For the past three days, Ozark's campus has been hosting its annual Preaching & Teaching Convention. This means several things. 1) We get two days of having classes canceled. So that's pretty sweet. 2) My old ministers come to town and bring me goodie-baskets or take me out to lunch. So that's also pretty sweet. 3) I make terrible use of my time without class and end up getting behind on schoolwork. Not so sweet. 4) I am humbled once again. The convention is like the Ozark All-Star Game as tons of alumni show up on campus. It's easy for me to think that I'm so smart and so talented and that I know all about doing ministry and that I'm so great because a dozen people read my blog. But a lot of these guys have been doing it for 50 years, and I'm reminded that I'm just a young pup that has a lot to learn and a long way to go.
For the convention, yesterday I attended a workshop taught by Lynn Gardner about writing, particularly about writing for publication. Lynn used to be the academic dean at Ozark and he just finished writing his seventh book. He also routinely comes to the library on campus on Fridays, which is when I happen to work there, and he's super-nice. Here's a couple things I learned: First, Lynn talked about how the bulk of good writing revolves around rewriting. On a first draft, a writer should just get ideas down on paper, and it doesn't have to be that good. The quality comes through editing and revising. He said, "There is no good writing, only good rewriting." This is very unfortunate for someone like me, because I hate editing my own writing. I pretty much never read back over anything I write; I either print it off and hand it in or hit the "Publish Post" button at the bottom of my screen. So when you read stuff on here and see a blatant misspelling or missing word, just know that it's usually not because I'm an idiot. I'm just lazy. Another thing I learned at the workshop is that the opening paragraph of any writing is especially important because an editor will often make a judgment of the whole work from that paragraph. This is also unfortunate for me because as I'm sure you've noticed if you've been reading my posts for awhile, my introductions almost never have anything to do with the rest of my post. All of this to say that you probably shouldn't be looking for any books being published by me in the near future, or in the distant future, for that matter.
In a freak set of circumstances, however, this concept of writing actually is loosely connected with what I want to write about today. A while back I was struck by Isaiah 8:18, which says, "Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion."
I have a fancy-looking red dictionary that sits on my shelf that I rarely use. I somehow got it for free in high school, and I'm thankful for it because it makes me look more like a scholar to have a dictionary on my shelf. Here's what it says about the word "symbol": "1. One that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, esp. a material object representing something invisible. 2. A printed or written sign used to represent an operation, element, quantity, quality, or relation, as in mathematics or music." And then there's some definition related to psychology that has nothing to do with Isaiah.
Now I am neither a Phoenician nor a phonetician. But here's something I think I understand about language: Right now you're looking at symbols. Letters are symbols; in themselves, they are only scratches on notepads or pixels on a screen. They symbolize sounds, and you can put them together to make words and sentences which symbolize ideas. And Isaiah says that's sort of what his own life is like. As a prophet, he's a symbol of God to Israel.
I think the same is true of us as Christians. We are signs and symbols of God to the world. We are letters that God has written to humanity. People understand something about God by looking at us. Like an author pushing his pen to paper and beginning to write, the Holy Spirit has inscribed our hearts and souls to deliver a message to others. We are God's words, not in the sense that the Bible is God's Word or that Jesus is the Logos Word, but the world reads about God by watching us. To those without knowledge of their Creator we are symbols, standing in place of God to convey a message of his love and grace.
So I guess this is the question: What sort of God are we symbolizing? What picture of God do people perceive by reading us? Do they see a materialistic God that loves new clothes and new books and new cars and new phones? Do they see a self-consumed God that looks out for his own interests at the expense of everyone else's? Do they see a duplicitous God that feigns righteousness but puts on another mask when your back is turned? Do they see a distant God that goes about his own business alone? Or do they see a self-sacrificing God that gives himself to take on the punishment for those he loves?
It's a challenging proposition. A terrifying one, in fact. We're a people that enjoy our breaks--coffee breaks, study breaks, nap breaks, potty breaks, etc. But this business of being a symbol of God does not allow for breaks. We are books that are never closed. We are more like those marquee signs that continuously scroll words in mutli-color letters. People constantly watch us, gleaning messages about God through our lives. So let God write his words in your life and clear out space for him to continue his story through out. After all, who doesn't like a good book?
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Exploding Boxes
What is it that makes someone the person that they are? It's an important question, because the way in which we answer it largely determines how we relate with and understand one another. We all need a starting point, after all. In acquaintances, friendships, relationships, and ministry, we need to have some concept of how to approach another person. We need a framework for interaction.
Multiple answers are proposed as to what lays at the root of a person. Some people would say it's all about culture, so in order to successfully interact with another person, it's necessary to have a handle on their cultural context. As I've mentioned before, I was in New York City last month for a class. The name of the class was "Exegeting the City." Basically, all week we talked about how to interpret culture, specifically in an urban setting. When you really looking at it, it's a little overwhelming to consider how many facets there are to culture. Music, food, money, family, ethnicity, fashion, etc. It all makes up culture. Our cultures are so ingrained within each one of us, it hard to even separate cultural issues from the rest of perception.
Interpreting culture is obviously important, especially when we attempt to cross culture in order to understand people different than us. Damage is done when a person imposes his own culture over another instead of trying to understand the other culture and work within it. A middle-aged Italian immigrant restaurant owner living in NYC is different than a black high school kid in Memphis, and both are different from a Chinese business owner in Shanghai. As we interact with one another, and as we minister to others, we have to exegete culture.
Another way we might understand others is through personality classification. When I was on camp teams a couple years ago, we did a lot with personality types, and since this year's new camp teams just had their winter retreat and did the same thing, I've been hearing about this topic once again. For camp teams, we used a color scheme to categorize personality types. I was a green, which means that I think a lot and am sort of a sarcastic jerk. Coincidentally, in the first blog post I wrote, I mentioned that part of the reason I was starting a blog was that I was a green personality and needed a means of getting out all the stuff I'm supposed to be thinking about. (That's just a little fact for you trivia fans.)
Last year I went on Ozark's "Spiritual Formation Retreat," and once we talked a lot about personality by using the Myers-Briggs paradigm. In this personality test, you get four letters that are supposed to describe your personality. I discovered that my personality is ISTJ. The I is for introverted, which means I like myself more than I like other people. The S is for sensing, which means that I live in reality. The T is for thinking, which means I'm not wishy-washy. And the J confuses me, but I think it means I'm more of a thinker than a sensor, whatever that means. Perhaps unfortunately, at the retreat they had a sheet that said what personality types go are best suited for different ministries. The one for youth ministry was ENFP--my exact opposite. Hm.
One problem with all this personality talk is that it makes everyone who learns about it into amateur psychologists. Everyone starts analyzing each other. "Oh, you would say that. After all, you are an ESTP." It's like there's a bunch of incarnate Jungs running around. Heck, who needs a college degree if you've spent a day studying personality?
As with cultural interpretation, personality analysis has value. People are naturally wired in different ways, and all the different types are important. But they do need to be dealt with in different ways. I would imagine that people who are more emotional could get frustrated by someone like me, who keeps things to himself until he unleashes is wrath on his blog.
There is a problem with both cultural interpretation and personality analysis, however. They just don't go far enough. They each have value, but they're not the end. They can only take you so far because they still group people into huge categories. There are countless ways to break down culture, and there are tons of different personality types, but there are still more people. So we need something more than cultural exegesis, and we need something more than personality exegesis. We need individual exegesis. Two people can belong to the same culture, and even have the same basic personality type, but they could still be drastically different individuals. Because what makes a person is more than these large categories. We can't be satisified with just placing others in boxes and leaving it at that.
I'm a 22-year-old white, middle class male that lives in Missouri. But that doesn't make all of who I am. I'm a green and an ISTJ. But that doesn't make all of who I am. My story makes me. The fact that I tripped while jumping rope in 1st grade and smashed my face into the gym floor has shaped me. The fact that I eat Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A each on a weekly basis adds to my identity. My interests, passions, experiences, habits, and dislikes make me me, and they don't all fit into the spheres of culture or personality.
So what does all of this mean? Simply that we learn to know each other more fully, both in our own interpersonal relationships and as we seek to minister to others. I can't say, "Well, this person is a blue/otter/INTJ, and he white and American and lower class" and think that I understand someone. I may be able to determine some things, but there is so much more. What baseball team does he like? How did he get that scar on his elbow? Who has influenced his life? What books (or blogs) does he read? People all have stories, and most want those stories to be known by at least someone. So it's our job to read them, not just to look at the table of contents.
But enough of all of that, because here's what I really wanted to talk about: Earlier this week my friend Jessie and I were discussing the game that you see at arcades where there are all of these lights in a giant ring, and the light speeds around the circle and you have to hit a button to try to get it to stop in one particular spot. It's the big-ticket item, because each time someone fails, the jackpot goes up. One lucky day on this game, and you'll win enough paper tickets to get as many plastic spider rings as your heart could desire. My question is this: How is this really much different than what happens in casinos? Kids take their money, exchange them for tokens, and then play this game hoping to hit the jackpot but end up walking away with nothing. Chuck E. Cheese's is nothing other than a gambling haven for minors. The kids who spend their time here only go on to spend it at the Indian casinos later. Now, it's fine if you want to let your kids go down to the arcade and blow their allowances on games of chance. Just don't complain when they're 35 years old and living in your basement.
Multiple answers are proposed as to what lays at the root of a person. Some people would say it's all about culture, so in order to successfully interact with another person, it's necessary to have a handle on their cultural context. As I've mentioned before, I was in New York City last month for a class. The name of the class was "Exegeting the City." Basically, all week we talked about how to interpret culture, specifically in an urban setting. When you really looking at it, it's a little overwhelming to consider how many facets there are to culture. Music, food, money, family, ethnicity, fashion, etc. It all makes up culture. Our cultures are so ingrained within each one of us, it hard to even separate cultural issues from the rest of perception.
Interpreting culture is obviously important, especially when we attempt to cross culture in order to understand people different than us. Damage is done when a person imposes his own culture over another instead of trying to understand the other culture and work within it. A middle-aged Italian immigrant restaurant owner living in NYC is different than a black high school kid in Memphis, and both are different from a Chinese business owner in Shanghai. As we interact with one another, and as we minister to others, we have to exegete culture.
Another way we might understand others is through personality classification. When I was on camp teams a couple years ago, we did a lot with personality types, and since this year's new camp teams just had their winter retreat and did the same thing, I've been hearing about this topic once again. For camp teams, we used a color scheme to categorize personality types. I was a green, which means that I think a lot and am sort of a sarcastic jerk. Coincidentally, in the first blog post I wrote, I mentioned that part of the reason I was starting a blog was that I was a green personality and needed a means of getting out all the stuff I'm supposed to be thinking about. (That's just a little fact for you trivia fans.)
Last year I went on Ozark's "Spiritual Formation Retreat," and once we talked a lot about personality by using the Myers-Briggs paradigm. In this personality test, you get four letters that are supposed to describe your personality. I discovered that my personality is ISTJ. The I is for introverted, which means I like myself more than I like other people. The S is for sensing, which means that I live in reality. The T is for thinking, which means I'm not wishy-washy. And the J confuses me, but I think it means I'm more of a thinker than a sensor, whatever that means. Perhaps unfortunately, at the retreat they had a sheet that said what personality types go are best suited for different ministries. The one for youth ministry was ENFP--my exact opposite. Hm.
One problem with all this personality talk is that it makes everyone who learns about it into amateur psychologists. Everyone starts analyzing each other. "Oh, you would say that. After all, you are an ESTP." It's like there's a bunch of incarnate Jungs running around. Heck, who needs a college degree if you've spent a day studying personality?
As with cultural interpretation, personality analysis has value. People are naturally wired in different ways, and all the different types are important. But they do need to be dealt with in different ways. I would imagine that people who are more emotional could get frustrated by someone like me, who keeps things to himself until he unleashes is wrath on his blog.
There is a problem with both cultural interpretation and personality analysis, however. They just don't go far enough. They each have value, but they're not the end. They can only take you so far because they still group people into huge categories. There are countless ways to break down culture, and there are tons of different personality types, but there are still more people. So we need something more than cultural exegesis, and we need something more than personality exegesis. We need individual exegesis. Two people can belong to the same culture, and even have the same basic personality type, but they could still be drastically different individuals. Because what makes a person is more than these large categories. We can't be satisified with just placing others in boxes and leaving it at that.
I'm a 22-year-old white, middle class male that lives in Missouri. But that doesn't make all of who I am. I'm a green and an ISTJ. But that doesn't make all of who I am. My story makes me. The fact that I tripped while jumping rope in 1st grade and smashed my face into the gym floor has shaped me. The fact that I eat Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A each on a weekly basis adds to my identity. My interests, passions, experiences, habits, and dislikes make me me, and they don't all fit into the spheres of culture or personality.
So what does all of this mean? Simply that we learn to know each other more fully, both in our own interpersonal relationships and as we seek to minister to others. I can't say, "Well, this person is a blue/otter/INTJ, and he white and American and lower class" and think that I understand someone. I may be able to determine some things, but there is so much more. What baseball team does he like? How did he get that scar on his elbow? Who has influenced his life? What books (or blogs) does he read? People all have stories, and most want those stories to be known by at least someone. So it's our job to read them, not just to look at the table of contents.
But enough of all of that, because here's what I really wanted to talk about: Earlier this week my friend Jessie and I were discussing the game that you see at arcades where there are all of these lights in a giant ring, and the light speeds around the circle and you have to hit a button to try to get it to stop in one particular spot. It's the big-ticket item, because each time someone fails, the jackpot goes up. One lucky day on this game, and you'll win enough paper tickets to get as many plastic spider rings as your heart could desire. My question is this: How is this really much different than what happens in casinos? Kids take their money, exchange them for tokens, and then play this game hoping to hit the jackpot but end up walking away with nothing. Chuck E. Cheese's is nothing other than a gambling haven for minors. The kids who spend their time here only go on to spend it at the Indian casinos later. Now, it's fine if you want to let your kids go down to the arcade and blow their allowances on games of chance. Just don't complain when they're 35 years old and living in your basement.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Is It Sad to Eat a Heart-Shaped Pizza Alone?
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, a day loved by some, hated by many. In order to celebrate, I decided that I would use a post to impart to you some practical knowledge. So below, I am going to write out everything I know about women, and about being in a relationship with one:
Well, I hope you learned something. Happy Valentine's Day.
Well, I hope you learned something. Happy Valentine's Day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)