Not entirely about Penn State

There has been enough about Penn State. We’re all sick of it. But I have to say something about the plight of Penn State Students. When I try to get inside the head of a Penn State student I can’t help but see that through the lenses of myself as a young student that experienced undergraduate school at Drexel University in the 70’s.

I absolutely loved life at Drexel University. School was hard, but not always. I “studied” in the student lounge, listened to LPs of The Moody Blues, The Who, Pink Floyd, Yes, and Emerson Lake and Palmer. I read “underground newspapers”. I went to a few concerts, like Captain Beefheart at U of P’s Irving Auditorium. I could kick myself for not springing for the money to see the Beatles when they were in town. Lunch was typically a cheap meal from the broken down cheese steak truck on 32nd street. During finals I pulled the caged door shut behind me in one of the tiny little cubbyholes in the basement of the library and studied for hours. On the way to your final, it was tradition to rub the big toe of the brass water boy in the Great Court for good luck. We lounged on the quad, played volleyball, ping pong, darts, and celebrated the end of finals week at Cavanaugh’s Railroad Restaurant on Market Street.

Bad things happened too. Protests were not much of a big deal at an engineering school but I did hear of one in the 60’s. Students pulled out a fire hose to use but it fell into pieces it was so old. Having my new car stolen was not fun. A friend of mine was attacked and seriously injured leaving a dance. There was an organization next door to my TA’s apartment called “MOVE”. They washed cars to make money. Seemed like nice people. They were quiet at the time but became infamous for some terrible wars with the police a few years after I graduated.

In those days, Drexel had a reputation as a great, but boring, engineering school. In my freshman year there was an announcement that the Drexel football team would be playing their last game ever! The most common reaction was, “Oh, I didn’t know we had a football team”, which may explain their extinction.

Like me, PSU students today certainly have their traditions and are building wonderful memories to romanticize on someday.

It’s no less than tragedy what has happened at PSU. It’s terrible for the victims and the focus deserves to be on their tragedy, their recovery, and their justice. But PSU students are among the causalities too. Their college lives have been invaded.

Into the midst of their college experience came scandal, media, police, and a riot. The honor of the school they attend was damaged, and suddenly one of the keystones of their existence, Penn State Football, suffered defamation. Ultimately this is all the result of one man’s actions. Once exposed, one man’s actions had devastating, far-reaching impact in a very short time! Why?

I think it has something to do with idols. When we allow anything but God to become “Holy”, there is a problem. The worship of PSU football probably caused many to discredit any possibility of a blemish on that idol. But blemish came. The idol fell fast and hard, taking many casualties along with it. PSU students were caught in total disarray. Imagine trying to go to class that week or to study for a test when there’s a riot outside your dorm.

This is not a trivial aspect to this tragedy. Of course we must pray for the victims. But pray also for the students. Pray for PSU football. Pray for PSU administration. Pray that the memories of these students will not be permanently scarred beyond honorable recognition.

The idol of PSU football has fallen. The reputation of PSU is suffering. In time I believe it will be the sound mind and honor of individual PSU students that corporately rebuild that reputation. I am proud to see they have already begun that healing and rebuilding.

We all put things before God. We know we shouldn’t. But we do. I think that might be one definition for sin, putting something else in place of God. Pray that we all stop making and worshipping idols. Only God is Holy and deserving of our worship.

Happy Hiking, and God Bless,

- Allen

Steve Jobs: Death of an Icon - and a Hero?

October 5, 2011 at 10:02p I was riding the train home when I glanced down at my iPhone to see a tweet from one of my Twitter followers. “Steve Jobs passed away”. Two minutes later a text from my daughter appeared on my iPhone, confirming the news. I think it was appropriate to have received the news of his passing on a device he was largely responsible for putting in my hands. I had an immediate sense of great loss. I entered the computer industry right out of college in 1975. I lived much of my career following and using products developed by Microsoft and Apple.

Steve Jobs was Apple Computer. Steve Jobs was an icon. He is probably responsible for many people even knowing the meaning of the word, “icon”. In 1979 Jobs was invited to Xerox PARC to see their mouse-controlled GUI (Graphical User Interface). That trip led to the GUI developed for the Apple Mac. Jobs may have been first, but Gates and Microsoft quickly followed suit, replacing command-line based MS-DOS with its “Windows” Operating System. In 1988, Apple sued Microsoft, to which Microsoft responded, “We both stole the GUI from Xerox’s PARC”, as if that makes it ok.

Jobs, CEO of Apple, once suggested that Microsoft’s Bill Gates might do better if he’d loosen up a bit, maybe pop a pill, he’d get better ideas. Jobs accredited his ability to think outside the box to having taken LSD. I have to draw a line here. Actually, way before we get to “here”. I have some sympathy to the Hippie generation. I grew up in it. I actually look fondly at the influence the Hippie culture had to shake up the “establishment”, to influence us to be more authentic as individuals, to influence some to become Jesus-Freaks, and to influence us to be better stewards of planet Earth. But seriously, LSD? This is very dangerous talk! I think all drugs are potentially dangerous and to be avoided as much as possible, even caffeine (I’m down to an average of a cup a day now). LSD is so dangerous it’s off the map. Suggesting an LSD trip to expand our mind is not just ridiculous, it’s totally irresponsible for anyone with any influence whatsoever. There is no excuse for such a remark, let alone making it a public remark.

So, I have mixed feelings. The passing of any human is sad and we need to celebrate their life and accomplishments. But, as I’ve said before, please, let’s be careful who we choose for our heroes!

I don’t see Jobs as a hero to aspire to emulate. But God works to bring good through all people, whether they acknowledge God or not. I’m surrounded by others who would say, along with me, that the iPhone has changed their lives in many positive ways. I am very thankful to have my cell phone, my texts, mobile eMail, portable web browser, GPS, travel guide, to-do lists, calendar, notes, SkyMap, Running Log, Alarm Clock, radio, voice recorder, UPC reader, music collection, downloaded devotional materials, camera, emergency flashlight, several versions of the Holy Bible, even my spare “emergency sermon”, ALL conveniently in a single small device in my pocket. When I was I kid in the late 60’s I delivered “The Philadelphia Bulletin”. I thought Dick Tracy’s watch-radio was an impossibility. Steve Jobs took things quite a bit farther!

Jobs once remarked that he wanted to put a ding in the universe. With God’s help, he did! I think it IS appropriate to celebrate! And to say as I believe Romans 5:2 suggests, “Glory be to God for the life of Steve Jobs and for all the good that God has worked through his life!” Steve Jobs was an icon. But Jesus is my hero. Amen.

Happy Hiking, and God Bless,

- allen

DOUBLE EXPOSURE

October. Summer vacations are behind us and we’re back at work and school.

Many of us are glad to be moving on, but did fall have to start quite this abruptly? Even the weather changed abruptly. From one day to the next, the morning temperature dropped almost 25 degrees! I love cold weather, but, it would be nice to be eased into it just a little bit slower.
It might be nice to be eased back into work and school a little bit slower too, but there’s little use in fighting the reality of homework, earlier school starts, and job deadlines. Society says it’s time to buckle down and produce!

And maybe that’s appropriate. But I don’t think we should allow God to be squeezed out of our schedules. I may not have the time to sit down and read a book by my favorite spiritual author, because I need to repurpose that time. But there are still slots of time through my day when my mind isn’t fully utilized. For example, when I’m driving, when I’m waiting in line at WaWa, when I’m walking from my car to my office. Even many of those transient times are often consumed preparing for what’s next, but if I can include and engage God, in my daily processing, even for a moment, I am reminded of others God cares about that need prayer.

Sometimes instead of being just ANOTHER frazzled person waiting for my hoagie at WaWa, maybe I can find a way to minister to some of the OTHER frazzled persons, even if only through a simple gesture of kindness or a genuine smile that cares about the face of Jesus hidden behind the mask of that other frazzled person. The mental scene reminds me of an old “double exposure” movie I have from my childhood. Somehow, we accidentally used the same film twice in the movie camera. The result was a movie of people sitting on a dock looking at a lake, but the lake had a parade marching through it! As if the world is running around on speed while we observe from our place sitting on the dock.

At the end of the day, I hope I can look back and see that the Holy Spirit was able to slow me down so that even though the world is in HIGH GEAR, in my mind at least I am occasionally sitting on the dock, listening for God’s still small voice while I watch the parade. Maybe I’ll even be encouraged to discover a brother or sister sitting on the dock with me!

Happy Hiking and God Bless,
 
- allen

Good always overcomes evil

This day reminds us that the power of evil is very great. But we know the power of good is even greater. This is a battle that a Christian must fight every day, even within ourselves.

“Wherever you have power, can you lend it to someone without power? Wherever there is inequity in this world, can you speak out? Is this not the work of Christians in the post 9/11 world?”-UM Bishop Peggy Johnson

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” - Romans 12:21

And therefore in the face of evil, I don't consider it a trivialization to say Happy Hiking, God Bless, and may you know that God IS With You on your journey,

Happy Hiking and God Bless,
 
- allen

The meaning of my summer.

Although I would say that all of the summer youth activities this year were quite successful, I also have to say in all honesty that the summer of 2011 was not an easy one for the Olivet Youth community.

June started things off innocently enough with an outstanding trip to the Creation Festival with 33 youth. The highlight for me was praying with seven of them at the “prayer tent” on Saturday evening. The prayer tent itself was actually too crowded to meet in due to the heavy response to the evening’s speaker. As pastor Davis would say, Praise God !

On our way home Sunday, news was beginning to spread about a terrible car accident that tragically took the lives of four Coatesville Area High School students earlier that same morning. I don’t think there is any CASH student who didn’t know at least one of these young men since their ages ranged from 14 to 17. Several Olivet youth and friends were very close to those who passed away so prematurely.

The funeral for one of the young men was held at Olivet. There was not an empty seat in the sanctuary, or balcony, and many were standing. Just two days after the funeral, 32 youth and adults departed on our Olivet ASP youth mission trip. A few youth choose not to go due to the tragedy. In contrast, there was a youth I had gotten to know at Creation that I invited to ASP on the day of the funeral and he joined us on the trip two days later. Different people handle grief in different ways. And that’s ok.

The ASP trip was, in spite of several adversities that we encountered, the best ASP trip ever. Every year is actually the best trip ever. I honestly feel that way. My team worked on a wheelchair ramp for a man who had lost his legs due to diabetes. As usual there were other churches there at our ASP center, one from Pennsylvania, another from New Jersey. A few days after we returned from ASP we learned through FaceBook that one of the young men from the New Jersey church collapsed and died two hours after returning to New Jersey. I met the distraught parents at his viewing that evening.

A few weeks later, I was visiting my daughter Katie at her place of work, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. While we were there, my wife Karen and I had an opportunity to visit a 5-year old boy there named Conner. Conner is struggling with Leukemia and the effects of it’s treatment. Many people at Penn State and Olivet have been praying for him and it was an honor to pray with him and his mother. Keep praying for Conner and his family. He is in hospice care now.

I have not mentioned them all, but I have been exposed to many people, adults and youth, suffering great emotional pain this summer. I am certain I can’t fathom the pain these people are suffering. I struggle to understand what life must be like living in a bed and a wheelchair, watching the news and cartoons to pass the time. I struggle to understand why a mother and family has to suffer so desperately because of an evil disease that seems to have randomly chosen to attack an innocent young boy. I struggle to understand the depth of pain when I look into the eyes of two mothers whose teenage boys have passed away after they have cared for them so lovingly for the last 16 years. I struggle to understand. But I can’t.

And then I realize yet another thing I don’t understand. I don’t understand how these people cope with such pain. But I see a glimpse of hope in their ability to cope, their ability to press on. No. Actually, it’s more than a glimpse.

In Conner’s mother I met a young woman of tremendous character and strength. I suspect the same character and strength drives the others as well. I know that at least in Conner’s mother’s case the character and strength comes from a deep faith in God. Little Conner was screaming when we first entered the room because he thought we were medical personnel. He didn’t need one more needle prick. Despite everything that was happening in that hospital room, Conner’s mother had a strength of character that showed itself in a beautiful, gentle, peace. She gently crawled into bed with her son and assured him everything was ok. And her son responded with peace while we prayed over them.

Her loving care for her child was to me a reflection of the same loving care that God the Father has for her. The same loving care that God the Father has for every one of his creation. God has so much loving care for us that in Christ, God even enters into and participates in our human pain.

In Conner’s mother I found the meaning of my summer: Those who allow God to nurture and love them are the strongest of all people you will ever meet. May they be examples to us, and may God deliver them every day from the pain they experience, into his loving arms, assuring them that everything is ok, because God is with them. May we have such strength of character, by learning to receive from a loving God. A God that crawls into bed with us when we are screaming, and assures us through his gentle but infinitely strong presence, that everything is ok, He is with us in our suffering.

God is with you.

Happy Hiking, and God Bless,

- allen

Doldrums

Someone I know had an opportunity to participate in a yacht race sailing around the world. It took most of a year to complete. I went to Boston to see the sailboat’s finish one leg of the race and then again to see them start the next leg a few weeks later. There was plenty of excitement as they came into the dock in Boston with everyone on deck cheering. There was also plenty of excitement when they began the next leg, with a fire boat salute, lots of small boats, and people lining Boston harbor on their way back out to the ocean. Even in the midst of the race there was plenty of excitement, especially in rough seas. One of the 12 identical 70 foot sailboats capsized in a storm. People suddenly found themselves underneath the boat in the middle of the Atlantic. My friend wrote an eMail from the Southern Ocean about how his faith sustained him when their sailboat was being “launched” off of 70 foot waves! Pretty exciting!

But there were also the “doldrums”. As you approach the equator, there are areas of the ocean where the sea can be like a lake. Wind is non-existent. You can’t make up any time in a sailboat race when there is no wind. Those times can be, BORING.

How do you get through the doldrums? Some people pretend they don’t exist. That might work if the doldrums don’t last very long. Especially if you’ve just come out of an exciting storm and you know that at the end of the doldrums is a glorious celebration. Maybe your mind will never get to “doldrum reality” because you never finish reflecting before you have to start planning again. For me, that’s exactly how life is in-between our youth trips to the Creation Festival and our mission trip to Appalachia Service Project. But prolonged doldrums can be downright depressing.

My Golden Retriever, Raleigh, loves routine. He makes his own excitement even in the doldrums. When I show up at his dinner time with a boring bowl of the same EXACT thing he has had for dinner every day for the last 4 years, he LEAPs in the air with excitement!

Then there is Helen, our cat. Yes, her full name would be, Helen Keller. Helen is our little Jesus. She lives the abundant life. She is “legally blind”. She gets seizures occasionally. When she leaps up on our bed she has to think it over for about 45 seconds and she comes down like an airplane having a rough landing. Not your typical “cool cat”. She runs into walls and doors. She is yelled and swiped at by our other cats, and Raleigh chases her.

But, like Jesus, Helen doesn’t seem to care. All of this can happen and the next minute you’ll find Helen chasing her tail, hopping around the living room, nuzzling up to your leg, or rolling over for you to scratch her belly. Then she’ll curl up content on a pillow and rest. Helen loves life. No matter what life delivers, and I’m pretty sure for a blind cat, life could be the doldrums, Helen loves life.

I think this is how Jesus would live through the doldrums. I know Jesus loved to spend quiet time “curled up with God”. The doldrums can be a blessing in that our mind can be quieted so we can hear God’s still, small, voice. I think Jesus also found humor in everyday life, even in the miracles he did sometimes. They think there isn’t enough food to go around? Ha! Check out what can happen when God gets a hold of 5 loaves and 2 fish! Is the lake too calm for you? If you keep your eyes on Jesus, you can walk on water, that’s pretty exciting!

Jesus doesn’t get depressed in the doldrums. Jesus uses the doldrums as opportunities to learn self-control of our attitude to choose to bring both excitement and contentment into everyday life. Just as there is a blessing for us in every person we meet, there is also a blessing for us in every moment we meet. Especially in the doldrums.

Have a blessed summer, Happy Hiking, and God Bless,

- allen

In-Between

By the time you read this we will be living “in-between”. In-between Pastor Tyson and Pastor Davis.


We will be tempted to mourn over the past, and I think we should, to a degree. I think it is always appropriate at such a milestone to reflect on the past and to cherish the memories. Then of course we should look to the future while learning from our past in order to know how to avoid some of the same mistakes, while at the same time carrying some of our successes forward. But if we simply look into the future only through the eyes of the past I think we are limiting ourselves.

It is important to learn from our history, but God is doing a new thing. I expect to be surprised by our future. We always find it interesting to look at our past and realize how different things were then, as if we are surprised by our past. I’m sure if we could look into our future we would also be quite surprised about it.

Twenty years ago I could not have imagined text messages, social networks, or that I would have a device in my pocket with far more computing power than Eniac, the first computer that was so large it filled the room. God does some new things that we may think are ridiculous! Yes, I think God has his hand in these things. God created the universe. I think God has an influence in everything in the universe. But who can say how God chooses to work God’s miracles? God may choose to express influence in many cases by allowing the creatures God created to work toward the solutions to their own problems. I think it is a privilege that God allows, even delights, in our participation in our own future in this respect. We take part in “our” continuing creation story. But let’s be sure to acknowledge that “our story” is not just us, it includes God with us. I’m excited to see how God’s hand works in the future through Pastor Davis, just as God’s hand has worked in the past through Pastor Tyson. And let’s never forget that God is always with us and that there is always. Always. ALWAYS AND FOREVER. there is. always. HOPE. God Wins.

Until next time, Happy Hiking, and God Bless,

- allen

Holy Week

What is the purpose of a blog entry? Of course that varies. The central purpose for my blog entries is to try to consider where God is with respect to my contemporary topic, while at the same time, being mildly entertaining, thought provoking, and maybe even inspiring. My blog entries actually serve that purpose for myself. I hope that occasionally I connect with a reader and God’s purpose is fulfilled.


As I write this it is Holy Week. Holy Week is so complex to me emotionally and spiritually. It’s a difficult week but it’s a wonderful week. Someone once expressed to me the question, “Couldn’t God have found a better way rather than to become human and die a sacrificial death for the creatures God created?”

Well, I believe God knows all, is all-powerful, and works for good. Since I believe that, I also accept that this is it. That this IS the best way God could have arranged things. So I believe that when God created us, God knew God would also have to die for us. Why would God create something God had to die for? It’s all about love. God desires to love and be loved back. But it’s not that simple either. God wants more than that. God wants to love and be loved back by creatures that love each other as well.

For the record, I don’t believe that God consciously controls every very detail. If God did, then love would not be a choice. I believe that God delights in seeing us make choices, especially decisions of our own to follow Christ. But to allow God’s self to be “surprised” by our choice to love, God also has to permit us to make those decisions outside of God’s control. And that means sometimes God will be “disappointed”, as well as surprised.

But I wonder if it’s even appropriate for me to tell you what I believe, because I’m afraid that I might influence you to believe the same thing, just because I said it. That’s really scary on many fronts. What if I’m wrong and I mislead you? That’s one reason it’s important for you to listen to people and decide for yourselves where you discern God’s truth. Otherwise, it’s not really YOUR faith at all, it’s mine, or whoever’s you decided to believe for the sake of believing the same thing as they did.

You must own your own faith. Contrary to St. Augustine’s point of view, I believe that I cannot beat my faith into you. You must come to know God on your own terms. Otherwise, I don’t even believe God will accept it, even if you were to say all the right words. Saying the right words for the wrong reasons isn’t love.

So, I hope by the time you have read this, that you are looking forward after Holy Week with a renewed zest to come to know and love God, for your own right reasons.

I feel led to share a secret with you. A little tradition I share with God. Sometime after the Good Friday service, I find a moment to go to the landing behind the sanctuary door by what used to be the men’s choir loft. On the wall above that landing is a painting. It depicts what I perceive is that same very moment, following the crucifixion. John is leading an exhausted and distraught Mary to her home. Three crosses are in the distance. The sky is menacing. It is a sad picture. But it captures the essence of that moment in time. From then until Sunday morning we live in darkness. Wondering why Christ had to die.

But as Tony Campolo says, it’s Friday, but Sunday’s a-comin. It’s Friday, but Sunday’s a-comin. It’s Friday, but Sunday….. Sunday’s a-comin.

Easter people – Sunday is here ! Praise God almighty, Jesus Christ is alive and the very Holy Spirit of the Creator of the Universe lives in you! So Love God! Love People!

Until next month, Happy Hiking, and God Bless,

- allen

Lent

There is just way too much going on in the world today. Egypt. Libya. Japan. Not to mention all of the things each of us has going on in our personal lives. Of course these vary according to our season of life but even those of us without places to report for work each day have our own burdens. The pace of life is for me at least, and perhaps for some of you, sometimes a bit overwhelming.

And Lent arrives. How do you fit Lent into this? How do you fit Jesus into this?

I don’t expect that many of you even have the time to read this blog entry, let alone fit a Lenten Bible Study or Daily Lenten Devotion into your life. This is sad. And I include myself right in there in my lament. I found something very helpful to me this Lenten season, a Lenten Devotional I could download to my smartphone or laptop. I put it on the youth website so you can download it. Just go to www.coatesvillemoca.org and click on the link to download the .pdf. But, even with this convenience, I find it difficult to keep up. Yesterday I confess, I read 4 devotions in one day to catch up.

Before long, Good Friday will arrive, whether I’m ready or not. Good Friday means a lot to me. I think it should mean a lot to every human. It’s such an ugly day to get through. It reminds me of my imperfection, but it also reminds me of how my imperfection is viewed through God’s very own self-sacrifice. I am perfected only when viewed through God’s gift of Christ. I am tempted to feel a tremendous debt to God, a debt I have no hope to repay. And neither does our world have any hope to repay for the tragic choices we make in the way we treat our fellow humans.

But - God does not desire repayment. Our life, our free will, and our perfection in Christ, are all freely given gifts from God our Creator. All we need to do is come to a place where we say, “God, I owe a huge debt. Thank You Jesus for paying it on my behalf. Holy Spirit, how can I do anything else with my life but love you back, by trying my best to live a life that puts a smile on your face? I know I will fail time and time again, but time and time again, You will cover my imperfection. Thank You Jesus. Amen.”

Happy Hiking and God Bless,

- allen

She's got a ticket to ride

I just started a course in “boundaries”. I am really excited about this course ever since I visited Children’s Hospital 5 years ago and the Chaplain there recommended the course to anyone who provides pastoral care in any form. He indicated the course gave him tools to be able to deal with the successes, but most especially the failures that are inevitably encountered in his vocation.


Here’s a case study related to boundaries, based on a real situation that just happened to me moments ago before I boarded the train on which I am now writing this blog entry. The specific case may not be familiar to you, but I suspect the nature of the case will indeed ring a bell. I’ll place the case in third person for you to place yourself in the scenario.

You are waiting for your train to arrive at the station on a winter night at 9:25pm, after a long day at work and an evening at school. You’ve had a good night in class because the professor is outstanding, the material you are learning is engaging, and you just barely covered enough of the required reading prior to class that you were able to follow the professor’s points in an effective way.

A distressed middle-aged woman comes up out of the pedestrian tunnel from the inbound tracks and asks you when the next train comes bound for Thorndale. You reply, “Your timing is great it is just 3 minutes away”, to which she responds, “I hope they let me on, my boyfriend’s truck is broke down and I don’t have any money. I’m not sure what to say to them.” Meanwhile you realize you have 15 tickets in your backpack that you bought ahead at $3.75 each. What do you do?

This is no longer a simple decision for me. Ever since I was a college student at Drexel back in 1970 I learned to simply say, “I’m sorry but I’m a college student” whenever someone asks for money. But she didn’t ask me for anything except information about the next train. I’ve also had people give me huge stories before that I choose to believe and I end up helping out. The course I’m taking is teaching me that healthy boundaries mean that saying “NO” is something you need to be able to do. If you don’t say “NO” to a person who always “has a story”, then you are enabling their behavior by helping them when perhaps they didn’t really need the help or wouldn’t need the help if they managed their life differently.

I might have asked her why she needed to get to Thorndale, so I could evaluate her situation. I didn’t ask. In my estimation her distress was real and it wasn’t just about the timing of the train. Am I going to grill her and cause more distress? That might be the right thing to do if she does this every night. I am at the train station a lot. I never saw this person before in my life so I don’t think her behavior is habitual.

I asked her if she does this often. She said “no”. I believed her, and handed her the ticket I had ready in my hand with the words, “use this”. She thanked me, and boarded the back car as I got on the front car with another ticket from my pack.

A mistake? Maybe. For me I think the criteria comes down to discerning on the spot whether the individual is in a situation that they really need help with, or is this normal behavior they use and their entire life is a sequence of scraping by from one handout to the next, never taking advantage of opportunities to live a better life. Is that rude? I’m not sure. I can’t help everyone, I have to have a boundary somewhere. For now, this is where I place it. If in my estimation you are dealing with a burden that is out of your control, I will try to help you. Galatians 6:2 and Galatians 6:5 form a dichotomy between sharing one another’s burdens but carrying one’s own load. My take on the text from our course interprets that to say that if it’s out of your control and it’s a hardship, then I am called as a Christian, and also as a Deacon who is called to a life of service, to share your burden. What do you think?

Until next month, Happy Hiking, and God Bless,

- allen

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION FOR 2011

I am pretty excited right now.

I probably share that with a lot of people as we anticipate celebrating the birth of God coming to live with us as a Human.

I know I also share another excitement with other college students. I am finished another semester! Thank you Jesus! 4.5 years down and only 3.5 years to go at my rate.

I’m also excited about my January term course, “The Holy Spirit and Christian Spirituality”. I wonder what changes that will bring in me. Usually the changes are not at all what I expect. That probably makes sense, since if I expected a particular change, it probably wouldn’t really be a change at all. I wonder if anyone remembers my “Transformer 101” sermon. We talked about change and how some of us like it, but most of us don’t. When I get right down to it, I think I look forward to change because I find it exciting, but at the same time I fear change too.

One of the authors on my personal reading list is Shane Claiborne. I’m actually a little scared to read his stuff. Because it might bring changes in me that I don’t think I’m ready for. I don’t want to pre-suppose what Claiborne’s work will do to me. But, I do suppose that is exactly what I’m doing when I fear reading him. I have heard just enough about “ordinary radicals”, which I believe Claiborne is one, to know that if I follow his suggestions, I may have to make some radical changes in my life that I feel uncomfortable with.

What scares me is that I believe Claiborne is probably right-on, and that not just Claiborne, but Jesus the God-Man whose birth we celebrate now, also calls me to the same changes. I believe I will discover that Claiborne will act as a prophet to me, and as such his work will challenge me in some major ways. Just as much and probably much more than my courses at seminary challenge me to become someone a little different for every course I take. At the same time, I hope that Claiborne can help me learn how to love and place God’s value on my neighbor, and that I can realize who my neighbors are. If I get what God and Jesus are telling me all over the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, I am told that my neighbors are everyone, but most especially the broken, the poor, the aliens among us, and the oppressed. I think Claiborne is going to teach me that I need to love my neighbor not just with my prayers and my money, but in the way that seems the hardest today, with my presence and my time. That scares me. I don’t have any time to give away, do I? I’m not rich. But I’d rather give my money than my time.

Then again, I don’t know that is the change I will be called to. I guess I need to start reading to find out. So on January 1, 2011, I will begin my New Year’s Resolution. I intend to open up Claiborne’s work, “The Book of Common Prayer: A Liturgy For Ordinary Radicals”, and begin to find out, how it might change me.

Who’s with me?

Happy Hiking and God Bless,
- allen