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. =)

I'm a Presby

Greetings! It's been quite a wonderful weekend here in Princeton. I mostly did homework and hung out with friends, but I also did some serious paper writing and basketball playing! I'm slowly but surely wrapping up my semester here, and hopefully I will be able to put a nice bow on top of it with two long papers due at the end of finals week and a NT exam. I am beginning to get really excited about summer time and all of the fun it will entail!

How many weeks? I have a bit of a confession to make to many of my friends from First Pres WC: I have not worshiped in a Presbyterian Church in six weeks (unless you count the Bridge). I have been all over the place. Here and there and everywhere! The Lutherans, Methodists, and Episcopalians have been consuming my Sundays for a month and a half now! It has actually been quite a marvelous experience. Finally, today I went to Pennington Pres! Wow, what a refresher! Nothing against these other traditions (I enjoy them as a matter of fact), but I was really missing the Presbys! AND on top of the wonderfulness of Presbyterians, there was also a drama of the Exodus story put on by youth and children choirs, which was absolutely fantastic! Go kids!


Hymnal Collection. Since I have been in a number of different traditions recently, I have been singing from a number of different hymnals (plus the three we use in chapel). I really like hymnals! They're awesome! I have added about five to my book-buying list. On the top of this list is probably the ELW--Lutheran Hymnal... it's pretty sweet! You should check it out! I'm beginning to form a really nice collection, and soon I will be able to add the new Presbyterian Hymnal that is coming out next year! Wooo Hooo!


Sermon Podcasts. One thing that has kept me close to the Presbys is sermon podcasts. That's right. I listen to sermon podcasts: in the morning, in the car, at the gym, when I'm writing papers, etc. Someone once told me, "If you want to be a good preacher, listen to good preachers." Well, that's exactly what I am doing. If you would like some recommendations, feel free to shoot me an email, and I will be happy to send you a link. =)

Well, it's been quite a wonderful day for me. I hope yours was great as well. Peace. =)

Christmas Pt. I: The Holy

Merry Christmas! The past two days have been so astonishing; it is going to be difficult to put into words, but I certainly intend on trying. Also, I am going to break it down into two parts to keep each post short. Part I will deal with the "holy," and Part II will deal with the "holiday." So, Christmas Eve at First Pres was all that it promised to be and more. But before I go into great detail:

My Christmas Eve Tradition 3 years running: Chinese and Wawa coffee!

FPCWC. Take Christmas Eve awesomeness in one hand and worship variety in the other hand... now clap your hands together. That's what First Pres managed to do yesterday, and do wonderfully!

     Pageant. children + costumes + advent/christmas hymns + manger + scripture = cutest thing ever!

     Praise Band. Family service with a contemporary twist on traditional songs. The praise band and the youth choirs were incredible!

     Traditional. From an acoustics perspective, you can't beat a packed 177-year-old sanctuary. It was a candlelit service with a message from Dr. Stovell about light--absolutely wonderful.
     Communion Service. A more intimate service with communion after a long, joyful day!

"Down to Earth." I really, really enjoyed the 10:30pm Communion service for several reasons. It is, in my opinion, the most spiritual service of the year. This year, it lived up to all of my expectations and then some. Rev. Hartwell preached from the gospel of Luke, and her message (entitled "Down to Earth") was outstanding! It hit close to home--like a spiritual blindside. It got to me. Now, I'm in seminary--I listen to A LOT of sermons--and not many "get to me" in such a profound way. I'm affected by every sermon I hear and learn from each one, no doubt, but this was different. I wish I could articulate it better, but it's the kind of message that preoccupies your thoughts and emotions, that hinders you from singing the final hymn, that overwhelms your mind and your soul for a while, and that makes falling asleep just a little bit more difficult. I hear from a good source that it will be available on the website soon: http://www.firstpreswc.com/listen. It's definitely worth twenty minutes of your time!

Christmas morning. My Christmas morning involved a magnificent sermon from Rev. Pickett (I love when he preaches about the Kingdom), packing my car, grabbing a Wawa coffee, and hitting the road for home! 

Next up will be the "holiday" portion of my Christmas: family, friends, games, food, movies, etc. Merry Christmas everyone and God bless you!