Mac vs. PC Parody (I'm a Christian)

For more of the parodies on YouTube Click here.

Inherent Unmarketability

How do you make attractive that which is not?
How do you sell emptiness, vulnerability and nonsuccess?
How do you talk about descent when everything is about ascent?
How can you possibly market letting-go in a capitalist culture?
How do you present Jesus to a Promethean mind?
How do you talk about dying to a church trying to appear perfect?

This is not going to work (which might be my first step).

From Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr

Faith has come to mean its exact opposite

One of my favorite writers, Richard Rohr, O.F.M. shared his thoughts recently on NPR's "This I Believe"

Click here to read or listen to his short essay. We must begin to believe in the Mystery again or our faith won't resemble faith at all.

An Experimenting Church

Interesting thought that I felt I had to share. I'm thankful that the church I attend has the kind of feel that the quote embodies. It comes from a blog called Small Ritual:

“There isn’t much space or time given nowadays in churches for just
experimenting or being, just to see what happens, even if no-one comes – Just
being your own community by itself growing with God. But as any scientist knows, it’s the purposeless fooling-around non-results-oriented experiments that come up with the big discoveries”

Anabaptists are already monks

The New Monasticism website has listed 12 Marks (or rules) on what a new monasticism is shaping to be. I think it is interesting to see how many of those "Marks" resemble what many Anabaptists already pratice in thier life and thought... and if it doesn't then it should. Check it out.

Advent... Sacrament... Ordinance

My religious tradition does away with the language of sacraments in favor of ordinances in which any member of the community may administer those acts often viewed as to be done by the clergy only. We don't usually see certain parts of the church as a sacrament; it is the work of all members of the community. Even though we don't always act upon it like we profess.

In some of my devotional time, I have been reading Advent and Christmas with Thomas Merton and today's reading said this:

Advent is the "sacrament" of the presence of God in His world, in the
Mystery of Christ at work in History...

I agree with Merton that God's sacrament to us is his presence in the world. Christ comes in mystery and already at work in history to deliver us from the shackles of our sin and life-less-ness, that can be seen as a sacrament. Yet my tradition might take it a step further in saying it was God's ordinance for us to be delivered and given abundant life. It is an ordinance because it is our responsibility to carry on that abundant life and offer it to others in the form of Jesus's life, teachings, passion, death, resurrection and ascension.

We are a part of the sacrament of God's presence.

Remembering Both Sides of Thanksgiving

Here's an article that discusses educators current roles in trying to tell both sides of the Thanksgiving story.

Growing up, I struggled with the full story and myths of Thanksgiving. I always wanted to know what the Native Americans perspective was about this holiday and whether they believed it was the same or different. Sometimes I think that we have really missed the meaning of the Thanksgiving story.

They had their shot... and failed

The OSU-Michigan game was everything I thought it would be. I love the fact that since Jim Tressel had been at the helm they OWN the Wolverines with a record of 5-1.

What I am getting tired of hearing is that Michigan deserves another shot at my Buckeyes in the National Championship game. I don't believe they are that deserving. A recent Dan Wetzel article on Yahoo! Sports makes the most rational argument as to why USC, Florida, Arkansas even Notre Dame deserve to go to Arizona for the BCS title game:

Ohio State controlled this one, racking up 503 yards on what was supposed to be an airtight Wolverines defense. Troy Smith and his receivers had their way with Michigan's secondary. The Buckeyes running backs peeled off two touchdown runs of 50-plus yards. Yes, anything could have happened at the end, and yes, the final score is what it is. But if Ohio State doesn't commit three turnovers to Michigan's none and commit two third- and fourth-down defensive penalties (de facto turnovers) to Michigan's one, then this isn't that close. Two of Ohio State's turnovers were near their end zone (one on the nine-yard line, one on the 25). This isn't to say things wouldn't be different next time. But to call this a true back-and-forth, anyone's ballgame is dishonest. Only once in the second half did Michigan even have the ball with the chance to take the lead. There is just no definitive way to say that Michigan, after getting scorched on defense and kept in the game mostly because of Ohio State turnovers, is more deserving than those teams.

So factoring in if OSU didn't turn the ball over and allow Michigan to score on two of the three turnovers the score would have been 56-25. Any person on the street would tell you that is a blowout. And had that score been the final we wouldn't even be having this debate. So Mike Hart, quit whining and be content with your 143 yards of rushing and 3 TD's and recognize that you and your team were beat by a much better team (who only kept you in the game because of 3 turnovers) and let someone else get a shot at OSU!

Untamed Faith

After finishing nearly five years of pastoral ministry, I decided to walk away from it for a time, choosing to focus on school and other employment opportunities in the city. I will be the first to admit that I do miss it. I mean, in 10 years of work experience Pastoral ministry encompassed half of that. Now my life is in a different season and it feels weird. Brenda and I have settled into a local CoB congregation and believe that is where we are to be for now. Even though for me it doesn’t feel like A Place Apart or Taize. So after nearly two months of unemployment I finally found something that looks like it will work for a time but all the while I keep looking back at my time in the church. It’s funny how you can simultaneously hate it and miss it in the same breath.

I mentioned in an earlier post that living in the city does not agree with me at all. Maybe that is why my spiritual journey of late has resembled the same sentiment. In a book that I have been reading on the side, I found a bit of wisdom by Howard Macey that really encompassed my journey of late:

“The spiritual life cannot be made suburban. It is always frontier, and we who
live in it must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed.”

Many of you know (if you’ve talked with me or read this blog) that I am experiencing what I can at best call Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD) and believe it to be the longing that God is instilling in me to pursue my heart’s desire. I have to get away and do my Vision Quest or get to Tracker School by the end of next summer. To make a long story short, I feel as though I am being held captive by a suburban faith when all along it needs to be dwelling on the frontier, untamed by culture and the church. I’ll get deeper into that in my next post or so. Are there any of you that feel the same way?

Guess this makes all of us cowards and traitors!

The Democrats now have the majority in the Senate, House and Governors! This is cause for a celebration! (Unless you’re a Republican) Even though I align myself more with the Green Party, until they are a viable 3rd party I am enthused to see the Democrats finally get the opportunity to put this country back on the right track. It is still amazing considering what happened on the ‘04 election.

Losing Our Punch

Robert Bly once said

"We know that our society produces a plentiful supply of boys but seem to
produce fewer and fewer men."

That quote by and large has been understood culturally, it has not been viewed as a biological one.

Until now.

A recent study just came out that illustrates that testosterone levels in men are lower than they were 20 years ago. I believe that American culture has continued to emasculate men in such a way that maybe our bodies are starting to believe it. That is what I am fighting as I continue to ask the questions:

What is a man?
Am I a man?
Do I have what it takes?

Movie trailer for Thr3e

I read this book by Ted Dekker and it was one of the best books I've read in years. Now the movie is set to be released January 5th. If the movie is as good as the book then it's a must see!

Aren't We All?

George Carlin - Modern Man

Like Herding Cats

Why Men’s Work is Challenging by Richard Rohr, OFM

Men do not tend to sign up for things, surely not spiritual things, and surely not early.

Men affiliate quite differently than women, tending not to connect with one another unless there is a specific need, problem, or task.*

Men tend to naturally compete with one another, which leads to petty rivalries and hurts over issues of leadership, ego, and style.

Much of the first and early work with men is still rehabilitation (from unhealthy religion and loads of “bad news”) and personal healing (from addictions, childhood and family hurts, sexual wounds, father and authority wounds) — before we can get on to a positive and life giving spirituality.

Men overwhelmingly try to deal with life through their heads, with thoughts, theories, and theologies. The head is both their control tower and their spiritual down fall. Our approach and hope is to integrate body, mind, soul, and spirit.

*Our brothers in the Czech Republic continue to model effective methods of men staying connected for long-term support. Because of Communism they learned the “cell” concept, and have applied it to their follow-up and networking. American men tend to be task-oriented more than growth oriented. We hope to learn from them.

- Taken from the website www.malespirituality.org/

The Biggest Loser

Some of you can actually remember not so long ago Randall the stud. Most of you however did not know me when I was younger and was a very fit, athletic and actually pretty good looking (compared to the present). Throughout my younger years I was very involved in baseball, wrestling and track. I was a sprinter and long jumper in track and actually was the league champion in the 100 meters in 8th grade. For the same reasons I was the leadoff batter and played centerfield in baseball because of my speed on the bases and in the outfield. I wrestled and was a champion at 167 in junior high and wrestled 160 and 171 in high school. I was fit and had lots of energy.

When I came to college, I stopped living such an active lifestyle and over the course of two years I put on 80 pounds, since then my weight fluxuated with my activity or lack thereof. I have tried many times to diet and found it to be frustrating with little results. I have been working out since February at the YMCA and have been getting myself in shape yet I was still falling into bad habits when it came to my food choices. I ate fast food A LOT!

This past month has been different. Since September 1st I have lost 12 pounds and have set a goal weight of 168 within 15 months (December 2007). After having lost those first 12 pounds that leaves another 90 more to go. I will post pictures when I start to see some noticeable differences. I hope that even in the small ways you can be a supporter of my goals through prayers, notes and just checking in as well.

Beard commentary

Most of you know that I grew up surrounded by men who wore beards and always viewed it as as something natural, representative of masculine qualities as well as a symbol of strength. I have kept a Brethren beard for the better part of the last 6 years. The longest I ever kept one was for about 4 or 5 months. I would always end up shaving it off or just keep a gotee because I would mess up my trim job or become dissatisfied with how it was looking. Having a beard is also a part of my identity, being raised in the Church of the Brethren, it not only symbolized my masculinity it also marked my spiritual heritage.

I found an interesting and fun site called All About Beards and I'm inspired to do something that I have always said I wanted to do but never did. I recently just buzzed my head down to about an eigth of an inch and shaved my gotee off since it looked funny to have more hair on my chin than my head.

So I am getting rid of my razor blades and having Brenda hide my beard trimmer for six weeks (or longer if I want). In that time, I will grow a full beard moustache and all (which I have never done) just in time for winter and unless I really like it, I will form it back to my "Brethren Beard" or as the site calls it a chin curtain or a Donegal.

I have just been reading of lately on how today's culture wants the man to be talk, dark, handsome, clean-shaven and professional. I believe this is counter to the way God created man, natural, rugged and bearded!

Challenge to all the men reading this blog: Seek to return if only for a time to a more natural look by not shaving for at least six weeks! This could revolutionize the way we approach life for a change! Have fun with it.

Amish school shooting

It is a sad commentary in today's news when we have to report a third school shooting in a week's time. This time the victims were Amish children. You can also read more about the story here , here and here

Nativity Movie

New Line Cinema pictures is releasing The Nativity Story on December 1st. You can view the trailer and behind the scenes featurettes.

I don't think there will be the controversy that The Passion of the Christ received, thus it may not do as well at the box office. Regardless, I still think I would be interested in seeing the film. It might help me to shed the consumerism aspect of the holiday season by re-focusing on the event that gives it meaning (all the while paying $ 7 to see it)!

More information here

Get the guy from Titanic... and they'll listen

Another short movie about the dangers of Global Warming. Click here to see Leonardo DiCaprio's Global Warning and Water Planet films.

In my dreams

My ideal life...

I envision a log cabin in the woods of Montana or Idaho with a nearby river or lake in which I could go kayaking every morning. Brenda and I would live in community with two or three other families sharing a voluntary simplistic lifestyle, living lightly off the earth by being environmentlly and socially conscious.

I would be leading retreats and teaching workshops on male spirituality, initiation rites using Vision Quest and wilderness survival skills. When I wasn't leading retreats or spending time with my family, I would be writing as much as possible.

Circular not linear

We have been covering some theories of religion that I had not yet explored in any great depth but am finding that it is fitting into my broader understanding of spirituality. In my Religion & Culture course we are using a book entitled Eight Theories of Religion. In the first chapter, we're covering the theory of animism first proposed by 19th century English anthropologist E.B. Tylor. His evolutionary pattern looks like this:

Animism to Myth to Religion to Science

For example, if we used a tree, the animist theory proports that it is more than just a tree it has a spirit and that all things have a spirit. When we progressed into a mythological understanding it wasn't enough to just say the tree had a spirit but we then gave that tree a story perhaps about the seed and water coming together at the gods command to form that tree. Later, we progress into religion (esp. monotheism) in the belief that God or a supreme being created that tree and continues to give definition and give it life. Then we moved into the realm of science, where we no longer rely on beliefs about the tree but we actually study the tree and what causes it to grow and what kind of tree it is and what it can provide for us.

If this representation is true, then there are a lot of people I know that are still stuck solely in religion and haven't progressed to science. And there are some that haven't progressed from myth into religion. It could be the reason that we don't understand each other better.

I hope that I haven't lost you. My question is: Are we at a point in history where we might be moving beyond science? I think that what I have witnessed is that we are moving into a period of no longer just religion or just science but a conglamorate of the two. Some might call it the New Age line of thinking.

The problem for me is that I don't see the theories of religion as something linear like Tylor. Rather I think of it more as circular, meaning that we are more likely to revisit the previous theories again, only knowing more. Maybe that is where our culture is headed. Just my thought.

Push off

I have come across this message numerous times so I thought I would post it in its entirety to highlight an important message that must be heard by all of us if we are to survive in the years to come.

A Message from the Hopi Elders

There is a river now flowing very fast.
It is so great and swift, that there are those who will be afraid.
They will try to hold onto the shore, they will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly.
Know that the river has its destination.
The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open and our heads above the water.
And I say, see who is there with you and celebrate!
At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves, for the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey come to a halt.
The time of the lone wolf is over! Gather yourselves. Banish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary.
ALL that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration!
We are the ones we have been waiting for.

Giving in

After fighting the temptation (yes I mean sin!) to join MySpace for the better part of the last 3 months, I recognized that since I am such a community oriented fella, it would be a sin not to!

If you wish to check out My Space click here and save it to your favorites. I hope to add you to my network of friends if you have a MySpace account. My URL name is westwardwolf in case you want to do a search at MySpace.

Return to the Desert

It is well known by now (especially among college football fans), that my Ohio State Buckeyes are ranked as the pre-season #1! I am not a college football analyst by any means and this post will not appear to be anything other than my apparent bias as a Buckeye!

Ohio State looks great on offense with returning starters and Heisman candidates Troy Smith at QB, Antonio Pittman at RB and Ted Ginn, Jr. at WR/KR. I think that Coach Tressel (who usually opts for a more conservative style offense) will not be afraid to use his big 3 on offense to put some big numbers up on the scoreboard.

The question for Ohio State is on their defense who lost 9 starters from last year. But if there is anything that Ohio State has been known for it is their defense and I think that it may take a game or two for the defense to really get its footing, once that happens watch out! For the first time in decades Ohio State could be known for their defense AND offense and that my friends is the combination for a return to the desert for a National Championship showdown. Now the picks:

I believe that we will see a rematch this year at the Fiesta Bowl with Ohio State taking on Notre Dame. Either team could be #1 or #2 at the end of the season. My prediction is that the game will not resemble last year's game in which Ohio State compiled over 600 yards of total offense shutting down the Irish 34-20. The difference then was that OSU had the #1 ranked defense in the nation. So this years game will be much closer and an offensive battle.

My prediction: Ohio State 35 Notre Dame 31

Turning a corner

After completing my first week of classes here at IPFW, I believe that I can say that I have learned one more thing about myself. If my major does end up being Anthropology (right now it is more like Anthropology 75% Sociology 25%) I believe that my area of interest within the discipline of Anthropology would be Cultural Anthropology. Here are the 4 areas of academic study within Anthropology:

Archeology
Biological
Cultural
Linguistic

The Need for Elders

This past weekend Brenda and I had an opportunity to spend some time with one of her old professors from college as well as the prof's husband, 17 lb. cat and two Siberian Huskies. We have been blessed to get to spend time with them (especially since we only see them twice a year), but this time was different.

Aside from the typical intellectual conversation that happens around a wonderful lunch, I began to have this sense that I was relating to them in a way that I had not previously. Any other time we got together I viewed them more as Brendas friends than mine.

Yet here I found myself after nearly 5 hours of visiting; connecting with Ed (the husband, who also has a Ph.D.) on a completely different level than before. Here is a man who was raised Jewish yet identifies himself more as a Unitarian. He shared with me stories of when he was living in Arizona, how he did a week-long Vision Quest to be initiated into the Hopi tradition and is the only Caucasian to have ever been allowed to join the Bear clan (a prominent group of Hopi that live on a pueblo in the shadow of the Navajo Mountain). How his border collie once saved his life one night when he was in the desert as it protected him from a coyote. Not only did the dog protect him, but it killed the coyote. We talked religion, politics, interspecies communication, string theory and how it all interweaves into our life journey. Even though he teaches Macroeconomics at a local college his deep sense of spirit, intellect and intention transcends his profession. It was almost as if I was sitting at the feet of the Elder that I never had. I know that I will make more of an attempt to spend time with him in the future. We share a lot of the same interests and I feel as though when we converse we are equals (even though I regard him more as an Elder). I could go on and on but I am still in awe and need days to really process all this.

Maybe that is what I have been missing. I have had many mentors and still do. But I have not had a lot of Elders. By that I mean a man who has been wounded and rather than transmitting the wound to others he allows it to transform him for the sake of himself and others around him. I mean a man who carries in his being the essence of life: adventure, purpose and wisdom. A man who holds in tension the masculine and the feminine.

When we got in the car to head back home Sunday afternoon, I told Brenda that if God should be gracious and give me as many years to live as Ed (guesstimating that he is around 70) I want my life to resemble his. Full of adventure, grace, discovery and wisdom.

Mnemonic... schemnemonic!

It looks like you can forget the old mnemonic sentence: My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is debating what constitutes as a planet and will vote on August 24 whether to include Ceres, Charon and Xena as planets in our solar system. If accepted the order would look like this: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Charon and Xena.

I created my own mnemonic sentence to accomodate the change:

My Veterinarian Elbowed My Cat Jack Stirring Up New Psychological Condition Xenophobia.

What did you come up with?

I wish I'd thought of that

Most of you know that I am a whitewater rafting enthusiast. I am equally interested in kayaking as well. One site that I have been browsing is Perception Kayaks and the website has a really great marketing slogan that I wish I could use for this blog description, unfortunatley due to copyright restrictions the best I can do is post it. I think it also represents our life of faith in Christ. Keep in mind I say yes to this, here it is:

Welcome to the Renaissance of Yes.
It's the rebirth of possibility.
Discovery re-launched.
And it starts by saying Yes!
Yes to any question of discovery.
To feel that kind of honest exhaustion
we knew when we first used Yes!

Initiation

This was taken from the M.A.L.Es website in their June 2005 Newsletter. I thought that it had some bearing on what a man encounters on his journey. Enjoy.

I see men walking wounded:
hairy men, muscular men,
fathers, lovers full of sex,

but dripping with blood,
scarlet sons of pain cut by grief,
drawn and quartered by failure,
stabbed with jagged fear.

Some wise, bearded father,
some elder with a masculine embrace
has touched them with his own red-stained hand,
blessed them with crucified words,
sent them where they did not wish to go,
smeared them with divine musky oil,
named them beloved sons.

They have given up mountain climbing.
They have come down from the great bluff.
They have descended the shadowed canyon by a knotted rope.
When they reach the end, dangling over mysterious,
unknown ground, they let their grip slip
and land on soft snow in the middle of summer.

These men are my brothers.
I thought I had none.
I thought I had suffered the
male anguish alone.

But see:
We are wounded together,
broken in just the right places,
a company of bleeders,
each of us marked for death,
and we are still walking.

by Michael Coffey, AZ MROP 2005

Image friend

I'm not sure how long it will be on there but there is a picture of a good friend of mine from college on the Image Journal. Some of you know Jake Crist or have heard me talk about him; I haven't seen him since last October at his wedding. I guess this is what he is up to of late.

Career Objective & Path

Teach/lead workshops and retreats on male spirituality, incorporating initiation methods such as Vision Quest, a voluntary simplistic living philosophy and practicing wilderness survival skills as way of developing a vital, spiritual and whole masculinity.

Education Path:

Bethany Theological Seminary, Richmond, IN
Master of Divinity (M. Div)
Christian Spirituality, emphasis

*Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), Fort Wayne, IN
B.A. Anthropology 2006-present
Religious Studies, minor
Native American Studies, certificate

Manchester College, North Manchester, IN
B.A. Religion, not completed 1999-2001, 2005-2006

Greenville Senior High School, Greenville, OH
Vocational Carpentry Program 1995-1999

Related Experience:

Earth Heart Wilderness Vision Quest, Pine Barrens, NJ
Protector Course

Mens Rites of Passage (MROP), Ghost Ranch, NM
Discovery about masculine spirituality

Tom Browns Tracker School, Waretown, NJ
Standard Course

Earth Heart Wilderness Vision Quest, Pine Barrens, NJ
Four-Day Fast & Quest

*Licensed Minister, Pitsburg Church of the Brethren, Arcanum, OH
Southern Ohio District of the Church of the Brethren 2000-present


- Note: In italics represents that I am planning to participate/attend but haven't done so yet.
* represents my current status.

Some kind of 'ology

For the better part of the last 7 years my major has been Religion. Since I transferred to IPFW they only have Religious Studies as a minor. And thankfully all my Religion courses from MC transferred, so I already have the minor in Religious Studies. So I was left with the choice of what will I choose to major in?

I have had numerous fields of study interest me of late, I actually came to college seven years ago as a Religion and Psychology double major, but I found out that Psychology doesn't interest me like other areas do. You might think that the logical choice would be Philosophy, it too doesn't keep my attention in the way its sibling, Religion does. I am very interested in Sociology with the cultural aspects that tie into religion. I even flirted with the idea of Biology in order to study wildlife better. Forestry and Natural Resources fascinate me to better understand and live off the earth.

I think I have found the major that fits me the most, Anthropology. The possibility of being a Sociology major is still there but I have two courses this fall in Anthropology and I will see if it is where I see myself. First off, I think Anthropology is a better fit than anything else because of my interest in older tribal cultures (i.e. Native American, Mayan, Incan, Aborigine etc.) and initiation rites. With a certificate in Native American Studies, it will encapsulate the specific areas of study that I want for my life at the present. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I begin this transition, it will most likely take just under two years to complete.

Christians support Israel to speed the Second Coming

Pastor John Hagee believes in putting up a replica Western Wall, affixing to the frames of doors, Mezuzahs, cases filled with a prayer and usually found in Jewish homes and a corridor decorated with pictures of all of Israel's Prime Ministers in his evangelical church in San Antonio. Now he is forming the first Christian PAC dedicated entirely to supporting Israel.

So in other words, he's willing to do virtually everything in his power to support Israel except convert! I think that Christianity has forgotten that Jesus was both a Jew and a Palestinian.

Does this make me a tree hugger?

A practice that I have been engaging in of late is what can only be described as talking or preaching to the trees. I have this spot out behind our apartment in the woodlands where I try and get to about every other day to sit in silence and observe nature. After a period of time I move out of the silence and begin to speak to the various species of oak, ash and maple trees. We were taught during a retreat to see the connectedness to creation as something to participate in, not run from. So here I am, out in the woods having conversations with trees and even find myself preaching to them on occasion. I have found that the trees are very responsive, not in a critical manner (or even fall asleep like some folks in my congregation are known to do) but there is a way of them speaking to me that encourages my soul and they have taught me much. To any other person walking through the woods and would happen to come upon a man talking to nobody (as it seems) would deem them as insane. I assure you that I am far from it.

I cite Jesus cursing the fig tree as an example not of his authority, rather his ability to speak to creation in a way that confused even his disciples. And the fig tree listened! Take the story of Jesus calming the stormy sea as another example of his inherent connectedness to creation. I believe that Jesus was trying to show us something in those two stories.

I am becoming a believer in the reality of interspecies and nonhuman communication. Listen to how the Psalmist put it:

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world (19:1-4a).

Every one of us has the capacity to hear these immortal preachers in our own tongue. Sadly, I believe in our modern world we have refused to hear the voices of creation making it all the easier to exploit them for our own gains. We live our lives as Derrick Jensen puts it in his book A Language Older than Words: that our entire culture is based on the belief that the earth is inanimate.

Creation is speaking to us. Even more today in the language of stronger hurricanes and tornadoes. In the way the earth is getting hotter. In the way our weather patterns are rapidly changing. In the way animals no longer coincide with us but attack us. Maybe we can learn something from the trees and creation. Only if we are ready to cast aside our fears of what others will think (and they will think it) then maybe we can become connected to the creation we are apart of and then want to stand up for that creation and protect it for our children and our childrens children.

Ezekiel! New motivation to ride your bike.

Floyd Landis, who grew up in a conservative Mennonite family in Dutch Country Pennsylvania, won the Tour De France in an incredible come-from-behind win to continue America's dominance in the past decade. Check out his background here.

Name Etymology

Randall - Medieval form of Randolf: From the Germanic elements rand meaning "rim (of a shield)" and wulf meaning "wolf".

Lee - From a surname derived from Old English leah "meadow".

Westfall - The name Westfall is associated with the region in the Northern Rhineland in western Germany known since medieval times as Westphalia (pronounced vest fall eeya). Westphalia is translated as western plain. Thus, anyone with its various spellings was literally people (tribe) of the western plains.

Native American medicine wheel: West aspects

Quality spiritual
Element fire
Season autumn
Sun sunset
Moon waning moon
Color red
Human young adult
Creativity experimentation
Key Word transformation
Animal phoenix (thunderbird)

Qualities linked to a wolf in Native American understanding:
Family, loyalty, strength

There you have it. This is uncanny because so much of the contents posted really do describe me. For example: My favorite animal has always been a wolf (werewolves in horror movies) and the wolf's qualities are family, loyalty and strength, all of which are very important to me. And if you look at the medicine wheel aspects for the direction west (derivative of my last name) virtually all of those qualities describe me in some way. The only differences are that I consider my element to be water, my color to be green and my animal to be a wolf. The other seven are right on. I am spiritual, autumn is my favorite season, I prefer sunsets and waning moons, I like to experiment and my life emphasis (keyword) has been transformation for some time. Like I said before, wow! Maybe we really do live up to our names.

Isolation breeds fear

An excerpt from Derrick Jensen's book A Language Older Than Words:

Isolation does strange things to a person's mind. This is true for any social
creature, human or otherwise. Monkeys taken from their mothers at birth,
placed alone in stainless-steel chambers, and deprived of contact with other
animals (human and subhuman alike, according to the researchers), develop
irreversible mental illnesses. As one of the experts in this field, Harry
Harlow, put it: "sufficiently severe and enduring social isolation reduces these
animals to a social-emotional level in which the primary social responsiveness is
fear."

If we really aren't that different from the rest of creation then I believe one of the main reasons we as a society and individuals are so afraid is that we have become more isolated than ever before. We have high-tech security systems to keep people out. We have locks on our doors to protect our stuff. We prefer to e-mail or chat with someone online rather than to be face to face. We have terror alerts to keep us on alert. We are afraid of rural settings especially the forest because of the impending danger or chance we may get lost.

I can not imagine the people who lived on this land 500 years ago ever being a culture of fear. There was too much interconnectedness with each other and with creation to live in fear. We have much to learn and much to unlearn. Our society depends on it.

Cultural myths

There is really nothing I can do, is there? Maybe we are a culture of make believe.

+ A fourth of all animals slated for extinction - 1000 times the natural rate of extinction. ("The government will do something. Anyway, extinction is part of life.")
+ A quarter of all American women are raped, and another 19 percent are sexually abused. ("They should take self-defense courses and stop wearing such sluttish clothes.")
+ Skin, prostate, colon and breast cancers are on the rise from industrial pollution, UV radiation exposure, and poor food quality. ("Our scientists will fix it. They'll invent something new and make it all better.")
+ 150,000,000 children are enslaved, carrying bricks, chained to looms, or otherwise filling the Wal-Mart's of the Western world. ("Work builds character.")
+ 32,000 people die of hunger everyday, in a world where one billion are too busy stuffing their faces with steak and marshmallows to care. ("I can hardly pay my own bills.")

What will you do to make the world a better place?

"Acts of God" have become "Acts of Humankind"

An article written in the Christian Century by renowned environmentalist Bill McKibben exploring what the Christian role should be in response to the Global Warming epidemic. Here is a summary of the article but I strongly encourage you to read it in its entirety:

To break that spell, (of inaction regarding environmental concerns) to
wake us up to the love of neighbor demanded both by Jesus and by the physics and
chemistry of our predicament, will take something shocking. The evangelicals
delivered with their statement, and there are signs that they're prepared to go
farther. I'm not sure what a comparable gesture from the mainline would look
like, but I have a hunch that it would resemble the civil rights movement. That
is, churchpeople in jail, arrested for protesting outside Environmental
Protection Agency offices and coal-fired power plants. That is, churches
demanding deep and dramatic changes from parishioners: walk to church or come on a bus, or in a carpool at the very least. Most of all, since this is a mass
problem that will be helped only by mass action, we need to make it clear that
any politician whose plan doesn't call for cutting carbon by half or more simply
hasn't understood the situation, or has understood it and sold out.

Sharing our lives

One of my close friends and I spent some time together the other day catching up on life and our longings in life. And he said something that I believe has immense value to it. He was talking about his time this summer working with junior high youth and how they have been empahsizing the aspect of community. More so in the frame of close friendships. He told me that they have been telling the youth that it is important and vital to your life that you have at least 4 close friends that you share your life with. One of those should be your spouse/significant other but to have a strong bond with three other people that you not only have fun with but have a sense of accountability to and share your life with.

The principle is just as important today for adults as we live in a culture where we are becoming more and more isolated from one another. So the challenge is to look at your life and name 4 people that you consider to be close with. (By close, I mean see frequently and share your lives with each other). I also realize that those close friends change from time to time but it is important to have those connections. My wife is my best friend and supporter and without her I would not be where I am today. And I also have 3 other close friends who I share my life with and that is part of the reason I have not gone crazy yet.

Raul Midon

You don't have to be a guitarist to appreciate his Slap Attack technique. Amazing!

Who are we?

Adamuh, the first human name, means "of the earth."

For all the sons of Adam:

For those who are ashamed of being earth,

For those who love being earth too much,

For those who possess none of the earth,

For those who possess too much of it,

For those who need to know they are earth,

And try to flee heaven out of shame,

Doubting the garden they already have,

Abandoning the garden they already are.

I dedicate this map of return.

- From the dedication page of the book Adam's Return by Richard Rohr

Going Dutch

Fun article for anyone seriously entertaining joining the Amish. So I'm not the only one with visions grandeur of the simple life!

You owe it to yourself... and all who come after you

Brenda and I just got back from seeing An Inconvenient Truth. It was playing in only one theater in Fort Wayne and does not look to be there very long. We do not usually go to the movie theater unless it is the dollar movies and we certainly will not spend the $15 it costs for us both to see a movie. We usually wait until it comes out on DVD and then get them at the library where they are free. Anyhow, this was the one movie that I convinced Brenda that we had to see.

My attempt to put into words what this movie did for me will be severely understated, so I will use a quote from Roger Ebert and his review of the film:

In 39 years, I have never written these words in a movie review, but here they are: You owe it to yourself to see this film. If you do not, and you have grandchildren, you should explain to them why you decided not to.

All that I can do is get the word out! You can visit the website and see more for yourself. I strongly urge you to check out when the movie is playing near you since it is only in limited release. You may want to check online or call the theater that is showing the film to ask how long it will be there. In general I think most theaters are showing it 2-3 weeks at a time so be sure to check.

In the meantime here are 30 ways that we can reduce and even stop global warming. Be concerned this is a moral, ethical and spiritual issue. I'll post more reflections later as I sift through the vast amounts of data presented in the film.

Circular vs Boxed Living

I live, Eustace said, in nature, where everything is connected, circular. The seasons are circular. The planet is circular, and so is its passage around the sun. The course of water over the earth is circular, coming down from the sky and circulating through the world to spread life and then evaporating up again. I live in a circular teepee and I build my fire in a circle, and when my loved ones visit me, we sit in a circle and talk. The life cycles of plants and animals are circular. I live outside where I can see this. The ancient people understood this. People say that I do not live in the real world, but it is modern Americans who live in a fake world, because they have stepped outside the natural circle of life.

Do people live in circles today? No. They live in boxes. They wake up every morning in the box of their bedroom because a box next to them started making noises to tell them it was time to get up. They eat their breakfast out of a box and then they throw that box away into another box. Then they leave the box where they live and get into a box with wheels and drive to work, which is just another big box broken up into lots of little cubicle boxes where a bunch of people spend their days sitting and staring at the computer boxes in front of them. When the day is over, everyone gets into the box with wheels again goes home to their house boxes and spends the evening staring at the television boxes for entertainment. They get their music from a box; they live their lives in a box! Does this sound like anybody you know?

Read more about Eustace Conway at his nature preserve Turtle Island.

- Taken from the book The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert, ppgs. 18-19.

Check back for audio posts from Annual Conference

Brenda and I are going to be leaving tomorrow morning with some friends for Des Moines, Iowa. The CoB Annual Conference will be taking place from July 1st to the 5th. I will plan to audioblog my thoughts and reflections from Des Moines starting tomorrow or Sunday. You can also check in on A.C. by checking its daily web coverage throughout the week here.

Savior with an attitude

I am thankful that my understanding of Jesus hasn't gone this direction. However, I have wondered from time to time just how much of 'our crap' Jesus actually gets tired of putting up with? WARNING this article from Fake News veteran The Onion, can be somewhat offensive, but I encourage you to read it with a bit of humor and even truth found in it. Ultimately, remember that Jesus is mercy and grace.

Beyond our reach

Continued from previous post

In the same chapter, author Bill McKibben expounds:

We believe that we live in the age of information, that there has been an information revolution. Yet vital knowledge that humans have always possessed
about who we are and where we live seems beyond our reach.

So what if you know what a widget is? Or that you can read an html? Can you identify five edible plants in your bioregion and their seasons of availability? Or can you name five resident and migratory birds in your area? Or what the soil, rocks and minerals around your home are?

I believe that McKibben has named it well. How many things that were common knowledge about the land to people 150 years ago do we still know today? Probably very little if any; I’m including myself as well. I am living a paradox here because I probably spend as much time on the computer every day as I do actually being outside in nature, even though most of my posts of late have been in regards to nature and the environment. A trend that I am slowly reversing. See, I grew up in the country and it was not until I was 19 and went to college that I actually lived in a town or city setting. Since then, (7 years later) I am living in an urban setting and to be quite frank, it is killing me! I can link so many things that have hindered me by being in the city: I was much more inactive than I used to be, easy accessibility to fast food chains that added pounds, and actually preferring to stay home or inside more often. I have wondered how much would be different if I still lived in the country.

Ok, so we have traded in what was once considered basic knowledge for our ancestors 5 generations ago, in order that we might obtain more knowledge and information. Information overload I call it. And all that it is really doing is keeping us more confined and isolated than ever before. But hey, I know what Technorati is! And yet here I am, instead of telling you about what I think as we walk through the woods, I am sitting at my computer blogging it. Dammit!

How deep?

As I was skimming through and rereading parts of Affluenza, I discovered an interesting concept about how deep our culture really goes. Robert Greenway, an eco-psychologist who has led many retreats into the wilderness makes this observation:

On a wilderness trip, it seems to take about four days for people to start dreaming nature dreams rather than busy or urban dreams. This recurring pattern suggests to me that our culture is only four days deep.

If that is true, then I can understand why people who do a Vision Quest are expected to spend at least 4 days and four nights in the wilderness. Only then does the possibility of their dreams become less of what they think their life is and becomes more of what it should be. If our culture only has a four-day hold on us then I challenge us to retreat from our culture for at least four days (hopefully longer than that) every quarter of the year.

Borders... more than a store

This is a concept that I am exploring more. What are the borders that we choose not to cross in our own lives? This is from the School of Lost Borders website:

Most people live within well-defined borders. They will change these borders only if change is thrust upon them by fate. Do not attend the School of Lost Borders if you plan to remain the same person.You will come here to lose your borders, your boundaries, your limitations.

The first border you lose is the civilized one.
The second border you lose is your psyche.
The third border you lose is your mind.
The fourth border you lose is the one between you and spirit.

It's only hotter cuz we have hotter celebrities...

The Earth's temperature is at 400 year high, one study says. Here's what we can do to stop damaging our planet and its inhabitants. Also go see An Inconvenient Truth if and when it's playing anywhere near you.

Better than biofuel?

This should boost your miles per gallon no matter what vehicle you drive!

Maybe we should try to develop an automobile that runs on prayer. Except the problem would be that many of us don't pray enough in the course of one day to get us out of our driveway let alone a trip into town or Des Moines for Annual Conference! We'd still be polluting the air with our fears since most folks don't really pray unless they are in trouble. And the whole driving with your eyes closed isn't exactly an accident-free strategy either!

(This photo actually came from a gas station in my hometown of Greenville, Ohio)

An invitation

Adventure seeker

1: Go white water rafting.
2: Go to Cedar Point to ride the coasters!

Two things that I am going to have to do in the next year or I'll go mad! I did these a lot in my high school days and it is time to pick them up again!

Refining the journey

Last week was a particularly long week. Thursday (15th) I submitted my letter of resignation to the church board. My last day at the church will be September 17th (three months from now). I am presently in conversation with another university here in Fort Wayne to finish my undergraduate degree in Religion as well as seeking other employment here in the city.

After nearly four years serving the church as pastor (since 2001, five years of pastoral ministry experience) I believe it is the right time to move on and start another adventure in my life journey. At the moment, I am leaning towards teaching and leading retreats in male spirituality and wilderness survival skills as well as writing. All of which I see as a part of ministry.

Keep Brenda and I in your prayers as we begin to make the transition and that I would be able to find work and attend classes in the fall. Hope to hear from some of you.

Messianic Man of Steel

Interesting article from Yahoo about the connections between Jesus, Moses and Superman. Also gives a bit of history on the comic book.

Seperated from creation

I believe that something is lost when we gather in our church buildings, temples, mosques, and sanctuaries. I am beginning to believe that we can best worship/revere the Creator when we are in creation. I have wondered if by us gathering with walls separating us from creation, that we actually are elevating our position above that of creation. Maybe that is why children have such a profound experience when they are at camp. They get outside the walls of our church buildings and experience God in God’s natural abode. I remember reading from Ohiyesa’s book, The Soul of the Indian about just such an understanding:

“There were no temples or shrines among us save those of nature. Being a natural man, the American Indian was intensely poetical. He would deem it sacrilege to build a house for Him who may be met face to face in the mysterious, shadowy aisles of the primeval forest, or on the sunlit bosom of virgin prairies, upon dizzy spires and pinnacles of naked rock and yonder in the jeweled vault of the night sky!”

Maybe it’s time to re-think how we arrive at meeting God. There are many contemporary churches that are beginning to look more and more like auditoriums and less like sanctuaries. The challenge is to do away with all that stuff in order that we might be natural/organic in our worship/reverence of our Creator. Think of the vast amounts of money that we dump into the maintenance and repair of our structures. I can think of thousands of ways in which we could better use that money.

May we meet Him in the mysterious and wonderment of God’s creation.

Is this really me?

Advanced Global Personality Test Results Extraversion 60% Stability 83% Orderliness 56% Accommodation 56% Interdependence 76% Intellectual 50% Mystical 76% Artistic 70% Religious 90% Hedonism 10% Materialism 43% Narcissism 36% Adventurousness 76% Work ethic 36% Self absorbed 63% Conflict seeking 36% Need to dominate 10% Romantic 70% Avoidant 10% Anti-authority 63% Wealth 16% Dependency 36% Change averse 23% Cautiousness 43% Individuality 70% Sexuality 46% Peter pan complex 56% Physical security 76% Physical Fitness 37% Histrionic 36% Paranoia 16% Vanity 16% Hypersensitivity 23% Female cliche 16%

Take Free Advanced Global Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

The Right to Rave

- The air shall be cleansed of all poisons except those born of human fears and passions.
- In the streets, cars shall be run over by dogs.
- People shall not be driven by cars, or programmed by computers, or bought by supermarkets, or watched by televisions.
- The television set shall no longer be the most important member of the family.
- People shall work for a living instead of living for work.
- In no country shall young men who refuse to go war be imprisoned, rather only those who want to make war.
- Cooks shall not believe that lobsters love to be boiled alive.
- Historians shall not believe that countries love to be invaded.
- Politicians shall not believe that the poor love to eat promises.
- Food shall not be a commodity nor shall communications be a business because food and communication are basic human rights.
- No one shall die of hunger because no one shall die from overeating.
- Education shall not be the privilege of those who can pay.
- Law enforcement shall not be the curse of those who cannot pay.
- No one shall be taken serious who can’t make fun of himself.

- taken from an old 2002 Plough magazine.

Observing Nature

In the previous week I have noticed that there are a lot of animals that have been coming up to our back porch and windows (our apartment is partially underground). Aside from the multiple Canadian Geese and their gosling, there have been many squirrels and birds and the occasional snake that I have noticed in the 7 ½ months we’ve lived here.

Today was especially interesting, I have been trying to do more sit-spots since the weather has gotten warmer and today while in the woodlands behind our apartment I noticed a Red Fox quickly move through the woods. I almost didn’t get a good look at him since it moved so fast. Once I was done with my sit-spot I walked over to where I saw the fox and looked around for some tracks and after about 10 minutes of looking I found a pair. Exciting!

Then on my way back to our apartment, I spotted a Groundhog and it didn’t notice me since I was fox walking. It was really great to be able to witness creation in such a neat way. I don’t know if it was the same Groundhog or not but about an hour later I noticed a long ball of fur move across our living room window and watched as it scratched at our window. I ran to get the digital camera to get a close-up of him as he moved towards our back porch but as I tried to slowly open the back door he sensed me and quickly ran off into the woods. Guess I need to keep the camera closer to the porch so I can snap some pics for all of you.

It is simply amazing to me that since there has been a strong interest for me to do more nature observation and tracking I have noticed more and more of creation and creation has noticed more and more of me. I thank God for this sense of harmony that I find in the midst of nature.

The Need for Initiation

There has been an area of study that has really fascinated me for the last 3 years or so. I even put it in my Declaration of Major for Manchester College a year ago as one arena of possibility for me to explore at greater depth. As of now that may be the only thing that still remains true to what I want to do. I sense that I will somehow be connected to this for the rest of my life.

The subject matter is that of initiation or rites of passage for youth in our culture. I believe that relates more towards boys than girls at the present age. I began asking myself questions about my own formation and journey into manhood. When did that happen for me? It certainly wasn’t when I got the keys to the car when I was 16. It wasn’t when I was baptized a year earlier at 15. Was it when I lost my virginity at 17? Living on my own at the age of 20? All of these were a resounding NO. When did I become a man? I can testify that my life fits the mold of what Richard Rohr calls being “over-mothered and under-fathered.” I looked back for particular instances where I may have felt like I had just had rites of passage with my own father and kept coming up empty.

I looked around at the present to see if America has any forms of initiation today. I came up with one. The military. Think about it. How often have you heard the expression “Joining the (pick your branch) will make him a man!” That certainly didn’t fly with me because of my strong anti-war/conscientious objection stance. Being in the military doesn’t make you a man.

Since then, I have charted out a life map in which I recall and detail important events in my life and continue to update it today. And I continually return to one event that may have marked my passage into manhood. February 2004, my mother passed away at the age of 47 from complications due to myelodysplasia. I was 23 years old. It seemed to me kind of late in the journey to become a man but remember my earlier statement about being “over-mothered and under-fathered.” I want to avoid the language of me being a “Mama’s boy” since I also had a very close relationship with my father, who still lives today. I was most like my mother and my sister I thought was more like my dad. It was just that my father didn’t do the things for me that you typically think a father shares with his son… I needed to be given boundaries and an identity not just from my mother but my father as well, if not more. I’m not here to lay a guilt trip on my father; I fully recognize what he did teach me.

I can best explain my longings now to be involved in creation and wilderness survival skills as well as my strong desire to do my Vision Quest as a compensation for what I missed out on when I was younger. I am longing to connect with that sense of a healthy masculinity that gets repressed often because of my tendency to revert to the more sensitive guy (which I am more than thankful that my mother instilled that in me).

I also read some books during this time that really helped shape my present understandings of why we need to have a good initiation in our culture today. They are:

Journeymen by Kent Ira Groff
Redeeming Men: Religion and Masculinities
King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine
by Robert Moore, Douglas Gillette
The Wild Man’s Journey: Reflections on Male Spirituality by Richard Rohr, Joseph Martos
Adam’s Return: The Five Promises of Male Initiation by Richard Rohr

I will continue to post thoughts and reflections on this topic as I am able. Till then check out some of these books and see if there is a sense of longing within yourself as well.

Feeling Nostalgic

There is something I miss from my childhood.

Actually there are a lot of things I miss from my childhood.

One of the more vivid memories for me is when my family would take a Sunday off from our home congregation and go to an Old German Baptist Brethren worship service, which was where most of my mom's side of the family attended. At the time I absolutely hated being there for 3 hours or so, unless there was a breakfast before the service. My mother was raised in an OGBB family but never joined because by the time she was in her mid-teens (the age that most in the OGBB and even Church fo the Brethren are baptized and join the community) my grandparents left the OGBB for a couple of years and started attending what is now my home congregation. So my mom joined, married my dad and raised my sister and I there. Here are some things that I miss about going to the OGBB worship services:

The hard benches that demanded good posture from a kid that loved to slouch,
Turning around, facing the bench and kneeling to pray, even if it meant a chance to nap,
Singing in one unison pitch that sounded almost haunting... like chanting,
Meeting new people and finding out I am related to them,
Wondering what I would look like in plain clothing, black hat and a beard (with no mustache!)
Sitting with Grandpa on the men's side knowing I couldn't hound him like I could Grandma,
Going to Annual Meeting and having to discern who was who, since they all look alike,
The community that they formed with one another not just on Sundays but through the week.

Actually this coming weekend June 3-6, there will be upwards to 6,000 OGBB gathering near Union City, Indiana for their Annual Meeting during Pentecost. I may have to take a day off and go make a visit; being that it is only about an hour and half south of here.

- Picture comes from 1998 Article form the Roanoke Times, Roanoke, VA.

View from Our Back Porch

Yesterday it was raining pretty hard here and as I looked out back, I was just captivated by the scenery. It might be difficult to see the rain but you can use your imagination. It really looks like a rainforest... even in Indiana!

My first Audio blog... much more to come!

Do you want to know what it is?

Are you ready to enter the Meatrix? Click here to watch the first short film. Also you can view the sequel The Meatrix II: Revolting. Spread the word to let others know about what we can do help support independent/small family farms.

You comfort me (a.k.a. 23rd Psalm)

You're my guide and my guard, my minder, my mentor.
What more do I need? What's better at the center?
You sit me down, put my best CD on,
And my soul remembers who I am again.

You call me to the streets. You show me such good things.
Right things with no hidden strings,
Just your name on, and its game on.
Your great repute, like a distant flute it comforts me.

And you hold my swaying heart - so soft, so strong.
You're with me; you comfort me.
You stop them tearing me apart - I fear no wrong.
You show me where to go, without telling me;
You set a value on my life; without selling me.
You're with me; you comfort me.

I crawl through the alley of the shadow of cancer;
I know you know the answer, and the battle won't rattle me.
You're around, and I've found that there's something about your empathy,
Your symphony of sympathy, that comforts me.

You lay out a table, you sit me down;
My rivals arrive from the greatest to the least,
But my cup's kept full and my head's held high
As you boast about me, your least priest,
And make them toast me right through the feast.

I know that your good, your best, your love and passion
Will stalk me, steer me, stand alongside me,
Outlast every fad and fashion through all eternity.
For I'm going to live with you,
See heaven's great views from my own cosmic mews;
No lease to renew, no terms to review, no one else to view -
Just me and you, me and you, me and you,
Right through to the end of time.

- Excerpt from The Word on the Street by Rob Lacey

Picture added

I've been trying to get my picture on the blog for some time. I now have it in my sidebar under view my complete profile. Just in case ya'll wonder what this stud looks like...

Two People. One Year. Zero Watts.

"It is surely not I who am radical or extreme in my practices. It is the Americans around me."
- Eric Brende from his book Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology

I picked up a book a few days back that I remembered from an NPR interview in 2004. You can listen to it by clicking here. You can get his story by clicking on his name above.

There is a real hunger, I believe, among young and old alike for a return to the simple life. I know that my longing to live a simple life comes from my family and church heritage. But there is a gnawing in our souls that all that we have attained in the realm of technology isn't always for the better. My struggle will be how I can best implement some of Brende's ideas for my own life. Right now, it doesn't seem plausible. None the less, it is still a longing that lives in me.

Wonder as we wander...

I receive regular e-mails from natureskills.com on a variety of different wilderness topics. This most recent article spoke to me as I continually seek to break from the pace of the world. It is time to re-discover wandering as an art form again.

Dvorak or Qwerty?

Are Qwerty's days numbered? Could we eliminate the possibility of getting carpal tunnel if our keyboard underwent a change? You can actually change the keyboard layout on your settings if you have Microsoft. If you're a pecker, (meaning you type usually with one finger) click here to learn how you can possibly save your hands from Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI).

Hail Mary?

To shed some light on Travis' post regarding the possibility or question rather of whether Brethren and Anabaptists can come to see the possibility of a salvation power from Mary.

First, let me mention that Mary was talked about during the retreat as one who models the feminine Warrior, Mystic, Monk mentality. She is also lifted up as the New Eve reversing the consequences of of Eve's action in the Garden. I believe that if any of those images ring true with you then you already have given Mary a significant part (dare I say it, even role in the salvation message). Please note that the key word is role. Much like John the Baptist plays an important role in preparing the way.

Maybe we (Brethren & Anabaptists) shouldn't be afraid to look more often to Mary and Mary Magdalene as strong feminine models of the Good News.

Mary as Warrior:
Luke 1:46-55

Mary as Mystic:
Luke 1:26-38
Luke 2:19
John 2:1-11

Mary as Monk:
Luke 1:38
Luke 2:7
Acts 1:12-14

Sacredly Engaging the Profane

Interesting reading (not directly related) on the warrior, mystic, monk model presented two weeks ago.

We have entered a period of consequences

What will be the most important movie coming out this month that the church should be concerned with? If you said the Da Vinci Code, I encourage you to look at another film entitled An Inconvenient Truth. Pledge to see the movie at the site. You can view the trailer here. It is certainly something we must pay attention to... in the midst of practicing fearlessness we must rise up and take action to help prevent any more damage to our planet that hasn't already happened.

Only do so much

Travis left a comment on one of my recent posts that I feel needs to be clarified. The previous 3 posts The Warrior, Mystic and Monk Life have a list of things that I am seeking to best cultivate those archetypes into my life. Don't be fooled, it doesn't mean that I am doing all of these right now. Some of them yes, but most of them no. Some may not happen until years from now.

They are simply a means of creating a shift in thinking and living for me so that I have something in front of me to look too. They are also there to inspire others who read my blog as to what they might do to become alive. Check out some of Travis' posts regarding the A Place Apart retreat here, here, here, here and here.

The Monk Life

The third archetype is the Monk. This model becomes more difficult for me due to the order and structure it invokes. These are the ways in which I am striving to live as a Monk:

- I am trying to follow the rhythm of the Liturgy of the Hours at least seven times a day as my schedule allows for it. It usually consists of me being outside with a time of song, scripture and silence. It normally is no longer than 15 minutes.
- Finding ways to build community. My wife and I are trying to schedule more times with neighbors and friends to get together, have a meal and enjoy a time of fellowship more often than we do now.
- I am actively seeking to live a more simple life by not buying into the “consumerism culture” projected onto me by society. This means becoming more scientifically and environmentally conscious.
- Experimenting with community dance more and within worship.
- Becoming a servant and helping out either with Habitat for Humanity or our local Food Bank.
- As soon as I am able to, I will pick up my old hobby of woodworking to be used in a utilitarian perspective, such as building things for our home and others as opposed to buying them.
- Participating in a weekly communion service.
- Incorporating the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, study, meditation, service, simplicity, solitude, confession and worship into my daily routine.

Jesus as Monk:
Matthew 5, 6, 7
John 13:34-35
Luke 9:51-62
Luke 14:28-32
John 17:13-23
Luke 22:14-20
Acts 1


How many examples of the Monk can you find in Popular culture (i.e. books, film)?

The Mystic Life

The second archetype is that of the Mystic. This model comes much easier for me since I identify myself as a mystic. Still here are the ways in which I am embodying a Mystic lifestyle:

- Doing an occasional “sit-spot” where I am able to just sit in the woods behind our apartment for about 15 minutes. Simply observing the sounds, the movement of birds and animals, the sky the wind, the temperature, the position of the sun.
- Taking more time to journal. Be it personal reflections, poetry, songs.
- Taking time to allow the artist in me to emerge. Using drawing or painting as a form of meditation.
- Meeting at least once a month with one other spiritually mature person to connect in deeper ways with the scriptures, the Spirit and life.
- Studying the rituals, arts and mystical connections that “primitive” cultures have with creation.
- Plan to visit Taizé and the Iona communities in my lifetime.
- Eating more intentionally and allowing the meal to be a sacred time.

Jesus as Mystic:
Mark 1:32-39
Luke 8:22-25
Luke 7:36-50
Matthew 17:1-8
John 1:1-5
John 6:35
John 20:11-18

How many examples of the Mystic can you find in Popular culture (i.e. books, film)?