Highlights of the Week:
- A definite highlight was Tim and my trip to Toronto for The Evolving Church: Amidst the Powers conference. Walter Wink, Stanley Hauerwas, and Marva Dawn were the plenary speakers. Hauerwas (pictured), specifically, has had great influence on my understanding of the interaction between the church and the powers. Through this weekend, I’ve become more convinced of the necessity for Christian nonviolence. Though it does not always seem to make sense, I believe it is vital (plus, just war theory doesn’t always make sense either). Be sure to check out Tim’s blog for more.
- Amanda, Giselle, and I walked to and from work last week. It was wonderful to be outside and to spend some meaningful time together. We actually had a chance to talk, which is not always easy. Giselle pretty much yells at cars and people as they go by, sort of like a puppy does.
Books I’m Reading:
Still doing my book face-off between (a) The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier by Tony Jones and (b) Why We’re Not Emergent: by Two Guys Who Should Be by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck.. But I’ve put these on hold for now. I was getting tired of the topic, and book “c” seems more relevant for the season of Lent.
(c) I finished The Circle of Seasons: Meeting God in the Church Year by Kimberlee Conway Ireton. As stated before, it has been extremely helpful in understanding the importance of working our lives around the church calendar. I recommend it to anyone who takes the story of the Church even somewhat seriously.
Disappointed by: The NFL’s constant and continual over-protection of the (seemingly) only position that matters—that is, quarterback. Poor defensive players. 
Job update: I have four irons in the fire right now, and I’m just waiting to hear from any of them. I suppose if all four offer me jobs that would be a good “problem” to have. Starbucks is interested in hiring me, but I’m waiting to hear from them what the next step is. But I should be started there soon.
Seminary update: We started a new class called “Prophecy and Contemporary Ministry,” which is a course on the prophetic books of the Old Testament. The professor is Dave Lamb, and the book we are reading is called Exploring the Old Testament: Guide to the Prophets by J. Gordon McConville. The prophets are incredibly interesting. If you are like me, you’ve always been taught these from a “dispensational” standpoint (Daniel is talking about the rapture, Isaiah is talking about the millennial kingdom). It’s finally nice to break away from some of that.
Looking forward to:
- Giselle is to be dedicated on April 5th, and her first birthday is coming up on April 21st.
I think trying to “make sense” of Christian nonviolence is where most people are thrown off.
For Hauerwas, Christian nonviolence only makes sense in view of the cross, as witness to, and confession of, The Event. An Event that was initiated not through human will-to-power, but through humiliation, suffering, death, and resurrection.