my first article submission for the SEMI-unedited

5 Random Lessons that I Learned in Italy

In case you didn’t know about it, Fuller and the Brehm Center have taken students to Italy for a study-abroad program for the last two summers, in order to have the opportunity to study medieval art and theology, and to experience these things in the culture from which they originated. I was lucky enough to be a part of the most recent trip. Of course, Italy has changed substantially over the past few centuries and so we students shared in the richness of the Italian culture, and its proud mixture of the past and the present.
Whenever we are displaced into a new setting, learning is bound to occur. Sometimes those lessons are pleasant experiences; other times… well, many of you all are aware of the “difficulties” that can occur when attempting to travel abroad. In light of my recent experience, I thought it to be my communal duty to share a few short lessons that I learned (perhaps a few at the end that might save you some traveling nightmares).

1. Europe is not the U.S. I know, shocker. Yet you would be surprised how easy it is to forget this. Lisa (my traveling buddy, who works for the SEMI) has made the point that we are more flexible and open to new experiences as American travelers when enter a culture far removed from our own (e.g. East Africa or India), since we expect cultural clashes to occur, and so we accept them more readily. We may go to Europe, however, expecting our typical comforts that we take for granted (e.g. wide assortments of foods, quick service, all-night convenience stores) to be available everywhere in Europe. When we discover that this is not the case (it isn’t), we might be prone to a worse “culture shock” than if we were to travel to non-Western locales.
2. Getting out of L.A. is nice. Yes, going to Rome and Paris (some of our side travels) is frenzied and littered with cars and smog and the like (although their cities manage to maintain their attractiveness anyway…the ties to the past that L.A. lacks help a lot in this department). But the quaint, cobblestoned city of Orvieto, where our classes primarily met, which crowns a lone Umbrian hill among rolling vineyards, which has a coffee shop or restaurant on every corner where conversations can leisurely take place over a glass of Classico… it was a breath of fresh air in comparison to L.A. I mean that quite literally. If you haven’t been on the “outside” for a while, you owe it to yourself.
3. Old is the new “new.” Another aspect of our “New World” lifestyle is our propensity to invent, create, develop, or refine; whenever we can find a way to be more efficient, we take it. While this has led to much wonderful innovation, it also leads to a numbing discontent, and a lack of respect for “older” ways of doing things. This sentiment has pretty much immersed the majority of American spirituality and religion as well. Thankfully, many of us have begun to attempt to reclaim our past and our traditions, recognizing our Christian experiences as the continuation of a story that has actually been told for quite some time before we came around. Going to a place where the past is still revered helped me in my quest to understand my past better.
4. Mega-churches are not a new phenomenon. This is something of a side note, but we saw cathedrals, even in the small Italian towns, that would make Bill Hybels salivate. Sure, medieval Catholics didn’t have Powerpoint; they only had masterpiece frescoes painted on the walls and ceilings that surrounded them with the story of God’s love. They didn’t have wireless mics, only massive vaults extending to heaven that helped immerse the sanctuary with sound. Creating accessible space for people to experience the divine en masse, filling the senses with sight and sound during worship… these are nothing new to Christianity.
5. My fifth lesson is actually a hodgepodge of lessons learned while traveling; to thee who hath eyes, read and taketh to heart.
-Don’t fly American. British Airways is far superior.
-Unless you want to develop a spiritual discipline of relinquishing your possessions, hold on to your bags at all times, in Rome especially. Wear a money belt.
-In Italy, try the grappa… just not in your espresso.
-Go to Venice. Anyone who tells you that it’s dirty and sinking and not worth the trip is a liar.
-Bring an alarm clock or cell phone, and keep them safe.
-Invest in a large pack you can wear on your back, if traveling frequently.
-Eat gelato every chance that you get.
-Be VERY early to the airport when flying out of Charles De Gaulle.

-And finally, Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, smile at anyone in Paris you don’t know. (If you need an explanation, ask me on campus sometime.)

post #51.

well, it's about high time I break the half-century mark.

so I'm back from Italy... LONG back (I've been back for about six weeks or so)... and it was easily THE most stressful travelling experience I had ever had. Since then I've also been to Texas to visit my girlfriend, and for us to meet each other's families... and while short, was quite a relaxing and rejuvenating trip. And now, i'm back in class, while still finishing up papers for my Italy classes, beginning a new church ministry with Warehouse/Lake Avenue, and still doing the tutoring thing.

Life is definitely in transition right now, hence the unnecessary stress and busyness, and hence the black hole that has been my blogging activity post-Italy. I will improve, I promise... I'll try to post Sat.

headed to italia!

I will be in Orvieto, Italy, taking Fuller classes with Dr. Dyrness and Peace through the Fuller Brehm Center's Worship, Theology and the Arts Summer Program. The above photos are shots of Orvieto, We will be spending two weeks there taking classes at a local convent, travelling around to various sights of artistic and theological import (inc. St. Francis' Cathedral in Assisi) and attending various Catholic ceremonies (e.g. Corpus Christi celebration, Mystery Plays, etc.) I'll be taking two two-week classes, one on Medieval Catholic Spirituality, and one of the theology of Medieval Art. Before and after the two weeks, some friends and I will be travelling around a bit (Paris, Venice, and Rome specifically). All very exciting stuff.

So, I am writing this entry (officially my 50th blog!) as a temporary "ciao," until I return home in (very) late June. I leave on Wednesday, June 7th (my birthday!...kinda bummed that I won't be able to celebrate with friends and all, but who am I to complain? I'm going to freakin' Europe!), flying into Paris to meet up with my travelling companions, who are done with classes already... I however still have two finals to go.

Which reminds me... I should be studying/grading papers right now...

guess what I bought?

Very excited about the prayer rope I just bought from easternchristian.com. I prayed the "Jesus Prayer" for the first time late last night, sitting upright in my hammock outside. It was pretty awesome. So much meaning packed into so few and simple words. Amazing that Christians worldwide have been doing these kind of things for centuries, and only recently have Protestants rediscovered their value. (that's the whole "protest" part of being a Protestant.)

For anyone who knows me relatively well, you may have heard me mention my own struggles in the last 9 months or so with "acts of personal piety," which for my background, usually consisted solely of reading the Bible for 15 minutes a day. While there's nothing wrong with this, I have always struggled with keeping focus, and I began to question why I was doing such things in the first place. Out of obligation? To be filled with "warm fuzzies about Jesus"? On top of all this, going to seminary had made it very difficult to open up any part of the scriptures and NOT analyze it to death. Being given new tools to analyze scripture has been a phenomenal gift and learning tool, and I wouldn't trade it for anything, but it has put a sizeable damper on my prayer life.

So, despite my fears of becoming too "gimmicky" and trying too hard to be cool (which I do enough of already), I am beginning to creep into the roots of our faith, kept alive today by the Orthodox tradition. We'll see how this goes. What will be next? Icons? Creed recitation? Ignatian Examen? Longer Retreat? All of those sound really attractive to me right now... for now, I'm dipping my toe in the water.

prayers.

I'm swamped, tired, drained...fill in the cliche. And my body is breaking down because of it (colon infection, acid reflux on crack cocaine...)

I'm taking Friday and Saturday off from school work, even though I have papers to grade.

Prayers are appreciated.

church becoming too feminine? these guys should hear BBT.

Rhett Smith posted on an article put out by Biola's magazine regarding the recent popular Christian movement to make Christian males, well, more male. (Personally, I think we as a church should be more concerned about the first half of that title, seeing as how that's our job and all.) Now, who's standard of "masculinity" are we going by? And to those who think this is self-evident--how far do we take are ideas of what males are supposed to be like? Anywho, go and read his thoughts... which I pretty much share.

go to rhett's blog





Btw- I've heard it said before by friends that "something bothers (them) about women preachers... I mean, I may be inclined to think it's ok for them to preach, but I've never heard a good one, so...it's hard for me to think that they're actually called to preach."

Yesterday in my preaching class we watched various sermons on tape from some of America's top preachers. We watched three males to start... and then Barbara Brown Taylor, a (now former) Episcopalian pastor came on the screen... and it was the most powerful sermon out of the bunch, easily. The room laughed uproariously when Jeremiah Wright (African-American UCC pastor) cracked jokes; it chuckled nervously at Tom Long's wide-eyes as he preached... but it sat in stunned silence as Rev. Taylor spoke of the quiet, unpretentious ways the church actually sometimes manages to do its job by reaching out and loving others, in spite of itself...mostly by telling simple, compelling stories.

I'm not gonna lie... my eyes welled up a bit. She can be my pastor any day...esp. if her pastoral capabilities are half as good as her preaching abilities.

(She's an adjunct prof at Columbia... I hope my friend Whitney gets to take her homiletics from her.)

music is phenomenal for stress relief.

So last week was insane...and this week proves to be little better. In the meantime I managed to buy a good amount of CDs (I always go a while w/o buying any CD's and then buy in bulk, to save on shipping) which are managing to keep my head screwed on straight. (My vice made apparent.) The Decemberists--yes you want to buy Picaresque. Very pleased. Franz Ferd--some incredibly catchy songs on there, although I haven't listened to the whole thing through yet. Clap your hands say yeah-- quirky and intriguing. Arcade Fire--been waiting to buy Funeral for a long time, and it was worth the wait. What's even better--Over the Rhine and Ryan Adams are on their way! Oh, bliss!

i'm supposed to write something now, right?

but I got nothing. At least not right now. My brain is foggy from life's activities, and from the snot that I keep inhaling back into my body (I'm sick). Plus I'm not in the world's best mood...but a rant about that is unnecessary at the moment.

So I refer you (whoever you are) back to my questions concerning the atonement, 2 days ago. You can now read them, and comment as you like.

Happy resurrection day to all.

overwhelmed....oh yeah, it's good friday.

(note: don't read and respond to this blog until after Easter. Enjoy the holiday. Do your devotionals on Sacred Space and go to church (or spend time with your new monastic community) or something like that. Please.)


so i'm pretty distracted as of late... and busy. My TA duties began this week, so now I'm tutoring, TAing, and taking a full course load. Plus I'm planning my study abroad situation this summer (I'm going with Fuller to Italy to take two two-week intensive classes...just put my deposit down yesterday), and planning my summer and fall internship (For those who don't know, I'm attempting to start a "hub" group through my church that aims to live out socioeconomic diversity and reconciliation in a fellowship setting...as my Field Internship for Fuller). Throw in running/hiking, my ever-growing obsession with ultimate frisbee, piano and guitar, babysitting and home tutoring, and class/non-class related reading...blogging has been on the bottom of the totem pole of priorities these past few weeks.

OK, so here's a topic of discussion, for those "theologically-minded" people out there, approp. for Good Friday: What did Jesus do on the cross?

Yeah, I know the answer you're supposed to give. "He died for my sins." But as of lately I've come to desire to push further about this very central issue of the faith I claim. (Being aware that Christians for centuries have aimed to understand the atonement better and have always come up short, I tread forward lightly, knowing that I must ultimately exclaim, "O the depths!" as Paul did. Of course, Paul only made this exclamation after 11 chapters of theological probing!... so this is where I must begin.)

To return to the above statement: "He died for my sins." For lack of a better way to talk about this, let me break down this statement:

"He"--this is the part of the statement that I am the most sure about, even if the rest gets really convoluted in my fragile brain. Even the most staunch atheist must admit to the historical existence of Jesus, his ministry, and his death on a cross.

"died"--I am also quite certain about this (as noted above); although I'd like to nuance it differently...more accurately, he was killed...murdered...executed by the Roman government. He didn't kill himself; he didn't die on an altar, and I dare say that there was at least a chance that Jesus himself did not plan his execution- instead he was dragged off, "like a lamb to the slaughter," yet remaining faithful to His Father in heaven all the while, even to his death.

"for"--Okay... so what was in fact the purpose of Jesus' death on a cross? (Did it have to happen on a cross at all?) Ben Meyer says that Jesus, as he eventually came to the realization during his ministry on earth that his faithfulness to the will of the Father would eventually lead to him being killed, "began to fill his impending death with significance." What is this significance? To satisfy the need for God to evoke violence as a result of human transgression? Is our God merely bloodthirsty, or vengeful?

"my"--this one I really have a problem with. Saying "Jesus died for me" is well and good, but I think we tend to say this all too often and forget the fact that Jesus did NOT come to save YOU or ME by ourselves...but to restore a COMMUNITY, and to establish His kingdom upon the entire EARTH.

"sins"--Here I just think our view of sin is really small. It includes moral obligations, yes...but it certainly goes farther than that... it refers to our orientation as a people--are we following after idols (money, success, careers, friends, acceptance, my own desires and wants, power, etc.) or after God? (Btw, the OT and Jesus make pretty clear that trying to "mix and match" your deities doesn't typically work out very well. "You cannot serve both God and Mammon...") I honestly think that there are many a person in this country who have prayed "sinner's prayers" and have gone to church their whole lives...who may find themselves among the "goats" when Jesus comes to judge. In addition to all of this, sin is not simply an individual phenomenon, as hinted above. There are societal sins that we as a church community are called to address. We cannot remain satisfied simply b/c "my soul is saved."

I have been impacted by several theologians and scholars as of late (e.g. Miroslav Volf, John Goldingay, N.T.Wright, Stephen Travis, Marianne Meye Thompson, as well my return to the studies of St. Anselm and Peter Abelard) and have come to (somewhat of a better understanding...

...but I want to know what you all think out there, seminarians/theologians or not. I'll throw in my two cents as comments come (if they come at all. If they don't, I'll just have to blog later...which as you all know, may take a long time!)

If this has thoroughly depressed/upset you before Easter, I'm sorry. You didn't pay attention to my warning, apparently.

The Good News is that even though it's Good Friday now, Easter is coming. And with Easter comes the hope for all humanity, the restoration of the whole of creation to God and the partial installation of the coming Kingdom. So I pray that all of you, this Easter, experience the resurrection of Christ anew, which is our hope for our own resurrection as a redeemed people.

John Perkins in Pasadena.

John Perkins, noted speaker and authority on racial reconciliation and founder of Harambee, spoke today at Bethlehem Church of Christ Holiness in Pasadena. Has a great ability to contextualize a deep and challenging message. Here are my notes from his sermon:

Text: Psalm 11... notably v. 4: "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

-As Dr. Perkins nears the end of his life, it is increasingly his desire to pass on his knowledge and experience to the next generation, believing his calling of his own generation to be near its end.

-The two "foundations" of society, (referring to Ps 11.4) are the family, and the community. These two foundations are crumbling in American society; the latter perhaps being even more insidious b/c nobody seems to be talking about it!

-There are 5 things that the next generation must do in the church, as the church, in response to the current situation:

*We must read scripture. But we must read it differently than the way we have. It is not merely a devotional book, it is a textbook for how to live life, and how to order ourselves before God and others.

*We must "de-hijack" prayer from selfishnes, greed, and individualism, that has tore this country, and its communities, apart. Prayer is more than asking, it's about listening, and asking God "What can I do?" rather than simply asking for things. We pray for His kingdom to come. (He commented briefly yet passionately about the heresy of prosperity gospel, and of TBN.)

*We must "decolonize" the Gospel. America thought that it could have the Gospel and slaves at the same time. The problem is that even though reconciliation is the heart of the Gospel (to God and to each other), this is considered a secondary, rather than the primary issue of the church. The terms "white church" and "black church" are heretical. There was never a more religious nation than apartheid South Africa; there was never a more religious state than Mississippi, where Perkins grew up and experienced racism of the worst kind. We are a nation under stress (he inserted comments on Wal-Mart's reliance on federal aid to provide health care (my post on it back in nov)(wal-mart movie) and on the Iraq war based on "false pretenses"); we need the Gospel to break the barriers in our churches and society down, and to show concern for the poor and oppressed.

*We need to realize that God left the church, his body, as his witness/force in the world. While worship is important and necessary, we must figure ways to reach out to the next generation (inserted comment on hip-hop culture here-)

*Finally, we need a philosophy of ministry; that is, we must take key concepts that highlight our purpose as a church, and give them form and structure. His own personal philosophy are the four P's: (He is a fan of alliteration, I am discovering:) live w/ a Purpose, from it draw your Passion, direct that passion towards People, and live a life of Praise (or Perseverance? the 4th P wasn't clear. So much for alliteration...)