmas Eve service at The Chapel, a megachurch located a couple miles down the road from our house. We live on the "rich" side of town, and The Chapel, from everything I've heard, is for the rich. It's an independent church, conservative evangelical, with a vocally Republican pastor. That sounds negative, the way I put it. Actually, the pastor is a very good guy, and I hear tidbits of good things the church has done beyond itself, particularly in inner-city type things. For instance, I understand they've invested quite a bit in starting a new, multi-cultural church on the "bad" side of Fort Wayne. Since I attend an urban church (after having attended for nine years a church akin to The Chapel), I think that's great.

The pastor once pastored in Fort Wayne, but moved elsewhere. Then he was recruited, probably by some rich people, to come back and start a church on the rich side of town. You couldn't recruit of guy of that calibre to come start a church in my church's neighborhood. Such is reality. But if The Chapel didn't exist, then this new church in south Fort Wayne probably wouldn't exist, either.

Nevertheless, something in me wants to dislike The Chapel. Maybe it goes back to the first time I was on the property, not all that long after the new sanctuary was built. They were hosting a monthly Bible quiz meet, and my brother was coaching a team (from Ohio) that was competing. So that Sunday afternoon, I stopped in.

When I walked into the foyer, just outside the doors to the new sanctuary, I just about gasped at the opulence. Or at least, that's how it came across to me, coming from a church struggling on meager resources to minister to a very poor neighborhood. I felt like I was going to the opera. Seriously. If I would ever go to an opera, that is, which I wouldn't. But with the grand piano sitting in the foyer and all the other accessories of fineness, it seemed to me like what an opera house would be like.

So last night, I prepared myself to go to the opera. I figured I would be turned off once again.

Now, you're expecting me to reverse directions, say that the Christmas Eve service was a wonderful experience which shattered all of my previous negative impressions. Stop about half-way in between. The service was nice, nothing fancy. The place was packed, and we had to sit on chairs leading into the sanctuary, and frankly, I didn't see much of the service. A truly lousy vantage point. But they started right on time and ended in exactly 45 minutes, a period which included some wonderful music, a children's time with the pastor, a superb message to the "adults" from the pastor, and communion. Very efficient. I came away neither hot nor cold, just nicely warm.

Something deep within me really really really wants to dislike churches like The Chapel. Churches for the rich, and which spend hordes of money on themselves, particularly on their appearance. But The Chapel isn't always easy to dislike, unless you're a purely knee-jerk type of person. I guess I could criticize the pastor for his crack about tattoos, something which would have turned off the teens who attend our church, but which was probably okay for lilly white Republican territory. But that was a petty thing, and I need to contort myself to take his actual words wrong.

A church like The Chapel offers wonderful programs for all ages. It would be a good place to raise children. But I serve in a church located on a corner in a depressed neighborhood, on a street that has two convicted rapists and three convicted child molesters, and in a neighborhood inhabited by really messed up families. Our needs are great, and our resources are few. So forgive me if I have a hard time going to the opera.

Wondering About People

Tonight I was shopping at Kohl's, finishing up what I'm getting Pam
for Christmas. As I got into a checkout line, I recognized the fellow
at the front, who was just finishing checking out. He was a United
Brethren minister in another town. I saw him, but he didn't see me,
and we didn't speak.

Do you ever wonder about people you encounter? You know--what's their
line of work? were they athletic in their younger days? did they have
a happy childhood? did they serve in the military? are they rich or
poor or struggling? I do, more and more. Particularly of older
people. I wonder what they were like in their prime. And I wonder if,
when I'm "old," if people will have any curiosity about or interest
in the life I lived.

Anyway, this minister seemed entirely ordinary. You wouldn't know he
was a minister. The checkout girl, and the people in line behind him,
had no idea that he was a leader, that he had been through the ringer
as a pastor, that he had experienced thrilling days but also some of
the very toughest of days. That he counseled youngsters getting
married, and comforted people who were grieving, and earned the
appreciation and gratitude of these people. All of this packed into
one ordinary guy buying clothes.

A multitude of stories lurk just beneath the surface of everyone we
meet. Everyone, in one way or another, has led an interesting life--
some more exotic or successful than others, but all interesting in
their own way. And it's nice when someone takes an actual interest in
them.

Reinventing My Denomination

Keith Drury, over at the Wesleyan Church, spoke on his blog about the "reinventing" going on in my own denomination. His post was titled Re-inventing the Denomination," and he got it nearly all right. He expressed some admiration that such a radical change for decentralizing the denomination came not from the grassroots, but from the denominational leadership.

I hadn't really thought about that. That's why it's always interesting getting an outsider's perspective.

A year ago--Dec 16, to be exact--I wrote about "The Denomination of 'No,'" referring to the defeat of the referendum to join our denomination with the Missionary Church. That one capped a whole year's worth of sporadic writing on Whatever about the issue. Just a few days before that, I had written "Let the Purging Begin" . None of that dire purging has happened. In fact, after killing the idea of joining the Missionary Church, the church put back into leadership primarily people who had favored joining the MCs. Go figure.

Many of us still feel that joining the MCs offered the best future for our churches. But you don't always get what you want, and you deal with it. We're dealing with it as a denomination. The fact that we explored something as radical as giving ourselves up created an openness to change, which we're now capitalizing upon. Most of our annual conferences (districts) are disbanding in favor of a cluster system, and we're seeing practically no reisistance. That astounds me. Clusters are forming, and while some of them will no doubt be dysfunctional, I'm sensing some real excitement among a number of ministers about this approach.

Anyway, Keith Drury's observations were interesting. But even more interesting were the comments people made concerning his post. It sounded like a bunch of United Brethren people talking. They were raising all the same issues we raised among ourselves. Maybe we should consider joining the Wesleyan Church.

Cell Phone Urgency

I went to Applebees for lunch. Got their Oriental Chicken Salad.
Sitting in the next booth were a young couple, he in a business suit,
she in bluejeans. My expert analysis: husband and wife, he was free
for lunch, they got together. Then he got a phone call on his cell. I
noticed, because he was talking louder than normal. Everyone talks a
little bit louder than normal on a cell phone. It's annoying, sticks
out like a rhino in a phone booth.

He talked for probably 15 minutes, stuff about mortgages mostly.
Meanwhile, the poor gal (I kept glancing her way) sat there bored,
looking into the air, probably wondering why she gave up part of her
day to be with her husband, when he let a phone call push her aside.
I felt sorry for her. And I wondered about the ways I let work or
personal projects or websurfing or blog-writing push aside time with
my own wife.

Not to mention the fact that I'll allow just about anything, no
matter how trivial, derail time with God.

Barbara's Heaven Can Wait

As my denomination's Communications Director, I field calls from
organizations wanting to promote themselves to our member
congregations. Call me Gatekeeper. A couple of weeks ago, I received
a call from ABC's publicity department telling me about an upcoming
Barbara Walters special called "Heaven." I was told that Babs had
interviewed Ted Haggard, and that our member churches would probably
be very interested in the special. I told the lady to send me info by
email or regular mail, and I would decide what to do with it. Though
mentally, I had already deep-sixed it. They made it sound like the
whole program would give an evangelical view of heaven, thus the
mention of Ted Haggard, but I knew that wouldn't be the case. Been
around the block enough. And my master's in Public Relations counts
for something.

Yesterday, I finally received an email about the program. The show is
airing next Tuesday. My suspicions were right. The email doesn't even
mention Ted Haggard. The piece is titled: "Heaven: Where it It? How
do we get there? The answers may surprise you."

The part "The answers may surprise you" just slays me. Yes,
certainly, I'm totally excited about hearing Barbara Walters,
theologian extraordinaire, reveal to the world the mysteries of
heaven. I've heard low-lifes of the calibre of Billy Graham talk
about heaven, but now, finally, I'm gonna be treated to real answers
that may surprise me.

The piece continues, "Is heaven simply a myth dreamed up to give
lives meaning, or is it a real place? Anchored by Barbara Walters,
'Heaven. Where Is It? How Do We Get There?' explores the meaning of
heaven with religious leaders of the major faiths, scientists, people
who say they believe in heaven because they've been there,
celebrities who are vocal about their beliefs, and even with
terrorists."

Oh joy--celebrities get to tell me about heaven. Celebrities always
display superior knowledge. And terrorists. Finally, some insight
into the whole 72 virgins thing. I'm sure we'll hear some New Age
gurus telling us that heaven is all around us, and scientists who
will say, "There's nothing beyond. This is it."

Sorry, Barbara, I'm really not interested in your theological
revelations. But it's nice that you included Ted Haggard as a token
evangelical. You're so balanced.

Bummer Days

Pam and I are not well.

I've had vertigo issues for about a month. For several years, in
fact, on a recurring basis, but this time it's come and stuck.
Driving me nuts. One day at work, I went into the bathroom in our
warehouse area, locked the door, laid down on the tile floor, and
tried to sleep it off. A coworker found me. I relocated to my office,
where I closed the door and curled up on the floor with my jacket (a
pillow! how wonderful!).

So I set up a doctor's appointment, and that came on Thursday
morning. The doctor thinks I have Miniere's disease, an ear disorder
that seems to defy treatment. Just have to live with it.

Meanwhile, Pam headed off to Redimed with her dad. She's been off
work all week. Had what seemed to be back problems, then on Monday
became very very warm, just burning up with fever. That broke the
next day, but she's still felt lousy. She threw up all Wednesday
night, so it seemed wise to try Redimed in search of a solution.

Well, she's got a bladder and kidney infection, bad one, and if she
hadn't gone to the doctor (and gotten shots and medication), I'd
probably be visiting her in the hospital right now.

What a pair. I'm actually doing okay right now (this thing hasn't hit
REAL hard for a couple weeks, at least not like that aforementioned
day at work), but it's vexing nonetheless. Pam should be okay by
Monday, the doctor says. Meanwhile, I've got a balance test
scheduled, and have to cut down on salt and caffeine. No more morning
trips to Starbucks, unless I can learn to like decaf. Which I'll
probably need to do.

What a sorry pair we are.

Fresh Looks at Familiar Bible Stories

A couple weeks ago, I finished an eight-week home Bible study. Pam and I hosted the thing with about 18 people, and I led it. I made up my own lessons around the theme "Encounters with Jesus," trying to impart new twists to familiar stories in the Gospels. It was fun preparing the lessons. I would take a passage, and then muse and muse on it, plumbing every word for new possibilities. In particular, I would note the information which was NOT there.

For instance, with the story of Lazarus, I grew up with a certain picture in my mind left by Sunday school teachers: he was a prominent businessman in his town, a very impressive and respected fellow, and Mary and Martha were younger sisters. But really, we don't know the birth order of these three, or what Lazarus did, or if any of them were married, or how old they were. So I created three scenarios, then divided people into smaller groups to consider how these scenarios changed the story.

In one, I made Lazarus a 21-year-old with muscular distrophy, totally dependent on his two older sisters. In another, he was a 15-year-old good kid who almost, but didn't quite, make the cut as one of Jesus' disciples. Meanwhile, Mary had had an affair with Martha's ex-husband, which is what gave Mary a bad reputation (we always assume she was a prostitute, but all we really know is that she had done something that gave her a bad reputation).

Another week, we looked at Jesus' post-resurrection appearance to the disciples, and Thomas's behavior. The passages in the various gospels never say that Jesus still had scars in his hands and feet. He showed the disciples his hands and side, but nothing says he had scars. He could just as easily have been saying, "Look--no marks!" If he did have scars from the nails and spear plunge, wouldn't he still have had scars from the crown of thorns and from the terrible scourging? It's interesting to read those passages with the thought that his hands, feet, and side were totally fixed.

Now, along comes my friend Anthony Blair with a post about Esther, an Old Testament heroine who I've always felt was not somebody to be admired. You can read his excellent post here. I left a comment taken from Frederick Buechner's book "Peculiar Treasures," in which he takes off-beat looks at a slew of Bible characters. It's one of my all-time favorite books. Buechner notes that the book of Esther "has the distinction of being the only book in the Bible where the name of God isn't even mentioned. There seems every reason to believe that he considered himself well out of it." Read Anthony's post and see if you agree.

The Willow Creek / Christmas Non-Issue

This hubbub over Willow Creek not holding a service on Sunday is
really silly. It comes from people who don't have a clue what Willow
Creek does.

A couple of years ago, 20 of us from my church attended the
Prevailing Church Conference at Willow. It was an incredible event,
and we came back charged up. But I was also impressed with the
persistent passion for lost souls that is so clearly evident at
Willow. Most churches of Willow's status would have long ago
institutionalized themselves into the status quo with a self-
congratulatory pat on the back for becoming so well-known. But
Willow's eyes remain firmly fixed on nonChristians. It's an amazing
example for the rest of us. The big believers' services at Willow are
held during the week (and those are extremely impressive). When
Christmas falls on a Wednesday or Thursday, and they have to decide
whether or not to cancel one of those services--now we're talking
apples to apples. Sunday is targeted at unbelievers.

Some churches in Fort Wayne have chosen to not hold Sunday services.
Most are holding a Saturday nite service. My church always does a
Christmas Eve service, but this year we opted for just a Sunday
morning service (canceling our early service, and just coming at
10:30 for a 45-minute service). So I guess we're compromising to an
extent. It just didn't make sense to hold a Christmas Eve service,
then return within 12 hours for another service.

Anyways, it's a non-issue to me. Just thought I'd weigh in. I know
you were all waiting to get my opinion on this. So there.

The Shrine for Pampered Americans

Pam and I just got back from Glenbrook Mall. I hadn't been there
since last Christmas, and I probably won't return for another year.
Not that I dislike shopping. I actually enjoy shopping. Pretty much.
But it's just too crowded up there at Glenbrook. Crowds didn't used
to bother me. But I'm getting old, and I'm convinced that crowd-
aversion is one of the symptoms.

One of the booths in the middle of the walking area had little furry
cats and dogs, curled up as cute as could be. And BREATHING. That's
right. As they lay their fake-sleeping, you could see their lung area
contracting gently, just like a sleeping cat or dog.

There are many signs of an overly-pampered, self-indulgent society
with too much disposable income to dispose for the sake of Persons Who Have Everything. This is yet another such sign.

We were also looking for gifts for kids in our church's neighborhood, kids who
may have very little and may plod through an uneventful Christmas. Someone at Anchor put together a list with a whole bunch of kids, along with things they would like for Christmas. Pam agreed to take one particular kid (who we don't know), and other church people are doing the same for similarly disadvantaged kids.

Glenbrook doesn't yield much for people with real needs. This is
where the pampered go. And I'm glad I don't enjoy it anymore.

Trends in Spiritual Formation

Some years ago, I heard Keith Drury speak. It was at a singles group
meeting in Marion, Ind., and I've been married since 1989, so this
goes back a ways. But I absolutely loved hearing the guy speak. Over
the years, I've come across articles by him, and he always has
insightful stuff to share.

I recently stumbled upon Keith's website, and a wonderful piece called "15
Current Trends in Spiritual Formation." Two of the trends dealt with
the internet. I quote:

"The Internet Spirituality Trend. With so many innovatively
produced web-sites out there, many Christians are now going online
for their primary spiritual formation journey. Many of these are
very individualistic efforts with a few exceptions that actually
attempt to “create community” online. Some web-sites are even
advertising themselves as more than just supplemental to church. One
Christian web-site here in West Michigan is advertising on the radio
that they provide people with information and learning from the Bible
that they just can’t get at Church. For examples: Google the word
“spiritual growth online.

"The Spiritual Walk Blog Trend. In a similar vein to the
internet spiritual formation trend, many people are using their
online web-logs or “blogs” as a personal spiritual formation
instrument. There are two primary ways this is happening: 1) some
treat their blog as a public form of spiritual journaling. These
personalized accounts turn what has been a long held private
discipline into a very public confession. Also, some use their blog
to 2) ask deeper spiritual questions and invite others to comment on
them, thereby creating a spiritual growth community with one person
submitting the “articles” and moderating the discussion. Blogs are
such a recent phenomenon that there is a lot of uncharted territory
here. Community blogs have taken off in just the last 6 months, for
instance, where multiple people join together to create a topical
blog on spiritual growth issues."

You can read the whole piece here.

Rockin' with the Pops

I guess I'm not an orchestra fan. This afternoon, as part of the
United Brethren Headquarters Christmas party, I attended the annual
performance of the "Holiday Pops" at Huntington University. This was
done by the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. They were good, if you like that
kind of music, which lots of people do. But give me a lead guitar
with some distortion, a bass, a drummer, and someone who can half-way
sing, and I'm happier.

I'm not criticizing this type of music. It's just not my thing. I'm a
rock & roll guy. I like blues. I like most of country. I even enjoy
the Gaither reunion specials which I stumble across on TV and which
magnetically capture my interest for some reason known but to God. I
don't like rap (with a few songs exception, usually by Eminem), and I
don't care for jazz, which always surprises people, since I'm a piano
player. I like some New Age music, which gets into orchestration,
though I'm usually attracted by the use of piano. I don't like punk,
I'm indifferent toward disco. Don't even think about taking me to a
classical concert.

There are occasions when I like orchestra music. Like in Sheryl
Crow's version of "Sweet Child of Mine," where they use an orchestra
in place of Slash's superb guitar solo--a compliment to Slash, a way
of saying "it takes a whole orchestra to replace you." I love the
strings in Verve Pipe's "Bitter Sweet Symphony," and can't imagine
the song without it. Coolio's "Gangster Paradise" is superb with the
strings in the background. But in both cases, the orchestration is a
complement to more traditional rock.

It's not that I disliked the Holiday Pops. I just wasn't all that
crazy about it (plus, I had to miss the Colts vs. Jacksonville game).
Give me the MercyMe Christmas album (which I highly recommend,
especially their incredible version of "Rockin' Around the Christmas
Tree"). Or the Lynyrd Skynyrd Christmas album (which has the
prettiest version of Greensleeves I've heard--Skynyrd's keyboard
player is outstanding). Or my favorite, the Tractors Christmas album
(with "Santa Claus is coming in a Boogie Woogie Choo-choo Train").
That's my style. Call me uncultured, if you want. I can live with it.

The Campfire Service

Yesterday, we held our church services around a campfire. Inside. We built the campfire on the sanctuary floor. It was cool. Or warm. Intimate, at any rate.

Pastor Tim used the campfire theme with his sermon from Romans, drawing out themes regarding intimate fellowship and being open with each other. Chris, our worship leader, used a yellow light and one of our two fog machines, surrounding them with real logs, to create a realistic looking campfire. We rearranged the chairs in the sanctuary to face the middle--three rows on each side, curved inward. Every so often, a little bit of fog would squirt up, like smoke. My fear was that it would cause people to bolt for the door, thinking the place was going up in flames, but nothing of the sort happened.

The attendance was down from our usual 140-some, thanks to snow the night before. But that just made it a little bit more intimate. I found a Quicktime video clip of a flame, which looped continuously behind Pastor Tim as he preached. Another nice little touch.

The music team went unplugged. The three guitarists used their acoustic guitars, and sat on stools. I gave the keyboard a week off, opting for egg shakers and a tambourine instead. Larry, our drummer, sat on a white plastic bucket and drummed on two other buckets. For the closing number, the three guitarists sat crosslegged on the floor around the campfire as they played.

After the service, people came up around the campfire to see how it worked. In my home group that night, people talked about it more. It was a very effective service.

Communion was also part of the service. And here's where we did something that I thought some people might have trouble with. We set up tables around the periphery where people could go for the elements. There was grapejuice and crackers for people who preferred that. But people could also take communion with hot chocolate and pumpkin bread, if they desired. I didn't hear anyone question that idea. Since we're a fairly new church (7 years), there's a lot of stuff we can get away with that you wouldn't want to even think about in an established church.

I initially thought the hot chocolate and pumpkin bread was a bad idea, a bit too risky. But as we talked about it at music practice, I realized that these are just symbols. Already, by using grapejuice and (sometimes) pieces of crackers, we're using food items that Jesus didn't use. These are just symbols. And since I don't want to discourage my pastor from thinking out of the box, I gladly signed off on the idea (not that I needed to).

I don't know how the hot chocolate would have gone down. The music team took communion early that morning as part of our practice, and we used grapejuice and crackers. I played the piano throughout the communion time, so I didn't get a chance to partake of this experiment. I would like to have given it a try.