tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57371262011-04-21T19:46:22.445-04:00The collected musings of a pilgrim traveling from ignorance to the unknown.ricknoreply@blogger.comBlogger831100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1144022601237141502006-04-02T20:01:00.000-04:002006-05-23T06:28:52.363-04:00

Where Have All the Martyrs Gone?The recent controversy surrounding the fate of Abdul Rahman, accused of converting from Islam to Christianity, a capital offense, in Afghanistan begs a serious question in contemporary Christianity. To some it might be the title at the head but it is the question behind the question I find more interesting. In the entire history of Christianity there has been an

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Yesterday I was speeding down the same freeway I've been travelling for years now, seeing the same things I always see but somehow transformed. I worshipped and praised God for the beauty of the trees, the ponds, the grass, the clouds, the vultures circling lazily and gracefully, the hawk waiting patiently, the kestrel hovering busily over the median....And then I remembered reading a

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I resented the aphids on my rosesUntil I rememberedKilling the ladybugs who sought shelterIn my house for the winter.

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This is a response to a discussion item from one of my groups:In an earlier post I honed in on the idea of "when have we done enough?" or a definition of what constitutes acceptable performance.This is predicated on the notion that many, many sermons begin withthe premise, "We have not done enough when it comes to personal evangelism. We need to do more."So by asking, "OK. If what we are doing

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1114947939974198122005-05-01T06:35:00.000-05:002005-05-01T06:45:39.976-05:00

I've been in discussion online about the basic question of what's the gospel. In Brian McLaren's books A New Kind of Christian, The Story We Find Ourselvels In and A Generous Orthodoxy, he speaks very loudly of us being heirs of Abraham's promise and of us being a blessing TO the world, not just receiving blessings IN the world. This resonates very deeply with me because I see it as

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1114193223860653182005-04-22T13:07:00.000-05:002005-04-22T13:07:03.860-05:00

Rick & Alex @ Camp 

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1113967567230969862005-04-19T22:19:00.000-05:002005-04-19T22:26:07.233-05:00

Here's my imaginary scenario. Abraham is played by Billy Crystal, Carl Reiner or Mel Brooks and Sarah is played by (I can't remember her name but can see her face) who played Miracle Max's wife in "The Princess Bride"."Avram! Avram!"Rolls eyes, "What now, my little Princess?""Avram. What was it again that the angels said to you?""About what, my little sugar plum?""Avram, don't be goy with me.

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1113654283175619482005-04-16T07:17:00.000-05:002005-04-16T07:24:43.176-05:00

I was thinking about Jesus Junk on the drive home last night after watching a car with fish symbol behave badly in traffic.One of the reasons I don't wear Jesus Junk is because I don't want to reflect badly on the "brand" name. I'm not sure how good a representative I am of Jesus. I mean, would Jesus want someone like me walking around wearing an "I'm With Jesus" slogan on the back of a T-shirt?

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by John Brimacombe Have you ever thought about the fact that In Christ all things are being restored. The Scriptures tell us that God through Christ was pleased "to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross" (Col 1:20). Think with me what this means. It means that anything in our world that was trampled by

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Stephen Shields just posted a nice article on the faithmaps blog regarding online community. As a member of a number of these communities, I still miss the intimacy afforded f2f communications. So I merged the best of both worlds and hooked up with two Matts earlier this week while traveling to DC. Matt Oskvarek (a faithmaps community member) was a renewal of an acquaintance that I had made in

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I never cease to be amazed at differences in apprehending truth. I have found people who have read The Life of Pi seem to either love it or hate it. They find it unsatisfying or fulfilling. Interesting I remeber the first time I saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, that the left brain in me was disappointed but my right brain was intrigued and watched it again and again. Big Fish is another.

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1099627501472777682004-11-04T23:02:00.000-05:002004-11-04T23:05:01.473-05:00

I got this from my e-buddy Buff Scott. He publishes: Reformation Rumblings Notation Before we get to today's question, I need to announce that I have added an additional feature to my Web site under "Mad Church Disease."Here is part of the "Overview" or Introduction: "A few years ago, a new malady surfaced among cattle that was labeled by medical professionals as 'Mad Cow Disease.' The

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1099441728975288192004-11-02T19:23:00.000-05:002004-11-02T19:37:07.363-05:00

I just re-read Stephen Shields' Next Wave article with Nancy’s comments. I’m also reading Ken Wilber’s “A Theory of Everything” which more closely resonates with my own approach than a lot of what I’ve read on many of the pomo lists. Here is my take on things. Much of the conversation is about out-growing the trap of modernism or moving from modernism and propositionalism into postmodern

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1099441041262036752004-11-02T19:13:00.000-05:002004-11-02T19:17:21.263-05:00

More from Wilber on the changing face of hierarchies in politics and why it’s needed: The green meme (egalitarians) – which constitutes approximately 20 percent of adult American population and is the core of Paul Ray’s misnamed “integral culture” – now has a chance to move into second-tier (integrated) and genuinely integral constructions. The green meme has been in charge of academia, the

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This from Wilber’s chapter on Government: Moreover, from this spacious vantage point (of an integral view of politics), the prime directive of a genuine integral politics would be, not to try to get everyone to a particular level of consciousness (integral, pluralistic, liberal or whatever) but to ensure the health of the entire spiral of development at all of its levels and waves. Thus the two

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From Ken Wilber's A Theory of Everything: An Integral Vision for Business, Politics, Science, and Spirituality From his chapter on "Boomeritis" he discusses Growth Hierarchies versus Dominator Hierarchies... Pluralism, egalitarianism, and multiculturalism, at their best, all stem from a very high developmental stance - the green meme (pluralistic worldview) - and from the stance of pluralistic

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1099154097587184262004-10-30T11:29:00.000-05:002004-10-30T11:34:57.586-05:00

I've been readin Yann Martel's book and had the following thoughts which I posted to the Postliberal Theology group. In the first part of the book we have an almost prosaic biography of Piscene Molitor Patel who names himself Pi Patel while in school to keep from being called “Pissing Patel” by his fellow school boys. The fact that pi is an irrational number (by mathematical definition) is

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1099008807594917672004-10-28T19:07:00.000-05:002004-10-28T19:13:27.596-05:00

A Pomo Conversation Don said: Thank you for that clarification. One of the reasons why I joined this list is because I am curious about what a Christian post-modernist looks like. My understanding of post-modernism seems incompatible with the Christian world-view. So, I thought it would be interesting to see how those ideas are hammered out. rp: It's interesting that you would say this. I find

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I just finished The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. The Amazon.com reviews give an accurate depiction of the ambivalence and apparent disconnect between the first part of the book and the last. However, on reflection, Martel provides the dots and expects us to make the connections. Without giving away the ending, I found it to be a helpful fable about the nature of Story, Truth and the

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1095686869367155362004-09-20T08:25:00.000-05:002004-09-20T08:27:49.366-05:00

A Christian Counterculture? Got this from Falwell this past week and thought it was pertinent but not for the reasons Jerry cites. Here are some of my questions that we need to ask after we're done with the article (for those who manage to read all the way through): 1. Why do we have the presumption that marriage success in the Christian community is supposed to be better than the population

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Growing Up in God Church tonight was revalatory but not in the way intended by the preachers. The pastor was out tonight so the boys had the floor. They both did well what they did but I have to confess that I seem to have grown beyond where they are. This is hardly surpising with a 20 year age span separating us but I tend to hope for better in the spiritual leadership. The unintended theme

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The Unrighteousness of Self-righteousness Fred Peatross (who, alas, is no longer blogging) Sep 12, 2004 It's all too common for Christians to be in God's family while stranger to his affections; to be heirs to his whole estate yet living lives "short-changed" of the riches of his grace. The younger son in Luke 15 could not experience his father's love until he realized the depth of his own

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The Big Question Fred Peatross pops the question on the question at Off the Map . His provacative little piece teases us, not so much with an answer, but more questions. If Jesus never asked The Big Question that Evangelism Explosion asks, then what questions did Jesus ask? I also read a quote from John Stuart Mill, "In all intellectual debates, both sides tend to be correct in what they

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1094144814511068522004-09-02T12:05:00.000-05:002004-09-02T12:06:54.510-05:00

Crisis Management Here are some thoughts by John Robbins of the Trinity Foundation.

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Baptist Distinctive This is from a Baptist discussion group I'm on. I was posting about our need to be active in the social aspects of the gospel and this is part of the reply I received. From a Baptist preacher. Someone who is called to minister to others. Maybe you can straighten me out on a matter here. I see a need when someone is starving or dying of a disease but I am not sure what my

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Whoda thunk it? I continue to be approached by Mark to stretch my ministry outreach. He is trying to involve me in an outreach ministry to preserver black families. Why he wants a white boy to preach to black men to get and stay married to their women and raise their children is beyond me. The fact that I believe in the mission is one thing, but will I have street cred? The future is yet to be

ricknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1093830233182556732004-08-29T20:35:00.000-05:002004-08-29T20:43:53.183-05:00

Post-postmodernism - what's next Much of the conversation in pomoxianity is about out-growing the trap of modernism or moving from modernism and propositionalism into a postmodern deconstruction of prevailing oppressive metanarratives that is no more than the same old stuff that we have come to expect from our modern counterparts. I think this is the wrong approach. But old habits die hard.

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Where Have All the Locusts Gone? I picked up a book this week and absolutely devoured it. Consumed it like a locust swarm. The book is Locust by Jeffery A. Lockwood, a professor at University of Wyoming. The book investigates the history of the Rocky Mountain locust in shaping the west and proposes a theory for its extinction near the turn of the last century. What I found most enjoyable about

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Jonathan Edwards on Spiritual Pride A must read for all of us: http://www.bibleteacher.org/jedw_19.htm

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Ranting Against the Ranters It's been a while since I've heard much in the emerging conversation beyond bashing the moderns and saying, "we've got to do better." Apart from the home church movement and various other "out there" groups, most of what I see is "same thing only different." Historically this country began with fairly staid institutions through the first Great Awakening to more

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The Culture War This pretty much reflects my own thoughts on the matter. rick A Radical Alternative to Political Activism by John MacArthur from: http://www.5solas.org/media.php?id=447 While I'm disturbed by the anti-Christian, morally debauched culture we live in, and long to see our nation turn to the biblical standard, I'm also concerned about the hostile response to that culture by some

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1091409096582021912004-08-01T20:07:00.000-05:002004-08-01T20:11:36.583-05:00

The king Dances Naked before His King from Fred Peatross' Abductive Columns (see Sidbar Link to read more) After seeing Jesse's seven other sons, the prophet asked, "Are there more I have not seen?" Did it ever occur to Samuel to present David? Was he just a "shepherd-person?" To his brothers he was less—a nonentity, an outsider. But turn the page and discover the choice of David as the

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1090449515027438892004-07-21T17:37:00.000-05:002004-07-21T17:38:35.026-05:00

here's a nugget from "Primal Leadership" by Daniel Goleman. In the chapter on "The Motivation to Change" where he relates a person's values to their leadership style, he breaks things down into leaders with a pragmatic philosophy, an intellectual philosophy, and a humanistic philosophy. I could not help but notice the correlation between many of the fundy pastors I know and the leader with an

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Back in the Saddle The new job has kept me hopping and I haven't been posting here or at Gamaliel's desk for a while. So here's to getting up & running. Just read an article at Pastors.com from Josh McDowell on youth not believing in absolute truth. Same ole same ole. Here's the script: 1. Identify the Crisis - in this screed it is that kids don't accept absolute truth. Don't define the

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1084028275295459292004-05-08T09:57:00.000-05:002004-05-08T10:01:10.110-05:00

Rules for Revolutionaries I followed up on the urban legend quoted in Guy Kawasaki's book, Rules for Revolutionaries: The Capitalist Manifesto for Creating and Marketing New Products and Services on the QWERTY keyboard being designed to slow people down. I checked this 1998 book out at the library for historical interest and discovered this little gem in the Conclusion. This is a list of rules

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My Pilgrimage So Far I was immersed in pomoxianity through NKOC and TSWFOI by McLaren but have been exposed to it far longer. Like you, I have found that it has failed to deliver on its promises and I am curious to see where Brian takes Dan & Neo in his third installment. Like he & Tony Campolo say in Adventures in Missing the Point on Postmodernity that it isn't about "being postmodern." I fear

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Fulfilling Frustrations I never realized the depth of my frustration as a fifth grader until I finally found my niche at church. When I was attending Mound Park Elementary School we used to watch movies from time to time. You know the kind - 8 mm reel-to-reel movies that were usually black & white and had to be threaded through an old style movie projector. These projectors were somewhat

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From PoMoXian on the Kingdom This recent post on PoMoXian is from Chris Criminger. I thought it worth sharing. Hi everyone, I have been doing some studying on Jesus and the kingdom of God. Jesus view of the kingdom was very different and in conflict to other views around him (from Qumran separatism, Herod's political kingdom, and the Zealots or Sicarii military revolt option). Jesus kingdom

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1082675430442631802004-04-22T18:10:00.000-05:002004-04-22T18:13:29.950-05:00

The Gink on PoMoXianity Got this from John O'Keefe's Postmodern Theology group: i am not saying there is any test to be a postmodern church, but just claiming to be one does not make it so. if willowcreek today decided to call itself "postmodern/emerging" that would not be the case - if a church, just because it is trying to reach a "younger crowd" calls itself postmodern/emerging, that would

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1082600409267849452004-04-21T21:20:00.000-05:002004-04-21T21:23:07.780-05:00

Honesty vs. Hypocrisy If I am brutally honest and say that I am self-righteously hypocritical, am I really being honest or am I simply being self-righeously hypocricall about being brutally honest? And how would I know the difference?

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1082597566982434882004-04-21T20:32:00.000-05:002004-04-21T20:39:16.280-05:00

A Conversation on Faithmaps This is a conversation I snipped from faithmaps Hi, Mark. You asked: 1. Regarding the concept of time as we know it, does God experience the past, present and future concurrently? Timeless basically. Will that change? Does it really matter? No, but these thoughts pop into my head and just what the heck is a guy to do? I gotta ask, whether it's foolish or not :-)

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Six Questions for Faith Communities from Fred Peatross March 2004 (1) What is the hottest question that needs to be answered? Easy... how will the church have to undergo radical reconfiguration to be a viable entity into the 21st century? This should be the dominate question for the next several years as we seek to move from tweaking to totally re-tuning, from re- forming to totally

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Society's to Blame - Or not This is from a recent post of mine to Postmodern Theology at Yahoo! Groups dot com. I still feel that the tendency among modern historians to treat religion and culture as separate entities rather than mutually reinforcing segments of what makes us human is unfortunate. The trouble is, it is an infectious idea that causes the kind of discussion we are having on Jesus

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1079491290859952712004-03-16T21:41:00.000-05:002004-03-16T21:43:53.013-05:00

What you could be reading Here are some of my favorite "Christian" authors because they use fiction to ask questions that most Christian authors are afraid to touch. John Grisham The Testament - one man's spiritual journey to find meaning in life The Chamber - a question of what makes for justice and why we might want to rethink the death penalty because sometimes even when it's done right it's

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1079011714402387552004-03-11T08:28:00.000-05:002004-03-11T08:30:51.186-05:00

Good God - Bad God I see this come up from time to time on the various lists I'm on - the idea that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are somehow two different Gods or at least two very different portrayals of God. The OT God is supposed to be lean & mean, judgmental and thundering fire & brimstone from on high. The NT God is all sweetness & light, lovey-dovey and

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1078021927408537702004-02-28T21:32:00.000-05:002004-02-28T21:35:43.186-05:00

Government By The People This is how the government works in our family: The Legislature passes laws (i.e. the No One Is Allowed To Eat on the Couch Act and the No Pets In the House Amendment to the Constitution). The Legislature is not tasked with enforcing the Laws (i.e. "Just wait until your father gets home") but is tasked with codifying items necessary to the functioning of the Home. The

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1076879540354418862004-02-15T16:12:00.000-05:002004-02-15T16:39:08.950-05:00

What if? Here's the real scary thought. What if we all get to heaven and we're standing around the throne and someone finally asks, "Which of us had it right?" And Jesus smiled warmly down at each of us and said, "Well you had it right about (doctrine) and he had it right about (a different doctrine) and they had it right about (a different doctrine still)." Continuing on down until all of us

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1076760797228233542004-02-14T07:13:00.000-05:002004-02-14T07:15:08.170-05:00

Bad Pomo Another month slips by and I wonder if everyone has given up on me? Here are some thoughts I posted to the Postliberal_Theology group at Yahoo! groups. I would summarize this more inclusive approach to pomoxianity as being skeptical of our own skepticism. What I see in some circles (and on some lists) is such a strong desire to "belong" that many of the things that have stood us well

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1075565442884195552004-01-31T11:10:00.000-05:002004-01-31T11:12:19.966-05:00

Bad Blogger I am so bad. I have gone OVER a month without blogging. I've been spending too much time on Yahoo groups and neglecting my blog. So to correct that, I'll put selected clips from the various groups and post them here. Here are some random thoughts from an article Dave Blakeslee posted from the NY Times on "covert evanglism" on the web: My question for discussion - where does "

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Discipline One of my favorite repeating phrases in Louis Sachar's Sideways Stories from Wayside School is "she wrote his name on the board under the word 'Discipline,'" for any of the children who had been bad. I think I need my name under the word "Discipline" for a while. Why is it we tend to see disciplinary action as a bad thing? I need to lead a disciplined life, one of order rather than

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1072532000313966772003-12-27T08:33:00.000-05:002003-12-27T08:37:40.966-05:00

Worse Blogger I'm finding a deep sense of frustration when editing my posts in MS Word and then posting them to my blog. Word sends all sorts of goofy codes giving you those extra chracters that make reading my blog so tedious. The alternative is to write directly into blogger without the benefit of spell checking. Someday I hope to find a compromise. At present I am reading The Elegant

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1072452696379767182003-12-26T10:31:00.000-05:002003-12-27T08:28:43.936-05:00

Bad Blogger I have spent the last month in a whirlwind. It has been so long since I've posted to this blog I'm embarrassed. I hang my head in shame and confess that I’m a Bad Blogger. I lack the essential elements of what constitutes a Bodacious Blog: I don't post urbane, witty comments on a daily basis. I don't update my blogroll to link to the hottest, coolest sites on a weekly basis I fail

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1070895362279282762003-12-08T09:56:00.000-05:002003-12-08T09:56:45.966-05:00

On Worship Here's something from Children of God I found particularly insightful with regard to the subject of worship. "Go back down the mountain, my heart," Suukmel advised serenely. "Listen to Isaac's music again. Remember what you thought when you first heard it. Know that if we are children of one God, we can make ourselves one family in time." "And if God is just a song (a fiction)?"

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1070730476271621852003-12-06T12:07:00.000-05:002003-12-06T12:17:31.903-05:00

More from Children of God I found this passage on pg. 362-3 in The Children of God which is a sequel to The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell . This is a science fiction story of a Jesuit mission to the first discovered inhabitable planet where inter-species war was happening. Sean is talking to a survivor from the losing side of the war, Lady Suukmel. Tell me what you think of the following (

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1070163880421412832003-11-29T22:44:00.000-05:002003-11-29T22:45:15.123-05:00

Life has been a little on the edge here of late. I've still be reading. Picked up Mary Doria Russell's Children of God and found this wonderful gem: “Change can be good,” Suukmel said then, walking once more. “Many Jana’ata still believe as we all did in ages past: that change is dangerous and wrong. They believe everything my lord Kitheri did was error – that he was wicked to change a way of

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1069212100470463072003-11-18T22:21:00.000-05:002003-11-18T22:22:04.560-05:00

My Personal Personality Disorder I've got to stop playing on this site. I took the Personality Disorder test for fun and got the results I expected. DisorderRatingParanoid:LowSchizoid:LowSchizotypal:ModerateAntisocial:ModerateBorderline:LowHistrionic:HighNarcissistic:ModerateAvoidant:LowDependent:LowObsessive-Compulsive:Moderate-- Personality Disorder Test - Take It! -- What is "Histrionic?"

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1069210776394315122003-11-18T21:59:00.000-05:002003-11-18T22:03:02.123-05:00

I have been judged! Got this link from Jennifer at faithmaps and took the test. Looks like I'll suffer a bit before making my way heaven-ward. Check out the link below! The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!Here is how you matched up against all the levels:LevelScorePurgatory (Repenting Believers)Very HighLevel 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)LowLevel 2 (Lustful)ModerateLevel 3 (

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1067985992875161692003-11-04T17:46:00.000-05:002003-11-04T17:46:30.920-05:00

Sittin' & Wondrin' Things are not moving in the way I wish they would. Went for my job interview at BHQ in DC on 10/20. Was promised word by that Friday. Didn't get it. Monday 10/27 I was contacted by HR to fill out an online application. Cool. That means they were likely to extend an offer. Didn't hearn anything back. Called on Friday 10/31 and found that some higher-up had made the

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1067692199859974552003-10-31T08:04:00.000-05:002003-11-01T08:09:58.823-05:00

Gamaliel for this Week I’m going to take a pause and give Gamaliel the week off. Normally he would go on about all the pagan celebrations taking place this week on that High Unholy Day of witchcraft – Halloween. Since most of you are already familiar with the arguments against celebrating Halloween, I’m going to give the concern a new twist. This week I will be spoofing those who get all up in

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1067346980888121362003-10-28T08:16:00.000-05:002003-10-28T08:16:20.226-05:00

On Procrastination It's been one of those sets of weeks. Had a job interview last Monday. This allowed me to make great progress through The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Made for great mass transit reading on the plane, the metro and the bus. Stephen Shields picked me up Sunday night at Baltimore and we snacked out at Eggspectations (one of only 4 in the world!). I want to thank Stephen for

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1066960292205752942003-10-23T20:51:00.000-05:002003-10-23T20:51:31.643-05:00

More on being ENFP Got this Myers-Briggs stuff from Dave Blakeslee: [The following comes partially from the archetype, but mostly from my own dealings with ENFPs.] General: ENFPs are both "idea"-people and "people"-people, who see everyone and everything as part of an often bizarre cosmic whole. They want to both help (at least, their own definition of "help") and be liked and admired by

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1066403160326797912003-10-17T10:06:00.000-05:002003-10-17T10:06:00.386-05:00

It's been a whirlwind two weeks. I'm sitting in Front Page class at the moment. I'm headed for Washington DC for a job interview on Monday. I have GOT to find time to post. Help!

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1065191343134650502003-10-03T09:29:00.000-05:002003-10-03T20:54:44.023-05:00

From the Desk of Gamaliel RE: Pharisee Positives I have been accused by certain liberal types of being known more for what I’m against than what I am for. They must have gotten this idea from Robert Webber who lumps evangelicals and fundamentalists (such as myself) together in his book The Younger Evangelicals. Webber says that we are characterized by what we are against and then

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1064781885112621122003-09-28T15:44:00.000-05:002003-09-28T15:44:44.633-05:00

Webber Meets McLuhan In The Younger Evanglicals Robert Webber provides us with more old news. He tells us, “the idea that ‘the medium is the message’ holds important ramifications for the communication of the Christian faith.” While this is a, “Duh!” in the best Bart Simpson style, I have to confess that I haven’t heard it applied too many times from the pulpit. I guess being raised fundy has

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1064682804172724352003-09-27T12:11:00.000-05:002003-09-27T12:14:12.780-05:00

My Myers-Briggs You're an ENFP ENFP> What's there to say about you? You're an initiator of change and are keenly in tune to possibilities... you're enthusiastic, and it's contagious...you're tireless in the pursuit of newfound interests... You can anticipate the needs of others, and offer them needed help and appreciation. You bring zest, livelihood, and fun to all aspects of your life...

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1064573049564755962003-09-26T05:43:00.000-05:002003-09-26T05:54:48.020-05:00

From the Desk of Gamaliel I was listening this past week to a young enthusiast who was lamenting the lack of Pharisee contributions to the art world. He complained that it is nearly impossible to find exhibits of good Pharisee artwork. His complaint is legitimate and I would like to explain why that is to be expected. The first fact is that the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is a totally

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1064283495769690622003-09-22T21:09:00.000-05:002003-09-22T21:18:15.643-05:00

AWANA AWARENESS Just got back from AWANA (Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed) Bible Club tonight. This is our third week and I cannot believe the thrill to be working with kids again. Every year about this time I get that homesick feeling for the classroom. I haven’t been in a Jr. High/H.S. classroom in over a decade now and I still miss it. Working with kids helps me scratch a little bit of that

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1063846280272840732003-09-17T19:51:00.000-05:002003-09-17T19:54:55.870-05:00

How Did Jesus Teach? The Divine Conspiracy continues: We must recongnize, first of all, that the aim of the popular teacher in Jesus' time was not to impart information, but to make a significant change in the lives of the hearers. Of course that may require an information transfer, but it is a peculiarly modern notion that the aim of teaching is to bring people to know things that may have no

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1063757438865273182003-09-16T19:08:00.000-05:002003-09-16T19:10:39.106-05:00

Been a busy week-end. Worked a marching band festival Saturday, ran pillar to post Sunday, had AWANA on Monday night and am just plumb tired tonight. I will pick up with something tomorrow. rest easy, folks.

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1063332587104818382003-09-11T21:00:00.003-05:002003-09-11T21:09:47.130-05:00

Dallas Willard on How Jesus Taught As already suggested by our reference to "show and tell," Jesus teaches contexutally and concretely, from the immediate surroundings, if possible, or at least from events of ordinary life. This is seen in his well known use of the parable - which, from its origin in the Greek word paraballein literally means to throw one thing down alongside another. Parables

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1063247062357739372003-09-10T22:09:00.000-05:002003-09-11T08:14:07.466-05:00

Pomo Rumblings Got this from Buff Scott's "Reformation Rumblings" today and thought it worthy of posting since it corresponds so well with Dan Kimball's the Emergent Church and Andrew Careaga's eMinistry. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q. “Buff, insofar as ‘religion’ is concerned, how do you see our younger Christian generation? Are

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1063163003445409972003-09-09T22:03:00.000-05:002003-09-09T22:04:15.493-05:00

Orson Scott Card continues on p. 312: "It's easy to tell the truth," said Mother softly, "when you don't love anybody." "Is that waht you think?" said Ela. "I think I know something, Mother. I think you can't possibly know the truth about somebody unless you love them.... Can we really tell the truth about someone without loving them? We may say true things about them, but to tell the truth is

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1063074918789594332003-09-08T21:35:00.001-05:002003-09-08T21:35:18.706-05:00

On pg. 257 we see the following conversation snip: "Why are they so stupid?.. Not to know the truth when they hear it? "They aren't stupid," said the Speaker. "This is how humans are: We question all our beliefs, except for the ones we really believe, and those we never think to question...." So let us ask ourselves: What belief am I not questioning? What am I clinging to so tightly that I

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1062940208539028462003-09-07T08:10:00.000-05:002003-09-07T21:03:01.183-05:00

And on p. 248 comes one of the most compelling exchanges in this part of Speaker for the Dead: "...We've always tried to play along with it, and act as if we believed it." "How condescending of you," said Ender. "It's standard anthroplogical practice," said Miro. "You're so busy pretending to believe them, there isn't a chance in the world you could learn anything from them." For a moment

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1062887497300057632003-09-06T17:31:00.000-05:002003-09-06T17:34:29.746-05:00

All right. Back on to more Speaker for the Dead commentary. On pg. 247 we have the following quote: Ouanda's anxiety visibly eased, but her hostility was no less. "You're slick, Senhor Andrew, Speaker for the Dead, you're very clever. You remind them of the Hive Queen (a quasi-religious book that had nearly achieved the status and reverence of the Bible in the "Enderverse") and speak scripture

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1062818512024306712003-09-05T22:21:00.000-05:002003-09-05T22:21:52.043-05:00

From the Desk of Gamaliel To: My Students RE: Pricking the Conscience I have a number of young Pharisee pastors on this list and I feel it is time for me to give them some special advice. These youngsters just entering the pastoral ministry face many pitfalls from the emerging church movement and it is important to give them the right tools to combat the deceptive ways of

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1062725754928738352003-09-04T20:35:00.000-05:002003-09-04T20:36:26.166-05:00

You can tell from the new addition to the bookshelf that I've started another book. The Emerging Church by Dan Kimball is a must-read for anyone wanting to engage the culture. Even though I have just started it, I have found it engaging, thought-provoking and stimulating. But not for the reasons you might guess. I have been so far removed from the internecine squabbling among posturing

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-106264220521802082003-09-03T21:23:00.000-05:002003-09-04T20:15:01.890-05:00

Continuing through Speaker we come upon this passage strangely reminiscent of James 5: "I should have gone to him," Ela said again. "Yes," the Spearker said. "You should have." A strange thing happened then. The Speaker agreed with her that she had made a mistake that night, and she knew when he said the words that it was true, that his judgment was correct. And yet she felt strangely healed,

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1062548026810604562003-09-02T19:13:00.000-05:002003-09-02T21:13:17.170-05:00

As The Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card continues the researchers are prohibited by their off-world superiors from communicating with the "piggies" in a way that allows them to transmit information to them about humans. Even asking questions runs the risk of giving them clues into the structure of human socies. One of the researchers comments to his fellows on the burdensome rules

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1062422341755448392003-09-01T08:19:00.000-05:002003-09-01T08:19:01.783-05:00

Speaker for the Dead is the second in a series of books written by Orson Scott Card, an award-winning science fiction author. Card is a Mormon and much of what he writes is infused with this background, experience and theology. This does not detract from the fact that he has some good insights and asks powerful questions. The book centers on a colony of humans on the planet Lusitania who are

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1062248949399833762003-08-30T08:09:00.000-05:002003-08-30T08:49:58.143-05:00

I started reading a post in my Inbox from one of my Yahoo! groups. I found the message vaguely familiar as if I had read it somewhere before. The thoughts were familiar, the writing articulate, the viewpoint sympathetic with my own and the more I read, the more impressed I became with the writer. I was impressed with the turn of phrase, the command of the language, the ability to succinctly

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1062112008831659262003-08-28T18:06:00.000-05:002003-08-28T18:06:48.966-05:00

Been reading Andrew Careaga's "eMinistry: Connecting with the Net Generation" and have concluded that I'm hopelessly connected. Nothing in this book so far is new, exciting, eye-opening or innovative. I can't believe I am so into Net culture that I can't get aroused by this book. Perhaps Part 3 will wake ue np. He decries the pomo worldview on pg. 70 as being a threat to Christianity. Has he not

ricknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737126.post-1062037781294600612003-08-27T21:29:00.000-05:002003-08-27T21:29:41.236-05:00

I shouldn't be doing this so late. I'm a morning person. Blogging after ten pm subjects you, the lowly reader, to all sorts of abuse on my part. Grammatical an typographical errors proliferate post meridian. Not only that but all my profound thoughts occur when I am well away from the computer which is why you may not see them here.

ricknoreply@blogger.com0