Archive for February, 2009

The season of Lent starts off tomorrow with Ash Wednesday. I’ve been trying to shape my life (and my family’s life) around the church calendar this year. Advent was a wonderful time for me. I thoroughly enjoyed following a tradition that the church has done for almost two centuries and will do so for even more to come.

I’ve been pondering what to do for Lent, and I have come to the following conclusion:

1. Fasting: one full meal a day with snacks during times where I would have a meal. Likely schedule, snack, snack, dinner. And no meat on Fridays.
2. Limitations: (a) Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, and (yes…) my website will be limited to one visit per day for a total of less than one hour. (b) I will also limit my alcohol and coffee intake.
3. Reading: I hope to finish reading Micah, which focuses on repentance and redemption. Then, I will move to reading the Gospel according to Matthew for the remainder of Lent.

I’ll try to keep you posted during my “What’s Cookin’?” segments, but no promises. Like I said, one hour a day…

[I don't mind anyone knowing what I'm doing for Lent. I prefer to be accountable (cliche, I know) to the community around me. I don't think that everything spiritual must be internalized. We should be willing to share in our spirituality with others. Also, I know at least once I will hear, "Isn't Lent for Catholics?" Such a statement, sadly, comes from ignorance that has been built by many evangelical churches; in other words, the idea that "traditional elements are meaningless" breaks my heart. If you do feel this way, I encourage to read about Lent and the great meaning that goes beyond it.]

“Peter Gibbons: Let me ask you something. When you come in on Monday, and you’re not feelin’ real well, does anyone ever say to you, ‘Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays’?
Lawrence: No. No, man. [Crap], no, man. I believe you’d get your [butt] kicked sayin’ something like that, man.”

–Office Space (1999)

It’s Monday! I have a paper to write so I’ll be quick.

Highlights of the Week:
1.    Giselle has been walking behind a “walking-assist thing” (yes, that’s the technical term). She’ll be “off to the races” soon, I’m sure.
2.    Amanda and I spent much of yesterday watching The Office season 2. It was just nice to relax for awhile together.

Books I’m Reading:
I finished Christopher Wright’s Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. I really enjoyed it. It was an easy read in the sense that I didn’t want to blow my brains out because I felt like the guy was redundant (which is how I felt with Goldsworthy last week). Wright does well to establish the connection between Jesus and the Old Testament. Jesus is the fulfillment of all of the OT, not just the prophecies/predictions.

Put It on Repeat (what I’ve been listening to):
1.    Podcasts – Mars Hills Podcast
2.    Lykke Li’s Youth Novels (Special Edition), Sufjan Stevens’ Illionise, Dan in Real Life soundtrack, Franz Ferdinand’s Tonight:Franz Ferdinand, and The Devil Wears Prada’s (not the movie!) Plagues.

Job update: nothing much here.

Seminary update: Still in class with Peter Enns. He’s a really down-to-earth professor, but he’s also really intellectual. I also enjoyed how open he is to ideas that aren’t Reformed (which Enns leans towards).

iPhone app I’m happy about: I’ve been trying to watch what I eat so the “Lose It” application has been really helpful. You put in your height and weight, setup a weight-goal for yourself, how much you want to lose each week, and it tells you how many calories you may have each day. Then, you type in a food, when you ate it, and it will display how many calories it is, etc. As with all apps I buy, it was free.

Looking forward to:
1.    The church season of Lent. Amanda and I are trying to figure out what we’ll do for Lent, but, right now, we are planning on attending a special service on Thursday at The Well and doing some type of fast.
2.    Giselle to start walking
3.    Amanda and I to spend some time alone together; however we deem this to be possible, I don’t care. I would just like some time with her this week.
4.    Actually blogging some more.
5.    Spring and baseball!

This week I waited until Thursday

Highlights of the Week:

1.    Taking Giselle to the aquarium was definitely a highlight. She loved it! She loves my father-in-law’s fish tank so we figured we take her to a fish tank on a larger scale…the NJ State Aquarium in Camden. I’ve never seen her so excited. Amanda and I love thinking back to it and laughing about how she was cracking up and waving her hands in the air in front of some of the exhibits. I took her to the “Touch a Shark” area. She reached down to put her hands in the water, but, when the shark came up, she quickly pulled back and made a fearful murmur. She instead proceeded to put her hand (that had just been in the shark water) in her mouth. Amanda wasn’t happy.
2.    New class with Peter Enns. I’m really enjoying it.
3.    I had another job interview this week. It was at a temp agency. I fear that wherever they put me I will be known as “the temp” like Ryan in The Office, but, if I get promoted to an executive position, I won’t get cocky.

Books I’m Reading:
I finished Goldsworthy’s Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, which I thought was OK, but it seemed somewhat “old school” and a little naïve in some areas. I’m now reading Christopher Wright’s Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament. I like it so far.

Put It on Repeat (what I’ve been listening to):
1.    Coldplay’s success at the Grammy’s has spurred me to listen to Viva la Vida again.
2.    Recently purchased, Lykke Li’s Youth Novels
3.    Podcasts: Mars Hill Bible Church – I’m a few weeks behind. APM’s Speaking of Faith “Obama’s Theologian” about Reinhold Neibuhr’s influene on Obama.

Job update: like I said, I had an interview with a temp agency. I had to go into the city for the interview, which is pretty legit. They are talking about sending me to Chester, which isn’t very legit, but I need a job so…whatever. I would only be a few months. Also, I talked to the pastor of the youth pastor job I’ve been interviewing for. It seems like they are getting closer to doing second interviews, etc.

Seminary update: Just began a class with Peter Enns, and I’m loving it.

Had a good laugh at:
In seminary class:
•    Peter Enns: What was wrong with the Sadducees?
•    Jay: They were sad-you-see…
•    Class: [laughter]
•    Jay: That was the answer you were looking for, wasn’t it?
•    Peter Enns: No, I was looking for an adult answer.
•    Class: [even more laughter]

Looking forward to:
1.    Going to Toronto for The Evolving Church Conference in March with Tim. Stanley Hauerwas is going to be there, which is awesome! Derek Webb’s doing music there, too.
2.    Getting some type of full time position somewhere.

I’m not sure why I’ve been taking until Tuesday (or Wednesday) to do what I mean to do on Monday, but here you go –

Highlights of the Week:
1.    Giselle has “dada” and “mama” down to know that it’s Dad and Mom, but it isn’t on demand. What I mean is, I can’t say, “Who that?” to Amanda, and Elle will respond, “Mama.” We just aren’t there yet.
2.    I was able to sub at Calvary twice within the past week, and I really like it. I actually remembered Algebra well enough to help a few students. Mainly subbing is just sitting there, but I had a chance to make a difference there (haha!).
3.    Sunday at The Well was awesome! I’m pretty sure that we’re all damned because for my whole time at The Well on Sunday we had – people wearing jeans, non-KJV translation used, screens, guitars, a woman preacher, a clip from Ellen (a show hosted by a lesbian?), talk about the role of “tradition” (are we Catholic?), and the word a** was used (in reference to “donkey,” but we all know that even in that context you’re destined for hell). Yes, we’re all damned. (Please understand that I’m totally joking, but I’m poking fun at people who would really think this).
4.    Amanda and I had a wonderful two days to celebrate her birthday. Thursday – we had a family dinner with her family and mine. Friday – the two of us went to PF Chang’s and to the movie New in Town. If you have a young child, you know how rare this can be to have hours to yourselves. Happy Birthday, Mand!

Books I’m Reading:
1.    Finished Coffehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life by Ed Cyzewski. You can check out what I think here, here, and here.
2.    Finished another book from NavPress called The One True Thing by Howard Baker. The book got progressively better from beginning to end. Overall, I enjoyed it. I will review it later.
3.    Now reading for class, Goldsworthy’s Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture and Christopher Wright’s Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament

Blogs I’ve Been Enjoying:
1.    Tim writes about Pete Rollins’ “denial” of the resurrection. I think Tim’s on to something. We should be paying attention to Pete’s point, not wondering if he actually believes the resurrection happened (which for some reason I think he does).
2.    Tony Jones has been reviewing the doctrine of original sin. I’m not sure I’m on board, but it’s worthwhile to take a look at it. Here’s the most recent.
3.    Scot McKnight’s calling of pro-life, pro-Obama-ers to call out about Obama’s pro-choice decisions. We aren’t paying loyalties to any leader besides Jesus.

Put It on Repeat (what I’ve been listening to)
1.    Sufjan Stevens Illinoise – I always come back to this album to listen to it again
2.    The Almost Southern Weather
3.    Lykke Li’s one song “I’m Good, I’m Gone” on Youth Novels
4.    Panic at the Disco’s one song “Nine in the Afternoon” on Pretty. Odd. – because I enjoy playing it on Rock Band 2

Job update: I didn’t get the job at McCafferty Hyundai because they couldn’t work around my school schedule. So, oh well. I have people looking out for me, and I think God is asking me to have patience. I don’t like it, but I think that’s what he’s asking me to do.

Seminary update: Just began a class with Peter Enns (who I’ve blogged about here, here, here, here, and here) called “Preaching Christ from the Old Testament.” It’s helping many of us work through the apostles’ “butchering” of Old Testament passages.

Had a good laugh at:
“I love Jesus, but I drink a little” from Ellen was the clip we watched at church. It’s pretty funny.

Looking forward to: Happy Valentine’s Day!

Overview: Coffeehouse Theology is wrapped around the idea of contextual theology. As Ed explains, contextual theology

“recognizes that all theology takes place within a local cultural context. This cultural context colors our reading of the Bible and produces a wide variety of locally made theologies…[it] also reminds us that each local understand of God has strengths and weaknesses, and we can fill in some of these holes by listening to other local theologies” (pp. 36-37; emphasis mine).

Contextual theology breeds humility and understanding. It is not systematic. It does not seek to fit everything within a box. It allows theological study to breathe.

Theology should not only be for personal growth, but it should also transform us into the people of God that the Father needs for his mission. Thus, every Christian is in some sense a “theologian.” We all must reflect on God (theology = the study of God) in order to pursue Christ and his mission, and we are all contextual theologians because we are all contextual beings.

 Ed shows that theological diversity doesn’t plague the Body of Christ. Rather, theological diversity should be celebrated in such a way that it allows communities to see the beauty of Scripture more intimately. For Ed, this doesn’t blur everything into theological relativism, but it remains distinct from clearly defined, “black-and-white” dogma. Contextual awareness (so to speak) allows one to approach theology from a standpoint of humility rather than prideful naivety.

Key themes: diversity, unity, contextual theology

What I didn’t like:

What I (kinda) didn’t like was Ed’s treatment of tradition. I tend to take a little stronger of a stance with tradition (you can see some of my thoughts here). Where I think Ed falls short from my own understanding is that he sees tradition as a guide, whereas I believe we must yield to tradition over our own interpretations unless we have good reason to go against it.

Also, I found the book to have a strong evangelical slant (mainly, salvific notions), but I don’t necessarily think that is a bad thing (indeed, I am evangelical). I just wonder if it would hurt the book’s popularity amongst other audiences, which would be a shame.

What I liked:

Overall, Ed does an excellent job at popularizing much of what is written elsewhere in works from theologians such as John Franke. Ed takes ideas and expounds on them, creating a read made possible for the average church-goer. Whereas I would not recommend a high school youth group member who’d like to go “deeper” read The Character of Theology (by John Franke), I would recommend, however, that he or she read Ed’s book.

I also enjoyed the fact that Ed added a discussion on the purpose of tradition. Even though I disagreed to the extent to which Ed takes it, tradition must be involved, and, for its inclusion, I applaud Ed. Tradition is often neglected in most evangelical books on theology. Some may think it smacks of the rejection of Sola Scriptura, but I would reject that notion.

Also, Ed takes some time to involve the global church, which I believe is often neglected by American Christians. Often, American theology is often treated as the theology, as if Christ was a blue-collar, Ford-loving, Nike-wearing, patriotic, middle class, white, American male. This is most certainly not true, and the global church makes up for our theological brevity.

Who would like it: The first-year seminary student, the first-year bible college student, the novice theologian, and the layperson interested in theological studies. It is a good beginner’s guide to theology. Perhaps one day there will be a Contextual Theology for Dummies written by Ed Cyzewski.

My rating: 8 out of 10 (1 – I would use it for kindling for a camp fire, 10 – I would force it upon someone; 8 – I would keep it and give another copy to someone else as a gift)

Overall Conclusion: Reading Coffeehouse Theology was definitely worth it. I had previous knowledge of contextual theology, but Ed gave me a greater appreciation for it and has fused its importance in my mind. So, if you like theology, I think you should read this book. Coffeehouse Theology clears away some of the mistakes we make, brings the reader to theological humility, and jump-starts the Christian into a better, more unified relationship with Jesus Christ and with other Christians elsewhere. Great job, Ed!

–Cyzewski, E. (2008). Coffeehouse theology: reflecting on God in everyday life. NavPress: Colorado Springs.

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Ed Cyzewski (MDiv Biblical Theological Seminary) works as a freelance writer in the nonprofit sector of southwest Vermont. He is the author of Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life, an introduction to contextual theology as well as the Coffeehouse Theology Bible Study Guide and aCoffeehouse Theology Discussion Guide. He can be followed at:

• inamirrordimly.com (theology and culture blog)
• edcyz.com (blog on writing)
• @edcyzewski (Twitter)

Buy Coffeehouse Theology at Amazon.com here.

[This is an overview of Ed’s book. I plan to go into more detail in the near future, but let’s start here…]

My friend, Tim, and I always have this debate – DH or not to DH? If you are familiar with Major League Baseball, DH is short for “designated hitter.” Baseball was designed so that every player who played the field would also bat and vice versa. That is, of course, until the DH was created. The National League remains in the classical viewpoint–all fielders bat and all batters field. However, the American League decided that, since most pitchers when batting look like they’re under the influence (of course, in the AL there are many under all types of “influences” per se), they would appoint a “designated hitter” to bat for the pitcher. Thus, AL pitchers do not bat, but, instead, they hand it over to some guy jacked on ‘roids, who hits about 30 home runs, 125 RBI’s, and gets paid millions of dollars per season for playing ½ of the game (can you tell my bias?).

I am an advocate for the pitchers to bat, probably because I’m more of a purist and think bunting and “suicide squeezes” put strategy into the game. Tim, however, thinks the DH is a fabulous idea (though he’s wrong, of course!). So, the debates go round and round.

It wasn’t until today that it hit me – the reason I like the NL way is because I’m a fan of the Phillies who play in the NL, and the reason Tim likes the AL ways is because he’s a fan of the Yankees who play in the AL (and who are everything that’s wrong with baseball). It is because of the context in which we watch baseball. My context for the majority of the season is my Phillies (World Champion Phillies, by the way!) playing other NL teams – they all have their pitchers bat. Tim spends much of his season watching the Yankees (come in 3rd place, err…) play other AL teams – they all have DH’s. My context influences my arguments for and against the DH.

Here’s where we translate this into theology. It’s the same exact way! The premise of Ed Cyzewski’s Coffehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life is that one’s context influences his or her theology. He calls this “contextual theology.” For instance, due to my context, I will read Scripture as a white, Anglo-Saxon, northeastern American, middle-to-high class, male individual, and, in turn, my theology will reflect this. On the other hand, you’ll read it differently because our context is different.

Tim and I discuss the purpose of the DH in baseball, but neither of us is wrong. Our contexts are just different. Likewise, when I read the Scriptures and bounce my theology off my friend, he and I may come to the table with different conclusions. Neither of us is incorrect. We are just different.

Ed makes it clear that this is not an “anything and everything goes” theology. There are some things that are distinctively Christian (i.e., points in the Nicene Creed), but, on other interpretive elements, there is room for diversity. Tim and I never, ever debate if there is actually a sport called baseball or if 3 strikes is a strikeout. They are assumed, but we can debate other elements.

Diversity should promote unity, not destroy it. We can learn to appreciate the interpretations of others. I’m not going to read the Bible the same way a Latin American does, so I actually need his or her interpretation to see what I’m missing. As Ed states,

“Theology isn’t about constructing an arsenal of knowledge that we use to shoot down the beliefs of our ‘opponents.’ Theology is about loving God and one another more perfectly…Just remember, our goal isn’t agreeing on every point, but rather better understand the God we all love. From that perspective, we can dance with these partners because we share a common love, even if we express and understand that love in very different ways” (pp. 214, 216).

Tim and I may never agree on every single detail of baseball, but we sure love baseball. You and I may never agree on every single interpretation and theological viewpoint, but I have no doubt we love the same God very much so; and in our love for him, we can draw closer to him and each other.

–Cyzewski, E. (2008). Coffeehouse theology: reflecting on God in everyday life. NavPress: Colorado Springs.

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Ed Cyzewski (MDiv Biblical Theological Seminary) works as a freelance writer in the nonprofit sector of southwest Vermont. He is the author of Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life, an introduction to contextual theology as well as the Coffeehouse Theology Bible Study Guide and a Coffeehouse Theology Discussion Guide. He can be followed at:

• inamirrordimly.com (theology and culture blog)
• edcyz.com (blog on writing)
• @edcyzewski (Twitter)

Buy Coffeehouse Theology at Amazon.com here.

Scot McKnight of North Park University talks about “Obama and God’s Sovereignty” on his blog Jesus Creed. It’s a worthwhile read.

“I don’t know about you, but I think the game of knowing “why” God is doing things in this world is a presumptuous and often self-serving game to play. One thing I’ve observed is that most folks who “know” the mind of God on an event — say Katrina or 9/11 or the election of Obama — always stand on the right moral side of the judgment.  In other words, the ones who think they are righteous are the ones who speak up and render judgment in these matters. However, it smacks too often of self-righteousness…” (more).

Highlights of the week:

1. The Super Bowl was absolutely exciting. Big Ben - great pass! Holmes - even better catch! Although, I think the most important play was Harrison’s pick-6 at the end of the first half. We’ve had two awesome Super Bowls in a row. The only difference this year is that I wasn’t cheering another team to lose as much as I was last year when the Patriots were in it.
2. Giselle has been learning like crazy. She can now say (in this order too) - “da-da,” “no,” and “ma-ma.” She’s also been making us laugh non-stop with all of her antics. We love her so much.
3. Amanda and I have been rocking out to Rock Band 2. I never thought I’d ever play video games with my wife, but we have a lot of fun doing it.

Books I’m reading: I’ve really been enjoying Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life by Ed Cyzewski. I’m almost done, and I will be blogging about it some more later. I already placed a quote on the site.

Disappointed by: Scot McKnight (not him, keep reading) mentioned that he was disappointed that supportive evangelicals didn’t state that they were upset with Obama’s decision to overturn some pro-life policies. So…here it is- I am upset with Obama’s decision to overturn specific pro-life policies and support for pro-choice policies.

Job update: slow! or at least slower than I’d like. I’ve gone on multiple interviews but no offers. *sigh*

Seminary update: I had off of class last night, but my next class is with Peter Enns, and I’m extremely excited about it. I’ve mentioned Peter Enns on this site numerous times so you can see how much he’s influenced me.

Looking forward to: Amanda’s birthday is tomorrow. She keeps saying she doesn’t want to do anything so I’m making sure we do. She deserves it.

I’m reading Ed Cyzewski’s book Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life. I will be blogging about this to greater extent at some point in the near future, but have you ever read something and said, “I have to read this quote to someone right now!”? Well, I’m at Starbucks right now, and I don’t think the baristas would appreciate this as much as my readers (all two of you) would. I loved (!) this quote by Ed.

In respect to the balance of individualism and unity in the church:

“To this day, the church hasn’t figured out how to reconcile individualism and unity. Why do we have so many disagreements, divisions, and books outlining views on baptism, the end times, women in ministry, homosexuality, and even the orthodoxy of the Orthodox Church? Perhaps expecting to arrive at a clear and simple meaning from the Bible creates an impossible situation that simply leads to more divisions. We might say that the modern world gave us the wonderful gift of the Bible in the hands of the masses, yet it also shows us that individuals aren’t quite capable of handling it on their own” (p. 120).

–Cyzewski, E. (2008). Coffeehouse theology: reflecting on God in everyday life. NavPress: Colorado Springs.