Posts Tagged ‘Biblical Seminary’

Biblical Seminary has created a couple of videos for advertisement for the school. I really appreciated this one because it really grasps the nature of the times and the need for a “missional” Church in the West.

(5) Sermon at The Way of Life Community Church

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).

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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…

There has been a lot to take in the past two days. I haven’t blogged about it until now since I wanted to be sure to properly sift through the stories I have. I would like to share a two stories with you –

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.

“I want to give you a hug because my son’s a minister (like you),” said a elderly woman with a red hat as she put her arm around me. K.J. and I visited a senior center which meets in The Way of Life Community Church on Tuesday morning. We were there simply to hang out with the seniors and hear their stories. However, we were asked to share our stories with the group of elderly, Southern folk. They laughed at K.J.’s examples of Pittsburgh slang, and they were interested in offering some of their own Mobile “talk.” I’m never too sure how to relate to senior citizens. They are often interested in my nationality–why my last name is Irish, first name is Welsh, but I look more Italian than anything–or sharing stories with me about the way the neighborhood was (beautiful, wonderful, streets of gold) and what it is like now (rough, crime-filled, broken down). So, I wasn’t so sure how this would turn out, but I have to say…getting a hug was a way of being welcomed into their group.

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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Yesterday, I posted a poll to help me choose a book for seminary. The problem: both book covers suck; both received 3 stars on Amazon; and both are similarly priced. So, I put it to a vote… And with a surprising 100% of the votes, the winner is…

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I need your help!

Here’s the deal. My professor at Biblical Seminary gave our class the option to choose between two books for one of our readings. The first is Models of Contextual Theology by Stephen B. Bevans. The second is Doing Local Theology: A Guide for Artisans of a New Humanity by Clemens Sedmak. I have no idea about either of these two books or authors. I don’t know which one is good, or maybe both are? Both book covers suck so we can’t choose a book by its cover.

So, I need your help! Please vote in the poll below on which book you believe I should read for my seminary class. Even if you haven’t read them, read the reviews on Amazon and help me out. I thank you. My class will also thank you.

Caesar Augustus

Many of my recent studies have been focused around Rome and the New Testament (as with my post on Warren Carter’s book). After doing much research, I have put together a document comparing Caesar and Jesus. We must remember that many (if not all) of these titles/topics were dedicated to the Caesars before Jesus so the New Testament’s critique on empire should not be missed. I know I left off some other important titles such as “son of God,” but this should be a good starting point. Also, I must state that I am indebted to Richard Smith from Biblical Seminary as his lectures have assisted me in these studies.

View the document “Comparison between Caesar and Jesus” here (.pdf).

Is there anything I missed?

What are your thoughts after viewing this document?

Mark 11:27 Again they came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple… Mark 12:13 Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. ¹⁴And they came and said to him, ‘Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? ¹⁵Should we pay them, or should we not?’ But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, ‘Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.’ ¹⁶And they brought one. Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ ¹⁷Jesus said to them, ‘Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they were utterly amazed at him (NRSV).

A few things we notice from this passage.

1. Jesus has no money on him. I’m not sure what to really make of this, and I certainly do not suggest this means we shouldn’t carry any money anywhere. However, it is thought-provoking. Why doesn’t Jesus have money? Did he give it all to the Temple already? Did he purposely not bring money to the Temple? Does he have money? Contrary to some contemporary thought, I think ultimately this shows that Jesus didn’t have much money to his name.
2. Jesus sees through the question to the intention of the Pharisees and Herodians. Pretty good observation, don’t you think?
3. If Jesus answers one of the two ways his “accusers” hope he does, he will either be seen as a “rebel” or a “traitor of the faith.” If he says, “Don’t pay taxes,” Rome comes in (and we all know how they liked to handle things). If he says, “Pay taxes,” the Pharisees will call him a “traitor,” and many of Jesus’ followers will likely leave him because of their experience of Rome’s corruption and oppression. But Jesus doesn’t answer either of these ways, and that’s where he shows true wisdom.
4. Jesus doesn’t have a coin, so he asks his “accusers” for one. This may seem meaningless when we simply look at the text, but a deeper look into the cultural context will reveal much more. I would like to turn my attention to this…

In 1st century Palestine, it was unacceptable for a Jew to bring a Roman coin into the Temple. At this time (14-37 CE), a denarius had two blasphemous images on it–the first, a picture and inscription of “Tiberius Caesar Augustus, Son of the Divine Augustus” (emphasis mine); the second on the back, a goddess with the inscription of “High Priest.” Thus, a God-fearing Jew (or culturally savvy one) would never have such a coin on his/her person while in the Temple.

This is where it gets humorous and exciting…

As soon as the guy grabs this denarius out of his pocket, he loses! The whole team loses! Jesus takes his accusers’ attempt to get him in trouble and turns their attempt on its head! Ha! They try to accuse him, but he gets them! Wow! I can imagine at least one guy in the group smack his own forehead and say, “Doy!” Hahaha!

That’s soooo Jesus, isn’t it?

And so, it’s almost as though Jesus is saying, “Give Caesar that disgusting piece of money! I don’t want it. He can have it. But Give to God what he desires–for you to love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. That’s what I’m all about.” Is that how we feel about money and the things of God? Are money and material items disgusting to us so much so that we have no problem giving them up? Are the things of God desirable to us? It’s something that we must think about.

It seems to me that Jesus often gives only two options to this debate: God or money. You choose. I know which one Jesus would.

(All of the above took place at my most recent class at Biblical Seminary, and such observations are credited to our professor Dr. Derek Cooper).

Recent Highlights:

1. Giselle is now walking! One day, she decided it was about time she started and became a pro overnight. With this being said, she’s much more fun than she was. We can go outside, and she’ll explore. It’s really cute.
2. I went to two Phillies games last week. One was with Amanda and Giselle for Mother’s Day. The Phillies lost, but it was still nice to go. The other was with my friend Thomas, who is a Dodgers fan, so naturally we went to a Dodgers game, and naturally the Phillies lost. We had fun though.
3. Giselle can say “baseball,” which is awesome itself, but the fact that she can recognize it while at a field or on TV is even cooler.
4. Amanda and I went to my seminary retreat. It was a much-needed break from everything. We actually had some time to talk and be with each other, which doesn’t happen much (I’m discovering) when you have small child. Meredith Wheeler was the speaker, and he spoke about the pain that ministers experience from the people they are ministering to. What? The church isn’t perfect? That’s right world. We aren’t. But there’s hope—and that’s Jesus Christ.

Job update: I had/have two “second interviews” for ministry jobs so we’ll see.

Seminary update: Began a new class called Organizational Assessment and Change. I’m not a huge fan of leadership classes, but this seems to be the most applicable in many ministry situations. Also, I will begin my independent study called “The Theology of Karl Barth” soon. I’m excited about this one since it will be with a few of us and John Franke (our professor), and we will be meeting at a pub or someplace instead of in a class room.

Disappointed by:

1. I don’t know if one would consider this a disappointment, but I have to read seven books by June 9. I read one already, but it will be a lot of work.
2. The Cavs. How could you lose game 1 to the Magic??? Lebron, let me speak to you for a moment – Hog…the…ball. Score 70 points if you have to. Just don’t give it up.

Books I’m reading:

1. N.T. Wright’s Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision. I read about the first chapter, and I loved it. However, I have way too much to read for seminary so I’m putting this on hold.
2. Seminary reading

• “Organizational Assessment and Change” -  Leading Congregational Change: A Practical Guide for the Transformational Journey. I accidentally bought the workbook (which I’m sending back) so I purchased the book for a friend and paid about $1.50 for the upgrade so I can read it online. Suckers.
• Independent study “The Theology of Karl Barth” (1) The Great Passion: An Introduction to Karl Barth’s Theology by Eberhard Busch. (2) Barth for the Armchair Theologians by John Franke, who is my independent study advisor. I know it’s much more novice than the above book, but I really liked this one (yes, I finished this one already).

Looking forward to:

1. The school year is ending on June 9 for Amanda so she’ll be around more.
2. Getting a full-time job. It’s gonna happen soon. I feel it.