I have no excuse. Absolutely none. It has been nearly two weeks since I have posted anything, and there is really no reason for it. I really don't go on my computer all that much since I don't have papers to write, or documents to download, or a bazillion emails to tend to. Now that I am on a computer... mostly just to download and print out hockey schedules for my team, I figured I would write a quick update.
Paperwork. My work is still pretty much only paperwork. This is quite boring and tedious. In about one week's time I am moving into more hands-on stuff, and in two weeks I should have my very own cases to work with! Yay! Boredom be gone!
Hockey. After all my days of paperwork, I routinely head to the hockey rink to coach, ref, or play some puck. This is an everyday occurrence. I know that I promised pictures and video, but my skating/reffing pants and/or athletic shorts aren't very accommodating to phones or cameras. Also, the weather has not cooperating very much. Rain rain rain! Ugh!
CPM Meeting. Woo, something exciting coming up on my schedule (well really there are plenty of exciting things--weekend trips, Pocono, dart parties, bike runs, cookouts, iron man games, all star competitions, etc etc). I am meeting with Donegal Presbytery's CPM this Monday in Lancaster! This means that I will be in West Chester this Sunday! Ah yeah! And I hope to see all of you whom I haven't seen in a very long time. Anyway, I have annual consultations with the CPM to kind of just check in with them and let them know how things are going! It should be quite fun, actually... no nervous nelly here! =)
Again, I am sorry for the lack of updating. I will do my best to update throughout the summer with things that will be interesting to read about. I hope all is well with each of you! Take care of one another and be kind to everyone. Blessings and Peace!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Summer begins!
It has become pretty clear to me that I am going to be pretty bad about updating this over the summer--sorry. I have been quite busy, and by the time I get home at night, I am exhausted! Work, hockey, dogs, chores, church, etc etc... it doesn't end. It's a good thing that I love everything I am doing, and I am happy to report that I am beginning to develop a nice little routine for the summer! =)
Hockey. Now that there are 12 teams in the adult league, there are games every day of the week. Coaching/ reffing MWF, playing/ reffing STuThSa! Ahhh! That's a lot of hockey! The teams I coach should be pretty competitive this year, and the team I play on will be a serious contender for the championship. I am going to try to post some league pictures and/or videos on here sometime soon. Keep checking back.
TSS. For a summer job, I am basically doing TSS work for Carbon County focusing on Autism Spectrum Disorders. To this point, I have been absolutely swamped with paperwork! Ahh, it should lighten up next week or so, and I'll be ready to put it in cruise control until the end of the summer.
A Whole New World. Talk about a change of pace. Wow! I almost feel like I have encountered some kind of serious culture shock. Home is so much different than Princeton--it's unbelievable. It's hard to articulate, but there is a profound difference in what matters. For instance in Princeton, intelligence and 'book' knowledge are of extremely high value. In NEPA, however, people can't care less about the main differences in theology between Luther and Calvin. On the other hand, knowing how to jump start a car isn't too important in Princeton, but you'll get funny looks if you don't have that trick in your back pocket up here in NEPA. And trust me when I say that this is only one of a handful of differences! This is going to be quite an interesting and fun summer...
I will try to update this as often as I can, especially now that I have even more people to keep in touch with (hooray for new friends). Realistically, I am aiming for once a week updates. Take care, friends! =)
Hockey. Now that there are 12 teams in the adult league, there are games every day of the week. Coaching/ reffing MWF, playing/ reffing STuThSa! Ahhh! That's a lot of hockey! The teams I coach should be pretty competitive this year, and the team I play on will be a serious contender for the championship. I am going to try to post some league pictures and/or videos on here sometime soon. Keep checking back.
TSS. For a summer job, I am basically doing TSS work for Carbon County focusing on Autism Spectrum Disorders. To this point, I have been absolutely swamped with paperwork! Ahh, it should lighten up next week or so, and I'll be ready to put it in cruise control until the end of the summer.
A Whole New World. Talk about a change of pace. Wow! I almost feel like I have encountered some kind of serious culture shock. Home is so much different than Princeton--it's unbelievable. It's hard to articulate, but there is a profound difference in what matters. For instance in Princeton, intelligence and 'book' knowledge are of extremely high value. In NEPA, however, people can't care less about the main differences in theology between Luther and Calvin. On the other hand, knowing how to jump start a car isn't too important in Princeton, but you'll get funny looks if you don't have that trick in your back pocket up here in NEPA. And trust me when I say that this is only one of a handful of differences! This is going to be quite an interesting and fun summer...
I will try to update this as often as I can, especially now that I have even more people to keep in touch with (hooray for new friends). Realistically, I am aiming for once a week updates. Take care, friends! =)
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Aristotelian Ethics
Hello again, friends! I am nearing the end of my first year at Princeton, and it has been absolutely incredible. The only things that stand between me and summer are a Young Adult Ministry paper and an unpacked dorm room.
Aristotelian Ethics and Young Adults. This is the basis of my final paper for the short-term intensive class that I am in. I am nearly completely finished with the paper, and I think it turned out better than I hoped. I took the knowledge I acquired through my Philosophy degree (it's about time I used that one) and smashed it together with the knowledge I gained the past three weeks about Young Adult Ministry to form a 14 page paper about young adult moral decision making and the church. Toward the end of my paper, I suggest ideas for how church leaders will be able to use the philosophic understandings of young people to create a sense of belonging and family in the church. To me, it's all very interesting.
Paul. More so than ever I have been reading a whole bunch of Paul. Between my Lenten discipline of Pauline scripture memorization, New Testament class, and the Romans conference, I have been swimming through Paul's letters a lot this semester. Recently, I have stumbled upon this (a reference to 2 Corinthians 12:7):
Aristotelian Ethics and Young Adults. This is the basis of my final paper for the short-term intensive class that I am in. I am nearly completely finished with the paper, and I think it turned out better than I hoped. I took the knowledge I acquired through my Philosophy degree (it's about time I used that one) and smashed it together with the knowledge I gained the past three weeks about Young Adult Ministry to form a 14 page paper about young adult moral decision making and the church. Toward the end of my paper, I suggest ideas for how church leaders will be able to use the philosophic understandings of young people to create a sense of belonging and family in the church. To me, it's all very interesting.
Paul. More so than ever I have been reading a whole bunch of Paul. Between my Lenten discipline of Pauline scripture memorization, New Testament class, and the Romans conference, I have been swimming through Paul's letters a lot this semester. Recently, I have stumbled upon this (a reference to 2 Corinthians 12:7):
Well, I have some serious proofreading and packing to do! I'm still pondering about what to do about my blog for the summer (keep writing, take a break, write more, write less, write about new topics, write about Biblical topics, etc etc). Let me know if any of you have any suggestions or comments about the matter ("Before I came to Seminary" was a series suggestion from a friend, so comments are extremely helpful)! Take care and God bless! =)
Friday, May 11, 2012
Kingdom Quotes Pt. VII
According to the good record keeping of my blog, I have not posted a Kingdom Quotes post in quite sometime. So here we are... if you are interested in author or publication, just Google it--most of the time when I hear these things, it is not explicitly stated. If you cannot find an author or publication, it was likely said by me, one of my friends, or a professor. Email me, and I shall reveal to you who said it! =)
In our effort to bring out the details, we obliviously avoid sitting in the madness.
Hold on to your needs tightly but your strategies for holding them lightly.
We gain understanding by looking backward, but we must live looking forward.
Many persons have the wrong idea about what constitutes happiness. It is not obtained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
Whatever you are, be a good one.
Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.
Hope is faith that held out its hand in darkness.
Some people had the lights scared out of them. I had the light scared into me.
Where there is anger, there is usually pain underneath.
Some people think that holding on is what makes us strong, but sometimes it's the letting go.
Love is giving someone the power to destroy you but trusting them not to.
For every good reason there is to lie, there is a better reason to tell the truth.
All the best!
In our effort to bring out the details, we obliviously avoid sitting in the madness.
Hold on to your needs tightly but your strategies for holding them lightly.
We gain understanding by looking backward, but we must live looking forward.
Many persons have the wrong idea about what constitutes happiness. It is not obtained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
Whatever you are, be a good one.
Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.
Hope is faith that held out its hand in darkness.
Some people had the lights scared out of them. I had the light scared into me.
Where there is anger, there is usually pain underneath.
Some people think that holding on is what makes us strong, but sometimes it's the letting go.
Love is giving someone the power to destroy you but trusting them not to.
For every good reason there is to lie, there is a better reason to tell the truth.
All the best!
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Clothe yourself with... grace
"Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience... And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:12, 14.
Amazing Grace. Here, I am not referencing the awesome song Amazing Grace, but rather a perfume that I recently encountered. I took an unexpected trip home and found that my mom has a perfume called "Amazing Grace." Of course, the first thing I think about is the passage above (and how awesome of a Sermon illustration this would be)... except the passage doesn't explicitly name grace as one of the things to clothe yourself with. I think it should. Not only does this wonderfully-smelling spray give you a literal way to clothe yourself in grace, it also gives a somewhat motivational definition on the box:
Amazing Grace. Here, I am not referencing the awesome song Amazing Grace, but rather a perfume that I recently encountered. I took an unexpected trip home and found that my mom has a perfume called "Amazing Grace." Of course, the first thing I think about is the passage above (and how awesome of a Sermon illustration this would be)... except the passage doesn't explicitly name grace as one of the things to clothe yourself with. I think it should. Not only does this wonderfully-smelling spray give you a literal way to clothe yourself in grace, it also gives a somewhat motivational definition on the box:
Grace is compassion, gratitude, surrender, faith, kindness, reverence, and the list goes on.
It's something money can't buy and credentials rarely produce.
Being the smartest the prettiest, the most talented, the richest, or even the poorest can't help.
Being a humble person can;
and a helpful person can guide you through your days with grace and gratitude.
So, in the morning when you put on perfume or cologne, I encourage you to also put on some grace. Grace is something you receive (spray on yourself), but it should also be something that others benefit from (pleasant smell). Regardless of perceived merit or worth, treat others better than you would want to be treated.
Book of Wisdom. As some of you may already know, the Protestant canon differs from the Catholic canon. In the Catholic canon, there is a book entitled The Book of Wisdom, and it's somewhat comparable to Proverbs. Well, I had to read this little excerpt:
The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die; and their departure was taken for misery. And their going away from us, utter destruction, but they are in peace. And though in the sight of men, they suffered torments, their hope is full of immortality. Afflicted in few things, in many they shall be rewarded; because God has tried them, and found them worthy of himself.
It is quite insightful, and if I have time this summer, I may read some of what the Protestants consider non-canonical works. We'll have to see!
Summer is quickly approaching, woo hoo! I can't wait. I'll be working at a clinic in NE PA, coaching/ reffing/ and playing hockey, and helping out at a local church! It should be a fun fun fun summer! I hope that all of your summers are looking to be quite fantastic as well! Peace be with you! =)
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Biblical Scholar vs. Theologian
Greetings dear friends! It's great to see that you have taken a minute out of your busy life to check up on my life... or at least my blog! Today I will be writing about a phenomena that I have observed over the past school year here in Princeton--classifying! Now, I'm not talking about judging or labeling or anything with a bad connotation--just classifying classmates.
Classifying. Since we have a pretty diverse population here at PTS, we have this tendency to classify ourselves according to several criteria. I will do it to myself here:
Ashley. From Pennsylvania. Went to West Chester U. Majored in Psychology and Philosophy. Presbyterian. Ordination track. MDiv 2014. Unmarried (i.e. does not live in CRW). A tad liberal. Loves sports. Huge hockey fan (Go Pens!). Plays guitar. Can't sing.
The more I think about it, the more it sounds like an "About Me" profile description. Not that this is an all inclusive list (and I'll be waiting for the sassy comments some of my friends will have to add), but I want to suggest that we make just one more distinction here at the seminary...
Biblical Scholar vs. Theologian. I can already hear the squeaky voices of people protesting, "They're not mutually exclusive!" And I totally agree, they're not. You can probably consider yourself in both categories. But in my experience with humans at seminary, you tend to have a burning passion for one or the other--a preference, if you will. Since most of us are only here for three years, you kind of need to pick which of the two you enjoy more (although I would argue it is less of a choice and more about just who you are)--Biblical studies or theology--and fill up your electives with those kinds of classes. I suppose, if you really want to be argumentative, you can propose the addition of Patristics, but I have yet to meet anyone who would fall into that category here at a Presbyterian school.
As for me, I definitely fall into the category of Biblical Scholar. I would choose reading the Bible or Hebrew over the Institutes, Dogmatics, or Confessions any day! And I very well may quote the Bible more than any other human I have ever met, which I guess can be kind of annoying at times.
The best part of all of this classifying is that I get to be friends with people who differ in every single category from me! No kidding, I am convinced that my best friend here differs in all of the categories (except the unmarried thing)! Anyway, it's a great community of Biblical scholars and Theologians, and I find myself in the midst of Theologians more often than not. Horray for diversity within unity!
Anyway friends, take care of yourselves and each other (especially those very much unlike you)! =)
Classifying. Since we have a pretty diverse population here at PTS, we have this tendency to classify ourselves according to several criteria. I will do it to myself here:
Ashley. From Pennsylvania. Went to West Chester U. Majored in Psychology and Philosophy. Presbyterian. Ordination track. MDiv 2014. Unmarried (i.e. does not live in CRW). A tad liberal. Loves sports. Huge hockey fan (Go Pens!). Plays guitar. Can't sing.
The more I think about it, the more it sounds like an "About Me" profile description. Not that this is an all inclusive list (and I'll be waiting for the sassy comments some of my friends will have to add), but I want to suggest that we make just one more distinction here at the seminary...
Biblical Scholar vs. Theologian. I can already hear the squeaky voices of people protesting, "They're not mutually exclusive!" And I totally agree, they're not. You can probably consider yourself in both categories. But in my experience with humans at seminary, you tend to have a burning passion for one or the other--a preference, if you will. Since most of us are only here for three years, you kind of need to pick which of the two you enjoy more (although I would argue it is less of a choice and more about just who you are)--Biblical studies or theology--and fill up your electives with those kinds of classes. I suppose, if you really want to be argumentative, you can propose the addition of Patristics, but I have yet to meet anyone who would fall into that category here at a Presbyterian school.
As for me, I definitely fall into the category of Biblical Scholar. I would choose reading the Bible or Hebrew over the Institutes, Dogmatics, or Confessions any day! And I very well may quote the Bible more than any other human I have ever met, which I guess can be kind of annoying at times.
The best part of all of this classifying is that I get to be friends with people who differ in every single category from me! No kidding, I am convinced that my best friend here differs in all of the categories (except the unmarried thing)! Anyway, it's a great community of Biblical scholars and Theologians, and I find myself in the midst of Theologians more often than not. Horray for diversity within unity!
Anyway friends, take care of yourselves and each other (especially those very much unlike you)! =)
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Groaning for Love
Greetings again, beloved friends! It has been a loooong few days, so I am going to give you all a recap that is as concise as I can possibly make it:
General Conference decision. If you are an avid reader of this blog, you may remember a post about the United Methodist General Conference occurring in Tampa, FL this past week. My specific interest about this conference was their decision about removing the phrase, "The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching" in their Book of Disciple. Unfortunately, they voted not to remove that statement. You can read more about it at these two links:
http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=8054757&ct=11740597¬oc=1
http://www.gc2012conversations.com/2012/05/03/delegates-fail-to-agree-that-they-disagree-on-sexuality-issue/
Groaning for Love. The past few days I have been involved in the Romans Conference here on campus. It has been such a wonderful conference with great preaching, singing, lectures, papers, and workshops. Since Romans is arguably my favorite authentic Pauline letter, I was totally geek-ing out through most of this conference. I heard a sermon called "Groaning for Love" based on Romans 8:18-39 (remember 8:31 is what this blog is named after). It was a pretty awesome sermon emphasizing that God groans with creation until eventual future glory, and nothing (that's right nothing) can separate us from the love of God! Oh, do I ever love that passage! =)
The Shape of the 'I' in Romans 7. My favorite lecture of the entire conference was "The Shape of the 'I' in Romans 7" by none other than our esteemed Professor of New Testament, Beverly Gaventa. She spoke about the referent of 'I' in chapter 7. Her argument was that 'I' in conversation could be used in referent to the speaker or the subject of the matter being spoken about. She argues that in this case, the use of the 'I' is comparable to the prevalent use of the 'I' in the Psalms as a way for a reader or listener to engage the 'I' as their own. So in the Psalms, one would pray a psalm using 'I' as if it were their own prayer. I know this sounds confusing, but just pull me aside the next time you see me, and I will excitedly explain it more clearly! I was totally wow-ed by this lecture though! Dr. Gaventa took two of my favorite things, Romans and the Psalms, and smashed them together in a very meaningful way!
Also, just as a sidenote: There was a man who looked exactly like Sigmund Freud at the conference. Dr. Freud would have been celebrating his 156th birthday this week! I hope I didn't bore you too much with my loving Romans out loud! Peace and Blessings!
General Conference decision. If you are an avid reader of this blog, you may remember a post about the United Methodist General Conference occurring in Tampa, FL this past week. My specific interest about this conference was their decision about removing the phrase, "The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching" in their Book of Disciple. Unfortunately, they voted not to remove that statement. You can read more about it at these two links:
http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=8054757&ct=11740597¬oc=1
http://www.gc2012conversations.com/2012/05/03/delegates-fail-to-agree-that-they-disagree-on-sexuality-issue/
Groaning for Love. The past few days I have been involved in the Romans Conference here on campus. It has been such a wonderful conference with great preaching, singing, lectures, papers, and workshops. Since Romans is arguably my favorite authentic Pauline letter, I was totally geek-ing out through most of this conference. I heard a sermon called "Groaning for Love" based on Romans 8:18-39 (remember 8:31 is what this blog is named after). It was a pretty awesome sermon emphasizing that God groans with creation until eventual future glory, and nothing (that's right nothing) can separate us from the love of God! Oh, do I ever love that passage! =)
The Shape of the 'I' in Romans 7. My favorite lecture of the entire conference was "The Shape of the 'I' in Romans 7" by none other than our esteemed Professor of New Testament, Beverly Gaventa. She spoke about the referent of 'I' in chapter 7. Her argument was that 'I' in conversation could be used in referent to the speaker or the subject of the matter being spoken about. She argues that in this case, the use of the 'I' is comparable to the prevalent use of the 'I' in the Psalms as a way for a reader or listener to engage the 'I' as their own. So in the Psalms, one would pray a psalm using 'I' as if it were their own prayer. I know this sounds confusing, but just pull me aside the next time you see me, and I will excitedly explain it more clearly! I was totally wow-ed by this lecture though! Dr. Gaventa took two of my favorite things, Romans and the Psalms, and smashed them together in a very meaningful way!
Also, just as a sidenote: There was a man who looked exactly like Sigmund Freud at the conference. Dr. Freud would have been celebrating his 156th birthday this week! I hope I didn't bore you too much with my loving Romans out loud! Peace and Blessings!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Be Still
The Romans conference started today here at PTS, so I have even less free time than normal. This being said, I shall make this post relatively short because I have somewhere to be in 20 minutes. Oh, and this conference is absolutely wonderful thus far! Anyway, a pervasive theme that seems to have infiltrated my life recently is stillness. So this is what I leave you with...
Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God."
"Still." A Song by Hillsong. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXywFuTf65I
Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God."
"Still." A Song by Hillsong. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXywFuTf65I
Hide me
now
Under Your wings
Cover me
Within Your mighty hand
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father you are King over the flood
I will be still and know You are God
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/h/hillsong_united/still.html ]
Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know His power
In quietness and trust
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father You are king over the flood
I will be still and know You are God
Cover me
Within Your mighty hand
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father you are King over the flood
I will be still and know You are God
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/h/hillsong_united/still.html ]
Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know His power
In quietness and trust
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father You are king over the flood
I will be still and know You are God
"Be Still." A Song by The Fray. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nUuBjz4Vhc
Be still and know that I'm with you
Be still and know that I am here
Be still and know that I'm with you
Be still, be still, and know
When darkness comes upon you
And covers you with fear and shame
Be still and know that I'm with you
And I will say your name
If terror falls upon your bed
And sleep no longer comes
Remember all the words I said
Be still, be still, and know
And when you go through the valley
And the shadow comes down from the hill
If morning never comes to be
Be still, be still, be still
If you forget the way to go
And lose where you came from
If no one is standing beside you
Be still and know I am
Be still and know that I'm with you
Be still and know I am
Be still and know that I am here
Be still and know that I'm with you
Be still, be still, and know
When darkness comes upon you
And covers you with fear and shame
Be still and know that I'm with you
And I will say your name
If terror falls upon your bed
And sleep no longer comes
Remember all the words I said
Be still, be still, and know
And when you go through the valley
And the shadow comes down from the hill
If morning never comes to be
Be still, be still, be still
If you forget the way to go
And lose where you came from
If no one is standing beside you
Be still and know I am
Be still and know that I'm with you
Be still and know I am
Blessings and Peace. =)
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Dunbar's Number
Hello everyone and happy Wednesday! Summer is quickly approaching; I could tell by the smell of the air, the sound of the birds, and many of my own personal habits that are apparently exclusive to summer time! I still have nearly two weeks of class left, but I am totally pumped for the summer to be here already! This may end up being a smorgasbord of a blog post with a little bit of everything, but we'll see how it goes... so here goes!
Dunbar's number. I want to do an ekphrasis activity with you. Pretend that you are holding psychological research in your one hand. Good. Now pretend that you are holding ministry in your other hand. Wonderful. Now smash your hands together! If you are able to do this in a practical sense, you have my complete, undivided attention. Yesterday during class we were briefly discussing the pros and cons of large churches and small churches. Pros: large--resources, small--intimacy. I'll let you come with with cons of your own. Anyway, during this conversation my professor mentioned the theoretical cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one could maintain stable social relationships known as "Dunbar's number." I'll spare you the research details, but the main idea behind this number is that one person can only have a close, deep, intimate relationship with about 12 other people on the first level, and more common social relationships of 150 people on the second level. This has serious implications for effective ministry. I was able to find the actual research study and read it--for which I am grateful; but I was also able to find an NPR article that is far less boring if any of you were interested in further information:
http://www.npr.org/2011/06/04/136723316/dont-believe-facebook-you-only-have-150-friends
Before I die I want to "love and be loved." After a few hours of basketball last night, I decided to give into the petitions of my upper back and relax--no reading, no more physical activity, no practicing guitar, no more movement. The one thing I am able to do while "relaxing" is listen. So I checked my church website and discovered that they posted a sermon that I had not yet listened to. And thanks to this sermon, I was no longer relaxing, but rather engaged in some serious critical thinking about things he brought up in his sermon about family. You could listen to the sermon here (22 April): http://www.firstpreswc.com/listen. One thing that I found particularly interesting was something he mentioned about a wall in New Orleans. It is simply a black wall with a bucket of chalk next to it, and it says, "Before I die I want to [blank]..." and you are to fill in the blank. There are some very interesting sentences posted here, but the most profound ones are the ones about love. And the one that my pastor emphasized in his sermon and the one that hit me was, "Before I die, I want to love and be loved." This means that there are people out there that have never been loved before. Considering this sermon and this observation along with my reading the book of Romans yesterday (specifically CH 14), it got me to think about what it really means to be part of God's family. I'll let you think on that as well...
So maybe not a complete smorgabord of a blog post! I was going to write about more things, but I got a little carried away with the length of the things I did write about. So maybe there will be a post tomorrow! Who knows?! We'll see. Anyway friends, take care of yourselves and each other. =)
Dunbar's number. I want to do an ekphrasis activity with you. Pretend that you are holding psychological research in your one hand. Good. Now pretend that you are holding ministry in your other hand. Wonderful. Now smash your hands together! If you are able to do this in a practical sense, you have my complete, undivided attention. Yesterday during class we were briefly discussing the pros and cons of large churches and small churches. Pros: large--resources, small--intimacy. I'll let you come with with cons of your own. Anyway, during this conversation my professor mentioned the theoretical cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one could maintain stable social relationships known as "Dunbar's number." I'll spare you the research details, but the main idea behind this number is that one person can only have a close, deep, intimate relationship with about 12 other people on the first level, and more common social relationships of 150 people on the second level. This has serious implications for effective ministry. I was able to find the actual research study and read it--for which I am grateful; but I was also able to find an NPR article that is far less boring if any of you were interested in further information:
http://www.npr.org/2011/06/04/136723316/dont-believe-facebook-you-only-have-150-friends
Before I die I want to "love and be loved." After a few hours of basketball last night, I decided to give into the petitions of my upper back and relax--no reading, no more physical activity, no practicing guitar, no more movement. The one thing I am able to do while "relaxing" is listen. So I checked my church website and discovered that they posted a sermon that I had not yet listened to. And thanks to this sermon, I was no longer relaxing, but rather engaged in some serious critical thinking about things he brought up in his sermon about family. You could listen to the sermon here (22 April): http://www.firstpreswc.com/listen. One thing that I found particularly interesting was something he mentioned about a wall in New Orleans. It is simply a black wall with a bucket of chalk next to it, and it says, "Before I die I want to [blank]..." and you are to fill in the blank. There are some very interesting sentences posted here, but the most profound ones are the ones about love. And the one that my pastor emphasized in his sermon and the one that hit me was, "Before I die, I want to love and be loved." This means that there are people out there that have never been loved before. Considering this sermon and this observation along with my reading the book of Romans yesterday (specifically CH 14), it got me to think about what it really means to be part of God's family. I'll let you think on that as well...
So maybe not a complete smorgabord of a blog post! I was going to write about more things, but I got a little carried away with the length of the things I did write about. So maybe there will be a post tomorrow! Who knows?! We'll see. Anyway friends, take care of yourselves and each other. =)
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