News:

1. Evan IV’s time at CHOP. Last month, when Evan was about 5 weeks old, we noticed one evening that he had a fever and after consulting the pediatrician we rushed over to St. Mary’s here in Bucks County. After we were arrived in our hospital room, the nurse brought to us what they think may be wrong with Evan IV — meningitis! Infants should not have fevers and so they were concerned meningitis was causing it. Evan had blood and urine samples taken and went through a spinal tap. It was a scary night. In fact it was a scary three days. Spinal tap takes 48 hours for the results to return so until then we had to wait. Thus, Evan IV (with Amanda riding along) was then ambulance-d to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) while I followed. Amanda and I spent the next couple of nights conforming our bodies to a small bed-like piece of furniture which was barely comfortable for one person let alone two. We were scared so we reached out for prayers. After some time, meningitis became less and less likely. And the end diagnosis was that he had para echovirus, which is a common seasonal virus. Thank God! He is doing well now, and he is growing exponentially.
2. Ordination. This past Sunday, August 29, I was honored by Redemption Church to become one of their pastors. Amanda and I have been serving there for a year now, and the leadership team wanted to affirm what I was already doing–thus, I am now Pastor Evan Curry. I was really blessed to see so many friends and family members attend the ordination. My brothers led worship and Tim gave the message. Then the people there prayed over our family. We are very blessed!
3. RA Training. Part of my duties as Resident Director at Philadelphia Biblical University is that August is a consuming force when it comes to my time. I spent August alongside the other Res. Life staff training this year’s RA’s. I am very happy to have my team. I think it will be an excellent year!
4. Greek. So, there once was a silly ol’ boy who took Koine Greek in undergrad and failed to use it since and is now taking it again because he forgot it all. That boy is me.

What I’m Reading:

1. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
2. Slowly reading In the Shadow of Empire: Reclaiming the Bible as a History of Faithful Resistance. I have to get my Anabaptist fix from somewhere.

Looking forward to:

1. The second year of our church plant Redemption Church
2. Watching my kids grow
3. Re-learning Koine Greek so I can look cool reading a Greek Bible
4. Seeing my wife more often now that RA training is over

Me and J.D.

Our point person throughout the trip was a pastor by the name of J.D. Landis. J.D. came to Mobile from Pennsylvania in the 60’s with his wife two weeks after they had just been married to serve in the Mennonite Volunteer Service. On Sunday, I was given the opportunity to give a sermon at The Way of Life Community Church in Mobile, AL, which is the church at which J.D. pastors. I spoke on Luke 18:9-14 and the call for Christians to be humble people. I don’t know about you, but I don’t get many chances to guest speak and so I really enjoy it. No one called me a “heretic” or walked out on me so I guess the people enjoyed it too (which could mean it wasn’t really that good).

(4) Relevant Ministry in Mississippi

Those Mennonites like their guitars!

Relevant Ministry is the post-Katrina organization which K.J. and I spent time at on Wednesday and Thursday. I shared my story of Billy, but, overall, I was very impressed by how connected this group was from coming together after Katrina. We spent most of our time with a Mennonite youth group from Ohio–we even got time to worship with them Wednesday evening. Also, Relevant was running a VBS and a basketball-volleyball camp simultaneously. K.J. and I were both every impressed with Relevant Ministry, and I (I can’t speak for K.J.) would recommend connecting with them if you want to do ministry in the Gulf Coast.
(3) Robert Thrower

I shared my story of Robert in yesterday’s post, but our Southern Baptist Medicine Man really helped me to see history from the eyes of the minority. He did not like Andrew Jackson for his genocide of the Native Americans, and rightly so. I could identify with the statement, “History is written by the winners.” I know Robert said he thought Jackson was worse than Hitler, and I think he is justified in saying so. When I look at Hitler, I see someone outside of my own “people.” A crazed German, but a German, nonetheless. Jackson is an American, and I hand out his face every time I hand someone a 20 dollar bill. Would I feel more offended if I handed out Hitler’s face on a 20? I think so. I guess I just ignored that part of our history because I wanted to. Or maybe it wasn’t ever taught, but my wife, who is a history teacher, definitely gave me a, “Oh yeah! He was horrible,” when I brought it up to her. So, maybe I’ve just blocked it out.

(2) Conversation at the Canal

K.J. on the Canal

K.J. and I were able to take Friday evening and Saturday to enjoy. Seeing how we were two hours from New Orleans and K.J. had never been and because we love to eat, we made the trip down. I think New Orleans is great so I was all about it! We spent most of the time eating in the French Quarter. But on Friday, K.J. and I were able to have a great conversation about life and death, about ministry, family, relationships. I really enjoyed that time. In some ways, those things are what make trips like this so great.

You always can use someone to talk to and help you engage your thoughts, and that was exactly what happened. And I definitely enjoyed the beignets we ate during the conversation.

(1) Reverend Rosemary

I already shared my story about Reverend Rosemary, but what has not left my mind is how she saw everyone in her community (don’t read “church”) as her children. I definitely don’t have this mindset. Some young men in her community turned to drugs and then were killed as part of it. Rosemary felt strongly that something needed to happen–prayer vigils, activism, etc.–because these were her children. If you minister to others (and all Christians should be doing so), do we see others as our children? Would it make a difference if we did? Would it make a difference if we saw the child in Iraq as our child–would we drop bombs? Would we watch the news in a “removed” way when see that another person is shot down in Chester? Would we allow men and women to go hungry if we saw them as our children? I wouldn’t let that happen to my biological kids. What would it mean if we took this seriously? To me, Reverend Rosemary embodied the story of Jesus (and I will always remember her because of it) –

^{Mark 3:31} Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. ³²A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

³³“Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

³⁴Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

We can play games and say, “Well, Jesus just says that those who do God’s will is his brother and sister and mother,” but I think that misses the point. And Reverend Rosemary, she gets it. I don’t. I am grateful for our conversation with her.

Me with Robert Thrower

Andrew Jackson—worse than Hitler? I never thought about this before, but Robert from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians thought so. It’s not that he is right or wrong about this statement, but, when you take into account the horrific things Andrew Jackson did to the Native Americans, you can understand why Robert would feel this way. Prior to coming on this trip, I had never interacted for an extended amount of time with someone who was a good part Native American. Robert who oversaw the soon-to-be-completed Cultural Center was my first experience.

Our visit to the Poarch Creek Indian reserve on Friday put us in contact with Robert Thrower. Rober was the director of the Cultural Center and took much time to tell us about Native American history—how the Creeks used to setup their homes, how they intermarried with Europeans very early on, and how Andrew Jackson sought to extinguish them.

Robert was also an ordained Southern Baptist, medicine man. Yes, read it again—ordained Southern Baptist, medicine man. He is ordained in the Southern Baptist Association (although he wouldn’t completely identify with the association), but he is also the tribe’s medicine man. Robert spent great lengths explaining how he would often taken traditional Creek Indian rituals and perform them for individuals at the reservation. Now, it was always focused on Christ, but it definitely mixed elements from Christianity and Creek Indian ritual. For instance, Robert told us about how he uses stones, worn out from water, to perform these rituals for members of the tribe who were dealing with certain issues—psychological, spiritual, emotional, and so forth. He said he would put a rock in someone’s hand, hold his hand above the other person’s (which was holding a rock), and feel “energy” coming from between their hands. To him, the energy is Christ.

K.J. and I were definitely thrown off by this. I mean, we’ve heard about people mixing elements from Christianity and tribal tradition before (like in Africa or some place), but we were never confronted with it head-on. I’m not sure how to think about this. On one end, I see the value. On the other, what appears to me to be, obvious danger. I will continue to wrestle with this. Like his stance of Andrew Jackson, I never thought about it this way, but it might just be that I’m not Creek Indian. Right now, I’m just not sure, but I would never doubt the spiritual maturity of Robert. He seems to be a strong Christian—evangelical, passionate, compassionate. And maybe that’s where I just need to stop. I’m not Creek Indian. I don’t understand, and it would be naïve for me to think that I don’t mix my own culture into our church. So, maybe I will just leave it at that…

Billy. K.J. and I arrived in Pass Christian, Mississippi, on Wednesday morning to work with Relevant Ministry. Relevant Ministry was started by Nelson Roth as a response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and seeks to bring God’s love to the people of the Gulf Coast. When we arrived, we met Jeff, a former church planter now Director of Relevant. Jeff told us that we would be helping finish a log cabin for a local, elderly gentleman named Billy.

I'm pretending to work

Billy lost his livelihood years ago when he lost his fishing boat to Hurricane Katrina. As he told us, his fishing boat ended up in the woods hundreds of yards from the marina. Sometime later, Billy lost his trailer to a fire. He was depressed, unmotivated, and discouraged. He has since begun to build a log cabin—something sturdy and well-built—as his home. Relevant Ministry stepped in to work on this project with him. So, K.J. and I joined with some (Mennonite) teenagers from Ohio to caulk the house and sand the wood floors. Billy was so thankful and grateful for all the work Relevant has done for him, and I was proud to observe a little piece of that.

Reverend Rosemary. Reverend Rosemary is an African-American, Methodist pastor in DeLisle, MS. After over 20 years teaching in the community, Rosemary answered her call to the pastorate. If you know anything about the UMC, pastors move in and out often and continuously (sometimes, even once a year). However, Rev. Rosemary has been in the same church of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church. K.J. and I were given the opportunity to sit down with Rosemary to talk to her about her ministry. We found it very interesting that her husband also pastors a church a few miles from her. He drops her off on Sunday morning, then drives over to his church, and returns to catch the end of Rosemary’s service. Rosemary said jokingly that her services go longer than her husband’s because hers are more spirit and praise-filled.

I asked her questions about her ministry as a female pastor and if she has experienced difficulty because of it. We spoke about her working relationship with other churches and pastors in the area—how she is often called upon by other pastors and how they work smoothly with one another. She is an example of the beauty of the ecumenical movement. We also talked about how she feels that she is a mother of the community. After talking about some young men in her community that were killed in recent months, she is set to take action because “these are my children.” What a heart for a pastor to have! These young men didn’t go to her church, the parents don’t attend the church, but she still believes they are her children—such compassion is hardly matched in the pastorate today.

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The pillar is the height at which waters rose to during Katrina

What I can tell from the past two days is that people are still suffering in this area. If you see the one picture, K.J. and I are standing by the bridge in Pass Christian. The pillar is the height at which the waters rose during Katrina. I can’t imagine it, and the people who have experienced are having difficulty getting over it. Even our friend Billy took some time. But with the help of Christians like Reverend Rosemary and Relevant Ministry, I believe God’s Spirit can move in the Gulf Coast to bring grace to the community; for what we call disaster, God calls opportunity.

Looking back, I realize what the problem was. The problem was me. I came in with an attitude of how do I (the superior, know-it-all) interact with the senior citizen. I was trying to relate to them so that they could come to where I am, but, instead, they invited me to where they are. I had to be accepted. I wasn’t do the accepting. They were accepting me. The proper response from an outsider like me to a hug from someone from within the group is, “I could sure use one.” Because I did.

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Pheng in front of Buddhist Temple

Much of our day was spent touring the Mobile area. Our fearless leader Pheng (misspelled his name in my last post) took us to a local Laotian Buddhist temple. The temple took me by surprise since it was outside but was open, in that, it had no walls enclosing the artifacts. The monk came out to meet us, and K.J. and I were able to ask him questions while Pheng translated. I remember I asked the question, “What would you tell someone as to why they should become Buddhist?” The monk responded that they do not ask someone to become Buddhist–one becomes Buddhist if he or she desires it, but other Buddhists do not seek to “evangelize.” I found this strange and confirmed my prior thoughts that Buddhism is the ultimate postmodern religion (in this sense and others). As we left, I asked Pheng if he ever told the monk we were Christians. He said he did not, but the monk probably realized. I asked him how he could be sure. Pheng told me that my question was a very “Christian” one so the monk could tell. Another cultural error, I suppose. That’s two in one day.

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K.J. holding the hermit crab

We were able to have some fun that day. We headed to Dauphin Island to the beach to see the Gulf. We took in the white-sand beaches and the warmth of the water. I found a hermit crab walking in the water. Now, as a lifelong Jersey shore guy, I’ve only seen hermit crabs cheap t-shirt stores. I’ve never seen one in the wild.

We decided to “live a little,” and K.J., Pheng, and I all ran and swam in the water with our shorts on. It was a wonderful spontaneous decision, but K.J. and Pheng didn’t have a change of clothes so they drove back to Mobile with soaking wet clothes on. However, it was an excellent bonding experience, and I laugh just thinking about it. Most of this trip is less details oriented than I am comfortable with. I usually like an itinerary in my hand, ready to go. This trip is very relational, flexible, and multidimensional. I would prefer a jam-packed day with details, times, and places to be, but then again I don’t normally swim with my clothes on. Maybe it’s time to be a little more flexible and spontaneous.

This should be a good trip.

After introductions, we stopped by everyone’s favorite Mobile, AL, sandwich joint–Subway–and were provided a tour of the area. Obviously, the oil spill has received a lot of the attention of the locals, but it appears that although some have lost business, others are gaining it through efforts to prepare for or clean-up the pending arrival of the oil (catch 22). We spent some time sightseeing in Bayou la Barte, and, over crab claws and french fries, we discussed the upcoming week. Here’s a breakdown of what we are hoping to do:

• Tuesday: visit Vietnamese family. Tour a Laotian Buddhist temple with Ping as translator/tour guide.
• Wednesday and Thursday: K.J. and I will be Mississippi to assist Relevant Ministry with post-Katrina construction.
• Friday: return to Alabama to visit Poarch Creek–a Native American reserve to interact with the individuals there. It sounds fascinating, and I will be sure to update you on this experience.
• Saturday: day off. We might try to hit New Orleans since we are two hours away. Our friend Tim is there now, but he is leaving on Thursday so we will just miss him.
• Sunday: I will be preaching at The Way of Life Community Church. I haven’t nailed down the sermon yet, but I think I will talk about what we learn from children about God’s kingdom. K.J. will provide an eventful time for the youth. That evening, we will be interacting with Vietnamese youth in an almost youth group setting.
• Monday: on the way home.

I am really looking forward to this week. But what has stayed with me from today is the pain many in the area have felt–Hurricane Katrina and now the oil spill. I am happy that the spill was capped today, but, at the same time, there is serious suffering. Ping told us a story of a Vietnamese woman they have been working with who is caught in a cycle of domestic abuse, how a large percentage of the people are caught in alcoholism and gambling addiction, and J.D. shared the horrific story of a man who killed his children. There is real pain and suffering happening in this area. I pray that God shows K.J. and I a glimpse of what it is like to work with those who are suffering.

Please pray for K.J. and I, but more importantly, please pray for God’s love to be poured out in Mobile, AL, and the surrounding area.

Graduation: My Fan Club

It was a close call, but Amanda delivered Evan IV on June 24th and, within 48 hours, both were able to attend my commencement from Biblical Seminary. It was a great moment to be able to walk with my class and join in with the graduation festivities. As I heard my name called, I walked up and received what appeared to be my diploma and took my seat. It was not until I was in the lobby afterward that I realized I did not have my physical degree. Instead, there was a note that said something to the effect: “You have not received your degree for one of the following reasons:” and the one that applied to me was incomplete work.

Thus, even though I attended commencement, there is one more requirement to fulfill before I receive my (physical) degree: the Intercultural Ministry Experience (or IME). The purpose of the IME is to develop our understanding of leadership and ministry in a globally-connected age. This involves developing my abilities in intercultural ministry and service, gaining insight into the global church, and opening up opportunities to interact with individuals despite language and cultural barriers.

The majority of my cohort visited Vietnam; however, I was not able to join them due to the (then, pending) arrival of Evan IV. Instead, another cohort member and were given approval by the seminary to do an alternate trip, where we will seek to engage in a similar experience by interacting with a fishing community of Vietnamese immigrants on the Gulf Coast in Bayou la Batre near Mobile, Alabama, from July 12-19th. Our goal will be to engage this community in order to better understand the body of Christ as it manifests itself in a different culture, to understand the journey of an immigrant people as they adjust to life within the United States, and (as the newspapers show) will be assisting these communities through this troublesome time of the BP oil spill.

I will continue to update and reflect on the trip here. I am very excited for this opportunity, and I am not trying to be distracted from my goal there. The chance I have for distraction is great since I really just want to finish so I can have my MDiv in hand, but, if I think like this, I will miss out on this wonderful opportunity God has provided.

Please pray for me and my friend, K.J., as we head out to the Gulf.

The N.T. Wright Project = 4 books. 2 weeks. 1 bishop. 1 man.

Justification: God's Plan & Paul's Vision (2006)

Wright spends the majority of the second half of the book on exegesis of Pauline epistles. Due to Wright’s experience in exegesis, it is much more appropriate for us to reflect on his conclusions from his observations rather than the exegesis itself. First, Justification is about the one single family of God. Wright states, “Justification…always has in mind God’s declaration of membership, and that this always referred specifically to the coming together of Jews and Gentiles in faithful membership of the Christian family” (p. 116). The biblical idea of justification is comforting to all humanity regardless of culture, race, or gender. In this sense, Galatians 3 is at the heart of justification. Christians across the whole world should declare that, through the work of Jesus, everyone is invited to be part of God’s people.

Second, justification is based on the life of the Christian. In the future, God will justify those who have shown by their actions that they are part of God’s people. This is slightly discomforting, but Wright states, “Yes, ‘good works’ will undoubtedly include ‘moral behavior.’ But Paul is more interested…about the face of the church in the world, about Christians shining in the world as lights in a dark place” (p. 171). In this sense, Romans 2 is at the heart of justification, as Wright explains, “Possession of the Torah…will not be enough; it will be doing it that counts” (p. 184). The Christian must examine his or her life to be sure it is filled with the fruit of the Spirit. One must continually evaluate if he or she is a light to the world. In this sense, justification is a call to holiness.

Third, justification is all about God. As Wright puts it, “God’s oracles, God’s faithfulness, God’s truth, God’s vindication, God’s victory, God’s righteousness, God’s justice, God’s judgment, God’s truth (again) and ultimately (Romans 3:7) God’s glory” (p. 199). This gives the Christian hope since it is based on the faithfulness of Christ (p. 203). Jesus Christ was the representative for God to the world, where Israel failed to do so. As Wright correctly states, “Through the representative Messiah…the result is that, though in his forbearance God had previously ‘passed over’ sins, not dealing with them as they deserved, the cosmic moral deficit has now been put right, displaying God’s faithfulness and justice to the world” (p. 204). Thus, justification is all about God’s faithfulness to his covenant to put the world the back to rights, as he so desires it.

Fourth, justification is by faith. One must not think that Wright is proposing works-righteousness. One is justified in the present by his or her faith. One might ask, “Who are God’s people?” To this, Wright responds, “They are those who keep the Torah—but whose Torah-keeping consists of faith” (p. 211; emphasis original). Faith is the basis on which the future verdict is shown in the present. In this way, faith carries a sense of faithfulness. N.T. Wright states, “The present verdict gives the assurance that the future verdict will match it; the Spirit gives the power through which that future verdict, when given, will be seen to be in accordance with the life that the believer has then lived” (p. 251). Justification is seen in the present by faith in the future action of God.

Ultimately, in my opinion, N.T. Wright’s view of justification carries much more weight than the one proposed by John Piper and others. Wright’s view of justification carries a sense of mission, holiness, and faith. As far as mission is concerned, it understands that God, through Jesus, is calling all people, regardless of lines of demarcation, to himself. A hurting, divided world needs to hear the message of reconciliation. Wright’s view of justification carries a sense of holiness, in that, it understands that God is concerned if his people are properly representing him. Unfortunately, the traditional Protestant view shrinks justification into individual salvation, which many believe is granted based on mental ascent to a set of doctrines. If this is the case, one simply “mentally ascends” and has no need for moral transformation. Lastly, the biblical view of justification relies heavily on faith—faith in the work of God through Jesus Christ. As stated before, it’s all about God. The Church must never forget its reliance on God’s faithfulness. When the Church is unfaithful (as it often is), God remains faithful to his covenant. Therefore, Wright concludes his book by reminding his readers of a crucial point, “The Risen Son is the fixed point in whose orbit we move, the one who holds his people by his power and sustains them by his love, the one to whom, with the Father and Spirit, be all love and all glory in his age and in the age to come” (p. 252). The Church must never forget its call to mission, holiness, and faith, and, if it holds on to the proper view of justification, it will be followed closely be these things. Score 9 out of 10

Do you agree with me that NTW’s view carries more weight? Or am I missing something here?

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Wright, N.T. (2009). Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision. IVP: Downers Grove.

Buy: Amazon.com

The N.T. Wright Project = 4 books. 2 weeks. 1 bishop. 1 man.

The theological proposal of “imputation” is held closely in much discussion over the definition of justification. According to Wright, “imputation…lies at the heart of [Piper’s] own reading” (p. 66). However, “justification” is to be understood in relation to the law-court. Thus, “imputation,” the idea that God gives his own righteousness to the sinner, is misleading. The judge’s declaration that one is “in the right” (i.e., justified), for N.T. Wright, “does not give that person [the judge’s] own particular ‘righteousness.’ He [the judge] creates the status the vindicated defendant now possesses, by an act of declaration, a ‘speech-act’ in our contemporary jargon.” Wright continues, “If [the vindicated defendant] does all this, he is ‘righteous’ in the way that a judge is supposed to be ‘righteous’…‘righteous’ and its cognates, in their biblical setting, are in this sense ‘relational’ terms, indicating how things stand with particular people in relation to the court” (p. 69; emphasis original). The theology of “imputation” cannot be held when justification is understood in this way.

Justification: God's Plan & Paul's Vision

Wright insists that much of the confusion around justification comes from misunderstanding of key concepts. For instance, Scripture often holds “righteousness” and “salvation” close to one another so much so that many have suggested the two words are synonymous. Wright explains, “But this is misleading. Words cannot simply be telescoped into one another like that…the word ‘righteousness’ connotes the notion of God’s covenant faithfulness because of which he does such things, and the word ‘salvation’ connotes the fact that his people were in trouble and needed rescuing” (p. 71; emphasis original).

Likewise, Piper and others have associated first-century Judaism with legalistic works-righteousness, suggesting that the Jews believed keeping Torah and circumcision could earn them membership into the people of God. Once again, such a conclusion comes from misunderstanding. Practices such as keeping the Torah or circumcising male children did not earn someone membership into God’s people but were marks that signified one was already part of God’s people. In this sense, Torah functioned as a “badge that Israel would wear, the sign that it really was God’s people.” Wright continues, “But the way to tell, in the present, who would thus be vindicated in the future was to see who was keeping Torah (in some sense at least) in the present. The debates within Judaism at the time…tended then to turn on the question: what exactly does it mean to keep Torah in the present” (p. 76)? Thus, Judaism at the time held that membership was by God’s grace and the works one did in the present were evidence of that membership.

Thus, justification is a “status.” As Wright states in reference to Romans chapter three, “Paul’s point is that the whole human race is in the dock, guilty before God, ‘justification’ will always then mean ‘acquittal,’ the granting of the status of ‘righteous’ to those who had been on trial—and which will then also mean, since they were in fact guilty, ‘forgiveness’” (p. 90; emphasis original). N.T. Wright expresses this as so,

But part of the point of Paul’s language, rightly stressed by those who have analyzed the verb dikaioo, “to justify,” is that it does not denote an action which transforms someone so much as a declaration which grants them a status. It is the status of the person which is transformed by the action of “justification,” not the character. It is in this sense that “justification” “makes” someone “righteous,” just as the officiant [sic] at a wedding service might be said to “make” the couple husband and wife—a change of status, accompanied (it is hoped) by a steady transformation of the heart, but a real change of status even if both parties are entering the union out of pure convenience (p. 91; emphasis original).

When God decides to justify an individual, he or she is given a new status, or, in other words, he or she is declared “righteous.” This does not mean one is morally upright or has earned the status based on good deeds, but it as if the court has decided in one’s favor.

More on this tomorrow, but are there any implications based on Wright’s perspective that are detrimental to the gospel?

Are there implications that are more helpful to the gospel?