Kingdomworks 1995

So, some of my old teammates from Church of the Adovcate, 18th and diamond have tracked me down. Would love to hear from others. So, Angi, Donna, Tricia, Matt, Nate or Christine...if you happen to stumble over hear, drop a comment, yo.

Fight the Power!

I'm reading the latest issue of Youthworker Journal and I'm noticing a theme in there that I've seen come up in some other places as well.

Scot Mcknight (whose blog is truly a 'must read') recently had a post about women in ministry which created quite a bit of discussion in the comment section of that post. Somewhere in the midst of the debate someone made a very astute observation. She said something to the effect of "all this squabbling (about authority and power) seemed to completely miss the point of what it means to be a Christ-like leader and seems more like disciples scrambling to see who could sit at Jesus' right hand."

Getting back to the YW issue...in it Tony Campolo says the following in an interview: "His (Nietzsche's) observations are important because so many evangelicals have given up on servanthood and are hungry to embrace power." In another article, Avarice: An Uncommon Word but a Common Sin, Steve Gerali discusses the issue of church leaders pursuing power, status, higher salaries and so on. He writes, "We covet the luxuries that come with the power and influence of those leaders." (Those leaders being those of very "successful" churches and para-church organizations.)

Then there's Jesus. For Him the road to true power was found in a very backwards, or seemingly backwards, way. As Rob Bell put it, "Weak is the new strong." Jesus came to serve and not to be served. His road to power is through repentance, forgiveness and service. Our power comes from giving power away.

So I noticed these things and have been thinking about them lately. How much of what we think and do is motivated by a striving for power? Perhaps more than we realize...perhaps more than I realize.

A Beautiful Night At Fenway

How often do you get to park for free directly across the street from Fenway? (How's that for gloating?)Well, when your brother in law works for the Sox, you can find out. You can also check out his ring.



Well, the weather couldn't have been better and the seats were cool too, though not the best I've ever had at Fenway. Clement pitched well and Youkillis hit a home run and Tek nearly hit one, bouncing it off the right field wall some rows down from us. Here's the view from our seats:

And can I just say, I love Julian Tavarez and Rudy Seanez? You see when it was 7-1 I'm thinking, "Well, this is cool, but it would have been nice to see Papelbon pitch." Ask and you shall receive. Pap started warming up in the pen, and there was excitement in the air.

Pap came in, the crowd went crazy and he shut things down, though he did give up one hit. (He also scared the garbage out of us when the trainer came out. According to the Red Sox website, he "tweaked his lower back."

After the game saying goodbye to my brother-in-law, I saw him chatting with John Lithgow. Go figure. Great night at the park!

Spencer Burke: The Church Consumerism Built

Spencer is the founder of The Ooze and I met him at an airport following either a YS convention or the Emergent convention, I can't remember which. Anyway, we hit it off quite well and had a long conversation about faith and theology. Since then we've kept in contact periodically and I had the priviledge of reading a manuscript of his new book which will be out in August.

I received an email from him yesterday directing me and others to this blog where there is an excerpt from an article he's written fro Leadership Journal. I'd be interested in any thoughts you might have.

To Play Hooky or Not To Play Hooky?

That was the dilemma for a time. Then I made my decision. Yeah, I'm skipping school on Thursday. It wasn't an easy decision, but I have some friends in need. You see, school is important, but sometimes you have to put your friends ahead of your studies. It's not easy, but these are the sacrifices we are called to make as Christ followers. The deal is pretty simple: my friends didn't want to be lonely. They asked me if I would keep them company. How could I say no? What kind of friend would I be if I let them go to ...

all by themselves?

Plus, how would you like to be the guy saying, "When Lord? When did I see you in need of another friend (not to mention a sausage sandwich) and not go with you Fenway?"

YEAH! My last game at the ol' ballpark was a couple years ago. ESPN game of the week, Sunday night. Red Sox-Yankees. The day after Varitek straightened out A-Rod. Thursday night it'll be the Jays. Looking forward to it.