~Enigmatic Meanderings~

To those whom the St. Patrick’s Day picture frightened/offended/disturbed: my apologies.  If you have seen the movie, hopefully you laughed at the absurdity of it all.  He does look like a little demon, though.

Writing is the name of the game I’m currently playing.  It’s actually going somewhat okay, just slow.  Like evolution-of-the-species slow.  But this too shall pass.

One of the things Drew and I are currently working on are these poems that we are going to shoot people performing to play in Celebration to introduce the theme of that day’s Bible study.  In trying to be inspired to do this, or in trying to procrastinate it, I have gotten back into the whole Poetry Slam thing, Which means I’ve been watching Def Poetry Jam and we bought a copy of the documentary, Slamnation.  This has led to three things:

1.  I’ve been researching local poetry slams and have found that four exist monthly in the greater Birmingham area.  I will be attending soon.

2.  The Southern Friend Poetry Slam regional competition is in Birmingham this year.  I think some of us should enter.  It would be a blast.

3.  I’ve gotten back into looking at the actual poets.  My favorite is this guy named Taylor Mali.  He seems to be a pretty egocentric guy, but has been a teacher and has passion for teaching and sees the absurdity in the modern poetry scene.  So, I like him.  The following is one of my favorite poems of his.  It’s best performed so read it aloud and listen to how you emphasize the question marks (they’re there for a reason).  If you don’t get it you can download it on iTunes or catch it on the season two DVD of Def Poetry Jam.

Totally Like Whatever
by Taylor Mali

In case you hadn’t noticed,
it has somehow become uncool
to sound like you know what you’re talking about?
Or believe strongly in what you’re saying?
Invisible question marks and parenthetical (you know?)’s
have been attaching themselves to the ends of our sentences?
Even when those sentences aren’t, like, questions? You know?

Declarative sentences – so-called
because they used to, like, DECLARE things to be true
as opposed to other things which were, like, not -
have been infected by a totally hip
and tragically cool interrogative tone? You know?
Like, don’t think I’m uncool just because I’ve noticed this;
this is just like the word on the street, you know?
It’s like what I’ve heard?
I have nothing personally invested in my own opinions, okay?
I’m just inviting you to join me in my uncertainty?

What has happened to our conviction?
Where are the limbs out on which we once walked?
Have they been, like, chopped down
with the rest of the rain forest?
Or do we have, like, nothing to say?
Has society become so, like, totally . . .
I mean absolutely . . . You know?
That we’ve just gotten to the point where it’s just, like . . .
whatever!

And so actually our disarticulation . . . ness
is just a clever sort of . . . thing
to disguise the fact that we’ve become
the most aggressively inarticulate generation
to come along since . . .
you know, a long, long time ago!

I entreat you, I implore you, I exhort you,
I challenge you: To speak with conviction.
To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks
the determination with which you believe it.
Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker,
it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY.
You have to speak with it, too.

*EDIT*
I heard this site was hard to read.  So I tried to fix it.  Hopefully, this is better.

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ONE:  Saw James Taylor in concert last night at the BJCC Concert Hall.  It was his “One Man Band” tour, which is a misnomer because he had a piano player with him.  The show was really good but pretty low key.  If you weren’t a James Taylor fan you might find it a bit boring.  He had this screen and would click through pictures and stuff, talk about one of his songs and then play it.  It was pretty great.  The acoustics in the concert hall are great and so is James Taylor.  You could close your eyes and swear you were listening to a recording.  He sounds that good, even like he did when he recorded some of those songs almost forty years ago.  My only complaint was that some people in the audience wouldn’t leave him alone.  They kept yelling at him, trying to shake his hand and have him autograph stuff.  Evidently he’s a pretty nice guy because he would indulge most of them.  It was his birthday, so I guess he was in a good mood.

TWO:  I’m having second thoughts about this Regents University thing.  Surprise, surprise.  What got me initially is when I received the information packet, opened to the first page entitled “A Message from the Chancellor” and saw Pat Robertson staring back at me.  Yes.  That Pat Robertson.  Pat “America-Should-Assassinate-Venezuelan-President-Hugo-Chavez” Robertson.  Also, it’s pretty expensive.  I don’t know what I should do.  I think I’m going to check into this online course offered through UCLA.  I don’t think they advocate anyone’s assassination.  Except maybe Pat Robertson’s.

THREE:  For a few different reasons I feel the need to defend/clarify/explain myself a bit in relation to some things I’ve thought, said, discussed, or posted here.  This has pretty much grown out of that stupid theological quiz I took that many of you have now taken and some things I’ve read on other sites.  Mainly, what I want to address are my comments on truth and knowing it along with the priority I have been placing on asking questions (though certainly not as an end in and of themselves; answers are obviously needed).  I don’t believe I’ve been able to articulate these things well so I will try to do so now.

I consider myself somewhat educated.  I have two degrees in religious studies, have been a Christian for around nineteen years.  I read the Bible, pray, study, etc.  I know what I believe and why I believe it.  This is not only important but Biblically mandated.  Peter writes the following in the fifteenth verse of the third chapter of his first epistle: “…but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that that is in you.”  I just don’t consider the best defense to be a strong offense, to play off a common sports phrase.  Please, don’t ever misinterpret what I do or say as being weak in my faith or theology or playing the relativistic game of “you’re okay; I’m okay; let’s all be okay together.” 

Though I know what I believe and why I believe it.  I can also tell you that I have been wrong before and certainly leave room that I may be wrong about some things right now.  I just may not know it yet.  But how can this happen?  I’ve got the Bible, God’s Word, the source of Truth.  Yeah.  But I mistook it.  I’ve never been able to articulate this.  Actually, I still can’t.  However, I found someone who can and has.

I’m reading a book my Dad sent me by a guy named Jack Deere.  Deere is a former professor at Dallas Theological Seminary.  He realized some things he was wrong about as well.  He explains this by how much we are influenced by are various traditions, whether we want to admit it or not.  Traditions of family, church, denomination, school, region, culture, etc.  The following is a quote of his:

    “…when our belief systems move beyond the basic fundamentals of the faith (the deity of Jesus, justification by faith, the substitutionary atonement of Jesus, and so on) to things that aren’t as fundamental (the mode of baptism, the manner of taking the Lord’s supper, or a particular view of the millennium) we are much more dependent on tradition than we realize.  In these cases, [J.I.] Packer offers sound advice, ‘What we must do, rather, is acknowledge that we are full of tradition, good or bad, to a much greater extent than we realize, and must learn to ask by the light of Scripture critical questions about what we have thus far taken for granted.’
    Some, however, fail to acknowledge the significance of tradition and other factors in our environments for determining or shaping our views.  Edward Gross asks why there are so many interpretations.  His answer is that ‘there are two simple reasons why there are so many interpretations; the lack of comprehensive study and the lack of following the simple rules of hermeneutics (the science of biblical interpretation).’
    Next, he cites three hermeneutical rules summarized by Charles Hodge to the effect that Scripture is to be interpreted in its grammatical historical sense, Scripture must interpret Scripture and cannot contradict itself, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit must be sought to interpret Scripture.  Gross concludes that ‘employing these rules will assist us in determining the true sense of Scripture.  If Christians would constantly unite a thorough investigation with these simple rules, differences of interpretation would practically disappear.’
    I am sure there are others who sincerely believe with Gross that lack of study and hermeneutical differences can account for contemporary theological diversity.  However, I do not think there are very many skilled theologians or knowledgeable interpreters of Scripture who would agree with Gross.
    When I was at Dallas Seminary, everyone on the faculty that I knew would agree with the three hermeneutical rules summarized by Hodge, and we all believed in comprehensive study of the Word.  Nonetheless, we differed significantly with the reformed theological position that Gross quotes throughout his book.  Did we dispensationalists not study the Scriptures as comprehensively as the Reformed theologians with whom we disagreed?  Were we inconsistent in our application of the three hermeneutical principles?  The obvious truth is that a lack of comprehensive study of the Scriptures and dissimilar hermeneutical principles cannot account for the vast majority of modern theological differences.” (Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, pp. 53-54; emphasis mine)

Ask questions.  Pray and search Scripture for answers.  Come to conclusions.  Believe.  But be prepared to be wrong sometimes.  After that the question is how do you respond and move on.  With pride and arrogance?  With shame and guilt?  Or with joy in the newfound knowledge of the Truth granted to you by the grace of Jesus Christ?  I know how I’m always trying to respond.

FOUR:  Time Bandits rules!

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I don’t normally take these things, but I’m trying to write and needed something to help me procrastinate.  Not so sure if it nails me or anything, but it was intersting.  Here’s my results…

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern. You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don’t think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this. Emergent/Postmodern 82% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 79% Neo orthodox 64% Charismatic/Pentecostal 61% Reformed Evangelical 61% Roman Catholic 54% Fundamentalist 43% Classical Liberal 39% Modern Liberal 29% What’s your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

That’s me… a little Brian McLaren (not really… I believe in Hell).

You can take it here.

**EDIT**
I’ve been thinking about this litte quiz.  Let me say that I do not agree that older forms of church cannon connect to modern culture very well.  In fact, I think we need to reembrace many aspects of older forms of church.  However, it is my experience that a number of older churches don’t connect to modern culture very well as a result of the actions of their members, not the form of church itself.

Secondly, I do believe in aboslute truth and that God is truth and that He can most certainly be known and therefore truth can be known.  However, I question anyone’s claim to know Him and thus it fully and completely.  After all, we will spend eternity “getting to know” Him.

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So I mentioned how I’ve been wanting to further my theater education.  Basically, I’ve discovered that I really want some affirmation for what I do.  Plus, I’m wanting to be a writer but have no real training.  Student Life is good experience, but is also limiting in a number of ways.  Well, in my search I have finally found something that might be feasible.  I’ve discovered an M.A. program in Script and Screenwriting that I can do online through Regents University.  Regents is a Christian university but has a good theater, film and communications program that employs members of the faculty that actually work in the industry.  So, I’m checking it out to see what it might be.  It could be good training, an actual masters level theater and writing degree and could equip me to have a few different options later on down the road.  So, that’s nice.

Also, now that I have a house, I’ve been interested in planting some trees, specifically some fruit trees.  Today at Lowes I found a peach tree and a pear tree that I’m thinking about getting.  I’ve also been interested in a tree I’ve heard called a “fruit salad tree.”  Basically it’s where some horticulturist has taken various citrus trees like Orange, Lemon, Lime, Tangerine, etc. and has grafted them together into one tree.  I also found one of those.  So, that’s exciting.

We’re finally zeroing in on our staff for the summer.  Things are starting to get exciting.  Now we just need some scripts.

Well, onwards and upwards.

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I need to change the look of this site. I meant to do it a while ago. This look was just supposed to be temporary. But things come up. You know?

I’m in Orlando at SETC. Drew and I have watched almost 500 theater students audition for summer work. It’s exhausting. Why? Our theory is that it’s because they’re not that entertaining. Everyone’s monologues sound about the same. Everyone’s songs sound about the same. Everyone moves the same. Everyone talks the same. And the worst part is that it’s not how people really sound, move or talk. How is your performance based in any kind of truth or reality when you look so fake, like your acting? It is encouraging to talk to other Christ-lovers down here doing their thing. It’s also nice to touch base with the other two members of our Christian theater triumverate: Tonya from the Holy Land Experience and Sandy from Sight and Sound. By the way, Sight and Sound will be opening their second theater in Branson, MO in 2008. Some of you should consider checking them out. It is also great to see friends and even employees or former employees down here checking out other stuff. It’s good for them and good for us for them to be doing other things. They become better which makes us better. After all, we’re not Shakespeare. That’s for sure.

Which brings me to: this time of year at Student Life. It’s recruitment/hiring season. This is never easy for me. It’s tough to find the balance in making the right decisions. The decisions that best serve the company and the individual which ultimately results, hopefully, in the decision that best serves God and that He desires. I actually mean that. That’s the approach I take. Still, it’s never easy and sometimes it can suck. If people really had insight into the process and what all we go through, I think they might feel differently about us. “Respect” and “appreciation” are some words that come to mind, though from what I hear, “fear” and “resentment” and “pride” are words that are probably more fitting for how people feel. How can I live with myself?

The first meeeting of the Church for Birmingham didn’t go that great. It was definitely a learning experience, though. There’s still a lot of decisions to be made, and I find myself often thinking what have I got myself into and does God really want this of me. These questions are both exhilerating and humbling, which I believe is a good place to be.

I read Rob Bell’s book, Velvet Elvis. You should go get it and read it. Or you can borrow my copy.

I’ve also been trying to grow in my theater education lately. Mostly by reading. I’m currently studying Viola Spolin’s method of teaching improv, which is the method that led to the founding of Second City and that they continue to teach today. It’s fascination. I went to the wrong school. Or else I worry that I need to go to another one. I think that’s more for validation. I shouldn’t keep feeling the need to apologize for doing the type of dramatic work that I do. But I do feel that way. Argh!

The Oscars are Sunday night. Predictions? Acting awards for Hoffman, Witherspoon, Clooney, and Williams. Writing for Brokeback and Crash. Director: Ang Lee for Brokeback. And best picture: Crash. That’s right. Brokeback won’t carry the same punch on the small screen, which is how so many members view the noms. Anyway, that’s what I think. I’m currently downloading the shorts that are nominated from iTunes. We’ll see how they are. (Again, thanks for the iPod).

All right. That’s a good post for now. I’m really trying to recommit to this thing.

Holla.

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