overproportioNATE

We are all theologians. You are doing theology. The question is really about whether you're doing good theology or not. Theology is "talk about God." And theology is not done. All is not understood. Look at the world around you. Do you have it figured out? It is one thing to have a good understanding of what is good and what is bad. But what is the best way of getting there? In our world, I would ask: What is a possible way of getting there? Do you believe that morality can be mandated through laws and reform? Should morality be mandated? Can you make someone else be moral? Or should people be allowed to sin? At what point is the blood on your hands? Another important consideration involves Christian involvement whatsoever. There are some groups that are more ascetic, believing that Christians should pull away from culture and politics. Others are more zealous, believing that Christianity is best exercised through these channels. Christ didn't avoid these ...

I hate sin for a different reason. I hate sin because it has separated you and I. There is a distance now. I believe firmly in honest conversation. I so badly want those who are older than I, to share some word of truth with me. To help me, mend me, to notice a hitch in my gait. To point out the fault in my ways. And your sin keeps you from it. Almost every time. Like David and Amnon. Just like them. (1 Sam. 13) David sinned with Bathsheeba and when his own son committed a similar crime, he had nothing to stay. He recused himself. He did… nothing. So little that Absalom took the situation into his own hands and killed Amnon. Sin does this. Almost every time. And we have all piled up a stack of sin. You have yours, and I have mine. And it keeps us from even going near one another. From ever sharing something of meaning. From ever trying. To the point that when we cry, when we cry over deep hurts... Deep sin. We apologize. We apologize for our tears. We want with every ...

I completed a unit of CPE this past Summer. It was about as hands-on as I could ever hope to experience. I was told that I would see a lot of things that would make me uncomfortable in the 300 clinical hours I would need to complete at Porter Hospital. I was responsible for floors 4E, which was cardiac patients, and 5E, which was the general hospital. I also went to every code (blue, green, etc.) while I was on call, and to see any other patient in need of a visit. While it isn't really possible to summarize the experience in a single blog post, I want to highlight a few things: -Many of the most memorable patients were VERY different from me. I saw many gay and lesbian individuals. I ministered to them as best I could. We talked about values, passions, what fulfilled them and gave them purpose. I held their hands. I prayed for them when they asked me to. I was there for them, not for myself, for an agenda. I cared deeply for them. These experiences were memorable and important...

Today I went back and took a look at my very first post to this blog. It was about staying. I am a big believer in staying. I also said in my first post, "I'll write about the wonder of going some other time. But for now I will stay." I did stay. For two more years. I love staying. Staying grants the ability to be known. I have no desire to be a runaway. But I left. I did go. That is a true aspect of who I am, who I always will be. I stayed longer than most. But I left. Kind of. Going is interesting. It was actually very, very difficult to go. We grieved over the Summer before we left. A good friend of mine said that,  "It was like a funeral, and you were the ones dying." I didn't like dying. But the going has been everything it needed to be. We needed to know that we could go. That we could walk away from four stable jobs, family, friends… And do well. We needed to know that it was possible. But in some very real ways, big pieces of our hear...

Why I Hate Writing I love to write about true and deep things. I find it easy to write about the hard and long-suffering things of life. The problem is that many people seem to have a problem with me writing about such things (yeah, I'm talking about the church). I like to write about redemption too. Redemption is an incredible part of my life, and of the lives of many of my friends. But it is not all of life. Not all stories end in redemption, and poetry and story should reflect this fact. When I watch a Christian film, I expect it to end well. It must. It has to. Now, part of this may be because only so many Christian films come out every year. But I find the whole thing misleading. I've discussed the movie "To Save a Life" before. It is actually a pretty good "Christian" movie. It is gritty, with teenage pregnancy, youth group hypocrisy, and other elements in play. But through the whole movie, the son (the main character) has a horrible relationsh...