Saturday, February 9, 2008

Being a Dad.















Holy moley, I haven't posted in too long. This blogging thing takes a LOT o' stinkin' time! May I just say that being a dad is the BOMB. Our little boy, Nicholas Allen, is absolutely amazing. Apologies to every other parent in the world, but our baby is the cutest ever. And I find myself wondering... what kind of church will our little guy inherit? I see too many of my friends who are pastors in unhealthy churches, and I worry for their kids. God help us if we continue to "play" at Christianity, doing church the same old way and expecting a different result. As a new parent, I am more convinced than ever that we simply have no choice but to be an authentic representation of the Kingdom of God in our families and our churches.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Thoughts on Emergent....

OK. Would REALLY like to start a new dialogue here concerning the Church of the Nazarene and this thing called Emerging/Emergent church.... Had a class in January with Tony Jones, who is one of the movers and shakers in the Emergent Village, and it was great. Here's a discussion starter-- From what I'm seeing/hearing/reading/experiencing, I am of the impression that a lot of what folks who might consider themselves "emergent" sounds a WHOLE LOT to me like the Wesleyan doctrine of holiness of heart and life. It seems like a lot of these folks come from a Reformed background, and are discovering some of the things that Wesley said a long time ago, namely, that Christianity is a life lived inside and outside of the institution of the church; that evangelism so-called must begin and end in relationship; and that the poor and marginalized matter a lot more than we think they do. Not an exhaustive list here... but it's a start.

I would also say that some emergent folks who also identify with the Church of the Nazarene are wimping-out when they trash the denomination across the board in their blogs, websites, and YouTube videos. One of the things the emergent movement seems to value most is relationship. If that's true, then those of us who feel like we're on the verge of something new, awesome, and profoundly Christian need to practice what we preach, especially where we meet disagreement from within the church. If relationships are so important, why greet opposition with anger, resentment, sarcasm, and passive-agressiveness? What would it mean for us to come to the place where we understand that those who have gone before us, even if we very much disagree with their theology and/or methods, we nevertheless trying the best they could to be faithful in their time and place. I guess I'm saying that the same grace we must extend to Postmodern folks must be extended to Modern folks as well. Even if they don't "get it" and perhaps never will, even if they don't extend the same grace in return, we must do what we can.

I'm concerned that some emergent Nazarenes are coming across as whining sarcastic babies who want to take their toys and go home and start their own independent church or something. For me, I choose to stay. I choose to try everything I can to change the "system" that emergent thought fights against. Instead of chucking the whole thing, I prefer to think about what it might look like in the future if it deals with some of these issues. I feel a strong sense of... duty? debt? calling?... not sure what is the right word, but my theological training came at the hands of Nazarenes such as Craig Keen, Paul Bassett, Al Truesdale, Richard Thompson, Alex Deasley, and Dan Boone. And I think those folks have a glimpse of what the Church of the Nazarene could be, and are willing to take the flak that parts of the church throw at them. I think that vision is worth rolling up my sleeves and getting dirty to work toward.

Life's About to Change...


So it's been forever since I've posted, and I've got a TON of stuff to say, but the most important thing that's happening in our lives right now is that Stefanie is 7 months pregnant with our first child... what an absolute trip this whole thing is. And I know that we haven't even gotten started in it yet. The thought that very soon this world will include our son is a cool, scary, "God help us" kind-of thought. Here we go....

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Some reflections on Ordination

It's been several months now, but I have to share some thoughts on our Ordination service that happened in Florida in May. They say in our schooling that Ordination is supposed to be the church's affirmation of God's call on someone's life. They say it's not supposed to be a stepping stone or a hoop to jump through. They say it's supposed to be an act of worship, through which the church examines, evaluates, and confirms someone in the ministry.

...and I've got to say, in our case, "they" were right.

I've never experienced anything like it... the choir was singing the 4th verse"It Is Well with My Soul" and presence of God hit that place like nothing I've ever seen. I'm not charismatic. I'm not a hankie-waver (though that might not be so bad sometimes). HOWEVER, there was no doubt at all that a God thing was happening in this place... it hit like a wave. And what was cool was that the people on our right were Hatian, praising God in French, while some people to our left were Hispanic, praising God in Spanish. We were praising God in English. Across the way were Vietnamese people. It was as close to Pentecost as I've ever been, and I'll never forget it. And that was BEFORE the ordination ceremony!

The presence continued as Dr. Gunter put her hands on our heads and ordained us. It was just amazing. It was as if God Himself was smiling on what was happening in the service, and I am totally humbled that it was our (mine and Stefanie's) ordination service.
Blessings,
Mark




My Love/Hate Relationship with Deer.


New blog. First post. I guess I'm "connected" now. Stefanie and I live and pastor in Drexel, MO, and Stefanie travels to Kansas City every day for her position at Naz. HQ. Yesterday, she had a literal run-in with a rather large deer, which probably totaled her car. She's OK, but the deer and the car were munched.


I like deer. I think they're graceful, pretty, and powerful... until they t-bone my wife's car at 7:00 in the morning. I like deer. Especially when they're in the sights of my .54 cal muzzleloader. I like deer, but I must admit that if I go hunting here in the next couple of weeks, I'm out for vengeance...
Blessings,
Mark