Category: Faith

Oliver’s view of Augustine

From http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/jod/augustine/After a very successful visit to the doctor’s office (O is healthy, on-track, and off the chart in all the things), O and I settled in for some quality time together on the couch. As he sat there looking at “Hop and Pop,” I opened up Augustine and the Catechumenate. Today’s reading, looking at Augustine’s On Catechizing Inquirers, was riveting and O wanted to hear some of it. As I read out loud, he followed along in “Hop on Pop.” I got about a paragraph into the book before O reached out and took the book from me. He looked at me, pointed to a sentence in the book, said a few words, and handed the book back to me. Here’s the line that interested him so much:

But all these works, while emblematic of Christian evangelization, do not address what Augustine addresses: how to present the “good news” to one who now wishes to become a Christian.

I’m not sure why O picked that sentence but it’s a good one. That’s a question that isn’t really addressed in my seminary education so far. Rather, it’s a question I’ve been working out through my field education/internship/senior seminarian work. Augustine’s work worked because, unlike previous texts, it taught the teacher to inquire about the newbie’s context and to create a conversation that spoke to them exactly where they are. His context, of course, was North Africa near the end of the Western Roman Empire. He’s not in NYC in the 21st century. But Augustine’s question is a great one – and one that I still struggle with today.

For such a time as this [pastor]

765

Last week, the Metropolitan New Synod released a press release about the implementation of parts of the Synod’s strategic plan. Read it here. Before I toot my own horn about the part I’m participating in, you should read it. I’ll wait. Do do doo do dooo. What are you doing here? Go click. Read it! Got it? Great.

First, I’m going to ignore (mostly) the content of the press release right now. There’s a lot in there and I’ll admit I have a stake in this strategic plan since IMP is the project I’m working on. But I wanted to point out just the overall tone of the press release and who the target audience of that press release is. Doesn’t it just scream “oh hey, pastor; look at me!” All six, to some degree, are painted as being pastor oriented. Two might target lay people (even though IMP should too) but maybe also to members of congregational councils. Either way, it is a press release for pastors and no one else. And that’s kinda sad.

Now I pray that soon, God-willing, I’ll be ordained into the ELCA. I’m not a pastor but I’m close. I’ve been at the synod office; I’ve met a handful of bishops; my paperwork has graced the ancient halls of that great mythological beast run by Formatta Filer. I’m more plugged into the ELCA than others but even I was a little “come on” when I read this. Where is the love for the lay person? Where is the basic attempt to engage with those who are not in the know? Where is the “less is more” mentality that fits a social media world? I’m still scratching the surface with the possibility of what can be possible with social media but I know that this press release isn’t shareable online. It’s an artifact of another era. And that’s what bugs me because it doesn’t need to be. We can do better than this. We can actually create releases that excite people in the pews. I don’t want to see pastors sharing this on Twitter or Facebook. I want to see lay persons, young people, old people, and everyone passing this information online and through the mail. We’ll know we got it right when the pastor isn’t the primary conduit for information coming out of the synod. “Which Game of Thrones Character Are You” shouldn’t be the only thing I see my friends sharing online.

Visit to Dura Europos

Dura Europos, a backwater town inhabited by various empires from 300 BCE to 256 CE, is special because it was mostly preserved after it was sacked. Along the western wall, which was buried with sand to reinforce it during the battle, many relatively complete houses and buildings were found. Included in that was three religious houses, with one being a synagogue and the other a Christian church. The Christian church dates to ca. 240 and its baptistry is located in Yale University (due to how archaeology worked in the 1920s/30s). Pieces from the baptistry are located in Yale’s art gallery. You should go. They are just beautiful. Below are a few pictures from today. You can see more images here.

Former Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson Came to Advent

He seriously is a great preacher. At the end of his sermon, we laid hands on our neighbors and prayed together. He’s one of two people I know who could get away with this. This is one of my favorite images from the day.

Mark Hanson at Advent Lutheran Church

Another bonus is that he remembered meeting me. I met him first at an ELCA Fund for Leaders banquet in 2010 and then I kept going up to the microphone at the ELCA churchwide assembly in 2013. He either has an awesome memory or I just make a great impression on people.

The text is a tissue of quotations drawn from innumerable creations of culture.

Tweet Tarshish This quote, in some ways, describes why I am doing my thesis. I want to know what space & place meant in the first century hellenized world. There is meaning there – a meaning I’d like to be grafted onto. Then, I’ll be able to take my supposed placeless/spaceless world of “new media” and just see what it brings to a contemporary interpretation of Scripture.

“Writers do not magically create texts out of nothing, and readers must bring a stock of other texts and cultural codes to bear upon a writing in order to read it. In Barthes words, “The text is a tissue of quotations drawn from the innumerable creations of culture.”

From A Re-Reading of Romans: Justice, Jews, and Gentiles by Stanley K. Stowers (page 9).

Name Change

Please Stand UpI thought the ELCA changed my name on my candidacy documents. I was wrong. Yesterday, I received an email from the head of the candidacy committee connecting me with the staff person at the ELCA in charge of such things. When I married and took my wife’s last name over three years ago, I was already entranced into candidacy. At the time, I was told not to worry about it and that my paperwork will be resubmitted under my new name. It seems that didn’t happen. However, I’m impressed with how the ELCA handled my name change. They didn’t need my marriage certificate, a copy of my new passport, or a social security card. They just needed my wife’s name and date of birth. I know that I have (what feels like) dozens of forms at the churchwide offices with that information but they wanted it in email form. A few seconds of typing, a quick send, and I believe that my name change is officially taken care of at the churchwide level. That only leaves my Library Card as the last piece document in my old name. However, I was told that the NYPL doesn’t do name changes so I’ll just sit on that for awhile.