Forgetting What I Thought I Knew

This semester at seminary I am going through the rather arduous process of relearning how to read the Bible. As a sort of Bible scholar I have (up to recently) felt confident in my ability to "rightly divide scripture." Especially, when it comes to delivering the truths of God to other people.

However, it appears that I lacked what would be called a consistent "Biblical Hermeneutic" thus when I read the Bible I throw all of what I know into the interpretation in an effort to make it read in a certain way. I would say that I have always tried to be faithful to Christian theology; however, in the midst of that sometimes I use passages to say something other than what they rather clearly state.

So, instead of searching out the "authorial intention" of a verse. I read the verse under the prism of Christianity. I suppose what I am attempting to say is that I don't read the Bible well. To be fair, I am not alone in my misunderstandings of the Bible, it just has been brought to my attention recently. Often what I read and how I interpret is the thoughts and ideas of former pastors and teachers who (themselves mis-read the Bible) taught truths that I embraced and passed down to others. They were probably mis-taught the same thing by their pastors of yesteryear and so on, and so on. I suppose this is the same problem that Mary Magdalene has suffered as she has been confused with a harlot for generations because some pope (way back when) combined her with the woman caught in adultery of the previous story in the Bible. Still today, people will say that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute, which just isn't a biblical statement. In any event, I will avoid any finger pointing (save at myself) and offer one of the examples of poor Bible interpretation of which I have been guilty.

SPOILER ALERT - this may be my text for Sunday as I am preaching, so if you will be listening to that sermon, you may wait for the full exposition and not this small sample.

Luke 15 (NIV)
The Parable of the Lost Sheep

1Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

The common (mis)interpretation of this is that God/Jesus would leave the 99 sheep to find the one that is lost (I mean after all the "Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost). But unfortunately we read this passage too quickly and jump too readily to our pre-fitted conclusion. The reality is this is a parable that Jesus offers, to whom and for what purpose?

This parable is directed at the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, as they were angry that Jesus would eat with sinners. Then Jesus looks at the Pharisees and teachers and offers them the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin. What one must realize is that it is clear that there is one person who the shepherd cannot be in the story... Jesus. Read verse 4 again. Do you see it? Suppose one of you. One of YOU. Not suppose a man, or suppose I... It is basically Jesus saying, Suppose one of you pharisees had...

You see it right? Jesus isn't the shepherd, and honestly the shepherd isn't that praiseworthy. Nor is the woman who lost the coin in the next story. In fact if you move to the most well known story in chapter 15 (The Prodigal Son) you will see that the antagonist of the story (the other brother) is concerned about the wasting of money and animal on his returned ruffian of a brother. Wasting of Money (the lost coin) and an animal (the lost sheep).

Jesus wraps up the three stories by saying that people are more important than possessions. Even the sinners who he was scoffed at for associating with were more valuable than a coin or sheep (that the Pharisees would seek out to save). You can compare this to how God chides Jonah at the conclusion of the book when his heart valued cattle more than people (Jon. 4:11).

Does this blow your mind like it did for me? Seriously. What else have I been taught, internalized and then retaught that is good, moral, even true statements but used a text in the Bible which says nearly the exact opposite. It's a tad bit scary. A tad scary, indeed.

Thoughts?

Busy, Busy, Busy

Summer has been chaotic and I still don't think I have caught my breath. Starting with week one until now I have been swallowed with all sorts of events, activities, and paper work. Blogging should pick up soon. Should...

Between the Beauty and Chaos - Aaron Ivey

I was priveleged to be a high school student while Aaron was leading worship at my church with a small band of other high school kids. I got to go on youth visitation with him and even cruise in his Jeep Grand Cherokee. Good times, good memories for a kid like me. He has come along way in developing as a musician, but I imagine his heart is the same as it was then: a true Christ follower. This is an excellent album, I dropped $9.90 for it so that says something. Good work Aaron.

Realization

I'm 27 years old. I have been going gray since I was 18 or 19. But up until recently it has been a slow (but steady progression). Now all of a sudden I have had the realization that I am indeed my parents child.

I can never remember my father with hair that was not frosted. Granted I am his youngest child, but still my whole conscious life has been with a white haired dad. I am following his graying schedule.

My mother's hair rebelled against her when I was a child to teenager. She however has fought back valiantly (with chemicals) and her hair is the same color now as it will be in 40 years. However, during the battle I would mock my mother for graying at the front and sides of her head. She looked like a skunk. Well guess how my hair has decided to gray? That's right, Skunk style. It looks really sweet when I comb my hair straight back when it's wet. The black and white contrast is striking.

So, in conclusion. Thanks mom and dad.

Mission Jerusalem

Great week. Lots of work. In fact I'm tired just thinking back on it. God was good. Over a hundred people came to know Christ as Savior and Lord in Rosenberg and Richmond. That is what I call a revival. But as the song says...

Greater things are yet to come,
Greater things are still to be done,
In this city

I look forward to the greater things.

John and Kate plus 8

I never cared about this show. However, I know many people have and still do watch the show. I ran across this article from Walt Mueller, and thought it worth sharing to any J&K viewers. Enjoy.

El Rancho Arenosa

I had the privilege of spending Friday night through Sunday morning at El Rancho Arenosa which is between Del Rio and San Antonio on 90. A group of about 13 men gathered to hang out, tell tales, and shoot guns.

Not being much of a gun enthusiast (to say the least) I was a bit overwhelmed by the task. Some of the men I was spending the weekend with I had a real surface knowledge of, but no deep connections (and a lot of these men had pistols in holsters or assault rifles). It was an interesting weekend to be sure.

The weekend was a gift of a couple men in the group (one who owns the ranch) who attend my church. It was good to get to know the men and the stories that go behind the men. I don't think I can overemphasize how good this weekend was for me personally. Just being in nature was beneficial to me. I recommend you check out the ranch's web page here, and go to the gallery to see some of what I saw.

We were privileged to have clear days, cloudy days, rainy days, and evening lighting storms (all this in about 2 days). Good times. God sure knows how to make things.

How did I avoid going to counseling?

Throughout my childhood and teen years I was able to avoid the comfy couch and awkward conversation that counseling provides. However, as I look back over some of my school work from elementary school I wonder how that was possible. I'll post pics soon, but suffice to say, if I was my teacher I would have demanded that I be sent to a counselor. Crazy stuff.

Armageddon

When Hell Freezes Over

When Pigs Fly

Pigs = Swine ; Fly = Flu

Swine Flu

Uh oh...

Islam from an Evangelical

There is a movement afoot to COEXIST. The concept is that the major religions need to be learn to live in harmony, and I agree to a point. Some of the darkest points in Christianity (and I would assume in Islam and Judaism) have been religious wars that looked to extinguish people of other faiths. Conversion by the sword may be effective, but it is always damaging to the message.

The Crusades are the clearest example of this in Christian life. Though, it would be fair to also include Christian terrorists who have taken to assaulting and blowing up abortion clinics. Likewise, the majority of Muslims would probably (though I don't know for sure as my sampling size is rather small) feel that their Crusades and fundamentalists who have terrorized the Western world are poor showing for their faith story.

My church has a missionary from Jordan (over 25 years) who is addressing the issue of Islam and the proper response of evangelical Christians. A couple thoughts from this past Sunday night.

First, while I knew Jesus was regarded as a prophet in Islam. I did not know that they affirmed the virginal birth nor his ascension (though they do not accept his death nor Resurrection, claiming he never died).
Second, Islam literally means submission.
Third, Islam offers no assurance of Salvation. So at no point in a Muslims life are they guaranteed salvation. That is dependent on being faithful to the creed and following the subsequent practices of Islam (alms-giving, ritual prayers, fasting, pilgrimage, and in some cases Jihad).
Fourth, Allah is the generic word for God so Arab Christians refer to our God as Allah.
Fifth, they are vehemently monotheistic, and the concept of the trinity is reprehensible.
Sixth, our God is imminent (within creation and near) whereas Allah is distant.

How should a Christian respond to Muslim neighbors and co-workers?
First, be a friend (this is true in all evangelical endeavors).
Second, be hospitable (hospitality is huge in the Islamic culture, invite them to your home).
Finally, ask about Islam (if they are devout they would love to share, if they are not they still probably have some Islamic activities that they do).

While we should not convert by the sword, if we believe that John 14:6 is true and the Jesus is the only way to the Father then we must evangelize our Islamic friends. Our love for them must compel this. So coexist, yes. Evangelize, even more so.

Pretty Awesome

Showed this to my students, since it is hilarious.

I Read Too

In response to someone who believes that I either don't read or don't care to read, I offer this blog.

I just finished reading a book as an assignment for school. I know, what you are thinking, but stop. I read for pleasure too. This book however was pretty enlightening for myself. The book is The Millennial Maze by Stanley Grenz. As the title would suggest it is about the differing understandings of the millennium mentioned in Revelation 20.

I have always been pretty easy going in my interpretation of Revelation. It's a tough book to grasp and even tougher if you try and enforce the action onto a strict timeline. Grenz offers the four solutions the millennium.

First is the popular dispensational view which is popularized in Left Behind and other books that focus a lot of attention on the Rapture and tribulation. This view focuses on national Israel being reconciled to God, and places the return of Christ as the starting point for the millennium. I gotta say that I'm no fan of this particular view, though it has some biblical strength and it seems to be the prevailing answer to the millennium today.

Second, there is postmillennialism. Which states that Christ will return after the millennium (often understood not as 1000 years but as completion of the age). I must say if I had to be pegged into one camp this would be my choice. I like the biblical evidence and I appreciate the optimistic take it has on the power of God in the world. Though I'm not dogmatic.

Third is regular premillennialism which is similar to dispensationalism without the focus on national Israel. Thus Christ's second coming ushers in the millennium.

Lastly is amillennialism. A = no. So this view holds that there is no millennium here on earth. This is the most common view in history, so it has some support there.

Anyways, good book. It made me think in ways that I had avoided up until now. Will I be a crazy postmillennialist tomorrow? I don't know. We shall see.

Lee Grayless

Our church just finished the viewing for Lee Grayless. Lee was the oldest member in our congregation (101 years!) and we was called home on Monday. I have the privilege of working alongside his son (who is the church treasurer). In my 2.5 years here, I met Lee twice. Both times I was with a group who went Christmas Caroling at his home. It was a joy to see him in his old age. He was a sort of do everything type of guy who volunteered and served Richmond/Rosenberg for over 50 years (in fact he had a pin that showed he had 4600 hours of service at the local hospital). His passing was front page news in the local paper, as well it should be.

In any event, I hope that my legacy is half that of Lee Grayless. He served God, his family and his community faithfully. Now, at his passing I hear tales of his heart, and it challenges mine. Not to mention the fact that he is the only person I have ever heard of who ate horseradish like a carrot (that's tough). So, I thank God for men like Lee who show through their lives what young men like me should be about.

Sometimes I'm Just Plain Wrong

So, I admit that sometimes I think I know everything. You get me started on a topic and with a few tidbits of odd trivia I feel confident that I can convince you that my side is the right side. I was moved powerfully by Maundy Thursday at my church. Like last year it was a service that challenged, encouraged, and blessed me.

Tonight, we had our Tenebrae service. Tenebrae is an odd service that leaves the congregant in darkness. Even as I type this I am near tears. A very powerful evening. Last year I attended Tenebrae and had no recollection of the evening a year later. This service tonight, however, will stay with me for a while.

Long story short. If your church does any extra things around the Easter season, next year, participate. If they don't, it's probably worth finding a church nearby that does (even if they are of a different denomination). Two years in a row with two services I had never heard of, yet both have touched my soul.

Maundy Thursday

It's holy week so there are a variety of holidays that are being celebrated. One that I was unaware existed, until a couple years back, is Maundy Thursday. On this day prior to Good Friday we recognize the call of Jesus Christ to service of others. Christ demonstrated this to us in many ways, but in particular with the washing of his disciples feet (Judas not withstanding) at the last supper.

I don't know if you have a congregation close by that celebrates this holiday (I hear many Methodists observe it), but if you do I'd encourage you to try and attend. It was the most powerful church service I attended last year. Our church has a service at 7 PM if you want to check it out with me.

Peace

Opening Night for Astros

So the Stros opened the season last night... Cubs won 4-2.

Pretty much all you need to know. Oswalt looked good (3 ER in 7 IP). The offense looked ... eh (hits of Zambrano early, coma middle, minor offense late)? My personal favorite was the base running (Tejada getting CS, Matsui taking off to third on a pop fly that was caught).

Could be a good year. We shall see. I hate the Cubs and their uncomfortably large fan base in Houston.

New Stuff

Quick shout out to other blogs I am contributing to or running.
YABS
and the new youth ministry site for my church
Outloud Student Ministry

Check them out. Matt

Strange Statistic

A recent survey conducted by the Harris Poll has found that Jesus Christ is now America's #2 hero behind President Obama. Seriously, #2. I mean Obama is great and all, but America still polls as a pretty Christian nation. Just by that claim Christ should be first. Apparently we are less Christian and more Obamian. The poll warns against this type of argument as people weren't asked to choose Jesus or Obama, but I still did... sorry.

Just a thought.

Tourney Update

So I am still surviving in my tourney pool. Perhaps I am smarter than once thought. Obviously UCLA did what they were expected to do (namely kill my bracket by losing to Nova) but otherwise I have 14 of the 16, and 7 of my elite 8 are still alive.

When Memphis loses I'll stop the updates, I promise.

New Series

So I have been working on a new series for the youth and here is the bumper video for that series. Nothing fancy.

Strep Throat

There are hundreds of worse illnesses than strep throat. However, since I have none of those and I currently have strep (though hopefully not for long) I will continue to whine like strep is God's greatest judgment against humanity. So if you have kissed me in the last week you should take it easy and pound some Airborne (that means you Danyelle).

That is all.

Tourney Update

So... if one were to look at my results on my bracket today you would say. Looks good. I am 14-2 and my two losses I didn't have moving past round 2 (so minimal damage). However, if one were to look closer you would see this debacle unfolding.

First, I still have UCL(freaking)A going to the NC game. 6th seeded UCLA squeaked by VCU with a 1 point win last night. My runner-up for the whole enchilada barely (I mean that, barely - VCU could have just as easily made that last second shot as missed it) won it's first round game against a ho-hum opponent. Now they face Villanova (who apparently is good). This game should end my bracket updates.

In other news, I'm heading to Round Rock in a few hours. Should be fun.

Tourney Time

I like sports, plenty. But when it comes to college BB I don't realy care until tourney time. Then I fill out my bracket and hope that it comes true. Usually I am involved in 4-5 different "challenges" and inevitably I have 4-5 different brackets (and a couple different champions). Needless to say I rarely win these competitions. This year I have but one bracket. I filled it out in about 5 minutes and as I look at it now (for the first time all at once) I realize I have no chance to win. The reasons...
1. Memphis is my champ (and they almost lost to CS Northridge today) - looks unlikely.
2. UCLA - A cute school in California who I have losing to Memphis in the finals (UCLA is a 5 seed) - What was I thinking.
3. Lack of overall knowledge - I can't name two players on any team in college basketball. Seriously, any team.
4. The church treasurer - He is my primary opponent in the tourney challenge. He is retired, and he is lucky. I won't hear the end of it when UCLA loses.

Dah well.

LiveAbove

The transition from high school to college is a tough one. Being independent and an adult who is now in charge of most all of our decisions can be daunting. This is especially true if you are coming from a Christian perspective and you want to remain true to some of your convictions. The clip below is well made and worth a peek.

St. Patrick's Day

Thought I'd share this great autobiography of St. Patrick as presented by VeggieTales.



Excellent. Happy St. Patty's.

CROP Walk

There are hundreds of good organizations who help people in poverty, but I am teaming up with Church World Service in their CROP Walk. I will be walking on 3/28 and am trying to raise funds for the organization. CWS supports support self-help development, meets emergency needs, and helps address the root causes of poverty and powerlessness. Please consider joining me in the West Fort Bend County walk or by donating to the cause. You can donate on my behalf at THIS WEBSITE.

Thanks - Matt

Lent - From a Baptist

I am an odd Baptist to be sure. One of the traditions that most Baptists (and an even greater number of Southern Baptists) have discarded is that of Lent. Lent is the forty day season that proceeds Easter, in which participants choose to fast from something in preparation for the holiest of seasons. I became interested in Lent about four years ago and decided to participate in my own Baptist way. I fasted from something (I don't even remember) for the entire time and felt pretty good about it. To be honest I was probably more prepared for Easter than at any other point in my faith story. I followed up that year with another Lenten fast and the past couple years I have abstained from Lent (because I was too busy to figure out how to celebrate it).
Today I went to a local high school to work with the Christian club there and one of the students (a good Catholic) asked me what I was doing for Lent. Which got me thinking: Lent starts tomorrow am I going to practice it? After some reflection I've decided to give it a go. So starting tomorrow I will begin my Lenten fast. My pastor informed me that fasting is really only half the deal and that if one fasts from something they should replace that time with a good habit. So I'll be picking up some reading from the church fathers as well for my new Lenten discipline. As Thomas a Kempis said "Habit replaces habit."
I would like to challenge you to celebrate Lent this year, even if you celebrate it a little different from me or our Catholic friends. I really do believe it is a good discipline for preparing for the Easter season. Any takers?

Been Too Long - Comparisons

In the past three weeks I have had a thousand topics on which I could blog, and a total of zero blogs written. To get back into the flow I offer these topics. So here are the topics that are floating around in my head.

The Economy = Not Cool
Disciple Now = Very Cool
Wisconsin = Very Cold
Houston = Not Cold
Flu Season's Here= Not Fun
Baseball Season's Coming = Very Fun
Square Dancing in a Baptist Church = Awesome
Baptist Preacher Square Dancing in Church = Scary/Dangerous

That will suffice for now. Peace.

ATF Recap Take 2

President Obama

Now, I'm no great patriot, but I must admit watching Barack Obama being sworn into the highest office in our country made me feel a little swell of pride. Just the concept that a black man could could make it to this point so close to segragation and slavery is remarkable. Way to go, America!
In other news. The preacher who gave the closing benediction was pretty awesome. He was rhyming while talking to God, It was sweet, It can't be beat.

Strange Things Happen at Night

So my wife and I put the kids to bed at or around 8PM every night. Last night was no different except that we let our son, Seth sleep in our bed (since his roommate and sister was throwing a pretty amazing fit). We planned to take Seth up to his room whenever we got ready to go to bed. I did my best to threaten him not to pee in my bed (since unlike his bed, we don't use plastic sheets).

Danyelle and I are trying to enjoy a nice time of watching TV and all of a sudden we hear our bedroom door open and out comes Seth. Immediately I think "Oh No! He peed in my bed." So I ask him if he wet the bed and he mutters that he did not. He then speeds past Danyelle and I and goes into the kitchen where he quickly opens the pantry door.

I jump up wanting to see what he was trying to do, and as I walk into the kitchen I see him pulling down his pants. I tell him he can't go to the bathroom there and take him to the toilet where he uses the bathroom. Luckily he did not get to pee on the Cheetos.

Moral of the story - Your pantry should not smell like your toilet, lest it confuse the sleeping children.

1/168

It's been a while since I posted. The holidays went smoothly, and life is going on. I ran across this today and thought this is what I am really trying to get my students parents to be about. So I share it with you.

Fleshed Out

I think there are three ways to live out Acts 4 in the world today. First, let the church function as it currently does. Large meeting houses where people gather weekly or bi-weekly. The shift is modest in that community should be stressed. A special offering should be taken to help meet the needs of people in the church. In reality, many churches (maybe most) do something like this. My church currently takes this offering once a month. I'm not priveleged to know where all the money goes, but I trust that the money people and my pastor are distributing this to people within the body who are in need. The weakness of this idea is that community must be stressed for the church to function properly. In a church of 200, 300, 500, 1500, or any other number it is difficult for members of the church to experience community.

The second way to flesh out Acts 4 is in a community of believers who intentionally live together and voluntarily share everything. This concept is not coercive (in opposition to traditional communism: authority takes everything, regardless of your willingness to participate). There are several groups who do this, such as the Potter Street Community in Philadelphia. The potential weakness of this concept is that it can lead to seclusion from the world instead of activity within it (though I think PSC is very involved in there community).

The third way, I assume happens, but I could be wrong. And honestly, I find it to be the most appealing for me personally. This is where the church is broken down into smaller units. These small units are independent churches. Each church then meets in a home or some similar style space. Within this small church each person volunteers to take care of each other. This goes to necessities, such as food and electricity, and also luxuries (ie: a vacation). It should be noted that the Apostle Paul stated that if a man chooses not to work he should not eat, so laziness is not allowed within this style of community (while seasons of transition are to be expected). A simple life is encouraged, extravagance is discouraged. Money brought into the church can be turned around with little to no overhead to fund ministries, missions, and activities that aid in humanitarian and evangelical works locally and worldwide. Each person in the church retains their homes and property and participation, is needed for those choosing to be in this type of church. However, a person can withdrawl from the church and join a typical church at any point.

One of the reasons that I like this model is that people remain totally engaged in society while still having a community of believers as their foundation. Another great plus is efficiency (from the church standpoint). A typical church will spend 60% or so of their budget on staff and facilities. So if a church had no fulltime staff and met in a home (so no extra facility costs) 90-95% of offerings could be used for the work of the church. So a church with a 500,000 budget would break into 10 (for round numbers) home churches each of these would bring in 50,000. And 45,000 of that could be used for ministry (and community). So only 50,000 from the original church budget of 500,000 would be spent on adminstrative costs. 50,000 is often less than the salary of one staff position (and a church with 500,000 budget would have at least two ministers and then suppport staff).

Overall, I think the church could use a facelift for effectiveness, stewardship, and community. Will it happen? I'd like to see it attempted.

Communism and Christianity - Long and Good

For quite a while I have felt that communism is not only compatible with the Christian life, but ideal. I think over the last year or so, I would back off the word communism and shift to communalism. In any case, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts on the matter.

As most would figure I begin in the book of Acts. Following the formation of the early church and the day of Pentecost where the Holy Spirit comes down and enters into believers lives we are left with a strange tale. From Acts 4:32-37

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement),sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.

The story of the early church was one of shared wealth and possessions. Even to the point that a man sold property, and laid the entirety of the proceeds at the feet of the apostles. In this system it appears the apostles were in charge of the distribution of the funds. Since the men were devout the money seemed to be shared effectively to the point that "there were no needy persons among them."

We see this sort of communalism in small pockets of Christianity today. The Amish and Mennonites are good examples of communal living. Property is owned by the group not by any individual. But I am neither Amish or Mennonite, so what about me? Do I have an obligation to follow this radical example of sharing? I see value in both answers. First the negative.

Not all actions of biblical characters should be seen as normative. That is, I don't have to, nor do I want to subsist on a diet of locusts and honey, despite John the Baptist doing so. Likewise, I don't need to have a dramatic Damascus Road experience, like Paul, to receive salvation. So it would reason, that this style of communal living just worked well for the early church, but in today's modern economy it would be unfeasible and thus not needed.

I lean toward the example in Acts four as a challenge to me, and as a challenge to the Church. Small communal groups (whether they live together or not) are not only possible in today's culture, they could be what is called for. Full Disclosure: I do not now, nor do I have an application in to be a part of one of these communities. However, in theory I feel this style of living is so counter-cultural that it could revitalize what is a very unhealthy church in America.

So what does it take? Where I stand today I think it takes a few things. First, believers who truly believe that living in community is better than living independently. American Capitalism has taught us that standing on our own two feet is best, the Bible teaches that dependency on God and others in the church is desirable. The question is which do we believe more, God or Country? Second, some sort of communal pool of resources is needed. This money and goods would be used to help each person in community and would be distributed based on need. I don't foresee any reason to totally abstain from culture as I think we should be agents of change within the culture.

Tomorrow, I'll try and describe what I think it looks like in America today.

More Results

So I gathered some more results on my Bible Character Pretest. By distributing the forms to my Sunday morning group the results shifted a little here and there, but not too much. They are as follows.

Average for the 40: 2.65 (on a scale of 1-5)
28 of the Characters scored below a 3 on average.
The most well known are Jesus, Adam and Eve, and Mary (the mother of Jesus).
The highest any student scored was a 3.4 average. With the lowest being a 2.3.

Still mulling rather or not to give this to parents. This sort of thing has illuminated a lot of the biblical illiteracy I have encountered during my years in youth ministry. The hope is that they begin to grasp with a passion the need to know the Bible. Lots to do, and not a ton of time. Peace.

FYI

This was Stephen, the guy on his knees in the painting.

Biblical Illiteracy

The one thing that strikes me about the church today is how high we claim to value scripture, even though we know very little about it. I gave my students a Basic Bible Trivia Test a few weeks ago and the high score was one question over a 50%. That is pretty poor (though thetest was harder than what I would have called Basic Bible Trivia).

Today in an effort to track my students improvements in learning the Bible I listed off forty of the major characters in the Bible. I just walked through the Bible in my head and wrote down forty names of people who I think are important to my faith story. The students were given the names and asked to rank on a scale of 1-5 their familiarity with that person (1 being the no knowledge, five being ample knowledge).

Of the forty Adam & Eve and Jesus scored the highest. The average score given to these character was a 2.57. That means on average my students tend to have heard of the person in question but probably couldn't give more than one detail about them. Of the forty characters 28 were scored on average under a 3.

Overall these stats don't suprise me, they just make me a little sad for the state of the church (and my church) and the state of students. I would guess if this was given to their parents they would probably score between a half and a full point higher than their kids (just speculation, maybe I should gather some data).

So I have decided to try and intentionally educate these youth with the great stories of the Bible. Hopefully then one of them will know who Stephen was, and why he is important.

College Football Rantings

I like college football, alot. As stated earlier, my favorite NCAA team is the TCU Horned Frogs. TCU finished the season with a couple of losses to top 10 teams and ended up ranked 12th in the BCS ratings. Seeing as ten teams get to go to BCS games, why not TCU this year. I won't sit here to make the case for the Horned Frogs going to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl, but it would be a pleasant outcome (however mighty unlikely).

My other NCAA team of choice is Texas Tech. Tech finished the year with just one loss, and that to a great OU team (who coincidentally handed TCU one of it's 2 losses, but I digress). Tech though a one loss team has no shot at a BCS bowl due to screwy rules about the number of teams from a conference who can play in one of these prestigious moneymakers. Though they are deserving they won't get the call over UT (who they beat) or OU.

Many people in Texas have lamented using the BCS as a tiebreaker for threeway ties in the Big 12 (TT, UT, and OU are all tied at 11-1 with one loss each coming in conference). People cry that it is unfair that UT can beat OU yet OU can go to the Championship Game for the conference. While I agree that it is unfair to allow coaches of the Sunbelt, MAC, WAC, PAC10, etc. to help decide who should go to the Big 12 game, I think that the right team is going. My logic is as follows.

Head to Head is useless in a three way tie. You can't toss Texas Tech aside because they lost late in the year (and using the BCS ratings to throw out a team from consideration is as unfair as using them to decide who goes, so even though another conference uses this tiebreaker, it's just as dumb as the Big 12's if not dumber, because it totally excludes a team). Since Head to Head is useless, and since all the teams have identical records in and out of conference, I think you run the three teams against each other. It looks like this.

TT beat UT by 6 = TT+6 & UT-6
UT beat OU by 10 = UT+10 & OU-10
OU beat TT by 44 = OU+44 & TT-44

Add up the numbers and the results are as follows
TT = -38
UT = +4
OU = +34

So OU won the round robin by 30 points. Also OU beat TCU and Big East Champ #13 Cincinatti, so they have the two best out of conference wins as well (and probably the two worst too, Chatanooga and winless U of Washington).

End of the day, there should be a playoff in major college football, and then TT, OU, and UT would all have a chance to be not just Big 12 champions, but national champions.

Thanksgiving

Nothing reminds me of what I am thankful for like this holiday. Cleaning, cooking, smiling, talking about things I care little about. I am thankful for my normal everyday life. The quiet. Just the five of us. That is what I am thankful for today.

In other news, I'm cooking two turkeys. Frying one and rosting the other. My brother and I have to go get a turkey fryer and figure out how to use it. Should be entertaining.

I'll keep ya'll updated. Give thanks.

Doing What I Oughtn't

Like many people I write my title before writing a blog. This is probably a poor habit I picked up as a young writer. Nonetheless, I really appreciate the word oughtn't. I think I am going to begin using it conversationally. So watch out for "You oughtn't have done that" and "The Sooners oughtn't have thought they could be Tech." Now on to the subject at hand.

I was involved in a discussion several weeks ago about a passage in Romans chapter 7. This led to a heated debate about whether or not the great Apostle Paul struggled with sin after his Damascus Road experience.

I don't particularly care where you fall in the debate. I just know from my perspective that I often fall short of what I want to do. For example, I want to be a helpful husband. However, often I find myself not pulling my weight. Why is this?

It frustrates me to no end that I want something (that I am in control of) and I still fail at accomplishing it. Even so, I love my wife. So if you see her, let her know.

Identity Confusion

It must have been easy living thirty years ago. Seriously in 1978 life must've been sweet. The terrible music of the 80's was fast approaching. Disco was fading away. And you knew who you were.

I had a revelation as I was walking across the street. I have at least five seperate identities. Each of these identities are at least somewhat resemblent of me. However, each idetity accentuates a different aspect of my personality. To my knowledge here are my identities.

1. ME - The guy you would meet if you ran into me at a baseball game, at school, or at church. There are versions of ME. I like to think that this identity is who I really am. It may be more of who I would like to be.

2. Myspace - I'm not an online social networking guru. My myspace is totally unpimped out. It is stock. Nonetheless, there I am, or at least a version of me. In this realm, I have some friends who I've never met, but most of whom I know.

3. Facebook - My facebook id is similar to myspace except that I am socializing with a ton of people who I have not seen face to face in year (especially high school friends).

4. Killerfrogs - I am a regular reader (and occassional poster) at killerfrogs.com. Here I discuss one of my primary sports interests, TCU football. If you met any of the other id's I have you may have no idea about this one, as I don't bore many people with my interest in a small private school (that I never attended).

5. Blog - This is the id you are currently viewing. This is me just scribbling notes about my life. This is me discussing the other elements of me. Strange stuff, discussing oneself.

In any event, some people only know me by one of these id's. Likewise I know some of you by only one of these. It seems like back in the day people were more well known to each other. But hey, I could be wrong.

What the Heck?

I have heard vague stories about Nebraska's safe haven law that allows parents the opportunity to abandon their children without prosecution if they drop them off at a hospital.

This law is in place in Texas, I believe, except you can only drop off a baby (at a hospital or a fire station). The idea behind this is noble, especially if you find abortion distatesful (as I do). A mother has an "unwanted" child and leaves it for the state to find a home.

The problem with Nebraska is that they don't have a high end age for parents (they are trying to put one in now, but they fear more parents will drive across state lines to abandon their problem kids before the law is fixed). So teenagers who are difficult at home are being abandoned at hospitals. Teens. Sixteen years in a home with mom and/or dad and then they are driven to a hospital, and told to get out. Oh my. Seriously, how can you invest that much of your life into another person and then quit on them?

I'm just angry and disappointed. Here's the CNN Story about the most recent dropoff.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Soemtimes I think taking a twelve day trip in the middle of a semester is a bad thing. I have some 35 pages that I have to write, and most need to be done by mid-weekend. Say a prayer for me, as I am going out of town this weekend, even while I have work to do.

Christmas Concern

My church is pushing a Simplify Christmas event this Advent season. The whole idea is to spend less on stuff and more on things that matter. Also we are concerned about where you spend your money for the stuff you are inevitably going to buy. Personally I think you should try and shop fair-trade or made in USA wherever possible. This ensures that laborers are paid fairly for their time.

Either way, I ran across this video on another blog I read and thought it worthwhile.

Colorado

Tell me that my wife isn't beautiful? We took upwards of 600 pictures of our twelve day, no child, trip. A lot of them are pictures of snow, seeing as I am from Houston I figured I should take lots of pics for the kids (who won't see snow for at least another 10 years, dang global warming). You can view the pics here if you so please. I am going to try and make a more accessible slideshow, but that depends on time.