The Future of Christian Learning: An Evangelical and Catholic Dialogue by: Mark A. Noll and James Turner
It is refreshing to read a book that is looking at two different views with some similarities but for the most part is talking about two separate perspectives and be able to have this discussion in a positive dialogue that will hopefully enhance both of the views and be able to bring them closer together to work for a common cause. Both Mark Noll and James Turner help to do this within the discussion of Christian educations. Noll represents the evangelical side while Turner represents the Roman Catholic view.

This is a good read working with the university level of Christian education. Their call to be about the process of learning in a faith based institution with an array of ideas, principles, and beliefs but set with the foundation of the Christian faith is something that all Christian educational institutions should be aiming for. However, for someone like me that is working with education and spirituality on a secular campus, this book has some good insight into the role of faith in our modern university settings.
This book is put out by Brazos Press which is a division of Baker Publishing Group.

New Monasticism by Jonathan Wilson- Hartgrove
This book gives good insight into the movement and really helps to draw churches and Christians back to a reforming idea of what it means to be a Christian in this day and time. This book is a good introduction into the new monasticism way of life and will inspire to live out the calling of the kingdom of God in your communities that you live in now. This was a refreshing book but also a challenging book on how we live our lives in this day and time. Some of the ideas are radical but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing at all 

This book is again put out by Brazos Press which is a division of Baker Publishing Group.

I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt by: Vince Antonucci
This was a good book that was a simple read but enjoyable one. There is some good humor in it with some thought provoking ideas on living out an authentic life. There is nothing earth shattering in this book, however Antonucci is personal and straight forward with stories and ideas and what kind of life Jesus is calling us to. This is a refreshing book that was an enjoyable summer read. This book is put out by Baker Books.

The Faces of Jesus by: Frederick Buechner
This short book was a great meditation for me. These are six simple chapters about the life of Jesus (split up as Annunciation, Nativity, Ministry, Last Supper, Crucifixon, and Resurrection). He takes these stories and combines them with a historical view to help give a human view of who Jesus was.
He also uses artwork to help bring alive the stories which he tells throughout the book. Buechner really gives great insight to the stories that brings the life of Jesus to life for the reader. A great read for focus and meditation. This book is published by Paraclete Press.

This year began three new experiences for me.

The other two experiences coming in the form of being a director of a week at Camp Manatawny (the week was for 10 & 11 year olds). Lets get this straight…I haven’t worked with this age group since I was about 16 so I was a little worried about it. But it was a great week. Here are some of my reflections from the week (posted on Intermediate 1 Week Blog):

After many years of being involved with Camp Manatawny, I had my first experience directing a week. It came with challenges and a good bit of nervousness, however with it came some great memories and joys. This years theme was based off of the Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything and we learned about what it means to be a Hero for God. Through our lessons, memory work, devotionals, and even athletics, we learned what this meant. We learned alot but we also played alot. We had a game called Peacekeepers, sock hockey, LOTS of water balloons, a flour war and some silliness at the campfire. We had visitors like a revolutionary war solider, Judge Rufus (for Kangaroo court), King Ugabuga, and Chief Manatawny made a special appearance.

Thanks again for everything and see you next year!!

The last experience (so far…and it hasn’t started fully) is working with the campus ministry at University of Delaware, Blue Hens for Christ. I am now the campus minister and looking forward to it. Lots of things are going on and so far the studies have gone well with the students (great discussion and variety of thinking….its really refreshing). Here is a short article I wrote this week for a few local churches for their bulletins:

The fall semester is coming quickly. I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with the college students of Blue Hens for Christ (BHC) and also along side the Delaware Christian Campus Ministry Foundation (DCCMF). This has been a busy summer. BHC has had small group meetings and Tuesday night dinner and devo. Many of the students worked in Delaware this summer and participated in working at Camp Manatawny and other camps as well as projects such as the Urban Plunge at the Sunday Breakfast Mission. Also, several of the BHCers were getting married or preparing to be married this summer. We averaged about 25-30 students on Tuesday nights during the summer. The DCCMF has been busy as well this summer. The foundation launched their new website: www.dccmf.org. This has information on the foundation and also the ability to donate online. The foundation is working on promotional material as well as making presentations throughout the Delaware Valley to gain more support of the campus ministry. Also, Phase 1 of the student center or campus house (17 East Park Place in Newark) will be completed before the beginning of the Fall semester. As I write this article, the new bathrooms are being put in; a new handicap accessible entrance is being added along with a new entrance for the apartment on the second floor. The house is changing daily and the years of hard work with construction are beginning to show progress. But the fruits of all this continue to be the students. The BHC students continue to build relationships with each other and with God, and continue to serve the world around them. Each time the students are in the house playing cards, watching a movie, having small group studies, praying, eating, and sharing their lives together, the efforts of time, money, sweat, blood, and tears are visibly well worth it. Thank you for your continued support and prayers for the campus ministry and the foundation. The fall schedule is filled with small groups, dinner and devos, projects with local organizations, retreats, charity walks, retreats, and mission trips. Please come down and visit the house and see what is happening. We need the continued support in many different areas (prayers, volunteers, financially). But as you can see the fruits of your labor, prayers, and gifts are being shown each day.

So if you would like to support this campus ministry; check out www.dccmf.org and you can give on their. Also keep this ministry in your prayers.

So this has been a good chunk of the summer for me. I hope to write about my experience in Mexico and I also have some book reviews including my continuing reflection on Peter Rollins’ new book.

Sorry for not updating. You can read about my trip to Mexico at www.newarkym.blogspot.com

Also, I think I said I was now working with a campus ministry at University of Delaware. The foundation for the campus ministry just added a new website. check it out and donate if you feel so moved: http://www.dccmf.org/

I promise to update soon on things. It was been a very busy beginning of the summer. I am out of town next week but then I’m back in town for an extended amount of time….I will update more then.

Interesting post to share: 1000 word Gospel

And of course Preorder your copy of Churched by Matthew Paul Turner…I’m telling you I am excited for this…from the stuff you told me about it…its going to be a great book!

I am leaving Saturday for a week to do some mission work with Rick and Sherry Owens in Mexico (you can read their story HERE….VERY POWERFUL STORY). I have been doing this since I was in 10th grade and now am helping to lead a group down there again this year. If you would like to follow our mission trip check out the Newark church of Christ Youth Ministry Blog (linked HERE!) for updates.

And for some reason while I was typing this I got James Taylors “Mexico” song in my head so I typed it into youtube and found this video of crossing the boarders of the USA and Mexico with that song in the background…if anything enjoy the sweet sounds of Sweet Baby James Taylor himself!!!

So one of the bad things about ipods and itunes is that you begin to get so much music you dont listen to it all. This happened to me tonight. I was working on somethings and the music was on shuffle and I came to Foy Vance’s Gabriel and the Vagabond. The song wouldn’t have caught my ear till the end of it when a hear felt “Hallelujah” is sang. After that I began to pay attention. After listening to the song three times I was still enthralled with it without even knowing the words. After looking up the lyrics I was truly inspired and touched by the song. Now this song has been out for two years and has even been on Grey’s Anatomy (I know I havent watched an episode of Grey’s since the Superbowl episode where a guy had a bomb in his heart….just not a fan of that kind of plot) but I had never heard the song or gotten to it on my itunes. well I did tonight and thought I would share it with you… Here is a video from youtube that i saw that fits well with the song:

When I first came on staff with Newark, Tom “Terrific” Deadmon had asked me if I wanted to go into the prisons with him. At first I was a little apprehensive. This was really out of my comfort zone and I just was not sure if that was something I wanted to do. But after a few months of getting to know him and Art Bailey I decided one day to join them.

So on a warm day in June, Tom, Art and I began our journey down to Smyrna to the Delaware Correctional Center. As we drove down I had down out that each week they made this same drive to have Bible studies with the inmates and that they had been doing this for over 30 years (Art had done it for over 40!!). Of all the things that Tom was involved with he said the prison work was his passion. As we entered the center and began to walk with the chaplain and the officers I heard a loud uncomfortable SLAM of the large metal door. I now knew I was in another world. As we passed by each secured area, the chaplain pointed out the different sections and explained how the service was going to work. He said that my service was going to be heard by those in the chapel and then a copy of the message would be sent to maximum security where they would be able to watch my lesson as well. As we walked outside in-between the yard where many of the prisoners were working, playing basketball, working out, I got a very overwhelming feeling of “what am I doing here”.

Then at the center of the prison yard was the chapel. At the door I was greeted by a very nice officer and a friendly inmate. I walked into the chapel and there were men praying and reading scripture and laughter and conversation was all throughout the chapel. As I walked in, men gathered around Tom and Art to welcome them and talk to them. The men were so welcoming and grateful for me being there and for the work that Tom and Art did. Some of the men I talked with their stories were amazing. Some of the men had been in there for 40 years and had another 50 years to serve. This blew my mind! Think of how much the world has changed in 40 years!! But many of the men had wonderful stories of being in the depths of darkness and God bringing them into the light. These were changed men. Men hat were trying to live a life worthy of a follower of Christ. I was overwhelmed with the friendliness and love they showed. Then the service began.

The choir got up and sang an amazing song called “I’m happy to be in the service of the Lord”. The chorus said something like “He got me out of bed and on my feet and I’m happy to be in the service of my Lord”. Then after the chaplain said a few things they had us stand and we sang “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh what a foretaste of glory divine…This is my story. This is my song”. As we sang this song I got teary eyed. I had sung that sung all my life and never knew the meaning of it until that day in the prison. These men sang as loud and as heartfelt as I had ever heard. They sang from their hearts…from their soul! These mean understood the concept of Blessed Assurance…these men knew the story of redemption and grace.

So every year, Tom and I make our journey to the Delaware Correctional Center and I would not miss the experience for the world (which we are doing this Sunday). And each time I get reminded that I do have this blessed assurance that the story of Jesus, this story of love, redemption, grace, and salvation is truly mine and its truly the story of those inmates, and its truly the story of all of us.

This is a story about a young man who is seeking out an old and learned rabbi to be schooled in the wisdom of Hebraic logic.

The story goes that after a prolonged search the young man finally finds a suitable rabbi and asks if the rabbi would be willing to tutor him. But upon seeing this youth the rabbi simple smiles and says “You are too young and have too little life experience for the lessons I have to teach. Come back to me in ten years”.

But the young man is full of a confidence that borders on arrogance and so responds, “I may be young but I have already mastered Aristotelian logic and symbolic logic. Test me. Ask me any question you want and I will prov to you that I am ready.”

The rabbi thinks for a few moments and then chooses a question: “Two men descend a chimney. When they get to the bottom, one man’s face is covered in soot. Tell me, which one washes his face?”

In response the young man immediately says, “Why, that is easy. It would be the one with the soot on his face”.

In response the rabbi turns to leave saying, “Of course not. What are you thinking? It is the man without the soot who washes his face, for he sees his friend’s complexion and thinks that he too must be dirty”.

“Please don’t send me away” replies the young man. “Test me again. Any question at all”.

And so the rabbi thinks for a moment and then says “OK, listen carefully this time. Two men descend a chimney. When they get to the bottom, one man’s face is covered in soot. Tell me, which one washes his face?”

“Why the man without the soot on his face,” replies the young man.

Again the rabbi shakes his head, “You are not listening in the right way. It is obvious that it is the man with the soot on his face who washes. He sees the reaction of his friend upon reaching the ground, can taste the soot from his lips, and can feel it stinging his eyes. Now leave me in peace”

“Please”, replies the young man, “test me one last time, as I think I have it now”.

“One last time” replies the rabbi. “This time I want you to really listen. Two men descend a chimney. When they get to the bottom, one man’s face is covered in soot. Tell me, which one washes his face?”

“The first answer I gave” shouts the young man, “but for different reasons”.

“No, no, no” says the rabbi and he leaves. “They both wash their faces. How could someone descend a chimney and not think that their face would be covered in soot?”

“Here we encounter the idea that before the young man could ever begin training in the deep wisdom of the tradition he must first learn how to give up the desire to reduce truth to some single, defined, unchanging, propositional system. He must learn to dialogue, to debate, to rethink, to critique. Only then can he begin the journey toward a mode of religious understanding that goes deeper then epistemological insight–discovering a truth more profound than mere intellectual claims.”

- Peter Rollins: “The Fiderlity of Betrayal”

I have been anticipating this book since the day that I finished reading Peter Rollins’ first book; How (Not) to Speak of God. That book helped me in may ways within my mind and conversations with others but belief, faith and the Christian journey. It was one of the most rewarding books for me in a long time.

As far as a review so far of the book I can not give one. I am in the middle of reading the book and I am wrestling with many of the thoughts and ideas that Rollins brings up. I really think this book cannot be reviewed but needs to be shared in dialogue with others. One of the things I appreciate about Rollins is his willingness to dialogue and be in conversation about his writings and thoughts as can be seen here: http://peterrollins.net/blog/?p=36

So I may have some thoughts at the end of reading this book but I am not sure. I read through How (Not) to Speak of God many times and wrestled and thought about something new each time (which doesn’t happen for me with many books) and as far as the reading goes right now, I see a similar type of response coming from this book.

I will warn you…this book is not for everyone. Some people will look at what he says as controversial within the religious/Christian world. I feel the engaging with the ideas and materials is important but others may not feel this way. They would rather criticizes then have any engagement with what is being suggested or talked about. I do think there is a difference between dialogue and debating and that power, change, and growth is found in the dialogue. One other thing, as I wrestle through this book and what has been written, I know too that the author is there as well wrestling through the same thing (which he talks about in his introduction). So here are some simple thoughts so far:

After a story to begin the book which I will save for people that read the book, chapter 1 discusses the idea that we most engage in the most difficult task of putting our religion to death so that a religion without religion can spring out. Slavoj Zizek (philosopher and cultural theorist) puts it best when he says “in all other religions, God demands that His followers remain faithful to Him-only Christ asked his followers to betray Him in order to fulfill His mission”.

In chapter 2, Rollins talks about how many view Abraham and Judas are the polar opposites, however he makes the point both maybe intimately similar within the idea of fidelity. The next idea within the chapter is “the relationship between fidelity and betrayal in the Judeo-Christian tradition is further complicated in the Scriptures via stories that seem to suggest that one must wrestle with, disagree with, and even disobey God for the sake of retaining one’s fidelity to God. He looks at Abraham with Sodom, then Jacob (interesting thoughts on the Israel naming), and then Peter in acts 10. he then gets into a discussion about the snake in the creation story. Interesting thoughts and showing of history. His point is this: “The Scriptures reach our ears in an often ominous and scandalous tone. From the opening pages of this ancient text, we are confronted with a shocking series of ambiguous stories and complex conflicts that defy easy categorization and interpretation. And so the conclusion of this chapter comes to this: “But what if we are not forced to choose between these two positions? What if we can affirm these conflicts at one and the same moment that we can affirm the idea of this text being deeply branded by the white-hot presence of God? Indeed, what if the conflict we encounter in the examples above is precisely what we would expect to find in a text claiming divine status rather than something that witnesses against it?”

More as I continue through the book…

I have not been updating as much as before but I will be at some point soon.

There are changes happening and things going on plus getting into the busy season of ministry.

Starting June 1, I am becoming the campus minister of the Blue Hens for Christ, a campus ministry for University of Delaware. This will go along with my work with junior and senior high students. I am excited about the opportunity however the campus minister who is leaving and I are trying to make a very easy transition for both of us and the students with the ministry as well.

I am also an adjunct professor at Wilmington University. I started my Summer Block I class last night. I really enjoy teaching at the college level! This is a seven week course.

Also with that I have a week of camp coming up that I am directing at Camp Manatawny. Just think about it…one hundred 10 and 11 years old….yeah….prayers are appreciated

So thats a little bit about what’s going on. I want to blog a little bit about my trip to Alexander Campbell’s home in West Virgina last week with Adam Ellis and I have some books reviews that will be coming up here in a little bit including Tim Keel’s Intuitive Leadership and others.

I hope to post something this weekend or next week….

This is a long post but I think there is power in story and to know the situation before prayers are lifted up so here goes.

My sister’s good friend is going through a fight against a very aggressive cancer and things are not going well. Her name is Michelle Rigney. Prayers are needed for her. Her is here story:

My name is Michelle Rigney and I was born and raised in the great state of Delaware. I went to Newark High School where I graduated in 2003 as an honor student, played soccer, participated in Spanish club and Key Club, and was also very involved in the NHS choir. I was accepted at the University of Delaware, where I would be majoring in Nursing.

The bad news: There are no current treatments for me to do. Because there is no money out there to support the funding for research.. I am left here to wait. Wait for another drug to hurry up and be approved by the FDA to save my life.

Here is her post from today:

FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2008 12:21 AM, CDT
Hi Everyone-
This journal entry is gonna seem much different, but I want to be totally honest with how I feel. I will never give up in my fight…. but it would be nice to get some good news here and there… it makes a lot harder to continue..

Thank you for all the love and support. I have my brain MRI tomorrow and I should get my results on Monday.
Love,
Michelle

You can keep track of her progress here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/michellerigney
I know Michelle and her family and friends would appreciate the thoughts and prayers…